Freedom of the Seas - Mechanical Problems

We were just burned by this, be cautious with last minute booking FOS until it drydocks in Jan '15.

http://www.******************.com/2014/12/13/royal-caribbeans-freedom-of-the-seas-propulsion-problems-will-slow-ship

Not the most shocking thing in the world -- lounging on the deck of a ship vs on a spit of sand, but, still would have liked to play in the water in Cococay.

Regards,

We were just burned by this, be cautious with last minute booking FOS until it drydocks in Jan '15.

 

http://www.******************.com/2014/12/13/royal-caribbeans-freedom-of-the-seas-propulsion-problems-will-slow-ship

 

Not the most shocking thing in the world -- lounging on the deck of a ship vs on a spit of sand, but, still would have liked to play in the water in Cococay.

 

Regards,

What were you "burned" by?:confused:

Royal isn't advertising the itinerary change. They basically are telling people a day before or at the pier of the itinerary change. So someone booking last minute may think they are getting a particular itinerary and then showing up and being told "the truth".

What about the people who didn't book last minute? Don't they have to deal with the unexpected change as well?

Are OBC offered to all passengers due to the change and if so I will happily take an OBC next week if the itinerary changes.

Unfortunately RCI in their contract reserves the right to change anything at anytime.........................

it's all about $$$$$$.

Even if they know there are issues with the ship.

Good luck

Safe travels

What about the people who didn't book last minute? Don't they have to deal with the unexpected change as well?

 

Are OBC offered to all passengers due to the change and if so I will happily take an OBC next week if the itinerary changes.

I think the best we can do is to make phone calls to RCCL and le them know we are aware of the problems, and would like to be informed of changes. The more people that contact them PRIOR to a cruise, the better. Yes, they seem to be trying to carry on, but there also seems to be some deception in how they are moving forward. All we want as paying customers, is honest upfront information.

I cant believe they don't know what the plan is for the next 3 weeks.

Just got off from the Freedom on the Western itinerary. The crew explained the shortcomings and did their best to get us safely to our ports. Had to skip Cozumel because a young girl had a medical emergency after departing Grand Cayman.

What about the people who didn't book last minute? Don't they have to deal with the unexpected change as well?

 

Are OBC offered to all passengers due to the change and if so I will happily take an OBC next week if the itinerary changes.

I think the point the OP is trying to make is don't jump at some of the really cheap, last minute deals that have been available for Freedom sailings since the ship is having mechanical issues.

As far as OBC, they have been inconsistent with their offers. They are dealing with it week to week since some of the sailings are have changes due to mechanical issues and medical emergencies and others just mechanical issues.

I think the point the OP is trying to make is don't jump at some of the really cheap, last minute deals that have been available for Freedom sailings since the ship is having mechanical issues.

 

As far as OBC, they have been inconsistent with their offers. They are dealing with it week to week since some of the sailings are have changes due to mechanical issues and medical emergencies and others just mechanical issues.

I just hope we are not on the news floating at sea.

How did debarkation go this morning? Did the ship get into Port Canaveral on time?

Regarding this morning: 12/14/14: We arrived on time and debarkation was initially a bit ahead of time. It slowed down, and we disembarked at 9:50am as opposed to our posted 9:15am tag. They called tags 23 through 30 at the same time. We were 26. All in all it was still a pretty smooth disembarkation. I will be writing a review, but I have to say that Captain Tor is the best, and the staff members were very visible and kind. Some passengers were, of course, very unreasonable about Cozumel, but the captain did the right thing for the baby. Will share more in my upcoming review.

We had a great time! Although missed ports are always disappointing, it is a possibility on any cruise, any cruiseline. Just make the best of every moment! I wish I could be on the ship again right now! :D

We did get a $50 OBC for the shortened port times. We had a PR (inside) stateroom.

Thank you, we are aboard New Years and we were worried we have the same long lines we had in October. Almost 2 hours in the sun was difficult for my elderly parents.

Regarding this morning: 12/14/14: We arrived on time and debarkation was initially a bit ahead of time. It slowed down, and we disembarked at 9:50am as opposed to our posted 9:15am tag. They called tags 23 through 30 at the same time. We were 26. All in all it was still a pretty smooth disembarkation. I will be writing a review, but I have to say that Captain Tor is the best, and the staff members were very visible and kind. Some passengers were, of course, very unreasonable about Cozumel, but the captain did the right thing for the baby. Will share more in my upcoming review.

 

We had a great time! Although missed ports are always disappointing, it is a possibility on any cruise, any cruiseline. Just make the best of every moment! I wish I could be on the ship again right now! :D

 

We did get a $50 OBC for the shortened port times. We had a PR (inside) stateroom.

We did not get any OBC at all . :(

We did not received an obc nor a refund of port charge either.

I certainly understand that if you book a cruise for the itinerary and the itinerary changes at the last minute that it can be extremely disappointing. We had friends on the 11/29 sailing and it was changed from Eastern to Western with 24 hours in Nassau to remove the propeller. Sure they were disappointed, but still had a great time on the cruise. And they got a big OBC.

I suspect that a lot of these last minute changes are due to currents. The ship is slower now as one of the propellers is missing. So, it is going to affect the transit times. It may be that they really don't know until a day or so before how long it'll take to get to each port. Not defending Royal Caribbean, but is longer or shorter in a port really that big a deal? Coco Cay can be "iffy" because of winds. Missed it more than once. Itineraries are always subject to change. Our last cruise we ended up picking up some Cuban Refugees in a raft and taking them toward Key West for transfer to the Coast Guard. This, obviously, affected our arrival in Cozumel. So be it. It is just how it goes.

FOS will have itinerary adjustments until after dry dock. It would behoove Royal Caribbean to put a notice on their website or advise people booking. But it is also part of the reason the cruises are lower cost.

By the way, the cruise contract allows itinerary changes and no compensation is required.

Mind you all I've just said is my opinion only.

I certainly understand that if you book a cruise for the itinerary and the itinerary changes at the last minute that it can be extremely disappointing. We had friends on the 11/29 sailing and it was changed from Eastern to Western with 24 hours in Nassau to remove the propeller. Sure they were disappointed, but still had a great time on the cruise. And they got a big OBC.

I suspect that a lot of these last minute changes are due to currents. The ship is slower now as one of the propellers is missing. So, it is going to affect the transit times. It may be that they really don't know until a day or so before how long it'll take to get to each port. Not defending Royal Caribbean, but is longer or shorter in a port really that big a deal? Coco Cay can be "iffy" because of winds. Missed it more than once. Itineraries are always subject to change. Our last cruise we ended up picking up some Cuban Refugees in a raft and taking them toward Key West for transfer to the Coast Guard. This, obviously, affected our arrival in Cozumel. So be it. It is just how it goes.

FOS will have itinerary adjustments until after dry dock. It would behoove Royal Caribbean to put a notice on their website or advise people booking. But it is also part of the reason the cruises are lower cost.

By the way, the cruise contract allows itinerary changes and no compensation is required.

Mind you all I've just said is my opinion only.

What's frustrating is that RCI is not letting anyone know. They have a pretty good idea of the itineraries based on the fact that she can only do 18.5 knots. Yes there could be some further adjustments due to currents but they are currently only letting people know late Friday prior to the Sunday cruise.

Your friends received amazing compensation considering they still had 3 days in port. Those on the 12/14 cruise went from 3 ports to having 1 1/2 port days and received half as much compensation. Do you call that fair. The people on the 12/7 cruise received no compensation.

The lower prices have no bearing on the current issues. They were low before this issue started. Also don't forget the next 2 cruise are Christmas and New Years and these folks paid 2-3 times the regular prices.

Lastly, yes shortening a port stop can dramatically affect that stop. When you are now only in St. Maarten until 1pm this does not give a whole lot of time to enjoy the island and is just a wasted day IMO.

What's frustrating is that RCI is not letting anyone know. They have a pretty good idea of the itineraries based on the fact that she can only do 18.5 knots. Yes there could be some further adjustments due to currents but they are currently only letting people know late Friday prior to the Sunday cruise.

 

Your friends received amazing compensation considering they still had 3 days in port. Those on the 12/14 cruise went from 3 ports to having 1 1/2 port days and received half as much compensation. Do you call that fair. The people on the 12/7 cruise received no compensation.

 

The lower prices have no bearing on the current issues. They were low before this issue started. Also don't forget the next 2 cruise are Christmas and New Years and these folks paid 2-3 times the regular prices.

 

Lastly, yes shortening a port stop can dramatically affect that stop. When you are now only in St. Maarten until 1pm this does not give a whole lot of time to enjoy the island and is just a wasted day IMO.

I agree!!!! And those that found out on Friday ONLY found out because THEY called RCL and/or saw it on social media.

RCL notified some, but not all, customers on Saturday. Most folks did not find out until they showed up at the pier yesterday.

I agree!!!! And those that found out on Friday ONLY found out because THEY called RCL and/or saw it on social media.

 

RCL notified some, but not all, customers on Saturday. Most folks did not find out until they showed up at the pier yesterday.

Good point. I tend to forget sometimes that the vast majority of cruisers are unaware of CC and would be totally blindsided by this at the pier on Sunday.

I'm getting there early and the shore excursions desk will be my first stop.

I was on the Dec 7th sailing too. We received $15 compensation pp for missing the port. I am frustrated because it took us years to save for the cruise (have 3 children) and we missed so much. In regards to the sick baby, had the propellers been working fine, we would have still been on Grand Cayman when it was decided to go to the hospital. That would have been much better for her too than having to wait for hours more to receive her surgery. I wished they would have offered money for another sailing. Even if it was just a little bit, it would help people like us to maybe not have to wait another 5 years.

I know that a lot of people who frequent this board are pretty savvy cruisers and cruise fairly often, more than the average traveller. When you can cruise often, an itinerary change may not seem like a big deal. Not ideal by any means but no biggie.

I think, that if they cruise has to change itinerary due to a mechanical problem, the passengers should be compensated somehow. Many, many passengers choose a trip based on itinerary. I know most of my most recent cruises were based on that. Weather is another matter, that is out the cruise line's hands.

On our first RCI cruise on the Enchantment of the Seas, wel also got an itinerary change - Nassau in place of Coco Cay - because of an engine that wasn't working and I hate Nassau. I was really looking forward to Coco Cay. We still had a wonderful cruise, we certainly didn't let it ruin our vacation. In my opinion, for them to change itinerary or skip a stop due to mechanical issues is NOT OKAY. The passengers should expect a credit.

Curious. If you were Royal Caribbean and there was an engine issue or a storm coming and the safety of passengers were in question and you had the option of not making the next port and going somewhere else what would you do? This is a no brainier in my opinion. They do the best they can. Things happen.

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I know that a lot of people who frequent this board are pretty savvy cruisers and cruise fairly often, more than the average traveller. When you can cruise often, an itinerary change may not seem like a big deal. Not ideal by any means but no biggie.

 

I think, that if they cruise has to change itinerary due to a mechanical problem, the passengers should be compensated somehow. Many, many passengers choose a trip based on itinerary. I know most of my most recent cruises were based on that. Weather is another matter, that is out the cruise line's hands.

 

On our first RCI cruise on the Enchantment of the Seas, wel also got an itinerary change - Nassau in place of Coco Cay - because of an engine that wasn't working and I hate Nassau. I was really looking forward to Coco Cay. We still had a wonderful cruise, we certainly didn't let it ruin our vacation. In my opinion, for them to change itinerary or skip a stop due to mechanical issues is NOT OKAY. The passengers should expect a credit.

Agreed. We are NOT seasoned cruiser (our second cruise is in 11 DAYS!). I am an extreme information junkie and RESEARCHED our first cruise to ensure I knew "the details" to make it really fun! I found CC before our first cruise and think it is amazing for questions and information!

We choose our cruises for the itineraries and I am REALLY hoping to get to Coco Cay this trip! I've been to Nassau and wasn't impressed.. A sea day would be my second choice over Nassau!

Our first cruise, we didn't know anything about OBC! We have some "out of the gate" this trip but agree that some consideration based on the known mechanical issues seems reasonable. I wouldn't make a purchase of an item that was missing pieces...at least at full price! I would expect some discount for my inconvenience!

Either way...New Years in the Caribbean...I'll take it!

We received $15 compensation pp for missing the port

That wasn't compensation, that was a refund of your port taxes for missing Cozumel. I was on the 12/7 sailing of the Freedom and was very disappointed in this sailing and with RC as a business. When I asked when we were getting port taxes refunded, the guest services lady was pretty nasty to me and told me to call shoreside. If we hadn't got them refunded the last night, I was going to raise heck because that is essentially stealing from the consumer.

They should have offered guests the option to cancel with full refunds and given us the choice to take a cruise that could not deliver the advertised product. This wasn't about bad weather, strong currents, political unrest, etc. This was about a mechanical problem that they knew about and cannot fix until the ship goes into dry dock. Not only were our port times cut back by 2+ hours in each port, but the issue with the sick baby made us miss Cozumel because the ship could not meet the speeds required to get us there and make up the time it took to go back to the Caymans to evacuate the baby.

The 2 sea days back to Port Canaveral were filled with opportunities to spend money on drinks, shopping, gambling, etc. I refused to give RC anymore of my money. We did not receive any OBC or a percentage off another cruise like other voyages affected by the engine problems, and I would love to know why! I had made final payment on my Oasis cruise before this cruise, but I wish I could cancel without penalty. I will not be patronizing RC anymore, which is a shame because I love to cruise!

As an aside, I would be furious if I was on a Christmas or NYE sailing on the Freedom and paid big bucks to sail on a damaged ship with missed ports, changed itineraries, etc. I wonder if those sailings will be compensated?

As an aside, I would be furious if I was on a Christmas or NYE sailing on the Freedom and paid big bucks to sail on a damaged ship with missed ports, changed itineraries, etc. I wonder if those sailings will be compensated?

The changes to the Christmas sailing are out. There is a mention of OBC but not how much it will be. We will make all 3 stops but be missing almost 8 hours port time total.

As an aside, I would be furious if I was on a Christmas or NYE sailing on the Freedom and paid big bucks to sail on a damaged ship with missed ports, changed itineraries, etc. I wonder if those sailings will be compensated?

Yes they are being compensated with OBC.