Celebrity Cruises has cancelled two 12-night Mediterranean sailings onboard Celebrity Millennium due to damage to the ship`s propellers. The ship will reenter service for its July 24 sailing. On July 2, while anchored off Villefranche, France, the ship`s propellers struck a submerged rock, following an electrical malfunction. Three of the four blades on the starboard propeller and one on the port propeller were damaged and needed to be replaced.

The company originally thought divers could accomplish the repairs while the ship was docked. The company has now concluded that a drydock is necessary. As a result, the remaining portion of the current cruise, which began June 30, has been cancelled. The next cruise, scheduled to depart July 12, has also been cancelled.

We deeply regret having to cancel these sailings and apologize to our guests for the disruption this will cause them, said Dan Hanrahan, president of Celebrity Cruises. We will continue to aggressively address the repairs and return the ship to service July 24.

The cancelled cruises are expected to have an all in negative impact on the earnings of Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. of approximately $0.14 per share.