"Live from the Freedom- not!" UPDATE!!!

[beetea3]

My husband were booked back to back on Freedom last week and this week. We had a great time last week, but a long day today. We did the usual through customs and then back on the ship. We heard the rumor thaey were not sailing was no longer a rumor. We are now on Explorer after some rapid packing. CDC didn't want to let anyone from FOS on EX. Finally they were convinced and we are on with our vacation.

 

I'm sorry to all that had their plans upset this week. Glad to hear you are being well cared for. Have a great rest of the week.

[Merion_Mom]

What an interesting thing to do.........switch to the Explorer. I'm amazed that there was a cabin. What kind did you have on the Freedom, and what on the Explorer? How did RCCL work the whole thing? I'm fascinated!

[ckrobyn]

Carol -

 

Can you send me a quick email???? ckrobyn@hotmail.com

 

I got an email today that I want to share with you from someone on CC..... I'll forward it to you as soon as you email me.....

[bubbadog]

i think you guys got a great deal,i would take that in a heartbeat,and i think rci did you guys right by making a nice deal enjoy your cruise,and future discounts:))):rolleyes:

[zotzer]

Stephanie,

Gosh guys, so sorry about the delay of your cruise, but I am glad that you are being well taken care of! Freedom will hopefully be shining and clean for what is sure to be a festive sail-away on Tuesday.

 

Enjoy Miami and keep us posted!

Tracy

[zotzer]

Stephanie,

Gosh guys, so sorry about the delay of your cruise, but I am glad that you are being well taken care of! Freedom will hopefully be shining and clean for what is sure to be a festive sail-away on Tuesday.

 

Enjoy Miami and keep us posted!

Tracy

[CoronaCpl]

Diva - enjoy your time in Miami. The deal RCI offered you is great. We had the same deal offered to us a couple years back over a mechanical problem with Grandeur out of Baltimore. That 50/50 deal truly was a no-brainer for us - it paid for 1/2 our AOS cruise this past January.

 

Enjoy the cruise (once you get onboard Tuesday).

 

BTW - you're better off in Miami; not missing much here in Maryland...

[isujim]

Sounds like a fair compensation plan.........trying to make a bad situation good.........kudo's to RC..........

 

I too would like to know how many are rebooking or going on the shortened cruise........just curious.

[McDeb]

Diva & McDeb:

 

Do you have any sense of how many cancelled/how many are staying on and boarding on Tuesday?

 

Just curious.........enquiring minds want to know.

 

I was not at the Pier so it's hard to tell. But from those that we encountered at the airport (where we got the news) it looked like about less than 1/4 took the option to cancel and go home. Most of us opted to stay.

[dobie]

I would have stayed! Sounds like a good deal...

[seamour]

I am sorry to hear your cruise will be shorter than expected, but I agree they are really doing their best to take care of y'all. And I am sure noone wants to take the chance of going onboard and getting sick. Enjoy Miami while you are there !

[MBeamTX]

I applaud RCCL for the way they are handling this situation. It sounds more than fair to me.

 

I got to thinking about what this will cost the company. Essentially everyone on this sailing will cruise for free, considering the 50% refund plus 50% discount on a future sailing. Those who cancel do even better, getting a full refund plus the future credit. Then add in the $250 per person (not per cabin, right?) credit, plus the hotel bills, plus the cost of today's excursion to Parrot Jungle, plus the expense of overtime for the shoreside staff.

 

Let's go with McDeb's estimate that maybe 25% of the passengers opted to cancel. 100% refund for those passengers: $675,000, assuming an average fare of $750 per person and a nearly full ship. 50% refund for the passengers who choose to sail, roughly $1 million plus $675,000 for their onboard credit. Under the assumptions above, the 50% future credit would amount to about $1.3 million and could cost even more depending upon the specific terms of the offer, since fares are going up and people might naturally want to book a higher category since it'll be half price. Miami hotel costs, let's say average $100/night for 2 nights for the estimated 75% of passengers who chose not to cancel the cruise, that's another $270,000.

 

Total: $3,920,000. Round it up to $4 million when you throw in the shoreside excursions and overtime. And that doesn't even take into account two days of lost onboard revenue from bars, shops and the casino.

 

All because, in all probability, some people insisted on boarding the ship sick, knowingly or not; others refused to stay in their cabins once they knew they were sick; and still others just refused to wash their hands.

 

Maybe they could put a hand sanitizer and a card swpe machine at the entrance to every dining venue. You could either disinfect your hands, or incur a charge of $5 per refusal to your onboard account.

 

Just a thought. :)

 

Happy cruising,

Susan

[seamour]

I live overlooking the port of Miami...Freedom is at the very end of the piers - I will try and post a photo tomorrow.

 

For example when you board an NCL ship, you are rubbed down and sprayed with rubbing alchohol - there are mandatory hand sanitizers in each and every buffet line, at stairwells, in the bathrooms, etc. and when you come back on board from shore, you are again "desanitized".

 

wow what a view you must have !

I have to ask, what exactly do you mean you are rubbed down and sprayed with rubbing alcohol ? And mandatory hand sanitizers ? How is this enforced ?

 

TIA

[p0mpey]

I just got off the Serenade yesterday and they had had several outbreaks the week before we sailed thus they were on high alert. The ship was given extra cleaning before anyone got onboard last Saturday and there were sanitizers everywhere. We all had to use them before boarding the ship, on entering the Windjammer and casino. Tables, hand rails etc. were constantly being sanitized. Heard through the grapevine that about 23 people contracted the NV but could have been worse. The staff worked very hard to keep everyone healthy.

[cruising lady]

Sorry to hear about your shorten cruise Diva. We were on the Nov 26 cruise and had alot of people get sick including some from our group several of us got sick after leaving the ship on the way home Sun. Hopefully they will be able to get all the germs off the ship. RCCL seems to be doing all they can.to stop it. They were disinfecting every thing when we were on the ship always wiping down railings, handles everything that could be disinfected was being cleaned. Last weeks sailing was delayed several hours so they could clean, but this virus must be stubborn.

 

Enjoy your cruise when you finally get on the ship. It is really a great ship with so much going on all the time. I would sail her again anytime.

[1aparty]

For everyone that is sailing for the Dec. 10th.., I gratefull that RCCL has stepped up to the plate and taken care of everyone, sounds great.

 

But what has happen to all on the Dec. 3rd ship passangers, everyone OK?

[divaofdisney]

Good Morning .....to answer some questions I would say that there are quite a lot of us that opted to stay from the looks of all the people bussed to this hotel and many others. It took over an hour 1/2 or so to check in last night and the line was wrapped all around the lobby. I have spoken to alot of people and they are surprisingly taking it all in stride and in good spirits. Most know it wasn't their fault and that they are doing everything in their power to make things as comfortable as they can for us. I have not really seen many people upset at all. Like I always say, it's what you make of it. You can choose to be miserable or you can make it an adventure and just go with the flow so to speak. I am having a good time despite the events of yesterday. And, this hotel is beautiful IMO. Well that's about it for now. Going to go and get some morning coffee. I'll be back later and try to keep you al updated as to how this all goes. Have a good day everyone.

[AFT_LOVER]

at class hotels, great food, beach, plety of others like you to get to know before the shortened cruise. So rebook it to all the great ports at 50% off.

[MLinFL]

Sorry and surprised to hear about the delayed cruise. We were scheduled to be on this cruise, but had to cancel at the end of November when my husband found out he had to have by-pass surgery. He had the surgery on 11/29 and is home now recovering. Yesterday I was thinking about all on this cruise - thinking they were on their way to a week of cruising.

As Diva said, although the plans for you all have been changed, you can still have a great vacation. Enjoy your time in Miami and I'll pray that you will have a wonderful, albeit, shortened cruise starting on Tuesday.

Please keep us informed as to how this all works out!

Mary Lou

[beachlovergirl]

Stefanie - Sorry to hear that your cruise is delayed but it sounds like you have just made it part of the adventure! Good for you!

 

What hotel did RCI put you in and how did you enjoy your day in Miami today???

 

On the news this morning they said that the Sea Princess also returned to port with lots of sick passengers so it wasn't just the Freedom.

 

Dee

[Cruisingoose]

We were part of the 11/26 - and I guarentee you about 1,300 were sick on that sailing.. the CDC met us at the dock and were all over the ship.

 

Husband went into the hospital last Wed (got the virus the day we left)...he is ok now but that is nothing that you guys would want to encounter on the ship - Glad to see RCCL is stepping up to the plate..

[BillOh]

Sorry and surprised to hear about the delayed cruise. We were scheduled to be on this cruise, but had to cancel at the end of November when my husband found out he had to have by-pass surgery.

Mary Lou

 

While RCI seems to be doing all they can, I'm glad he didn't have to deal with this ordeal. At least no winter storms last week or this week. Good luck. I assume you haven't rescheduled?

[divaofdisney]

Dee- We were in group 2 and we're staying at the Hyatt Regency. Just finished working out and getting some coffee. Plan to leave in a little bit to go the bayside marketplace. Should be fun. RCCL already downstairs this morning answering questions and helping folks plan their day today. They have a hospitality desk set up downstairs and have been there for many hours already. I think they are doing a fantastic job keeping all of us informed. Tomorrow should be interesting!!

[jspang]

Sonds like the cruise industry has some real issues. Hopefully they can get this under control. RCCL sounds like they are making good offers to everyone though. We were on the AOS on 11/5, 3 out of 4 of us got the "Norovirus" but we were offered nothing. We did get alot of bathroom time though.

[nrdsb4]

For example when you board an NCL ship, you are rubbed down and sprayed with rubbing alchohol - there are mandatory hand sanitizers in each and every buffet line, at stairwells, in the bathrooms, etc. and when you come back on board from shore, you are again "desanitized".

 

This virus is prevalent on land and essentially carries itself on board - so tell me please what RCI does to prevent the "spread" of the bacteria. NOTE*** NCL has NOT had an event regarding this problem, so what is RCI (not) doing?

 

I too would like to know what you mean by "rubbed down and sprayed with rubbing alcohol." Yikes, that sounds a little extreme.

 

Noro is a virus, not bacteria, and it's quite contagious. I'm surprised there aren't more outbreaks on cruise ships considering how prevalent it is in society.