freedom of the Seas arrival is delayed

[Lionesss]

I guess you have to take all factors into consideration when sailing a ship before it goes into dry dock........Just hope all get to see all the ports and the weather cooperates.

 

Sea Ya

 

Freedom's is coming up pretty soon, cannot remember exact dates.

Edited December 7, 2014 by Lionesss

[JinxyB]

I just embarked on the Freedom and was given a letter at check in describing our shortened port times. Each port is shortened at least 2 hours- kinda bummed about that but what am I going to do, right? Hopefully weather cooperates and we won't miss any ports (western itinerary)

[beachbooles]

I just embarked on the Freedom and was given a letter at check in describing our shortened port times. Each port is shortened at least 2 hours- kinda bummed about that but what am I going to do, right? Hopefully weather cooperates and we won't miss any ports (western itinerary)

 

Is it affecting any of the excursions? If so, have they offered anything for the change...like OBC or reduced cost of Excursion? thanks and have a GREAT time!

[Ourusualbeach]

I guess you have to take all factors into consideration when sailing a ship before it goes into dry dock........Just hope all get to see all the ports and the weather cooperates.

 

Sea Ya

 

Freedom's is coming up pretty soon, cannot remember exact dates.

 

These issues have nothing at all to do with the dry dock. In fact it is lucky that it happened so close to a scheduled drydock otherwise a lot more sailings would have been affected and could have caused RCI to pull her out of service for a week like they did the Allure.

[cruiserdudebobby8]

Freedoms departing now. Watching on the webcam

 

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

[JinxyB]

I haven't heard yet of any OBC offered. I booked an early zip line in labadee and they automatically changed it to 10:30 (new arrival is at 10:15). Another excursion I booked in Cozumel through the ship is not affected. Grand Cayman is 7:30- 2:30 ugh

[2thesea]

Wow, I hope you're just kidding, but unfortunately I'm betting you're dead serious. All you're going to accomplish is to harass some low-level check in agent who certainly has no authority to sign your demanded document, along with inconveniencing everyone else in line behind you while you pursue that ridiculous path and hold up the check-in line.

 

Yep, exactly...

 

I had to follow up on this. I did NOT harass anyone at check in! Not my style. I did ask several questions that were answered by one of the ships officers at guest services once on board. I explained my concerns and they were gracious. CANCELING the cruise was not an option offered by Royal and would not have been covered by our travel insurance since we do not take the cancel for any reason add on. I was assured that the ship was safe and only speed was an issue. There were no worries about the other workings of the ship and FOS sea worthiness was not in question. The officer gave me his card in case I needed to discuss this future.

 

Not sure why there were several on this board that felt it necessary to jump at the fact that I thought Royal should have offered information/guarantee that the ship was completely safe aside from the "speed" factor. Carnival for months KNEW about the issue with the Triumph and they chose to stretch out the repair and you see where that got them.

 

Boarding was AWFUL people standing in line for over 2 hours. Some of my family members didn't get on the ship until 4:15p just as the muster drill was starting.

 

There were a lot of angered passengers and I felt sorry for the crew at guest services.

The cruise was joyful and we had a great time.

[beachbooles]

I haven't heard yet of any OBC offered. I booked an early zip line in labadee and they automatically changed it to 10:30 (new arrival is at 10:15). Another excursion I booked in Cozumel through the ship is not affected. Grand Cayman is 7:30- 2:30 ugh

 

 

Thanks! I normally book excursions off the ship ... This time I got lazy and just reserved all ship offered excursions. Looks like I'll be glad I did! I'm sorry to hear that they cut your GC time so short!! I'm sure you will have a great cruise and thanks for the info!! 😃

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[orville99]

These issues have nothing at all to do with the dry dock. In fact it is lucky that it happened so close to a scheduled drydock otherwise a lot more sailings would have been affected and could have caused RCI to pull her out of service for a week like they did the Allure.

 

The problems with the propulsion system have been going on for more than two years (we experienced a two hour delay on our July 2012 departure from PC because they had divers down working on the bow thrusters, and another delay in Cozumel while they had divers down working on the aft props). They are an underlying reason why the dry dock was scheduled in the first place.

[Ourusualbeach]

The problems with the propulsion system have been going on for more than two years (we experienced a two hour delay on our July 2012 departure from PC because they had divers down working on the bow thrusters, and another delay in Cozumel while they had divers down working on the aft props). They are an underlying reason why the dry dock was scheduled in the first place.

 

I would still say that the current issues are just a coincidence that they happened to fall right before the drydock. The current drydock falls roughly into the regular drydock schedule. Had the issues that you experienced 2 years ago been significant enough I'm sure that Royal would have had the Freedom in drydock much sooner.

[temple1]

We were on Freedom in May and did not experience any delays.

 

We arrived earlier than suggested had to stand in line for about an hour total (I was sitting in the car waiting for the parking deck to open). By the time the parking deck opened at 12:30 and I parked the car the line was moving and it was not a long wait to go through security and check in. As soon as we had our sea pass in hand we boarded the ship.

 

The biggest problem was there were still people getting off the ship when we arrived at the port at 11:15.

 

The crew was super nice on this cruise. I had the misfortune of being ahead of a less than pleased passenger when getting back on the ship in Nassau. Wow, all she did was gripe and complain and carry on and if she stated once that Royal Caribbean was going to be sorry after they heard from her etc, etc.

 

Honestly - I was in St Thomas and St. Maartin in May, I don't think we missed much! Not my favorite ports. I thoroughly enjoyed our Cozumel excursion and I don't care for Coco Cay so it didn't matter about it and I managed to get some Christmas shopping done in Nassau.

[orville99]

I would still say that the current issues are just a coincidence that they happened to fall right before the drydock. The current drydock falls roughly into the regular drydock schedule. Had the issues that you experienced 2 years ago been significant enough I'm sure that Royal would have had the Freedom in drydock much sooner.

 

Normal dry docks generally take a ship out of service for a week. A month long dry dock is not at all routine. When they scheduled this dry dock they knew they had major repair work that needed to be done below the waterline. They were experiencing significant vibrations from the pods when we were on her in May to the extent that the captain addressed the causes and what they were doing to the ship's speed at the top tier party.

 

The only coincidence is that the pod failed sooner than they expected.

[orville99]

We were on Freedom in May and did not experience any delays.

 

We arrived earlier than suggested had to stand in line for about an hour total (I was sitting in the car waiting for the parking deck to open). By the time the parking deck opened at 12:30 and I parked the car the line was moving and it was not a long wait to go through security and check in. As soon as we had our sea pass in hand we boarded the ship.

 

The biggest problem was there were still people getting off the ship when we arrived at the port at 11:15.

 

The crew was super nice on this cruise. I had the misfortune of being ahead of a less than pleased passenger when getting back on the ship in Nassau. Wow, all she did was gripe and complain and carry on and if she stated once that Royal Caribbean was going to be sorry after they heard from her etc, etc.

 

Honestly - I was in St Thomas and St. Maartin in May, I don't think we missed much! Not my favorite ports. I thoroughly enjoyed our Cozumel excursion and I don't care for Coco Cay so it didn't matter about it and I managed to get some Christmas shopping done in Nassau.

 

Confused. FOS doesn't normally stop in Nassau. Did they replace Coco Cay on your cruise? We were on FOS on 5/7, and we skipped Coco Cay entirely. I would have preferred Nassau to an extra sea day.

[temple1]

Confused. FOS doesn't normally stop in Nassau. Did they replace Coco Cay on your cruise? We were on FOS on 5/7, and we skipped Coco Cay entirely. I would have preferred Nassau to an extra sea day.

 

SOrry, I left a line out. The May cruise went smoothly for us (I didn't notice the vibration then that you mentioned). We were on it again on the delayed sailing. Boy, was the vibration noticeable even to me! Night and day once they took he propeller off in Nassau.

[jules815]

We were on FOS in September and went to San Juan instead of St. Thomas. While we were in port there were divers working on the propellers. We were told by the head engineer during a ship tour that divers were working on a twice a year cleaning; scraping off barnacles or whatever grows on propellers. Before that cruise, I had heard about some issues FOS was having in that area, so it made me wonder if they were being truthful. :)

 

(The itinerary change wasn't a problem for us though. We'd been to St. Thomas many times, and this was our first visit to San Juan, and we really enjoyed it. Pretty port, we had beautiful weather, and really enjoyed touring the fort right within walking distance of the pier.)

[fourkittys]

We got off the FOS yesterday and these opinions are from two 70 years olds who have sailed 10 times so may not agree with some.

We arrived a day early at PC so didn't hear of the change until on the shuttle to the port about 11:30 am. The debarkation had just started.

We waited near the doors and a few benches with shade for two hours (1:30 pm). An ambulance arrived about an hour later for an elderly man who waiting in line in the sun and apparently collapsed. I hope he is doing well.

Saftey drill was delayed until 4:30 and departure was 6:30 pm.

The trip to Nassau was uneventful with no noticeable vibration or sluggish speed. The prop was removed within 24 hours.

We were notified of onboard credit and future compensation. Personally I was THRILLED to get $450 credited to our balcony onboard account. I was expecting MUCH less, plus credit for a future cruise. I think it shouldn't be contingent on only 12 months tho.

The trip to Cozumel (300+ miles compared to 900 + miles to St Thomas) kept us relatively closer in case of future problems. Sometimes we moved very quickly and other times "cruised".

The rest of the cruise was uneventful tho disappointing to some I'm sure but not the end of the world!

Arrival to PC was on time and if you followed intructions and waited for your number to be call in suggested areas it all went smoothly. Getting your luggage was another matter. Hoards of people still standing around. Custums was fairly fast and easy. Then outside for a long wait for our Budget shuttle.

 

I'm sorry to say but all the nasty complaints have come from Cruise Critic. I never heard anyone being so upset and nasty as some of these complainers. Although Im' sure there were some.

All I can say is READ YOUR CONTRACT! Life isn't perfect and neither is cruising, be FLEXIBLE with your expectations.

In conclusion: The FOS is a beautiful ship with a great crew and entertainment. Food ...so so. We had great weather with no other problems . Remember to sometimes make lemons into lemonade, be safe not sorry, and "It is what it is"...GROW UP!

Edited December 8, 2014 by Host Jacquelyn
editing language "bitchy"

[mouse84]

We were in line just behind the eldery gentleman who collapsed before the 11/30 sailing. His blood sugar dropped & he went down. Thankfully a few younger gentlemen were around him and were able to catch him & lower him down. I went to get an employee & a nurse was just ahead of him. She started asking all of the right questions (thank goodness because all of my First Aid & CPR training went out the window for a minute!) and we got him to start eating & drinking a couple of things until emergency medical got there. They got his sugar level back up & he was doing well. They wheeled him past us & he wanted to get back in line with us all (and he was finally alert enough to know where he had been). They took him to the wheelchair entrance instead. I did see him on board later in the week and he was doing much better.

[Redsfan]

A couple of threads going on with this sailing. Let me clarify a couple of things as we were on this ship. We were notified by email the night before and voice mails about the delays. We had no idea what the issues were until we went to one of the shows and the Captain was up front and honest with everybody on board.

 

One of the propellers had a bearing issue that was causing the propeller to collapse down and the fear would be that it would come off all together thus costing a king's ransom to fix. The boat docked in Nassau from 12pm Day 2 until 12pm Day 3 in order for divers to go underwater to fix the issue. That morning the propeller was taken apart and the cruise continued on to Cozumel for 10am next day (1 hour earlier than posted) and on to Coco Cay on time postponed until this past Saturday. We were compensated $275 for our Family Promenade Stateroom, as well a a 25% off future cruise credit. The boat did NOT lose steam and kept up to the 18 knots of so needed to hit all ports. Any questions let me know...

[fourkittys]

We were in line just behind the eldery gentleman who collapsed before the 11/30 sailing. His blood sugar dropped & he went down. Thankfully a few younger gentlemen were around him and were able to catch him & lower him down. I went to get an employee & a nurse was just ahead of him. She started asking all of the right questions (thank goodness because all of my First Aid & CPR training went out the window for a minute!) and we got him to start eating & drinking a couple of things until emergency medical got there. They got his sugar level back up & he was doing well. They wheeled him past us & he wanted to get back in line with us all (and he was finally alert enough to know where he had been). They took him to the wheelchair entrance instead. I did see him on board later in the week and he was doing much better.

 

 

Thank you SO MUCH for this update. I know worrying about someone you don't know is useless but I am so glad to hear he is ok and was able to enjoy his cruise.

[Ocean Boy]

A couple of threads going on with this sailing. Let me clarify a couple of things as we were on this ship. We were notified by email the night before and voice mails about the delays. We had no idea what the issues were until we went to one of the shows and the Captain was up front and honest with everybody on board.

One of the propellers had a bearing issue that was causing the propeller to collapse down and the fear would be that it would come off all together thus costing a king's ransom to fix. The boat docked in Nassau from 12pm Day 2 until 12pm Day 3 in order for divers to go underwater to fix the issue. That morning the propeller was taken apart and the cruise continued on to Cozumel for 10am next day (1 hour earlier than posted) and on to Coco Cay on time postponed until this past Saturday. We were compensated $275 for our Family Promenade Stateroom, as well a a 25% off future cruise credit. The boat did NOT lose steam and kept up to the 18 knots of so needed to hit all ports. Any questions let me know...

 

It is amazing how reasonably people can ask when they get honest explanations instead of a bunch of BS. In my opinion honesty, and keeping people informed, shows respect an it goes a very long way.

[Ourusualbeach]

A couple of threads going on with this sailing. Let me clarify a couple of things as we were on this ship. We were notified by email the night before and voice mails about the delays. We had no idea what the issues were until we went to one of the shows and the Captain was up front and honest with everybody on board.

 

One of the propellers had a bearing issue that was causing the propeller to collapse down and the fear would be that it would come off all together thus costing a king's ransom to fix. The boat docked in Nassau from 12pm Day 2 until 12pm Day 3 in order for divers to go underwater to fix the issue. That morning the propeller was taken apart and the cruise continued on to Cozumel for 10am next day (1 hour earlier than posted) and on to Coco Cay on time postponed until this past Saturday. We were compensated $275 for our Family Promenade Stateroom, as well a a 25% off future cruise credit. The boat did NOT lose steam and kept up to the 18 knots of so needed to hit all ports. Any questions let me know...

 

It is amazing how reasonably people can ask when they get honest explanations instead of a bunch of BS. In my opinion honesty, and keeping people informed, shows respect an it goes a very long way.

 

 

RCI shoreside could learn a thing or two from this Captain.

[Ocean Boy]

RCI shoreside could learn a thing or two from this Captain.

 

The captain that we had on Allure this past February could take a few pointers too.:rolleyes:

[2thesea]

The Capt of FOS was AWESOME! My daughter was standing on deck while we were in Nassau. The workers were there taking care of the issues and the Captain started a conversation with my daughter and explained in detail what the workers where doing and what she as a passenger could expect. He was very kind and FUNNY! His daily announcements were hilarious, starting with the first one he started with "Bing Pong" :D and ended with "please do not feed the seagulls as their way of saying thanking was craping on the ship" Love this guy!

[mulan1123]

The Capt of FOS was AWESOME! My daughter was standing on deck while we were in Nassau. The workers were there taking care of the issues and the Captain started a conversation with my daughter and explained in detail what the workers where doing and what she as a passenger could expect. He was very kind and FUNNY! His daily announcements were hilarious, starting with the first one he started with "Bing Pong" :D and ended with "please do not feed the seagulls as their way of saying thanking was craping on the ship" Love this guy!

 

I was on FOS a few weeks ago and thought the same thing of the captain! My family and I had a nice conversation with the Hotel director and HR director as well. So for the rest of the cruise if bumped into the hotel and HR director, they're recognize us and strike up a small conversation before heading off to where they were heading!

[lazydayz]

We were also on this cruise and thought, on balance, Royal and the Freedom staff handled the situation well. We were informed Saturday afternoon about the itinerary change and were bummed. Two of the four cruisers were supposed to go to St. John (excursion from St. Thomas) for the first time. But our motto for the week was "Positive Peppy People" and it worked. We had a great cruise.

 

The lines at the port for embarkation were huge. We arrived at 2:15, but luckily knew where the priority line should be (all the way to the left if you are facing the terminal). Note there were no signs and misinformation was running rampant. We stayed in the line, it was priority and we were on the ship before 3:00.

 

We arrived in Nassau at noon Monday and departed at noon Tuesday. We all like Nassau, have been many times before so no research was needed.

 

FOTS arrived early in Cozumel and left on time. Same for CocoCay.

 

Yes, we felt the vibrations but that just reminded me I was on a ship - one of my favorite places to be. And it helped that we had gobs of on-board credit. $450 per junior suite from Royal, $10+ per person refund in taxes and port charges, $100 from travel agent and $200 refund for the cancelled St. John excursion. With the RC OBC and the future cruise credit of 25%, we got our cabins at nearly BOGO Free.

 

This was my 35th cruise and was the first time our itinerary was totally changed. Not a bad track record for the cruise industry.

 

Loved FOTS and found both the captain and the hotel director to be friendly and funny.