In early 2015, Explorer of the Seas received major upgrades, including the replacement of the inline skating rink with a Flowrider surfing simulator and increasing her tonnage to 138,194 GT.

[13] After dry-dock refurbishment in the spring of 2015, Explorer began to sail Northern Europe, Mediterranean, and Madeira, Azores and Canary Islands itineraries out of Southampton, Hampshire, United Kingdom.

[16] On 16 February 2008, while en route from Bayonne, New Jersey, on a nine-day cruise to the Caribbean the bridge crew heard a faint mayday call over the radio.

[19] On 24 January 2014, 281 passengers and 22 crew members aboard Explorer of the Seas fell ill, reporting symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea.

Due to the number of passengers sick, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sent a Sanitation Program Officer and an epidemiologist to the ship on Sunday, 26 January 2014, when it was docked in St.

[24] On 4 November 2019, the ship was forced to delay her arrival back in Southampton due to the heavy storms battering Western Europe.

[25] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that at least one passenger had tested positive for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 within 14 days of disembarking from the ship on its voyage from 8 to 15 March 2020.

[26] After the June 2021 Surfside condominium collapse, the Explorer of the Seas was moored nearby to host nearly 600 search and rescue personnel assisting with the incident.

[27] On 9 August 2024, an unnamed passenger from the United Kingdom fell overboard as the ship traveled from Santorini, Greece to Zadar, Croatia.