Just off Freedom May 10 - 17th, Diamond and probably our last RCCL cruise.

[Cruising Bonnie]

I was on FOS last October and had a great cruise. We saw bartenders, not as many but enough. The crew was upbeat, friendly and helpful. The CDC health inspection was a perfect 100. Looks like something happened after dry dock, I will be anxious to hear other reports as we are doing the Eastern route in November.

[pcur]

I was on FOS last October and had a great cruise. We saw bartenders, not as many but enough. The crew was upbeat, friendly and helpful. The CDC health inspection was a perfect 100. Looks like something happened after dry dock, I will be anxious to hear other reports as we are doing the Eastern route in November.

 

Post-drydock usually means new staff. Many of the crew are scheduled for their long breaks to start at drydock, and on the Allure TA last month we had several crew members tell us they were given an extra 2 weeks off to start their breaks early. So, it makes sense that the new staff coming back on board might not have the same dedication to good service, and may even be new employees.

 

I predict it will even out in the near future after the surveys start showing up with negative comments.

[seatraveler1]

I was on FOS last October and had a great cruise. We saw bartenders, not as many but enough. The crew was upbeat, friendly and helpful. The CDC health inspection was a perfect 100. Looks like something happened after dry dock, I will be anxious to hear other reports as we are doing the Eastern route in November.

 

Here is the report after your October cruise, wasn't dry dock January 2015? It did receive a 100 4/2014 though.

Freedom Of The Seas Royal Caribbean International 11/23/2014 86 All Scores Report Corrective Report

 

Here is the link if you need it:

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionResults.aspx

Edited May 21, 2015 by seatraveler1

[American Bear]

Post-drydock usually means new staff. Many of the crew are scheduled for their long breaks to start at drydock, and on the Allure TA last month we had several crew members tell us they were given an extra 2 weeks off to start their breaks early. So, it makes sense that the new staff coming back on board might not have the same dedication to good service, and may even be new employees.

 

I predict it will even out in the near future after the surveys start showing up with negative comments.

 

 

Would tend to agree with you.

I know crews change, but we found the FOS crew always a very well trained crew.:)

[Cruising Bonnie]

Here is the report after your October cruise, wasn't dry dock January 2015? It did receive a 100 4/2014 though.

 

Freedom Of The Seas Royal Caribbean International 11/23/2014 86 All Scores Report Corrective Report

 

 

 

Here is the link if you need it:

 

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionResults.aspx

 

 

Thanks, guess they were lax prior to dry dock. I hope someone is on top of the situation and FOS gets back on track. It is a very popular ship. [emoji41]

[dixiesue]

I was on FOS last October and had a great cruise. We saw bartenders, not as many but enough. The crew was upbeat, friendly and helpful. The CDC health inspection was a perfect 100. Looks like something happened after dry dock, I will be anxious to hear other reports as we are doing the Eastern route in November.

 

Here is the report after your October cruise, wasn't dry dock January 2015? It did receive a 100 4/2014 though.

Freedom Of The Seas Royal Caribbean International 11/23/2014 86 All Scores Report Corrective Report

 

Here is the link if you need it:

http://wwwn.cdc.gov/InspectionQueryTool/InspectionResults.aspx

We was on her in February 26 2015 and had a wonderful cruise and no problem with getting drinks at the shows it is buy one get one free and that was great so we will be back on her on February 7 2016 and after that it will be oasis of the sea in port Canaveral in her place.

[yj_eugene]

The entire crew just seemed stretched thin and cranky

 

Our last cruise was on the NCL Sun, and there was a thread on the NCL board about Royal vs NCL. To quote my own post:

 

"The crew on the Sun were smiling and laughing often, something I haven't seen on Royal in a long time. We noticed that there seemed to always be more crew around than we're used to seeing on Royal now, so our perception is that the Sun's crew hasn't been reduced to the point where they were overworked and unhappy like they are now on Royal."

 

Royal needs to take notice of these comments. It sure seems many of us have obviously taken notice of their staff cuts and the destructive effect its had on service and morale.

[WyKnott]

Nor is there a need when people shamelessly admit that they use Rum Runners.

Oh so very much this. With all the complaints about the increase in drink prices, why do you think they've had to do this? Because people smuggle alcohol, thereby taking revenue away from the cruiselines.

[NC-CRUISERS]

We've been on Freedom twice now and it will be the last, it's an awful ship starting at the top with the Captain and officers. It's no surprise that they received an almost failing grade with the health inspection, the worst in the fleet.

 

Our impression is that the crew lives in fear from the ship officers and their hard line or mismanagement approach I should say.

 

I think you nailed it. We sailed the Freedom back in October ( our 3rd Freedom cruise) and quickly picked up on the lack of the usual friendly staff members around the ship. We got the impression that the crew members just weren't happy.

When they held the ask the Captain and his Staff questions meeting on the Promenade , we noticed that they were not very friendly in responding to questions and seemed to be agitated at some of the quests for asking questions they didn't like.

We just got off the Independence a few weeks ago (April) and the staff was very friendly.

Maybe RCCL will read all the posts here and address this issue.

[Thetrail]

We've been on Freedom twice now and it will be the last, it's an awful ship starting at the top with the Captain and officers. It's no surprise that they received an almost failing grade with the health inspection, the worst in the fleet.

 

Our impression is that the crew lives in fear from the ship officers and their hard line or mismanagement approach I should say.

Was recently on Freedom and thought the food, crew, and ship was wonderful! Will be doing a B2B on her again next year. Stateroom attendant was one of the best, waiter and assistant waiter were fabulous, and the servers in the CL were A#1.......K.O.....:)

[Ocean Boy]

I would find it hard to believe that Royal even reads anything on this blog.99% of the comments here are complaints. Then you have the 1.5 million passengers years with their handful of complainers. I would bet safely they would be overwhelmed by the complaints here and by passengers not on here.

 

If you paid attention over the years you would know that your statement is simply wrong.

[spammie]

We'll here's the reply. They really don't care. It's sad but we will take our business elsewhere.

 

 

Dear Mrs.

 

Mr. Bayley received your email and asked me to respond on his behalf. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

 

We are very sorry to learn of your disappointment with the overall service provided by our shipboard team and specifically the bar staff. As you know, the interaction between our staff and guests is an important part of the overall cruise experience. Every employee is expected to offer a high level of service and regrettably this was not your experience. Please accept our sincere apologies for any dissatisfaction. I have shared your feedback with our Food & Beverage and Hotel Operations leadership, so that they are aware.

 

Our drink pricing has remained consistent for several years. The recent price and gratuity increase was done after conducting an in-depth competitive analysis of other cruise lines and land based resort destinations. Our new pricing enables us to be competitive within the industry. We have also expanded our beverage options, offering higher quality cocktails and more premium spirits, and we have updated our wine program onboard. Nevertheless, I understand that the new pricing is noticeably higher than on your previous cruise, and I trust you understand the reasons for the change.

 

Mrs. , you are a valued Crown & Anchor Diamond guest and we appreciate the time you have taken to let us know of your experience. Please feel free to call on me if I can be of assistance to you in the future.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Laurel Wan

Executive Guest Relations Assistant to

Michael Bayley, President & CEO

Royal Caribbean International

Tel: 305.539.6455

Fax: 305.372.0441

LWan@rccl.com

[coldflame]

We'll here's the reply. They really don't care. It's sad but we will take our business elsewhere.

 

That was a good and professional letter directly addressing your complaints. What were you expecting?

[Thetrail]

We'll here's the reply. They really don't care. It's sad but we will take our business elsewhere.

 

 

Dear Mrs.

 

Mr. Bayley received your email and asked me to respond on his behalf. I appreciate the opportunity to respond to your concerns.

 

We are very sorry to learn of your disappointment with the overall service provided by our shipboard team and specifically the bar staff. As you know, the interaction between our staff and guests is an important part of the overall cruise experience. Every employee is expected to offer a high level of service and regrettably this was not your experience. Please accept our sincere apologies for any dissatisfaction. I have shared your feedback with our Food & Beverage and Hotel Operations leadership, so that they are aware.

 

Our drink pricing has remained consistent for several years. The recent price and gratuity increase was done after conducting an in-depth competitive analysis of other cruise lines and land based resort destinations. Our new pricing enables us to be competitive within the industry. We have also expanded our beverage options, offering higher quality cocktails and more premium spirits, and we have updated our wine program onboard. Nevertheless, I understand that the new pricing is noticeably higher than on your previous cruise, and I trust you understand the reasons for the change.

 

Mrs. , you are a valued Crown & Anchor Diamond guest and we appreciate the time you have taken to let us know of your experience. Please feel free to call on me if I can be of assistance to you in the future.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Laurel Wan

Executive Guest Relations Assistant to

Michael Bayley, President & CEO

Royal Caribbean International

Tel: 305.539.6455

Fax: 305.372.0441

LWan@rccl.com

Lets see, RCL responded to your complaints and rants in a timely and professional manner. What am I missing? :rolleyes:

[coldflame]

Lets see, RCL responded to your complaints and rants in a timely and professional manner. What am I missing? :rolleyes:

 

Totally. Not sure what were they expecting? A free cruise for your troubles? As I said in the post right above yours, that was a good professional letter addressing their concerns. :/

[HandE]

That was a good and professional letter directly addressing your complaints. What were you expecting?

 

Sounded like a great response to me! When I complain (and it's rarely) I'm doing it because I want my favorite cruise line to be aware so that they can correct the problem. That means better cruises for everyone in the future! I've been enjoying drink prices over the past few years that are consistent with our local watering hole so I'm not surprised that they've increased.

So, with that in mind, they sent the letter to the person who can make a direct & positive change so..had it been a response to me, my goal would have been met. :)

[BillOh]

I'm But the reports of crew being unfriendly or seemingly unwilling to help is what has me concerned.

 

We

Thanks.

 

 

We were on Freedom 2 weeks before the OP and had a wonderful time. The bar service point is probably valid, but its just not that important to us. We probably had 3 drinks all cruise.

[coldflame]

Sounded like a great response to me! When I complain (and it's rarely) I'm doing it because I want my favorite cruise line to be aware so that they can correct the problem. That means better cruises for everyone in the future! I've been enjoying drink prices over the past few years that are consistent with our local watering hole so I'm not surprised that they've increased.

So, with that in mind, they sent the letter to the person who can make a direct & positive change so..had it been a response to me, my goal would have been met. :)

 

yeah, totally not getting why spammie posted it as if it was a negative and then left in a huff giving their money to Celebrity instead. I hope the the irony that Celebrity is part of RCI downs on them soon enough :rolleyes:

[Anubi]

What a condescending ES&D letter. Couched in very diplomatic terms, it was to-bad-so-sad, suck it up buttercup letter. RCL truly does not care.

[Thetrail]

What a condescending ES&D letter. Couched in very diplomatic terms, it was to-bad-so-sad, suck it up buttercup letter. RCL truly does not care.

He fixed them, he's going to sail on Celebrity!...Ha Ha....:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[iheartbda]

What a condescending ES&D letter. Couched in very diplomatic terms, it was to-bad-so-sad, suck it up buttercup letter. RCL truly does not care.[/I]

What would you have liked to see them to do?

[scubacruiser099]

We found all of the staff outstanding, friendly, and accommodating. We did not, however, purchase an alcoholic drink package. In the past when we purchased a coke package we were also frustrated with some of the bar staff because they would reluctantly and slowly get a coke for us when asked :(. It was because they were not earning tips from our package. It sounds like the same thing is happening now with the alcohol packages. Fortunately for us, they now have the 100+ options coke machines on the promenade, in the arcade, and in the Windjammer which eliminated our need to ask the bar staff for a beverage with the purchase of the coke package :D.

Every staff member we encountered was happy and helpful in all of the venues. We loved our experience!

[PLEIKU68]

That was a good and professional letter directly addressing your complaints. What were you expecting?

 

Oh come on, they were shooting for a future OBC or a free drink package for their next cruise. :):eek:

[spammie]

Totally. Not sure what were they expecting? A free cruise for your troubles? As I said in the post right above yours, that was a good professional letter addressing their concerns. :/

 

We are NOT expecting anything. I was just sharing the letter. I already stated BEFORE we sent the letter that we would be exploring other cruise lines for future cruises.

[spammie]

Sounded like a great response to me! When I complain (and it's rarely) I'm doing it because I want my favorite cruise line to be aware so that they can correct the problem. That means better cruises for everyone in the future! I've been enjoying drink prices over the past few years that are consistent with our local watering hole so I'm not surprised that they've increased.

So, with that in mind, they sent the letter to the person who can make a direct & positive change so..had it been a response to me, my goal would have been met. :)

 

This is exactly why I sent a letter and completed the on-line survey which I never do. We ARE NOT looking for anything. We also hope that RCCL will make improvements. I already stated before I sent the letter that we were going to look into other cruise lines.