MLH

On 12/27/2022 at 9:28 AM, Jax said:

Day 4 late morning arrival in San Juan 

Conditions are extremely windy and expected to remain so up until time of departure.  I have a bad feeling about the aqua show tonight. And this is the night we are hosting friends and doing a birthday surprise.  Berty and I were just talking about how a change on night 1 can have a domino effect, particularly for our friends without star class benefits. We are all praying for a genie wish/miracle.  Regardless the birthday surprise will go ahead as planned. 
This is Berty’s  daily update.  I always look forward to the daily genie updates. 

This is so  nice to see.  Never has these before.  I am still old school and like the cruise compass hard copy, but with the app it is harder to look.

On 12/26/2022 at 11:00 AM, Jax said:

Star class private access to the flow rider was today at 8:30am. Berty said there were about 7 or 8 guests.  The time is not the best; we were at the thermal suite so didn’t check it out. Will try to pop up there on day 6 session. (At 8:30am again) I am going to mention this on my post cruise survey.  It’s fine but I think better times could be offered. 

I agree.  The KEY may even have better times. They also put lessons in before opening for the day.  I think they are hearing concerns as they only use to offer one session on the last day, still it would be nice to go back to pre covid rules.

14 minutes ago, Jax said:

Genie news
I was not expecting to hear from Berty again but there were some last minute changes to the shows.  The biggest change was the cancelling of the aqua shows for nights 1-3. No idea why. We are now hosting our friends in our suite on night 4.  This makes me a bit nervous as I know that so many variables can cancel the show that late in the cruise but we will hope for the best.  Basically I went with Betty’s recommendations.  I have learned to trust them and let them do what they do best. I told Berty he is always 10 steps ahead of me so he is in charge! Lol 

A second star class flow rider session has been added on day 6. This was welcome news! 

I have to send Berty our lunch order tonight for delivery to the suite at 1pm.  

Can you order boarding day lunch from any resturant?  We were unable to order on boarding day on any of our Star cruises and had Coastal Kitchen.

On 12/5/2022 at 9:11 PM, mom2mybugs said:

Uh... There is very very very bad news!  University of Michigan (my alma mater) is playing TCU at 4 Eastern Time!  Do I watch the game or sail away? And how do I do early dinner!!!!  Yikes!!!!!!!    Jane

This is a hard choice!  Husband is UofM grad and we are Dawg fans now.  We have ATT uverse and can record the game, so I would record the game and maybe play it later on the phone or ipad.

5 hours ago, Jax said:

Yay for Oasis! 

I plan to mention the lack of consistency on certain star class benefits between ships on my post cruise survey. (Hopefully I remember lol) 

I am sorry if Imentioned this or not, but I contacted RC via twitter  while on Quantum about this and was told every third person.  I then told them it wasnt the case on Quantum.  They contacted the ship and I met with the Sports manager and genie where they adjusted the policy.

I am glad you go my attempt at humor.

4 hours ago, Jax said:

Thanks for this idea! Lindsay is my 50+ husband who is more adventurous than our 17 year old son.  Lol  He has done the flow rider before but the possibility of an injury still lingers in the back of his mind.  The staff said that Canadians generally catch on quickly particularly if they played hockey; which Lindsay did. I honestly have no idea if he will attend the star session. Stay tuned! 

Sorry about the misread.  lol  I  watched a much older than 50 gentleman try the first day and didn't do well.  He took a group/private lesson  and was able to  stand up and ride for a bit the rest of the cruise.  I do the boogie board only but hope to  do standup one day.  I have stable benign tumors that have eaten my bones away in hip and femur and pelvis.  Any major fall could fracture my hip.  Once my hip gets replaced, I am determined to try.  Maybe your whole family can do a group lesson.  Sounds like a nice surprise Christmas gift. WWCD?  What would Clark do?

16 hours ago, Jax said:

Agreed. Lindsay may have been tempted to try it again on day 6 or 7 but doesn’t want to risk an injury on day 2 of the cruise. So we may skip it altogether.  I am not sure if this change is fleet wide on Oasis and Quantum ships. Have u heard anything about it on your upcoming star class cruise? 

I would suggest signing up for a private lesson early on the cruise.  Since he is a teen, they work with them and give them a tow rope and really teach them the right way to do stand up. That way he can enjoy the flowrider the whole trip and even more so during the free hour.

3 hours ago, sammy79 said:

Yay!!  Another @Jax live blog!  It’s becoming a Christmas tradition!

 

we got off symphony in November. We had 1 hour of private flowrider session for SC on our last sea day. It was from 8-9 am. My daughter and I were the only ones and we basically had a private lesson with the staff. It was fun but I was pretty banged up. 
 

they had bridge tour but no galley tour for SC. Can’t wait to follow along. 

Who wants to get up at 8 am on the last sea day for this perk? lol

10 hours ago, Babsy47 said:

I’m sad.  The flowrider priority is a primary reason I book Star class.  I do have teens and they love to flowride and rock climb.  For my family, losing the line priority benefit is a really big deal.

You can always contact mbayley@rccl.com.  If they do not think people are dissatisfied they will never change it.  He has a team of guest relations that handles his emails. I plan on contacting the staff as well.

15 hours ago, Jax said:

Agreed. Lindsay may have been tempted to try it again on day 6 or 7 but doesn’t want to risk an injury on day 2 of the cruise. So we may skip it altogether.  I am not sure if this change is fleet wide on Oasis and Quantum ships. Have u heard anything about it on your upcoming star class cruise? 

I sailed on Quantum to Alaska and it was changed then. I had previously sailed Symphony and Odyessy the month before not in Star but had Star guests go every 3 times.  I was told by my genie on Quantum it was due to covid and not wanting long lines since they were at reduced capacity there was not a need for it.  Since sailing at full capacity it had not changed back.  I was not a happy camper and contacted rc via twitter asking what the policy was.  They stated every 3rd person during non peak hours.  They then contacted the ship and I met with the Sports manager and genie and they said RC had decided to changed it back to pre covid rules and he missed the memo.  Now it seems that it is back to the one hour.   

I can live with most of the changes, no suite party, downgraded bath amenities, venues being closed,ie escape,laser tag, no sushi making or cup cake class included, luggage delivery no longer going to your room and out in with the rest to be delivered, rooms not being ready when boarding, but the flowrider will stop me from booking Star after the ones I already have booked.

2 hours ago, TVA68 said:

@MLH I know they are doing bridge on Allure. It posted in app on check in day. I asked about booking Escape Room & Laser Tag. I’ll let you know when Alan replies. 

In response to, what seems to be, SC amenities being taken away little bit by little bit, it does seem to be true.  Things such as, rockwall zipline etc, are limited to “Non-peak hours-on sea days” Shaking my head at this one.  Ordering from only one speciality restaurant at a time is kind of a turn off for me.  More because what the boys want to eat and what I want don’t always match up.  It would be nice to NOT have to choose while on vacation.  But it is what it is.  I’m staying positive because I know Alan will,take care of all of us.  He has nothing but glowing reviews.  

It’s time to start packing! 
 

The ordering from 1 restaurant at a time has been around even pre covid.  The work around is to order from different restaurants to be delivered at different times.   We had sushi apps before our Chops dinner. 

Flowrider used to be every third person, but now only 1 hour on the last sea day.

I will draw the line at no Starbucks delivery in the morning! lol

Glad you found our who your genie is.  You will have a great time.  Curious to know if they are doing Bridge tours and the  Escape room again?  I saw on other ships they are doing them.

@TVA68Give it a couple of days.  Some Genies may do it at different time frames.  As long as you got your original survey they have you.  They have open access to restaurant bookings so you should be fine with your Chops Reservation.  

I actually had a dream last night, that we hadn't heard from our Genie for our may cruise when we boarded and no one knew who it was. lol

10 hours ago, Funeegal said:

Ok. People watching was in full force today. It was fun. I like to watch people meet people and have a good time. 
 

We went back to the room to get ready for dinner  Tonight is dress your best and we wanted to stop by the suite lounge to let Christian’s know RCL messed up the sip tour brunch time. While Rita really made up for it by giving us a tour of the galley and a delicious lunch, we at least wanted to tell him about the time mess up.  I had my confirmation email ready.   I explained the story.  He apologized and said he thought 11:30 as well.  I let him know Rita was amazing, the wait staff amazing, and it was made up, but RCL needs to get their cruise planner and app together.  All good.

The people watching continued in the MDR when we had a WTF moment. A guy and his girlfriend/wife came into the MDR. She had a nice cocktail dress on. He was wearing an open Mariners baseball shirt and vaping.  Open as in I could see his bare chest and all the hairs on it!   Funny not funny. Since when does the MDR allow that?  And the vaping?

The MDR hasn’t been busy so we’ve been getting to know our waiter and Asst. Waiter. They are great!  Learned a thing or two about the surveys when I asked. The service really has been outstanding on this ship. Better than what I had on Ovation, Symphony, Anthem, and Oasis. Adventure was amazing, but that was out of Nassau immediately after COVID when sailing at 30% capacity. 
 

So my friend doesn’t want to go home Friday. We went to next cruise to see if we could stay on for the 3-day and leave on Monday instead. Unfortunately, the ship is fully sold out. However, the next cruise guy said he would contact us if there is a cancellation. Stay tuned. 

*It is unlikely we will get to stay on for the 3-day, but one can hope. 

Normally I am a live and let live person regarding shorts, jeans, general dress etc.  But this is not right!  I guess the the sign now needs to read no shirt no shoes no bare chests no service  

1 hour ago, TVA68 said:

I am so with you! If this SC cruise doesn’t blow me away-I will rebook my others in Sky. The cost-with the perks SC originally started with-are the ones that my family will use. Flowrider, rockwall kind of stuff. If that perk is removed-not sure it’s worth it for us. 
Sad they are pushing the food coma. Not that I don’t want some awesome snacks up in my suite- but I can do that kind of stuff without the help of a genie. 
 

You are so on point with the sloooow reduction of SC perks and the outrageous prices that come with it. RC has absolutely no reason to reinstate them. It’s saving them $$.

I am trying not to be to harsh on them. Enjoy RC product.  I haven’t tried the SC yet. But the changes have been posted all over social media. Those changes raised a real red flag with me. 
 

I have 4 SC booked in the next 18 months. This cruise will determine a lot for me. 

You are not being harsh. I also think some of the issue are the explosion of social media that has outlined all of the perks previously and makes the genies job much harder with all of the requests posted publicly.  Our first Star was incredible without any extra cakes, gifts, requests. Our second to last one we requested a little more, but our genie was new and not very good. Only interacted with me, barely spoke to my husband or friends who were in the A1 with us.  This was my friends first Star Class and she was not impressed as I hyped it. 

I think you will have a great time, as long as you know going in what is included.  It really is a great program and provides great memories for your family.  Since they do  not have a shoreside rep for Star Class I may suggest that you email mbayley@rccl.com to answer your questions.

I am with you on the 

On 11/16/2022 at 8:01 PM, TVA68 said:

On that subject—I’ve seen a lot of strange changes to SC floating around various websites. Like cupcake class not being included and special hours for things like flowrider-zipline etc. Granted-this might only be on select ships. They where cruising on Harmony.  They also had a snap shot of the letter they received from the Genie, stating as such. It really seemed to limit the things I paid this price for. Easy access to flowrider-zipline rockwall type attractions are important for me. Now it seems they are just giving SC random hours of access.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I  am in total agreement of this.  I have sailed star when it was first initiated.  The  service and perks have changed dramatically.   Many things have been cut back due to Covid, and now with full sailings it is much more noticeable.  I use the flowrider and in the past it was every 3rd person on non peak hours.  Now it is one hour at 8 or 9 am on the last sea day.  Really?  I have to get up early to get my perk? 

It seems they really only push  the food coma portion and nothing much else.  In the past, the genie could reserve a spot on rising tide bar or On air, they could use their magic keys to get you to where you want to go without stopping, skip the lines with the wristband, classes, daily thermal spa access, but no longer.  

As someone who cruises many times  a year, I find that the Star class isn't what it has been  I do have 2 more booked this year but I think it is the last in Star and will book cheaper suites. I do like the Royal product and will be happy with the Sky Class perks.

What is odd is The Star suites still sail full at historically very high premium prices so Royal isn't going to be changing the program to include any of these perks .  

Looking at booking something.Ijust got off Liberty today and see something I would like to book.

1 hour ago, TVA68 said:

@MLH I do know this about new terminal parking-North Premium Covered is the closest to new terminal. 20% off parking prices for new terminal start today.  Port of Galveston parking. 
 

Thanks, but we will be flying in from Atlanta and ubering or shuttling from the hotel.

We are on Allure Star Class in May and December 2023.  Anxious to see how the new terminal embarkation goes.

So excited to follow along!

11 minutes ago, Ray said:

It really must have been a bad cruise as the post is all underlined.

Hopefully OP returns so they can fill in the blanks as to why it was so bad! 

At least it wasn't ALL CAPS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4 hours ago, Sherezada91 said:

We are a family of 4 booked on the Wonder, December 24, 2022 leaving from Port Canaveral. I know it is safest to fly the day before but unfortunately we don't have that option as my husband must work the 23 until 6 pm and we wouldn't make it to the airport on time for any available flight after that.

So our options are:
1) Fly to Orlando nonstop, arriving at 9:45 am: $260 p/p ($1,040 total)

-Pros: more transportation options, more flight options if anything happens

2) Fly to Melbourne nonstop, arriving at 11:15 am: $195 p/p ($780 total)

-Pros: very small airport so we would be out fast. Flight is cheaper, direct and first in the morning so hopefully no issues?

Any other things I should keep in mind when making this decision? What would you do? I'm leaning towards #2

Keep in mind it is Christmas eve which  could be very full, I would fly into Orlando as there may be more flights in case anything happens.  Which airline?  

Our stateroom attendant on Voyager let us use his hotspot from his international sim card when in port to download some maps because the onboard internet sucked in the Baltics this summer.

5 hours ago, Andre Gough said:

We are on our way

How are you getting to the port.  If the shuttle, how did it go?