Freedom of the Seas Dec 7 — Dec 15, 2024 (8 Night Southern Caribbean Cruise)

[Jolly Ogre]

Ok booked and ready to go...only 676 days until sail away!!

[FionaMG]

Also booked, although not absolutely 100% committed just yet. Really like the itinerary and having that extra night but still want to see what other southern itineraries might show up for the same time frame. December 7th is our wedding anniversary.

[Jolly Ogre]

14 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Also booked, although not absolutely 100% committed just yet. Really like the itinerary and having that extra night but still want to see what other southern itineraries might show up for the same time frame. December 7th is our wedding anniversary.

Congratulations!! Happy Anniversary!

[Jolly Ogre]

Hmmm... this sailing has disappeared from the RC website but it is still in my cruise planner???

Wonder if it is just a glitch or could this be sold out already with over 600 days until sailing??

[FionaMG]

23 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

Hmmm... this sailing has disappeared from the RC website but it is still in my cruise planner???

Wonder if it is just a glitch or could this be sold out already with over 600 days until sailing??

It's been MIA for a couple of weeks now, and it's not just this sailing either. If you plug November/December into the booking engine, you'll see there's nothing at all between the 9th of November and the 29th of December.

[Jolly Ogre]

35 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

It's been MIA for a couple of weeks now, and it's not just this sailing either. If you plug November/December into the booking engine, you'll see there's nothing at all between the 9th of November and the 29th of December.

Yeah I know.... just wish they would let us or the TA's know what is going on so that we can make any adjustments to our travel plans.

[WAAAYTOOO]

54 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

It's been MIA for a couple of weeks now, and it's not just this sailing either. If you plug November/December into the booking engine, you'll see there's nothing at all between the 9th of November and the 29th of December.

Yep.  Confirmed on the TA website.  Nothing for Freedom is available to book for that 7-week period.

[michaelp1446]

Booked this cruise as well. Was very excited for ship, itinerary and date... I'm not concerned about a charter for those 7 weeks but am concerned about 5 year dry dock being due... Will not cancel until Royal makes an announcement and see what alternatives are offered (if any)

[Jolly Ogre]

On 3/29/2023 at 10:26 AM, michaelp1446 said:

Booked this cruise as well. Was very excited for ship, itinerary and date... I'm not concerned about a charter for those 7 weeks but am concerned about 5 year dry dock being due... Will not cancel until Royal makes an announcement and see what alternatives are offered (if any)

Yeah same here, but if they wait to long then whatever might be available might not be in the budget. Already looking at Oasis on 12/14/24 but it is $900 more now for a ocean view balcony and $2k more for a JS.

And if we do this will we lose our deposit and OBC from the next cruise booking?

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, Jolly Ogre said:

Yeah same here, but if they wait to long then whatever might be available might not be in the budget. Already looking at Oasis on 12/14/24 but it is $900 more now for a ocean view balcony and $2k more for a JS.

And if we do this will we lose our deposit and OBC from the next cruise booking?

Your Next Cruise OBC should follow you wherever you go but in order not to lose the deposit you'd need to wait for Royal to cancel the Freedom sailing and offer a switch.

[michaelp1446]

2 hours ago, Jolly Ogre said:

Yeah same here, but if they wait to long then whatever might be available might not be in the budget. Already looking at Oasis on 12/14/24 but it is $900 more now for a ocean view balcony and $2k more for a JS.

And if we do this will we lose our deposit and OBC from the next cruise booking?

Based on past experience , I am waiting for Royal to cancel... Not holding my breadth on FCC bump but I am confident that the next cruise OBC will follow us. 

Expecting 3 options: 1. Royal moves reservation to a substitute sailing with offer of additional small OBC and "price protected" fare.

                                   2. Re-book any other sailing with any non-refundable deposit change fees waived. Possibly additional OBC. (Next Cruise OBC will follow)

                                  3. Full refund with NRFD fee waived but no additional compensation.

This is a synopsis of what was offered after "inventory maintenance" turned into a vessel swap last year.

 

I've been looking at alternatives as well. Might pull the trigger on something a month either side. Hoping what might be offered can be applied to the new sailing.

Prices are just going to increase

[FionaMG]

18 minutes ago, michaelp1446 said:

Based on past experience , I am waiting for Royal to cancel... Not holding my breadth on FCC bump but I am confident that the next cruise OBC will follow us. 

Expecting 3 options: 1. Royal moves reservation to a substitute sailing with offer of additional small OBC and "price protected" fare.

                                   2. Re-book any other sailing with any non-refundable deposit change fees waived. Possibly additional OBC. (Next Cruise OBC will follow)

                                  3. Full refund with NRFD fee waived but no additional compensation.

This is a synopsis of what was offered after "inventory maintenance" turned into a vessel swap last year.

 

I've been looking at alternatives as well. Might pull the trigger on something a month either side. Hoping what might be offered can be applied to the new sailing.

Prices are just going to increase

Sounds about right. I've no personal experience but from reading what others have posted in the past this is what I would be expecting too.

[WhoCruiser]

On 3/29/2023 at 9:10 AM, FionaMG said:

It's been MIA for a couple of weeks now, and it's not just this sailing either. If you plug November/December into the booking engine, you'll see there's nothing at all between the 9th of November and the 29th of December.

There is strong speculation on another thread in general discussions that, although nothing has been officially announced yet by the cruise line, it appears from evidence so far that the ship may be being pulled from service to go in for dry dock or upgrades for that 6-week or so time period where it has dropped off of the search engines. I tend to believe this, because it has also now showed up on the Harbor Master's shcedules at several transatlantic ports at exactly the time one would expect it to be there if it were heading to Europe for dry docking. As someone with a group of 50 cabins blocked for the 7th December sailing I am not exactly thrilled at the prospect. If this is true, there is a VERY small possibility that they may jockey around another ship to take over this itinerary for that 6-week period, and simply face the issue of adjusting our cabins on the one ship for the closest equivalent available on the replacement ship. But that is a small possibility indeed, more likely they will simply at some point in the future announce that it has been canceled, and offered to move us to other bookings on other itineraries, which will become a madhouse as everyone figures out where they are going to land. Fortunately there is still a lot of time, but I wish they would sh!t or get off the pot and announce something already to make it official. I for one am already making other plans for my group, should they need to be implemented at a moment's notice, and other individuals or groups would be wise to think the same way too.

[FionaMG]

@WhoCruiser, yes, I've seen it myself on the port schedule for Funchal, Madeira, on the 21st of November. The information there shows the previous port as being Lanzarote in the Canary Islands.

https://www.portosdamadeira.com/site/index.php/pt/portos/reservas-de-cais?page=9

I've not found any other entries (admittedly, I've been too busy to do much sleuthing). Where else have you found?

I'm not sure what other ship they could use. Aren't they all pretty much spoken for already during that time frame, except for Anthem?

[michaelp1446]

On 4/3/2023 at 1:03 PM, Jolly Ogre said:

Yeah same here, but if they wait to long then whatever might be available might not be in the budget. Already looking at Oasis on 12/14/24 but it is $900 more now for a ocean view balcony and $2k more for a JS.

And if we do this will we lose our deposit and OBC from the next cruise booking?

Pulled the trigger yesterday on a Nov Oasis sailing...I have not canceled the Freedom sailing. Last year I opted for option 2 and was able to apply the added "apology" credit and OBC to an existing booking that was far from final payment date. Will see what alternatives are offered and proceed accordingly... The prices are not going to trend down the longer they drag this out..

As a side note: when they swapped out Enchantment for the Brilliance of the seas, they fare protected my 1 Br G.S on Brilliance to a Higher priced Jr S on Enchantment..I declined their generous offer and took option 2.

[Jolly Ogre]

i sent an e-mail to my TA

Yeah since it seems that this sailing may be in jeopardy. It is no longer available to book and there is talk about it going into drydock.

 

I do not want to cancel this. I will wait for RCL to do it.

 

For a contingency plan I want to book a refundable cruise on Oasis for the Dec 14 sailing. Then we will wait and see what happens.

[CruisingMomMN]

We’re unfortunately bound to Thanksgiving week for a few more years due to school schedules. I’ll keep watching this roll call as our sailing doesn’t have one yet and I’m getting more info from this thread than Royal reps We will see what happens with this sailing….keeping our fingers crossed for a change in that dry dock schedule, but cautiously researching our other options. Waiting on flight schedules and resort bookings to open up later this year, but hoping we’ll have received some communication from RCCL by then. 

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, Jolly Ogre said:

i sent an e-mail to my TA

Yeah since it seems that this sailing may be in jeopardy. It is no longer available to book and there is talk about it going into drydock.

 

I do not want to cancel this. I will wait for RCL to do it.

 

For a contingency plan I want to book a refundable cruise on Oasis for the Dec 14 sailing. Then we will wait and see what happens.

I think I read you use Michelle? I do too and she's away just now but back tomorrow, I think. I was thinking about emailing her but won't bother now since you've done it.

[Jolly Ogre]

24 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I think I read you use Michelle? I do too and she's away just now but back tomorrow, I think. I was thinking about emailing her but won't bother now since you've done it.

Yeah she is "down under".

 

I am sure she is getting a lot of questions and will have quite a bit to do when she gets back to "work".

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, Jolly Ogre said:

i sent an e-mail to my TA

Yeah since it seems that this sailing may be in jeopardy. It is no longer available to book and there is talk about it going into drydock.

 

I do not want to cancel this. I will wait for RCL to do it.

 

For a contingency plan I want to book a refundable cruise on Oasis for the Dec 14 sailing. Then we will wait and see what happens.

Very sound plan !  I totally agree....don't cancel yourself.  Let them cancel and you will most likely find more lucrative options.

[FionaMG]

20 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

Yeah she is "down under".

 

I am sure she is getting a lot of questions and will have quite a bit to do when she gets back to "work".

Poor Michelle. I already made her work while she's been away as final payment was due for my cruise in July.

The Oasis one you're looking at is a nice itinerary too, but it doesn't have St. Lucia, which was our main reason for choosing this one. Might consider the 10-day Explorer sailing out of Miami on the 5th instead.

[Jolly Ogre]

6 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Poor Michelle. I already made her work while she's been away as final payment was due for my cruise in July.

The Oasis one you're looking at is a nice itinerary too, but it doesn't have St. Lucia, which was our main reason for choosing this one. Might consider the 10-day Explorer sailing out of Miami on the 5th instead.

Yeah I wanted St Lucia and St Kitts. 

[FionaMG]

39 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

Yeah I wanted St Lucia and St Kitts. 

How stuck are you on dates? Explorer has a 10-night sailing out of Miami on the 14th of November that calls at both of those ports. Is that going to be too early/too long for you?

The one on the 5th of December that I'm looking at also has St Lucia, but has St Croix instead of St Kitts.

The problem is that the deposit for a 10-night cruise is $450pp, which is a lot upfront for a "just-in-case" booking.

 

[WhoCruiser]

10 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Poor Michelle. I already made her work while she's been away as final payment was due for my cruise in July.

The Oasis one you're looking at is a nice itinerary too, but it doesn't have St. Lucia, which was our main reason for choosing this one. Might consider the 10-day Explorer sailing out of Miami on the 5th instead.

Explorer on the 5th is also what I'm looking at as my go-to option if this goes away.

[jojo03]

It doesn’t make sense for them to this during both Holidays. I’m booked for a B2B cruise starting Dec 1-15. Argh, I got a pretty good deal for these 2 sailings on a JS. I’ve checked around the same time frame and I would be spending almost double than what I originally spent. I’m pretty upset and nervous at the same time because I’ve never been at this situation where a cruise is cancelled under my bookings.  I did receive an email a few weeks ago that one of my ports has changed to another port so if there was a scheduled dry dock, why email everyone and letting us know about the change. I hope this cruises will not be cancelled, fingers crossed. Hey, maybe UTOPIA will take over our itinerary, fingers double crossed!

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, jojo03 said:

It doesn’t make sense for them to this during both Holidays. I’m booked for a B2B cruise starting Dec 1-15. Argh, I got a pretty good deal for these 2 sailings on a JS. I’ve checked around the same time frame and I would be spending almost double than what I originally spent. I’m pretty upset and nervous at the same time because I’ve never been at this situation where a cruise is cancelled under my bookings.  I did receive an email a few weeks ago that one of my ports has changed to another port so if there was a scheduled dry dock, why email everyone and letting us know about the change. I hope this cruises will not be cancelled, fingers crossed. Hey, maybe UTOPIA will take over our itinerary, fingers double crossed!

I agree. They'd be losing Thanksgiving and Christmas, which you would think would be big money makers so it really doesn't seem to make sense financially.

Utopia... now that's a wild card I hadn't thought about. And there is a precedent: Allure cruisers got switched to Wonder last year.

[Jolly Ogre]

16 hours ago, FionaMG said:

How stuck are you on dates? Explorer has a 10-night sailing out of Miami on the 14th of November that calls at both of those ports. Is that going to be too early/too long for you?

The one on the 5th of December that I'm looking at also has St Lucia, but has St Croix instead of St Kitts.

The problem is that the deposit for a 10-night cruise is $450pp, which is a lot upfront for a "just-in-case" booking.

 

I am kinda stuck on dates for after Thanksgiving but before Christmas and then after the New Year. 

And my wife won't get on a smaller than Freedom class ship...lol

[Jolly Ogre]

Still nothing on this...I have 2 back up cruises booked for this. I wonder how long they will wait to tell us that this is cancelled so that we can move on. 

[FionaMG]

4 minutes ago, Jolly Ogre said:

Still nothing on this...I have 2 back up cruises booked for this. I wonder how long they will wait to tell us that this is cancelled so that we can move on. 

I was just recently wondering the same thing as I have two other couples interested in joining us.

[WhoCruiser]

3 hours ago, Jolly Ogre said:

Still nothing on this...I have 2 back up cruises booked for this. I wonder how long they will wait to tell us that this is cancelled so that we can move on. 

 

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

I was just recently wondering the same thing as I have two other couples interested in joining us.

Me too, I checked again last night and found no change whatsoever regarding the absence of information on the website. For well over a month now my travel agent has been holding open to identically sized groups one on this original sailing and one on the Explorer departure two days earlier out of Miami I am about to tell him to Nuke this one so that I can go with the Explorer group and finally be able to tell my actor invitees when and where we're going it has been driving me crazy that I have a bunch of people I need to put official invitations out to so they can clear their work calendars and have been unable to do so because Royal Caribbean refuses to pull their finger out and do something about this obvious situation. I really would prefer to go with freedom as I like the ship a lot better but even though we've done Explorer two times before and wanted to go to a newer larger class ship the itinerary is actually much better on the Explorer so in the end I think I may end up happier there. 

[FionaMG]

Cancellation e-mail just came in. Very coincidentally (or not) I had just asked my lovely MEI TA @michelle yesterday to see if she could find anything out.

They are offering several alternatives with price protection so for those of you have back-up cruises booked, check to see if any of them are on the list. @WhoCruiser, the Explorer December 5th sailing is NOT one of them, unfortunately.

Copy of the e-mail below, just in case it doesn't filter through to everyone:

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 7^th, 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 20^th, 2024 | 7-Night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day | sailing to:
  • Perfect Day at CocoCay | Labadee, Haiti| Falmouth, Jamaica | and George Town, Grand Cayman
• October 27^th, 2024 | 7-Night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day | sailing to:
  • Perfect Day at CocoCay | San Juan, Puerto Rico| and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
• February 16^th, 2025 | 7-Night Eastern Caribbean | sailing to:
  • Nassau, Bahamas | Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas | and St. Johns, Antigua

Oasis of the Seas:

• November 16^th & December 14^th in 2024 or January 11^th 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 30^th & December 28^th in 2024 or January 25^th 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 12^th, 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 12^th, 2023 And know, hold times may be longer than usual. If we haven’t heard from you by July 12^th, 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-Rodriguez
AVP | Guest Experience
Royal Caribbean International

[CruisingMomMN]

While incredibly bummed to miss out on Freedom yet again(first Covid, now drydock), I can’t believe the incredible value I got with this booking change. We had been looking at other options and the Oasis offer was a steal. The kids will still miss a day of school, but it works out better. 

[bilky7278]

So we're booked in an ocean view panoramic suite and they don't know what kind of cabin they'd put us in if we were to switch to Oasis. The agent I spoke with said he'd call back once they figured it out. Anyone have experience with this situation? I'm thinking/hoping for a grand suite. I think I'll cancel if I get less. It's bad enough to lose the view but to have just a junior suite cabin just isn't what we signed up for. 

[FionaMG]

I'll have to have a really good think about what to do. The real draw for us on this itinerary was Saint Lucia, which none of the alternatives have. But I have to admit I'm tempted by the southern one on Oasis.

[JustMeJoe]

24 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

I'll have to have a really good think about what to do. The real draw for us on this itinerary was Saint Lucia, which none of the alternatives have. But I have to admit I'm tempted by the southern one on Oasis.

I totally agree about St. Lucia that's why we booked it.  We had B2B Dec 1 & 7; both cancelled now.  Trying to get the TA to change it to early Nov, but moving 2 may be problematic.

[bilky7278]

40 minutes ago, bilky7278 said:

So we're booked in an ocean view panoramic suite and they don't know what kind of cabin they'd put us in if we were to switch to Oasis. The agent I spoke with said he'd call back once they figured it out. Anyone have experience with this situation? I'm thinking/hoping for a grand suite. I think I'll cancel if I get less. It's bad enough to lose the view but to have just a junior suite cabin just isn't what we signed up for. 

Oh yay, This agent is quick and efficient. They did match us to a grand suite which is cool. What a deal we're getting if we had paid full price for this. 

[WhoCruiser]

3 hours ago, FionaMG said:

Cancellation e-mail just came in. Very coincidentally (or not) I had just asked my lovely MEI TA @michelle yesterday to see if she could find anything out.

They are offering several alternatives with price protection so for those of you have back-up cruises booked, check to see if any of them are on the list. @WhoCruiser, the Explorer December 5th sailing is NOT one of them, unfortunately.

Copy of the e-mail below, just in case it doesn't filter through to everyone:

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 7^th, 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 20^th, 2024 | 7-Night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day | sailing to:
  • Perfect Day at CocoCay | Labadee, Haiti| Falmouth, Jamaica | and George Town, Grand Cayman
• October 27^th, 2024 | 7-Night Western Caribbean & Perfect Day | sailing to:
  • Perfect Day at CocoCay | San Juan, Puerto Rico| and Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas
• February 16^th, 2025 | 7-Night Eastern Caribbean | sailing to:
  • Nassau, Bahamas | Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas | and St. Johns, Antigua

Oasis of the Seas:

• November 16^th & December 14^th in 2024 or January 11^th 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 30^th & December 28^th in 2024 or January 25^th 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 12^th, 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 12^th, 2023 And know, hold times may be longer than usual. If we haven’t heard from you by July 12^th, 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-Rodriguez
AVP | Guest Experience
Royal Caribbean International

Right Fiona - I am glad that they finally came clean and admitted they were doing what you, myself, and a number of other astute observers here on the discussion forums had already figured out they were doing two months ago or more. Throughout this entire time, every time my travel agent has inquired they have repeatedly reassured him that it was a clerical error on the website and the ship would sail as planned. Once it showed up on the Harbor Master's registry in Funchal on route to Spain in the middle of November the jig was up, and rather than be caught in the lurch now when they finally announced things publicly and thousands of people are madly running to rebook, I had my travel agent open a fresh group of 50 cabins for us last month on another sailing that suited us, so all he has to do now is let Royal Caribbean know that WE already did the work for them, and they can just cancel that original Freedom booking, and we will keep the new one we're holding on Explorer out of Miami 2 days sooner, which is the ONLY other Royal sailing that works for our needs & our dates, and it's a damn good thing I did this because, as you have noted, it is NOT among the few selected alternate sailings. While I have been very much looking forward to doing Freedom class we are quite familiar with the Explorer having taken our group on it twice before for a Pacific Coastal in 2018 and a deep southern Caribbean in 2019 so we will be quite happy to be on her again and other than being on a smaller ship I must say that the overall Port of Call line up on Explorer for the 5th of December is far better and does also include St Lucia for those who were specifically looking for it. I'm also very happy that the call at San Juan actually occurs during the hours that El Morro Fortress is open as I have specifically made a point for many years now to never book a cruise with a San Juan Port call that arrives later than 3:00 in the afternoon with 5:00 p.m. closing at The Fortress. Did that once many years ago and will not fall for that again, being forced to simply walk by outside the biggest and best attraction on the entire Island and wish we could go inside for the tour, hahaha! Now that I finally have confirmation of this I can start to try and make up for the two months of time I lost in not being able to notify my celebrity guest invites for December 2024 of exactly what ship and itinerary and date we would be on. Half a dozen of them have been patiently awaiting that information so I can now start working on firming that up for them so I will have them ready to announce to my current year cruisers when they arrive on wonder of the Seas in October.

[WAAAYTOOO]

@WhoCruiser, how were the prices on EX compared to what you had on FR ?  

[FionaMG]

Good you're able to finally get moving on this @WhoCruiser. I bet it's a huge relief for you finally to know.

I absolutely agree with you about the fort in SJ. I love it up there. I would like to be able to visit both of the forts but that would be pushing DH's tolerance level for all things historical.

We may end up joining you on Explorer. For the time being, we're switching to the Oasis sailing on the 30th of November while we mull over whether or not we can make Explorer work for us.

[WhoCruiser]

51 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

@WhoCruiser, how were the prices on EX compared to what you had on FR ?  

It was kind of a mixed bag price wise, as the outside cabins came in at almost the same price or actually a few dollars less, even though it's a 10 night cruise and the original one we were looking at was an eight nighter, so that's quite an improvement. The inside cabins came in at more than $100 less, so an even better improvement. The balconies however seem to be a little bit higher, which is understandable because on that class of ship there are fewer of them. So price wise overall it's a wash, but I'm extremely happy that the itinerary is, in my opinion, much better, and overall will make up for staying with the smaller older ship rather than the larger newer one.