Freedom of the Seas July 9th-12th Review

[irishgal432]

46 minutes ago, maggieq said:

You have to wear a mask outside?  Thanks!

No.  

[maggieq]

32 minutes ago, irishgal432 said:

No.  

Ok thanks. Must have misunderstood the masking flying off.  

[irishgal432]

12 hours ago, maggieq said:

Ok thanks. Must have misunderstood the masking flying off.  

He was holding it on the deck while we were looking over the side of the ship and the wind took it out of his hands.

[irishgal432]

We ate in the MDR each night.  I generally am not a fan of the MDR food, but I will have to say that this is a step above normal.  The 3rd floor is traditional only for unvax while the 2nd floor is traditional dining for vax and 1st floor is MTD for vax.  Walking in all of the waitstaff clapped and welcomed you.  The tables are not social distanced.  We were on a 2 top by the window and had a 2 top next to us.  The center of the dining room was not being used at all and most of the tables around us were in use.  Once again the staff was happy to be here and service was great.  We did order room service one afternoon and they roll it to the front of you door and let you carry it into your room versus them coming in your room.

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, irishgal432 said:

The 3rd floor is traditional only for unvax while the 2nd floor is traditional dining for vax and 1st floor is MTD for vax.

Here's one thing I haven't seen beaten to death in the last 6+ months about COVID - is it heavier or lighter than air? Does that plume of exhaled virus float up or sink? I assume RCI has the answer and chose these MDR assignments based on this knowledge.

 

Biker, who is not beyond pot stirring once in a while.

[irishgal432]

We attended a few shows.  You didn't need reservations but once again they scanned your seapass card and looked at your wristband.  Unvax had the top balcony and may have had to wear their masks. Vax passengers has the floor area and did not have to wear masks.  The first 2 rows were blocked off and they encouraged people to spread out and not sit next to each other. When leaving they had unvax leave first and if the theater was crowded would have dismissed you by row reminding you to put your mask on.

[irishgal432]

We hit the Casino.  You had to show your wristband in order to get in.  There were no machines blocked and you did not have to wear your mask since it was a vax area.  It did seem there were not as many machines,  but I may be thinking of Oasis class casinos.  They did not have a lot of hand sanitizers around if you were switching machines, you had to search for one. Nor did I see anyone cleaning the machines after each use. 

[irishgal432]

The pool deck was empty.  During the modification they took away the tiered suite seating by the bar and replaced it with some fun looking chairs and benches.  They had a little area of chairs and 1 cabana for suite guests on the side.  They also had the new cabanas.  That is where you saw the chair hogs.  Everyone single one was taken with towels and a book or other personal item.  I think in the future Royal will sell these for the day.  The pool deck was very social distanced.

 

The solarium was vax only passengers and was actually pretty well full.  There were still chairs but this was probably the only place on the ship that looked busy.

[irishgal432]

We went to Coca Cay and Nassau.  Buffets were served by the staff and an open air electric shuttle from the pier to the island.  We went to Chill island were they had the floating bar in the ocean.  You could sit out there on the bar in bar chairs or around the deck of it.

 

 

We were going to walk around Nassau, but there was nothing open or any cars or any people on the street.  It was like a ghost town.  Senor Frogs was closed, hardly anyone on Junkanoo Beach.  If you go to Nassau, I would book an excursion to be sure there is something to do.  They are not booking Atlantis excursions yet, however if you go on your own, you have to have your vaccination card in order to get into Atlantis at this time.

 

Edited July 14, 2021 by irishgal432

[molly361]

35 minutes ago, irishgal432 said:

He was holding it on the deck while we were looking over the side of the ship and the wind took it out of his hands.

I assume you had to mask up for check in at the port?

[irishgal432]

Just now, molly361 said:

I assume you had to mask up for check in at the port?

Yes as soon as you walked in the door and had to keep it on until you were on the ship.  If you were sitting down in the promenade at the cafe or sorrentos you didn't have to wear it.  Also if you were actively eating or drinking while walking you did not have to wear it, but I really did not see too many people doing that. 

[discru]

Thank you for filling us in on your experience!   Did you go to trivia or attend other similar events?  Before Covid,  trivia was held in Schooners, but if Schooners is for vaxxed only, was wondering how they handle that.  And how they handle seating vaxxed/non vaxxed for game shows, karaoke, etc. 

[Ocean Boy]

19 hours ago, irishgal432 said:

There was no distinction between vax and unvax.  You had your mask on the whole time going through the line until you sat down and ate.  Tables are distanced.

 

39 minutes ago, irishgal432 said:

Yes as soon as you walked in the door and had to keep it on until you were on the ship.  If you were sitting down in the promenade at the cafe or sorrentos you didn't have to wear it.  Also if you were actively eating or drinking while walking you did not have to wear it, but I really did not see too many people doing that. 

It is ridiculous that they treat vaxxed and unvaxxed people the same.

 

Thanks for letting us know.

[bajathree]

What a contrast Royal sounds right now compared to our June 26th Celebrity Edge sailing. It obviously all has to do with Celebrity sailing at 95% fully vaccinated verse Royal not requiring you being vaccinated. Our check-in was a breeze and staff seemed to know exactly what they were doing. On the ship you never had to wear a mask anywhere...no social distancing or division of vaccinated verse not vaccinated...never had to show a card to enter anywhere. All bars fully open and could sit at any bar. The experience on The Edge was pretty much a pre-pandemic cruising experience. I was planning a Royal sailing for later in the year....which I do think restrictions will be less stringent by that point but after reading what it's like on Royal right now I have decided to stick with vaccinated sailings on Celebrity for this year....seems like such a better experience. I in no way want to go from not having to wear a mask anymore and having little restrictions to going on a cruise/vacation and having to be masked and be showing my card to enter everywhere and such....doesn't sound like something I want to deal with. 

I also just want to say that our Nassau stop seemed quite different to what you experienced also. We got off the ship and spent the afternoon at the British Colonial Hilton enjoying their beach and ocean. At least half the shops were open in Nassau and there were quite a few people about shopping. The shops were very happy to see tourists off the ship and everyone was very friendly. We also took a taxi over to the Poop Deck for lunch which was filled with locals and had a fantastic lunch and drinks. 

I'm sorry but IMHO Royal screwed up by going the unvaccinated route and offering such a different cruise experience. 

 

[bucfan2]

12 minutes ago, bajathree said:

What a contrast Royal sounds right now compared to our June 26th Celebrity Edge sailing.

 

The experience on The Edge was pretty much a pre-pandemic cruising experience.

 

I in no way want to go from not having to wear a mask anymore and having little restrictions to going on a cruise/vacation and having to be masked and be showing my card to enter everywhere and such....doesn't sound like something I want to deal with. 

 

 

Long time Royal cruiser, as well as smattering of other lines.  Our cruise later this month (Edge) will be a first for me on Celebrity.

I can't fathom sailing Royal at this point.  I assume the 'experimental therapy' is effective, and plan to continue to live as such.  I concur that Royal will be significantly dropping their restrictions in the near future....or will cruise at reduced capacity due to lack of interest (after the initial 'gotta cruise' honeymoon phase wears off).

Edited July 14, 2021 by bucfan2

[irishgal432]

1 hour ago, discru said:

Thank you for filling us in on your experience!   Did you go to trivia or attend other similar events?  Before Covid,  trivia was held in Schooners, but if Schooners is for vaxxed only, was wondering how they handle that.  And how they handle seating vaxxed/non vaxxed for game shows, karaoke, etc. 

Good question I did not go to those events, but some trivia was held in the Viking Crown lounge.   They also used the Star Lounge for some of the game shows.  In the Schooner bar, there were tables along side the wall that I would consider not in the bar itself that people were sitting at which could be for unvax.  On the cruise compass, it did list events with a V noted on them.  The Star Lounge and Viking Lounge were for vax and unvax but not sure if you had to wear a mask during activites since I did not attend.

[molly361]

14 minutes ago, bajathree said:

What a contrast Royal sounds right now compared to our June 26th Celebrity Edge sailing. It obviously all has to do with Celebrity sailing at 95% fully vaccinated verse Royal not requiring you being vaccinated. Our check-in was a breeze and staff seemed to know exactly what they were doing. On the ship you never had to wear a mask anywhere...no social distancing or division of vaccinated verse not vaccinated...never had to show a card to enter anywhere. All bars fully open and could sit at any bar. The experience on The Edge was pretty much a pre-pandemic cruising experience. I was planning a Royal sailing for later in the year....which I do think restrictions will be less stringent by that point but after reading what it's like on Royal right now I have decided to stick with vaccinated sailings on Celebrity for this year....seems like such a better experience. I in no way want to go from not having to wear a mask anymore and having little restrictions to going on a cruise/vacation and having to be masked and be showing my card to enter everywhere and such....doesn't sound like something I want to deal with. 

I also just want to say that our Nassau stop seemed quite different to what you experienced also. We got off the ship and spent the afternoon at the British Colonial Hilton enjoying their beach and ocean. At least half the shops were open in Nassau and there were quite a few people about shopping. The shops were very happy to see tourists off the ship and everyone was very friendly. We also took a taxi over to the Poop Deck for lunch which was filled with locals and had a fantastic lunch and drinks. 

I'm sorry but IMHO Royal screwed up by going the unvaccinated route and offering such a different cruise experience. 

 

It's making me re-think my cruises and I have several booked for this year alone on Royal

[irishgal432]

14 minutes ago, bajathree said:

What a contrast Royal sounds right now compared to our June 26th Celebrity Edge sailing. It obviously all has to do with Celebrity sailing at 95% fully vaccinated verse Royal not requiring you being vaccinated. Our check-in was a breeze and staff seemed to know exactly what they were doing. On the ship you never had to wear a mask anywhere...no social distancing or division of vaccinated verse not vaccinated...never had to show a card to enter anywhere. All bars fully open and could sit at any bar. The experience on The Edge was pretty much a pre-pandemic cruising experience. I was planning a Royal sailing for later in the year....which I do think restrictions will be less stringent by that point but after reading what it's like on Royal right now I have decided to stick with vaccinated sailings on Celebrity for this year....seems like such a better experience. I in no way want to go from not having to wear a mask anymore and having little restrictions to going on a cruise/vacation and having to be masked and be showing my card to enter everywhere and such....doesn't sound like something I want to deal with. 

I also just want to say that our Nassau stop seemed quite different to what you experienced also. We got off the ship and spent the afternoon at the British Colonial Hilton enjoying their beach and ocean. At least half the shops were open in Nassau and there were quite a few people about shopping. The shops were very happy to see tourists off the ship and everyone was very friendly. We also took a taxi over to the Poop Deck for lunch which was filled with locals and had a fantastic lunch and drinks. 

I'm sorry but IMHO Royal screwed up by going the unvaccinated route and offering such a different cruise experience. 

 

I can agree with you.  However Royals target market is families with children and the powers that be deemed that their strategy was to have all those families pick Royal over other lines.  There were quite a few families on board with young children.  With the capacity issue, they could have easily filled the ship with vax passengers only and held off families and unvax  for a month or so.  

 

Regardgin Nassau, they switched days on us, so maybe they were not aware of the ship coming in.  Wondering if you were there when Adventure was sailing out.  We were looking out from the boat and saw no one, so maybe the inner shops were open and we just did not see.

[bucfan2]

3 minutes ago, molly361 said:

It's making me re-think my cruises and I have several booked for this year alone on Royal

You're certainly not alone.

[molly361]

2 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

You're certainly not alone.

Some of mine are solo so instead of being able to have a drink at the bar and talk to people I'm going to have to sit at a table by myself

[irishgal432]

4 minutes ago, molly361 said:

It's making me re-think my cruises and I have several booked for this year alone on Royal

Yes it was a hassle, and due to reduced capacity and no bar seating didnt really talk to too many people, but for me that was okay for a weekend cruise.  It was very relaxing and almost like a private vacation.  You got used to the masks after a bit, so for me it comes down to an empty ship/private ship to having to cave to their protocols.  I am heading to Allure in 30 days so wondering if I change my mind after a 7 day cruise.

[molly361]

1 minute ago, irishgal432 said:

Yes it was a hassle, and due to reduced capacity and no bar seating didnt really talk to too many people, but for me that was okay for a weekend cruise.  It was very relaxing and almost like a private vacation.  You got used to the masks after a bit, so for me it comes down to an empty ship/private ship to having to cave to their protocols.  I am heading to Allure in 30 days so wondering if I change my mind after a 7 day cruise.

I'm doing a solo on Allure in October so guess you can be my scout on that one as well😇

[bajathree]

7 minutes ago, irishgal432 said:

I can agree with you.  However Royals target market is families with children and the powers that be deemed that their strategy was to have all those families pick Royal over other lines.  There were quite a few families on board with young children.  With the capacity issue, they could have easily filled the ship with vax passengers only and held off families and unvax  for a month or so.  

 

Regardgin Nassau, they switched days on us, so maybe they were not aware of the ship coming in.  Wondering if you were there when Adventure was sailing out.  We were looking out from the boat and saw no one, so maybe the inner shops were open and we just did not see.

From the ship downtown Nassau did look like a ghost town but once we got into the streets it was busier and found many shops open and people wondering around. We were not in port with Adventure.

[irishgal432]

7 minutes ago, molly361 said:

I'm doing a solo on Allure in October so guess you can be my scout on that one as well😇

which one.  Some girlfriends and I are on Oct 31

[molly361]

1 minute ago, irishgal432 said:

which one.  Some girlfriends and I are on Oct 31

October 17  Darn!!  Can't move it as I am on the Mariner November 5th

Edited July 14, 2021 by molly361