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Freedom of the Seas - Curious

FrankLasVegas
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FrankLasVegas

FrankLasVegas

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Hello all:

 

I saw on one of the Facebook groups that the Oct. 8 Freedom of the Seas sailed with 3,300 passengers - which I think would be about 75% of capacity.

 

Seems too soon for that high of percentage of capacity - can anyone with knowledge on the sailing confirm?

 

Thanks!

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Sunshine3601

Sunshine3601

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I read on another CC thread here that Captain announced the current sailing of 3300 passengers is the largest one so far.    last week they had 2900 passengers.  

 

This was a holiday weekend with a lot of people and kids having 3 days off so it would make sense they have higher number on this 10/8 thru 10/11 sailing.

 

Other ships for 7 or 8 night itineraries are sailing with much lower numbers.   I think I read Symphony only has 1400 passengers this week.

Edited by Sunshine3601
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BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

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1 hour ago, FrankLasVegas said:

I saw on one of the Facebook groups that the Oct. 8 Freedom of the Seas sailed with 3,300 passengers - which I think would be about 75% of capacity.

That would be amazing. We were on the Freedom 1 month earlier on 9/9 and we had 1800 passengers, and that was the approximate load before and after us. 

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awestover89

awestover89

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I'm happy for Royal, but I was really hoping our next couple cruises would still be as uncrowded as the August 27th Freedom. I didn't get the numbers for that cruise, but I would be amazed if it was over 1,500. 1,000 to 1,200 would probably be closer to my best guess. 

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CRUISINGCPA

CRUISINGCPA

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Confirming.  I was on this cruise.  Many more passengers than I expected from what I have been reading here.  Human soup bowls in the Solarium were way beyond the noted capacity.   Not sure they were ready for this number of passengers.

 

I'm not from CA or NY but was uncomfortable at times. 

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TYMAN

TYMAN

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23 hours ago, mo&fran said:

i wasn't on the ship, but was docked next to it in Nassau, and it sure looked like it was crowded.  DW thought so too.

Was on Allure next to it at CoCoCay this past Saturday. More folks on Freedom than on our Allure. The Island was packed, no room at the pool for sure. Just a month ago we were on Mariner and met Freedom at CoCoCay, about 2000 people total, what a difference a month makes! 

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3eaglesfam

3eaglesfam

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I was on this sailing.  VERY crowded.  It was impossible to get near the Hot tubs.  I was rather disappointed that Freedom was that crowded yet the Mariner that had the same itinerary ( Except from Port Canaveral instead of Miami) only had 1500.

 

Had I known in advance that Freedom would be that crowded I would have chosen the Mariner.  

 

And to make things worse we shared Coco Cay with with Allure ( Who only had 2700 on board) and the pool was wall to wall people without any seating   Good thing we got off the ship early and found the deck chairs we wanted. 

 

There was no waiting in the dining room for my time dining and I was usually able to find a seat at the pub or the schooner bar.  But the pools  - not so much ( unless you go early).  I did not see chair hogs.  Lots of people on the pool decks in chairs.  

 

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JMKreno

JMKreno

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On 10/11/2021 at 5:08 PM, cb at sea said:

Unless you're in Ca. or NY, everyone is living life as normal......it's fine.

I think this is a gross exaggeration and not really reflective of the real-world and frankly BS.

 

We live in Reno and travel extensively to Northern California. Life is pretty much the same there as it is anywhere else we've traveled. We had an amazing time recently in Santa Cruz and the Bay. Spent the day enjoying San Francisco and the waterfront. Hell, they just had the Majestic Princess visit! Sounds like things are back to near "normal". 

 

We went to Las Vegas back when they just started mandating masks again in the city. First day there, no masks, 2nd day, masks. We were there for a week, had an AMAZING time. As good as any experience on any trip there we had previously. 

 

Just got back from NYC. OMG best trip we've ever taken to the city. Broadway coming back to life, less crowds (but still plenty busy), great food, NOTHING wasn't open. Hell, the city doesn't even require masks if you are vaccinated but lots still wore them regardless. We happily whipped our our Covid vaccination cards wherever we went. I put in the effort to get vaccinated, now I get to benefit from it. IF ANYTHING, we were astonished at the LACK of Covid restrictions in the city. 

 

We stopped in Florida (Port Canaveral), and honestly our quick venture onto land there felt much more uncomfortable than I ever felt on any of our trips since the pandemic started. The lack of courtesy regarding social distancing really annoyed us. They acted like not a damn thing was different in the world everywhere we went. We even got a few looks wearing masks. Pretty remarkable. But, we still had a good time! Otherwise, we felt little difference in Florida than we did in NYC or in California.

 

tldr:

 

We have traveled to Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, Washington, Oregon, New Jersey, New York City, Florida and Utah during the pandemic and the ONLY time we saw any major differences was during the more strict lockdowns last summer. If someone is insisting "CA" and "NY" are not living a fairly normal life TODAY haven't actually been there and have as much credibility on these forums as someone who says "Carnival is crap" but never actually sailed on the line. 

Edited by JMKreno
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CRUISINGCPA

CRUISINGCPA

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1 hour ago, 3eaglesfam said:

I was on this sailing.  VERY crowded.  It was impossible to get near the Hot tubs.  I was rather disappointed that Freedom was that crowded yet the Mariner that had the same itinerary ( Except from Port Canaveral instead of Miami) only had 1500.

 

Had I known in advance that Freedom would be that crowded I would have chosen the Mariner.  

 

And to make things worse we shared Coco Cay with with Allure ( Who only had 2700 on board) and the pool was wall to wall people without any seating   Good thing we got off the ship early and found the deck chairs we wanted. 

 

There was no waiting in the dining room for my time dining and I was usually able to find a seat at the pub or the schooner bar.  But the pools  - not so much ( unless you go early).  I did not see chair hogs.  Lots of people on the pool decks in chairs.  

 

Agree.  Sunday the Solarium was packed.  Perhaps that's why they had 2 "Alpha Alpha Alpha"s on Deck 11?

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twangster "Live from...." Rare

twangster

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I was there.  I kind of enjoyed having people on board.  I wasn't the only person in the Pub clapping for the entertainer.   Ice skating show was well attended but not full.

 

The ship definitely had more energy, more a vibe.  Liked having the WJ open for dinner.  

 

I didn't have a problem with it.  I had to wait for another elevator once or twice but it wasn't really a problem at any point.

 

3 minutes ago, CRUISINGCPA said:

Agree.  Sunday the Solarium was packed.  Perhaps that's why they had 2 "Alpha Alpha Alpha"s on Deck 11?

 

The Alpha's didn't occur because there were more guests on board.  Stuff happens.  More people means more opportunity but not the cause of the alpha.

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robandlil

robandlil

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We’re on the Freedom Feb ‘22.  Just got a letter informing us that due to Covid spacing requirements, they will be moving us to a different stateroom.!!

 

I've never heard of this.  Wouldn’t the walls protect us?  Anyone else?

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dad son team

dad son team

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2 hours ago, robandlil said:

We’re on the Freedom Feb ‘22.  Just got a letter informing us that due to Covid spacing requirements, they will be moving us to a different stateroom.!!

 

I've never heard of this.  Wouldn’t the walls protect us?  Anyone else?

Most likely they are trying to limit the people in the hallways.

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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7 hours ago, twangster said:

 

The ship definitely had more energy, more a vibe.  Liked having the WJ open for dinner.  

 

This is the first time I have read that a Windjammer has been open for dinner. Thanks....great news.

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