Tag Archives: Explorer of the Seas

Royal Caribbean to put third ship in Australia

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By Tom Stieghorst
Royal Caribbean International said it will station three ships in Australia/New Zealand for the winter of 2015-16, adding Explorer of the Seas to a lineup that already includes the Radiance and Voyager.

From November 2015 through April 2016, Explorer will primarily sail from Sydney on 11- and 14-day New Zealand cruises, with up to seven ports of call in the South Pacific country.

During its inaugural Australia season, Explorer also will offer three- and four-day cruises in November 2015 and in February and March 2016.

Voyager of the Seas will sail eight- to 12-day South Pacific and Fiji cruises, all roundtrip from Sydney, while Radiance of the Seas will sail a variety of South Pacific itineraries.

Explorer is cruising in the Bahamas and southern and western Caribbean this winter.

Royal Caribbean makes ship change for summer 2015

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By Tom Stieghorst
Royal Caribbean will send the Explorer of the Seas to Europe in the summer of 2015 instead of the Adventure of the Seas as previously announced.

Adventure of the Seas will continue to sail from San Juan while Explorer will homeport at Southampton, England, and offer three- to 16-day roundtrip cruises from late April through September 2015.

Prior to starting European service, Explorer will have a month-long drydock to be revitalized and receive features such as virtual balconies.

Last week, an Adventure of the Seas cruise was delayed in San Juan for three days after propulsion issues led Royal Caribben to replace the ship’s propellers, which took longer than expected.

The delayed cruise was the final one before a scheduled drydock for maintenance.

Cruise ship returns home with more than 600 sick passengers

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By Tom Stieghorst

Royal Caribbean’s Explorer of the Seas returned to its home port in Bayonne, N.J., on Wednesday afternoon following a widespread outbreak of gastrointestinal illness on the 3,000-passenger ship.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control reported that 629 passengers, more than 20% of the passengers onboard, were affected by the illness over the course of the cruise. Also, 54 crew members were reported ill.

The last time a cruise ship had as many sick people was in 2006, when 536 passengers and 143 crew members from the Carnival Liberty were reported ill, according to CDC records.

Royal Caribbean shortened the 10-day cruise to eight days to allow for extra sanitation measures before the next cruise on Friday.

“Guests scheduled for the next cruise on Explorer of the Seas can be confident that all possible measures will have been taken to prevent further problems,” a Royal Caribbean statement said.

Royal Caribbean said it plans a thorough sanitizing of the entire ship.

Officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control said they won’t know if it was a norovirus outbreak until later this week.

Passengers on the stricken cruise will receive a 50% refund of their cruise fare and a 50% future cruise credit.

Guests who had to be confined to staterooms will be credited with one future cruise day for each day of confinement.

Royal Caribbean said it will also reimburse airline change fees and hotel accommodations for guests whose travel home was inconvenienced by the change of travel plans.