Royal Caribbean released its summer 2017 itineraries today and bookings for the European season will open on Friday, March 4, 2016.

Here is a breakdown of the deployments by ship.

Jewel of the Seas

Jewel of the Seas will sail from Italy on seven- and nine-night voyages that visit Greece and Turkey, as well as seven-night sailings through the Western Mediterranean – offered more frequently with additional departures dates in 2017 – visiting France, Spain and Italy.

Freedom of the Seas

Freedom of the Seas will host guests on seven-night sailings through the Western Mediterranean, departing from Barcelona, Spain.

Brilliance of the Seas

Brilliance of the Seas will offer eight European destinations with a 12-night itinerary, departing from Barcelona, Spain.

Independence of the Seas

Independence of the Seas will sail the Mediterranean and the Spanish Canary Islands from Southampton, England with itineraries that extend from 7 to 14 nights.

Navigator of the Seas

Navigator of the Seas will sail the Mediterranean and the Spanish Canary Islands from Southampton, England with itineraries that extend from 7 to 14 nights.

Serenade of the Seas & Vision of the Seas

Both ships will head to northern Europe with a checklist of ports that includes Copenhagen, Denmark, Tromso, Norway and Stockholm, Sweden.

2017 Europe Adventure Collection Deployment Summary Guide

Watch this time-lapse video Royal Caribbean released of the North Star installation on Ovation of the Seas at Meyer Werft Shipyard in Germany.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has reported 3% of the guests and 1% of the crew aboard Royal Caribbean's Anthem of the Seas have reported being ill during the February 21 - March 4, 2016 voyage.

The CDC report shows 125 guests and 16 crew members reported symptoms, such as vomiting or diarrhea.

In response to the outbreak, Royal Caribbean and the crew aboard the ship reported the following actions:

• Increasing cleaning and disinfection procedures according to their outbreak prevention and response plan,
• Collecting stool specimens from passenger and crew gastrointestinal illness cases for testing,
• Making daily reports of gastrointestinal illness cases to the VSP,
• Sending 4 Hotel and Housekeeping Operations Managers, 3 Public Health staff, one nurse from the cruise line corporate office to oversee and assist with implementation of the sanitation and outbreak response procedures,
• Sending 10 additional internal cleaning crew and 10 contract cleaning staff and equipment to the ship to assist in the execution of the ship’s outbreak response,
• Consulting with CDC on plans for their comprehensive sanitation procedures in Bayonne, NJ, including:
  • planning staged disembarkation for active cases to limit the opportunity of illness transmission to well guests, and
  • planning for sanitation of terminal and transport infection control procedures.

Two CDC Vessel Sanitation Program environmental health officers and an epidemiologist will board the ship in Bayonne, NJ on March 2, 2016 to conduct an environmental health assessment and evaluate the outbreak and response activities. Specimens have been collected and will be sent to CDC for testing.

Anthem of the Seas voyage was cut short, but Royal Caribbean reports the reasoning was not the illness, but a forecasted storm in the path of the ship.

Some #AnthemoftheSeas guests have experienced norovirus symptoms. About 10 per day from 6,000 total pop. Didn't affect decision to return.

— RCLcorp (@RCLcorp) February 29, 2016

We're counting down the days until Harmony of the Seas debuts later this year with our 99 days of Harmony blog series. Each day we will post something about Harmony of the Seas to share with all of you!

Coastal Kitchen

Suite and guests and Pinnacle members can take advantage of a restaurant just for them aboard Harmony of the Seas, Coastal Kitchen.

Coastal Kitchen is a relatively new restaurant concept for Royal Caribbean, centered around the the idea of combining Mediterranean influences with California fresh food.

Royal Caribbean designed the restaurant to be all about fresh food. From Pacific Coast favorites like sea bass ceviche, to the Central Valley’s sliced avocado and homemade blueberry pie, to Med-inspired tastes like Serrano ham, whipped goat cheese and roasted grapes.

With seating for 135, simple décor, earth tones, wood accents and a vibrant, sunny ambiance, Coastal Kitchen is both casual and elegant, and brings a relaxed Californian feel to the Harmony of the Seas.

Coastal Kitchen will feature gourmet California-Mediterranean fare that are healthy and made with the freshest ingredients.

Of course, California is also known for its wines and at Coastal Kitchen you will find an extensive selection of vintages await by the glass or bottle from Napa as well as Tuscany.

Coastal Kitchen is a complimentary restaurant available to guests in Sea Class or Junior Suites. It will be included in your cruise fare and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post as we celebrate 99 days of Harmony!

The world's most innovative cruise ship, Ovation of the Seas nears completion as she floats out from Meyer Werft Shipyard in Germany.

Royal Caribbean Australia and New Zealand experienced a record-breaking first month of the year. January 2016 has seen the biggest month for sales since the company opened its local offices, eight years ago.

Bookings for its three brands – Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Club Cruises – reached an all-time high, with an increase of 50 per cent in new bookings compared to the same period last year.

January 2016 also outperformed Royal Caribbean's previous record breaking month for bookings – June last year, when Australasia’s first ever new-build and the biggest ship to ever be based in Australia, Ovation of the Seas, went on sale – by 30 percent. 

In particular, the last week in January saw Royal Caribbean bookings almost double year-on-year.

“We said it would be a record-breaking summer and we’re excited to see booking volumes beat our own projections. Australia’s appetite for cruising with us continues on a very positive trajectory, driven by strong early booking offers and the biggest and best ships in the region,” said Adam Armstrong, regional commercial director for Asia/Pacific.

“In response to the increasing demand, this season we introduced three new ships – Explorer of the Seas, Legend of the Seas and Azamara Quest – as well as a brand new cruise line in Azamara Club Cruises; so for the first time, we have our trifecta of three brands sailing down under. All up, that represents 20% of RCL’s worldwide fleet – a very significant number and a testament to the strength of the Australian cruising market,” Adam continued.

Bookings on international sailings have shown substantial increases year on year; Alaska cruise bookings grew by more than 25% and Asia sailings increased by 10% when compared to the same month last year. But the most significant increase is reflected in local sailings – in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific – where bookings increased by more than 65% in January 2016 compared to January 2015.

The arrival of Explorer of the Seas made a big impact, with it and sister-ship Voyager of the Seas recording a third of all bookings created in January.

Royal Caribbean is updating and simplifying its cancellation policy, in an effort to make the entire policy simpler to understand.

In a nutshell, the penalty schedule has been reduced from four unique schedules to now two penalty periods. In addition, for sailings 5-nights or longer, the cancellation period has been moved up from 75 days prior-to-sailing to 90 days prior-to-sailing.

The new cancellation guidelines will take effect beginning March 7, 2016. Individual and group reservations created after March 7th, 2016 will be impacted by this change.

Royal Caribbean decided to adjust its cancellation policy, "in an effort to better align with industry standards and to make the schedule simpler and more concise." The timing of this announcement was selected to coincide with the 2017/2018 deployment opening schedule.