Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas experiences gastrointestinal virus outbreak

In:
13 Apr 2015

The Centers for Disease Control is reporting Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas experienced an outbreak of gastrointestinal sickness that affected 114 passengers and 2 crew members.

Those affected by the sickness experience symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.

Legend of the Seas is currently on a two week cruise that started on March 30 and continues until April 14, 2015.

Cruise lines are required to report the total number of gastrointestinal cases, with online updates posted when they account for more than 3 percent of passengers and crew.  The outbreak on Legend of the Seas is affecting 6.53% of the passengers and 0.27% of the crew.

Royal Caribbean is undertaking direction from the CDC to inhibit the sickness and prevent further outbreaks, including increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures making announcements to notify onboard passengers and crew of the outbreak, encourage case reporting, and encourage good hand hygiene.

Once Legend of the Seas returns to San Diego, CA, Royal Caribbean will provide additional cleaning crew to complete a thorough public and accommodation super-sanitization cleaning and disinfection, plan staged disembarkation for active cases to limit the opportunity of illness transmission to well guests, and plan for sanitation of terminal and transport infection control procedures.

Royal Caribbean releases 2015 Legend of the Seas Singapore itineraries

In:
22 Aug 2014

Royal Caribbean released the cruise itineraries for Legend of the Seas' Singapore season from June to November 2015.

Legend of the Seas is returning to Singapore after being homeported there from 2008 to 2013 and will offer a variety of three- to 10-night itineraries to destinations throughout Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Brunei, the Philippines, Hong Kong and Taiwan till November, as follows:

  • A 3-night cruise during the June school holidays that will call at Penang and Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang)
  • A 3-night cruise and 5-night cruise over the September school holidays that visit Penang, Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Bangkok (Laem Chabang) and Ko Samui
  • Two 10-night cruises to Ko Samui, Bangkok (Laem Chabang) (overnight), Sihanoukville, Nha Trang and Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My)
  • Three 10-night one-way cruises to Ko Samui, Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Sihanoukville, Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My), Nha Trang, Hue/Danang (Chan May) and Hong Kong
  • Two 10-night one-way cruises from Hong Kong to Taipei (Keelung), Manila, Boracay, Puerto Princesa, Kota Kinabalu. Bandar Seri Begawan (Muara) and Singapore.

There's also two consecutive 14-night itineraries in September, a southbound sailing from Singapore to Perth (Fremantle), Australia that will call at Kuala Lumpur (Port Klang), Langkawi, Phuket, Bali (Benoa), Lombok, Broome and Geraldton, followed by a northbound return to Singapore with the same ports-of-call.  

 

Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas to go to Australia in 2015-2016

In:
07 May 2014

Royal Caribbean will send Legend of the Seas to Brisbane, Australia for five months in 2015 through 2016.

Legend of the Seas will offer cruises throughout Southeast Asia.  She will start out in Singapore in summer season and then move to Brisbane for the winter.

Legend of the Seas will join Mariner of the Seas, Voyager of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas while in Australia.  

​The move is aimed at addressing the growing demand for cruises in the Australian cruise market.  This will be part of the largest deployment ever for Royal Caribbean to Australia.

Legend of the Seas 2015-2016 Southeast Asia and Australia cruises will go on sale May 21, 2014.

Royal Caribbean offering cruises from Oslo, Norway once again

In:
17 Sep 2013

Next year, Royal Caribbean will offer cruises out of the capital of Norway, Oslo, once again with 4 stops planned on Legend of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein commented on why Royal Caribbean is returning, "Norway is a wonderful country and an amazing destination, as people from all over the world want to visit. We have offered cruises often to Oslo in the past, and look forward to being here again."

Goldstein also pointed out cruises out of Oslo have the ability to sail to other ports in Norway, Sweden, Estonia, St. Petersburg and so on. In addition, ord are very special.

Royal Caribbean cruises from Norway will also have stops in Stavanger, Geiranger and Aalesund. There will be a 14-night transatlantic cruise that ends up in the United States

Part of the reason why Royal Caribbean may be offering Northern European cruises once more is because of the Euro crisis in Southern Europe.  In addition, Norway's popularity among tourists is on the rise from 1.9 million in 2011 to 2.5 million last year. This year it is expected that there will be 3 million passengers, according Visit Norway.

Royal Caribbean announces 2014 Northern Europe cruises

In:
10 Apr 2013

Royal Caribbean has unveiled their 2014 Northern Europe cruises that will sail out of Hamburg, Germany aboard Legend of the Seas.  

Legend of the Seas' 2014 Scandinavia and Baltic cruises from Hamburg will open for sale on April 11, 2013 with the 2014 Europe Cruisetours available for booking immediately.

Legend of the Seas is coming off its recent refurbishment where much of the ship was revitalized as part of the fleet-wide refurbishment that is ongoing.  

Royal Caribbean executive vice president of Global Sales and Marketing, Lisa Bauer, commented on the news, "“There is no better way for families and adventurous vacationers to experience Europe than with Royal Caribbean. Whether it’s aboard our world’s most innovative and award-winning ships or on one of our fascinating cruisetours, vacationers will be WOW’ed by a Europe vacation that can only be found with Royal Caribbean. Most of our ships have been recently revitalized and offer guests our newest exciting entertainment and the most contemporary onboard amenities, which together make for a most unforgettable Europe vacation.”

For the 2014 Hamburg sailings, Legend of the Seas will reposition from Stockholm to Hamburg on July 27, 2014, sailing an intriguing 14-night itinerary throughout the Baltic Sea that features a three-day call at St. Petersburg, Russia; a maiden call for the cruise line at Fredericia, Denmark; and a return to Klaipeda, Lithuania –last called in 2008. Throughout Aug. 2014, Legend of the Seas will sail every Sunday on a seven-night, roundtrip itinerary from Hamburg, calling at Oslo, Stavanger, Geiranger and Ǻlesund, before departing on Sept. 7 for a 16-night trans-Atlantic sailing to Cape Liberty Cruise Port in Bayonne, N.J. Alternatively, vacationers also can embark in Oslo for the seven-night, roundtrip Norway itinerary, or for the ship’s trans-Atlantic crossing. 

Legend of the Seas leaves Asia

In:
05 Apr 2013

Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas cruise ship left Singapore today, thus completing a four-year deployment in Asia.

Legend of the Seas had been operating in Asia since December 2008, where it called upon more than 40 ports in 13 countries.  Legend of the Seas also engaged in a $50 million renovation in Singapore recently.

Royal Caribbean managing director for Singapore, Jennifer Yap, commented on Legend's time in Asia, "Our Legend of the Seas has given our guests so many wonderful memories with the Royal Caribbean’s international style of cruising, innovative signature amenities and activities such as the rock-climbing wall and mini-golf, and most of all, her warm and friendly crew. Her presence in Asia over the years has played a significant role in creating greater market awareness for our brand and the attractions of cruising, in changing consumers’ mindset to see cruise ships as true destinations on their own and a top family-friendly vacation option with something onboard for everyone! We will definitely miss our ship here."

Legend of the Seas is currently engaged in a 14-night repositioning cruise to Dubai, where she will stop at ports in Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Oman along the way.  Afterwards, Legend of the Seas will go to Europe to offer Mediterranean cruises before going to the Caribbean next summer.

Replacing Legend of the Seas in Asia is the larger Mariner of the Seas, who will arrive in June for her maiden season.  Mariner of the Seas joins Voyager of the Seas in China this summer before heading back to Singapore at the end of 2013.

Photo of the Day: Voyager of the Seas meets Legend of the Seas in Singapore

In:
25 Mar 2013

Today's photo is from Singapore where Royal Caribbean's two cruise ships in Asia, Voyager of the Seas (left) and Legend of the Seas (right) both arrived at  Marina Bay Cruise Centre.  This is the first time both ships have been next to each other.

Voyager of the Seas, the largest cruise ship based in Asia, was starting on her 8-night cruise to Shanghai while her sister ship Legend of the Seas was leaving for a 2-night Malacca weekend cruise as part of her Singapore season.

Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas returns to Brunei

In:
25 Mar 2013

Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas arrived in Brunei for the first time in more than 10 years as part of a Borneo explorer cruise.  The cruise started in Singapore and includes stops in Kota Kinabalu and Puerto Princesa.

As part of the stop, officials in Brunei organized an official ceremony to welcome the cruise ship's return.  The ceremony was attended by Pg Haji Mohd Zain bin Pg Hj Abd Razak, acting director of Muara Port, port officers and media.

“We are pleased with the opportunity to call at Bandar Seri Begawan again, bringing our guests the best of Brunei at this interesting destination and giving a boost to the local tourism. Today, the cruising scene in Asia has much evolved and our Asian itineraries of Royal Caribbean International cater to international guests and even more so those from the region. Hence this is also a good chance for us to showcase Royal Caribbean’s renowned international style of cruising here,” said Kelvin Tan, Royal Caribbean’s regional director, Asia.

Brunei is a small nation on the island of Borneo, bordering Malaysia in Southeast Asia. 

Legend of the Seas docks at Puerto Princesa for first time

In:
19 Mar 2013

Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas docked for the first time at Puerto Princesa in the Philippines today as part of the cruise ship's seven-night "Borneo Explorer Cruise".  The cruise includes stops at Kota Kinabalu and Bandar Seri Begawan.  

The city's mayor, Edward Hagedorn, and local government officials welcomed the cruise ship at the port.

“We are proud to add yet another destination in the Philippines… to Legend of the Seas’ Asian season for her guests to explore and experience. Our successful call at Puerto Princesa today is the result of the strong effort and support of the Philippines government in terms of infrastructure building which marks a positive step in cruise development for the country,” said Marilen Sandejas-Yaptangco, Royal Caribbean’s representative in the Philippines.

“The maiden voyage of Legend of the Seas to Puerto Princesa is historical and we are glad that the visitors can experience the scenic beauty and hospitality of our people which will boost tourism in our country,” added Mayor Hagedorn.

Puerto Princesa is located on the island of Palawan and is best known for its Subterranean River National Park, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Legend of the Seas completes $50 million refurbishment

In:
07 Feb 2013

Royal Caribbean's Legend of the Seas emerged from a month-long $50 million refurbishment in Singapore yesterday and will resume cruises in Asia before returning to Europe.  The upgrades to Legend of the Seas are part of Royal Caribbean's fleet-wide upgrades to bring amenities from their Oasis-class cruise ships to all the ships.

Legend of the Seas refurbishment saw these additions to the ship

  • New speciality dining restaurants
    • Park Café
    • Chef’s Table
    • Chops Grille
    • Izumi Asian Cuisine
  • New bars
    • R Bar
    • Viking Crown Lounge nightclub
  • Outdoor movie screen
  • New and updated staterooms
  • flat-panel TVs
  • digital signage
  • bow-to-stern Wi-Fi

For the next few weeks, Legend of the Seas will offer Southeast Asia itineraries out of Singapore.  Beginning in April, the ship will sail a four night Southeast Asia itinerary roundtrip from Singapore and then reposition to Europe for the summer season. It will begin by sailing seven-night Western Mediterranean itineraries roundtrip from Rome.

Subscribe to Legend of the Seas