bigeck Posted June 28, 2023 #1 Share Posted June 28, 2023 ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS Dear Guest, We’re continuously working to improve our ships and the many amenities they have to offer. We’re taking Freedom of the Seas into dry dock for routine maintenance and exciting improvements. Unfortunately, this means your upcoming December 21st, 2024 cruise has been cancelled. The time and effort you took to plan your cruise is important to us, and we apologize for the inconvenience. Every aspect of your time with us should be enjoyable, so we’ve put together some alternate options that we hope will work for you and those in your party. Option 1: Re-book one of the following 2024 or 2025 itineraries departing from Fort Lauderdale, Florida: Freedom of the Seas: October 20th, 2024 | 7-Night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day | sailing to: Perfect Day at CocoCay | Labadee, Haiti| Falmouth, Jamaica | and George Town, Grand Cayman October 27th, 2024 | 7-Night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day | sailing to: Perfect Day at CocoCay | San Juan, Puerto Rico| and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas February 16th, 2025 | 7-Night Eastern Caribbean | sailing to: Nassau, Bahamas | Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas | and St. Johns, Antigua Oasis of the Seas: November 16th & December 14th in 2024 or January 11th in 2025 | 8-Night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day | sailing to: Basseterre, St. Kitts & Nevis | Philipsburg, St. Maarten | Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas | and Perfect Day at CocoCay November 30th & December 28th in 2024 or January 25th in 2025 | 8-Night Southern Caribbean & Perfect Day |sailing to: Oranjestad, Aruba | Willemstad, Curacao | and Perfect Day at CocoCay What you’ll receive: Your original stateroom category price will either be protected at your original cruise fare rate or reduced to the current cruise fare rate (whichever is lower). This excludes taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items. If your booking was already paid in full and your cruise fare rate decreases, we’ll provide you with a refund for the difference. You can expect to receive your refund to your original form of payment within 14 business days after we move you. Kindly note, refund times may vary depending on your financial institution. And, you’ll also be reimbursed for non-refundable, pre-purchased transportation change fees incurred (such as a flight, train ticket, or rental car). We’ll cover up to $200 USD per guest for Domestic changes, or up to $400 USD per guest for International changes. Please email your receipts and booking information to RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com for review and reimbursement. Option 2: Re-book any other Royal Caribbean International sailing If you prefer to re-book another sailing not included in Option 1, we’ll waive any non-refundable deposit change fees. Please know, you’ll be responsible for any difference in pricing for your cruise fare, taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items. If your booking was already paid in full and your cruise fare rate decreases, we’ll provide you with a refund for the difference. You can expect to receive your refund to your original form of payment within 14 business days after we move you. Kindly note, refund times may vary depending on your financial institution. And, you’ll also be reimbursed for non-refundable, pre-purchased transportation change fees incurred (such as a flight, train ticket, or rental car). We’ll cover up to $200 USD per guest for Domestic changes, or up to $400 USD per guest for International changes. Please email your receipts and booking information to RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com for review and reimbursement. Option 3: If you can’t find a new itinerary that works for you and choose to cancel, we’ll be sad to see you go. You’ll receive: A full refund of any paid portion of your cruise fare (including non-refundable deposits) and any pre-paid amenities to the original form of payment, within 14 business days – some international banking and financial institutions may have a processing time of approximately 30 business days. If you used a Future Cruise Credit on this sailing, and you request a refund instead, we’ll refund any NEW funds paid above the certificate amount, and we’ll reinstate your original certificate. If you booked your airfare through Royal Caribbean International, it will be automatically refunded to you. However, if you booked on your own, please contact the service provider directly for your options with them. Please note, if you choose this option, we will not provide additional compensation. There are a lot of moving parts when it comes to rebooking all guests, so we ask for your patience as we work to make this process as easy as possible for you. All moves will be completed by July 12th, 2023, and we’ll send an updated reservation confirmation with your revised details to the email address on file as soon as your reservation has been completely updated with the pricing fully adjusted. If you decide to go with Option 1 or 2, please call us at 888-281-9344 or contact your Travel Advisor by July 12th, 2023 And know, hold times may be longer than usual. If we haven’t heard from you by July 12th, your reservation will be cancelled. If you have any questions, please contact your Travel Advisor immediately or contact us at: 1 888 281 9344 in the U.S. 1800 754 500 in Australia / 0800 102 123 in New Zealand In the UK only, by using our webchat service or by calling 0344 493 4005 All other countries, please visit http://www.royalcaribbean.com/contactus for your local Royal Caribbean International office phone number. Thank you for understanding, and we hope you find another cruise with us. Whether you are celebrating a special occasion or looking to explore, relax, and recharge, we have no doubt your time with us will be nothing short of amazing. Sincerely,Aurora Yera-RodriguezAVP | Guest ExperienceRoyal Caribbean International Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gumshoe958 Posted June 28, 2023 #2 Share Posted June 28, 2023 Wow. Royal cancels Christmas. But don’t worry, you can celebrate in October or February instead. Seriously, that stinks. Not even offering an alternative Christmas cruise on another ship. 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted June 28, 2023 #3 Share Posted June 28, 2023 Weird to do this during a holiday time when prices are at their highest. Very odd? 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dunrobbin Posted June 28, 2023 #4 Share Posted June 28, 2023 No Compensation? What a joke Royal has become. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocker3 Posted June 28, 2023 #5 Share Posted June 28, 2023 (edited) Very strange -- Freedom only has 4 sailings available from Nov 2024-Feb 2025. Those are: Nov 3rd - 6 nts Dec 29th - 8 nts Feb 16th - 7 nts Feb 23rd - 6 nts Seems like the Dec 29th is next to get chopped -- but that would leave over 3 months for dry dock?? Very peculiar Edited June 28, 2023 by Bocker3 correct date Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARandomTraveler Posted June 28, 2023 #6 Share Posted June 28, 2023 Wow that's surprising, that messes with people's holiday plans. That sucks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigeck Posted June 28, 2023 Author #7 Share Posted June 28, 2023 Looks like they have cancelled xmas but not new year Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigeck Posted June 28, 2023 Author #8 Share Posted June 28, 2023 3 minutes ago, Bocker3 said: Very strange -- Freedom only has 4 sailings available from Nov 2024-Feb 2024. Those are: Nov 3rd - 6 nts Dec 29th - 8 nts Feb 16th - 7 nts Feb 23rd - 6 nts Seems like the Dec 29th is next to get chopped -- but that would leave over 3 months for dry dock?? Very peculiar I've checked a few times and every time it's different Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bocker3 Posted June 28, 2023 #9 Share Posted June 28, 2023 I booked a B2B for Feb/Mar 2025 when it looked like a Dry dock was scheduled for Nov/Dec. We sail on 2/23/25 and 3/1/25. We got some amazing rates for JS and same cabin for both, so hopefully they stop with the disappearing sailings. But, man -- I can't believe how upset I'd be if they cancelled a Holiday Sailing on me. They are losing a bit of $$$ with that decision Mike 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monorail81 Posted June 28, 2023 #10 Share Posted June 28, 2023 I’m a little astounded there’s not even an OBC. Kinda of insulting since they’ve had my deposit for many months now. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Posted June 28, 2023 #11 Share Posted June 28, 2023 I have a Freedom booking that I was going to move since I sensed this was coming, and it was for a JS for half the price of what a JS is going for now on the optional sailings. Maybe I'll win this one. Now for my agent to call the confused call center who won't have any idea about this change or how to apply the rebookings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molly361 Posted June 28, 2023 #12 Share Posted June 28, 2023 Wow these offers sure aren't what they used to be 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Posted June 28, 2023 #13 Share Posted June 28, 2023 Just be aware that the last sentence "If we haven’t heard from you by July 12th, your reservation will be cancelled" means exactly that. They will cancel it and keep all non-refundable deposits if they don't hear from you. They won't refund them. This happened to me last year when I foolishly assumed that not calling to specifically tell them I wanted Option 3 meant they would just cancel and refund. My agent called when no refund showed up and that's what they told her. Then the supervisor graciously said he would make a one time exception in my case and approved the refund. 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare little britain Posted June 28, 2023 #14 Share Posted June 28, 2023 It’s not only The Grinch… but now RCI cancelled Christmas 🎄!!! Bah humbug! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onvacationmn Posted June 28, 2023 #15 Share Posted June 28, 2023 We have been trying to sail Freedom since the 2019 drydock and keep getting stymied. Due to kids in school, only the December 28th sailing worked for us and we got a killer deal compared to current list price. I called an hour ago after receiving the email and had a new booking confirmation within 20 minutes. Now to keep an eye on airfare and hotels. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigeck Posted June 28, 2023 Author #16 Share Posted June 28, 2023 31 minutes ago, molly361 said: Wow these offers sure aren't what they used to be If they do hold out to the letter, I will get an Oceanview balcony for £1475 on Oasis. Currently £2450. I'll find out tomorrow when I call 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigeck Posted June 28, 2023 Author #17 Share Posted June 28, 2023 26 minutes ago, Anton said: Just be aware that the last sentence "If we haven’t heard from you by July 12th, your reservation will be cancelled" means exactly that. They will cancel it and keep all non-refundable deposits if they don't hear from you. They won't refund them. This happened to me last year when I foolishly assumed that not calling to specifically tell them I wanted Option 3 meant they would just cancel and refund. My agent called when no refund showed up and that's what they told her. Then the supervisor graciously said he would make a one time exception in my case and approved the refund. I'll call tomorrow. Might take a few times to get the correct result though. My Scottish accent doesn't help 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FionaMG Posted June 28, 2023 #18 Share Posted June 28, 2023 (edited) 19 minutes ago, bigeck said: I'll call tomorrow. Might take a few times to get the correct result though. My Scottish accent doesn't help Can you say "eleven"? https://youtu.be/HbDnxzrbxn4 Edited June 28, 2023 by FionaMG 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare FionaMG Posted June 28, 2023 #19 Share Posted June 28, 2023 I lost the December 7th sailing, which had Saint Lucia and that was the real draw. None of the alternatives have it, so not sure what to do. I will have to have a good think about it tonight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimbo Posted June 28, 2023 #20 Share Posted June 28, 2023 (edited) 45 minutes ago, little britain said: It’s not only The Grinch… but now RCI cancelled Christmas 🎄!!! Bah humbug! They don't dare cancel the New Year.....otherwise they won't be able to raise cruise prices even higher in 2024.......... Their motto now is "sky's the limit" on cruise prices. Edited June 28, 2023 by Jimbo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Posted June 28, 2023 #21 Share Posted June 28, 2023 I am moved to the February 16 Freedom in the same JS I had on the cancelled cruise. My agent said there were no problems with the change and the RCI agent was up to speed on what was going on. Port and tax increased a little. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigeck Posted June 28, 2023 Author #22 Share Posted June 28, 2023 22 minutes ago, FionaMG said: Can you say "eleven"? https://youtu.be/HbDnxzrbxn4 My 11's start with A as well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseguy1016 Posted June 28, 2023 #23 Share Posted June 28, 2023 (edited) I'm wondering what the drydock is for. Freedom came out of Amplification drydock in March of 2020 just before COVID. She only had one cruise before the COVID shutdown. There are certainly ships in the fleet that are more in need of a drydock than Freedom is. Edited June 28, 2023 by cruiseguy1016 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare little britain Posted June 28, 2023 #24 Share Posted June 28, 2023 44 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said: I'm wondering what the drydock is for. Freedom came out of Amplification drydock in March of 2020 just before COVID. She only had one cruise before the COVID shutdown. There are certainly ships in the fleet that are more in need of a drydock than Freedom is. Interesting… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted June 28, 2023 #25 Share Posted June 28, 2023 Early 2025 would be about the 5 year window for her next drydock. Maybe dock slots were limited and this was the best window available to get it done before the summer season 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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