Kiwi

Aahh, yes, this does evoke nostalgic memories... I fondly recall breaking into my piggy bank to give dear ol' mom that $2 she demanded for a cookie, then tossing that extra $0.40 in her little tip jar in the kitchen. Good times, good times.
 

Hi, we had a fantastic cruise on Spectrum in a J4 Silver Suite earlier this year (5-night July 7th). 
The indoor Silver Dining area, which is very nice, has a small lounge off to the side and a speck of a space for the concierge. The entire area connects to a HUGE solarium area for Silver Suite guests. Signage also indicated Diamond and up C&A could use the area. The Solarium is fabulous, with a couple of hot tubs, a mini-lazy-river thing, a dedicated bar, and tons of comfy seating with great views. I don't think we ever counted more than a dozen people in the entire area. That was awesome for us and we spent a ton of time enjoying the space (but as an RC fan, I couldn't help thinking the space was really underutilized -- although it could be because Silver Suites on our sailing weren't sold out). For our sailing the Dining/Lounge area had a small mobile bar cart that offered a limited selection of complimentary alcoholic beverages during certain times (5:30-8p I think?) -- so, basically, a Diamond lounge benefit. The lounge area was almost always empty, and hardly anyone got a drink at the bar cart.  We felt soooo bad for the poor bartenders in the Silver Solarium and really all over the ship -- the bars were ghost towns. My wife and I enjoyed some generous pours/conversation with bored bartenders who just wanted to chat with someone, lol! We noticed on the 2nd day that 12-drink punch cards were being sold for just $69 after tax (!).  We received 10 C&A points for our 5-night sailing. Hope this helps!
 

We cruised on Spectrum out of Shanghai on a 5-night in July 2019 (to Okinawa and Nagasaki). The ship is beautiful and the cruise was really enjoyable -- I think you made a great choice! (And we're looking forward to being back on Spectrum for a 9-night out of Singapore this Jan to Vietnam and Thailand -- same cruise @twangster?)
There were some activities strictly in Mandarin -- we didn't think we'd have much luck in the "finish the song lyric" game with songs in Mandarin, for example, haha. But many actitivies, either by design or chance, seemed to minimise the language component. Explanations were typically provided in both languages, and the emcees did a fantastic job. And yes, we sometimes got a chuckle when a very quick English explanation followed a lengthy Mandarin exposition, but that was completely expected and we never felt like we didn't understand something.
Other random pieces of info:
I don't know if you've sorted the visa situation, but you may want to look at visa exemptions -- some info here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/14730-china-transit-visa-quantum/#comment-164600 Here's a blurb that may be useful if you're staying in a suite or have diamond C&A (Re-reading this reminds me how crazy of a deal the onboard 12-drink package for US$69 was): https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/16950-spectrum-silver-lounge/#comment-173917 Take the maglev train from the airport -- a short and fun ride at ~430km/h! We arrived the day before the cruise and had arranged a "toursbylocal" tour (I have no affiliation but have had good experiences several times). Yes, we can get around to the major sites ourselves, but we enjoy having a local help us navigate when we're trying to squeeze a lot in, esp when it comes to touring street food locations, etc. The flat tour fee worked well for our group of 4. We also spent a couple of days at Shanghai Disney after the cruise -- I know, I know, Shanghai is a fabulous city with amazing history and culture and we end up at Disney... But we're Disney geeks and wanted to check Shanghai off the list -- don't judge us, haha. (Fwiw, Shanghai Pirates of the Caribbean is one the greatest Disney attraction every made, if that's of any interest). Hope this helps!

I have kind of a funny story about this. I lived in China for two years and still go back regularly for work, but I am a black guy who is a dual US/Namibian citizen and speaks English with a midwest American accent. My spoken Mandarin is good, but not great. Anyways, I was in Hangzhou, ended up at a karaoke bar, and overheard people (who didn't know I understood them) questioning why I was there since most everything was in Mandarin. 
So of course I went up on stage, belted out a pretty damn good Mandarin cover of "Friday" by Rebecca Black (because it was Friday, and I was drunk), looked a them, and dropped the mic. We spent the rest of the night together bar hopping. 

Aahh, yes, this does evoke nostalgic memories... I fondly recall breaking into my piggy bank to give dear ol' mom that $2 she demanded for a cookie, then tossing that extra $0.40 in her little tip jar in the kitchen. Good times, good times.
 

Aahh, yes, this does evoke nostalgic memories... I fondly recall breaking into my piggy bank to give dear ol' mom that $2 she demanded for a cookie, then tossing that extra $0.40 in her little tip jar in the kitchen. Good times, good times.
 

Aahh, yes, this does evoke nostalgic memories... I fondly recall breaking into my piggy bank to give dear ol' mom that $2 she demanded for a cookie, then tossing that extra $0.40 in her little tip jar in the kitchen. Good times, good times.
 

We recently sailed star class on Oasis and didn't receive any communication in advance from our genie. Two days before the cruise, I sent an email to a genie address I had from a previous cruise and the conversation started from there. The explanation was that our contact information was not on file (!).
We're a low-maintenance family and star class is foremost about the room and associated amenities, including reserved seating, and after that the rest of the services a genie might provide. Without going into detail, the last item was quite disappointing this cruise. We largely ended up just planning/executing what we wanted by ourselves, since otherwise things seemed delayed or not completed correctly. We hadn't cruised in 3 years, and there's no doubt in our minds RC is still working to bring service levels up to past quality. And it also turns out our genie was scheduled to transfer to a new post mid-cruise (subsequently delayed to the end of the cruise), which explains more.
To be clear, we're fortunate to be able to go on a cruise, let alone do star class, and these disappointments certainly didn't stop us from having a great family vacation. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time, and communication will pick up soon!
 

We recently sailed star class on Oasis and didn't receive any communication in advance from our genie. Two days before the cruise, I sent an email to a genie address I had from a previous cruise and the conversation started from there. The explanation was that our contact information was not on file (!).
We're a low-maintenance family and star class is foremost about the room and associated amenities, including reserved seating, and after that the rest of the services a genie might provide. Without going into detail, the last item was quite disappointing this cruise. We largely ended up just planning/executing what we wanted by ourselves, since otherwise things seemed delayed or not completed correctly. We hadn't cruised in 3 years, and there's no doubt in our minds RC is still working to bring service levels up to past quality. And it also turns out our genie was scheduled to transfer to a new post mid-cruise (subsequently delayed to the end of the cruise), which explains more.
To be clear, we're fortunate to be able to go on a cruise, let alone do star class, and these disappointments certainly didn't stop us from having a great family vacation. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time, and communication will pick up soon!
 

We recently sailed star class on Oasis and didn't receive any communication in advance from our genie. Two days before the cruise, I sent an email to a genie address I had from a previous cruise and the conversation started from there. The explanation was that our contact information was not on file (!).
We're a low-maintenance family and star class is foremost about the room and associated amenities, including reserved seating, and after that the rest of the services a genie might provide. Without going into detail, the last item was quite disappointing this cruise. We largely ended up just planning/executing what we wanted by ourselves, since otherwise things seemed delayed or not completed correctly. We hadn't cruised in 3 years, and there's no doubt in our minds RC is still working to bring service levels up to past quality. And it also turns out our genie was scheduled to transfer to a new post mid-cruise (subsequently delayed to the end of the cruise), which explains more.
To be clear, we're fortunate to be able to go on a cruise, let alone do star class, and these disappointments certainly didn't stop us from having a great family vacation. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time, and communication will pick up soon!
 

Current 2020 on board CAS offers.  These are from Anthem but pretty standard across the fleet and if nothing else validation that not much has changed.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While on Anthem recently I dropped by the Loyalty desk and saw they had these out so I thought it would be a good "moment in time" snapshot of the current Crown and Anchor on board offers for various levels of the society.  
Gold.PDF
Platinum.PDF
Emerald.PDF
Diamond.PDF
Diamond Plus.PDF

We're on the same sailing and also in a 2BR Aqua! (With our teen sons -- we'll ask them to keep their volume down so they don't disturb the nice neighbors... ? )
I think you made a great decision. Now the tough part... waiting two years!
 

Hi John,
hopefully this link will provide some of the answers you are looking for.
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-golden-suite-program

We took the price of 2 BR AQUA and subtracted the costs of all the perks you can place a specific value on (UDP, Drink package, WiFi, and tips, and it came to about $1000 more per person with an average value for those subtracted. We decided we’d each pay $1000 more per person than the Junior Suite just for the fabulous balcony so the other pampering/ genie perks were just a plus at that point! Really appreciate everyone’s encouragement. We will be on the Jan 9, 2022 sailing. I feel fortunate to have found this blog as I wouldn’t have known to make reservations so far in advance to snag such a room.

Hi, we had a fantastic cruise on Spectrum in a J4 Silver Suite earlier this year (5-night July 7th). 
The indoor Silver Dining area, which is very nice, has a small lounge off to the side and a speck of a space for the concierge. The entire area connects to a HUGE solarium area for Silver Suite guests. Signage also indicated Diamond and up C&A could use the area. The Solarium is fabulous, with a couple of hot tubs, a mini-lazy-river thing, a dedicated bar, and tons of comfy seating with great views. I don't think we ever counted more than a dozen people in the entire area. That was awesome for us and we spent a ton of time enjoying the space (but as an RC fan, I couldn't help thinking the space was really underutilized -- although it could be because Silver Suites on our sailing weren't sold out). For our sailing the Dining/Lounge area had a small mobile bar cart that offered a limited selection of complimentary alcoholic beverages during certain times (5:30-8p I think?) -- so, basically, a Diamond lounge benefit. The lounge area was almost always empty, and hardly anyone got a drink at the bar cart.  We felt soooo bad for the poor bartenders in the Silver Solarium and really all over the ship -- the bars were ghost towns. My wife and I enjoyed some generous pours/conversation with bored bartenders who just wanted to chat with someone, lol! We noticed on the 2nd day that 12-drink punch cards were being sold for just $69 after tax (!).  We received 10 C&A points for our 5-night sailing. Hope this helps!
 

Hi, we had a fantastic cruise on Spectrum in a J4 Silver Suite earlier this year (5-night July 7th). 
The indoor Silver Dining area, which is very nice, has a small lounge off to the side and a speck of a space for the concierge. The entire area connects to a HUGE solarium area for Silver Suite guests. Signage also indicated Diamond and up C&A could use the area. The Solarium is fabulous, with a couple of hot tubs, a mini-lazy-river thing, a dedicated bar, and tons of comfy seating with great views. I don't think we ever counted more than a dozen people in the entire area. That was awesome for us and we spent a ton of time enjoying the space (but as an RC fan, I couldn't help thinking the space was really underutilized -- although it could be because Silver Suites on our sailing weren't sold out). For our sailing the Dining/Lounge area had a small mobile bar cart that offered a limited selection of complimentary alcoholic beverages during certain times (5:30-8p I think?) -- so, basically, a Diamond lounge benefit. The lounge area was almost always empty, and hardly anyone got a drink at the bar cart.  We felt soooo bad for the poor bartenders in the Silver Solarium and really all over the ship -- the bars were ghost towns. My wife and I enjoyed some generous pours/conversation with bored bartenders who just wanted to chat with someone, lol! We noticed on the 2nd day that 12-drink punch cards were being sold for just $69 after tax (!).  We received 10 C&A points for our 5-night sailing. Hope this helps!
 

The Key price for our Harmony Jan 12th, 2020 sailing had been steady at $37.99 since it appeared in the cruise planner a month ago or two ago. It dropped to $25.99 yesterday.
 

We wish we would have known how much our kids would love the RC youth clubs and activities, how much great sans-kids time my wife and I were able to spend together because of that, and what an amazing value the complimentary clubs are. We would have started cruising years earlier had we known.
 

We wish we would have known how much our kids would love the RC youth clubs and activities, how much great sans-kids time my wife and I were able to spend together because of that, and what an amazing value the complimentary clubs are. We would have started cruising years earlier had we known.
 

We tried SC for the first time on a 7-Night Oasis sailing on May 27th, 2018. In case it helps, I dug up our pre-cruise communications timeline with our Genie:
Apr 11th: We received a generic email asking us to complete the SC questionnaire
Apr 25th: We received a personalized email from Smitha, our Genie (who turned out to be wonderful),
Her email provided info on her Genie hours (and when she's "in her lamp" and unavailable), a reminder of all the amenities that come with SC, a request for information on our arrival plans (so she could schedule/meet us) as well as minibar and arrival drinks preferences, and some info/prices on cabanas at Labadee (if we wanted to book one).
May 3rd: She confirmed our preferences that I sent in an Apr 28th email (with apologies for a slightly delayed response, as she'd been tending to current guests).
May 5th: She sent detailed information on the arrival process, her mobile number, and more detailed info on specialty restaurants (including all menus), Voom info, etc, as well as a list of restaurants we could choose from for lunch on Day 1. Based on our previous responses, she also sent a personalized dinner itinerary, including times she had booked for us at each restaurant as well as the headliner show times. THIS WAS GREAT. 
May 16th: She confirmed a few tweaks to dining times that I sent on May 14th and answered my other questions (when is formal night, what's the deal with the handcrafted cocktail cart, etc). She also confirmed our arrival time of 11a and reminded us of what to do when we got to the port.
And that was it -- everything that we cared to plan pre-cruise was done about a week and a half before boarding.
Once we got to the port, we just followed the directions to Star Class and Smitha was there to escort us to our suite. So easy. She did a great job on the cruise, with just the right amount of contact for our preferences, as we'd let her know that we don't like much fuss. And she was fantastic with our boys who were 12 and 13 -- we hadn't told them about SC or a Genie or anything, and they were utterly confused during the entire boarding process and delighted for the rest of the trip, lol!
We didn't arrange a reception, so I can't provide feedback there. Other advice? Just be very clear what you want -- the Genies are trained to help and it's their job, but they're not mind readers (although it may seem like it at times). If you're not sure if something's possible or if there would be a charge for something, just ask. Your Genie will want to help, and will if possible. 
Lastly, we thought we'd been spoiled with SC, but amazingly enough we've managed to enjoy our non-SC cruises since then... ?   But truth be told, we're counting the days until our 13-night Ovation SC cruise in April 2021! And I know we'll want to throw some parties on that cruise, so I'm looking forward to reading your post-cruise report!! ?
Have a fantastic trip!
 

We tried SC for the first time on a 7-Night Oasis sailing on May 27th, 2018. In case it helps, I dug up our pre-cruise communications timeline with our Genie:
Apr 11th: We received a generic email asking us to complete the SC questionnaire
Apr 25th: We received a personalized email from Smitha, our Genie (who turned out to be wonderful),
Her email provided info on her Genie hours (and when she's "in her lamp" and unavailable), a reminder of all the amenities that come with SC, a request for information on our arrival plans (so she could schedule/meet us) as well as minibar and arrival drinks preferences, and some info/prices on cabanas at Labadee (if we wanted to book one).
May 3rd: She confirmed our preferences that I sent in an Apr 28th email (with apologies for a slightly delayed response, as she'd been tending to current guests).
May 5th: She sent detailed information on the arrival process, her mobile number, and more detailed info on specialty restaurants (including all menus), Voom info, etc, as well as a list of restaurants we could choose from for lunch on Day 1. Based on our previous responses, she also sent a personalized dinner itinerary, including times she had booked for us at each restaurant as well as the headliner show times. THIS WAS GREAT. 
May 16th: She confirmed a few tweaks to dining times that I sent on May 14th and answered my other questions (when is formal night, what's the deal with the handcrafted cocktail cart, etc). She also confirmed our arrival time of 11a and reminded us of what to do when we got to the port.
And that was it -- everything that we cared to plan pre-cruise was done about a week and a half before boarding.
Once we got to the port, we just followed the directions to Star Class and Smitha was there to escort us to our suite. So easy. She did a great job on the cruise, with just the right amount of contact for our preferences, as we'd let her know that we don't like much fuss. And she was fantastic with our boys who were 12 and 13 -- we hadn't told them about SC or a Genie or anything, and they were utterly confused during the entire boarding process and delighted for the rest of the trip, lol!
We didn't arrange a reception, so I can't provide feedback there. Other advice? Just be very clear what you want -- the Genies are trained to help and it's their job, but they're not mind readers (although it may seem like it at times). If you're not sure if something's possible or if there would be a charge for something, just ask. Your Genie will want to help, and will if possible. 
Lastly, we thought we'd been spoiled with SC, but amazingly enough we've managed to enjoy our non-SC cruises since then... ?   But truth be told, we're counting the days until our 13-night Ovation SC cruise in April 2021! And I know we'll want to throw some parties on that cruise, so I'm looking forward to reading your post-cruise report!! ?
Have a fantastic trip!
 

You look eligible for the 72 or 144 hour visa-free transit to me.
We recently took advantage of it on a flight from Auckland to Shanghai, with an overnight stay and then a cruise on Spectrum with a first stop in Okinawa, Japan. We again used it on the return from Nagasaki, staying three nights in Shanghai and then back to Auckland.
A good resource is here: https://www.travelchinaguide.com/tour/visa/free-transit-144-hours.htm
Someone with a similar question to yours, re: Dubai is here: https://answers.travelchinaguide.com/question/825694.htm (note that the people answering the questions have no official capacity, however).
My tips, take them or leave them:
Have ALL of your travel information printed out, including flight confirmations, cruise documents (with itinerary to show your first stop is Japan), hotel confirmation, etc. You will need to show all of it. Inform your airline when boarding in the UK that you plan to use the 144 hour visa-free transit.  I can't speak to Beijing, but the process at Shanghai was extremely easy, with clearly marked lanes at immigration. There's a little form to fill out for each traveller, which takes only a few minutes (we had done this using an online tool, which was a waste of time since all of the automated machines were out of order). Sounds like a great cruise -- have a fantastic time!