Back from a full-ship charter on the Freedom -- some observations and questions vs. a "normal" cruise

[Pellaz]

I recently returned from a full-ship music charter aboard Freedom of the Seas (the "70,000 Tons of Metal" cruise) and I thought it would be interesting to compare and contrast with a "regular" cruise.  There are many differences, and some things that presumably stay the same.  My last "regular" cruise on Royal was about 12 years ago on the Majesty, may she R.I.P.   The Majesty is also the original source for the "70,000 Tons" monicker.  This was my 20th cruise overall, with the rest being on Carnival.    

This was a 4-night, 5-day cruise from Miami.  Our only port-stop was also the closest "foreign port" to Miami, namely Bimini, only 50 miles away.  Port-fees, taxes and gratuities were charged all in one pre-payment of around $450 in addition to the cruise fare; there was no way to modify or remove prepaid grats, not that I'd personally want to....

Total cost for our balcony was around $1700 EACH, with three in the cabin.  We had an aft balcony corner on Deck 8, so we had two chairs, a table and two loungers, and an uninterrupted view (no metal superstructure in the way).  Fares and fees were payable directly to the charter company, UMC, via credit card or international bank-wire only.  They did not distinguish between balcony classes so ours was the same price as other standard balconies.   

There were 60 bands onboard, and each band plays once on the way to the port-stop and then once again on the way back.  The Royal Theater, Studio B (ice rink), the Star Lounge, and the massive pool-deck stage (photos to follow) were the four concert venues used.  Shows began as early as 10 am and ran as late as 6 am, with mostly 45- and 60-minute sets, with a few 75-minute sets and 90-minute sets for Finland's band Nightwish.   

So anyway, a few specific observations:   

 

• The dining hours were presumably WAYYY different for us.  I'll post a photo of the hours but as an example, the Windjammer was open until 4 am.  I'm not sure of the normal hours for Sorrento's but they remained open until 6 am.  The Cafe Promenade was apparently open 24-7, but I think that's normal?  
• The MDR was only open for dinner, from 6:30 - 10 pm; no breakfast or lunch was served.  No dress-code was enforced (except probably shirts and shoes required) and seating was all open, using only the level on Deck 3.  Deck 4 was unused and Deck 5 in the MDR was used for band and festival merch sales -- always a challenge with 60 bands all potentially bringing t-shirts and merch.  
• I received a free specialty meal voucher from the charter company, good for either the steakhouse or the Italian restaurant.  I chose the steakhouse.  Apparently anyone whose birthday fell during the cruise received a voucher.  That was a nice gesture.
• The steakhouse was offering a "Shredders Brunch" for $25.  Not sure if this is a normal-cruise offering or not.  
• I did the "SS Sapona Shipwreck Snorkel" at Bimini, which at $119 seemed a bit high-priced for a one-stop snorkeling tour.  Three snorkeling times were offered, with the latter two being "snorkeling with" members of one of the bands (Germany's Feuershwanz and lastly Sweden's Dark Tranquillity), but all were the same price.  (I did the last outing with Dark Tranquillity, who are a personal favorite.)  An equivalent excursion on Carnival would have been priced at around $70 or $80, so we were wondering if they were charging more for us due to the charter.  
• Suite guests did not receive any significant suite perks and AFAIK, the Suite Lounge/Concierge Lounge was not open. This was consistent with previous sailings of the charter.  
• The staff were either really friendly or, in a couple of cases, downright rude.  I was nearly steamrolled by a room-steward in the corridor who simply walked straight at us and didn't slow down or change sides.   
• The new Mexican venue, El Loco Fresh, was a welcome addition. They weren't offering fresh-made burritos, just pre-made chicken and beef ones, but we could make our own tacos and quesadillas.  Is this normal for them?  (I have to give Carnival's Blue Iguana Cantina the nod here, since the burritos are fresh made-to-order and are crew-served.)  
• Wi-fi speed was reasonably fast with Starlink.  My one speed-test on Day 1 returned about 60 Mbps down and 9 Mbps up.  Speed was consistent and we were never more than 20 or 30 miles from land.  Here, the nod goes to Royal.  
• We were facing west when docked, and the ship backed up to the east and then we rotated to face east and outward just north of Fisher Island near the Coast Guard station.  I've NEVER seen that before; normally we'd have headed west and turned in the turn-basin and then steamed out to the east.  I was surprised we were able to turn where we did; it was a tight fit.   The Fisher Island ferries got a bit backed up.  🙂  
• Since bands onboard can only perform outside the 12-mile limit, we simply headed away from the U.S. and cruised very slowly out beyond the limit, or stayed in place using maneuvering thrusters (probably not anchored).  There was a medical emergency onboard after Bimini and the ship leaped inside the 12-mile limit so that a rescue vessel could take the passenger off.  Performances on the pool-deck were suspended while we were inside the limit.
• Although our room had a great balcony, it's a LONG walk from the closest elevators to the room.  Royal's ships only have two elevator banks, whereas I'm more used to Carnival ships' three, and a much shorter walk to our preferred aft-extended balconies.  I will probably NOT request the same room next year since I'm susceptible to plantar fasciitis and my feet were really hurtin'.  
• The beds, including the Pullman bunk, were surprisingly hard.  Is this a "thing" on Royal or did we just get unlucky?  

...And that's about all I can think of right now.  It was a fun sailing and VERY exhausting.  I really DO wish there were more "free"/included dining options onboard, especially for such a large ship.  On the bright side, the pizza at Sorrento's was better than we all remembered.  😉  

 

 

 

Edited February 8, 2023 by Pellaz

[Engineroom Snipe]

This was an excellent birds-eye review. Thank you.

[SG65CB]

Dining options and times were much different on your cruise. 

 

$5,100 for three people in a balcony, four nights, is extremely high compared to a non-charter cruise. 

 

Were you able to purchase a drink package, or were drinks included in the price?

 

You didn't receive Crown and Anchor points, did you?

 

 

[George C]

We do a yearly music charter on celebrity, prices are a lot higher but great entertainment. We do get points and suites get there suite perks, 

lounge and restaurants. But level like diamond would not get those perks , restaurants regular and specialty are the same as normal cruises. In regular cabins you would need to buy drink package.

[DallasGuy75219]

3 hours ago, Pellaz said:

 

• The new Mexican venue, El Loco Fresh, was a welcome addition. They weren't offering fresh-made burritos, just pre-made chicken and beef ones, but we could make our own tacos and quesadillas.  Is this normal for them?  (I have to give Carnival's Blue Iguana Cantina the nod here, since the burritos are fresh made-to-order and are crew-served.)  

Unlike Carnival's Blue Iguana (and Chipotle and Qdoba), El Loco Fresh doesn't make burritos to order.

[Pellaz]

2 hours ago, SG65CB said:

Dining options and times were much different on your cruise. 

 

$5,100 for three people in a balcony, four nights, is extremely high compared to a non-charter cruise. 

I figured it's about 3x the normal price.   

BUT, we DO get quite a lot for it.  We were surprised they hadn't raised prices more, considering the two-year interregnum on sailings for this charter.  (Last sailed in Jan. 2020.)  

 

2 hours ago, SG65CB said:

Were you able to purchase a drink package, or were drinks included in the price?

Glad you asked!  I forgot to mention this.  

 

Drinks were not included in the price.  And here's why.....

 

Back in 2011 on the first sailing they offered the usual alcoholic drink package.  UMC had warned Royal that we were a hard-drinkin' crowd, and Royal accordingly stocked 20% additional beer for that inaugural 70K Tons cruise.  

--They ran out of beer by noon on the second day and had to re-stock in Cozumel.   😄  

They have since learned THAT lesson; NO alcohol packages are offered.   And they still ran out of Fosters on Day 4, except for a hidden stash (I'm told) at the Casino Bar.  😄   

 

I pre-purchased the Voom + Soda combined package before sailing since I'm not much of a drinker.  My friend wanted to buy it onboard, but they no longer offered that package.  He tried to buy the soda package and was told "we're not selling that on this sailing," despite the Royal app saying it was available.  Several others made the same discovery.  Guest Services contacted the Food & Beverage Manager, who intervened personally and ordered the bartenders to start selling it.  

 

My pre-purchased soda cup was not in my stateroom, so I had to get it at a bar.  They actually had to refer to a printed list to see if I'd purchased it, which I thought was pretty amazingly retro.  😮  

 

2 hours ago, SG65CB said:

You didn't receive Crown and Anchor points, did you?

Yes, we DO receive those...or at least, we have in the past.  Suite guests have received double points, as is the standard.  

 

2 hours ago, DallasGuy75219 said:

Unlike Carnival's Blue Iguana (and Chipotle and Qdoba), El Loco Fresh doesn't make burritos to order.

Darn.   The burritos weren't bad, and they didn't come pre-built with tomatoes (yech, thank goodness), but I did miss having one made-to-order.  

 

[Pellaz]

I noticed that purchases on board were tied to your stateroom number, instead of a unique folio number, leading to some confusion.   Also, the stateroom number was actually printed on the SeaPass card, sans the first digit.  So, if a stranger found someone's card, it would be easy to try the card in any possible matching stateroom on each deck.   

Also, it didn't appear that my photo was displayed on the point-of-sale system when my Seapass card was scanned, as it does on (say) Carnival.    I was bemused at the security implications.  😮  

 

[LittleJoefromKokomo]

Do you still earn points in the casino for Club Royale status on a chartered cruise?

[Jasukkie]

While that wouldn't be my cup of tea, it sounds like a lot of fun to have a cruise centered around your interests like that. People pay more than that for one concert so why not get a ship full of bands and a cruise at the same time.

[Ourusualbeach]

3 hours ago, Pellaz said:

 Also, the stateroom number was actually printed on the SeaPass card, sans the first digit

That is standard for every cruise on Royal

Edited February 8, 2023 by Ourusualbeach

[Kathscof]

I’m interested in the rule that they couldn’t perform until 12 miles out, is that normal and people just don’t mention it?  Or is it these bands getting paid better/taxes type thing?

[Pellaz]

19 hours ago, UnregisteredUser said:

Do you still earn points in the casino for Club Royale status on a chartered cruise?

 

Oh, that's a great question.    I'll ask over on our cruisers' group. 

 

16 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

That is standard for every cruise on Royal

 

Wow.  

--Just, wow. 

 

16 hours ago, Kathscof said:

I’m interested in the rule that they couldn’t perform until 12 miles out, is that normal and people just don’t mention it?  Or is it these bands getting paid better/taxes type thing?

Most of the bands are from other countries  -- I think 48 out of the 60 were, this year.  

If they perform on U.S. soil, they are required to obtain work visas, which cost over $1,000 per member (current proposals would even increase the amount).   However, if they perform in international waters, a tourist visa for U.S. entry is fine.  

 

This is one reason why the cruise can be a big draw, since we've had bands perform that virtually never tour the U.S. due to financial constraints.