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New Explorer and Freedom Deployments Booking

MLH

By MLH
in Royal Caribbean Discussion

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princevaliantus Pinnacle

princevaliantus

Posted
Posted
27 minutes ago, MLH said:

Am i missing something.  I thought the new deployments were already available to book, but I am not seeing them.  Do they show up in the Ta website?

Give them two or three days as RCG has to update their website. The announcement from Matt is premature but it's going to happen.

Dad2Cue Diamond Plus

Dad2Cue

Posted
Posted
33 minutes ago, princevaliantus said:

Give them a two or three days as RCG has to update their website. The announcement from Matt is premature but it's going to happen.

I haven't received any notification yet but it seems like my B2B cruises on Freedom will be impacted.  Nothing against Explorer but I really wanted to go on Freedom again.  I liked everything as was planned and now it seems like the plan has changed.  What does Royal do in these cases?  Explorer isn't Freedom and I'm not thrilled with the change!  Just wondering.

Lovetocruise2002 Pinnacle

Lovetocruise2002

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, Dad2Cue said:

I haven't received any notification yet but it seems like my B2B cruises on Freedom will be impacted.  Nothing against Explorer but I really wanted to go on Freedom again.  I liked everything as was planned and now it seems like the plan has changed.  What does Royal do in these cases?  Explorer isn't Freedom and I'm not thrilled with the change!  Just wondering.

It will likely be just like the Summer 2021 redeployment about a month ago with Brilliance/Indy.  They will either let you cancel for a full refund, no penalty or swap you automatically and price protect you.  That was the offer we got last month.  In the end, we chose to follow Brilliance to Tampa instead of sailing Indy again.

Lovetocruise2002 Pinnacle

Lovetocruise2002

Posted
Posted
39 minutes ago, MLH said:

Am i missing something.  I thought the new deployments were already available to book, but I am not seeing them.  Do they show up in the Ta website?

If it was anything like last month for the summer 2021 redeployments, the day that Royal said it would be release, it was made available for booking later in the afternoon.  Just keep checking.  It will show.

Flopper Diamond

Flopper

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, WannaCruise said:

Anyone know when "autumn 2021" starts?  We have very end of August on Freedom...so I assume we are safe...I hope.

The changes are beginning 10/21. It’s in the blog post. 

WannaCruise Pinnacle

WannaCruise

Posted
Posted
3 minutes ago, vmagestro said:

The changes are beginning 10/21. It’s in the blog post. 

Thank you.  Missed the date.  Our cruise goes into Sept which is why I was questioning.

Looking forward to visiting Bermuda (assuming cruises start back up)

Joe01 Pinnacle

Joe01

Posted
Posted

So all 3 of the Freedom Class ships are being stuck on 3 and 4 nighters from Florida??

I was hoping to sail one of them again in the not too distant future, nearly 9 years since I was last on Indy. 

princevaliantus Pinnacle

princevaliantus

Posted
Posted
4 minutes ago, Joe01 said:

So all 3 of the Freedom Class ships are being stuck on 3 and 4 nighters from Florida??

I was hoping to sail one of them again in the not too distant future, nearly 9 years since I was last on Indy. 

Liberty is remaining in Galveston doing 7 nites. I don't see any changes for her being announced.

monctonguy Pinnacle

monctonguy

Posted
Posted
7 minutes ago, Joe01 said:

So all 3 of the Freedom Class ships are being stuck on 3 and 4 nighters from Florida??

I was hoping to sail one of them again in the not too distant future, nearly 9 years since I was last on Indy. 

You knew with the money and advertising they are pouring into Coco Cay....they want big ships and lots of ppl going there to drive revenue.....not surprising really at all they are using Freedom class ships for this.

 

Although at this point I would take a cruise anywhere on any royal ship right now!!!?

USFFrank Diamond Plus

USFFrank

Posted
Posted

Apparently winter 2022 also means April, 2022. I checked to see if my April, 2022 cruise on Freedom of the Seas was effected and low and behold it is no longer listed. Only Empress of the Seas is available. Not too thrilled about this, but I did get this as the end result of a lift & shift from Enchantment of the seas. 

RCVoyager Diamond Plus

RCVoyager

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, USFFrank said:

Apparently winter 2022 also means April, 2022. I checked to see if my April, 2022 cruise on Freedom of the Seas was effected and low and behold it is no longer listed. Only Empress of the Seas is available. Not too thrilled about this, but I did get this as the end result of a lift & shift from Enchantment of the seas. 

Looks like the best option out of San Juan may be the NCL Epic.  I have been critical of NCL from my experience on it several years ago.  I like the itinerary that includes Grenada.  Hopefully the main dining room options are better than they were then.

ptod Diamond

ptod

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Dad2Cue said:

I haven't received any notification yet but it seems like my B2B cruises on Freedom will be impacted.  Nothing against Explorer but I really wanted to go on Freedom again.  I liked everything as was planned and now it seems like the plan has changed.  What does Royal do in these cases?  Explorer isn't Freedom and I'm not thrilled with the change!  Just wondering.

I would rather be dealing with your Freedom for Explorer trade.  ?

I got the Explorer to Radiance trade.  Had already L&S-ed the Explorer to 2022 since my friends were too nervous about sailing in 2021.  We have been on Radiance for Alaska and Panama Canal - we like the ship but not for the group we are traveling with.  Not sure what we are going to end up doing - getting the group to agree on initial trip was like herding cats.

I totally agree with a previous poster that RCG is likely trying to get the "best" ships to Florida for runs to Coco Cay.  I understand business - but I am still going to whine a little bit......then I will feel better.  ?

DDaley Pinnacle

DDaley

Posted
Posted

Oh! I made a whole new topic not having seen this one. Does anyone know if I stay on board how I find out what my cabin assignment is and if I can pick/change it?

Joe01 Pinnacle

Joe01

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, princevaliantus said:

Liberty is remaining in Galveston doing 7 nites. I don't see any changes for her being announced.

Isn't Liberty heading to the short cruises once they can get Galveston ready for an Oasis Class? I can't see her staying in Texas after that though they may have changed their plans to put her in Miami and she'll go somewhere with cruises of more than 4 nights.

Okgladgal Diamond Plus

Okgladgal

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, RCVoyager said:

Looks like the best option out of San Juan may be the NCL Epic.  I have been critical of NCL from my experience on it several years ago.  I like the itinerary that includes Grenada.  Hopefully the main dining room options are better than they were then.

Explorer will sail from San Juan. It is replacing Freedom.

twangster Pinnacle

twangster

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, monctonguy said:

You knew with the money and advertising they are pouring into Coco Cay....they want big ships and lots of ppl going there to drive revenue.....not surprising really at all they are using Freedom class ships for this.

Especially if they have to reduce capacity.  Bigger ships means more guests with reduced head counts.  More guests at PDCC means more revenue.

RCVoyager Diamond Plus

RCVoyager

Posted
Posted
21 minutes ago, Okgladgal said:

Explorer will sail from San Juan. It is replacing Freedom.

I get that Okgladgal.  It's probably not a trade I want though.  It also looks like RCCL is doing less of the ABC islands and more of the Barbados/St. Lucia itinerary

princevaliantus Pinnacle

princevaliantus

Posted
Posted
47 minutes ago, Joe01 said:

Isn't Liberty heading to the short cruises once they can get Galveston ready for an Oasis Class? I can't see her staying in Texas after that though they may have changed their plans to put her in Miami and she'll go somewhere with cruises of more than 4 nights.

At this point, she remains in Galveston.

Dad2Cue Diamond Plus

Dad2Cue

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Okgladgal said:

Well, that's not what I wanted to see today. What can y'all tell me about Explorer?

According to my notification I just received-- Explorer is a sister ship to Freedom!  I was on Explorer about 5 years ago.  Nothing was bad but she could have used some enhancements back then.  Had the amplification happened to Explorer, I wouldn't mind so much.  No way would I refer to Explorer as Freedom's sister!  Cousin maybe but a bit distant.

Also, $100 OBC to accept the swap is NOT going to make up the difference ... not even close.  I still like the itinerary though but still can't see it happening yet.  Does Royal ever do any negotiations behind the scenes??  I'm only in a junior suite so there is ample room to upgrade!

CruiseGus Pinnacle

CruiseGus

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, Dad2Cue said:

According to my notification I just received-- Explorer is a sister ship to Freedom!  I was on Explorer about 5 years ago.  Nothing was bad but she could have used some enhancements back then.  Had the amplification happened to Explorer, I wouldn't mind so much.  No way would I refer to Explorer as Freedom's sister!  Cousin maybe but a bit distant.

Also, $100 OBC to accept the swap is NOT going to make up the difference ... not even close.  I still like the itinerary though but still can't see it happening yet.  Does Royal ever do any negotiations behind the scenes??  I'm only in a junior suite so there is ample room to upgrade!

How are you seeing the new itinerary, does not even show on RCG website at this minute.  I personally am getting real tired of them selling cruises to me then switching either the ship or itinerary at a later.  I book early to get the location I want and lo and behold over half my cruises for the past 3 years have had major changes.  I'm just getting real frustrated when the RCG management.

 

CruiseGus Pinnacle

CruiseGus

Posted
Posted
5 minutes ago, CruiseGus said:

How are you seeing the new itinerary, does not even show on RCG website at this minute.  I personally am getting real tired of them selling cruises to me then switching either the ship or itinerary at a later.  I book early to get the location I want and lo and behold over half my cruises for the past 3 years have had major changes.  I'm just getting real frustrated when the RCG management.

 

On top of the above looks like her upgrade /renovation was put off, so not nearly the same ship or quality as Freedom

Dad2Cue Diamond Plus

Dad2Cue

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, CruiseGus said:

How are you seeing the new itinerary, does not even show on RCG website at this minute.

 

I guess the itinerary might only be "similar".  I'm just trying to see something positive about all this but Royal is trying to make it sound like it is all good news!  According to the notification-- it says:

"The good news is, our sister ship, Explorer of the Seas, is heading to San Juan, Puerto Rico! The even better news? She'll sail on the exact same day as your original cruise and will visit similar destinations!"

 

RCVoyager Diamond Plus

RCVoyager

Posted
Posted

 

The Explorer is not a sister to the Freedom.  Freedom is one of three in the Freedom Class.  Explorer is one of five in the Voyager class.

The Explorer is now pushing 20 years old.  The Freedom is somewhat newer.  All of this makes the NCL Epic look better to me.  Newer ship than either RCCL vessel in question.  An itinerary which includes Grenada and has more ABC options than RCCL at least for now.

Mike.s Diamond Plus

Mike.s

Posted
Posted
13 hours ago, RCVoyager said:

It also looks like RCCL is doing less of the ABC islands and more of the Barbados/St. Lucia itinerary

We were looking at doing the ABC islands, now finding our options somewhat limited ?

RRoberts Platinum

RRoberts

Posted
Posted

Just looked up my Freedom cruise for November 2021 and is now showing switched to Explorer and doubled the price. In the email I got telling me my cruise was switched it said the price would be matched to when I booked would carry over. I guess I'll sit on hold for hours to get the price match back. My wife and I were really looking forward to being back on Freedom again.

Gears Diamond Plus

Gears

Posted
Posted
17 hours ago, RCVoyager said:

Thanks for posting this.  I did not know about it.  I love the San Juan market, and I don't see this as a positive for it.  Carnival is currently pulled out, and now this.

I'm not seeing it as less cruising out of SJU as much as RCL trying to jam as many people as possible to CocoCay.

Mike.s Diamond Plus

Mike.s

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, RCVoyager said:

Toss in Grenada, and the Epic looks pretty good to me.

Think RCCL are missing a trick here, not everyone wants to go to their private islands, or visit the same ports year after year, it certainly makes you look at other alternatives to RCCL

Matt Pinnacle

Matt

Posted
Posted
19 hours ago, MLH said:

I thought the new deployments were already available to book, but I am not seeing them.

On this note, new sailings will be added to "the system" first and then the website. Website tends to lag behind, so keep that in mind when those new itineraries for 2022 go on sale in November/December.

Sharla Pinnacle

Sharla

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, RRoberts said:

Just looked up my Freedom cruise for November 2021 and is now showing switched to Explorer and doubled the price. In the email I got telling me my cruise was switched it said the price would be matched to when I booked would carry over. I guess I'll sit on hold for hours to get the price match back. My wife and I were really looking forward to being back on Freedom again.

It should adjust automatically in a day or two. And, another plug for using a travel agent because they'll make sure it's correct for you!

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