Deedeelynn

We all love checking our luggage curbside at the terminal and having them magically appear outside our cabins.  Many of us having made the $8 investment in luggage tag holders that if you ever plan to take another cruise should be high on your list of cruise "must haves".
There is always the small chance that someone might see your luggage and in a case of mistaken identity grab your bag by mistake.  This can happen after the cruise as well if you use the luggage tags and place your bags in the hallways the last night of the cruise.  Once in the terminal with a sea of other bags they all look a like.  It can happen when you fly too.  
I'd seen luggage tags you could buy on Amazon that boldly warn people "This is NOT your bag" or "Hands off!" - anything that might make a person pause and think before grabbing your suitcase if it looks just like theirs.
It dawned on me I have these luggage tag holders so instead of buying a "Not Your bag" luggage tag, why not just print one and use the Royal luggage tag holders?

Simply print them off, cut and slide one into a cruise ship luggage tag holder.
Here is a sample PDF to get you started:
Not Your Bag.pdf

Bravo, Sabrina - splendid blog!
 

does it count if i eat less and drink more?    Leaving for LoS in April and my wife and I are totally in calorie counting frenzy so we can go full on Kobayashi-mode on the ship hah!
 

 

That reminds me, I need to go to the windjammer!

Oh see I'm the exact opposite.  Day 1 I'm like Oliver singing the virtues of so much food.   Day 2 "hmm maybe I dont need that extra serving of bacon"   Day 3.   "Crap, formal dress getting a bit snug, instead of pina coladas I'll drink martinis"   Day 4  "Pants getting snug.  Ok maybe I'll take a stroll around the Promanade Deck"   Day 5 "Stretch pants getting tight, TO THE GYM!"  Day 6 "They're going to have to roll me down the ramp to get off of the ship"  Day 7  "eff it!  Where's the bacon colada!"

i LITERALLY LOL'D...at my desk as the church secretary at a VERY traditional Presbyterian church ! LOL...might have snorted. 

Boarding now. Bye for now everyone ?

And once again, I will say, no one can replace or compare to the original bot ?

Once again made obsolete by a younger, smarter, prettier bot.  Sigh... sad robot ? 

Well, walk off was a breeze. Araceli came to pick us up in our cabin at 8:30 am. We were at the curb waiting for Lyft by 8:45 am. There is no wait time with the SC departure. She bypassed all lines and elevators.  No drama from any other guests, and since we had LV, there was nothing to pick up either.
Last sad sight...

FLL is another story, it is packed here. So far everything is good at the gate and our flight home is on time.
Happy to answer any other questions if there are any. If not, thank you all for following along with us. It has been a wonderful week and I have loved sharing the experience with all of you. ?

So what did we think of Star Class overall?
Well, if you have not picked up on it yet, we simply loved it!  And I knew it and you all knew it, I am most definitely spoiled for all other cruises from this point onwards.
I am completely in love with not only SC, but Deck 17 itself. I need to find my way back the the “gated community” somehow. There is something indescribable about these lofts, the high ceilings, the two bathrooms, the open and airy feel of the room, these are the things I love about the loft.  The location to CK and the SL for these rooms is also so convenient.  Nothing beats that!  And the hallways are extra wide up here.
Hopefully a few months in dry dock will condition us for our JS on Anthem GC in July. 
Like I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, there are many types of cruisers and you have to know which category you fall under. We know what “type” we are and what is important to us. For us, the perks of SC are worth it, given the right price. The room is also worth it because we spend a lot of time in our cabin. 
What did we get the most use of from our perks?  
Specialty dining for sure. We tried almost everything that we possibly could. I am afraid to step on the scale Monday morning. The kids also made very good use of the in-room specialty dining. They only ate with us 3 out of the 7 nights. The rest, they ordered in from specialty.  Also, as I stated before, the reserved seating is a big deal for us because we are show people. The girls are too. So having that perk was awesome. Only once did we get questioned about why “those seats” were saved for us.  Araceli had a great explanation for them and she explained it ever so kindly. We also could not resist putting our two cents in. 
We lucked out big time with Araceli. She is so personable and kind. Her smile does not ever fade. We have exchanged well over 100 emails back and forth since her first contact. She is amazing with communicating!  Never did a dinner go by where she did not come in to check on us. During the day, she would either come to find us or email me to check in if we needed anything. So thankful too that we have had the opportunity to sit down with her for some conversations and get to know her as a person. She is simply wonderful!  Going to miss her for sure! 
Early start for us tomorrow so I will end off here.  I will update from the airport to comment on the walk off.  

Araceli asked us earlier what time we would like to get off. We named a time and it was as easy as that. Luggage valet is covered so we signed up for that. I will report tomorrow on how the walk of sadness goes.
Rohan our loft attendant has been wonderful!  I have heard many great things about Rohan in the past and was super excited when I heard on embarkation day that he was our attendant. I have never met a stateroom attendant who is more personal and proud of his job than Rohan. We will miss our chats and fist bumps with him in the hallway. The conversation never ends when you talk to Rohan, and it’s not one that you want to end.  I have learned so much from Rohan, he has been a loft attendant since OA class began in 2009. He has been with Royal since the days of Legend of the Seas!  Tomorrow he goes home for vacation and I am so happy for him.  

The towel animal zoo is now complete.

Dinner Night 7: Back to Jamie’s 
Food fatigue has definitely set in as we were barely able to eat once the main entree rolled around. Menu is the same as night 2.
Bread tray to start.

We skipped the Vegetable Plank on Night 2 so we got it tonight.

Arancini & Funky Chips


D10 had the Kid’s Sliders

Penne Carbonara

Tagliatelle Bolognese

Jamie’s Burger

Epic Brownie

Lemon Cheesecake

Time to detox now ?

Sabrina,
I have really enjoyed your blog on this cruise....even though you didn't post a selfie. But, your genie did! The photo of you and your family in Labadee with the model of the Harmony. Glad you all had a GREAT time, enjoy your last night and have a safe trip home. 

Reyno did the same thing on our first SC cruise with him.  I do not have a FB page so he found nothing on me BUT Dan has a blog dealing almost exclusively with his Military service and military associations.  Reyno found that, recognized that Dan was a "milit'ry man" <in my best South African accent>.  Reyno was also a military officer (in the SA Army) so they had that kind of soldier-bond-thing going on from the beginning.  At the end of that cruise, Reyno gave Dan a solid bronze, antique ship's compass, which I thought was an extremely personal and considerate gift.  The Genies really do their homework and try and make your experience very very special.

Day 7: At sea (Last day ?)
Last breakfast on the balcony as I write this...

Busy last day today...After breakfast we are headed to the Galley Tour. We have done this several times but the girls want to go. Then Hubby and D10 are skating. After lunch, we have the bridge tour. 

Never say never. If you read the start of the this blog, the last time we sailed HM, it was not even a possibility for us. And deals in SC can be found. You do have to look though.
We have had several heated discussions with our girls this cruise actually about how blessed they are and not to take this opportunity for granted. The good thing is we have sailed a variety of cabins with them so they have an idea now of both ends of the spectrum. 
Thank you ? We were saying the same thing this morning. That we have our memories....
Doubt it lol. You should see her move. She is all over the place. I don’t even know if she sleeps ?
Yes, we knew before coming on that we would be tipping extra for all the room service, specialty restaurants, our loft attendants and of course, Araceli.

I have really enjoyed this blog and I have come here daily to look what your family is up to. I'm not sure I will ever travel at the Star Class level, unless I do it as a my retirement cruise, but that is still a ways off (7 years).  I am impressed with your Genie, and I am not even there daily to see all that they can do; however, I think you have provided valuable information to those that are contemplating doing this on a cruise and what to expect. On the downside for genies, maybe yours is one of the best, and the others better up their game to get close to yours abilities because this blog will be seen by anyone that googles Royal Caribbean Star Class or genies.
I am leaving on a Cruise the end of April on Independence of the Seas, out of Ft. Lauderdale,  and this blog made me think about my cruise every day, as if I wouldn't have anyways.
Glad to see you guys had fun on your cruise. I hope your children know how well they had. Again, now the downside they will expect this every time for a cruise. ?

Thank you for all the wonderful pictures. I am working night school to pay for my cruises. @twangster and you have stretched my budget. I can't wait for next month to get that seafood tower and red velvet cake from Chops.

Nope still doesn't have that fresh baked taste...

Some extra pics from tonight’s activities:

This is how the Quest ended...

When we got back to our room tonight, more surprises awaited for us. We ordered churros from Sabor to snack on after the Quest but this is what we found instead.

 We are touched by how thoughtful Araceli has been. Tonight tops it off.



And I never told her that I was adding to my ship collection, so likely a coincidence, unless she is on these blogs lol. Now I don’t have to buy one tomorrow ?

After dinner we rushed to the Fine Line since it has been cancelled so many times already this sailing. This is my favourite show to date. I was so excited to finally watch this with my girls! Last time they weren’t with us and I streamed it to them. The Fine Line did not disappoint. In the words of D10, she said it was Epic! ?
And I am so happy that this guy was not on vacation for this sailing!

After the Fine Line, onwards to Columbus. The kids loved this one as well. This is also my favourite RC original production, although that might change with Flight this summer.

Now...

Dinner Night 6: Back at Chops 
We had to have an earlier dinner tonight as we had two shows to catch. Same menu as night 3.
Started with the Lavender Tonic from the other night and the Mushroom soup. 

Hubby had the Bacon.

Next up, Seafood Tower but only lobster and crab.

Branzino for Hubby.

I went with Lobster tonight. 

Sides: love those truffle fries, spinach, and tater tots

And of course dessert: Red Velvet cake and Cheesecake