The Sandy OP / Moogle NPC also freezes my game. I play on a PS2. I can still move my camera, send tells, etc. But I can't move my character or get unfrozen from the NPC. I used to be able to wait it out after a while but now it doesn't seem to unfreeze, so I have to incorrectly shut off my PS2 and relaunch FFXI. This is a glitch I've been seeing a lot of and SE really needs to fix this. Until then I recommend moving to a different nation.
I don't experience freezing entering/exiting abyssea areas, however.