Freedom of the Seas Heads Up

[cruiseladee]

If you are sailing soon on Freedom of the Seas...a heads up that they have had a propeller issue and are cutting all the port stops short. We were not notified of the issue until after boarding. We also missed the Cozumel port entirely because there was a medical emergency and the ship had to return to Grand Cayman. The fact is that if the ship had been at full functionality, we would have still been at Grand Cayman when the medical emergency occurred and therefore would not have cancelled Cozumel. So far Royal Caribbean is saying that because it was due to a medical emergency they are not doing anything. I would urge you to call the customer service number if you were on one of the recent sailings and had your itineraries shortened due to the propeller issue. Or if you are cruising soon I would also call to ask about it. I don't like the fact that they are not telling anyone ahead of time. Seems deceptive and unethical as we paid 100% for our cruise and bottom line didn't get what we paid for. the number is 1-800-256-6649 - Have cruised with Royal Caribbean three times now and they have always been first class on everything else. I hope they will consider doing the right thing.

[aloha43]

If you are sailing soon on Freedom of the Seas...a heads up that they have had a propeller issue and are cutting all the port stops short. We were not notified of the issue until after boarding. We also missed the Cozumel port entirely because there was a medical emergency and the ship had to return to Grand Cayman. The fact is that if the ship had been at full functionality, we would have still been at Grand Cayman when the medical emergency occurred and therefore would not have cancelled Cozumel. So far Royal Caribbean is saying that because it was due to a medical emergency they are not doing anything. I would urge you to call the customer service number if you were on one of the recent sailings and had your itineraries shortened due to the propeller issue. Or if you are cruising soon I would also call to ask about it. I don't like the fact that they are not telling anyone ahead of time. Seems deceptive and unethical as we paid 100% for our cruise and bottom line didn't get what we paid for. the number is 1-800-256-6649 - Have cruised with Royal Caribbean three times now and they have always been first class on everything else. I hope they will consider doing the right thing.

 

This information has been going around for weeks. The propeller problem has been an issue and it has been scheduled for drydock for Jan 2015 for months now.....the problem only got worse lately.

 

RCL has the right to change or drop ports.....it is in your contract.

 

Sorry if you didn't get your 100%, but it happens. Especially when a medical emergency is involved.

Edited December 18, 2014 by aloha43

[dadroy]

cruiseladee, just a question to clarify your issue.

 

Are you complaining they did not tell you ahead of time? If so, lets say they told you a month ago. Would you have cancelled? The reason I ask, is you would be in the penalty time for cancellation and would have lost your money. I do not believe insurance would cover your loss since you would be the one choosing to cancel.

 

If you would not have cancelled, what would you have done differently on your cruise? I don't get it.

[setsail]

I hope they will consider doing the right thing.

 

They did, they diverted for a sick child. Thank goodness rci puts the pax/crew health at the top and is willing to do whatever it takes to get the best care

Including turning a ship around as they did Oasis a week ago

[BDL]

If you are sailing soon on Freedom of the Seas...a heads up that they have had a propeller issue and are cutting all the port stops short. We were not notified of the issue until after boarding. We also missed the Cozumel port entirely because there was a medical emergency and the ship had to return to Grand Cayman. The fact is that if the ship had been at full functionality, we would have still been at Grand Cayman when the medical emergency occurred and therefore would not have cancelled Cozumel. So far Royal Caribbean is saying that because it was due to a medical emergency they are not doing anything. I would urge you to call the customer service number if you were on one of the recent sailings and had your itineraries shortened due to the propeller issue. Or if you are cruising soon I would also call to ask about it. I don't like the fact that they are not telling anyone ahead of time. Seems deceptive and unethical as we paid 100% for our cruise and bottom line didn't get what we paid for. the number is 1-800-256-6649 - Have cruised with Royal Caribbean three times now and they have always been first class on everything else. I hope they will consider doing the right thing.

 

Welcome to cruise critic. That is old news. If you had found this site prior to your cruise you probably wouldn't have been so surprised.

[LMaxwell]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Tough crowd in here tonight. Everyone beating up on OP for not finding this website first where a handful of people know of a problem that RCI has been covering up until people are on the ship. RCI has given OBC and Future Cruise Credits to other recent Freedom of the Seas guests, but not to last weeks guests. I enjoy Royal Caribbean but this kind of covering up makes it hard to defend them.

[fourkittys]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Tough crowd in here tonight. Everyone beating up on OP for not finding this website first where a handful of people know of a problem that RCI has been covering up until people are on the ship. RCI has given OBC and Future Cruise Credits to other recent Freedom of the Seas guests, but not to last weeks guests. I enjoy Royal Caribbean but this kind of covering up makes it hard to defend them.

 

We were on the Freedom the week following the propulsion incident. Both that cruise and our (No. 30 - Dec 7) were given compensation due to very stressful debarcations and embarcations along with necessary itinerary changes to rectify the problem if only temporarily. The following cruises are now having to change the itinerary until drydock, unfortunate but necessary. I would be surprised if the cruises after Dec. 7 were compensated as RC was in their rights per RC contract. Did you hear differently?

[LMaxwell]

We were on the Freedom the week following the propulsion incident. Both that cruise and our (No. 30 - Dec 7) were given compensation due to very stressful debarcations and embarcations along with necessary itinerary changes to rectify the problem if only temporarily. The following cruises are now having to change the itinerary until drydock, unfortunate but necessary. I would be surprised if the cruises after Dec. 7 were compensated as RC was in their rights per RC contract. Did you hear differently?

 

Yes, RCI is giving OBC on cruises after the 12/7 - 12/14 cruise as reported on this forum.

[fourkittys]

We were on the Freedom the week following the propulsion incident. Both that cruise and our (No. 30 - Dec 7) were given compensation due to very stressful debarcations and embarcations along with necessary itinerary changes to rectify the problem if only temporarily. The following cruises are now having to change the itinerary until drydock, unfortunate but necessary. I would be surprised if the cruises after Dec. 7 were compensated as RC was in their rights per RC contract. Did you hear differently?

 

PS: I just read that RC IS giving cruise credit for the change of ports.

[Pancake16]

If you are sailing soon on Freedom of the Seas...a heads up that they have had a propeller issue and are cutting all the port stops short. We were not notified of the issue until after boarding. We also missed the Cozumel port entirely because there was a medical emergency and the ship had to return to Grand Cayman. The fact is that if the ship had been at full functionality, we would have still been at Grand Cayman when the medical emergency occurred and therefore would not have cancelled Cozumel. So far Royal Caribbean is saying that because it was due to a medical emergency they are not doing anything. I would urge you to call the customer service number if you were on one of the recent sailings and had your itineraries shortened due to the propeller issue. Or if you are cruising soon I would also call to ask about it. I don't like the fact that they are not telling anyone ahead of time. Seems deceptive and unethical as we paid 100% for our cruise and bottom line didn't get what we paid for. the number is 1-800-256-6649 - Have cruised with Royal Caribbean three times now and they have always been first class on everything else. I hope they will consider doing the right thing.

 

Thank you for taking the time to seek out CC and post a message. Please don't be put off by the reception you have received. This is a wonderful place for great information. As mentioned, this situation is being monitored and discussed...I'm VERY curious about what lies ahead for my NYE cruise! Regardless, it will be great!

[cruiseladee]

They did, they diverted for a sick child. Thank goodness rci puts the pax/crew health at the top and is willing to do whatever it takes to get the best care

Including turning a ship around as they did Oasis a week ago

 

I agree that they did the right thing under the circumstances. If the ship was fully functional we would have still been at Caymen when the medical emergency happened and the family would not have lost time by having to turn the ship around and go back. Instead of admitting that, they are not giving any kind of refund or credit on future cruise because it was due to a medical emergency.

[FLACRUISER99]

My circumstances may be a little different than yours, this was a very big expense for our family with rental cars airline tickets and the cruise - we don't cruise every year and had been planning for this one since our last cruise 5 years ago. Our one and only excursion was booked in Cozumel where the kids were going to swim with the dolphins. We lost money on that as well since the excursion was booked outside Royal Caribbean they are only giving a partial refund. If the matter had ONLY been the medical emergency I would have completely understood but the real reason the Cozumel port was cancelled was because we had left Grand Cayman early and the ship was not operating at full capacity and so we spent 2 days headed back to FL going 14 to 16 knots. My point of posting on this board is to hopefully let other people know so they can take the problem into consideration ahead of time instead if finding out after leaving. Thanks for your helpful comment though sir.

However everyone that's active on this board knew about this for weeks!:rolleyes:

[Ourusualbeach]

However everyone that's active on this board knew about this for weeks!:rolleyes:

 

Yes but she is a new member that had good intentions so why not cut her some slack instead posting your comment.:rolleyes:

[papaflamingo]

Our one and only excursion was booked in Cozumel where the kids were going to swim with the dolphins. We lost money on that as well since the excursion was booked outside Royal Caribbean they are only giving a partial refund.

 

Royal Caribbean has no responsibility for "third party" tours. That is your issue only. Many third party tours offer full refund if the ship itinerary changes and the port it missed. You may want to check into that. But this is one of a number of reasons I book tours through the ship.

 

As for you comment "I don't like the fact that they are not telling anyone ahead of time."

 

This is copied from the Royal Caribbean Website under "Itinerary Changes:"

 

"Freedom of the Seas – December 21 Sailing – Itinerary Modification

December 16

 

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 21, 2014 sailing. All scheduled ports on the itinerary – Labadee, Puerto Rico, and St. Maarten – 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 At sea

Tuesday Labadee, Haiti 10:15 a.m. 4:00 p.m.

Wednesday San Juan, Puerto Rico 2:30 p.m. 8:00 p.m.

Thursday Philipsburg, St. Maarten 8:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m.

Friday At sea

Saturday At sea

Sunday Port Canaveral, Florida 7:15 a.m.

 

As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank our guests for their understanding, Royal Caribbean International will provide each stateroom with an onboard credit. A letter with the credit amount will be delivered to guests stateroom.

 

We apologize to guests for this development and the impact on the scheduled itinerary. Our shipboard team looks forward to welcoming guests onboard Freedom of the Seas."

 

You want Royal Caribbean to "do the right thing." What would that be? Here is there Contractual Obligations from the Cruise Contract that YOU signed and agreed to:

 

"6. CANCELLATION, DEVIATION OR SUBSTITUTION BY CARRIER:

a) Carrier may for any reason at any time and without prior notice, cancel,

advance, postpone or deviate from any scheduled sailing, port of call, destination, lodging or any activity on or off the Vessel, or substitute another vessel or port of call, destination, lodging or activity. Carrier shall not be liable for any claim whatsoever by Passenger, including but not limited to loss, compensation or refund, by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement, substitution or deviation.

Edited December 18, 2014 by papaflamingo

[LMaxwell]

Very rude thread and responses. OP wasn't dealt with in an equitable manner as other guests onboard FOS were that recently had cruise itineraries cut short by mechanical problems. Very sad at the tone of responses here but not surprised. Doubt OP will return. Everyone should take a look in the mirror, especially this time of year, and see if they like how they treat others.

[molly361]

yes but she is a new member that had good intentions so why not cut her some slack instead posting your comment.:rolleyes:

 

very rude thread and responses. Op wasn't dealt with in an equitable manner as other guests onboard fos were that recently had cruise itineraries cut short by mechanical problems. Very sad at the tone of responses here but not surprised. Doubt op will return. Everyone should take a look in the mirror, especially this time of year, and see if they like how they treat others.

 

like!!!!!

[SGCruiser2013]

Very rude thread and responses. OP wasn't dealt with in an equitable manner as other guests onboard FOS were that recently had cruise itineraries cut short by mechanical problems. Very sad at the tone of responses here but not surprised. Doubt OP will return. Everyone should take a look in the mirror, especially this time of year, and see if they like how they treat others.

 

I really like CC, but was flabbergasted at the tone of the responses in this thread. Some of you need an extra helping of egg nog.

[cruiseladee]

Royal Caribbean has no responsibility for "third party" tours. That is your issue only. Many third party tours offer full refund if the ship itinerary changes and the port it missed. You may want to check into that. But this is one of a number of reasons I book tours through the ship.

 

As for you comment "I don't like the fact that they are not telling anyone ahead of time."

 

This is copied from the Royal Caribbean Website under "Itinerary Changes:"

 

"Freedom of the Seas – December 21 Sailing – Itinerary Modification

December 16

 

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 21, 2014 sailing. All scheduled ports on the itinerary – Labadee, Puerto Rico, and St. Maarten – 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 At sea

Tuesday Labadee, Haiti 10:15 a.m. 4:00 p.m.

Wednesday San Juan, Puerto Rico 2:30 p.m. 8:00 p.m.

Thursday Philipsburg, St. Maarten 8:00 a.m. 1:00 p.m.

Friday At sea

Saturday At sea

Sunday Port Canaveral, Florida 7:15 a.m.

 

As a gesture of goodwill, and to thank our guests for their understanding, Royal Caribbean International will provide each stateroom with an onboard credit. A letter with the credit amount will be delivered to guests stateroom.

 

We apologize to guests for this development and the impact on the scheduled itinerary. Our shipboard team looks forward to welcoming guests onboard Freedom of the Seas."

 

You want Royal Caribbean to "do the right thing." What would that be? Here is there Contractual Obligations from the Cruise Contract that YOU signed and agreed to:

 

"6. CANCELLATION, DEVIATION OR SUBSTITUTION BY CARRIER:

a) Carrier may for any reason at any time and without prior notice, cancel,

advance, postpone or deviate from any scheduled sailing, port of call, destination, lodging or any activity on or off the Vessel, or substitute another vessel or port of call, destination, lodging or activity. Carrier shall not be liable for any claim whatsoever by Passenger, including but not limited to loss, compensation or refund, by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement, substitution or deviation.

I'm glad that they are letting upcoming guests know of the problem and giving them an onboard credit, that is the right thing to do. We were not given advance notice (sailed 12/7 to 12/14) and were not given any kind of credit. I'm sure it is within their legal rights to change anything they want, that's what lawyers are for. When you own a business and can't deliver what you promised, you should make it right or at least make an attempt to.

[JohnGaltny]

Very rude thread and responses. OP wasn't dealt with in an equitable manner as other guests onboard FOS were that recently had cruise itineraries cut short by mechanical problems. Very sad at the tone of responses here but not surprised. Doubt OP will return. Everyone should take a look in the mirror, especially this time of year, and see if they like how they treat others.

 

Somewhat sad but totally common on here.

 

I hope the OP realizes this is an incredibly valuable resource once you learn to ignore the Carribots.

[southnam]

Yes I am perplexed as to why other cruises are getting compensation and prior notification for the changes except our Dec 7 cruise.

 

Sent from my Z10 using Tapatalk

[Grandprix]

Cruiseladee,

I was on there with you. Totally agree that we should have gotten something for the reduced schedules. Not good business. This was not an act of God. It was a malfunction that RCI is fully responsible for. From an operational perspective, the bean counters must have had a party when they figured out how much money in fuel savings they saved when they decided to bypass Cozumel. We crawled back to Canaveral and the passengers spent big bucks on ship board souvenirs.

Don't be put off this site by the RCI paid bloggers. There is good information to be had.

Cheers

[mrobertson.bernal]

I too was on the Dec 7th sailing and requested a future cruise credit and was told no one on the ship received on. If indeed you did receive a future credit im curios to know the amount per person. If you did receive anything can you please contact me so I can plead my case to them as they were vary rood.

mbernal at ewaste1.com I have to say this was the cruise from hell as I call it.. Please read my concerns and problems I wrote to them..

 

This is a letter that I had wrote Royal Caribbean about our (group of 7) cruise experience and their response was im sorry there is nothing I can do to help you. If we gave you money back we would have to give everyone on the ship the same thing. I was hoping you could give me some advice or assist me in any way possible. . Thank you for your time.. Melissa

Where do I begin! Let me first start off by saying my husband was so agents taking a cruise saying it was too structured (did not like being told when to eat dinner and times to get on and off the ship). I finally talked him into going in Jan 2014 on the Oasis of the seas. Let’s just say he LOVED it ranted and raved about it to his parents and his sister. We loved it so much we booked another one right away WITH them. We were so excited to show them what we had experienced.

My father and my husband dropped us off at the cruise on departure day and then headed back to drop off the rental car (budget) after running into traffic and arriving at budget at 3:40 they were closed. So the drove to port and paid $120.00/day to park, they went to get on the ship at 3:55 and were told they could not board the ship. We were standing on our balcony watching them getting turned away. My children were standing there crying as the ship sailed away without them. Both children climbed into bed and said they did not want to do anything without their dad and grandpa there. To make a long story short it was devastating for them and also me. They then flew back to Detroit after there they realized if they could get a one day passport they could fly into Jamaica and board the ship. We my husband let the ship know they would board the ship with the flight numbers. When we arrived in Jamaica we were trying to meet a location to make the best of the day. We ended up meeting up in a not so nice beach area. After the little bit of time there we went to board the ship. There my husband and father took over 3 hours being passed back and forth from customs on the gangway to the service desk. After a long flight and all the confusion it was frustrating for them and us.

After the boys missing the first port we were looking forward to getting off the ship at the Cayman Islands but with the propulsion problem that the ship was having our trip was cut short. With this being said we were really looking forward to Mexico but an announcement from the captain saying there was a life or death situation on the ship and we need to turn around and we would not be going to Mexico. I called to guest services inquiring and they stated “the family could not afford a helicopter”. When she said that my stomach turned and I thought they are taking away a port from so many people because “the family could not afford the helicopter” That was a huge disappointment for our family. My husband and father paid a fortune to fly into Jamaica for a crappy beach there, a short visit at the camion island and a missed port. They will not let a passenger board the ship 45 min before sailing but will let a passenger dictate where the ship goes because they don’t have the funds for an air flight.

Now we can move onto the cruise itself.

I loved that we had an 8:00 dinner time but have to say the quality of food was dramatically different from when we traveled on the Oasis of the Seas. Our Steaks were fatty and the tiger shrimp was dramatically smaller then before just to list a few. With my grandparents being Diamond members and saying the smaller ships are more personable and attentive to you we were excited travel on this ship. Another disappointment! The waiters were slow and had to wait for drinks, even refills on the kid’s drinks. We were sat at the back of the dining room and witnessed one of the waiters getting into trouble by one of his managers and other staff member were coming to the one waiter’s defense. It’s something that a guest should not have known about or even witnessed.

Broken propulsion:

We were not notified of the ships broken propulsion until the second night as an announcement was made then. Our dinner table was on deck 3 at the back of the ship. We felt the ship rock and sputter more there then anywhere on the ship. It was so bad that both my children felt sick the whole trip even while taking motion sickness medication. (Never needed in prior cruises) The vibration at the dinner table was so bad my sister got sick every time at the dinner table she was not able to eat and even vomited 2 out of the 6 nights we went to dinner. If we would have known about the propulsion problem on the first day and known then that the Cayman Island was going to be cut 3 hours and the Mexico trip being shortened as well my husband and my father would have not flown into Jamaica for little bit of time on the island. We could have/would have saved the $1000.00 flight and just booked another cruise. I feel Royal Caribbean knew about the issues and failed to mention it to us until later in the cruise. If we would have known we would not have flown into Jamaica. With that being said.. if the cruise was working properly( as we thought when we got on) we would have still been in the Cayman Islands when the little girl stopped breathing. Our Island was cut short 3 hours! We turned the ship around 2.5 hours after leaving.

Internet:

I called to inquire about the internet before booking this ship as I need to log onto my work server and work from the ship (as I did on the oasis). I arrived to the ship paid for the internet and could not log onto my server. I talked with the front desk who was talking to the it department who said it was impossible; apparently the Oasis of the seas has a different band width then the freedom. I had to try and work from my cell phone which was very time consuming. Because I was not able to log onto the server I had to make calls from my cell phone (I hate to see that bill). Very disappointing to know I was told one thing and then when I get there it’s something else.

Air in the room:

I noticed in the room that the air was not working properly but it was no big deal for me as my mom’s room had extra room for us to sleep.( my dad was not on ship) So we just bunked together in her room. When my husband arrived he had to call the maintenance crew to come and fix it. (They were able to)

Wheel chair:

My sister had food surgery in Sept and was able to walk but after all the walking required a wheel chair. We went down to the service desk and they were great and said they would send one up quickly. After an hour one was delivered to the room. It would have been great if it would not have been broken. We called down to the service desk and they said they didn’t have another one available at that time. So we kept trying to use the broken one stopping ever 100 feet or so fixing it again and again.

Shower:

Our shower had a gap in the door and no matter how you showered or pointed the sprayer a puddle of water ended up on the floor. See attached photos.

Leaving:

Because my husband and father arrived in Jamaica we were pulled to the side when trying to exit the boat(understood) We were placed in a room(photo) were we had to wait over 1.5 hours for a security guard/customs to escort us off the ship. Because of the wait it caused us to miss our flight.

I have to say this was the worst vacation that I have gone on. We call it the cruise from HELL. We were on the ship so long we could not wait to get off. This cost of vacation time, time off school, loss of work that I was not able to get done on the ship, the cost of airfare to get back home. This is something that you took from us.

Im hoping that you or someone in your department can help me. We are your average family who booked a cruise a year in advance who made payments. This was something that we were looking forward too. I am hoping you can assist me in compensation or money off another cruise. Thanks you so much for your time. I hope you have a wonderful day. 

[jules815]

I really like CC, but was flabbergasted at the tone of the responses in this thread. Some of you need an extra helping of egg nog.

 

Agree!!

[cruiseladee]

Cruiseladee,

I was on there with you. Totally agree that we should have gotten something for the reduced schedules. Not good business. This was not an act of God. It was a malfunction that RCI is fully responsible for. From an operational perspective, the bean counters must have had a party when they figured out how much money in fuel savings they saved when they decided to bypass Cozumel. We crawled back to Canaveral and the passengers spent big bucks on ship board souvenirs.

Don't be put off this site by the RCI paid bloggers. There is good information to be had.

Cheers

That's exactly what my husband and I were talking about our 2 days at sea...going 14 to 16 knots back to Port Canaveral saved them a boatload of money lol :-) I've written a complaint on their website and spoken to the Supervisor at RCI and I asked why the sailings before us and after us received credit, the reason (they are using) is that our sailing was due to a medical emergency. Ridiculous and pretty poor taste to use that poor family's experience as a reason not to at least give us a credit on a future cruise. I'm not asking for anything extravagant, just an acknowledgement that we didn't get all that we paid for. The Supervisors comment was "If we did something for you, we'd have to do something for every passenger on the ship" I said, "...uh Ya I'm good with that!" I doubt he had any power to actually do anything anyway and he really didn't seem to care either way. He said Corporate has made the decision that nothing will be done, so I it is what it is. I guess I"ll be perusing cc in the future to research another line when we sail again.

[Iluvcruising2]

Tough situation. I would have been rather unhappy too.