"Celestyal Cruises wishes to inform its business partners that today, Saturday June 27th 2015 and at around 1:28 am local time, the Maltese flagged MV Celestyal Crystal had a collision with the Marshall Islands flagged tanker STI PIMLICO.

All 852 passengers and the 382 members of crew are well and so are the crew members of the tanker. The cruise ship has only suffered some structural damages and awaits inspection from its class surveyor.

This entails that the said damages must be repaired before the ship can continue with its scheduled cruise itineraries. With the safety and care of our passengers as our utmost priority, we will ensure the smoothest possible disembarkation for those on board since the current cruise will have to be cancelled. The options on offer to our passengers are as follows:

For passengers who were travelling from Istanbul to Piraeus, Lavrio to Piraeus and from Kusadasi to Piraeus:

Passengers will be transported from Gelibolu to Istanbul. A one night or a 2 night complimentary stay at a hotel in Istanbul will be arranged as well as a free shorex excursion. On Monday, passengers will be flown from Istanbul to Izmir where a complimentary overnight stay at a hotel in Izmir or Kusadasi will be arranged. For those staying in Izmir transportation to Kusadasi will be arranged and a complimentary shorex in  Ancient Ephesus will be offered to all passengers. They will then board MV Celestyal Odyssey or MV Celestyal Olympia on Tuesday to join the cruise either from Kusadasi to Lavrio or from Kusadasi to Piraeus, accordingly. Passengers will be fully refunded and offered a complimentary cruise, valid until the end of 2016

For Greek Passengers or for all passengers who were scheduled to disembark in Piraeus after a 7day cruise:

Passengers will be transported from Gelibolu to Istanbul where a fully complimentary overnight stay at a hotel will be arranged. They will then fly on Sunday or Monday (upon availability) from Istanbul to Athens. A complimentary excursion in Istanbul (highlights of Istanbul) will be offered. Passengers will be fully refunded and offered a complimentary cruise valid until end of 2016

Kindly note that as a gesture of goodwill and irrespective of the option passengers will choose from above or is applicable to them, Celestyal Cruises will be refunding their cruise fare and shall also be offering a complimentary 7 day cruise, valid until the end 2016. Naturally, this will not be applicable to those who would be ending their cruise in Istanbul.

Thanking you all for your most valuable support and your understanding, we apologize for the inconvenience and would like to assure that we will spare no effort in ensuring that our passengers are provided with the best hospitality under the circumstances," Celestyal Cruises said in a statement.