Royal Caribbean will send Explorer of the Seas to Australia for the 2015-2016 cruise season to compliment sister ship Voyager of the Seas.

Explorer of the Seas will replace Rhapsody of the Seas, which has been a fixture in Australia since 2007.

Explorer of the Seas, a Voyager class cruise ship, was previously announced to be going to Europe for April through September 2015 and will begin offering cruises in Australia starting in November 2015.

Royal Caribbean made the announcement in an email sent to members of its Crown & Anchor loyalty program.

Radiance of the Seas will also return to the region again for the 2015-16 season, the newsletter reveals.

For Rhapsody of the Seas, 2014/2015 will be its last season down under.

Royal Caribbean’s Australasian itineraries for 2015/16 will go on sale at the end of the month.

Royal Caribbean gave guests a hint at some of the changes we can expect to find once Explorer of the Seas receives her ship-wide refurbishment next year.

Royal Caribbean confirmed that Explorer of the Seas will receive new virtual balcony staterooms along with a 3-D movie theater.

A full list of changes and additions is still forthcoming but we know for a fact the ship will get these two improvements along with a FlowRider.

The virtual balcony addition is not surprising since sister ship Navigator of the Seas had virtual balconies added to her earlier this year.

Scheduled for February 2015, Explorer of the Seas will be the fourth Voyager class cruise ship in the fleet to get a revitalization.  Royal Caribbean also promised new specialty restaurants and based on other ships' revitalizations, other ship facilities are likely to get upgraded as well.

Royal Caribbean announced today it will send Explorer of the Seas to Europe for the first time in summer 2015 out of Southampton, UK.

Royal Caribbean originally planned on having Adventure of the Seas be based there but swapped the two ships.  

Explorer of the Seas will offer three- to 16-night, roundtrip itineraries from late-April through September 2015.  In addition, there will be three- and eight-night Northern Europe itineraries, 11- to 16-night Mediterranean itineraries, or 10- to 14-night Madeira, Azores and Canary Islands itineraries.

Adventure of the Seas will remain at San Juan, Puerto Rico, to sail seven-night Southern Caribbean cruises throughout the summer season.

Prior to Explorer of the Seas' arrival in Southampton, she will undergo a ship-wide revitalization that will refurbish much of the ship.  This refurbishment will be similar to other refurbishments that have been taking place across Royal Caribbean's fleet.

Changes to Explorer of the Seas include 

• Addition of FlowRider surf simulator
• 3-D movie theater
• New specialty restaurants
• New staterooms and suites, including virtual balcony staterooms

Additional revitalization details will be unveiled at a later date.

UPDATE: We asked Royal Caribbean directly if the swap of Explorer of the Seas with Adventure of the Seas had anything to do with Adventure of the Seas' recent propulsion issues.  

Royal Caribbean responded promptly that, "The deployment of Explorer of the Seas to the UK is not associated with any issues with Adventure of the Seas. Stay tuned as the reason for Explorer of the Seas' deployment will become evident shortly."

Royal Caribbean has signed a contract with Mobimar to add the FlowRider surf simulator to Voyager of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas.  

Mobimar, a construction firm in Finland, also was contracted to add the FlowRider to Navigator of the Seas, which it already completed.

The FlowRiders will be installed on Voyager of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas later this year, with no specific date.  Voyager of the Seas is scheduled for a refurbishment in May 2014 and Explorer of the Seas will have her refurbishment in February 2015.

Each Flowrider module contains the surrounding stands, canopies, lights, water treatment system, Hi-Fog system, piping and cabling connections to the ship. The installation of each module requires approximately 30 days with minor advance preparation prior to entry into drydock.

Mobimar has been Royal Caribbean's partner for installing FlowRiders on its cruise ships since 2004 when it added them to Freedom of the Seas.  Mobimar is also working currently to add a FlowRider to Quantum of the Seas.

Tip of the hat to CruiseCurrents for the news.

The tests are in and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) confirmed that Norovirus was indeed the culprit in over 600 cruise passengers getting sick on Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas last month.

The CDC says the particular strain of Norovirus was identified as the GII.4 Sydney strain, which is named after originating in Australia.

Furthermore, the CDC confirmed today that it is the most common norovirus of about 20 different types in the country right now.  In fact, it affects many more people on land than on cruise ships.

In fact, according to the CDC, over 21 million people are infected with Norovirus each year with less than 1 percent of out breaks occuring on cruise ships.

The GII.4 Sydney strain was identified in 2012 in Sydney, Australia.

Jan Vinje, the head virologist who tested the Royal Caribbean germ samples in the CDC’s lab, said Americans should not postpone cruises because of this new norovirus strain. “When we did the math last time, and looked at the total number of voyages annually, maybe less than half a percent had outbreaks. They are perfectly safe.”

For its guests returning early on the Explorer of the Seas cruise that was struck by gastroenteritis, Royal Caribbean will give them compensation for not only the lost time but also the poor experience.

CNN reports that all passengers will get a 50% refund of their fare as well as a 50% future cruise credit.

Royal Caribbean is also giving passengers that were quarantined in their cabins due to the Norovirus-like symptoms an additional credit of one future cruise day for each day they were kept secluded.

On top of all this, Royal Caribbean is reimbursing any change fees imposed by the airlines to book travel home due to the early return.

More than 600 passengers reported feeling sick on the cruise, which has garnered headlines around the world.  Royal Caribbean made the decision to bring the ship back early to perform thorough sanitization of the ship.

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

The Centers for Diseas Control and Prevention is reporting that as of January 24, 2014, 281 of 3,050 passengers have reported symptoms that resemble norovirus.  In addition 22 of 1,165 crewmembers have reported symptoms.

Royal Caribbean is taking these actions to minimize the problem.

• Increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan
• Making announcements to both notify onboard passengers of the outbreak and encourage case reporting
• Collecting stool specimens from ill passengers and crew for submission to the CDC lab
• Making multiple daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the VSP
• Preparing additional crew members to join the ship mid-voyage to assist with case management and intensified sanitation procedures
• Consulting with CDC on plans for:
  • Passenger notification procedures and the planned delayed embarkation schedule in Bayonne, NJ on January 31, 2014,
  • Disembarkation plans for active cases, terminal and transport infection control procedures.

​As stated, the next Explorer of the Seas sailing on January 31, 2014 will be delayed for cleaning.

Unfortunately this is the second Royal Caribbean ship this month to suffer the effects of a norovirus outbreak, with Majesty of the Seas having one last week.

Norovirus causes symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain.  It's spread from person to person, through contaminated food or water, and by touching contaminated surfaces.  It's important for every cruise passenger on every cruise ship to take steps to avoid getting norovirus.

Royal Caribbean will move Explorer of the Seas out of Bayonne, New Jersey and right into Port Canaveral, Florida in November 2014.

Explorer of the Seas will offer a range of four- to nine-night Bahamas, and Western and Southern Caribbean vacations.  Explorer will join Freedom of the Seas and Enchantment of the Seas, which are based in Port Canaveral year-round.  Explorer of the Seas’ 2014 holiday season cruises from Port Canaveral are now open for sale.

Explorer of the Seas will sail four Western Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Port Canaveral through Jan. 4, 2015. On these five-night itineraries, guests call at Cozumel, Mexico, and Nassau, The Bahamas, or CocoCay and Cozumel. Vacationers also can choose two Southern Caribbean sailings on a nine-night itinerary that call at each of the ABC Islands and Labadee.

Additionally, a five-night Bahamas cruise, departing Dec. 13, 2014, will call at Nassau, Grand Bahamas Island and CocoCay. Guests on a special four-night sailing, departing Dec. 23, will call at Labadee on Christmas Day. The following eight-night Caribbean itinerary will herald in the New Year in St. Maarten, as well as call at San Juan, Puerto Rico, St. Croix and Labadee. Vacationers also can choose an extended 14-night Southern Caribbean itinerary, departing Nov. 1, 2014, which repositions Explorer of the Seas from Cape Liberty to Port Canaveral via the Southern Caribbean.

Explorer of the Seas, a Voyager class ship, had spent 8 consecutive years in the New York metro area.

The President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, met with executives from Royal Caribbean as part of his government plan to make the Dominican economy more based around tourism.

Medina was received by Captain Henrik Loy, captain of the cruise Explorer of the Seas while she was anchored in the Bay of Samana.

One of the objectives stated by the president is boost cruise tourism and work on a cruise ship terminal in the Dominican Republic.

Michael Ronan, Royal Caribbean Regional Vice President made ​​a presentation to foreign and domestic entrepreneurs, including  Federico Schad , Director of Services and Bay Cruise Tejera Rafael Blanco, president of Dominican Tourism Competitiveness Consortium.

It is the first time a Dominican president addressed a cruise ship operator in an effort promote this important form of tourism.