MLH

22 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Star Class on HM (with a group of 10):

We have been so beyond blessed to have had several SC experiences at this point, both pre and post covid. I feel that allows us to make a reasonable comparison. This was our first SC sailing with a larger group. Here are some thoughts, not organized in any particular order:

- It was most definitely helpful to have a Genie on this sailing. There were many larger families this sailing and dining and activities would have been a pain to organize without Marla. 
 

- With our group, this time, saving of seats at the shows and laundry were probably the best perks. We sent out a lot of laundry! It was especially helpful for my sister with the younger ones. Every time someone spilled a milkshake or something, in the bag it went. Starbucks was also well used by all, except Hubby who does not drink coffee. 
 

- HM runs a “tighter ship” with their SC program. My biggest pet peeve is the loss of priority on the flow rider and slides. On other ships we have done, SC just doesn’t have priority during sea days between 1-4pm. HM has no priority at all for the flow rider and slides, regardless of the time. 
 

- HM also seems to be sticking to the rule where if you want food delivered to the room, it can only come from one single venue. Other ships are more flexible on this. 
 

- Because we wanted to do all dinners together, this SC sailing was probably the least flexible with dining times and switching. Our pre-cruise planing with Marla, we had to make some compromises on our dining times. Marla also warned us on the first day that it would be very hard to switch around dining times on the fly through the week. All of our other SC sailings with just the 4 of, switching around of times, even the day of, was never a problem. This is not a reflection on Marla at all. It was a sold out sailing, we saw many large groups at specialty, and on Day 2, we met another star class family that had 18 in their party (they booked 5 Aqua Theatre suites). All that likely contributed to the limited flexibility for dining. 

 HM runs a “tighter ship” with their SC program. My biggest pet peeve is the loss of priority on the flow rider and slides. On other ships we have done, SC just doesn’t have priority during sea days between 1-4pm. HM has no priority at all for the flow rider and slides, regardless of the time. 

Note this on your survey.  Like you I do multiple STAR class and they need to have consistency throughout the fleet.  I have asked via twitter and FB regarding the priority and have been answered yes except between 1and 4 2 different times.  When travelling to Alaska I asked on twitter and was told yes, and then told the social media folks it wasn't happening.  Our genie then had me meet with the activies manager who explained they missed the memo on the change back.  Going on Allure in May and will raise holy heck if it is not that way.  I have screenshots of all of my conversations.

19 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

I actually brought this up today. They (the genies) are aware that it is confusing for guests. The policy seems to vary between ships. So the takeaway is that the policy is not consistent and one should not count on it to be. You, and the genies, basically have to go with  whatever policy the ship has. But those that have sailed star on HM over the last bit have reported the same experience for the flow rider. So I was prepared for this. When we sailed star on Oasis (March 2022) it was priority expect during sea days between 1-4pm.

I think they don't want to deal with unhappy people in line.  

15 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

No. This is now in place of that. There is no more SC priority for the flow rider outside of the private SC session. Another change

I have read on other ships it is back to Priority.  I  had the same thing happen on Quantum and asked the genie and asked on social media and it was rectified.  Seems like the policy was before covid and then after covid they changed it, but at  full capacity they supposedly went back to the pre covid perk.  I was on Oasis a few weeks ago, no star, but they gave star priority, every third person.

On 1/28/2023 at 10:24 AM, FManke said:

We just took the exact shuttle last Oct. There were actually 2 full buses worth of people. Not sure why they would have stopped it. It was a paid service as well. No free shuttle to or  from Venice. That was only the the first year after they moved the cruise port from Venice to Ravenna.

Happy Cruising!

Can you tell me the name of the hotel you stayed at if you can recommend it.  thanks

4 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Day 2 - Sea Day

This morning I actually had some company at CK. I ate there with my parents and sister/BIL. Hubby and kids were no where to be found. 
 

Every ship is slightly different with SC privileges. Harmony allots a specific flow rider time for Star. It is this morning from 9-10:30am. Hubby, and all the kids took advantage. The rest of us were happy to encourage. Lots of laughs and fun had by all. The takeaway from all this is that D16 should probably stay away from surfing

Random note: Wifi is not great on this ship so far. Some problems uploading pics and videos to IG. 

Is this in addition to priority during non busy hours of 11-2?

We are going in May on Allure.  Not our first star class but first on Allure.  Sorry to hear you had some  not so nice guests.  We only time we had an issue was debarkation walking past the lines.  A lady actually put her suitcase out in the aisle so we could not get by.

Do you know when Jay is going home.  We have had Smitha before and would like to experience someone new, not that there was anything wrong with her, just looking for a different experience.

On 2/22/2023 at 1:56 PM, Yesiamthere6 said:

If the room isn’t ready, would you be comfortable giving your book bag (with valuables) to the genie?

Our genie actually took our carryon bags to the room. They do have access to the rooms. I did keep my purse and valuable jewelry with me though.

We just disembarked yesterday.  The internet kept bumping me off.  Turns out you have to go into the network and make sure autojoin in activated.  Once I did that it was great all week!  Coastal Kitchen staff and food was excellent. Overall a good cruise.  

We had about 1400 kids as well.  Normally I don't even notice, but this week I did.  There were so many strollers and wagons for little ones.  It was very rare not to be in an elevator without one.  Even saw a Quad stroller and one family that had a double and a single.  My biggest complaint was on the pool deck.  people would park their strollers in the walkway blocking the path and there was always a traffic jam.  With the ksf promotion, lots of people are taking advantage of it for sure.  Although on the boogie board there were mostly adults versus the kids which is a change.

Correct on the uber dropping you off.  Taxis are allowed  to drop off closer.  The Star banner is also near the wheelchair waiting area so there will be lots of people.  Just make sure you bypass that line to get to the Star Class podium.

Looking forward to your blog.  Our Star class plans changed and the 3 20 something's are not coming,so I am interested in hearing how just the 2 of you enjoy Star Class!

If you download your set sail pass into your apple wallet you will possibly see the room number as the last 4 digits if it has been assigned.

6 hours ago, deebarb said:

Would you be willing to share those websites?

cruiseplum.com

vacationstogo.com has Royal Caribbean senior rates 

I had a block in my carryon.  I knew it would get flagged by security and pulled it out ahead of time and put it in the bin.  The TSA agent thanked me and said you would not believe how many of these we have to pull out of luggage.

28 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Totally agree with you on this.  Pathetic suites sun deck on Anthem. I haven’t sailed on Odyssey (yet) but I assume it’s the same ?

Odyessy is much worse. They took the suite sun deck and made it a teen area.  Now there is a small space overlooking the forward pool behind the lime and coconut pool.  There is constant movies playing and no sea views so not so relaxing.

  I sailed Star after it was first implemented.  Boy what a difference!  The Genies really were on the ball delivering the wow.   Priority bracelets gave you access to short  lines on the flowrider, ice skating, rock wall etc.  It was a new and exciting program for a few years, then the newness wore off, social media tended to give reviews of all the things the genies did for you and those requests started to explode and genies started to become spread thinner especially on the ships that added Star Class rooms on Oasis Class without adding additional staff.  Couple that with corporate cost savings and ship's management starting to say no. 

For example

I would get Starbucks delivered to my room in the am, then one day Oasis said no longer can you have it delivered and brought a pot. 

Flowrider priority got put to 1 or  2daily hours at 8 am similar to the KEY program versus going every third person.  The wristband no longer allowed you to cut the line on many of the activities.

No longer free Sushi and Cupcake classes.

Now no surprise delivery's from the genies unless you ask specifically for them. (Granted there was much wasted food)

You are not allowed in your rooms when you board and in many cases luggage isnt there waiting for you as promised. 

They won't reserve seats for you outside of shows ie, rising tide on party nights, karoke etc.

You now are required to purchase chefs table and hibachi ahead of time with a promise of OBC or refund.

With that being said for those who do not cruise a lot or want a special time, I would say go for it, but your experience will not be the same as before.

Does anyone know what time the shuttle starts from the port to Venice airport?  Trying to figure out flight times.

12 hours ago, asquared17 said:

oh god this has been giving me anxiety for weeks  i’ll try to pop my calm gummies and chewing gum to keep it at bay, i suppose 

 A little trick for costa maya.  They wind you through the maze of shops, however, if you look in the shops some of them are open in both sides, that allows you to cut quite a bit off of the maze to the exit.  We just walk right through.

Did I miss the release of the Fall 2024-Spring 2025 sailings.  Looking for the Symphony Christmas Cruises 2024.

On 12/26/2022 at 9:30 PM, Ampurp85 said:

 

Thankfully many people on the blog informed me that I could apply my annual prime cruise to an already booked cruise. I

i did not know this. Thank you so very much!  

Curious of a review of Rony's tours.  It would be most appreciaeted.  We are heading there in May.

On 10/19/2022 at 9:43 AM, FManke said:

Just got back Mon from Greek Isle cruise. The shuttle from Venice to Ravenna was easy as stated above. Shuttle buses picked you up from the Tronchetta transit station. This was less than a 10min walk from our hotel, the Hotel Moresco. It is a fantastic hotel near the Pizzale Roma area. All Vaporetto, or water buses make stops here so it is very convenient getting around Venice this way. If you are staying anywhere around there, I suggest hiring a luggage porter to help you with your bags, especially if they are on the big size. It was only 5 Euros a bag and well worth it. We booked the shuttle from Venice to Ravenna with our TA, but needed to book the shuttle from Ravenna to the airport in Bologna on the ship. RC would not book that ahead. TA wasn't sure why. We had issues with our flight out of Bologna, which we knew ahead of time, so we would up taking a car instead to airport. If anybody has any other specific questions I might be able to help with, feel free to send me a private message and I'll do my best to answer your questions. 

 

Happy Cruising!

What was the cost of the car from ravenna to bolonga.  also what is the cost of the shuttle from venice to ravenna.  We are a group of 12 and logistics are overwhelming.

Wow everything looks so new!  great pics.

1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Unfortunately yes. Weak moment. Wanted Coconut Ranger cookies and they didn’t even have any! 

I bet if you ask Mohammad, he will have some in the lounge for you.

7 hours ago, Jax said:

Update on star class perks 

Cupcake and Sushi class are no longer star class perks; at least on HM.  Not sure about other ships.   
The second star class flow rider session was this morning at 8:30.  This time really doesn’t work well for us. 
One thermal suite day pass is included for star.  After that the cost is $34.22 per person per day and includes 18% gratuity @Lovetocruise2002

I plan to address the loss of star class Perks on the post cruise survey. 

**this is for Harmony only and may vary from ship to ship

I think it is across the board.  Question.  Did your bags make it to your room when you got toyour room?.  Our last 2 Star we had to go hunt them down. 

On 12/24/2022 at 7:15 AM, Lovetocruise2002 said:

A few nights ago, Hubby and the girls were discussing where we should eat on boarding day.

Hubby:  “We’ll just get on board, drop off our bags, and head to El Loco.”

Me: “Umm..where are you planning to drop those bags off to? You know staterooms don’t open until after 1pm right?” 
 

Hubby: “But aren’t we staying on Deck 17?” 
 

Me: “Yes, but we are not in star this time. Usually the Genie opens the fire doors for us” 

Hubby: “I am sure we can just swing by and check. Maybe our room will be ready early.” 

SMH…

Regarding bags, I travel with a shoe case (not suit case) that I never check or give to porters.  Those are my valuable things.lol  I normally just drop in off in the Suite Lounge until rooms open.