The Carnival cruise ship Celebration, which incurred undetermined damage when its starboard controllable pitch propeller struck the sea floor while docking in the Bahamas, was cleared to return to the port of Jacksonville following an inspection at sea by the Coast Guard.

Coast Guard inspectors met the ship at sea late Wednesday, and tested steering and propulsion systems. No problems were found, so the Celebration was allowed to proceed to up the St. Johns River to the cruise terminal so its 1,799 passengers could disembark Aug. 17th.

"The problem is only affecting the Celebration's sailing speed," the company said.

The Celebration abandoned its planned stop in Nassau after the mishap occurred at about 11 a.m. on August 15th, and immediately began heading back to Jacksonville.

The ship arrived back at its current home berth shortly after midnight.

Carnival Cruise Lines altered the itinerary for Thursday’s Celebration cruise, which at last report was still scheduled to depart from Jacksonville on August 17th. Because the ship is operating at reduced speeds, Friday's call in Freeport has been cancelled and Celebration instead will visit Nassau on Saturday.

Passengers who sail on the new itinerary will receive a $100 per person shipboard credit and a 20 percent discount on a future cruise. Those who choose to cancel may receive a refund.