Is Freedom going in for dry dock in November 2024?

[steverk]

I'm hoping to see a rocket launch followed by a cruise in November 2024. Since viewing a launch is always a moving target, especially this far out, I booked all 4 sailings of Freedom with plans to cancel all but the one that works.

Lately, I've noticed that only the November 3, 2024 sailing is listed on Royal's website.  The rest of the month has no sailings for Freedom.  Rather strange.  I have not received notice that any of the sailings are cancelled and all are still available on the cruise planner.

[Atlantix2000]

There's a thread going about this: 

 

[WhoCruiser]

They have not yet officially announced a thing, but all evidence so far points to it going into Dry Dock. I would make other plans if I were you, as I have already done for my group. 

[Jill]

We were on her last sailing before her last dry dock in 2019 so yes, she’s due for her mandatory 5 year check up in 2024. 

[Atricks]

We booked the Nov 23, 2024 on Freedom of the Seas booked (8 night) and was wondering about this since it can't be booked anymore.  Originally we thought it was a fluke, but you still can't book our sailing (or almost anything in Nov/Dec) for freedom, so I went looking, so I found this thread.  And yep the thread is from April, but it's mid June and nothing new.

 

This is on Madeiras page scheduled for when our cruise is supposed to be, but we still have it in the cruise planner.  https://www.portosdamadeira.com/site/index.php/en/ports/wharf-reservations?page=9
 

But haven't heard anything from Royal (Travel agent hasn't either).   I'd assume it's best to wait this out to see if Royal does offer anything and cancels out on us.   Unless they offer to move to another ship (Utopia?) I'm wondering if it'll just be a refund and credit, or they will have a few options.  The only thing that makes me think Utopia is they haven't said anything about this yet or released Utopia's (real) bookings.

Nov 9 - Dec 29th is the window you can't book anything on Freedom.

 

 

[WhoCruiser]

My group is holding a group reservation for a block of 50 cabins on the sailing on freedom for December 7th 2024 but because of this idiotic situation we are also now holding a group of the same size on Explorer Of The Seas leaving 2 days earlier and until they decide what the f*** they're doing we're going to keep both of them open and dump the one that doesn't exist anymore when they finally admit that it doesn't exist. The ONLY reason I haven't dumped it yet is the EXCEEDINGLY small possibility that they MIGHT move another ship to cover for those six weeks, unlikely as it is. In the meantime I am if you'll pardon the pun dead in the water on making any kind of promotional advertising or even invitations toward my celebrity talent for this group until I can tell them definitively which damned Voyage we're on really bad way to run things Royal has me seriously looking at moving to Carnival where this sort of thing does not seem to happen celebration and Mardi Gras are looking real real good to me now...

[Atricks]

Our travel agent just got this, so it's confirmed Freedom is doing the drydock then.  For reference we were booked on the Nov 23, 2024 Sailing of Freedom.  Nothing on the same date, but we're going to take them up on the New Years Eve Oasis one, which if I tried to book the same cabin type on that we had for Freedom was ten times the price, so it's a no-brainer with that type of price protection.   I've avoided Christmas/New Years cruises in the past because they are usually out of sight price wise, but with this lateral move, I'll take it.

 

Quote

 

Dear Travel Partner,

We're continuously working to improve our ships and the many amenities they have to offer. We'll take Freedom of the Seas into dry dock for routine maintenance and exciting improvements. Unfortunately, this means your clients' upcoming cruise has been cancelled.

The time and effort you took to plan your clients' cruise is important to us, and we apologize for the inconvenience. Every aspect of their time with us should be enjoyable, so we've put together some alternate options that we hope will work for them.

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 they'll receive:

• Their original stateroom category will be price protected at the original cruise fare rate, excluding taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items.
  • If their booking was already paid in full and their cruise fare rate decreases, we'll provide them with a refund for the difference. They can expect to receive their refund to their original form of payment within 14 business days. Kindly note, refund times may vary depending on their financial institution.
• And, they'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 their receipts and booking information to RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com for review and reimbursement.
• Lastly, you'll receive protected commission.

Option 2: Re-book any other Royal Caribbean International sailing

• If they prefer to re-book another sailing not included in Option 1, we'll waive any non-refundable deposit change fees.
• Please know, they'll be responsible for any difference in pricing for their cruise fare, taxes, fees, gratuities, and other non-cruise fare items.
  • If their booking was already paid in full and their cruise fare rate decreases, we'll provide them with a refund for the difference. They can expect to receive their refund to their original form of payment within 14 business days after we move them. Kindly note, refund times may vary depending on their financial institution.
• And, they'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 their receipts and booking information to RoyalGuestRelations@rccl.com for review and reimbursement.
• Lastly, your commission will be based on the revised cruise fare paid.

Option 3: If they can't find a new itinerary that works for them and choose to cancel, we'll be sad to see them go. They'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. Kindly note, refund times may vary depending on their financial institution.
  • If they used a Future Cruise Credit on this sailing, and they request a refund instead, we'll refund any NEW funds paid above the certificate amount, and we'll reinstate their original certificate.
• If they booked their airfare through Royal Caribbean International, it will be automatically refunded to them. However, if they booked on their own, please contact the service provider directly for their options with them.
• Please note, if they choose this option, we will not provide additional compensation.
• Lastly, you'll receive protected commission if the booking is paid in full only.

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 easier for you and your clients. All moves for individual and group bookings will be completed by July 12^th, 2023. We'll send an updated reservation confirmation with the revised details to the email address on file as soon as their reservation has been completely updated. If they decide to go with Option 1 or 2, please call us at 888-281-9344 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, their reservation will be cancelled.

If you have any questions, please contact us at:

• 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 support. We hope your clients find another cruise with us. Whether they are celebrating a special occasion or looking to explore, relax, and recharge - we have no doubt their time with us will be nothing short of amazing.

Sincerely,

 

[WhoCruiser]

 I am glad that they finally came clean and admitted they were doing what 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 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.

[F1guynz]

4 hours ago, WhoCruiser said:

it was a clerical error on the website and the ship would sail as planned

Royal used this excuse on a cruise we had booked for Japan that was later cancelled. Given that they plan so many years ahead you would think they would build in dry dock time, especially as it must be planned. You would think they would need to book the space years in advance for the work to occur.

 

[Atlantix2000]

1 hour ago, F1guynz said:

Royal used this excuse on a cruise we had booked for Japan that was later cancelled. Given that they plan so many years ahead you would think they would build in dry dock time, especially as it must be planned. You would think they would need to book the space years in advance for the work to occur.

Indeed, they do plan both itineraries and dry docks years in advance.  Freedom was amped (and thus dry docked) in 2020 and must be dry docked every 5 years so the ship is due in this time frame.  They may have been planning for 2025 beyond currently released itineraries but if that proved impossible they may have to take what they can.  I don't know what happens if they fail to dry dock by the end of the 5 year period.  (Do they have to pull the ship from service or can they get a waiver as long as something is scheduled?  Anybody know?)  The pandemic no doubt messed up the 5 year cycle for a lot of ships so the dry docks are probably still backed up for the next couple years.

[FionaMG]

5 hours ago, Atlantix2000 said:

They may have been planning for 2025 beyond currently released itineraries but if that proved impossible they may have to take what they can.

I think you've probably hit the nail on the head here. When Freedom's 2024/2025 itineraries went on sale the whole of January and first two weeks of February were blocked from the outset. I reckon that's when they would have been planning the dry dock as, financially, it would make a lot more sense than the period now confirmed.

[FionaMG]

@Matt just wanted to point out an inaccuracy in your news post on this so you can correct it if you want.

You have "Royal Caribbean informed guests on select sailings in December 2024 and January 2025 that their cruises have been cancelled in order for the ship to undergo work."

But it's actually November and December 2024. No bookings were ever taken for January 2025, as that month was blocked off from the very outset when Freedom's sailings for this period first went on sale.

[Matt]

Thank you @FionaMG

[Heymarco]

@Matt November and December 2024 seem to be back on the schedule and bookable. Any confirmation of changes?

[FionaMG]

2 hours ago, Heymarco said:

@Matt November and December 2024 seem to be back on the schedule and bookable. Any confirmation of changes?

This was confirmed months ago and guests whose cruises were cancelled were given the option of reinstating them if they wanted.

[Atlantix2000]

10 hours ago, FionaMG said:

This was confirmed months ago and guests whose cruises were cancelled were given the option of reinstating them if they wanted.

Wow really?  That news didn't hit this thread, did I miss it in another thread on the site?  Seems like some of those affected above would have commented here.

[FionaMG]

38 minutes ago, Atlantix2000 said:

Wow really?  That news didn't hit this thread, did I miss it in another thread on the site?  Seems like some of those affected above would have commented here.

It was mostly discussed on the roll call thread for the 7th of December sailing. I have a vague recollection that I might have made a separate post about it too but I'm not 100% sure.