What extras do you get in a inaugural cruise?

[faithwins]

Well, we might be doing the inaugural cruise of Freedom of the Seas. I know there are alot of risks with inaugural cruises such as delays and new-ship type problems but I was wondering what perks you get with it such as free gifts ect. I would think the RCCL would be trying to impress the media onboard for the sailing? Or do they make it like any other cruise

[ChefPeg]

good question, we're going on the inaugural and would like to know.

[negc]

Before you sail on the "inaugural"cruise, the ship will probably have had several sailings for media, members of the travel industry, civic leaders and other VIPs. I believe that it is also going to visit some East Coast cities as it makes its way from Europe to Miami and may do a few 'cruises to nowhere' enroute. Since Freedom is the first of its class and promises many innovative features, they may offer special mementoes of your cruise, but I wouldn't count on it. We were on the "inaugural cruise" of Mariner of the Seas, which of course was the last of the Voyager Class ships, and aside from a certificate attesting to that fact, the only things we received were the usual Crown and Anchor gifts given to returning guests.

[truffles2]

We were on the inaugural of Vision from Barcelona and I don't recall any special gift--other than being there!

It just so happened that our return flight from Barcelona to Atlanta was also an inaugural and Delta really pulled out the stops....had a champagne reception with hors d'oeurves and big wigs before take off. We got a certificate for the flight also.

[Daydrmr]

We were on the inaugural of the Navigator and we did not get anything special for that one either. They did mention it a lot, but that was about it.

 

It's still a great feeling though, knowing you're one of the first ones on a brand new ship!

 

Have a great time!

[Mary&Jim]

We were on the Radiance of the Seas Panama Canal inaugural cruise and didn't receive anything extra. We did get a certificate and at some of the ports there were fireworks.

 

I agree that it is nice knowing you're first the ones on a new ship.

 

Have fun!

[ChefPeg]

Thank you everyone!

[faithwins]

Just a quick question... was anybody on the Inaugural of the Voyager? Since thats similar to the Freedom in that it is the biggest passanger ship in the world.

[faithwins]

Just a quick question... was anybody on the Inaugural of the Voyager? Since thats similar to the Freedom in that it is the biggest passanger ship in the world.

[*erika*]

The Freedom is an "ultra-voyager", so its bigger than the Voyager. It also will have more features than the Voyager class ships.

 

 

erika

[negc]

Just a quick question... was anybody on the Inaugural of the Voyager? Since thats similar to the Freedom in that it is the biggest passanger ship in the world.

At the present time the Queen Mary 2 is the largest passenger ship in the world. When the Freedom is launched it will take over that distinction. - until Mickey Arison or someone else decides to build a bigger one.

[xpcdoojk]

Let me see if I can remember all of the extras.

 

Ok, here is my list.

 

1 Frustrations

2 delays

3 problems

4 untrained crew

5 foulups

6 anger

 

I am sure there are more! :D

 

jc

[izodlacoste]

Let me see if I can remember all of the extras.

 

Ok, here is my list.

 

1 Frustrations

2 delays

3 problems

4 untrained crew

5 foulups

6 anger

 

I am sure there are more! :D

 

jc

 

 

Please tell us more details. I am thinking about booking first freedom cruise (only because dates are good for me and my kids really want to go on it). I am leery about taking first trip. Tell me more

[xpcdoojk]

I have never taken an inaugural cruise, but I have been reading in this forum for over 6 years. Some have been relatively painless, some have been cancelled, some should have been.:D

 

jc

[ChefPeg]

Let me see if I can remember all of the extras.

 

Ok, here is my list.

 

1 Frustrations

2 delays

3 problems

4 untrained crew

5 foulups

6 anger

 

I am sure there are more! :D

 

jc

Anything can happen on any cruise. Inaugural or not. It's all what you make of it. I tend to always look on the brighter side.

I'm on vacation, end of storey.

[bec2629]

From what I hear from friends that have been on inaugural cruises, you need to patient. From what I've seen on the RCCL webiste you get to pay a pretty high fare for the experience. If I'm paying the price of a suite for an oceanview, I'd wait till they get the bugs out. JMHO ;)

[cruisnfool]

Minimum 6 mos in the water is my TA'a motto!

I would rather sail with peace of mind than a few junky mementos

We were booked on an innagural many years ago before I was cruise savvy and the date was moved back 3 times making it a scheduling nightmare for work...we finally gave up and moved to a differant ship.

[RonUSVI]

Did the inaugural on the Adventure. Nothing bad to report. Only thing I got to show fir it was to be able to purchase a ball cap saying inaugural on it! Emphasis on purchase!

[CaptData]

One of the problems with a new ship is the crew is just as unfamilar with it as you. They can and do give wrong directions to various areas. Say you know the name of a certian bar on Navigator but you do not know the name on Mariner, the Staff may not know either or think it is the same as X but it is not the one you want. Some of the crew will be trained by other ships and are learning to get along with new bosses who work differently then their old ones. They may be angry because they always did it this way now they have to change it on a new ship. This ship is 15% bigger but about the same # of crew. Since it is bigger it will take the staff longer to get from point A to B so if you had ordered something it may take a bit longer then before.

 

This ship is doing a few cruises before the 4 June start one. They should have some bugs worked out but not all. You may hear extra training going on. If there are a lot of VIPs on board, your own service may be lacking as the crew try to impress these guests rather then you. Examples would be late Room Service or slow (so that they can handle the VIP), waiters paying more attention to the tables with the VIP and leaving yours til last or seeming they don't have time waiting for you to decide what you want to eat but have extra time for the VIPs.

 

Lounges may be closed so the VIPs can have a private party. Tha Captian's Party may be longer so he can introduce all of these VIPs that are on board (at least you know what they look like). The entertainment may not be quite up to standard as it will be new to them too (timing may be off, lights mismatched).

[xpcdoojk]

One of the problems with a new ship is the crew is just as unfamilar with it as you. They can and do give wrong directions to various areas. Say you know the name of a certian bar on Navigator but you do not know the name on Mariner, the Staff may not know either or think it is the same as X but it is not the one you want. Some of the crew will be trained by other ships and are learning to get along with new bosses who work differently then their old ones. They may be angry because they always did it this way now they have to change it on a new ship. This ship is 15% bigger but about the same # of crew. Since it is bigger it will take the staff longer to get from point A to B so if you had ordered something it may take a bit longer then before.

 

This ship is doing a few cruises before the 4 June start one. They should have some bugs worked out but not all. You may hear extra training going on. If there are a lot of VIPs on board, your own service may be lacking as the crew try to impress these guests rather then you. Examples would be late Room Service or slow (so that they can handle the VIP), waiters paying more attention to the tables with the VIP and leaving yours til last or seeming they don't have time waiting for you to decide what you want to eat but have extra time for the VIPs.

 

Lounges may be closed so the VIPs can have a private party. Tha Captian's Party may be longer so he can introduce all of these VIPs that are on board (at least you know what they look like). The entertainment may not be quite up to standard as it will be new to them too (timing may be off, lights mismatched).

 

Thanks for an elegant recap!

 

I think you get the picture, OP.

 

jc:D

[oscarmoraz]

Before you sail on the "inaugural"cruise, the ship will probably have had several sailings for media, members of the travel industry, civic leaders and other VIPs. I believe that it is also going to visit some East Coast cities as it makes its way from Europe to Miami and may do a few 'cruises to nowhere' enroute. Since Freedom is the first of its class and promises many innovative features, they may offer special mementoes of your cruise, but I wouldn't count on it. We were on the "inaugural cruise" of Mariner of the Seas, which of course was the last of the Voyager Class ships, and aside from a certificate attesting to that fact, the only things we received were the usual Crown and Anchor gifts given to returning guests.

 

 

Hi Bill,

 

What are some of the gifts we will recieve on our repo cruise? lol :)

 

Mary&Jim,

 

Do you remember which ports had the fireworks? I would like to compare them to the Freedoms itinerary.

 

Thank you,

Cindy

[nfused2cruze]

Some of the crew will be trained by other ships and are learning to get along with new bosses who work differently then their old ones. They may be angry because they always did it this way now they have to change it on a new ship.

Thanks for this insight - I agree. I do believe that this was one of the major problems with NCL and the Pride of America/Hawaii cruises. I've read many reviews on CC and it seems as if they still got some things to resolve.

[redcat72]

We did a "cruise to nowhere" on the Radiance back in April 2001. I guess that was before it's inaugural cruise?? We didn't get anything special, except for free internet from what I remember. Oh, and it was a great price. It was my husband's first cruise, and my second. My first one was on the Carnival Esctasy. So, needless to say I was VERY impressed with how beautiful the Radiance was.

 

I was just watching our cruise video the other day, and my husband was filming our balcony and saying "this is the only place on the ship that is not complaining." LOL! Which was true - tons of people were whining and complaining. The most commonly heard phrase (or at least the funniest to us) was, {said in cranky older person voice} "Anhh, What good is it for!" This just boggled our minds because we were having a great time on a gorgeous ship. We knew it was a "preview", and there may be kinks in the works, but we weren't going to get upset if the ice cream machine ran out of vanilla! Something simple like that seemed to completely ruin the cruise for people. So, I guess just go in with a good attitude, reasonable expectations and hopefully you'll have a great time!

[oscarmoraz]

I agree redcat! We are not looking for anything out of the normal and truly try never to sweat the small stuff. Besides, like you said we can always retreat back to our cabin and find ‘something’ to do there…lol ;)

 

We are going with a grateful attitude. It is all in what a person makes of it, in any given situation! Besides, I am sure a few glasses of champagne will cure anything. :p

 

I am not too worried about the kinks. I am more worried about the cruise not being long enough….lol.

 

C

[negc]

We did a "cruise to nowhere" on the Radiance back in April 2001. I guess that was before it's inaugural cruise?? We didn't get anything special, except for free internet from what I remember. Oh, and it was a great price. It was my husband's first cruise, and my second. My first one was on the Carnival Esctasy. So, needless to say I was VERY impressed with how beautiful the Radiance was.

We must have sailed with you and I agree. Much of the complaining was due to a new hiring system that RCI was trying (they quickly abandoned it), where most of the staff they hired had no prior cruiseship experience and, in some cases, no hotel industry experience either. As a result there were bartenders who had to consult the bartenders manual to make even basic drinks, and employees who weren't used to the long hours their jobs entailed. Large numbers quit after the pre-inaugural cruises and RCI flew in many experienced employees from their other ships to take their place. In a matter of a few weeks, however, the ship began to get rave reviews.

I remember that the Seattle's Best coffee machines didn't work because their inner workings weren't going to be installed until the ship arrived in Seattle on its way to Alaska for the summer, and basic supplies like clothes hangers hadn't been delivered or unpacked.

Since then, I think that RCI has been much better in dealing with the bugs that inevitably pop up when a new class of vessel debuts. Freedom may have some problems during their first few sailings but I suspect that the introduction of the Endeavor will go much more smoothly.

As you mentioned, the price for the Radiance pre-inaugural was a real bargain and should have muted some of the complaints, but we all know that that is rarely the case.:)