CruisnMike35

Another question has come up that I don't have a good answer for. Typically when multiple Star class suites are cruising together do they have the same or separate genies? Does location matter? Our two Aqua theatre suites are on opposite sides of the ship and one is on deck 8 and the other on deck 9. Also any ideas or past Genie gifts that you would like to share would be awesome.

Thanks again to everyone for your answers. We have come up with a couple of more questions for the more experienced STAR class cruisers. The only other STAR Class cruise I have been on took place in February of 2022 when the ship capacity was still at about 60%. Also we were in the Royal Loft Suit, which we didn't know at the time, but found out once on board, is one of one and the largest and most luxurious suite on the ship. Because of those things we are interested to know if the attention we received was greater than we should expect now that ships are back to full capacity and we are not in the RLS. Specifically how likely is it that we will be able to choose our embarkation time and will our suite be ready immediately upon getting on board? Also, how quickly does a typical STAR class suite get their luggage? It was within ten minutes when we did it the last time, but as I said, we aren't sure how typical that experience was. Thanks again for the answers.

We actually are in 2 of the 2 BR Aqua suites. I like that idea a lot. Thanks

My Family (11 ppl) are going on a 7 day Perfect Day , Bahamas cruise in the summer of 25. Embarkation day is the day after my parents wedding anniversary, and I am wondering what ideas folks might have for an on board dinner, show, tour, or really any type of experience that my sisters and I could setup for them. We are sailing STAR class, so the assistance of the genie will, im sure, be a huge benefit for us. They have done the Chef's table before and enjoyed it, but I was wondering if others had any different ideas or things we could ask for, tours, other specialty dining, ect. Thanks for any thoughts or ideas you might have.

Thank you all for the great answers. One question that has come up in our family discussions is will the genie be able to accommodate 11 people for reservations at specialty restaurants or shows without issue? Whem my parents and i went it was just the 3 od us so obviously no big deal. I feel like it shouldn't be a problem but, but I wanted to check. Also it's great to hear that there will be time set aside at the flow rider for star class only. Does anyone know if they do this for other activities? IE any of the slides, ice skating rink, Lazar tag, zip line ect? To be more specific about my original post. I am really looking for any ideas of things people have done with their children or children got to do that they wouldn't otherwise be able to. Any tours or behind the scenes things folks have heard of or had the opportunity to experience? Thanks again for the great answers.

Hey all, we recently booked two 2BR Aqua Theatre Suites on Symphony of the Seas for summer of 25. My parents and I have done one other Star Class cruise and we were so spoiled that we weren't sure if we could ever go back to cruising the way we had before. This time around it will be my parents and I, and my two sisters and their families. We will have four kids (ages 3, 6, 9, and 11). I'm starting this thread to try and get some questions answered as we go through what I'm sure will feel like an eternity between now and next year. The first couple of questions we have involve star class with kids. We know from previous experiences what we can get as adults, food, tours, special access and never having to wait. Obviously the kids will be able to take advantage of those kinds of things as well. But are there any suggestions out there for kids to get the most out of the Star Class experience? Also is the CK family friendly? I didn't remember seeing kids inside any of the times we ate there on our last cruise; but I really wasn't paying attention either. Thanks for any answers, and thanks for helping me pass the time as we wait and plan this adventure.

Hello again, sorry for the delay. We are having such a great time. Day one we had dinner at Chops. I had the Ribeye and it was amazing. Next we attended the welcome aboard show and comedy show. They were both a lot of fun and Simona had our seats reserved in a great spot, and drinks delivered as soon as we sat down. On a side note, even with all of the questions i asked of you guys, as well as watching countless videos, and doing other research, I still was not prepared for just how impressive STAR Class actually is. Simona has been absolutely amazing. She has met us at the entrance for every single meal, she even wore her own formal e just to meet us for our Chef's table reservation last night. I cannot overstate just how unbelievable this experience has been and we are only 2 days in. Thanks for following along. I am having trouble uploading pictures. The only one that actually went through was a pretty cool one of the NYC Skyline as we were departing. I will try and upload more but i think they are too large so i will have to degrade them a bit to actually upload.

Hello again, sorry for the delay. We are having such a great time. Day one we had dinner at Chops. I had the Ribeye and it was amazing. Next we attended the welcome aboard show and comedy show. They were both a lot of fun and Simona had our seats reserved in a great spot, and drinks delivered as soon as we sat down. On a side note, even with all of the questions i asked of you guys, as well as watching countless videos, and doing other research, I still was not prepared for just how impressive STAR Class actually is. Simona has been absolutely amazing. She has met us at the entrance for every single meal, she even wore her own formal e just to meet us for our Chef's table reservation last night. I cannot overstate just how unbelievable this experience has been and we are only 2 days in. Thanks for following along. I am having trouble uploading pictures. The only one that actually went through was a pretty cool one of the NYC Skyline as we were departing. I will try and upload more but i think they are too large so i will have to degrade them a bit to actually upload.

What????

Hello everyone from the Anthem of the SEAS. Today has been an incredible embarkation day. We were among the first few ppl on the ship, which was awesome. Simona is better than my wildest dreams. Anything we have requested as been taken care of within a few minutes. My parents are celebrating their 40th anniversary, and our suite was decorated to celebrate. My mom was touched. I think STAR Class may spoil anything less for us moving forward. We had lunch at Coastal Kitchen. I had the tomato soup and Seared Salmon. It was perfectly cooked and tasted incredible. Tonight we will be eating at Chops and then going to the comedy show. When we get back will plan to upload some of my pictures. Thanks for following along. Oh and BTW our ports of call have reverted back to the originals. We are so happy!!!

Well folks, the day has finally arrived!!!! We all tested negative yesterday, (a huge monkey off of our back) and as I type we are 2 hours and 19 minutes into our 9ish hour drive to Newark. I can't wait to get there and probably not be able to fall asleep tonight. We have a 10:30 arrival time tomorrow morning, and I should have a quick suit tour video, and writeup of our embarkation process. I can't believe we are finally at this point!!!

Hello everyone, we are getting closer, now only 11 days away. As I said this post will be about the Genie experience. But I wanted to give an update since there have been some major changes to our sailing. (Warning if you don’t want to read a grown man’s whining skip the next paragraph) We will now be going to Puerta Plata instead of Labadee, and St. Thomas instead of San Juan. It would be lying to say that I have been thrilled with Royal Caribbean’s handling of these changes. The email informing us of the change was not very informational and to me at least, it does not feel like the changes are a one to one comparison, or even close to equal. For instance, Labadee is one of Royal's private locations, it has private cabanas, a huge zipline, jet ski excursions, and a private all-inclusive club for suite guests. Puerto Plata does not have any comparable excursions, and the closest thing to the private club seems to be a “VIP beach club,” which we will have to purchase rather than being included as a suite perk. BTW the money is not the issue at all, it is the fact that the substitutions are simply nowhere near comparable. As for St. Thomas, we would love to look at excursions but as of today there are fewer than ten excursions available to choose from, 4 of which are generic "beach" excursions, and none of which interest our group very much. I understand that the logistics for something like a large cruise ship are not simple, but it would have been nice to replace one private location Labadee, with another similar location like CocoCay to at least attempt to make a comparably similar situation. We certainly will not let this ruin our trip, but we are far from happy about how it has been handled. OK, I’m done whining now, on with the discussion. As I said in the last post, we will have Simona as our Royal Genie, and so far, she has been awesome! Her initial email was very informative regarding some of the COVID protocols, specifically a new boarding process for STAR class guests, and she also asked if we had any dinner reservations, we would be interested in. My father, who over-plans everything had a spread sheet with our plans for dinner ready to go. Simona seemed to love that. We also scheduled our arrival for as early as possible. Outside of that, we have not made any requests, and that is where I would love to hear from others regarding stories or experiences you have done on STAR class previously. I am a huge foodie, and in my younger days aspired to be a Chef. That did not happen, but I still enjoy cooking and would love to see some behind the scenes stuff with the kitchens or restaurants. Has anyone done this, or do you think this is a possibility? Also, I have heard of folks hosting parties in their suites. This was not something we had considered because we really are not big party ppl. But with our favorite NFL team playing in a fairly big game on the first Sunday that we are on board, we may be interested in hosting a watch party. Do you think this is something Simona might be able to assist with, and how does that work with food, drinks, other guests who are not STAR class, ect? Also, does anyone have any cool stories or experiences they have had in STAR class? Do you have any suggestions, or things we shouldn’t miss? We are getting so excited, about this trip. Thanks for anyone who wants to follow along and interact as I continue with this awesome experience.

Hello everyone, sorry for the delay, and not sticking to the plan of posting weekly, but I guess sometimes life gets in the way. Anyway, todays post is all about excursions. We intentionally booked our first star class cruise to take advantage of the wonderful room and amenities on the ship. Our thought process was, “if we are paying a premium for all of the things that go along with STAR class and a 1600 square foot suite, why would we go on a cruise where we would want to be off the ship most of the time?” For this reason, we booked a 9 day cruise which only hits three ports of call. Those ports are Labadee Haiti, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and St. Maarten, and originally, we reserved excursions in all three locations. Labadee: For those who might not be aware, Labadee is the lesser known of Royal Caribbean’s two private islands in the Caribbean. This is the one location that no one in our party has been to. It doesn’t have the water park like Perfect Day, and from what I can tell it is nowhere near as large, but there are still some great things to do at Labadee. We decided that we are going to get one of the over water cabanas and also do the longest over water zip line in the Caribbean. This is known as the Dragons Breath, and it is a 2600 foot Zip line over 500 feet above the beach and private lagoon that takes you from the top of a mountain back to the peer where the ship is docked. The Videos look amazing, and I can’t wait for this ride. Now for some unfortunate news. We had a call with our travel agent and were informed that we should be prepared for possible changes to the ports of call. For a myriad of reasons, it is possible that any or even all of the ports could change up until the day the we get to port. So, we are going into this with an open mind and taking things as they come. San Juan: Originally, we had planned to book a walk and ride tour of El Yunque National Forest. Which is the only tropical rainforest in the US National Forest Service. We were very much looking forward to this tour, but unfortunately, due to the ever changing COVID procedures this booking was cancelled. Instead, we are now doing an ATV excursion. While I think it would have been great to see the rain forest, I am now really excited about riding an ATV, and watching my mother do the same. It should make for some awesome videos with my go pro. (Which reminds me I need to buy a new helmet mount.) St. Maarten: This is the one that I am really sad had to be switched. Originally, we were book for a submarine tour in St. Maarten. I have never been on a sub tour, or scuba diving. So, my experience with sea life is almost completely from videos, aquariums, and a single snorkeling excursion when I was 12. Unfortunately, also due to the ever changing world of COVID this tour had to be cancelled. Instead, we are now booked for a Rum distillery tour. I am always excited to drink rum, so this will be nice as well. Though I wish we were able to go with the original plans. Those are our planned excursions; (at least for the time being.) We will see if they have to be changed again. Please let me know if anyone has done any of these excursions, or any of the ones that we originally had booked, and what you thought. Also, please feel free to share some of your favorite excursions over the years. One of my favorite parts of cruising is waking up in a different place every day. What say all of you? My next post is a very exciting one. We had our first contact with Royal Genie, Simona. She seems like such a nice person, and she has been amazing so far answering questions and getting us setup for a great experience. My next post will be about some of the requests we have made so far and some we are thinking about. Also, I will be looking for thoughts or examples of Genie gifts, tipping (I know this is highly debated topic) and some examples of interesting Genie experiences other have had. Thanks in advance for following along with this journey!!!

Thanks Fiona!!! I'm glad to hear that I am not alone in in my feelings on this. As I said, I get why they do it, but for my personality type it was a bit of a chore. Thanks for following along, and congrats/ good luck on your upcoming sailings. Where will you be sailing to / from?

Hello everyone, A couple of weeks ago we received our Genie questionnaire. I am interested to see what others think about this part of the Star Class process. Do you all put a lot of thought into your answers? Do the Genies actually get much to help curate the experience for the guest? Does anyone have any experiences that they attribute directly to the genie questionnaire? I tend to over analyze things, so I’m sure I put way more thought and effort to into answering these questions than I needed to. There were some simple questions such as names, favorite drinks, celebrations, etc. Those required no thought. But for some of the others they required some real introspection. And I will go over some of those below and how me and my family answered. One of the questions that immediately made me question if I was doing this right was “Do you have anything in common with the other people in your party?” The obvious answer is yes; But coming up with answers that we felt would be relevant to the Genie was more difficult than I expected. We all enjoy the same sports teams, we obviously have similar values, and we have some common interests in entertainment. But how can interest in Ohio State Football or a love of baseball help our Genie “Curate our suite class experience expressly for us?” In the end, we answered that we all enjoyed “good food, good service and we love to laugh” or something like that. Other questions, such as “what would constitute a perfect day?” or “Sum up your philosophy for life” required a lot of introspection, and we found them difficult to answer. Again, I understand that we were probably putting way too much thought into our answers, but we found it was fairly difficult to give an answer that we felt would be helpful for our Genie. There were some fun questions, like “what is the one thing you would take on a trip to Mars?” and “who are three ppl, throughout history who you would want to have dinner with?” BTW, for me those answers were “my computer,” and “Tom Hanks, Johnny Bench, and Abraham Lincoln.” It was also fun to answer the question about the time we laughed the hardest together. We have a fun story from a previous cruise about a member of our party tripping in a very public setting (they were fine, so it was OK to laugh.) Also, the question about our favorite movies, books, bands, sports teams, and the like, was fun to discuss and answer. For the group, or others who have completed this questionnaire, what were some of your answers to questions? For those who have cruised STAR class in the past, have you noticed if the Genie uses your answers to curate your experience? What are other people’s thoughts on this process? Personally, I was not a huge fan. I understand the need for something like this, but, as I said I over analyze these things and give them more attention than they necessarily require. Thanks for those who are reading and following along. The topic for next week will be our current plans for excursions at the three ports of call. Looking forward to interacting with everyone as I continue this exciting experience.

That is great to hear. The Coffee cup tree looks so cool!!! So much fun!!! I would love to see more pics. We are so excited!!!!!

Yes, we are on that sailing. We will have to talk more as we get closer. It will be fun to have contact with someone before hand. This will be our first Star Class experience. Have you done it prior?

Hello everyone, This is my first travel Blog, and I’m not sure how to start. So I guess I’ll just jump right in with a short back story. In spring of 2020, right when Covid was starting to set in, I began watching a lot of travel videos on YouTube. My family had just postponed/ cancelled a few highly anticipated vacations, and I was feeling pretty down. I understand that watching travel videos in this state of mind might sound like I was torturing myself; but it was actually very cathartic for me. At some point during the way too many hours of viewing these videos I came across Danny, from Harr Travel. For those who aren’t unaware, Harr Travel has what I have found to be the most extensive and complete library of Cruise ship videos on the internet. They have room tours for dozens of ships, and full ship tours for several of the Oasis and Quantum Class ships. But the video that was most important for me was The Ultimate Guide to Star Class. (Link below) Once I saw this video, and the video’s of the various star class suites, I was hooked. I began searching for something that would work for me and my parents. I found a 9 Night Eastern Caribbean on the Anthem of the Seas, in the Royal Loft Suite, and after I talked to my parents we decided to book it. We are now 53 days away from embarkation, and I couldn’t be more excited. Last week we received our “Genie Questionnaire.” In my next post, I will discuss this questionnaire and how we chose to approach answering the questions. I would love to hear feedback from anyone who has completed the questionnaire in the past and what they think the pros and cons of it are. My plan for this Blog is to document what will hopefully be a exceptional experience, and also to inform others who have not experienced STAR Class on Royal. With this being said, I will be making weekly posts on different topics as we approach embarkation. But I would also love to interact with others if folks have any questions. Thanks for anyone who is interested in following along, and I look forward to documenting this incredible journey.

Hey all, Sorry its been a little while. Life gets in the way sometimes I guess, LOL. ? I was watching the RC Blog Live stream "favorite drinks," and it got me thinking about some questions. 1. What is the policy / etiquette for standing orders. IE: Could we have a standing coffee, mimosa, or bloody marry order in the AM with breakfast? Or can I ask for the Drink of the Day at lunch, and just have it delivered to the suite everyday? Or are standing orders frowned upon, and we should just order the items we want when we want them? 2. Also, I have read on other threads that some have had snacks, such as veggie trays, chocolates, and other snack type items waiting in the suite on embarkation day. So i have a couple questions. (assuming this is true) a. Do assorted snacks delivered to our suite continue throughout the entire sailing? Or should we plan to order them when we want them? (I could see how standing orders, or orders that weren't requested, could be very wasteful. So I understand why they wouldn't do it; but also, if its done well it could be a really cool and luxurious amenity for a luxury trip.) b. How do we actually order drinks / snacks to the suite? Do we call the room service number / use the TV? Do we call one of the restaurants or bars directly? Do we call the Genie with every little thing we would like? Thanks again. PS. Please, if at any point, my questions make me sound like we would be asking for too much let me know. My family is typically very self reliant and this is a departure from our norm. I might not be familiar with what is acceptable and what might be considered over the top. I am having to use my imagination a lot and that can be scary some times. LOL. Thanks as always. PPS. I have decided that I will be doing some kind of VLOG or BLOG for this trip. I have never Vlogged or Blogged, and I am kind of terrified ? about how it will turn out. But I want to both document this trip, as well as try and give back to the RC Blog community. Anyone with more experience Bloggling or Vlogging please feel free to give advice. I am as new as it gets.

Thanks MLH, this is a pseudo-retirement trip for my parents. I'm sure our genie and I can think of somthing special for them; any suggestions would be welcome though. Mom is finishing a 25 year career as a K-12 special needs teacher, Dad is a CPA.

Lovetocruise2002, Thank you so much. This will be very helpful!!!

Thanks Jax, im really looking forward to Chops as well, i can already hear the Tower Calling my name. LOL on the gecko, I'm sure it was terrifying. I think we will likely end up getting one of the over water. We will not have any kids with us but will still want direct water access. Thanks!!!

This is exactly what I was hoping to hear. I am a bit of a foodie, and the food is probably the thing I am most looking forward to. Does anyone have any suggestions, or have you heard of any BTS tours for a person who loves to cook and eat great food? Thank you for the luggage advice, that makes a lot of sense, and not having to wait for our luggage to be brought to our suite will be nice. One other question about port. Does anyone know how close the walk is from the parking garage or other parking area to the suite gate? I am wondering if we will be better off dropping my parents close to the gate while I go park. But if it is only a short walk we will probably just stick together. Thanks for the info on the gratuities, we will add extra $ into the budget. Great!!! We have not made any decisions on excursions. Our Ports of call are Labadee, San Juan, and St. Maarten. What are some of the RC Blog favorites in these Ports? We are planning to get a cabana in Labadee. Do you guys have any pros or cons for the different types? Over water, beach, or hill side? As is said I am a foodie so there will probably be many more questions on this topic as we get closer. It sounds like we can have any drinks delivered to our suite. Is this done through the genie? I will definitely be doing the Chef’s Table. Also, I plan to eat at Wonderland, though I have read that many, including some on RC Blog, believe it is a little overrated. Is this the consensus? What are the favorite restaurants? Are the main dining rooms even worth trying due to all of the specialty options?

OH MY GOODNESS, thank you so much for the responses!!!!! I wont have time to review them all before going to work, but what i have gone through is more than i could have ever hoped for in such short order more conversations to come.... So excited, not sure how i'm going to make it 514 days. You guys are amazing, thank you.

Hello all, This is my first post on RC Blog, and I want to start by saying thank you to everyone who has posted so much great information. My parents and I have booked a 9-night Western Caribbean, on The Anthem of the SEAS, in February of 2022. After what seemed like weeks of research, and a lot of wondering if we were crazy for even thinking about booking a $21K+ vacation for 3. But we decided “what the heck,” and we booked the Royal Loft Suite for our first experience with Star Class. I am so unbelievably excited, but I would be lying if I said I am not also nervous. My parents are relatively experienced cruisers (diamond plus;) while I have only been on a couple of cruises. We feel like we have scoured the internet in the last couple of weeks searching high and low for everything that we can expect from an SC suite. But we still have a few questions regarding do’s and don’ts while in SC. 1. I understand that we can have meals served in our suite. a. Is it over the top to do this often? Or should we limit this request to one or two occasions? 2. We are driving to the Port in Beyond NJ. Is there anything special for embarkation day aside from the Genie meeting us? Or is it just a follow the signs situation? 3. Are gratuities truly complimentary? a. I know the Genie is not included but should we plan to tips others as well? 4. Should we book anything in advance of the Genie contacting us. Or should we wait for everything until our Genie checks in with us? a. IE: Cabana’s at Labadee, Shows, other excursions, etc.? 5. The normal ultimate beverage package does not include the mini bar drinks. Is this the case in SC. What about the ultimate dining package? Is there anything different in SC? 6. What other do’s and don’ts can you guys think of? I know there are a lot of do’s, but please let me know what we should avoid. We want to get the most out of this experience, but we don’t want to be to needy or a PITA. I’m sure I will have more questions over the next 18 months but for now that’s about it. Thanks again for any insight you can give. P.S. I am contemplating Blogging or Vlogging this experience, but I have never blogged. Any suggestions or tips?