Royal Caribbean will send Voyager of the Seas to dock in Keelung, Taiwan as part of its Asian itinerary in late August.

Lin Kai-ti, chairman of Royal Caribbean's Taiwan branch confined that Voyager of the Seas will bring its 3,800 passengers to the port later this year.

Voyager of the Seas has already been to Singapore in May and will make stop in Keelung across three cruises going from August through September. In addition to Keelung, the liner will take travelers to China's Shanghai and Tianjin, Japan's Fukuoka, and Jeju Island in South Korea.

Since launching Royal Caribbean Australia and New Zealand's Facebook page in April, they've received 10,000 likes and the company rewarded one lucky fan with a dream cruise.

Sheree Oakes of Glenmore Park has won a cruise aboard Voyager of the Seas' inaugural cruise when she arrives in Sydney this November.  Sheree was announced the winner of the ‘Share, Like and Win’ competition which asked fans to list their top three cruising destinations - she listed Europe, Alaska and Bahamas as top of her list.

“I’m so excited about this cruise, and I usually never win anything! I recently went on a cruise on Radiance of the Seas and now I tell all of my friends to cruise with Royal Caribbean. When you go on a cruise everything is there, it’s all done for you, so there’s no rushing and you get some real time to rest and relax.”   

Voyager of the Seas has become the largest cruise ship to ever dock at Port Rashid in Dubai after arriving this morning.

Voyager sailed from Barcelona on April 30 and stopped in Alexandria, Egypt and then passed through the Suez Canal on her way to Dubai.

Voyager of the Seas is making a stop in Dubai as she makes her way to Asia to re-locate to the region.  This summer, Royal Caribbean has plans to have Voyager of the Seas offer cruises out of Singapore and Shanghai with a series of 4 to 7-night itineraries to ports of call in Southeast Asia, Japan and South Korea.  Following those cruises, Voyager of the Seas will head south to Australia and New Zealand.

Royal Caribbean is offering its broadest range ever of itineraries in Australia and New Zealand come summer 2013-2014.  For the second consecutive cruise season, Voyager Of The Seas, Radiance Of The Seas And Rhapsody Of The Seas will offer cruises to the region.

Voyager of the Seas will offer 53 distinctive itineraries along with the recently revitalized Radiance of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas.  In total, Royal Caribbean will offer 55 cruises at 56 Australian, New Zealand and South Pacific ports, with departures from September 2013 to April 2014.

Royal Caribbean commercial manager for Australia, Adam Armstrong, commented on the news, "It’s with great pleasure that we can confirm that sister ships, Voyager of the Seas, Radiance of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas, will be back to wow Australian cruisers in summer 2013-14. For the next two summer cruise seasons, Royal Caribbean International will be the largest cruise line operating out of Sydney, and these newly revitalised “premierships” will offer the very latest in cruising – experiences guests previously had to travel to other parts of the world to have."

“We’ve added more cruises on Australia’s first megaliner Voyager of the Seas and some new itineraries across the entire fleet to ensure that there are even more options to suit different lifestyles and needs. It’s our widest ever range of cruises Down Under."

Voyager of the Seas will reposition from Singapore to Sydney on a 14-night cruise in late October 2013 that begins with an overnight in Singapore and calls at Port Keland for Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Darwin and Brisbane, Australia. The ship then homeports at Sydney for nine sailings to New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia. These cruises range from nine to 14 nights.

A nine-night Tasmania cruise in early February 2014 features an overnight at Hobart on a one-time-only itinerary. At the end of the season, Voyager of the Seas will sail an 18-night Australia and New Zealand itinerary to Perth before returning to the Far East on a 14-night sailing in late March to Singapore via Bangkok.

Radiance of the Seas and Rhapsody of the Seas also homeport at Sydney from October 2013 to early May 2014, and will operate a wide variety of itineraries ranging from seven to 15 nights.

The cruises visit Australia’s Tasmania and Queensland, New Zealand, Fiji and New Caledonia. Radiance of the Seas will circumnavigate Australia twice with a 16-night north coast and a 17-night south coast and New Zealand itinerary.

Pacific crossings between Vancouver, BC and Sydney bookend both ships’ Australia season. These are a 12-night Hawaii and a 16- or 17-night South Pacific sailing, departing Sept. 13, 2013 and April 10, 2014 aboard Radiance of the Seas, and Sept. 6, 2013 and April 18, 2014 aboard Rhapsody of the Seas. 

About 200 passengers aboard Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas contracted norovirus while the ship was still docked in New Orleans.  The outbreak delayed Voyager of the Seas' departure by two hours.

A report says 20 of the 200 passengers had to be quarantined due to their condition.

Crew aboard Voyager of the Seas spent an extra two hours cleaning the ship.

Royal Caribbean's Chairman Richard Fain has personally looked around the new International Cruise Terminal in Singapore and likes what he sees.

Fain has been told that the new terminal will be ready for the arrival of Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas when she arrives on May 26 for her debut in Asia.  Previously the Singapore Tourism Board had only indicated that the new terminal would be ready in the second quarter of 2012.

"Because the ship is coming in late May, I was assured the terminal would be ready for the voyage of the ship," Fain said. "It's also very efficient. That's important in the cruise industry. It's gratifying to see how well-thought through the logistics are: How passengers come in, how luggage is handled, the supplies to the ship. There are commodious areas to handle all the activities that need to be attended to. They are all well-thought out in a progressive way."

Voyager of the Seas' first cruise from Dubai to Singapore is already sold out, which has exceeded expecations according to Fain.

Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas debuted from her new winter port of New Orleans, Louisiana this week.  Voyager of the Seas will sail out of New Orleans from now through April 2012.

The first day of operations in the big easy didn't go as well as planned, as there were reports of issues at the port.   Evidently there were some issues with the newly renovated cruise ship terminal due to the arrival of about 3000 passengers.  The overwhelming issues caused hours-long traffic jams around the port as well as lines that went back into the street from noon until long after 5pm.  In addition, there were check-in computer meltdowns and slow security checkpoints.

Voyager's departure from New Orleans was originally scheduled for 4pm, but was delayed until 8pm.

Photo by Donato D'Addosio S.

Voyager of the Seas made her last stop in Bari, Italy this season before she heads west to Caribbean.  In 2012, however, Bari will become the new port of embarkation for Royal Caribbean, according to Royal Caribbean Italy's General Manager John Rotondo.

"To confirm the growing interest in Royal Caribbean towards the Italian market and the role very strategic city of Bari, it has been announced that next year Bari will become the port of embarkation for ships of the group, with significant benefits for tourism in the city, natural gateway to discover the beauty and culture of Puglia. "