WAAAYTOOO

When we were on Anthem recently we could use our drink package at Vintages. If you wanted a glass that exceeded the max drinks pkg amount they just charged you the difference plus 18% grat

Yep

First Contact - Exactly 60 days prior to our sail date, I got the SC questionnaire. I'm sure the SC planners hate me but I only answer a few questions on this stupid questionnaire - the ones that I know will affect me directly. I always give them our "preferred" names (my real name is Ramona but I have been Raye all my life...and I prefer to be called Raye. Daniel is, of course, Dan) and I tell them what kinds of drinks we like in our suite and that we are night owls and like to sleep in but I don't answer the inane questions like, "what famous person in history would you like to have dinner with" or whatever it asks... I just leave those (and there are a few of them !) blank. So, I completed as much of questionnaire as I ever do and submitted it. Then, exactly 4 weeks prior to the sail date I got our first communication directly from our future Royal Genie, Yen Lee. This is when it starts to get "real". Once you are communicating with your Genie, you start to get really excited b/c you know you are NOW planning your cruise. First thing....I wanted to know whether or not we would have the same Genie on both legs of our B2B. Genies rotate the rooms that they service PLUS we were changing rooms so I wanted to make sure that we had the same person. She wrote back promptly to let me know that "it would be her honor to serve as our Royal Genie on both of our legs". YIPPEE !!!! This/these cruises were our 5th and 6th Star Class cruises so we had a bit of experience to draw upon. We knew what things had worked and what things were - meh. I made a few specific requests of Yen: 1. We wanted our luggage to remain with us throughout the boarding process. On EVERY one of our previous SC cruises our bags had separated from us at security and it was ages before they made their way to our suite AND they were always left downstairs. I wanted to make sure that our bags were there when we arrived AND that we had someone to take them up the stairs for us. 2. On all of our previous SC cruises there were constant interruptions - phone ringing - people knocking at the door - deliveries - questions - invitations....nonstop - particularly the first couple of days. I asked if Yen would please try and curtail/manage the interruptions so that we didn't have to jump up every 5 minutes to answer a door or phone. This single issue is the main reason that Dan has never particularly cared for Star Class. Of course, I realize that the Genie doesn't control 90% of this but I just threw that one out there to see if there was anything that could be done. 3. I asked for reservations at Chops on embarkation day. In the past, this has never been a problem. Oftentimes, we were the only ones in the restaurant and had the place nearly to ourselves. BUT I knew that They Key had been implemented recently and that Chops would probably be a madhouse. I was right.

I keep being blown away ! They have, in fact, completely redone this ship ! Everything looks GREAT ! This has to be the most extensive refurbishment EVER !

Word to the wise. Do NOT make your investment decisions based on a flighty RC shareholder benefit. You will be sorely disappointed !

Welcome to the SUNNY side. So glad to have you with us !

What a great Star Class attitude ! I know it's a total mind game (one that RC LOVES, I'm sure) but it's very true. I look at the prices for the dining packages and drink packages EVERY day on the SC cruises I have booked and then I just say to myself "I don't have to worry about that !".

BDR, what's with all the facial hair ? When did that happen ???

I've cruised during most all of the US holidays at one time or another. We almost always cruise for Christmas and NY....at least up until this year when they no longer have ANY cruises that cover both holidays ! <mad face> To be honest, there really isn't a lot of difference between holidays and non-holiday cruising. Obviously, during Christmas/NY there will be decorations on the ship and they will do a few things like singing Christmas Carols and Santa will be there but it's really still just a cruise. Where you will really notice the difference is in your wallet ! The most expensive week to cruise is over NY. The second most expensive week is Christmas and the LEAST expensive week to cruise are the first 2 weeks of December. I, like Matt, was on a cruise this past Thanksgiving (NAV) and I will say that the Thanksgiving meal that they served in the MDR was the single worst meal I have EVER experienced on a cruise ship. The food was just awful. Enough said. I will never ever have a Thanksgiving meal in the MDR again. We also sailed during the 4th of July last year (Grandeur) and it was so cool to be coming back on July 4th, cruising through the Chesapeake Bay and seeing all the fireworks along the shore, from the Bay. Of course, that was a function of timing, since we were coming back on the actual 4th of July. Had we been at sea that day we wouldn't have seen ANY fireworks. If it's a major US holiday, expect there to be MANY children aboard. That has never bothered us really, as we spend most of our time in the casino anyway and [lately, anyway] almost always have the Ultimate Dining Package and therefore eat most of our meals in a specialty restaurant. But if lots and lots of kids bother you, I recommend avoiding major US holidays.

Unfortunately, nothing for any of my upcoming cruises is reduced to a level where I haven't already purchased or declined to purchase. ?

So true. As an investor, you are torn between "the bottom line" and "hey...where are my bennies ?". I guess the bottom line is winning ! Ok with me. The trend is going in the right direction, at least !

Sadly, we have not found any way to use our shareholder benefits. They often advertise that you can get OBC for being a shareholder but it rarely works out that the shareholder benefit is the better one and some other offer supersedes it. OBC offers are rarely combinable.

WOW ! How cool is that !?

Why B2B Star Class cruises ? Why not ? Ok...try again. HOW B2B Star Class cruises ? As Prime Club Royale members, Dan and I each get a "free" annual cruise. Since we had never done a B2B before, I decided (Dan never decides ANYthing having to do with cruising...he is a tagalong) that this is the time/way to do it. So I booked 2 consecutive inside rooms on Anthem for 15-23 Feb and 23 Feb - 3 Mar. Wait a minute ! I'm a suite snob ! How can I be expected to cruise in an inside room ? So I upgraded these cruises to Ocean view balcony rooms (careful to make sure that I found a stateroom that was available for both cruises....so we wouldn't have to change rooms, right ? Ha ! Pure folly !)...then to Junior Suites...then to J1 JS with large balcony. By now, we have moved WELL past the option of remaining in the same room on both cruises. All of these upgrades occurred over a period of about 6 months AND I often upgraded one and then a few days later, upgraded another and on and on and on.... If any of you EVER had a question about whether or not Michelle Cunningham is a Saint...wonder no longer. With EACH and EVERY upgrade, she calmly and patiently complied with my schizophrenic requests and each time she was always entirely successful in getting me EXACTLY what I asked for. Side note1: When you book a "free" casino cruise (whether it is one of your annual cruises or some other type of free casino offer) you must pay the entire balance at the time that you book the cruise. Now it begins to occur to me....why not upgrade ALL the way ? Do I dare ? ....then, somewhere in my very noisy mind I hear, "YOLO BOOK IT". Of COURSE, there is not a SC room that is available on both cruises, so I went in, knowing that we would have to switch suites. Small price to pay. F* it. Done. 15-23 Feb Grand Loft Suite 8724. On 23 Feb - 3 Mar GLS 10720. Side note2: This was quite a learning experience for both me and Michelle. Neither of us really realized how relatively affordable it is to upgrade a "free" casino comp cruise. I think this is why I was so emboldened to keep upgrading. In the end, after all of the changes and upgrades, I was able to go from 2 inside cabins to 2 SC suites for around $7500. Now, that's still a lot of money...not sayin' it ain't....but for 2, SC 8 day cruises, that is a STEAL. So for those of you who are [at least] Prime Club Royale members, this is the way to do it, if you have ever considered booking Star Class. The upgrades - even when you start from an inside room - are as cheap as you're ever going to get them.

Well, it's been almost a week now that we've been back from our B2B Star Class cruises on Anthem so if I'm going to do this blog I'd better do it while I can still remember stuff (#oldbrain).... Some of you may have noticed that I tend to be a bit "wordy" <cough, cough> so I'm going to try and keep my posts short(er). Unfortunately, I am the anti-Twangster so I have NO photos at all. That's just the way I roll....so not only will this blog be on the wordy side, but it will be bereft of photos - hince, the shorter, more readable options, hopefully.

Let me answer the easy one first. On Liberty, no Voom package included as a suite perk. Only on ships that have the Royal Suites Program (Quantum and Oasis class ships) is Voom included (Sky and/or Star Class). As for the question about cancelling The Key...actually, yours is the first post I have read indicating that you cannot cancel The Key within 6 days of sailing. That's very interesting. Had not read that before. I really would have no idea whether they would let you cancel last minute but since you say that it cannot be cancelled within 6 days of the cruise, my guess is that they would stick to this limitation. While I know that it's POSSIBLE that you would not know about any RoyalUp bid acceptance until the last few days prior to the cruise, I think that the majority of people are being notified before that. I know that the rejection emails on RoyalUp bids do not come until the very last minute but I think acceptances are usually well in advance of the cruise except in some very rare circumstances. Not sure what to advise you to do here....

Interesting. I had the same concern. I wasn't even sure I would like the Q class but we both really did. I completely concur with comments that I have read in the past about the Esplanade/Via areas being bottlenecks to big crowds but that wasn't such a big deal. The Anthem is SO different from any other ship we have been on that we really, really enjoyed it. Dan particularly loved 270 and the Music Hall. We did not even miss the Aqua Theater but we did sort of miss Central Park. Not all that fond of the Coastal Kitchen setup on Anthem (missed the beautiful views of the CK on the O class) but we aren't huge CK fans to begin with. We ate breakfast there a few times and a couple of dinners. 1 lunch.

Maybe June 2020 !

Technically, you cannot transfer a fully paid booking to a TA but Michelle at MEI did it for me just a couple of weeks ago.

The Residence Inn ! That's what we do, too !!! Such a great plan.

This is almost exactly what we do as well. $5 for breakfast, $10 for lunch and $20 for dinner.

No, never had it applied as OBC either....

Yes....I had made a special request of our Genie to keep our bags with us (based on some bad embarkation day experiences in SC previously) so she had them scan the bags right along with our carry-ons ! I had no idea they could even do that ! She had a porter bring everything with us as we went through security and check-in (actually, there WAS NO check-in...she already had our Sea Pass cards for us) all the way through to the bedroom upstairs. It was the most wonderful check-in ever ! The B2B SC was unbelievable. I am still planning on writing a short summary but haven't gotten around to it since I've been so busy since getting back. When you take 16 days off while still working there is payback. Boy, is there.... We loved it so much that we are doing the same exact itineraries next February. Dan LOVED Anthem. I still prefer the O class but he really enjoyed Anthem. It may have had something to do with the fact that he was on B2B Star Class cruises...not really sure. LOL

To my great surprise, on our recent Anthem cruises, they ran ALL of our bags through the regular scanner. I was SHOCKED when I saw those big bags go through. I had no idea they would fit....but they did...just barely ! ....but generally, no...they will not allow you to bring your big bags onto the ship yourself.

That's good to know, Matt. It was my understanding that once they had assigned you a room they would NOT make any changes for you. Good to know that they can....