siestaclaud

We just took the Aqua Dream 2 catamaran snorkel on Friday - booked through Freedom of the Seas. I believe it was $39 per person. The boat was nice, plenty of room for a group and had bathrooms. We took a short cruise to the snorkel spots just off the beach not far from the ship. The snorkeling is not that great. We had WAY better snorkeling on Coco Cay if that tells you anything. The current is very strong. The catamaran drops you off and you follow the guide down the shoreline in about 20 feet of water. Then they picked us up and we sailed a bit further to a more shallow area. Same thing - not a lot of fish, and very little coral. The was very clear and warm, but it would have been nice to actually see some more fish! After about 1 hour of snorkeling, we went back on the catamaran for a short relaxing sail with rum punch, beer and margaritas. They did not taste strong but they were! Carlos was the head guide and he was really good and made the trip fun. I would do it again for the sail and the drinks! :)

OMG - I am a tired idiot - we docked in Montego Bay - not Ocho Rios ...only home 2 days and my cruise has worn off!!:mad:

Well said! I misspoke (if that is possible via typing. :-)) What I meant to say is that tour guides are know you need to be back or the ship will leave you. Take the ownership, tell your guide and as siestaclaud stated above...make sure you keep the driver aware towards the end ofthe day.

 

It was about 1 1/2 hours between Falmouth and BH. Like I said, I like having a buffer so we were back about 2 hours before the ship was due to leave. We then just spent the next hour or so walking around the port.

 

You are so generous with the tip! Good for you! We tipped them well too...our BH guides were awesome!

Jen - we tipped $40 each on a group of 9! But they were really good, so fun! They nicked named my sons girlfriend "goddess" a nickname that she will now have forever! I honestly wish we could have stayed there all day! We tried to have a buffer (hence 3pm request) - but it just wasn't happening - and after a few rum punches and red stripes I tried not to care...really I tried! Wouldn't you know the ship didn't even set sail until 6 pm - hurry up and wait for others! The story of our trip!

We did the tour with Liberty but from Ocho Rios - which is 45 minutes further away. Our ship was late to arrive (we were off the ship at 10 am), and traffic was horrible because it was New Years Eve. We made it back to the ship with 2 minutes to spare before the all aboard at 4:30. I was freaking out! That being said - if you have more time in port than we did, you will have plenty of time from Falmouth. We wanted to shop, raft, and do Blue Hole and Scotchies, but only made it to Blue hole and picked up Scotchies to go - which our driver suggested - but we should not have done. Don't rely on your guide to know the time for your ship. Tell him EXACTLY when you want to be back to the ship and make him stick to it. We told our guide and got "no problem". :cool: I would say it is a 90 minute drive from Falmouth to Blue Hole. Bring water shoes, wear your swim suits (no changing areas), water camera and NO valuables. We tipped our Blue Hole guides $40 each. It was interesting (pot brownies for sale - and our guide was paid with a small bag of weed) but no one badgered us to buy anything, just had a fun day swimming and relaxing - until the ride back.....ahhhh!!!!:eek:

Just got this email at 6:57 PM CT 12/23/14

Dear Freedom of the Seas Guest:

We are writing to provide you with important information regarding modifications to the scheduled itinerary of the December 28, 2014 sailing of Freedom of the Seas.

Freedom of the Seas is currently experiencing a small restriction on her top speed. All equipment is fully operational and there is no impact on the maneuverability of the ship or on the safety of our guests and crew. However, it is necessary to make some slight changes to the itinerary for Freedom of the Seas’ December 28 sailing. All scheduled ports on the itinerary – CocoCay, Montego Bay, GeorgeTown and Cozumel – will remain, with adjustments made to the time spent in port.

The revised itinerary will be:

DAY PORT ARRIVAL DEPARTURE

Sunday Port Canaveral 4:30 p.m.

Monday CocoCay, Bahamas 7:00 a.m. 3:00 p.m.

Tuesday At sea

Wednesday Montego Bay, Jamaica 9:00 a.m. 5:00 p.m.

Thursday GeorgeTown, Grand Cayman 7:00 a.m. 2:30 p.m.

Friday Cozumel, Mexico 10:00 a.m. 4:00 p.m.

Saturday At sea

Sunday Port Canaveral, Florida 6:00 a.m.

There should be no further impact to the itinerary, unless we encounter inclement weather during our voyage. Any adverse weather conditions, such as strong winds, could further reduce the ship's overall speed.

We apologize for these developments and their impact on your scheduled itinerary. Our staff in Port Canaveral will do their very best to minimize any further inconvenience to you and our shipboard team looks forward to welcoming you onboard.

Sincerely,

Royal Caribbean International

Thank you for the update. I was about to start booking our excursions after having made final decisions over the Thanksgiving holiday. I've held off hoping to feel better about what time and ports will apply. I REALLY hope we get some kind of confirmation soon. The Dec 21 cruise heard about their port times on Tuesday or Wednesday before their sail date. Fingers crossed!

I will post anything I see or hear - BUT if others on this sailing would also call (I was only on hold about 1 minute) I am a firm believer in the "squeaky wheel" theory. If more of us want to know maybe they will be more forthcoming with a decision - here is the phone #(866) 562-7625:cool::):cool::)

So it's fair that another person paid significantly more for the same room than what you paid? It's the same room. Going to the same ports. Same food. Same service. With discounts, TAs, sales, "status" etc., we all paid different money for the same product. Hardly seems "fair" but RCCL said this is the price and we all signed up.

 

RCCL is reacting to all this "hub bub" and "complaining" calls, letters, emails. That's why some weeks got while others didn't! It is what it is. Seems ridiculous to keep berating the issue. IMHO.

 

Before the backlash to me...I'm on the December 28 sailing. I paid WAY to much, have a little OBC and really just want to KNOW what the anticipated ports and times will be. Anything else is gravy!

I am on the phone with RCCL right now - 10 am ET Tuesday morning 12/23. CS agent says - and she also checked with supervisor- that no updates for the 12/28 Freedom sailing are available right now. She has no indication of when any update may be available - but she did say and I quote - "prior cruises have been given OBC due to problems with this ship. "

I expressed my concern that getting information out over the next 2 days (holiday) may be difficult. She validated my concern, stating there would be fewer CS reps in the call center, and executives would also be on holiday. But she did say cruise operations would be running as normal - however information/updates about our 12/28 itinerary might be slower to appear.

She was nice and polite. I was too. Just waiting it out. Hope we find out something soon so I can change our excursions before we leave home. NOW - back to wrapping, cooking, cleaning - and oh yes PACKING - I haven't even thought about that yet......ok maybe a little.

Going to all scheduled ports, with reduced time in ports.

I would be happy with it too. We have 4 cabins (3 interior - 1 balcony) so if it stays the same for next week - we are up $1325! Not bad.

Per the roll call board for 12/21 Freedom - $300 OBC for interior rooms.

Just saw this post on the shipmate app.

"Well I'm on the ship, $425 per cabin on board credit, I'm not having it, I will keep you all posted what happens"

Not sure what type of room he has. I will see what else he has to say and post here.

Anyone else hear anything on current Freedom sailing? We leave on the 28th - next Sunday for NYE cruise.

I appreciate all the input, pro or con.

 

I am not trying to be too much of a crazy over planner, but with 5 people, 3 airlines, and 3 flight times, it is a bit of a mess!

 

The compass I just found from a recent Allure cruise said Luggage Valet can leave after 8AM. That would seem to imply anytime after 8AM.

 

Like you said, we could all just leave when luggage valet is called, say 830, which would not get everyone to the airport too early (other than me, but that is OK).

Ok - we have 9 people not all the same flights, need to get to Jacksonville mid day. How will they know if we are using Luggage Valet or not? Cant we just walk off early with everyone else? I know we will have to wait it out in customs - but whats the difference? thanks!

Thank you so much for posting this update. Glad to hear you are still hitting all the ports. We cruise on the 28th and I am sure there will be some changes. At least we are prepared for them.

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 found this from another thread....

Originally Posted by Oceanswave View Post

December 13, 2014

Dear Freedom of the Seas Guest:

We are writing to provide you with important information regarding modifications to your scheduled itinerary.

Freedom of the Seas is currently experiencing a small restriction on her top speed. All equipment is fully operational and there is no impact on the maneuverability of the ship or on the safety of our guests and crew. However, it is necessary to make some slight changes to your itinerary. Your revised itinerary will be:

DAY PORT ARRIVAL DEPARTURE

Sunday Port Canaveral 4:30 p.m.

Monday At sea

Tuesday At sea

Wednesday Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas 7:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m.

Thursday Philipsburg, St. Maarten 7:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m.

Friday At sea

Saturday At sea

Sunday Port Canaveral, Florida 6:00 a.m.

There should be no further impact to the itinerary, unless we encounter inclement weather during our voyage. Any adverse weather conditions, such as strong winds, could further reduce the ship's overall speed.

We apologize for this impact to your cruise vacation. As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank you for your understanding, Royal Caribbean International will provide each stateroom with an onboard credit. A letter with the credit amount will be delivered to your stateroom. This credit will be applied directly to your onboard account and may be used for any onboard purchase or service. Any unused portion will be refunded to you at the end of your cruise.

Guests who booked shore excursions in CocoCay, Bahamas, through Royal Caribbean will have those funds automatically refunded to them in the form of a credit to their onboard account. This credit may be used to book another shore excursion, or for any purchases onboard. Any unused portion will be refunded to you. Our Shore Excursion staff would be happy to assist you with activities and excursions in St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

Again, we apologize for these developments and their impact on your scheduled itinerary. Our staff in Port Canaveral will do their very best to minimize any further inconvenience to you and our shipboard team looks forward to welcoming you onboard.

Sincerely,

Royal Caribbean International

December 13, 2014

 

 

 

Dear Freedom of the Seas Guest:

 

We are writing to provide you with important information regarding modifications to your scheduled itinerary.

Freedom of the Seas is currently experiencing a small restriction on her top speed. All equipment is fully operational and there is no impact on the maneuverability of the ship or on the safety of our guests and crew. However, it is necessary to make some slight changes to your itinerary. Your revised itinerary will be:

 

 

DAY PORT ARRIVAL DEPARTURE

Sunday Port Canaveral 4:30 p.m.

Monday At sea

Tuesday At sea

Wednesday Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas 7:00 a.m. 7:00 p.m.

Thursday Philipsburg, St. Maarten 7:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m.

Friday At sea

Saturday At sea

Sunday Port Canaveral, Florida 6:00 a.m.

 

There should be no further impact to the itinerary, unless we encounter inclement weather during our voyage. Any adverse weather conditions, such as strong winds, could further reduce the ship's overall speed.

We apologize for this impact to your cruise vacation. As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank you for your understanding, Royal Caribbean International will provide each stateroom with an onboard credit. A letter with the credit amount will be delivered to your stateroom. This credit will be applied directly to your onboard account and may be used for any onboard purchase or service. Any unused portion will be refunded to you at the end of your cruise.

Guests who booked shore excursions in CocoCay, Bahamas, through Royal Caribbean will have those funds automatically refunded to them in the form of a credit to their onboard account. This credit may be used to book another shore excursion, or for any purchases onboard. Any unused portion will be refunded to you. Our Shore Excursion staff would be happy to assist you with activities and excursions in St. Maarten and St. Thomas.

Again, we apologize for these developments and their impact on your scheduled itinerary. Our staff in Port Canaveral will do their very best to minimize any further inconvenience to you and our shipboard team looks forward to welcoming you onboard.

Sincerely,

 

 

Royal Caribbean International

Thank you so much for posting this! I am hopeful our sailing on the 28th will not have changes (different itinerary) but regardless - we will carry on with our family fun!! :cool::)

Just off FOS today and they only had 2 customs agents at 9:45 so that may be the hold up? Pretty big backups to get off the ship. I'd be pretty upset at 2 ports on a 7 day cruise, are they giving you the option to cancel without penalty?

We are on FOS on the 28th. I have called and asked about changes and port times, and was told there is nothing changed. I have been watching the threads on FOS for months - and when the prop issue cam up and was "fixed" in Nassau a few weeks ago, several people on CC have called in and asked the same questions - only to be told the same thing. All changes seem to be happening "on the fly" so that RCCL is not accountable for any of it and it's merely a coincidence that "problems" are happening.

While I am not happy to hear of all the changes and secrecy by RCCL - I am hoping for the best for our cruise on NYE for 9 of us. We planned this a year ago, and we will have fun regardless!!

If anyone else is just off FOS could you post what and how changes and info was revealed to you? Was anyone giving additional OBC due to not making the ports? In know last week there was a medical issue so Cozumel was skipped, so maybe not.

Thanks Tom lots of good info.

 

It will be a family vacation...but we've done Celebrity 5 times now w/ the kids and they loved it.

 

I think we are just a bit concerned that RCL wouldnt be as enjoyable as Celebrity.

 

The prices for the sailings we're looking at right now are about $200 more PP on Celebrity. Thats quite a bit of difference.

We would book on Celebrity over RCL in a heart beat - with kids. Our third cruise with kids was on Celebrity Summit. It was amazing! It was a true family vacation! We spent our days at the pool or in port, had dinners together and then the kids were free to head off with new found friends and activities after dinner. Our second cruise with kids was on RCL we hardly saw them. They never wanted to go into port or have dinner because there was just so much going on for kids on the ship. It was even difficult to get them into bed at a decent hour because the RCL programs for teens went late into the night. I was exhausted trying to keep up and them and keep track of 4 of them at all hours of the day. Our first cruise with kids was Carnival - it was a good first experience with them, and they were much younger, but I did not enjoy the ambiance of the ship - just didn't meet up to expectations. We are back on RCL in 3 weeks with 7 kids - this time they are bringing friends. They are older now, and enjoy hanging with us and sharing experiences. We originally booked on Celebrity for this trip, but we could found out we could not use our gift cards on Celebrity only RCL so here we go!! Either way you will have a great time, but I do enjoy Celebrity more. It is more relaxing, less crowds and noise, and a bit more refined. I liked that!

Anyone get any info yet on where we'll be going next week?? Has anyone called RCI or crown and anchor?

I called yesterday. Talked to CS rep. Was told there are no changes for the FOS sailings from now until the dry dock. We are on 12/28 sailing - Western itinerary to Coco Cay, Jamaica, Grand Cayman and Cozumel.

I paid close attention to the last sailing. Repairs were made in Nassau in less than 2 days. Then they sailed on to Cozumel, which is a long run. Not sure if we will be able to make all the ports, but I am ok with that as long as we get a hefty OBC so I can drink for free and forget about it!!

There were no changes to the current 12/7 sailing if I am correct. So that makes me believe everything might be ok for now - or we will just find out when we get to the port on 12/28. Just glad I am cruising, with the fam, for NYE! Fun times!

:cool::confused::cool::confused: :)

Here is what someone posted who is currently on Freedom B2B:

 

We are currently on board (b2b) Here is what was in the letter we got:

"During FOS last sailing, the ship experienced a mechanical issue with one of the ship's three propulsion motors. The situation does not affect the safety or maneuverability of the ship, but it does require that we remove the propeller blades from that pod in order to avoid additional damage to the motor. Our plan is to remove the blades while the ship is docked at the Bahamas. At this time we anticipate that this work will take approximately 24 hours to complete."

 

Schedule:

Sunday: Depart PC At 4:30

Monday: arrive at Nassau at 12 noon

Tuesday: depart Nassau at 12midnight

Wednesday : sea day

Thursday: Cozumel 11am-6pm

Friday: sea day

Saturday: CocoCay 9am-4pm

Sunday: Dock at 6am

 

25% future cruise credit

Undetermined OBC

 

Hope this helps!

 

 

This does help! A lot!! Thank you for posting the updates!

 

Also regarding the media - yes they do not care about a change in an itinerary - but they DO care about a ship that is broken, and what the company is doing about it to fix it and to compensate their guests.

Hopefully the press gets ahold of this soon, then RCCL will have to make a statement about this and upcoming cruises. If anyone reads anything can you post a link here to share? Thanks!

This may have already been asked - but - is do you think that some of this issue will be fixed while the ship is in Nassau for 2 days this week? We are scheduled to go on Dec 28th - NYE cruise - paying almost double the regular fare due to holiday! ugh!

We are signed up to use them next week. We are taking it a bit easy by going to Martha Brae and then site seeing. Most worried that the weather will cause us to cancel. Taking kids 8 and 11. We found them through Trip Advisor and were a little suspicious of the many reviewers with only 1 review. But we are taking a chance. So far through emails they seem really nice.

 

If you ask me in a few weeks, I will be happy to let you know how it went.

Hi Landni - How was Chuck Norris tours? Ready to book for a 12.31.2014 date and just wondering about your trip? Thanks!