WAAAYTOOO

Hmmm....this is really a hard thing to quantify.  Some people truly enjoy the service of a Genie and some think they are completely overrated and unnecessary.  How's that for a non-answer ?  I'm going to be completely honest, here.  I am one who loves, loves, loves the Genie and Dan honestly doesn't really care for the Genie service.  The first time we did SC it was so new and so different from anything we had ever experienced, we both really enjoyed it.  The second time and the third time, etc. Dan began to resent that the Genie always seemed to be interrupting us for one thing or another.  The door bell and/or phone seemed to ring incessantly...which is true. They were always bringing something or dropping by to take something away.  If Dan got his way every time, we would probably never do SC again.  It's just too much commotion for him.
To answer your question, yes, I think having a Genie is going to be even more important in the restart than they ever were before.  Once they start to ramp occupancy back up I think things like specialty reservations are going to be more and more difficult to get.  I think things like expedited boarding and disembarkation are going to be more and more valuable.
One of the services of SC that I really love is the fact that they do your laundry for you.  You can have it sent out once a day, twice a day or never. I really enjoy this service.  They bring it back to you on hangers with your unmentionables in a bag.  There are so many things that are nice....
Is it worth the money ?  I guess I think it is. Many disagree.  It's hard to really quantify the level of service that SC provides.  Many will say....I'll just buy the UDP and the DBP+Voom and I will have the same thing, minus the Genie and save myself $$$.  But that's really not all there is to it.  On the first 2 SC cruises, I hosted the CC Cabin Crawls.  We had no less than 40 people on each of those who came to our cabin and were offered all the beer, soda, water, and food from the specialty restaurants (most of that food came from Jamie's/Giovanni's).....all at no charge.  We also offered champagne and wine (which we paid for but it was very inexpensive).  It was so much fun to show off our suite and have everyone enjoy themselves.  On each of those Cabin Crawls I know for SURE that we "sold" Star Class to at least 3 couples....so it's probably in Royal's best interest to cover such events.  Sky Class gets complimentary room service from the MDR menu.  Star Class gets room service from any and all of the Specialty Restaurants.  Big difference.
As far as what the Genie can do that you cannot do for yourself, the only thing that really comes to mind are the reserved seats at entertainment venues.  It's nice to be able to arrive at an entertainment venue just minutes before it begins and have the specific seats that you want, reserved for you.  Here is another example.  We had a credit card issue on one of our SC cruises.  The CC company (which was the Royal Caribbean Visa card, BTW !!!) began declining our onboard charges.  YIKES !  That was a real problem for us almost instantly as we charge considerable $$ to our onboard account at the casino.  The Genie talked with the revenue dept. and it was resolved - or so we thought.  Next day....charge declined.  By now, Dan was furious not to mention the fact that it was embarrassing when the casino pit boss had to tell us that our cash withdrawal had been declined.  Oh boy....  We tromped down to Guest Services, hoppin' mad.  It just so happened that another one of the Genies just happened to be there...and b/c the Genies all know who the SC guests are, even if they are not the Genie, he recognized us and asked if he could help.  When Dan explained the problem, the Genie disappeared behind the GS door and reappeared very shortly - this time with the ship's Revenue Manager - and this time, the problem was fixed...for good. Perhaps our Genie should have done this in the first place, but it was nice that it finally got handled properly by a fellow Genie.  They truly are a team.  We are always told that if, for some reason, our Genie is not available, feel free to ask any Genie for help. 
If you can afford it, SC is definitely a treat.

Sorry for the duplication but I thought this information should be posted in this blog....it's a dup from the insurance thread.
So I spoke with another Allianz agent and he confirmed that the evacuation coverage IS covered by emergency evacuation section of the policy.  He also confirmed that the quarantine requirement would be considered part of the trip interruption coverage.
What I still do NOT know is whether I have enough coverage.  B/c of the way Royal stated the requirement, it is difficult to determine.  They lumped quarantine and evacuation into 1 $$ requirement and they are covered by 2 separate parts of the policy.  In total, I have $555,000 worth of coverage (from just 3 sections of the policy !)....so it would seem that I should have it all covered, BUT we only have $5K each under trip interruption, which would be where the quarantine would be.  Now, that's $10K worth of hotel and food money if we were to get quarantined, but it falls short of the $50K they are requiring for the combo of quarantine and medical evacuation.  My medical evacuation coverage alone is $500K.  I can't believe this wouldn't be enough !!  So, it's possible that I will have to purchase a rider to increase my trip interruption up to $50K.  I have no idea how much that would cost, but if it's reasonable, I will do it.  Still waiting on the sales agent to call me. But it seems that I have some breathing room because....
@michelle(God bless her) has confirmed that I have until 28 July to cancel my 21 August SY cruise for a cash refund.  So now I have nearly a month to figure out if (1) my insurance coverage is sufficient and (2) whether I can avoid the deep nasal swab testing.  Our Genie SHOULD have contacted us by then and I'm going to get him/her involved in vetting some of this, too.
This is what Allianz sent me today.  It is called an "Embassy Letter".

How do I sign up???  I am such a WAAAYTOOO groupie!!!

AYSM! Who in their right mind would pay that kind of money for those jeans??

@teddy I feel the exact same way.
I had a very horrible, poor childhood. I have been taking care of myself and working since I was 12. I work two jobs because I didn't/don't want to be working in my late fifties. I have no debt and live a modest lifestyle because I am an extreme saver. I think it is important to treat yourself, as you can't take it with you. I have never looked at anybody's success or luxury with jealousy, more so the hope that one day I too may enjoy these things. I get 3 weeks of vacation a year to be used in Oct/Nov and in Jan. Depending on the circumstances this is my only true time off for the year. I will splurge because I care about experiences and not things. You never know what a person has been through or going through. I recall talking to a family when I was on Mariner who were staying in a suite because their child had beat cancer and people in their church and family pitched in to buy it. If they had been on an Oasis/quantum class ship, imagine how they would have felt hearing nasty comments.

Thank you so much.  I love what I do...?
I do not recall ever asking the Genie for something that I didn't, ultimately, get.  But we are fairly easy customers.  We really have never asked for anything outrageous.  There is a VERY BIG gray area where the Genies are not permitted to reserve seats.  The Jazz Club, the Music Hall, Dazzles are all officially off limits for reserved seating.  According to Joyce (who was always willing to share her insider information !!!), anything that is considered "revenue generating" cannot have SC reserved seating.  Presumably, entertainment venues are ok but not bars or clubs.  HOWEVER, the Genies can and do get around that fairly easily.  We've had reserved seats in the Music Hall on Anthem and Oasis (which is formerly Dazzles).  Here's another little bit of insider info thanks to Joyce.  The Genies will never EVER tell you anything over the phone or in an email that is counter to the official "rules".  So if you ask for something pre-boarding that is technically against the rules, the Genie will say NO.  Once you are alone with the Genie they will do whatever they can to get you what you want but they won't put it in writing and they won't say it in front of anyone else.  An example of this is when we had one of our friends along on the cruise with us (this was on Allure).  He was not SC and he was solo.  We told Charlie up front that we were bringing a tagalong with us and that we would expect for him to be included in all of our activities. He wrote back that only SC guests would have the service of the Genie.  Once we got on board, he gladly included Jim in everything we did....we had reserved seats with us for all of the shows and enjoyed meals (which Jim did pay for) with us and we never had a minute's problem.  When we got our end-of-the-cruise gifts from Charlie, Jim got something, too. It wasn't a huge gift...just a coffee mug, but it was the thought that counted.  Charlie treated Jim just like one of his regular SC guests and it was appreciated so much.
The Genie certainly can get you special private behind the scenes tours but a lot depends on what you ask for and who the Genie is.  A few years back, during one of the very active hurricane seasons, we managed to slip in a cruise between a whole bunch of cancelled and modified cruises due to hurricanes.  As a result of the weather, there was a TERRIBLE mosquito problem on Harmony.  We were in an ATS and we couldn't even go out on our balcony due to the brazillions of mosquitos out there.  Reyno called the pest control officer to come and take care of it.  It just so happens that the pest control officer on board the Harmony is the head horticulturist in charge of Central Park and on Harmony (the newest O class ship in the fleet, at the time) was none other than Laszlo Turos, who is the creator of the entire Central Park concept and has created every Central Park garden on every Oasis class ship.  When Laszlo showed up at our suite with a spray can of some kind of bug spray, we giggled.  We said, "you're gonna need a bigger can"....and once he went out on the balcony and saw the magnitude of the problem, he kinda skulked away and came back with a big plastic "pump" power sprayer.  Anyway, he did take care of the mosquito problem on our balcony but he also asked us if we would be interested in a private tour of Central Park.  Dan (HUGE plant guy !!!) was so excited...and I enjoyed it too.  Laszlo took us from one end of the gardens to the other, into private areas, really gave us an in-depth tour of how he created and manages the parks.  Such a nice guy.  So there ARE ways to get such private tours (we also did a similar one on Allure for the ice skating rink which was fascinating, too) but the public tour "All Access Tour" is not free for Star Class guests.  I definitely think it's worth the money, so I recommend doing it, but SC won't get it for free for you.
The Genie really is so much more than just a Concierge.  They visit you every night at dinner to go over the schedule for the next day.  They meet you before the show to personally escort you to your seats and get you a drink (if you want one).

I would have asked for your autograph, figuring you were a TV/Movie star I didn't recognize, or at least somebodies Senator or maybe a federal judge. ?

I come at this from a different angle, every penny I have I earn from painstakingly hard work and then careful decision making. I never consider having my finances in check/order as a privilege;  I carefully choose how I spend what I have, for example I never cruised until in my 50's because I had other commitments at the time.
When I see Star Class people I look at them with admiration, knowing one day I will either Royal Up win or book a Star Class when that experience is the most important thing to make me part with my monies. I look at their joy and I am so happy for that family and strive to be in that place someday.
For example right now I have contracted an in ground pool Oasis in my backyard and the price tag is north of 100,000. No Star Class for me until that bill is firmly behind me, when I was young I saw what others had achieved and worked like crazy to get there, nowadays it seems this type of thinking has given way to a bit of the opposite. 
So when you are in Star Class & I am not but I smile & wave at you...I'm not being creepy I just think you are so cool & want that for myself in the future. 
Signed,
@WAAAYTOOOfan club president!

A++++++++ The only thing you forgot to mention is that almost the entire leadership of the CDC is made up of former Pharmaceutical Company Executives who still have very strong ties to their former companies. That gives them a very strong incentive to say and do what will benefit their former employers.  My opinion is anybody who ever worked for a pharmaceutical company, even as a janitor, should be barred for life from a role at the CDC.

 

Thank you so much.  I love what I do...?
I do not recall ever asking the Genie for something that I didn't, ultimately, get.  But we are fairly easy customers.  We really have never asked for anything outrageous.  There is a VERY BIG gray area where the Genies are not permitted to reserve seats.  The Jazz Club, the Music Hall, Dazzles are all officially off limits for reserved seating.  According to Joyce (who was always willing to share her insider information !!!), anything that is considered "revenue generating" cannot have SC reserved seating.  Presumably, entertainment venues are ok but not bars or clubs.  HOWEVER, the Genies can and do get around that fairly easily.  We've had reserved seats in the Music Hall on Anthem and Oasis (which is formerly Dazzles).  Here's another little bit of insider info thanks to Joyce.  The Genies will never EVER tell you anything over the phone or in an email that is counter to the official "rules".  So if you ask for something pre-boarding that is technically against the rules, the Genie will say NO.  Once you are alone with the Genie they will do whatever they can to get you what you want but they won't put it in writing and they won't say it in front of anyone else.  An example of this is when we had one of our friends along on the cruise with us (this was on Allure).  He was not SC and he was solo.  We told Charlie up front that we were bringing a tagalong with us and that we would expect for him to be included in all of our activities. He wrote back that only SC guests would have the service of the Genie.  Once we got on board, he gladly included Jim in everything we did....we had reserved seats with us for all of the shows and enjoyed meals (which Jim did pay for) with us and we never had a minute's problem.  When we got our end-of-the-cruise gifts from Charlie, Jim got something, too. It wasn't a huge gift...just a coffee mug, but it was the thought that counted.  Charlie treated Jim just like one of his regular SC guests and it was appreciated so much.
The Genie certainly can get you special private behind the scenes tours but a lot depends on what you ask for and who the Genie is.  A few years back, during one of the very active hurricane seasons, we managed to slip in a cruise between a whole bunch of cancelled and modified cruises due to hurricanes.  As a result of the weather, there was a TERRIBLE mosquito problem on Harmony.  We were in an ATS and we couldn't even go out on our balcony due to the brazillions of mosquitos out there.  Reyno called the pest control officer to come and take care of it.  It just so happens that the pest control officer on board the Harmony is the head horticulturist in charge of Central Park and on Harmony (the newest O class ship in the fleet, at the time) was none other than Laszlo Turos, who is the creator of the entire Central Park concept and has created every Central Park garden on every Oasis class ship.  When Laszlo showed up at our suite with a spray can of some kind of bug spray, we giggled.  We said, "you're gonna need a bigger can"....and once he went out on the balcony and saw the magnitude of the problem, he kinda skulked away and came back with a big plastic "pump" power sprayer.  Anyway, he did take care of the mosquito problem on our balcony but he also asked us if we would be interested in a private tour of Central Park.  Dan (HUGE plant guy !!!) was so excited...and I enjoyed it too.  Laszlo took us from one end of the gardens to the other, into private areas, really gave us an in-depth tour of how he created and manages the parks.  Such a nice guy.  So there ARE ways to get such private tours (we also did a similar one on Allure for the ice skating rink which was fascinating, too) but the public tour "All Access Tour" is not free for Star Class guests.  I definitely think it's worth the money, so I recommend doing it, but SC won't get it for free for you.
The Genie really is so much more than just a Concierge.  They visit you every night at dinner to go over the schedule for the next day.  They meet you before the show to personally escort you to your seats and get you a drink (if you want one).

I have never experienced anything like that but then again, I do not look for it, either.

Those were the % discounts, but what were the prices?  That's the only thing that matters.  Today it might say 30% off on board prices = $50 per person per day.  Tomorrow it might say 25% off on board prices = $45 per person per day.  That would be a better deal even though the percentage is lower!  The "on board price" can and will change constantly until you are actually on board.  This allows them to advertise all kinds of sales.

Crossing my fingers for 2023.  Toying with Quantum from Brisbane, fully refundable deposits of course.  
Really hoping for some better news soon.  

? OMG, if you knew my husband you would know he wouldn't be caught dead outside the house in torn jeans and a cutoff T.  The other night my son's girlfriend was coming over and my husband's reaction was no one told him and he was too casual.  He was wearing denim shorts and a t-shirt that didn't even have pit stains.  We assured him he looked fine and that she wasn't coming to see him anyway.  But then again, I never saw his father without a tie until after I married his son, and even then he would apologize to me for being so casual.  He is his father's son.  I don't know if I can even convince him to not wear a tie to CK on formal night.  But then again...if I "forget" to pack one.... 
I won't even buy $50 jeans if they are not on sale!  I never did understand people buying ripped jeans and paying good money for them, the jeans are just going to rip eventually anyway!

We experienced the elevator thing on the first day.  Our Genie got the elevator doors opened and everyone jumped on.  The Genie politely said I'm sorry you have to get off.  Once empty the four of us plus the Genie got on.  I heard who the He... are they as the doors closed.

Yes

The truth is, the insurance requirement for unvaxxed pax is more of a negative incentivizer to dissuade unvaxxed pax from cruising than it is a real need to insure them.  It may be working to weed out some unvaxxed pax (the truth is, I don't think there are really that many of us !!!!) but for us, the harder they try and push us out, the harder we are pushing back.  They may get me in the end, but I won't go down without a fight.

Until you mentioned this I had forgotten about the encounter we had a number of years ago in the Aqua Theater.  A man had sat in one of the seats that Reyno had reserved for us and there was a very very bad encounter.  In the end, security was called and the gentleman who was sitting in the reserved seat (his wife was in a regular seat) finally, begrudgingly, moved but made her stay put.  It was an awkward show.  Other than that one time, I don't think we've had any problems.

Glad that you will be on the Group cruise but sorry that you are cancelling this one.  We are on this cruise plus the one before it.  We are in a Star Loft Suite so we would have been SC together !  Tell your mom and dad we said "hi".

The truth is, the insurance requirement for unvaxxed pax is more of a negative incentivizer to dissuade unvaxxed pax from cruising than it is a real need to insure them.  It may be working to weed out some unvaxxed pax (the truth is, I don't think there are really that many of us !!!!) but for us, the harder they try and push us out, the harder we are pushing back.  They may get me in the end, but I won't go down without a fight.

Yes, absolutely.  
However until the Judge in Tampa determines otherwise the cruise industry must comply with the CDC.  

We will have The Key for our Symphony cruise next year. I guess we should be prepared for "the look" as well. Knowing me I'm actually going to like getting the look. Lol.

I've seen a couple instances where people ignore the red seat covers with "RESERVED" in large letters at a show.  Then the Genie comes along and tells they have to move.  At this point they freak out and claim all sorts of things.  Some slink away quietly knowing they got busted, some have a full Karen moment even in the pre-Karen days.
Naturally they rant about Star Class but it's their own stupidity on display.  
Lots of people do the same with the reserved rows for Sky Class.  They see empty prime seating and decide to go for it only to be blocked by a crew member.  Then the whining begins.  I feel bad for the crew who have to police it, they've heard the same old rant every show, every cruise.  
When I had the Key one time there were two us at the Flowrider during the hour reserved for Key members.  We just went again and again after each other.  Other non-Key guests were giving us the stink eye.  Too. Friggin. Bad.  
Don't like it?  Buy it.  
Their ship, their rules.  Don't ever feel bad using the perks you paid for.  

sorry...haven't been on the boards past couple of days.
 
yes, i have released it.
i got my full deposit back in the form of fcc.

+ 1 for @Sharla [email protected] 706-742-5358