freedom of the Seas arrival is delayed

[F27TW]

A cruise changing their itinerary is not something the media cares about.

 

 

True ... HOWEVER .. a big ship that suddenly loses propulsion and gets stuck dead in the water after knowingly having sailed the ship partially disabled for months .. .THAT ... the media LOVES.

 

People were nailing Carnival to the cross, talking smack and laughing at the all bad press they were getting back when their Splendour and Triumph had this happen ... well with Allure, Freedom and Explorer (wasn't there another one too this past year?) having some "issues" of this nature too .. seems RC had better be careful with this.

 

A RC ship being adrift at sea, then limping back into port being inched by Mexican tugs .. that aint such good press!!

[F27TW]

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."

 

.

 

 

Holy crap ... "Approximately" ?? You could be sitting in Nassau for DAYS !

Repairs being done by Bahamians? They don't move quickly ... I don't see this going well.

[Mary521]

Does RCI plan to have everything repaired this week then? Should we prepare for any itinerary changes the week of Dec 14?

[Piepkorn]

RCL has changed the itinerary for the 11/30 sailing of Freedom of the Seas. It's now 2 1/2 days in Nassau (Mon - Wed), Thursday in Cozumel, and Saturday in CoCoCay. Pretty lousy change. No info on compensation.

 

Didn't know you could get from Nassau to Cozumel in 24 hours even on a ship with good propulsion. :confused:

[reallyitsmema]

Does RCI plan to have everything repaired this week then? Should we prepare for any itinerary changes the week of Dec 14?

 

No one knows what they have planned but I would suspect that the ship will not be fixed until it goes into drydock in January. They are removing the blades to prevent further damage to the motor.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if they change itineraries through the end of the year.

[Retired LEO]

Does RCI plan to have everything repaired this week then? Should we prepare for any itinerary changes the week of Dec 14?

 

There's a good possibility there will be changes to certain itineraries until permanent repairs are made during Dry Dock.

[mbrownferrier]

Just off the Freedom today and while today's exit from the ship was time consuming and annoying, we had an enjoyable trip. Although disappointed about missing Grand Cayman, we made the best of it. This meant we actually had time to play with everything this ship has to offer!!!

 

 

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[A6cruiser]

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 on the same 12/28 sailing and hope that the problems can be fixed before then.

 

 

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[Biker19]

 

 

Holy crap ... "Approximately" ?? You could be sitting in Nassau for DAYS !

Repairs being done by Bahamians? They don't move quickly ... I don't see this going well.

The next time anyone is bored in their cabin, see if you can catch the RCI documentary on the unscheduled dry dock of the Oasis a couple of years ago in Nassau. The azipod was fixed early! The folks working at the docks have a bit different incentive than the locals you see on the street.:cool:

[pawmtweez]

Wow I feel so lucky. We were on the 11/9 sailing (western). Two very windy sea days and we were sailing nearly top speed, but we kept to the published schedule.

 

According to our shuttle driver we MAY have been a bit later than normal getting back to Port Canaveral but I can't say for sure as I wasn't up that early.

[Ocean Boy]

The next time anyone is bored in their cabin, see if you can catch the RCI documentary on the unscheduled dry dock of the Oasis a couple of years ago in Nassau. The azipod was fixed early! The folks working at the docks have a bit different incentive than the locals you see on the street.:cool:

 

It was Allure and it was this past February. The ship started making trial runs two days before its next cruise was to start. Some of us who were booked on that cruise were biting our finger nails.

Edited December 1, 2014 by Ocean Boy

[mulan1123]

I was on the Nov 16th sailing on Freedom, and it was windy all week. Bad enough that I felt the ship rock the entire week. We were about 30-45 mins late getting into St. Thomas before of the winds. But all other ports, we were on time. On the last sea day, it was raining that morning and windy for the entire day (started the night before)! Bad enough, that during the theater tour that morning, we kept hearing a huge bang which was the anchor. Waves were bad, a lot of people got sea sick.

[cruisefrost]

Freedom pulling into Nassau now for a two day stay there YUK

[LetsGetWet!]

I agree and we can hope that Royal will see this error and make an adjustment. My plan when checking in tomorrow is to ask this for a written letter signed by Royal with them admitting to the mechanical issue and they will assume all issues this causes me and my family until we are safely back in port at Port Canaveral.

Wow, I hope you're just kidding, but unfortunately I'm betting you're dead serious. All you're going to accomplish is to harass some low-level check in agent who certainly has no authority to sign your demanded document, along with inconveniencing everyone else in line behind you while you pursue that ridiculous path and hold up the check-in line.

If you strongly believe royal can not ensure safe passage don't get on the ship and file a claim on your travel insurance.

 

I get it you are upset by the itinerary change. That's understandable.

 

But if you think some check in agent has the legal authority to sign what you want them to sign and that Royal is going to cough up big bucks you are 100% mistaken.

Yep, exactly...

[cruiserdudebobby8]

Thank you for info

 

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[cruiserdudebobby8]

We just got off Freedom today. Even with the propeller problem we had a wonderful cruise. It is what you make of it. We ran into high winds and seas all week. We were 2 hours late into Labadee, we missed Grand Cayman because they closed the port, and we were 2 hours late into PC today. But everybody still pretty much took it all in stride and truly enjoyed themselves. It seemed a happy ship overall. Departure from the ship today was a bit of a challenge. But we all survived OK. Freedom is a great ship. Enjoy everybody!

 

Nothing wrong with extra sea time! And the 2 hour's late into port canaveral is extra ship time

 

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[Ocean Boy]

Nothing wrong with extra sea time! And the 2 hour's late into port canaveral is extra ship time

 

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Extra ship time on a day when people are challenged with making flights and getting their families home is not necessarily a positive. And the fact that the staff is more interested in turning over the ship for the next set of passengers than they are with the passengers presently on the ship doesn't add anything positive to the experience either.

[cruiserdudebobby8]

Extra ship time on a day when people are challenged with making flights and getting their families home is not necessarily a positive. And the fact that the staff is more interested in turning over the ship for the next set of passengers than they are with the passengers presently on the ship doesn't add anything positive to the experience either.

 

Your abs right I wasn't thinking sorry

 

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[Piepkorn]

Freedom is currently pulling out of Nassau, and enroute Cozumel.

[breezy_carol]

Piepkorn, I love the dog in your signature. I was playing with him. LOL How did you do that?

[TeeRick]

Actually RCI notified everybody on the ship the day before that we would be 2 hours late to PC on Sunday morning. They immediately set up a command center on ship to help all affected passengers change flights and travel plans if needed. I think they handled everything very professionally.

[lovetocruise75]

Man, there are some unhappy people in this world! Some of you must just float through life with the biggest chips on your shoulders.

 

Relax. Enjoy your vacation. No matter where the ship sails!

[mollyeilis]

I would be so sad to have my Eastern turned into the other itinerary.

 

 

Piepkorn, I love the dog in your signature. I was playing with him. LOL How did you do that?

 

That is pretty neat!

[NMG318]

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!

 

 

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I was on the last sailing of the Freedom of the Seas and the reason the Captain gave us for not making it back to Florida on time was due to wind and currents.....no mention of propulsion motors. I knew there was something fishy going on.

[lovethefreedom]

The Freedom of the Seas cruised Royally into the beautiful aqua waters surrounding Cozumel early this morning. Any complaints of itinerary changes were forgotten when the ship arrived a few hours early and the day was gorgeous....just waiting to have cruisers arrive on the pristine beaches and fill the fantastic shops! Best jewelry prices in the Caribbean for sure! Magnificent day so far!!!