2 Day freedom cruise Just back

[tm3750]

Just back from the Freedom 2 day cruise prior to Dry Dock.

 

We had a great time, however there were some issues that others had, including ourselves on embarking.

 

We arrived early, 10:00 a.m and expected to have to wait to board. I am not sure if anyone remembers how you used to arrive and prepare to board but we have always arrived early and would get in line waiting for RCCL to start receiving customers.

 

We would line up in those " Disney " lines and wait. No problem you were in line and that was that.

 

Now , you walk up and they tell you to have a seat and they will call you when it is your turn to check in, well that turns into the biggest cluster I have ever been involved in. People sitting and people standing all around the entrance to the " Disney ' lines and no one in control.

 

Worst embarking I have ever been part of, and don't even get me started on " priority " service.

 

They ask for Diamond Plus and Pinnacle only then it is a mad rush from there.

 

In my opinion no way to treat repeat customers.

 

I heard horror stories from people who stood in line for 2 to 3 hours waiting to board and then when they got on the ship nothing was opened for them to get a drink or food because it was time for Muster.

 

The captain came on and told us about the problems with the ship making time and he would do his best to get us to Nassau by 9:00 am. We arrived around 11:00 a.m. and people were able to get off the ship some time around 11:30 am, had to be back on board by 2:30 p.m. in order for us to have time to get back to Port Canaveral.

 

Now, don't get me wrong, we had a great time and had no intentions of getting off in Nassau so it really had no bearing on us, however, others who had to wait to board and those who went for a quick cruise to see Nassau for the first time were a bit short changed.

 

Just a quick review off the 2 day cruise, by the way I won a few bucks in the Casino

[tm3750]

just noticed they moved Freedom from terminal 10 to terminal 6. Must be loading things to take her into drydock

[DaddyBytes]

just noticed they moved Freedom from terminal 10 to terminal 6. Must be loading things to take her into drydock

 

Yeah you were able to see a crane loading items onto the top deck on the Port Canaveral web cam.

[skyking]

On the same cruise, and also had a great time. We got to the pier at 10:45am but got onboard at 12:10 or so. But the lines were pretty crazy, I think we made it on before the computers went down. Also stayed on the ship in Nassau, great day by the pool, relaxing, and enjoying the ship. Was told by some crew this morning that they are not heading to Freeport until tomorrow. Great short getaway!!!

[Fastdak25]

I remember seeing the lines for check in and dreaded waiting in them. Thankfully I had my own line as a gold member and was onboard only 15 minutes after getting off the bus from orlando

[Firefighterhoop]

I was also on the same cruise. Embarkation was a MESS. I got to the pier at approx 1045 and was on at around 1145, but peole who arrived after 1130ish were saying it was 2+ hours, nothing like I have experienced in Pt. Canaveral Before.

 

Explorer was loading at the new peir, and It looked as if a lot of check in stations were closed/not used in Freedom's pier - as if they took a lot of people and equipment and went to the new Pier.

 

Otherwise it was a nice few days!

[tm3750]

I was also on the same cruise. Embarkation was a MESS. I got to the pier at approx 1045 and was on at around 1145, but peole who arrived after 1130ish were saying it was 2+ hours, nothing like I have experienced in Pt. Canaveral Before.

 

Explorer was loading at the new peir, and It looked as if a lot of check in stations were closed/not used in Freedom's pier - as if they took a lot of people and equipment and went to the new Pier.

 

Otherwise it was a nice few days!

 

Possible that's what happened

[eastender]

Also some confusion with Diamond free drinks loaded onto seapass. No notice in cabin and was told at Guest Services they will be loaded on, only to be told later at the bars "NOT ON A 2 DAY CRUISE". Couldn't understand the logic in that as it's on a daily basis and it would have been nice to get the info beforehand. We had a good time but as said embarkation was a nightmare, time in Nassau was very short and disembarkation was also very slow.

[Teacherloves2Cruise]

Yikes, it sounds like this wasn't the greatest experience over all for some of you. Sorry to hear that. Can anyone report on being told about any upcoming changes/renovations for dry dock?

[disfan]

I also was on that cruise and I agree embarkation was a mess. We arrived early and waited in line for over 2 hours to get to security. At one point we were told that the hold up was due to the check in lines being too long. As we were one of the first in line, we wondered where the people came from to overload check in.

I was surprised that the cruise was so bare bones, no free photo, no free drinks, no free internet, etc. Also no gift in room.

Someone commented that while it was only a two day cruise, it wasn't free and he should have been told that there would no amenities.

A brief cruise but any cruise is a good cruise.

[Teacherloves2Cruise]

I also was on that cruise and I agree embarkation was a mess. We arrived early and waited in line for over 2 hours to get to security. At one point we were told that the hold up was due to the check in lines being too long. As we were one of the first in line, we wondered where the people came from to overload check in.

I was surprised that the cruise was so bare bones, no free photo, no free drinks, no free internet, etc. Also no gift in room.

Someone commented that while it was only a two day cruise, it wasn't free and he should have been told that there would no amenities.

A brief cruise but any cruise is a good cruise.

 

I am curious, why would one expect that there would be free photos, drinks, internet, etc? Honest question, not trying to sound judgey.

[rolloman]

On the cruise as well. No crown and anchor perks, concierge said because it was a two day. Interesting enough I was on the recent 2 day Oasis pre dry dock and all perks were available including welcome back gift. More instances of RCCL not being consistent fleet wide.

 

I was told a family of 5 (3 of them kids) did no debark previous cruise until 11 AM, this caused the delay (while they conducted room to room search) for embark nightmare. Debark nightmare this morning was because one of the escalators was malfunctioning in the terminal forcing use of a single elevator intermittently as the only source to get down to baggage claim.

[nancronin]

I am curious, why would one expect that there would be free photos, drinks, internet, etc? Honest question, not trying to sound judgey.

 

They are part of Crown & Anchor perks for certain levels. :D

[Susie51]

So sorry about the embarkation mess. On a short cruise, every hour is precious.

[SherriZ366]

just noticed they moved Freedom from terminal 10 to terminal 6. Must be loading things to take her into drydock

I've seen them loading drydock supplies (large cranes behind ship) all day. Someone on another thread posted that it was easier to load drydock supplies at Terminal 6 rather than Terminal 10. They are still at Terminal 6.

[SherriZ366]

On the same cruise, and also had a great time. We got to the pier at 10:45am but got onboard at 12:10 or so. But the lines were pretty crazy, I think we made it on before the computers went down. Also stayed on the ship in Nassau, great day by the pool, relaxing, and enjoying the ship. Was told by some crew this morning that they are not heading to Freeport until tomorrow. Great short getaway!!!

Our game plan for our 2-22-2015 cruise is to arrive early -- we are staying at the Residence Inn so we are close.

 

You have answered questions for me in the past and given good advice. Thanks.

[tm3750]

I also was on that cruise and I agree embarkation was a mess. We arrived early and waited in line for over 2 hours to get to security. At one point we were told that the hold up was due to the check in lines being too long. As we were one of the first in line, we wondered where the people came from to overload check in.

I was surprised that the cruise was so bare bones, no free photo, no free drinks, no free internet, etc. Also no gift in room.

Someone commented that while it was only a two day cruise, it wasn't free and he should have been told that there would no amenities.

A brief cruise but any cruise is a good cruise.

 

 

I got a little bag of short breads !!!!

[Dunfer]

I was also on that cruise-- it was my first time on Freedom and I had a great time. Especially enjoyed the 70's party! I am planning on sailing her again sometime after dry dock.

 

It did take 2 hours for us to board-- I also heard of one family not leaving the ship and no one else could board until they were found, I also heard that while in Cozumel, there was a mother on shore with her minor children on the ship with no other adult in their party, so the ship stayed until the mother could board and they were late leaving Cozumel so it was delayed getting back to Port, but a gentleman in front of me said he had to go by the Port that morning and she was already there (before 7:00 a.m.). I also heard there were computer problems, and that there was only one scanner for carry-on luggage (which 95% of the cruisers had carry-on luggage). Lots of speculations. I guess we will never know.

 

I, too, got a bag of shortbread & my water in my room, but no "Welcome Back" notice. Tried to use the buy 1 get 1 beer coupon at the Plaza Bar with no luck. Was told by Guest Services, "the program is down, come back later, or tomorrow". She never mentioned that because it was a 2-day it wasn't available. Anyway, it should make no difference 2-day or 12-day. It is supposed to be a benefit of our loyalty to Royal. The bartender in the Bull and Bear Pub hand wrote a Receipt showing two beers with one being credited, and the charge showed up on our ship Statement the same. Should have gotten our other one right then and there!

 

Disembarkation was a fiasco, too. We were lucky enough to be in the self-disembarkation early enough that we weren't impacted too much. The escalator being down caused 8 or 10 people at a time (depending size of people & amount of luggage) to go down the one elevator. Found out on this board that the escalator was also down for the cruisers getting off Freedom on the 4th . . . so it had been down for at least 2 days. No stairs? What if the electricity was out, how would we get out of the terminal?

 

We pulled out of the parking garage right around 9:00. We could see the masses of folks lined up still on the ship waiting to get off.

 

Booked on Enchantment for next month. Really hope they get the terminal problems worked out by then. But, if not, I will still just "go with the flow".

[bosoxfan5]

I'm taking the Enchantment later this year. Will be interested to hear if the embarkation process is any smoother. Have fun!!:D

[ckrobyn]

Our game plan for our 2-22-2015 cruise is to arrive early -- we are staying at the Residence Inn so we are close.

 

You have answered questions for me in the past and given good advice. Thanks.

 

Our game plan for our 2-15-15 cruise is to arrive very early as well! Can't wait!!!

[Mooguy]

We were on this cruise is well and dealt with many of the issues mentioned above deathly not one of the smoothest experiences. I posted a few of my issues on the rollcall for this cruise.

 

Once we were on board we did enjoy the cruise but the embarkation process did take away from the wow factor.

 

Getting off they were lined up from one end of the ship through the casino to the other. Luckily for us we were in a grand suite and had the gold card we got a hold of the right person that escorted us to the front of the line. However the gold card perks stop there and still had the long line to deal with in the terminal.

 

 

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[opcasey]

We were on the 12/28 cruise before. We were definitely late disembarking. We were supposed to leave Cozumel by 3pm, but didn't leave until after 5:30. We were still docked until the early dinner started.

 

On the last night, we got our luggage tags and debarkation schedule. I think our group was scheduled to disembark at 8:30am. Shortly after that, the captain made an announcement that we would get to Port Canaveral 1.5 hours behind schedule due to the late departure from Cozumel, strong headwinds, and our reduced speed caused by the broken isopod. We were given a new debarkation schedule and our time was moved to 9:15. Our tag number wasn't called until 9:45 and we were one of the earlier ones.

[Charger2008]

I am curious, why would one expect that there would be free photos, drinks, internet, etc? Honest question, not trying to sound judgey.

 

Along those lines, and also, not judging, just asking, so when you say a 2 day cruise do you mean just an overnight cruise. You get on one day (say Friday) sail to Bahamas for the next day (Saturday) and then turn right around and sail back to Florida and get off the ship (Sunday)? So you are really only on the ship one full day? I didn't even know they did those :cool:

[Sbrooks730]

I was on this cruise as well and experienced the same mess! I arrived with my husband at noon and didn't get on board until QUARTER AFTER THREE. It was an absolute disaster. I was surprised no one apologized or offered some sort of compensation for the hassle. When we got on the Windjammer was closed and we could only muster BREAD and an APPLE for lunch because it was closed. Had to wait until dinner to eat. Debarking took us almost an hour as well. I was surprised no announcements were made about anything. The cruise itself was fine and fun, but the traffic on and off was absolutely ridiculous. Unfortunately it was my husbands first experience with RCI (we've done Disney before) and he says he doesn't want to do it again. I've never experienced anything like that and I think because it was only a two day I feel like our time was wasted on the first day with boarding issues. Very sad.

 

Needless to say, the cruise itself and the Bahamas was fun. Boarding and debarking not so much...

 

 

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[theatrebabe]

Along those lines, and also, not judging, just asking, so when you say a 2 day cruise do you mean just an overnight cruise. You get on one day (say Friday) sail to Bahamas for the next day (Saturday) and then turn right around and sail back to Florida and get off the ship (Sunday)? So you are really only on the ship one full day? I didn't even know they did those :cool:

 

Yes, 2 nights. Boarded on Sunday (after a long wait...), arrived at the Bahamas on Monday (about 2 hours late) and disembarked on Tuesday morning (after another long wait).

 

We really had a wonderful time on the ship, and it was a nice little getaway (especially loved being able to stay in a Grand Suite and enjoy the perks that came with it!) but were disappointed to not have the C&A coupons on the Seapass. Was impressed that they presented both the Once Upon a Time show and the ice show! Wasn't sure if we'd get to see either one on such a short cruise, and was delighted to be able to enjoy both!