Royal Caribbean has added even more Vision of the Seas sailings from Galveston, Texas, with guests now able to book sailings through April 2018.

Royal Caribbean announced initial Vision of the Seas sailings for November and December 2017, but has now expanded those offerings to extend through April 2018.

Vision of the Seas will offer 4- and 5-night itineraries to destinations in the Western Caribbean, such as Costa Maya and Cozumel.

Vision of the Seas is the second Royal Caribbean ship offering cruises from Galveston, joining Liberty of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean added some new Vision of the Seas sailings in 2017, from Galveston, Texas.

The new sailings are available for booking now, and include 4- and 5-night cruises to destinations in Mexico.

Sailing dates begin on November 6, 2017 and extend through the end of December.

Royal Caribbean announced today it has changed deployment plans for which ship will be based in Cape Liberty, New Jersey, by replacing Rhapsody of the Seas with Vision of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean had announced in April that Rhapsody of the Seas would be based in the New York City area with Anthem of the Seas, but all of these previously announced Rhapsody of the Seas sailings have been canceled.

From May 20, 2017 through the end of October, Rhapsody will offer a variety of exciting 7-night round trip sailings from Venice, Italy.

At the conclusion of the Mediterranean season, Rhapsody will return to Tampa, Florida as planned and begin sailings on November 19, 2017.

On August 22, Vision of the Seas will offer a 16-night Transatlantic sailing from Copenhagen, Denmark to Cape Liberty, New Jersey with several calls in Denmark, Norway, Scotland and Iceland.

On September 7, Vision will offer a 13-night open jaw sailing from Cape Liberty, New Jersey to Quebec City, Canada.  The sailings departing from Cape Liberty on September 20, October 1, and October 11 will replace the previously planned sailings offered on Rhapsody and include calls in Boston, Massachusetts, as well as multiple ports in Maine and Nova Scotia.

Vision’s current fall Europe itineraries, including those departing from Venice, Italy from August 22, 2017 through November 17, 2017 will be canceled.

To accommodate guests booked on the affected sailings, Royal Caribbean will provide vacationers with a full refund of their cruise fare, the opportunity to re-book on another Royal Caribbean ship as well as an onboard credit to use during the newly booked sailing. In addition, vacationers who purchased airfare through Royal Caribbean will receive a full refund. Guests purchasing their own airfare will be given a refund for their airline change fee. All refund transactions will be automatically processed back to the original form of payment within four to six weeks. Commissions for travel agents will be protected for all cruises that are fully paid.

Guests requesting more information are asked to contact Royal Caribbean International’s customer service team at 1-800-256-6649 or their travel agent.

Royal Caribbean will be adding its high-speed internet service to Navigator of the Seas and Vision of the Seas at some time in May 2016.

Royal Caribbean UK confirmed via Twitter that the service, known as Voom, will be coming to both ships at sometime in May 2016.

@ZacharyCocker @RoyalCaribbean Hi Zachary, VOOM is available to Navigator in May.

— Royal Caribbean UK (@MyRoyalUK) April 25, 2016

@Mistyrobert Hi Robert, Vision will have VOOM from May onwards.

— Royal Caribbean UK (@MyRoyalUK) April 25, 2016

No word on which sailings will be the first for either ship that it will have Voom, but there is now confirmation these two ships are getting it.

Royal Caribbean rolled out new tiered internet plans last week for its Voom service and with that change, more Royal Caribbean ships are now offering the Voom service than were previously offered.

Voom has been spotted for sale on other Royal Caribbean ships that did not previously offer Voom, including Liberty of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas.

Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas skipped her scheduled stop at Labadee today because of concerns related to protests by locals in the area.

Photo by Michael C

Royal Caribbean confirmed that Vision of the Seas did not call on Labadee today.  Guests onboard Vision of the Seas have indicated the ship will head to San Juan earlier than expected.

For guests wondering what the future holds for upcoming scheduled stops in Labadee, Royal Caribbean is still planning on taking the situation in Labadee on a day by day basis.

Vision of the Seas marks the third time a Royal Caribbean ship has skipped a stop at Royal Caribbean's private destination since the protests began last week.

In a statement, Royal Caribbean commented further on the situation, "Royal Caribbean has not received any guarantees or assurances that there will not be any protests in the future. If a protest takes place while a ship is port, there would be a significant impact on our guests’ ability to enjoy Labadee, or we may have to cancel the visit completely."

In a blog post by Royal Caribbean CEO Adam Goldstein, two announcements were made that were direct results of passenger feedback.

First up was the request by Royal Caribbean fans for more Panama Canal cruises. Goldstein announced that Vision of the Seas was slated to originally offer Caribbean cruises will instead sail a set of Panama Canal cruises in the fall and spring.  The new Panama canal cruises will augment the other long Caribbean sailings already on the books.  

In addition, Goldstein announced that Royal Caribbean will offer gluten-free beer by the end of the year in all of its Irish pubs across the fleet.

Three cruise ship passengers from Royal Caribbean's Vision of the Seas won a court decision in Brazil after seeking compensation following a norovirus outbreak aboard the ship back in March 2010.

The ship departed from Port Santos, Brazil when 348 people onboard were contracted norovirus.  Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea were some of the symptoms experienced by the passengers, who resorted to the court system to be reimbursed for the damage.

The attorney that specializes in consumer law, Ferrette Sueli Maria Gomes, was approached by three passengers dissatisfied with the consequences of the outbreak. 

One of the plantiffs was Freire Lourdes Domingues, 79, who was infected and claims to have almost died because of the  norovirus. The other two passengers who sought legal action felt changed in Vision's itinerary caused greater injury to them since they were prevented from getting off the ship at their destinations.  The trip included stops in Buzios, in Rio de Janeiro and Ilhabela in São Paulo coast. 

According to the lawyer, setting the value to be paid for each passenger fell to the judge, as Royal Caribbean did not offer to make a deal. The only deal the company was offering was a 25% discount on a future trip. 

Royal Caribbean had to pay about $33,000, including punitive damages and reimbursement of passages (R$ 2,994.00 each). The compensation was increased to Lourdes, due to contracting gastroenteritis. She received $12,000 in damages only. The other two tourists won £6,000 each by the hassles. 

Among the complaints made by passengers, is there being only one doctor to serve the people, without priority for children and seniors. Furthermore, it was alleged that the norovirus can spread via unwashed food and water, which was a possible sign of poor hygiene. 

When asked about the ruling, Royal Caribbean said in a written statement it is appealing the verdict. Royal Caribbean also announced that as soon as the symptoms were detected on board the Vision of the Seas,  the ship immediately reported the incident to the ANVISA and "took all actions necessary to ensure the welfare of the guests on board." 

The company also noted that viral outbreaks can not be directly related to the ship. "A virus from external sources can be installed on the vessel human transmission and thus did not cause any problems as food and water on the ship."

Royal Caribbean also mentioned that all ships coming to Brazil are subject to the control of various organs and meet strict standards, controls and taxes from international organizations. 

Photo by Vegard Elias Antonsen

Due to a maritime pilot strike in Oslo, Norway, Royal Caribbean has been forced to adjust Vision of the Seas' itinerary slightly.

Vision of the Seas will call at Geiranger, Norway, today as planned, then spend Friday at sea and conclude its sailing in Gothenburg, Sweden, on Saturday.  Vision was originally scheduled to end its cruise in Oslo but passengers will instead transported by  bus to Oslo.

Brilliance of the Seas will call on Bergen, Norway, today as scheduled, spend Friday at sea and conclude its sailing in Amsterdam, Netherlands, on Saturday as scheduled.

The strike impacts cruise ships because pilots boats are not able to go out and meet ships, and thus ships that require a compulsory pilot to navigate within local waters cannot sail into the Norwegian ports.