Freedom of the Seas first Test Cruise in July

[DanielB]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbean-gets-first-cdc-212523105.html

[smokeybandit]

OK so Freedom isn't sailing revenue cruises until August or September

[DanielB]

@Mattdo you know if the Freedom is staffed currently?  

[Phoenix]

Well, there goes Freedom cruise in July...refund time !!!

[Phoenix]

Funny thing is that the CDC gave thumbs up to RCG to sail out of "PortMiami on its Freedom of the Seas ship" for it's test cruises. So, this means Freedom of the Seas to Bermuda is cancelled. Let's see how long RCG will take to make the announcement.

[JC Pats]

Snipped from Michael Bailey's Facebook Page

[Phoenix]

A 2-night simulated cruise? Why do I get a bad feeling about this? Seems too short.

[dandi799]

The test cruise is approved for June 20, I believe, not July. Can anyone remind me how long it takes after the test cruise is complete for the approval to come through for revenue cruises? And, is it still the case (so far) that each ship needs to be approved for a test cruise prior to a revenue cruise? If June 20 is the first test cruise, and each ship will need to go through this, it does seem tricky for many early (at least) July cruises to get the go ahead. Still moving in the right direction with some more solid news here!! 

[AshleyDillo]

Well I guess @Matt won't be able to participate in testing on Freedom even if he got invited to!

[JC Pats]

Royal Caribbean receives permission to begin test cruises on Freedom of the Seas | Royal Caribbean Blog

[Phoenix]

16 minutes ago, dandi799 said:

The test cruise is approved for June 20, I believe, not July. Can anyone remind me how long it takes after the test cruise is complete for the approval to come through for revenue cruises? And, is it still the case (so far) that each ship needs to be approved for a test cruise prior to a revenue cruise? If June 20 is the first test cruise, and each ship will need to go through this, it does seem tricky for many early (at least) July cruises to get the go ahead. Still moving in the right direction with some more solid news here!! 

Freedom of the Seas will be sailing 3 & 4-night Bahamas cruises from Miami starting July 2nd...see below FotS schedule:

[JC Pats]

14 minutes ago, dandi799 said:

The test cruise is approved for June 20, I believe, not July. Can anyone remind me how long it takes after the test cruise is complete for the approval to come through for revenue cruises? And, is it still the case (so far) that each ship needs to be approved for a test cruise prior to a revenue cruise? If June 20 is the first test cruise, and each ship will need to go through this, it does seem tricky for many early (at least) July cruises to get the go ahead. Still moving in the right direction with some more solid news here!! 

Every ship will need to go through the process (unless they're doing a 95%/98% Vaccinated plan). Unknown how long it will take to approve, if there are no issues, and unknown how many simulated/test cruises will need to take place for approval under the CSO

[dandi799]

11 minutes ago, Phoenix said:

Freedom of the Seas will be sailin 3 & 4-night Bahamas cruises from Miami....see below FotS schedule:

Gotcha! I guess I was thinking that because the letter from the CDC said that they were approved to sail on June 20, that they would be jumping right on in on that date. That's too bad that they will have to wait 2 weeks past the approval date to begin the test cruises. Also, I hope they notify the people booked on FotS from Cape Liberty for early July really quickly. I feel bad if this is how they are finding out that their cruises might not happen! 

[Phoenix]

15 minutes ago, dandi799 said:

Gotcha! I guess I was thinking that because the letter from the CDC said that they were approved to sail on June 20, that they would be jumping right on in on that date. That's too bad that they will have to wait 2 weeks past the approval date to begin the test cruises. Also, I hope they notify the people booked on FotS from Cape Liberty for early July really quickly. I feel bad if this is how they are finding out that their cruises might not happen! 

It might still happen in June 20th which currently isn't showing up. Since they only release bits and pieces of info, we are left to put the pieces together.

[cruisellama]

This late test cruise approval is why I'm still skeptical about a useful Alaskan season.  Feels like these are going to be drawn out through the summer.  Carnival announced test cruising from Galveston.

 

[UNCFanatik]

So every ship sailing in July needs a test cruise first? Seriously, that seems redundant and how will cruises actually resume in Alaska and Florida in July and early August? 
 

I was always under the assumption that test cruises would be good for all ships fleet wide to resume revenue sailings. Wow! If test cruises are required for every ship then Royal needs to come out with a communication to its July and August customers that have fully paid. 53 days away from my sailing and I hope I am wrong again but I am just not seeing the math working for Symphony of the Seas to complete test cruise before July 17 when the ship is currently in dry dock in Cadiz 

[WesKinetic]

14 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

So every ship sailing in July needs a test cruise first? Seriously, that seems redundant and how will cruises actually resume in Alaska and Florida in July and early August? 
 

I was always under the assumption that test cruises would be good for all ships fleet wide to resume revenue sailings. Wow! If test cruises are required for every ship then Royal needs to come out with a communication to its July and August customers that have fully paid. 53 days away from my sailing and I hope I am wrong again but I am just not seeing the math working for Symphony of the Seas to complete test cruise before July 17 when the ship is currently in dry dock in Cadiz 

It's complicated, but the short version is that each ship is basically treated like its own entity for regulatory purposes. Even pre-COVID, every ship has its own safety and health inspections it must pass. For right or wrong, the CDC is treating this process the same way. 

What I'm going to be curious about is what comes next? If this two-nighter is successful, does the CDC then say, "OK, you're good to go"? Or (and I think this is the more likely scenario) do they use the two-nighter to make sure RCL has the proper procedures in place and then say, "OK, now let's do a couple of five or seven night tests" before they allow actual sailing to begin.

[JC Pats]

14 minutes ago, UNCFanatik said:

So every ship sailing in July needs a test cruise first? Seriously, that seems redundant and how will cruises actually resume in Alaska and Florida in July and early August? 
 

I was always under the assumption that test cruises would be good for all ships fleet wide to resume revenue sailings. Wow! If test cruises are required for every ship then Royal needs to come out with a communication to its July and August customers that have fully paid. 53 days away from my sailing and I hope I am wrong again but I am just not seeing the math working for Symphony of the Seas to complete test cruise before July 17 when the ship is currently in dry dock in Cadiz 

From the CDC - Technical Instructions for Simulated Voyages by Cruise Ship Operators under CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing Order | Quarantine | CDC

and there's this

I take from this, there would be at least 2 test/simulated sailings for Freedom, whether that's the plan, or how it will work for other ships, who knows.

Now, if a ship is going to do the 98%/95% Vaccinated program, my understanding is, they don't have to do these, but they still have to certify with the CDC. 

Either way they go, I agree with you that RCCL needs to communicate this out ASAP so those, at the very least, that have made final payment know what's going on. 

[JC Pats]

9 minutes ago, WesKinetic said:

What I'm going to be curious about is what comes next? If this two-nighter is successful, does the CDC then say, "OK, you're good to go"? Or (and I think this is the more likely scenario) do they use the two-nighter to make sure RCL has the proper procedures in place and then say, "OK, now let's do a couple of five or seven night tests" before they allow actual sailing to begin.

This assuming there are no issues with the 1st test sailing.. 

[PG Cruiser]

54 minutes ago, Phoenix said:

Freedom of the Seas will be sailing 3 & 4-night Bahamas cruises from Miami starting July 2nd...see below FotS schedule:

Are we sure these sailings are up-to-date?  Some sailings for other ships on the Royal App have not been updated.

[UNCFanatik]

11 minutes ago, Josh C said:

From the CDC - Technical Instructions for Simulated Voyages by Cruise Ship Operators under CDC’s Framework for Conditional Sailing Order | Quarantine | CDC

and there's this

I take from this, there would be at least 2 test/simulated sailings for Freedom, whether that's the plan, or how it will work for other ships, who knows.

Now, if a ship is going to do the 98%/95% Vaccinated program, my understanding is, they don't have to do these, but they still have to certify with the CDC. 

Either way they go, I agree with you that RCCL needs to communicate this out ASAP so those, at the very least, that have made final payment know what's going on. 

Thanks for confirmation. It’s my ignorance that led to assumptions. You know what they say about assuming...

I WAS optimistic about my July 17th with all the recent updates and movement but now.... I just can’t make math add up 

[bwilley]

I'm very excited that this is finally going to happen.  I signed up for the test cruises last year when it was first announced.  What else can I do now to get onboard?  Is it just a matter of waiting (and hoping) for RC to contact me?

[Phoenix]

14 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said:

Are we sure these sailings are up-to-date?  Some sailings for other ships on the Royal App have not been updated.

Yep. That is what is currently showing. The Bermuda cruise I was booked on is totally gone. It says I'm booked to go to Bahamas on July 3rd.

[PG Cruiser]

7 minutes ago, Phoenix said:

Yep. That is what is currently showing. The Bermuda cruise I was booked on is totally gone. It says I'm booked to go to Bahamas on July 3rd.

Are they also showing on the RC website?

 

[smokeybandit]

I hope that there's something in the works to allow a successful test cruise to apply to more than one ship

[Phoenix]

16 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said:

Are they also showing on the RC website?

 

Not yet but RCG usually will update website when an official announcement is made by them.

[Cruising With JT]

Can I assume that any cruise that is a "Test" cruise will be unvaccinated? And any cruise that is not a "test" cruise will be fully vaccinated? I will opt for the latter, thank you

[PG Cruiser]

1 hour ago, Phoenix said:

Yep. That is what is currently showing. The Bermuda cruise I was booked on is totally gone. It says I'm booked to go to Bahamas on July 3rd.

Look at the dates for the Freedom sailing on the RC App - they overlap.  I think those are just placeholders for now.

2 hours ago, Phoenix said:

Freedom of the Seas will be sailing 3 & 4-night Bahamas cruises from Miami starting July 2nd...see below FotS schedule:

 

[Phoenix]

20 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said:

Look at the dates for the Freedom sailing on the RC App - they overlap.  I think those are just placeholders for now.

 

Bermuda is out. That's where I was booked on. Waiting to see what RCG's next move is.

[PG Cruiser]

22 minutes ago, Phoenix said:

Bermuda is out. That's where I was booked on. Waiting to see what RCG's next move is.

They're still selling Bermuda sailings on the website.  I can't understand RC's approach to this.  Why sell itineraries that will most likely be canceled?

 

[Phoenix]

17 minutes ago, PG Cruiser said:

They're still selling Bermuda sailings on the website.  I can't understand RC's approach to this.  Why sell itineraries that will most likely be canceled?

 

For the revenue. Taking from Peter to refund to Paul for a cancelled sailing. What they have been doing since March 2020.

[Linda R]

5 hours ago, PG Cruiser said:

Are they also showing on the RC website?

 

I also have a cruise that is not showing available to book in Sept.  But my planner shows it active.  I was assuming that they would not be sailing at full capacity so closed down new bookings as they were probably overbooked already anyway?

[DanielB]

5 hours ago, Linda R said:

I also have a cruise that is not showing available to book in Sept.  But my planner shows it active.  I was assuming that they would not be sailing at full capacity so closed down new bookings as they were probably overbooked already anyway?

What cruise what that?

September seems to be a slower month for sailing in the passed.

[CruiseGus]

13 hours ago, WesKinetic said:

What I'm going to be curious about is what comes next? If this two-nighter is successful, does the CDC then say, "OK, you're good to go"? Or (and I think this is the more likely scenario) do they use the two-nighter to make sure RCL has the proper procedures in place and then say, "OK, now let's do a couple of five or seven night tests" before they allow actual sailing to begin.

The only way CDC is going to ask for a another test cruise after this first on is if the ship FAILs miserably, ie complete NO GO.  If only minor corrections required the will approve cruising to resume with proof on the minor fixes in place and follow up in observing those fixes are actually in place.

[cruisinghawg]

43 minutes ago, CruiseGus said:

The only way CDC is going to ask for a another test cruise after this first on is if the ship FAILs miserably, ie complete NO GO.  If only minor corrections required the will approve cruising to resume with proof on the minor fixes in place and follow up in observing those fixes are actually in place.

If I understand the rules of the game here, and I may not, every ship that RC will sail during the CSO must have a test cruise at 10% capacity. 

[smokeybandit]

11 hours ago, PG Cruiser said:

They're still selling Bermuda sailings on the website.  I can't understand RC's approach to this.  Why sell itineraries that will most likely be canceled?

 

I don't see any sailings from Bermuda still listed

[smokeybandit]

8 minutes ago, cruisinghawg said:

If I understand the rules of the game here, and I may not, every ship that RC will sail during the CSO must have a test cruise at 10% capacity. 

10% is the minimum test cruise threshold for passengers.

[LovetoCruise87]

12 hours ago, johnt83 said:

Can I assume that any cruise that is a "Test" cruise will be unvaccinated? And any cruise that is not a "test" cruise will be fully vaccinated? I will opt for the latter, thank you

According to the CDC:

 

• The cruise ship operator must ensure all volunteer passengers have either:
  • Proof of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 using an U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-authorized vaccine or a vaccine product that has received emergency use listing from the World Health Organization (WHO); or
  • If not fully vaccinated, written documentation from a healthcare provider or self-certified statement that the volunteer passenger has no medical conditions that would place the volunteer at high risk for severe COVID-19 as determined through CDC guidance.

[cruisinghawg]

9 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

10% is the minimum test cruise threshold for passengers.

So it could be more than 10%? 

[LovetoCruise87]

9 minutes ago, cruisinghawg said:

So it could be more than 10%? 

I would  say yes.