Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas is about to get a ship-wide refurbishment that will give it brand new upgrades that will enhance the guest experience and breathe new life into this ship that will be sailing in Australia.

Voyager of the Seas will get a number of new features including

• FlowRider surf simulator
• Virtual balcony staterooms
• 3D cinema
• New specialty restaurants
  • Izumi
  • New Chops Grille menu
  • Giovanni's Table
• Champagne Bar will become R-Bar
• New Diamond Lounge
• Stem-to-stern WiFi
• Digital signage wayfinders

The new refurbishment will take place in October 2014.

Royal Caribbean is once again moving deeper into Asia by establishing an office in Hong Kong to compliment the company's offices in Beijing and Shanghai.

In addition, Voyager of the Seas will be homeported in Hong Kong for 22 cruises next summer.  Voyager of the Seas had previously sailed out of Shanghai and Beijing when previously sailing out of China.

Voyager of the Seas will offer a six-night cruise out of Beijing (Tianjin) on June 26, 2015, where she will sail to her new homeport of Hong Kong.  Voyager of the Seas will remain in Hong Kong through October 2015 and offer cruises of three- to ten-night sailings.

Voyager of the Seas will visit Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, as well as destinations in China.

When Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas stops in for its revitalization, it will take place at Sembcorp Marine's Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore.

Currently the shipyard expects Voyager of the Seas in for its work in the fourth quarter of 2014.

Kevin Douglas, Vice President of Technical Projects and Newbuild for Royal Caribbean said, "Sembawang Shipyard is a very technically competent and efficient shipyard, and, as such, is one of our preferred partners. We are very happy to work with them again as part of Royal Caribbean International's ongoing fleetwide revitalization. The shipyard will help introduce on Voyager of the Seas many of the innovative and most popular onboard amenities that debuted on the Oasis-class of ships, as well as brand new innovative concepts that will greatly elevate the experience for our guests."

This isn't the first Royal Caribbean ship to get work done here.  Sembawang Shipyard carried did the revitalization work on Rhapsody of the Seas in 2012 and the Legend of the Seas in 2013.

The revitalization work being done on Voyager of the Seas is part of a fleet-wide effort to upgrade all of its cruise ships to add features and amenities first found on its Oasis-class of ships.

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.

Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas, the largest cruise ship in Australia, has returned to Sydney today to begin her second season there.

Voyager of the Seas will offer a two-night "sampler" cruise before embarking on a 14-day cruise to the Pacific Islands and New Zealand before returning to Sydney.

Luke Aerowsmith, Voyager of the Seas' cruise director, says the ship's offerings are catered towards the Australian passengers' tastes.

"We have fewer deck chairs out on deck for Australians," he said. "Brits like to spend all day lying in the sun but Australians don't. But they do like to have a barbecue out on the deck so we'll do that.

Voyager of the Seas is based in China during the northern summer and travelled to Sydney via Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Darwin and Brisbane.

Adam Armstrong, Royal Caribbean's commercial director for Asia-Pacific, says the company would like to bring more big ships to Australia, but the country's infrastructure lags behind the needs of modern megaliners.

"We really need to be catering for more of these big ships," Armstrong said. "Rather than them being an anomaly, making one call every two weeks as it is with this ship, we want the facilities in Sydney to be capable of taking big ships every day of the week, every year. So there is a bit of catch-up to be done."

Royal Caribbean announced today its summer 2014 season for Mariner of the Seas and Voyager of the Seas, continuing sailings from Shanghai (Baoshan), Beijing (Tianjin), Hong Kong, and Singapore.  The two ships will offer cruises to South Korea, Japan or Taiwan.

From March 2014 through November 2014, Mariner of the Seas will offer roundtrip cruises out of Shanghai (Baoshan) on three- to six-night itineraries that call at Seoul (Incheon), Busan, Jeju Island, or Yeosu (Gangyang). The ship’s summer season will conclude with an eight-night sailing from Shanghai (Baoshan) to Singapore, departing Nov. 4, 2014, with ports of call at Xiamen and Hong Kong, China, and Ho Chi Minh City (Phu My), Vietnam.

The summer 2014 season for Voyager of the Seas will begin with a 10-night itinerary departing Singapore on April 10 to Tokyo, Japan, with calls at Hong Kong, Kaohsiung and Taipei (Keelung), Taiwan, and Nagasaki, Japan. Voyager will then sail a six-night South Korea and Nagoya (Japan) itinerary, roundtrip from Tokyo on April 20, followed by two Japan cruises, a four-night itinerary from Tokyo to Taipei (Keelung) departing May 5, and a seven-night roundtrip itinerary from Taipei (Keelung) departing May 9.

From June through September 2014, Voyager of the Seas will sail four- to six-night Korea itineraries roundtrip from Beijing (Tianjin), and call at Seoul (Incheon), Yeosu (Gangyang), Busan, and Jeju Island, South Korea. The ship will then sail a seven-night Japan and Korea cruise from Beijing (Tianjin) to Hong Kong on Sept. 10, followed by four-, five- and seven-night Japan and Taiwan cruises roundtrip from Hong Kong throughout Sept. and early Oct. 2014.

Lisa Bauer, Royal Caribbean executive vice president of Global Sales and Marketing, commented on the announcement, "We are delighted to offer Asia vacations that cannot be found anywhere except on Royal Caribbean’s Voyager of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas.  Guests of all ages will enjoy the DreamWorks Experience, a wide range of signature Royal Caribbean onboard amenities, and our award-winning entertainment and family programming. Throughout, every member of the staff and crew will deliver our world-renowned friendly and engaging GOLD Anchor Service on an unforgettable Asia vacation."

Royal Caribbean has reached an agreement to have UK based Oceans TV provide in-cabin entertainment for use onboard Voyager of the Seas while she is in China.

Voyager of the Seas will now offer in all of its staterooms popular Chinese movies, including the highest grossing domestic Chinese movie of all time, Lost in Thailand.

In addition to movies, Oceans TV supplies cruise lines with satellite TV channels, live TV events, international movies, promotional videos, safety films and portable entertainment systems such as the iPad.

This is the first time Oceans TV has licensed movies to the cruise industry.

Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas made her first ever stop in Tokyo over the weekend, which begins a season of stops to Japan's capital. 

Voyager of the Seas arrived from Shanghai, China and will be based in a Japanese port for the first time.  She will offer Tokyo sailings ranging from 5 to 6 nights visiting Busan, Jeju and Nagasaki until early May, including one cruise chartered by Club Tourism, a major tour operator in Japan.

As part of Voyager of the Seas' first stop in Tokyo, a traditional plaque exchange between Voyager of the Seas' Captain, Charles Teige and Mitsuchika Tarao, Director General, Bureau of Port & Harbor, Tokyo.

Royal Caribbean’s Regional Director, Asia Pacific Mr Kelvin Tan said, “We are proud to bring Voyager of the Seas to Japan to let our fans here experience directly from home Royal Caribbean’s signature international and innovative cruising style. Japan is one of our top markets in Asia, and we are very encouraged by the strong response from this market for these cruises. We will continue to work with our Japanese representatives, agents and partners to bring more of such cruises to Japan.”

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 Voyager of the Seas arrival in Singapore on Saturday marked the end of its cruise season in Australia.  The massive cruise ship had started offering cruises in Australia in November, when she became the first single cruise ship to carry more than 3000 passengers to Sydney.

Adam Armstrong, Royal Caribbean commercial directory for Australia, described the public's response to Voyager of the Seas as, "phenomonal".

"Judging from the feedback from our guests and trade partners, they can't wait to see her again for the 2013/14 summer season," he said.

During her time down under, Voyager of the Seas transported 40,000 passengers with every single cruise full.  Of the 40,000 passengers, about 85% were from Australia or New Zealand.

"Voyager of the Seas is a big ship, and her size and calibre was only previously available in the Caribbean or Europe. This has meant big things for Australia," Armstrong said.

Armstrong mentioned that Voyager of the Seas had a big impact on Sydney's local economy, with approximately a $25 million contribution along with around $40 million to the overall Australian economy.

Voyager of the Seas will return to Australia in the 2013/14 summer cruise season with four new itineraries and two additional sailings, boosting its program by 10%.