Freedom of the Seas boarding

[Bettyscruiser]

I just checked in for our holiday cruise on Freedom, leaving San Juan on December 29.  My check in time says 3-7, so I called RCCL to ask how early we could board - and they said we cannot get on the ship before 3 pm (nor can we drop our luggage before that) because the previous cruise does not have to disembark until 3 pm.  He also said that at the end of the cruise we can stay on the ship as late as 3!  Having always sailed out of mainland US ports we always boarded around noon and had to be off the ship around 10.  Can anyone who has been on Freedom reconfirm this?  Seems so late to be boarding!  Ship leaves at 8:30 pm.

 

Thank you!

[Clarea]

Boarding normally starts around 11am.

[HBE4]

The one and only time I sailed out of San Juan was 8 or 9 years ago on the Serenade.  We also had a night time departure, 8 or 9 pm. Not a fan of the night time sail-a-way during dinner.

 

About the only good thing is you can take your time checking out of the hotel ( had a 3 day per-cruise vacation) and have lunch before heading to the port.  Also avoids the WJ chaos after embarkation.  EDIT: so yes, a 3-7 pm boarding time makes sense.

Edited November 13, 2019 by HBE4

[cruiseguy1016]

We've sailed out of San Juan MANY times. We have always started boarding between 11:00 and 12:00. We have also had to be off the ship by 10:00. I've never heard of the schedule you claim they told you. I would call back and ask again. I bet you'll get a different answer.

[not-enough-cruising]

You were given BAD information 

 

We too regularly cruise out of San Juan, always on the ship by 11-1130 time frame, always off by 7:00

[davekathy]

29 minutes ago, Bettyscruiser said:

I just checked in for our holiday cruise on Freedom, leaving San Juan on December 29.  My check in time says 3-7, so I called RCCL to ask how early we could board - and they said we cannot get on the ship before 3 pm (nor can we drop our luggage before that) because the previous cruise does not have to disembark until 3 pm.  He also said that at the end of the cruise we can stay on the ship as late as 3!  Having always sailed out of mainland US ports we always boarded around noon and had to be off the ship around 10.  Can anyone who has been on Freedom reconfirm this?  Seems so late to be boarding!  Ship leaves at 8:30 pm.

 

Thank you!

Agree with Bob. We did a B2B on the Freedom March 2019. We were on the ship at 11:05. Who is he? You can not stay on the ship until 3:00 PM. Like most on time disembarkation, 9:30 - 10:00  is about the latest. Your muster drill will be at 5:45 so all dining is pushed back 30 minutes on that day only. For those boarding the ship after 5:15 the make up mustered drill will be held at 8:30. 

Edited November 13, 2019 by davekathy

[WisconsinFan]

Can confirm the above. Just be prepared, we took and Uber to the port. No clear drop off new, pick up returning area- so it was interesting 🙂 We were on board by 11:00.

[AshleyDillo]

1 hour ago, Bettyscruiser said:

I just checked in for our holiday cruise on Freedom, leaving San Juan on December 29. 

 

I am on that cruise as well with a large group.  I don't even know what my check-in time was because I always aim for being at the terminal between 10-11am.  San Juan is no different except we won't sail away until the evening.  Might as well spend the day enjoying the ship!

[jakeil7]

BTW, leaving SJ at night is a pleasant experience. It is very pretty sailing past Old San Juan

[bonsai3s]

Currently onboard the Freedom.  This is our third week and can confirm the following:

* The ship was cleared of passengers no later than 10:15 am...it would've been earlier this week but a family of four couldn't be located and when found, had to be escorted off the ship.

* Yes, Bob is correct, passengers started boarding by 11am.

* No one was allowed to stay until 3pm.

* OP, regrettably you may have been given the wrong information.

 

Let us know if you have any other questions...Happy Sailing! ☺️

 

[HBE4]

2 hours ago, Host Clarea said:

Boarding normally starts around 11am.

 

Wish I had know that 8-9 years ago. 🙂  I would have gotten my free lunch on the ship rather than paying for it in SJ.

 

OP - please disregard post #3.

[Clarea]

1 minute ago, HBE4 said:

 

Wish I had know that 8-9 years ago. 🙂  I would have gotten my free lunch on the ship rather than paying for it in SJ.

 

OP - please disregard post #3.

 

Well, boarding has gotten earlier.  8-9 years ago, boarding in San Juan was probably around noon, sometimes later.

[Eldaph]

19 hours ago, bonsai3s said:

Currently onboard the Freedom.  This is our third week and can confirm the following:

* The ship was cleared of passengers no later than 10:15 am...it would've been earlier this week but a family of four couldn't be located and when found, had to be escorted off the ship.

* Yes, Bob is correct, passengers started boarding by 11am.

* No one was allowed to stay until 3pm.

* OP, regrettably you may have been given the wrong information.

 

Let us know if you have any other questions...Happy Sailing! ☺️

 

Wow, you are on Freedom for 3 weeks?  We will be arriving on the 11/17 sailing, I can't wait!!!

[Bettyscruiser]

20 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

I am on that cruise as well with a large group.  I don't even know what my check-in time was because I always aim for being at the terminal between 10-11am.  San Juan is no different except we won't sail away until the evening.  Might as well spend the day enjoying the ship!

We are a large group as well and are very excited about our NYE cruise - we are switching to RCCL after years on Celebrity.  I'm going to call group sales and press the further.  I know this info sounded sketchy which is why I was questioning it.  Thank you all for your input and information!!!

 

[AshleyDillo]

26 minutes ago, Bettyscruiser said:

We are a large group as well and are very excited about our NYE cruise - we are switching to RCCL after years on Celebrity.  I'm going to call group sales and press the further.  I know this info sounded sketchy which is why I was questioning it.  Thank you all for your input and information!!!

 

 

Don't be surprised if group sales tells you the same thing about boarding within your assigned window.  A lot of times they're just trained to answer phones and haven't really experienced going on a cruise!

 

I wish they would let us stay on the ship until 3pm..that would be a fantastic option for my 7pm flight out of a San Juan 😣

[Bettyscruiser]

UPDATE - I called group sales since we are a group of 18.  Turns out there is something going on that day - they could not specify what - that prevents us from boarding before 3 pm.  They even looked at the previous sailing, and they are allowed to board at 12:30.  The representative thought it might be some sort of servicing on the ship, which seems odd considering it goes to dry dock just a couple of weeks later.  She did say we could drop our luggage early, however.  So - to my cruise buddy above, you will want to double check your times as well!!

 

Thanks for everyone's input, much appreciated!

Edited November 14, 2019 by Bettyscruiser

[Biker19]

12 minutes ago, Bettyscruiser said:

Turns out there is something going on that day - they could not specify what - that prevents us from boarding before 3 pm. 

That's just a better "story" than the previous CSR - you can call again and may get yet another answer.

 

Biker, who would go before noon.

[DISFANS3]

We boarding the freedom out of San Juan back in March at 11 am..

[bonsai3s]

On 11/14/2019 at 9:28 AM, Eldaph said:

Wow, you are on Freedom for 3 weeks?  We will be arriving on the 11/17 sailing, I can't wait!!!

 

See you on Sunday!...we're not leaving yet.

We met and sat next to a group of 42 passengers (wedding party) from New Jersey in the MDR...it was memorable...even played trivia with a couple of them.

 

When you arrive at the Pan American Pier, there are designated luggage drop-off areas...for each deck.

 

You've probably packed your luggage, but if you haven't, there are different theme nights during the week: Red Night, White Night, Formal Night, Caribbean Night...but of course you can wear what you want.

 

Something truly unique to this ship...is of course the "Somos Latinos" in the Promenade...absolutely wild!  The hypnotic and upbeat sound of salsa and merengue had the ship rocking.

[Ashland]

On 11/14/2019 at 10:22 AM, Bettyscruiser said:

UPDATE - I called group sales since we are a group of 18.  Turns out there is something going on that day - they could not specify what - that prevents us from boarding before 3 pm.  They even looked at the previous sailing, and they are allowed to board at 12:30.  The representative thought it might be some sort of servicing on the ship, which seems odd considering it goes to dry dock just a couple of weeks later.  She did say we could drop our luggage early, however.  So - to my cruise buddy above, you will want to double check your times as well!!

 

Thanks for everyone's input, much appreciated!

We did a B2B Sept 2018 and at the end of our first leg there was a coastguard boarding and lifeboat drill by the crew and still regular boarding by new incoming passengers started around 12:30pm...Just what we happened to experience when a delayed boarding happened.

[mommao729]

So what time do you suggest heading to the port? We are leaving from San Juan March 2020. This is our first time leaving from here. 

 

Usually we try to head to the ports here around 10:15. 

[Clarea]

35 minutes ago, mommao729 said:

So what time do you suggest heading to the port? We are leaving from San Juan March 2020. This is our first time leaving from here. 

 

Usually we try to head to the ports here around 10:15. 

 

I'd try to arrive at the port around 10:30am.  San Juan can be different in that the porters won't take bags before a certain time, so you could find yourself standing in the luggage drop off line if you are too early.

[cruiseguy1016]

42 minutes ago, mommao729 said:

So what time do you suggest heading to the port? We are leaving from San Juan March 2020. This is our first time leaving from here. 

 

Usually we try to head to the ports here around 10:15. 

 

We will also be leaving from San Juan in March of 2020. We have cruised out of San Juan many times and have always arrived at the pier around 11:00. We've never waited more than a few minutes to drop off luggage and enter the terminal for check-in. We will be arriving at the same time next March.