Royal Caribbean International announced today that Australia will welcome the Ovation of the Seas as she homeports in Sydney for winter 2016-17. The Ovation had previously been announced as going to China when she launches in 2016, and it was thought the deployment there would be year-round. Now, the ship seems set to rotate between China and Australia.

“Royal Caribbean has been breaking the boundaries in Australian cruising since we arrived in 2007 but today, we have completely changed the face of the cruise industry, making the single largest investment in Australia by any cruise line,” said Gavin Smith, regional vice president, Royal Caribbean, Asia Pacific. “Ovation of the Seas will completely redefine the idea of cruising in Australia, taking the industry to the next level by offering a host of incredible never-before-seen features and technologies. This demonstrates our belief in, and long term commitment to, the Australian cruising market.”

Ovation of the Seas will be the fifth ship in the Royal Caribbean Australian fleet for winter 2016-17, joining four other Royal Caribbean ships – Voyager of the Seas, Explorer of the Seas and Radiance of the Seas in Sydney and Legend of the Seas in Brisbane.

Additional details for the Royal Caribbean’s winter 2016-17 season will be revealed at the end of April.