Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas is in the middle of a 24-day drydock session in Freeport, Bahamas and we've found some photos of the ship getting some work done.
See our list of the changes coming to Freedom of the Seas as a part of this refurbishment.
Royal Caribbean has lifted the curtain on the changes coming to Freedom of the Seas as part of its 24-day refurbishment.
Freedom of the Seas will feature new and renovated staterooms throughout the ship. Existing staterooms will be updated and new staterooms will be added, which is line with what's happened on other Royal Caribbean ship refurbishments recently.
There will be two new restaurants that will be added to the ship:
Freedom of the Seas will also get a new R-Bar lounge, which is meant to be a throwback to the bars of the 1960s that serve classic cocktails with a modern twist.
Freedom of the Seas is beginning her refurbishment today and will emerge for regular cruises again in February 2015.
Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas is headed to drydock to begin her 24-day ship-wide refurbishment tomorrow.
The ship is headed to Freeport, Bahamas to have work done on the ship that will consist of cleaning up the entire ship as well as add new facilities and options for guests.
UPDATE: Royal Caribbean has announced a list of changes coming to Freedom of the Seas. Royal Caribbean has been tight lipped on what exactly will change on Freedom of the Seas, but it's safe to say the major propulsion problem that has been plaguing the ship will be fixed.
Some of the work has already begun on the ship even before it left for dry dock. Carpeting and other areas of the ship were quietly worked on during a quick 2-night cruise that ended today.
Many Royal Caribbean fans have been speculating on other changes coming based on what other Royal Caribbean ships have had as well as information crew members on Freedom of the Seas have told passengers that they've heard.
Rumors are generally regarding new specialty restaurants coming to Freedom of the Seas, including potentially Giovanni's Table, Izumi and Sabor Modern Mexican. There's also rumors of a new Diamond Member lounge and Concierge lounge.
Royal Caribbean has changed the itinerary it had originally planned for Freedom of the Seas due to a propulsion problem that the ship is suffering from.
As with the last few sailings, Royal Caribbean has changed the itinerary due to a "small restriction on her top speed". All scheduled ports on the itinerary – CocoCay, Montego Bay, GeorgeTown and Cozumel – will remain, with adjustments made to the time spent in port.
The new itinerary will have Freedom of the Seas
As with other altered cruises due to this propulsion problem, and we've heard Royal Caribbean has given its passengers onboard credit as an apology for the change. A letter with the credit amount will be delivered to each stateroom.
Royal Caribbean has changed the itinerary it had originally planned for Freedom of the Seas due to a propulsion problem that the ship is suffering from.
The last few Freedom of the Seas itineraries have also been changed and while the ports the ship was planning on visiting remains unchanged, the amount of time in port is being reduced.
The new itinerary will have Freedom of the Seas
As with other altered cruises due to this propulsion problem, Royal Caribbean will give passengers onboard credit as an apology for the change. A letter with the credit amount will be delivered to each stateroom.
There is no word on what caused the propulsion problems. Royal Caribbean maintains the ship is perfectly safe. Freedom of the Seas is scheduled for a dry dock session in January 2015.
Royal Caribbean is informing passengers set to embark on this week's Freedom of the Seas cruise that the ship, "is currently experiencing a small restriction on her top speed."
As a result of the speed reduction, the ship will have to change the Eastern Caribbean itinerary. The ship will skip a port call at the company's private island of CocoCay and reduce the time the ship will spend in St. Maarten.
Emails and text messages were sent to guests today informing them of the change. Royal Caribbean assures guests that the ship is fully operational and there is no impact on the maneuverability of the ship or on the safety of our guests and crew.
There is no word on what caused the propulsion problems. Freedom of the Seas is scheduled for a dry dock session in January 2015.
Royal Caribbean is also giving all passengers an undisclosed amount of onboard credit. A letter with the credit amount will be delivered to each stateroom.
Passengers tha had shore excursions booked in CocoCay through Royal Caribbean will have their excursions fully refunded in the form of onboard credit, although unused money can be refunded after the cruise back to passengers.
Freedom of the Seas is set to leave Port Canaveral on December 14 as scheduled.
DEC 15 UPDATE: Blog reader Sean shared with us some more details on the problem affecting Freedom of the Seas. There is a recorded message from Captain Tor Olsen playing in all staterooms explaining the problem.
The center fixipod is having the trouble, which is similar to the problem Allure of the Seas had earlier this year. Captain Olsen described one of the bearings as being "in very bad shape".
As a result, the main thurst propeller blade has been removed from the center pod and Freedom of the Seas is operating only with the port and starboard azipods. The result is a reduced top speed by 5 knots, with a new max cruising speed of 18 knots.
Royal Caribbean released a new Dynamic Dining Q&A document and one bit of news to come out of is the fate of traditional dining on Freedom of the Seas.
The document reads:
As leaders in innovation, Royal Caribbean International is reimagining dining at sea with the launch of Dynamic Dining aboard the Quantum class of ships. This revolutionary program also will be introduced to the Oasis Class, the world’s largest and most innovative class of cruise ships, during their upcoming scheduled dry docks. Dynamic Dining is a strategic initiative for Royal Caribbean and based on the positive response from our guests, it is our intention to implement this program across as many of our ships as possible, as part of our Royal Advantage program — our ongoing commitment to offer the best experience in the industry to our guests. At this time, there are no plans to implement Dynamic Dining on Freedom of the Seas during her upcoming dry dock due to certain limitations including time restrictions. We will continue to communicate any implementation of Dynamic Dining across the rest of the Royal Caribbean fleet as those decisions are made.
Royal Caribbean has scheduled Freedom of the Seas for a drydock refurbishment in January 2015 and there was speculation that perhaps Freedom of the Seas would be getting Dynamic Dining just like Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.
One of our blog readers, Shawn Wallace, is beginning his cruise this week on Freedom of the Seas and took some time to share photos of areas around the ship. Enjoy!
The Royal Promenade
KIds pool area, H2O Zone
Mini golf
Enjoying a drink to celebrate the beginning of a Royal Caribbean cruise
Adventure Ocean Explorers Room
Little People poster in Nursery
It’s time once again to invite one of our awesome podcast listeners to join us on the podcast, and this week we have Marie Coschigano of New Jersey, who is going on Freedom of the Seas later this summer over July 4th. We’re going to discuss her cruise plans onboard and onshore.
Share with me your thoughts, questions and comments via...
Freedom of the Seas rescued two sailors early this morning that were adrift at sea.
Cruise Critic reports the Royal Caribbean cruise ship found the two after the sailors shot a red flare to signal for attention.
Royal Caribbean Director of global corporate communications Cynthia Martinez issued this statement regarding the incident, "the rescue occurred today at approximately 5:30 a.m. as the ship sailed from San Juan to Philipsburg, St. Maarten. After sailing toward the red flare, the ship encountered a small boat with two passengers. Crew lowered a boat into the water and rescued the two men, both from the Dominican Republic."
After being rescued, Cruise Critic indicated that the Royal Caribbean crew gave the sailors food, water and medical treatment until they could be transfered to the United States Coast Guard in St. Maarten.