Key Aspects:
- Celebrity Equinox will not be leaving Lisbon on schedule due to a planned labor strike at the port.
- Instead, the ship will remain in the city for two extra nights and her call to Tenerife is cancelled.
- The remainder of the ship’s transatlantic cruise to South America is not impacted.
Lisbon is a beautiful city, rich with history, culture, art, and much more for visitors to explore. Guests boarding the 121,900-gross-ton Celebrity Equinox in that stunning city on Friday, November 21, 2025 will now have two extra nights to enjoy Lisbon, but not for any reason from Celebrity Cruises.
A labor strike from Port Authority Staff in Portugal is impacting all operations, including servicing cruise ships, and Celebrity Equinox will now remain docked until the early morning hours of Sunday, November 23.
Celebrity Cruises has reached out to her up to 2,850 guests booked on the November 21 sailing to alert them to the change, as well as how it will impact the overall itinerary.
“We want to keep you informed about an important update: a confirmed strike in Lisbon, Portugal – something outside of our control – is affecting our scheduled departure,” the email explained.
“We care about your time with us, and to ensure your experience remains exceptional, we have made some thoughtful adjustments to our itinerary.”
While Celebrity Equinox will remain docked in Lisbon until 1 a.m. on Sunday morning, guests will still be able to move on and off the ship to enjoy local attractions and amenities.
Worth reading: MSC Cruises Alerts Guests to Potential Disruptions From Italian Strike
Because of the late departure from Lisbon, the ship will no longer be able to make her scheduled visit to Tenerife in the Canary Islands on Sunday, November 23. That was to have been the first port visit on the 15-night transatlantic cruise to Buenos Aires, but instead, Celebrity Equinox will now be at sea on that day.
Any pre-booked shore excursions arranged through Celebrity Cruises for Tenerife will be automatically cancelled and refunded.
In the meantime, additional shore tours for Lisbon are being made available and can be booked via the Celebrity Cruises app, on the cruise line’s website, or at the Shore Excursions desk onboard on Deck 3.
Rest of the Itinerary Remains Intact
Despite the issues impacting Celebrity Equinox‘s departure from Lisbon, the rest of the repositioning sailing remains unaffected.
The ship will arrive in Brazil after seven days at sea with a visit to Salvador de Bahai on Sunday, November 30, followed by Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday, December 2.
The last port visit on the itinerary is Montevideo, Uruguay on Friday, December 5, before Celebrity Equinox arrives in Buenos Aires, Argentina on Saturday, December 6 for debarkation.
“Please know that we are closely monitoring the situation and working hand-in-hand with local authorities and partners to ensure everything runs as smoothly as possible,” the email notes. “If there are any further updates to our itinerary, we will share them with you right away.”
How Is the Strike Impacting Cruises?
The strike affecting Celebrity Equinox is not confined to cruise ships or even just the Port of Lisbon. The labor dispute is between the government of Portugal and the National Union of Port Administration Workers of Portugal (SNTAP).
In general, pay and working conditions are the major points of contention. Several slowdowns of operations are part of the overall strike response.
According to global shipping company Beckchoice, port impacts will include longer waits for berthing or departures, slower handling of containers and supplies for reprovisioning, and similar disruptions.
Guests aboard Celebrity Equinox should know that the strike in no way impacts onboard services or operations beyond standard in-port procedures.
Other cruise ships that may be impacted by this weekend’s strike in Lisbon include Ambassador Cruise Line’s Ambience, P&O Cruises’ Ventura, Azamara Cruises’ Azamara Journey, and Fred Olsens’ Borealis.
Each cruise line will reach out to its impacted guests with updated information and changes in plans as needed.
Additional strike dates are planned for November 25-26; November 28-29, December 2-4, December 9, and December 12-13. Should the labor negotiations be successful, not all these dates may be affected, but if the dispute is further protracted, additional strike dates may be added.
