Freedom of the Seas, May 3, 2015 Not available for booking?

[SherriZ366]

The Maxwell cruise is still being offered for sale on the internet.Of course, maybe they have the same IT guys as RCI:rolleyes:

 

Thom

Wonder if Maxwell cruise still has a portion of the ship chartered. Of course, does not affect us as we moved to 5-17 which works out better for our schedule.

[Jokare]

When we did book a couple of days ago, we were told a charter had cancelled and the rate I posted earlier was wrong. It was $625 each for a balcony with the spiffs I listed dinner for 2 and $150. I hope its a normal cruise.

[FunX5]

Yup, that's the one we had booked on opening day and then been booted out of.

 

We considered re-booking it but then decided we really didn't want to be on a sailing with the possibility of much being off limits to us. We're sticking with our February 14th Vision sailing and will be back in the Sweet April 24, 2016. :)

 

 

We're on that cruise too!!

[peter1975]

The Maxwell cruise is still being offered for sale on the internet.Of course, maybe they have the same IT guys as RCI:rolleyes:

 

Thom

 

You can still book this cruise through the Maxwell website. I also recently emailed the Maxwell cruise people and asked if this was a full ship charter. Their reply was "yes". This was only about a week ago. Nobody is admitting publicly that this charter got cancelled or changed. In fact, charters aren't supposed to be able to be cancelled, per Royal Caribbean's charter policy.

[hattack]

The key to this situation is how the Maxwell group is communicating to it's guests who have already deposited as to the status of the charter effective the date that the full charter status was changed...another excellent reason to have a good trip insurance policy to cover such a situation especially when one is dealing with a 3rd party in the format of a private full charter

 

 

The contract between the cruise line and the 3rd party organization that enters into the full charter has clauses & penalties to cover just such a situation so there should be a resolution to this situation in the next few days so let the process play out rather then speculate on this thread without knowing the details of the charter contract...

 

The bottom line is the Freedom will sail the week of May 3-10,2015...it will have all types of large groups on it....since it was chartered a year ago and guests who were booked that far out had made alternative arrangements it will be interesting to hear from those impacted if Royal Caribbean has reached out to them

[SherriZ366]

Checked prices -- JSs were supposed to go for $1,299 but are sold out. Wonder if a lot of the charter passengers are still cruising.

[hattack]

Sherri...I would call RC and place your name on a waitlist for JS....that way you are in the best position if & when they open up...folks booked on the charter were probably given a short time limit to make a decision based upon a number of factors....

[SherriZ366]

Sherri...I would call RC and place your name on a waitlist for JS....that way you are in the best position if & when they open up...folks booked on the charter were probably given a short time limit to make a decision based upon a number of factors....

I'm not planning to book this cruise -- we were booked for May 3, 2015 originally and were told in May of this year that it had been cancelled. We were offered OBC and price protection so moved our sailing to 5-17-2014. I was just checking prices/availability for May 3 for the general discussion of the the thread and I'm mildly interested because we had originally booked this sailing.

 

We are sticking with our sailing for 3 reasons (1) Nephew is getting married in Boca Raton on April 26, 2015 so would not want to drive to FL twice in 2 weeks. (2) I was able to get a price reduction based on the first BOGOHO sale and (3) We try to avoid large groups on cruises if we can find out about them -- they take over venues and basically change the cruise's character. The Maxwell cruise, if still operative, is bringing their own entertainment and own chef. We unknowingly booked a 1/2 ship charter about 15 years ago and they tried to push us out of late seating and did not have the regular entertainment for our dinner seating (Celebrity before RCI bought them). We basically felt like unimportant passengers. Now I Google my cruise dates and monitor sites for group cruises.

 

It is unclear as to whether the Maxwell organizers have cancelled the entire cruise or found a way to negotiate with RCI for a partial ship charter. Their prices were astronomical -- over $7,000 per person for a JS compared to $1,200 - $1,500.

Edited November 30, 2014 by SherriZ366

[Wendy&Grumpy]

The bottom line is the Freedom will sail the week of May 3-10,2015...it will have all types of large groups on it....since it was chartered a year ago and guests who were booked that far out had made alternative arrangements it will be interesting to hear from those impacted if Royal Caribbean has reached out to them

 

We were initially booked and then bumped and have heard nothing from RCCL.

 

DH was saying we should call and ask about getting our original cabin back - at $200 less with $100 OBC to boot! - just to see what they say?!

[LetsGetWet!]

Am I the only one who thinks that chartering a ship AFTER cabins are already sold to others is a really crappy policy, and that there should be a much stiffer penalty than some wimpy OBC (which costs the line virtually nothing given their profit margin with on-board-sales) to cruise lines that do this. It is my understanding that if you purchase a cruise in Germany under German law the cruise line has to reimburse you for all expense you may incur due to cancellations, provide a full refund AND pay an additional 50% of the entire cruise fare (including taxes and fees) in cash to you as a penalty. I am not adverse to charters, but sign the contacts prior to selling cabins on the open market.

In general I'd probably agree, but since cruise lines often give passengers the ability to book cruises 2 years out or more, then I think the way they handle charters and cancellations for charters is reasonable.

I just did a quick check and Maxwell + the 7 Seas is still selling the 3 May 2015 cruise with lowest prices for an inside (with concerts) at $2850pp for an inside; RCI is selling the same category at $499pp with no disclosure of the charter. And, NO, I don't want to sail with a near full ship charter.

Wow, no wonder they had to cancel the full-ship charter! With normal taxes/gratuities, that means an INSIDE would cost a couple $6,450. That's simply INSANE! :eek:

[SherriZ366]

In general I'd probably agree, but since cruise lines often give passengers the ability to book cruises 2 years out or more, then I think the way they handle charters and cancellations for charters is reasonable.

 

Wow, no wonder they had to cancel the full-ship charter! With normal taxes/gratuities, that means an INSIDE would cost a couple $6,450. That's simply INSANE! :eek:

We booked really early for the May 3 cruise and I'm glad I was given the option to rebook with price protection and OBC rather than RCI limiting the number of cabins the charter could sell. I would rather be bumped than be onboard with a huge group that takes over venues and dinner seatings. Did that once and try to avoid.

[LetsGetWet!]

We booked really early for the May 3 cruise and I'm glad I was given the option to rebook with price protection and OBC rather than RCI limiting the number of cabins the charter could sell. I would rather be bumped than be onboard with a huge group that takes over venues and dinner seatings. Did that once and try to avoid.

Agree completely. I'm sure RCI will be successful with the "fire sale" in getting the cruise (re)sold, only because there are an awful lot of people who will just look at the low prices, and don't know enough to check to see about large groups on board.

 

If anything, the people in this particular group may make the cruise MORE uncomfortable for those not in their group than usual. If I had paid $6,450 for an inside cabin, I'd expect to be seriously catered to and given all sorts of special consideration the entire week!

[SherriZ366]

Agree completely. I'm sure RCI will be successful with the "fire sale" in getting the cruise (re)sold, only because there are an awful lot of people who will just look at the low prices, and don't know enough to check to see about large groups on board.

 

If anything, the people in this particular group may make the cruise MORE uncomfortable for those not in their group than usual. If I had paid $6,450 for an inside cabin, I'd expect to be seriously catered to and given all sorts of special consideration the entire week!

Agree -- That's what happened when we booked a cruise who had a 1/2 ship charter. The group had paid extra to cover the cost of the entertainment and they did not like us standing in the back and watching. And I think the per person costs for Maxwell are much higher than for the group that did the 1/2 ship charter with us.

 

I wondered when I found the Maxwell website if they would fill up at these prices as they are pretty ridiculous but I think the higher priced cabins are pretty full. They also are charging a premium of about $800 or $900 dollars for special entertainment seating.

Edited December 1, 2014 by SherriZ366

[LetsGetWet!]

Agree -- That's what happened when we booked a cruise who had a 1/2 ship charter. The group had paid extra to cover the cost of the entertainment and they did not like us standing in the back and watching. And I think the per person costs for Maxwell are much higher than for the group that did the 1/2 ship charter with us.

 

I wondered when I found the Maxwell website if they would fill up at these prices as they are pretty ridiculous but I think the higher priced cabins are pretty full. They also are charging a premium of about $800 or $900 dollars for special entertainment seating.

Yep - to put it into perspective, we just returned from a full-ship charter on a sistership - Independence- Couples Cruise. We were in a category F large oceanview, and we understood we were paying more than we'd likely have to pay for a normal cruise. We paid a total of $2,800 for that cabin, including taxes/gratuities. To book that same cabin via this charter would cost the two of us $8,950 - without the "preferred seating" upcharge! A JS for two, with the "preferred seating" would cost a couple almost $17,000! I'm frankly surprised they sold many cabins at all, Maxwell must have some very wealthy fans!

[peter1975]

Yep - to put it into perspective, we just returned from a full-ship charter on a sistership - Independence- Couples Cruise. We were in a category F large oceanview, and we understood we were paying more than we'd likely have to pay for a normal cruise. We paid a total of $2,800 for that cabin, including taxes/gratuities. To book that same cabin via this charter would cost the two of us $8,950 - without the "preferred seating" upcharge! A JS for two, with the "preferred seating" would cost a couple almost $17,000! I'm frankly surprised they sold many cabins at all, Maxwell must have some very wealthy fans!

 

I suspect all of those really nice staterooms have been booked by Maxwell and all of the other celebrity guests. You can peruse through the Maxwell at Sea Facebook page and read hundreds of comments by fans about how ridiculous the price is.

[peter1975]

The key to this situation is how the Maxwell group is communicating to it's guests who have already deposited as to the status of the charter effective the date that the full charter status was changed...another excellent reason to have a good trip insurance policy to cover such a situation especially when one is dealing with a 3rd party in the format of a private full charter

 

 

The contract between the cruise line and the 3rd party organization that enters into the full charter has clauses & penalties to cover just such a situation so there should be a resolution to this situation in the next few days so let the process play out rather then speculate on this thread without knowing the details of the charter contract...

 

The bottom line is the Freedom will sail the week of May 3-10,2015...it will have all types of large groups on it....since it was chartered a year ago and guests who were booked that far out had made alternative arrangements it will be interesting to hear from those impacted if Royal Caribbean has reached out to them

 

I'm not sure anything is going to "play out" in the next few days; which is why we are on this thread speculating -- and that is perfectly ok!

 

All types of large groups are fine, but the majority of us are not interested in large groups that affect our experience on the ship or take away from our ability to fully enjoy venues, entertainment, etc.

 

Maxwell is still communicating that this is still a full ship charter, by the way.

[SherriZ366]

I'm not sure anything is going to "play out" in the next few days; which is why we are on this thread speculating -- and that is perfectly ok!

 

All types of large groups are fine, but the majority of us are not interested in large groups that affect our experience on the ship or take away from our ability to fully enjoy venues, entertainment, etc.

 

Maxwell is still communicating that this is still a full ship charter, by the way.

Well a May 3, 2015 cruise is well outside of the payment window. Our final payment for the May 17, 2014 cruise is due by 03 MAR 2015, 5:00 PM EST so I guess the May 3, 2015 final payment would be mid-February.

[vasusan]

Ok I jumped in on the fire sale. I like jazz

Music and hope we can watch and enjoy some of

The primo talent Maxwell is bringing. The

Price is great. As long as we are able to

Enjoy our meals and the regular shows we

Would be happy!

[SherriZ366]

Ok I jumped in on the fire sale. I like jazz

Music and hope we can watch and enjoy some of

The primo talent Maxwell is bringing. The

Price is great. As long as we are able to

Enjoy our meals and the regular shows we

Would be happy!

They may not have regular shows if the Maxwell group takes over the theater. Or shows could be at odd times. And I don't think the group members who payed huge cruise fares that cover the entertainers fares and fees will be happy to have folks who did not pay attend their entertainment.

[spammie]

Ok I jumped in on the fire sale. I like jazz

Music and hope we can watch and enjoy some of

The primo talent Maxwell is bringing. The

Price is great. As long as we are able to

Enjoy our meals and the regular shows we

Would be happy!

 

Hi. We also booked today. Great price and Freedom is our favorite RCCL ship. We don't care about the shows, been there, done that. We love St. Thomas and St. Maarten and will have a great time. Wanda and John

[TravelerThom]

Hi. We also booked today. Great price and Freedom is our favorite RCCL ship. We don't care about the shows, been there, done that. We love St. Thomas and St. Maarten and will have a great time. Wanda and John

Just be prepared to be denied access to some/many lounges and even specialty restaurants at times, if indeed there is a large charter group on-board. If none of that bothers you, then you will have a great time.

[LMaxwell]

Yep - to put it into perspective, we just returned from a full-ship charter on a sistership - Independence- Couples Cruise. We were in a category F large oceanview, and we understood we were paying more than we'd likely have to pay for a normal cruise. We paid a total of $2,800 for that cabin, including taxes/gratuities. To book that same cabin via this charter would cost the two of us $8,950 - without the "preferred seating" upcharge! A JS for two, with the "preferred seating" would cost a couple almost $17,000! I'm frankly surprised they sold many cabins at all, Maxwell must have some very wealthy fans!

LMaxwell fan base is massive, worldwide, all economic stations. Wait. You said Maxwell. No clue there. [emoji1] [emoji106]

[LetsGetWet!]

LMaxwell fan base is massive, worldwide, all economic stations. Wait. You said Maxwell. No clue there. [emoji1] [emoji106]

Haha! :D

[Snaretbc]

I went on Maxwell's website and sent the following question to them:

 

I just booked this cruise through Royal Caribbean directly. Will I still be

able to attend the shows? Is there anything I would miss out by not booking

through your site?

 

Their response:

 

You are only entitled to see the concerts or participate in any of our

events if you booked through our company.

 

So then I contacted Crown and Anchor and asked them what entertainment would be offered to us. The lady said she had worked for Royal for 4 years and she had never seen this happen before (a full charter with their own entertainment, that did not sell out). She would need to follow up with some of their other departments to see what was available... that was last week and I haven't heard anything back yet.

[peter1975]

I went on Maxwell's website and sent the following question to them:

 

I just booked this cruise through Royal Caribbean directly. Will I still be

able to attend the shows? Is there anything I would miss out by not booking

through your site?

 

Their response:

 

You are only entitled to see the concerts or participate in any of our

events if you booked through our company.

 

So then I contacted Crown and Anchor and asked them what entertainment would be offered to us. The lady said she had worked for Royal for 4 years and she had never seen this happen before (a full charter with their own entertainment, that did not sell out). She would need to follow up with some of their other departments to see what was available... that was last week and I haven't heard anything back yet.

 

Wow! I'll be very curious to hear what you find out! I hope someone eventually contacts you back.