Royal Caribbean's Explorer of the Seas will be featured in a new television show on the Nine Network in Australia as part of a new commercial partnership.

The one-hour primetime special, "Australia's Mega Cruise Ship" will show off Explorer of the Seas and will air on January 28 at 7:30pm in Australia.

The show will air on Nine Network and be hosted by Natalie Gruzlewski and will look at what a typical sailing offers its guests.

Gruzlewski will take guests into all corners of the ship, showcasing many of the stateroom categories and public features including the restaurants, theatre and Flowrider surfing simulator. Viewers will also check-in regularly with a family of four and an experienced cruise couple as they enjoy their real-life holidays, looking at many of the activities suited to each demographic.

Royal Caribbean is celebrating Australia Day by launching a new cruise sale for five days, the Mega Ships, Mega Sale, on sailings throughout Australia and the South Pacific.

Guests booking cruises on select sailings can pick from 'guarantee' staterooms (category Z, Y and X). The exact stateroom grade, number and location on the ship will be allocated at the discretion of Royal Caribbean International. 

The offer is valid on new bookings made between January 25 - 29, 2016 for the following ships

• Explorer of the Seas voyages departing 14-Feb-16 & 21-Mar-16.
• Legend of the Seas voyages departing 18-Feb-16 & 26-Feb-16.
• Radiance of the Seas voyage departing 12-Mar-16.
• Voyager of the Seas voyages departing 19-Feb-16, 27-Feb-16 & 05-Mar-16 only. 

Offer is applicable to Interior (category Z), Oceanview (category Y) and Balcony (category X) staterooms only.

Please ensure that promotion name ‘MegaSale’ is listed in the reservation at time of booking.

A limited number of staterooms are available at the prices shown. Once sold out, prices may be increased, withdrawn or further reduced without notice. Any eligible booking that is cancelled and then reinstated after 29 January 2016 will no longer be eligible for the promotion. Any booking that is modified after the promotion has ended will result in the loss of the promotion. Examples of changes that will result in the promotion being forfeited include, but are not limited to: change of ship, sail date, category booked, amending the travel agency ID or selecting an alternate price/promotion. 

We wrapped up a busy week of Royal Caribbean fun, but if you missed any of it, we have it all wrapped up nicely for you in this weekly news round-up!

Unfortunately two Royal Caribbean ships were unable to stop in Labadee this week due to peaceful protests preventing guests from enjoying the private destination.

Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas and Navigator of the Seas both opted for sea days instead of allowing guests to go ashore in Labadee because of the protests. 

It is Royal Caribbean's policy that if a protest takes place while a ship is port, there would be a significant impact on guests’ ability to enjoy Labadee they may have to cancel the visit completely.

Royal Caribbean News

• Two Royal Caribbean ships had their itineraries changed due to Snowstorm Jonas.
• We have the 2017-2018 Royal Caribbean deployment schedule dates to share.
• Royal Caribbean has scaled back Majesty of the Seas' refurbishment plans.
• New photos of Liberty of the Seas' refurbishment progress.
• We also have photos showing Harmony of the Seas construction progress.
• Everything you need to know about Central Park.
• Royal Caribbean signed a deal with China's Forbidden City this week.
• Royal Caribbean was named Best General Cruise Company at the Irish Travel Awards.
• Photo tour of the Category A1 stateroom on Oasis of the Seas.
• What you can expect to encounter on embarkation day.

Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast

The 129th episode of the Royal Caribbean Blog Podcast is now available and this week, and we are sharing a listener review of their cruise on Oasis of the Seas.

In this episode, Matt welcomes Bryon to talk about his experience on Oasis of the Seas and share what their first Royal Caribbean experience was like.

Please feel free to subscribe via iTunes or RSS, and head over to rate and review the podcast on iTunes if you can! We’d appreciate it.

Announcing our Fall 2016 Royal Caribbean Blog Group Cruise!

We are so excited to announce our fall 2016 group cruise plans for readers and staff of RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com aboard Freedom of the Seas. This is an exclusive group where we are inviting you, our readers, to join us on the beautiful Freedom of the Seas on an 7-night cruise to the Western Caribbean.

This Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise is all about enjoying this brand new ship with other fans who are big fans of Royal Caribbean.  Don't miss this opportunity to check out this fabulous cruise ship as well as be a part of exclusive events for those that book with our group!

For more details on booking the cruise, the itinerary and prices, check out the Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise page and if you have any questions, email me!

Royal Caribbean Around the Internet

Bloomberg interviewed Royal Caribbean Chairman and CEO Richard Fain about the cruise industry and the Chinese economy.

Beyond Ships has a photo tour of Serenade of the Seas.

Cruise Critic has a look at 3 things they loved (and 2 they didn't) about Freedom of the Seas refurbishment.

Sherman Cruise has a look at the food Chef Michael Schwartz brings to Anthem of the Seas.

Cruise & Ferry has an interview with Royal Caribbean CEO Michael Bayley.

Royal Caribbean's Liberty of the Seas is currently in drydock at Freeport, Bahamas undergoing an impressive refurbishment and we found some new photos to share that hint at the changes coming.

Royal Caribbean has divulged the details of the refurbishment, but typically does not share looks at the work underway.

Here are four photos that show off Liberty of the Seas undergoing her revitalization work.  We cannot wait to see the finished work!

Here they are! #AzamaraJourney and #LibertyOfTheSeas #ShipLife getting an upgrade. Aqui estão os dois. #Azamara Jo… pic.twitter.com/jLLza5LHPF

— Rodrigo B Gonzalez (@bragancaphoto) January 19, 2016

My 164,000 ton home suspended up out of the water in Freeport #Bahamas. Dry dock begins! #libertyoftheseas #royalcrewlife #freeballininfreeport

A photo posted by Peter Ricardo (@peteraricardo) on Jan 13, 2016 at 12:29pm PST

"It's not a photo is a video..." #Freeport #Bahamas #LibertyOfTheSeas #DryDock #Work #WorkFlow #LifeAtSea #LifeIsGood #MakingMoney #Azipod #CruiseShip

A video posted by Ramón Melendez (@melen_10) on Jan 16, 2016 at 10:10am PST

Royal Caribbean's eagerly awaited deployment opening schedule appears to be available for its world wide cruise itineraries.

A new Royal Caribbean document points to when Royal Caribbean will post the deployments for regions around the world.

• Week of February 22, 2016
  • Alaska & Cruisetours
• Week of February 29, 2016
  • Europe & Transatlantics
• Week of March 7, 2016
  • Caribbean, Bahamas & Northeast
• Week of March 21, 2016
  • Australia & Singapore

All itineraries and openings are subject to change without notice. 

Deployment schedules gives consumers an idea of when to expect particular cruise schedules to become available to start looking at future cruises.

Royal Caribbean has been forced to change the itinerary for some of its cruise ships due to the path of Snowstorm Jonas.

Grandeur of the Seas will return to Baltimore, Maryland, one day later than originally scheduled. The next sailing will now begin on Monday, January 25. Guests on the upcoming cruise should arrive to the terminal on Monday. A letter with additional details on Grandeur’s itinerary will be provided at check in.

Anthem of the Seaswill return to Cape Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, one day later than originally scheduled. The next sailing will now begin on Tuesday, January 26. Guests on the next sailing should arrive to the terminal on Tuesday during their scheduled check in time. A letter with additional details on Anthem’s itinerary will be provided to guests at check in.

Royal Caribbean will continue to closely monitor weather conditions and will update this information if there are any changes.