September 22, 2018 sailing of the Freedom of the Seas

[tyler6597]

We sailed on the September 22, 2018 sailing of the Freedom of the Seas out of San Juan and i have a word of warning to future cruisers on the FOS. RCCL had a special on this ship that allowed kids to sail free and half off the 2nd person there was a tremendous amount of children on my cruise and I assume it will be that way for the near future. There are announcements that are made in English and Spanish as well as one or two shows are all in Spanish. This is because there is a very large representation on board by the Spanish population and the announcements can be very long. When we played bingo the instructions or rules were made in both languages and it took at least 5 minutes or more. the crew member who said the bingo instruction and rules left after he finished saying them and during the games the Spanish speaking guest had additional question or even called bingo when they didn't have it and there was no one there from the crew who could speck Spanish. The muster drill with all of the instructions was also made in Spanish and this muster drill was the longest I've ever been too.

 

 

 

All of this was very frustrating and if you are like me and you don't like several hundred kids running around the ship making a lot of noise and getting in the elevators and pushing all the button I suggest you consider another cruise and certainly don't embark out of San Juan. San Juan is a place you should consider avoiding.

[BobNoxious]

I've never been on a cruise out of San Juan, but I am expecting everything to be done in both languages. Yes, it may double the Bingo instructions to 5 mins, but I guess that is better than ONLY Spanish, right? As for safety instructions, I am glad it is done in multiple languages (you want everyone to understand the instructions). Airlines will do this on flights overseas - so for safety it is important. As for the announcements and activities on the ship: does Royal do multiple languages for other non-English embarkation ports where English is not the primary language? (e.g. Barcelona Spain, Rome Italy)?

 

 

And the kids sail free promotion happens a lot for many different ships at many different times. Kids go on cruises.

https://twitter.com/search?q=royal%20caribbean%20kids%20sail%20free%20&src=typd

Edited October 5, 2018 by BobNoxious

[Biker19]

As for the announcements and activities on the ship: does Royal do multiple languages for other non-English embarkation ports where English is not the primary language? (e.g. Barcelona Spain, Rome Italy)?

Yes.

[Ashland]

We sailed on Freedom a B2B on Sept 8th & 15th.....The week of the 8th was one of the worst we've been on out of the several we've done out of San Juan.

It wasn't just the kids, their usually not of much concern for us (but we did notice the complete lack of parental supervision on this cruise)...after all we take our grandchildren cruising often but there were groups of local adults that "TOOK OVER" the ships (even had brought on musical instruments and boom box's onboard)....public areas,pool/spa, bars (especially Bolaros) and the WJ..

We will definitely reconsider sailing this time of year...but we did love the ports.

 

The staff onboard especially Guest Relations Mgr & WJ Mgr. adressed our long list of concerns (and we're long time, low key non-complainers) but not much they could really seem to do...except tell them no LOUD boom boxes and personal instruments allowed in the WJ.

 

Our 2nd week was better....was hoping it couldn't get any worse as we started it...One of the first times I wasn't happily looking forward to my 2nd leg.

Edited October 5, 2018 by Ashland

[Ashland]

We sailed on the September 22, 2018 sailing of the Freedom of the Seas out of San Juan and i have a word of warning to future cruisers on the FOS. RCCL had a special on this ship that allowed kids to sail free and half off the 2nd person there was a tremendous amount of children on my cruise and I assume it will be that way for the near future. There are announcements that are made in English and Spanish as well as one or two shows are all in Spanish. This is because there is a very large representation on board by the Spanish population and the announcements can be very long. When we played bingo the instructions or rules were made in both languages and it took at least 5 minutes or more. the crew member who said the bingo instruction and rules left after he finished saying them and during the games the Spanish speaking guest had additional question or even called bingo when they didn't have it and there was no one there from the crew who could speck Spanish. The muster drill with all of the instructions was also made in Spanish and this muster drill was the longest I've ever been too.

 

 

 

All of this was very frustrating and if you are like me and you don't like several hundred kids running around the ship making a lot of noise and getting in the elevators and pushing all the button I suggest you consider another cruise and certainly don't embark out of San Juan. San Juan is a place you should consider avoiding.

The additional language announcements were always to be expected. I guess you have never sailed on European or Asian sailings. I avoid Bingo regardless of where I'm sailing.

 

You're just lucky you weren't on our Sept 8th cruise or you would really have had something to complain about

[PCWalton1]

We sailed on Freedom a B2B on Sept 8th & 15th.....The week of the 8th was one of the worst we've been on out of the several we've done out of San Juan.

It wasn't just the kids, their usually not of much concern for us (but we did notice the complete lack of parental supervision on this cruise)...after all we take our grandchildren cruising often but there were groups of local adults that "TOOK OVER" the ships (even had brought on musical instruments and boom box's onboard)....public areas,pool/spa, bars (especially Bolaros) and the WJ..

We will definitely reconsider sailing this time of year...but we did love the ports.

 

The staff onboard especially Guest Relations Mgr & WJ Mgr. adressed our long list of concerns (and we're long time, low key non-complainers) but not much they could really seem to do...except tell them no LOUD boom boxes and personal instruments allowed in the WJ.

 

Our 2nd week was better....was hoping it couldn't get any worse as we started it...One of the first times I wasn't happily looking forward to my 2nd leg.

 

Guest bring boom boxes and using them in public areas seems to be coming more prevalent as yours is not the first comments I have seen on that topic. I too would not be happy if people tries to force their musical choices in WJ or poolside.

[Ashland]

Guest bring boom boxes and using them in public areas seems to be coming more prevalent as yours is not the first comments I have seen on that topic. I too would not be happy if people tries to force their musical choices in WJ or poolside.

According to the Guest Onboard Policy fact sheet near Guest Services.....Using them in dining rooms (WJ) etc. isn't allowed...but they seem to be able to use them by the pool. I hope with enough complaints this will change....It was just a madhouse in certain areas and no one enforcing policy at all especially at dinner in the WJ which after many years of cruising we now prefer...it's usually so nice and quite in there with just piped in mood music.....Not this time. :eek:

[davekathy]

We sailed on Freedom a B2B on Sept 8th & 15th.....The week of the 8th was one of the worst we've been on out of the several we've done out of San Juan.

It wasn't just the kids, their usually not of much concern for us (but we did notice the complete lack of parental supervision on this cruise)...after all we take our grandchildren cruising often but there were groups of local adults that "TOOK OVER" the ships (even had brought on musical instruments and boom box's onboard)....public areas,pool/spa, bars (especially Bolaros) and the WJ..

We will definitely reconsider sailing this time of year...but we did love the ports.

 

The staff onboard especially Guest Relations Mgr & WJ Mgr. adressed our long list of concerns (and we're long time, low key non-complainers) but not much they could really seem to do...except tell them no LOUD boom boxes and personal instruments allowed in the WJ.

 

Our 2nd week was better....was hoping it couldn't get any worse as we started it...One of the first times I wasn't happily looking forward to my 2nd leg.

Needs to be added to the prohibited list! :mad: Maybe I should bring my drums on our next cruise.:rolleyes:

[maggieq]

We have cruise out of San Juan a few times. The best experiences were in the months of feb, March and April. We took one over Memorial Day and said never again this time of year.

 

The atmosphere can have a huge impact on your cruise. Everyone should be respectful.

 

I miss cruising out of San Juan because of the itinerary’s offered.

 

Shouldn’t the kids from PR be back in school by September?

[davekathy]

Looking forward to our B2B cruise on the Freedom March 2019.

[tyler6597]

I booked this cruise because I assumed that kids would be in school but maybe the kids sail for free offer was just enough reason for parents to pull their kids out of school so they can run around and annoy a lot of people. Don't get me wrong I like kids in fact I used to be one but when the parents just let them run around and my brother in law witnessed a group of kids lurking in the corridor on deck 8 and 3 of them started kicking the cabin door. being a former seal d for the navy he wasn't going to let them get away with that. he separated the 3 future felons and had a talk with them. I thought we were on a Disney cruise ship instead of RCCL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have cruise out of San Juan a few times. The best experiences were in the months of feb, March and April. We took one over Memorial Day and said never again this time of year.

 

The atmosphere can have a huge impact on your cruise. Everyone should be respectful.

 

I miss cruising out of San Juan because of the itinerary’s offered.

 

Shouldn’t the kids from PR be back in school by September?

[cruisinfanatic]

I booked this cruise because I assumed that kids would be in school but maybe the kids sail for free offer was just enough reason for parents to pull their kids out of school so they can run around and annoy a lot of people. Don't get me wrong I like kids in fact I used to be one but when the parents just let them run around and my brother in law witnessed a group of kids lurking in the corridor on deck 8 and 3 of them started kicking the cabin door. being a former seal d for the navy he wasn't going to let them get away with that. he separated the 3 future felons and had a talk with them. I thought we were on a Disney cruise ship instead of RCCL.

You need to do more research on you future vacations.

[mamax2]

I was on this same sailing. My issue with the spanish was that the activities director Alex would have whole conversations in spanish and would not translate in english so there were moments where those who don't speak spanish had no idea was was said/what was so funny/what was going on.

 

Love the itinerary and the ship was great. I did find the activities lackluster and there were times we struggled to find things to do. Same trivia topic 2 days in a row. Also the shows...very old fashioned in my opinion. Cruise director was just so so...I've been on other cruise lines where cruise director was all over the ship. This time only at the major shows.

[shrifk]

We were also on this cruise (Sept. 22.) Perhaps we are more tolerant but I didn't mind the some of the announcements in Spanish. We've travelled internationally when multiple languages are spoken and or repeated so I guess we were used to that.

 

I didn't realize there would be so many children on board but I didn't find them or their parents objectionable.

 

We finally learned to navigate the elevators; go up to do down and vice versa if they were full. It might have taken a few minutes longer but didn't have to wait for a long time to get on an elevator.

 

We didn't eat in the Windjammer instead had breakfast in the dining room. Had a hot dog in the Windjammer for lunch after the crowd thinned out.

 

The main dining room food was o.k. Not great but we were with a table of very nice people that made dinner enjoyable. However, our server was poor. One of the people complained to the Maitre De. Things were better after that discussion

 

We opted to relax on deck 12 rather than the pool deck. We were always able to find lounge chairs. So going to the pool deck when we wanted to cool off was not a problem. The Solarium pool was nice since it was adults only and they had steps into the pool rather than ladders. My wife has trouble climbing the ladder so she appreciated that.

 

Although there were a lot of kids we didn't find them unruly.

 

The entertainment was good, not exceptional. We did attend the Adult show which was not funny.

 

The Promenade was very crowded at times.

 

We did enjoy the Schooner bar with the "Piano Man." Great music and he had a wonderful personality. We didn't try the other lounges so I can't comment about that.

 

The ship is old and could use some updating.

 

We didn't do any ship excursions. However, we did some touring with private companies that we found when leaving the ship. Most of the time we explored on our own. Unfortunately because of a forecasted storm the ship could not stop at St. Kitts so we had an extra sea day. We were disappointed because we had reservations at the Marriott for a day pass at that resort. That was going to be our beach day.

 

All in all we had a wonderful cruise. Since our flight home was at 4:00 we took a tour around of San Juan and then was dropped off at the airport. The tour was o.k. $30.00 /person. The tour guide sounded bored and didn't describe too much. They are outside the terminal; I think it was SJ Tours.

 

Disembarkation was easy. The porter took us through a short line and customs was quick.

 

We usually cruise with Celebrity. Comparing the two, Celebrity is more upscale. I did notice a lot of small gestures and things that are more appreciated on Celebrity i.e., Officers circulating on the deck and talking with passengers, cold towels upon returning from an excursion prior to entering the ship, much better food -- an upscale ambience on the whole Celebrity ship. Celebrity does cater to an older 50+ demographic (my opinion) so there is no belly flop contests, muscular men and women competition, and sports activities. The entertainment seems better on Celebrity on the cruises we have been on.

[Ashland]

We were also on this cruise (Sept. 22.) Perhaps we are more tolerant but I didn't mind the some of the announcements in Spanish. We've travelled internationally when multiple languages are spoken and or repeated so I guess we were used to that.

 

I didn't realize there would be so many children on board but I didn't find them or their parents objectionable.

 

We finally learned to navigate the elevators; go up to do down and vice versa if they were full. It might have taken a few minutes longer but didn't have to wait for a long time to get on an elevator.

 

We didn't eat in the Windjammer instead had breakfast in the dining room. Had a hot dog in the Windjammer for lunch after the crowd thinned out.

 

The main dining room food was o.k. Not great but we were with a table of very nice people that made dinner enjoyable. However, our server was poor. One of the people complained to the Maitre De. Things were better after that discussion

 

We opted to relax on deck 12 rather than the pool deck. We were always able to find lounge chairs. So going to the pool deck when we wanted to cool off was not a problem. The Solarium pool was nice since it was adults only and they had steps into the pool rather than ladders. My wife has trouble climbing the ladder so she appreciated that.

 

Although there were a lot of kids we didn't find them unruly.

 

The entertainment was good, not exceptional. We did attend the Adult show which was not funny.

 

The Promenade was very crowded at times.

 

We did enjoy the Schooner bar with the "Piano Man." Great music and he had a wonderful personality. We didn't try the other lounges so I can't comment about that.

 

The ship is old and could use some updating.

 

We didn't do any ship excursions. However, we did some touring with private companies that we found when leaving the ship. Most of the time we explored on our own. Unfortunately because of a forecasted storm the ship could not stop at St. Kitts so we had an extra sea day. We were disappointed because we had reservations at the Marriott for a day pass at that resort. That was going to be our beach day.

 

All in all we had a wonderful cruise. Since our flight home was at 4:00 we took a tour around of San Juan and then was dropped off at the airport. The tour was o.k. $30.00 /person. The tour guide sounded bored and didn't describe too much. They are outside the terminal; I think it was SJ Tours.

 

Disembarkation was easy. The porter took us through a short line and customs was quick.

 

We usually cruise with Celebrity. Comparing the two, Celebrity is more upscale. I did notice a lot of small gestures and things that are more appreciated on Celebrity i.e., Officers circulating on the deck and talking with passengers, cold towels upon returning from an excursion prior to entering the ship, much better food -- an upscale ambience on the whole Celebrity ship. Celebrity does cater to an older 50+ demographic (my opinion) so there is no belly flop contests, muscular men and women competition, and sports activities. The entertainment seems better on Celebrity on the cruises we have been on.

Interesting that you missed St Kitts on your Sept 22nd sailing. We missed St Maarten on our Sept 8th sailing.

However we did go to St Maarten during our 2nd leg (Sept 15th) and asked the locals about the weather that particular day they said it was beautiful. We had no weather issues on either of these cruises but it seems like the decision was made very early on to miss St Maarten and give us another sea day..We weren't too happy about this and were actually looking forward to repeating this port.

[Jey01]

We cruise during October to avoid the crowds! This will be our 3rd trip out of San Juan during the “low” season. The first was several years ago on Carnival valor. Literally every day was a port day. So I can’t really compare that particular trip. However last year it was crazy. We were one of the 1st cruises post hurricane that wasn’t cancelled. There were a TON of kids and the ship was packed. It was still a great cruise (this was on the Adventure) but there was a “special offer” for PR residents post hurricane and we assumed that was why the ship was so full....we leave on freedom oct 20th. Here’s to hoping it’s not overcrowded [emoji849] all that being said we still had a great time last year

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums