Mother Nature Strikes Again, 3 Days Lost For Explorer Of The Seas Guests !

The Explorer Of The Seas has been re-routed due to storms, the ship is currently sailing its last Europe Voyage for the season before heading to Miami. This is what Royal have emailed to passengers affected.

We’ve been carefully monitoring four storms with our Chief Meteorologist, James Van Fleet, that have impacted the current Explorer of the Seas sailing, which in turn impacts our route while crossing the Transatlantic. These storms are large, growing, and moving quickly, at different times. Unfortunately, when one passes, the other makes its way into our path. So, to avoid rough seas and a bumpy journey, we were forced to change our current itinerary, causing the ship to arrive in Southampton on November 8th, instead of November 5th. As a result, we’ll set sail on November 8th and we’ll visit Philipsburg, St. Maarten as we make our way to Miami, Florida.

This now means that the guests currently onboard the Explorer Of The Seas will have an extra 3 nights, this might seem like a good thing but when you have to get back home for work, pets and have booked travel from Southampton it’s not ideal!

Guests now sailing from Southampton on the transatlantic crossing were meant to be visiting St Kitts, Dominica, Barbados & Antigua, they are now not visiting any of these posts! they will have 1 day in port which will be St Maarten. There are going to be a lot of disappointed guests, most people are backing into a corner as they will have booked onward travel plans after Miami so therefore still have to travel on the ship regardless.

For customers who wish to Cancel they will receive a refund in the form of a Future Cruise Credit, again something I think will cause an uproar! If you wish to continue with the sailing you will receive an onboard credit amount equal 3 days cruise fare, excluding taxes and fees. Guests will also receive a future cruise credit for the same amount. If you purchased an internet or beverage package, unlimited dining package, or pre-paid your gratuities, you’ll receive a prorated refund for the shortened 3 days.
Any pre-purchased Royal Caribbean International shore excursions for the missed ports will also be refunded as an onboard credit.

It’s a shame but at the end of the day, it’s all about the safety of passengers.