WAAAYTOOO

Welcome to the SC snobs' club. All are welcome ! I am definitely going to bow to Lovetocruise2002 here. She did an excellent job of personalizing their gifts to their Genie on her first SC cruise. I guess the only question is whether or not you have time to do the kind of personalized gifts that she did... On our last SC cruise (Dec. 8 on Oasis) I brought back some things that I had gotten on a recent trip to the Middle East, which included a lovely (smallish) Aladdin's Lamp. Come to find out, the Genies are all given small genie lamps when they enter the program, so it was kind of a bust, but I tried.... The thing to keep in mind is that they have very little personal space in their cabins so whatever you get, be sure that it isn't big !! I usually give the female Genies something like a pashmina wrap, which I also gave Joyce along with her lamp...for the guys I usually give them something from a favorite or local sports team like a ball cap or a jersey. Interestingly, on our Dec. 8 Oasis cruise, our Genie did NOT give us gifts, which is the first time I have had that happen. Honestly, the gift-giving (on my part) was initiated b/c I felt bad that the Genie gave me a gift but I had nothing (except for money) to give them in return. Frankly, if I had known that she wasn't going to give us anything, I wouldn't have bothered. On our first few SC cruises, the Genie (happened to be Reyno, both times) went way out of his way to give us personalized gifts. It seems that Reyno had gone so far as to go online and track down Dan's Facebook and twitter accounts (I have neither) and learned that Dan was a Marine Corps pilot in his younger days and had gotten a gift that reflected Dan's background. Reyno, is, himself, a milit'ry (spoken with a dashing South African accent) man...so they had a lot in common right off the bat. After that first time, I made sure I had something to give back ! I think you're going to love being SC on Anthem. We did B2B SC cruises on Anthem last Feb. and it was the best trip(s) ever. There are many activities and events for which having a Genie really makes a big difference. If you have children along who will enjoy things like bumper cars and roller skating, it is particularly awesome. The downside is the lackluster Coastal Kitchen and lack of Suites Lounge but you will be spending most of your time in the specialty restaurants anyway....so it's not a huge deal. Make sure Romina gets you reserved seating in the Music Hall and 270 for the cover band concerts. She will probably tell you, officially, she cannot reserve seats in the Music Hall, but privately she will make sure you are taken care of. I am still an Oasis class lover, but for being SC, I think it is really extra helpful on the Q class ships...there are so many special activities. Which deck are you on ? the GLS on Deck 8 are amazing !!

I think this is a very astute observation. The more people that panic and cancel up front, the less money they have to refund if and when they decide to cancel or modify the sailing.

Yikes ! Glad you were there last week and not yesterday. Good thing you got a picture when you did. It may no longer exist. Scary.

Depending on what service was provided, we generally tip between $500-$700 for a 7 night cruise. It’s just the 2 of us. In the past, when we have had the Genie arrange large get together for us, we have tipped a bit more.

Welcome to the blog. Have a great cruise ! ...and Congratulations!

If this is from the Suites Lounge (and I assume it is, from my post) then anyone who is in a full suite or a Pinnacle Club member can go to this lounge. They serve water, wine and beer all day (11-11) and liquor during the “happy” hours.

Welcome to the Blog, Michael c

I think she said they were in 8730 ?

Welcome to the Blog Ramona. I am also a Ramona.

Don't feel bad. I make a career out of posting on the wrong threads. It's my "thing".

Cruising isn't for everyone...

Welcome to the Blog !!

Absolutely will do !!

As a general rule, once the GTY Room is assigned it does not change. The only time I have heard of changes being made after assignment was when Royal was recategorizing some of the staterooms. I wouldn't expect your room to be changed by Royal.

My goodness. These poor folks have been plagued the past few years. Prayers for minimal damage and casualties.

+1

Hmmm...you happened to pick both a ship and departure port that I’ve never been on/to ! ...but in general, make sure you have your paperwork in order....you Set Sail Pass, luggage tags and passport. Get to the port early (10 -10:30 AM). That’s about all you can do, really. Good luck !

Well....welcome back ! Which ship and departure port ?

There are many perks that I enjoy when traveling in a full suite (Majesty and Empress excepted): priority boarding (better at some ports than others), full service breakfast in one of the specialty restaurants every day, reserved seating for shows, access to the suites lounge, backstage and bridge tours, access to the services of the suites concierge, priority disembarkation (better at some ports than others)...so access to a Coastal Kitchen isn't really the only consideration. We always get the UDP even when we travel on a ship WITH a CK but that's a personal preference.

Very sorry for your loss and welcome to the blog.

As long as the final payment date has not passed, you can cancel or transfer the booking without penalty. If the final payment date has passed, there will be a cancellation penalty that is not recoverable. If Royal cancels then all of these cancellation fees are waived but in the absence of official cancellation, the penalties are in effect. This is for North American booking rules. Other regions have different rules.

Something similar for me. I went down one that had a mat and you went down head first on your stomach. Every time I went over one of the section joints, it pounded my knees. By the time I got to the bottom, both of my knees were badly bruised. That was the end of my water slide escapades.

For one of the water slides on one of the ship (I think it was on NAV, but not sure), they had a stand-on scale at the top of the slide. It was a 2-person slide. Both Dan and I had to stand on the scale. It registers either “green” or “red”. It does not produce a value....just “pass/fail”. We failed. ??

The only way to find out the details of this offer is to call Club Royale.866-213-3116

What date is it supposed to open ?