Petty Officer Shawn Eggert said inspectors administered the breathalyzer after they detected an odor of alcohol on his breath.

The company said the captain would be fired after failing to pass the breathalyzer. The staff captain assumed command, said Michael Sheeham, spokesman for parent company Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

The Mercury was delayed in port for more than an hour.

The cruise company's policy forbids any officer from consuming alcohol within eight hours of reporting for duty, Sheeham said, noting at Royal Caribbean's policy is twice as stringent as international maritime regulations.

"The captain's actions are totally unacceptable. He has been stripped of his command and ordered off the ship," said Dan Hanrahan, president of Celebrity Cruises, in a statement. "Any shipboard employee, from the captain down, will be dealt with as swiftly and severely."

Celebrity Cruises sails weekly during spring and summer from Seattle to Alaska from the Bell Street Pier Cruise Terminal at Pier 66, where the ship was moored during the incident.

The Coast Guard said the cruise line fully cooperated with the investigation.

Lt. Cmdr. Rick Rodriguez of the Coast Guard said the captain was being investigated for operating a commercial vessel under the influence of alcohol, which is a misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison. Federal law considers someone operating a vessel on the waters of the United States legally intoxicated if his blood alcohol concentration level exceeds .040.

"This incident should send a clear message to all mariners operating in U.S. waters that operating any vessel under the influence of drugs or alcohol is a serious threat to the safety of other mariners, the general public, and maritime commerce and transportation. Such behavior will not be tolerated and violations will be enforced to the fullest extent," Rodriguez said in a statement.