Freedom of the Seas - Mechanical Problems

[Hank99]

Does anyone know the usual speed and the restricted speed?

 

I'm wondering what the size of this restriction is.

 

I'm aware it will be less of an impact in conditions where the currents and wind are in the right direction... but they have suggested it is a "small restriction" - is that reasonable?

 

It would also seem they have known about this for some time. It seems unreasonable to continue to display an itinerary based on normal cruising capability until last night. The chances of changing it would appear to have been far greater than normal, with this known restriction.

 

We will be going Sunday to enjoy ourselves, for sure, but the above is not encouraging and seems somewhat unfair.

Edited December 24, 2014 by Hank99

[cruisegirl1]

Does anyone know the usual speed and the restricted speed?

 

I'm wondering what the size of this restriction is.

 

I'm aware it will be less of an impact in conditions where the currents and wind are in the right direction... but they have suggested it is a "small restriction" - is that reasonable?

 

It would also seem they have known about this for some time. It seems unreasonable to continue to display an itinerary based on normal cruising capability until last night. The chances of changing it would appear to have been far greater than normal, with this known restriction.

 

We will be going Sunday to enjoy ourselves, for sure, but the above is not encouraging and seems somewhat unfair.

 

We all anticipated a change. The ship has been having issues for the last 4 to 6 weeks. It is almost comical that the email said that there were "developments" that will cause our itinerary to be changed.

 

My concern is once we are on board, there will be further delays but it will be blamed on weather or sea conditions.

 

As absent in the letter , there is no compensation for any of the announced changes. And, I imagine there will be no compensation if there are further delays because of weather or sea conditions.

 

M

[BillB48]

Does anyone know the usual speed and the restricted speed?

 

I'm wondering what the size of this restriction is.

 

 

When the Independence had a similar problem (blades removed from the fixed pod) the top speed with the two remaining azipods was 18-19 knots as opposed to the 21-22 knots with all three. They ran the ship like that for over two years, of course most of the time it was in Europe and probably could configure itineraries to match the restriction on speed.

[ratred]

Merry Christmas All,

 

Question How can Royal say the they are having a small restriction in top speed(prop removed) and then say the vessel is 100%?

 

Have they now changed western trips?

[Hank99]

So a "small restriction" means it will be operating around 80% to 85% of what it should be. And they knew this weeks ago and just announced the itinerary changes last night. Not great, and I think I agree with Cruisegirl... quite possible this is impacted further later on.

 

Thanks for the info Bill

 

Ratred... The Western Caribbean trip itinerary (departing this Sunday) was changed late yesterday (US Eastern Time)... A week after we booked it, after reading the itinerary they had on their website...

 

We are still going to enjoy it of course and hope they don't have to change it further :cool:

[winobucks]

Here is the email I just received from Noreen at the executive offices.

 

 

Thank you for contacting the Executive Offices of Royal Caribbean International. After reviewing your correspondence, Mr. Goldstein has requested that I respond to your concerns on his behalf. I have tried to reach you via phone; I regret that we were not able to speak.

 

Please accept our sincere apologies that you missed visiting Cozumel, Mexico due to a medical emergency onboard and had reduced time in the remaining ports due to the ship’s propulsion issue. While we recognize that you were disappointed, please understand that, Royal Caribbean International reserves the right to change an itinerary without notice. This information is reflected in our brochures and Cruise Ticket Contracts. We do, however, make all efforts to adhere to originally advertised itineraries. We truly regret any inconvenience due to this change; however, we must advise that no service recovery will be provided for these concerns.

 

Please be assured, your comments have been shared with our Executive teams for their internal review. We appreciate the time you have taken to share your experience.

 

I am sorry for your disappointing experience. Sometimes, despite our best efforts and good intentions, things do not go the way we had hoped. Please feel free to direct any additional questions or concerns to me and I will be happy to help. We truly hope you will give us the opportunity to welcome you both onboard one of our ships in the future.

 

Sincerely,

 

Noreen O'Dwyer Roach

Executive Representative

[elas]

We also were on FOS from 12/7 to 12/14. We booked well ahead of time and were only notified of the change in itinerary as we boarded. RCCL had our phone number and email to contact us if needed. The emergency with the baby was handled appropriately, but if the ship was functioning properly, we would not have missed Cozumel. Maybe we would have been late to the port, but we could have gotten there. If RCCL offered an OBC to passengers they would have gotten much of it back, since it would likely have been spent on board. We had an enjoyable cruise, but all could have been handled better by the cruise line.

[LMaxwell]

Here is the email I just received from Noreen at the executive offices.

 

 

Thank you for contacting the Executive Offices of Royal Caribbean International. After reviewing your correspondence, Mr. Goldstein has requested that I respond to your concerns on his behalf. I have tried to reach you via phone; I regret that we were not able to speak.

 

Please accept our sincere apologies that you missed visiting Cozumel, Mexico due to a medical emergency onboard and had reduced time in the remaining ports due to the ship’s propulsion issue. While we recognize that you were disappointed, please understand that, Royal Caribbean International reserves the right to change an itinerary without notice. This information is reflected in our brochures and Cruise Ticket Contracts. We do, however, make all efforts to adhere to originally advertised itineraries. We truly regret any inconvenience due to this change; however, we must advise that no service recovery will be provided for these concerns.

 

Please be assured, your comments have been shared with our Executive teams for their internal review. We appreciate the time you have taken to share your experience.

 

I am sorry for your disappointing experience. Sometimes, despite our best efforts and good intentions, things do not go the way we had hoped. Please feel free to direct any additional questions or concerns to me and I will be happy to help. We truly hope you will give us the opportunity to welcome you both onboard one of our ships in the future.

 

Sincerely,

 

Noreen O'Dwyer Roach

Executive Representative

Maybe ask why 3 of 4 cruises were compensated. It is a totally reasonable and fair question.

Edited December 24, 2014 by LMaxwell

[Alwaysacruiseinthequeue]

I think they only helicopter people off the ship if the person is going to die if they don't get off the ship immediately...someone correct me if I'm wrong. I'm in the medical field and I found it strange they said the ships doctor had to travel with the baby in the ambulance because they didn't have the proper medical equipment. I've never heard of an ambulance not having proper medical equipment. This isn't a third would country we are talking about, this is the Cayman Islands. I was also on the 12/7 sailing and think they just decided to wash their hands of us...did anyone notice the captain stopped making the daily video announcements after grand cayman? I'm in the process of writing a review of this cruise. While it wasn't the 'cruise from hell' for me, it was the worst I've been on and it totally turned me off RCI - I won't be giving them anymore of my vacation dollars after my cruise on the Oasis ( already made final payment).

 

I just called to see if there would be any consideration at all of the matter - especially since the lack of a third prop prevented us from being in the Caymans our scheduled time and/or the turnaround being quick enough to make it to Cozumel. By using the emergency, it was a money-saving ditch, IMO. I'm with you. I'm done. Sad thing is, this was only my second sailing with the line.

[Alwaysacruiseinthequeue]

Something really does smell fishy about the whole thing. I did a google search and found that this rich Caribbean island has top notch medical helicopters that contain most everything a hospital does. Even better than most ambulances. That's a quote from the article. The Captain told us they didn't have a medical helicopter. You are right about them washing our hands of us. The cruise before and after got compensation. We only got 20 hours of port time instead of 34. According to several staff I spoke with these medical emergencies happen often but the ships just pick up speed to catch up. Had all propellers been working we could have caught up easily. We were only travelling at 14 knots on the way back. We could have also stopped at CoCo Cay Bahamas at the RCL port since Cozumel wasn't possible. From what I heard the Captain wasn't going to take any chances as the previous cruise came in late and RCL had to pay for a lot of missed flights.

 

I feel so used.

[mogwaiyung]

Maybe ask why 3 of 4 cruises were compensated. It is a totally reasonable and fair question.

 

Agree! I think most would understand the ship going back to Grand Cayman for the 9 month old child who required further medical attention.

 

However, the lack of RCI being transparent prior to boarding the cruise about the change in itinerary and not compensating the Dec 7th cruise like they did with the other cruises is unfair and unreasonable.

 

We paid to be on a working ship not on a broken one. If anyone knew this would happen prior to paying for the trip, I bet no one would've chosen to pay to cruise on FOS.

[orville99]

Not really sure what to believe anymore. Captain stated that a medical helicopter was not sent because the Grand Cayman Islands doesn't have a proper medical helicopter. Being one of the richest islands I doubted this and googled it. Sure enough they have top of the line medical helicopters that are better equipped than most ambulances and have tons of equipment on board to handle the worst emergencies. Then I heard that the family of the sick child could not afford to hire the helicopter so that is why the Captain turned around. Either way, something doesn't add up.

 

Having a medical helicopter, and having a helicopter with a crew trained in and equipped for a rolling sea basket lift rescue are two completely different things. Even the Coast Guard would rather do a basket rescue than risk landing on a moving vessel, and they're the best trained crews on the planet. Having the best medical equipment in the world on board a helicopter does you no good if the crew can't extract the patient.

[homeschoolmama]

Another factor is that if an island has medical helicopters they are often sent out to rescues on nearby islands. Just because they have onedoes not mean at a given moment it is available. Why can't people give others the benefit of the doubt, instead of immediately assuming someone is trying to keep you in the dark or is deceptive.

 

On my b2b on fos in November I found the captain and his crew some of the most transparent and present officers I haveever seen on a ship.....rccl or otherwise! He constantly was walking through the ship and genuinely wanted to hear what passengers had to say. Things happen. Instead of griping offer a prayer for the baby and family.....and maybe a prayer that your family is never in a similar health crisis.

 

Be thankful there is a cruiseline that cares enough to save lives. We were on Princess a couple years back and after my sister did cpr for over an hour on a passenger the second officer greeted us by saying "oh I did hear someone died, but I am going on break." Not one staff or officer on that ship did anything other than act bothered. I will give up a port any day of the week to know I am sailing on a cruiseline that values life

 

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[LoveyHowell]

Be thankful there is a cruiseline that cares enough to save lives. We were on Princess a couple years back and after my sister did cpr for over an hour on a passenger the second officer greeted us by saying "oh I did hear someone died, but I am going on break." Not one staff or officer on that ship did anything other than act bothered. I will give up a port any day of the week to know I am sailing on a cruiseline that values life

 

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Sorry, don't buy that.

[homeschoolmama]

Don't buy what? That it happened? Google drowning in granada, princess cruise. Ask any of the other 4 people who along with us were trying to save his life and watched an ambulance crew 1 hour and 15 minutes after he first went under finally come and declare him deceased. Ask them about being given a piece of paper and envelope while we sat in a bar because noone from princess would talk to us. Ask the ship doctor who yelled at my sister for doing cpr. Talk to the wife who watched this horror for over an hour and then was left alone on the beach with a towel over her husband and police tape around him without one single ship person present. Ask the 2nd officer about the conversation we had on the pier as he was going on break. Ask my sister who for an hour plus watched the man's eyes come back to life only to slip away again while she gave mouth to mouth kneeling in hot sand.

 

I repeat, I will miss a port any day rather than ever go through what went down that day. Hope it never happens to you! Believe what you want but there are 75 people who were on the excursion that day who can verify this. Please do not call someone a liar unless you were there! Kudos to rcfl for putting a baby's life over the pressure of passengers. If you were the captain what would you have done for that baby, if not turn around to get help

 

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[olszie]

I do not mind missing one port to save a child's life. What rubs me the wrong way is the compensation that was handed out to the other cruises but not ours. I would have been happy with a discount off of a future cruise. It would not have even had to be much just something to say hey we are sorry the ship was not running at capacity we hope to make it up to you in the future.

 

I know that my next 2 cruises that I have booked will not be on RCCL. Maybe one day I will go back but right now I am not happy with their decision. I know they really are not going to care about my sailing on another line because someone will take my place but it gives me an excuse to try other lines. Who knows I might find one I am really happy with.

[winobucks]

I just called to see if there would be any consideration at all of the matter - especially since the lack of a third prop prevented us from being in the Caymans our scheduled time and/or the turnaround being quick enough to make it to Cozumel. By using the emergency, it was a money-saving ditch, IMO. I'm with you. I'm done. Sad thing is, this was only my second sailing with the line.

 

After speaking with someone yesterday I believe that if more people keep phoning and complaining they will do something. There have been a lot of complaints to their customer line- keep trying people. But I agree that if there is no compensation I will not be cruising with Royal Caribbean again. That was my first time and huge disappointment.

Edited December 25, 2014 by winobucks

[Retired LEO]

after speaking with someone yesterday i believe that if more people keep phoning and complaining they will do something. There have been a lot of complaints to their customer line- keep trying people. But i agree that if there is no compensation i will not be cruising with royal caribbean again. That was my first time and huge disappointment.

 

[LMaxwell]

[attach]334655[/attach]

You may think people are just complainers but if RCI won't treat the 12/7 guests right what do you think they will do when it is you with an issue? This is about providing FAIR and EQUITABLE customer service.

[Redsfan]

[attach]334655[/attach]

 

What point is your post? Clearly you are a frequent cruiser so what is one cruise that is a miss in your mind? I was one of those affected on the 11/30 cruise and although we made the best of things and still enjoyed our Vacation. However, we were also a first time RCI cruiser, and knowing that this boat has had it's issues did not make a very good first impression upon me. Royal knew exactly what could happen and should have done something about it sooner..

 

Would I hesitate to travel Royal again, coming from Carnival? Yes I would as we were not happy. Has this happened, or could happen with Carnival, for sure...

[ratred]

Why would RCCL give 12/21 sailing $300 credit inside and $400 balcony?

[ryguyburns]

Here is the email I just received from Noreen at the executive offices.

 

 

Thank you for contacting the Executive Offices of Royal Caribbean International. After reviewing your correspondence, Mr. Goldstein has requested that I respond to your concerns on his behalf. I have tried to reach you via phone; I regret that we were not able to speak.

 

Please accept our sincere apologies that you missed visiting Cozumel, Mexico due to a medical emergency onboard and had reduced time in the remaining ports due to the ship’s propulsion issue. While we recognize that you were disappointed, please understand that, Royal Caribbean International reserves the right to change an itinerary without notice. This information is reflected in our brochures and Cruise Ticket Contracts. We do, however, make all efforts to adhere to originally advertised itineraries. We truly regret any inconvenience due to this change; however, we must advise that no service recovery will be provided for these concerns.

 

Please be assured, your comments have been shared with our Executive teams for their internal review. We appreciate the time you have taken to share your experience.

 

I am sorry for your disappointing experience. Sometimes, despite our best efforts and good intentions, things do not go the way we had hoped. Please feel free to direct any additional questions or concerns to me and I will be happy to help. We truly hope you will give us the opportunity to welcome you both onboard one of our ships in the future.

 

Sincerely,

 

Noreen O'Dwyer Roach

Executive Representative

 

Frankly, I am quite disgusted that you would even have the balls to write and complain about the missed port considering that it was purely for a medical emergency. Had it been you that fell ill, you would expect the same treatment or more. The decision to turn around and provide proper medical care for that child was a humanitarian decision and not to "ruin" yours or anyone else's vacation.

 

Was it disappointing to miss a port? Yes. Did it ruin the vacation enough to complain to RCI headquarters? Absolutely not. The cruise was still a great cruise and we all made due with the extra sea day. It makes me sick when people will waste the time to bitch about things out of your control and let it ruin an otherwise good time and to keep it going nearly three weeks later.

 

I would imagine you were one of those passengers that the captain was referring to when he stated in his announcement the following morning about not taking out disappointment on the crew and to address senior staff or corporate offices.

 

In the end, it's a vacation. Enjoy it.

[Thetrail]

For those who live locally in Florida and didn't think the fiasco on the 07/12 cruise was a big deal it does make a difference where you live. Like I said, I spent thousands to fly to Florida to take a cruise. I didn't just hop in a car. This cruise cost me a fortune and was a huge disappointment. I wanted to explore other countries and see the sites. I am not there to sit on a floating hotel for the majority of the time. As for conspiracy theorist- believe me you'd be surprised what big corporations will do to make a buck. I am just voicing what I heard and am interested in what other "stories" other cruisers were told. I would like to get compensation for this cruise and am looking for all the information I can get to back my claim.

The cruise lines may change itineraries on a whim, due to weather, mechanical issues, medical emergencies, etc. Life happens, if you didn't enjoy your cruise because you didn't get to see a particular island I say get over it and stop the moaning. So your cruise was ruined because of that, how about the rest of the ship, the food, shows,crew, folks you met on the cruise, etc. etc.:rolleyes:

[PhDUnderTheSea]

Why would RCCL give 12/21 sailing $300 credit inside and $400 balcony?

 

Seems a fair question. Far too many people in this thread derailed by the ill child. They are missing the forest for the trees immediately before them. Would be interested to know. Princess is much more receptive to customer issues.

 

Best-

 

Steve

[ratred]

The cruise lines may change itineraries on a whim, due to weather, mechanical issues, medical emergencies, etc. Life happens, if you didn't enjoy your cruise because you didn't get to see a particular island I say get over it and stop the moaning. So your cruise was ruined because of that, how about the rest of the ship, the food, shows,crew, folks you met on the cruise, etc. etc.:rolleyes:

 

Yes we all read the fine print. Why did RCCL give the 12/21 credit?