Royal Caribbean announced it will bring back Explorer of the Seas two days early due to an outbreak of astrointestinal illness that affected over 300 people onboard. Royal Caribbean will take the extra time to santize the ship completely.
Explorer of the Seas will return on January 29 and perform a thorough “barrier” sanitization program on the entire ship to make certain that any remaining traces of the illness are eliminated. It will be the third aggressive sanitizing procedure the ship has undertaken since Royal Caribbean became aware of the issue, and will additionally provide a window of more than 24 hours where there are no persons aboard the ship.
Royal Caribbean made the decision after consulting with represenatives of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention along with their own medical team.
Royal Caribbean apologized to its guests for disappointing them and will take "several steps to compensate them for their inconvenience."
A medical team is currently working to determine if the illness that spread across Explorer of the Seas is indeed Norovirus.
Royal Caribbean also mentioned new reports of the illness by guesta have decreased day-over-day and others previously ailing are now feeling better. It appears that reported illnesses among guests and crew peaked during the first few days of the cruise
