Prior to the cruise shutdown, Freedom of the Seas completed a major upgrade that added a bunch of new features and enhancements.
Don from EatSleepCruise went on the Freedom's first sailing back, and shares with us a look at the differences.
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Guests onboard Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas are reporting the ship was denied entry to San Juan, Puerto Rico and as a result, is heading to Miami, Florida to disembark.
The cruise was scheduled to end today, but instead will add two more days to the sailing and let guests leave in Miami.
The ship was concluding a 7-night Southern Caribbean sailing, with San Juan being Freedom's homeport.
Our friends from EatSleepCruise.com are onboard Freedom of the Seas can corroborate the reporting.
Breaking News! Live from @RoyalCaribbean #freedomoftheseas as the ship is not being allowed to dock in Puerto Rico. So, we are heading to Miami and expected to arrive on Tuesday morning. #cruise #cruiseship #travel #cruising #RoyalCaribbean #CoronaVirusUpdate #CoronavirusUSA pic.twitter.com/8q8QAaKs0y
— DB and The Princess (@EatSleepCruise) March 15, 2020
A letter to guests indicates the Port Authorities of Puerto Rico advised Royal Caribbean that they have closed the port to cruise ships.
Freedom of the Seas has no reported cases of COVID-19 onboard, and the cruise line has been employing extra stringent sanitization methods. Moreover, Freedom of the Seas had no issues visiting any of her scheduled ports of call during the sailing.
Any internet, beverage or dining packages purchased for the cruise will automatically be extended for guests at no additional cost for the extra cruise days, along with a complimentary hour of wifi access so that guests may make necessary travel arrangements.
Freedom of the Seas is one of the last Royal Caribbean ships still at sea, having departed before Royal Caribbean announced a global suspension of its cruises for 30 days due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas completed her $116 million amplification, and is back in service offering cruises to the Southern Caribbean.
The ship underwent a bow to stern makeover, with new features being added including water slides, a new Caribbean pool deck look, the cruise line’s first Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen and new, dedicated spaces for kids and teens.
Here is a look at the new changes:
Perfect Storm Waterslides: Cyclone & Typhoon slides.
A resort-style Caribbean poolscape – Featuring a whole new look, signature poolside bar The Lime & Coconut, live music and a wider variety of seating and shade with the addition of casitas, in-pool loungers and daybeds, the reimagined pool deck is where pool days become an all-day affair.
Splashaway Bay kids aqua park.
Renewed adults-only Solarium.
Photo by Linken DSouza
Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen: Freedom of the Seas is the first to receive this refresh of Royal Caribbean's Italian specialty restaurant, it serves up a reimagined menu of fresh pastas, custom pizzas, and more. It also features a wide selection of wines and limoncello.
Photo by Linken DSouza
El Loco Fresh: Complimentary Mexican serviced poolside including tacos, burritos and quesadillas. The venue is the first El Loco Fresh that includes a full-service bar with a wide selection of tequilas.
Izumi Hibachi & Sushi: From sushi to sashimi and hibachi, Izumi a variety of hot and cold appetizers, entrees and desserts.
Photo by Travis Kamiyama
Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade: Catch live games on more than 100 TVs, play arcade classic and enjoy classic bar fare and ice-cold brews.
Clash for the Crystal City Laser Tag : Two clans, the Yetis and Snowshifters, collide in this glow-in-the-dark laser tag adventure for control of a mystical frozen city.
Adventure Ocean: Royal Caribbean has revamped its youth program on Freedom with a new layout that encourages kids to choose their own immersive adventures across several rooms:
Three- and 5-year-olds and toddlers (6-36 months old) each have dedicated spaces with AO Juniors and AO Babies, respectively.
Social033: Teens will rejoice in their exclusive hangout, entirely redesigned to feature the latest in movies, gaming and music, plus a new, private outdoor deck.
Royal Caribbean has also added Freedom of the Seas to its new app. Guests can check-in for their cruise and take advantage of Expedited Arrival.
Onboard the ship, the app can plan activities for each day, view onboard expenses, and make reservations for dining, shore excursions as well as shows, and the in-app TV remote available for each stateroom.
Freedom offers 7-night Southern Caribbean cruises from San Juan, Puerto Rico. Itineraries from Barbados and Antigua, to the ABC islands (Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao) are available to enjoy.
Among the many changes Royal Caribbean has made to Freedom of the Seas in the ship's $116 million amplification, is the addition of the first Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen.
Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen is Royal Caribbean's new take on its Italian specialty restaurant. It features authentic Italian dishes with a contemporary flair, including made-to-order pizzas hand tossed front and center, and baked in the new, in-house pizza oven.
RoyalCaribbeanBlog reader (and avid Flowrider and roulette spinner) Nick Vitani spotted the menu for the new restaurant in Royal Caribbean's app.
Appetizers
Entrees
Pizza
Desserts
Kids Menu
The app lists dinner cover charge at $34.99 per guest.
Giovanni's Italian Kitchen will debut on Freedom of the Seas when she returns to service this month. It will also be added to Allure of the Seas and Explorer of the Seas during their upcoming amplifications later this year.
Royal Caribbean has expanded its new app to include support for Freedom of the Seas.
Freedom now appears in the list of supported ships that can be found from within the app.
The new app is being actively developed, which means not all features area available on the app yet. Moreover, the cruise line is slowly rolling out support for more ships.
The app is available on the iTunes App Store and Google Play Store.
Royal Caribbean announced it has added 15 port visits to St. Maarten in 2020.
The new visits run between May 2020 and December 2020 on Freedom of the Seas sailings, and signifies a closer relationship between the cruise line and the Caribbean island.
We received reports from readers that a sea day on Freedom of the Seas has been replaced with a visit to Philipsburg, St. Maarten.
“In order to grow our partnership, we are taking the proactive step of enhancing our Eastern Caribbean itineraries by replacing a day at sea and adding a coveted visit to St. Maarten,” said Vice President of Port Development, Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., Joshua Carroll. “It’s part of our culture at Royal Caribbean to focus on continuous improvement and this extends to our relationships with destination partners. It makes perfect sense for us to embrace the win-win opportunities with the additional port calls by Freedom of the Seas that brings not only economic benefit to a great partner like Port St. Maarten, but also offer our guests an amazing travel destination.”
Freedom of the Seas is about to complete a $116 million amplification that will add a variety of new enhancements, including the Perfect Storm duo of waterslides, a redesigned Caribbean poolscape, a new take on a signature venue with Giovanni’s Italian Kitchen and completely transformed kids and teens spaces.
The new visits will increase the number of cruise arrivals to St. Maarten to more than 68,000 guests.
A family looking for a combination of space and amenities are to enjoy the Two Bedroom Grand Suite on Royal Caribbean's Freedom of the Seas.
I recently had the opportunity to stay in this rather large room. Photos of this cabin are from stateroom 8714.
This Grand Suite features two bedrooms, each with two twin beds that convert to a Royal King (one room with third and fourth Pullman beds). There is a private balcony, two bathrooms, and a living area.
It is essentially an inside room, along with a balcony room that as a common living room to share.
The master bedroom features a large porhole window that looks into the balcony.
The master bathroom features a full bathtub. The second bedroom's bathroom is a standard standup shower.
The two bedroom grand suite offers 587 square feet of living space. A coffee maker and mini-fridge is found in the living room. There are mini-fridges in both bedrooms as well.
The balcony features 270 square feet of space.
Looking down, you have a view of the lower part of the aft of Freedom of the Seas.
Balcony cabins offer some great views of the sunrise or sunset.
Royal Caribbean announced today its major plans to enhance Freedom of the Seas with an extensive $116 million amplifcation.
The cruise line will add the Perfect Storm duo of waterslides, a redesigned Adventure Ocean, a Playmakers Sports Bar & Arcade and a reimagined pool deck that will feature Splashaway Bay, El Loco Fresh and The Lime & Coconut.
Beginning March 8, 2020, the reimagined Freedom will sail year-round, 7-night Southern Caribbean itineraries from San Juan, Puerto Rico and will include stops in St. Lucia, Antigua and the ABC Islands – Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao.
Here's a full list of the changes coming to Freedom of the Seas:
Freedom of the Seas will be the latest Royal Caribbean ship to join the Royal Amplified Fleet. Royal Amplified is the cruise line's fleet moderinizaation effort that will encompass 10 ships in four years at a cost of more than $1 billion.
Guests sailing on the February 23, 2020 sailing of Freedom of the Seas have received an email from Royal Caribbean informing them that their sailing has been canceled.
The email states, "Freedom of the Seas is undergoing an extended renovation which means, we must regrettably cancel our February 23rd, 2020 sailing. We know this news is disappointing and apologize for the impact to your vacation."
Guests who were booked on the February 23rd sailing have the option to rebook to another 2020 sailing on Freedom of the Seas or Vision of the Seas, as well as any other Royal Caribbean sailing or to simply receive a refund.
The cancellation of what was supposed to be the first sailing of Freedom of the Seas following the ship's scheduled Royal Amplication mirrors the recent decision to cancel the first sailing of Navigator of the Seas following her drydock work that resulted from delays at the shipyard where the work was being done.
Royal Caribbean has not announced the exact changes coming to Freedom of the Seas as part of her dry dock, but the ship has no scheduled sailings between January 19 and now March 1, 2020. Royal Amplified will cover 10 ships over four years, that focuses on upgrades to three main areas: Pool Deck & Attractions, Bars & Nightlife, and Dining Mission.