dejagatkins

Well I am back from my cruise and it is taking me longer to adjust than normal.....mainly because STAR CLASS was pretty much everything I could have asked for. Now before, anyone that reads this thinks I am trying to brag....know this, I am one of the people that chooses to cruise about once every 2 to 3 years. I use that time to find creative ways to fund the vacation and to justify the splurge as well. That being said....I did take advantage of the NEXT CRUISE program to book several potential sailings in 2018, just to make sure I could get Star Class again. I appreciated those that gave early feedback in the few weeks prior to my cruise, so I am paying it forward.
 
So here we go....
 
ROYAL GENIE: As mentioned in a few other posts...They are NOT Butlers, they work as a very dedicated personal assistant. Francesco was given a tremendous amount of flexability to make things happen. I found the best way to communicate with him was either email or calling from a shipboard phone. LOOP is still a work in progress and the problem we found was, it doesn't notify him when we reach out and doesn't notify us when he reaches out. Email and phone calls worked well. He also had a funny way of finding us around the ship even without email. We finally figured out his magic trick and realized he had a way of tracking the last place we used our Seapass. Bottom line: Insanely cool and never did we feel it was too much. He was always available when we needed something but never all in our business.
 
FOOD: Pretty much everything is included! Only upcharges we found were the Lobster Tails at Chops, Ice Cream at Scoops and Candy at the candy store. You could however...eat all the candy in your mini bar at no charge and my kids did. All Signature Dining, including Chef's Table was included, with no limitations. We ate only Signature with the exception of one night in Coastal Kitchen. The Dark Blue Card...was a free pass to gain way to much weight! Star Class allows you to order all Signature Menus to your suite as well, just let your Genie know and WHAM...LASAGNA! FISH TACOS from Sabor...POW!
TIP: If you want the LASAGNA at Giovanni's Table for dinner....order it off the kids menu (it's on it for dinner)and magically a family size plate of it appears.
 
DRINKS: ULTIMATE PLAN, with no exclusions. If you ordered something that was more than $12, they only applied the difference. We found it hard to acually pay more because their offerings were so broad. Wine by the bottle and Sake...standard Ultimate Program, 20% off < $99 and 40% off > $100.
 
RESERVATIONS: GENIE, GENIE, GENIE! Let me state...I am a Uber Planner. I am a DVC Member and frequent DIsney goer, so I am programmed to plan it out to the minute. To say I was freaked out not having everything all mapped out would be a huge understatement. This is where the Genie really shines. He made things happen...period! The only compromise, he even ask us to make was what day we did the Chef's Table. (Since it only holds 16 people and there are 5500 passengers, Day 4, instead of Day 6, do to it being booked up). Bottom line, I found our vacation became extremely fluid in a stress free kind of way. Shows...he reserved seats in the venues, only one that he even cringed at was same day Comedy Club reservations, but he still pulled it off.
TIP: If you are concerned about a specific night for Chefs Table, go ahead and book it before if you can, They will adjust your folio once onboard.
 
EMBARKATION & DISEMBARKATION: Could be the single best perk to Star Class! The day of Embarkation for us was right after the terrorist shooting in Orlando, so the police at the terminal where extra vigilant. I find the luggage drop off part to always be stressful, so this day was that times 10...if it wasn't for this new perk. Our Uber driver saw the Star Class banner and we were in our suite within 20 minutes....WITH OUR LUGGAGE! So here is how it went down: Special Porter takes your luggage with NO TAGS NEEDED and walks with you to the suite entrance. The Genie meets you there and walks you to the scanner and your luggage is following you. The Porter and the Genie walk with you to your Suite. Our Cabin Attendant told me that they have to immediately turn the suites once empty on Disembarkation day, so they are ready by 11 in most cases.
Disembarkation is where it was just silly. We check most our luggage through to the airlines by midnight the evening before, but kept a couple of small suitcases with us to check once we got to the airport. Franceso only ask that we be out of our suite by 9am and said they had Vintages set up with a lite breakfast. We told him we would want to leave around 9:30 and the rest made my head spin. He came and took us straight to a customs agent and we were in a car in 10 minutes. I am not exagerating. I have stood in that line many times and will gladly do it again if it means I get to cruise...BUT...SPOILED!
 
One thing I feel they did very well....They didn't make a production of the Star Class geusts, when it came to other passengers, which in my opinion is a real good thing. Did pretty much every forward facing crew member know what the STAR CARD allows? Yes.. but I never felt uncomfortable. They did have a sign at the flow rider for Star Class guests but it wasn't like they shut down the line for the "Privledged". They basically would let the guest wait and go about every fourth person, sort of like a fast pass at WDW. That coupled with the fact there are only 11 suites that qualify, it wasn't really noticeable. Honestly...maybe the only time I even felt a little silly was on Disembarkation when walking past that line and by not having to stand there listening to my three kids unravel my vacation...I got over it fast.
 
If I wasn't typing on my IPAD I would continue to ramble and there are a lot of things I didn't touch on, I am going to stop for now. If you have any pending questions, I will certainly try and answer. My take: The program is evolving and will probably change over time as they fine tune. Bottom line: It's a WIN. PITCHERS OF SABOR SANGRIA IN YOUR ROOM...need I say more?
 
BTW, please excuse typos and auto corrects, I am no blogger.
 
B-

If the Genie cannot do that at the least the whole program should be ended. You are not asking for much, dinner reservations for your whole group. I would think any passenger group on the ship, should be able to get this basic level of service done. Really the only thing you are for is a group reservation.

I do want to caution people. It looks like Royal Caribbean is calling their Wi-Fi service VOOM on all ships, not just the ones with the faster, broadband-like service.
 
So, just because you see VOOM offered on a ship doesn't necessarily mean that it's the super-fast internet that they've been touting.

I shut my devices off and enjoy the ride. So to me, not worth it. I'll post pics when I get home, don't want anyone knowing I'm away on vacation whom I haven't already told.

Another reason not to pre pay the daily tips. The only thing that gets Royal's attention is money. So if you went to guest services and removed all the tips and gave them your list of problems as the reason it would get attention.  Also on the guest questionnaire list the problems. Now I would be talking to Royal Customer service about the refund they owe you. If they do not take care of this, with all the documentation dispute with the credit card company.
 
Also do not fall for the line that if you dispute it will effect your ability to cruise on Royal.  A very important part of the merchant service agreement with the credit card companies is they will take no negative actions against card holders who file disputes. I also would have met with the Hotel Director before paying the on board charge account and leaving the ship.

BigBurlyJohn,
 
I am so sorry you are not having the cruise you wanted and deserved and paid for. Like you I am not demanding but I always say I want what I paid for and you certainly aren't getting it. Hopefully to make you smile I will tell you I took a cruise on RCCL last spring and I had a problem with toe nails all over my bathroom floor, the toilet not working properly and being filthy and then I got bitten by bed bugs or fleas, (RCCL wasn't sure what they were), I asked for another room and was refused. I showed them my legs, rash and blisters and they still refused. They came in and changed the mattress and linens out, it took two days for the toilet to be fixed. I remembered to document everything, pictures of my legs, the toilet and when I got home I was busy writing emails to everyone at RCCL. It worked I got a 100% refund but my point was I should have been moved, given another room.
 
Remember to document so when you get home you can send emails.
 
Hopefully everything will be fine moving forward on the cruise.
 
Candie

I loved Voom on the Oasis! Posting pictures on my FB via my smart phone in airplane mode , while I sit on the deck watching the water and sipping my frosty drink. Some distant relative died while I was on board and I had immediate messaging available. Not even sure how,but I also got my text from my son about the situation. I swear I never took my phone out of airplane mode but my messaging capability was the same as if I were home. Loved posting Instagram pictures to journal our cruise also!

Congratulations Matt on hitting 2500 members ....
 
Keep Up The Good Work ....
 
Thank You For the Education and Insight...
 
Mark
 
 

FYI, the way you received texts (and likely could make and receive calls) through WiFi calling.  Newer iPhones and many Android phones support this on the major US networks.  It allows calling and texting to happen over WiFi, without a cellular connection (airplane mode on).  It's also possible that you were receiving iMessages, which look like texts, but are sent only between Apple devices.

I have seen a few security agent on my last cruise, no guns visible, and they were all very discreet. 
The passengers were very well behaved, polite, civilized and respectful to each other. 
 
The cruise ship became, for a week, a small community of understanding, carring and friendship. No matter if your black, white, yellow or miscellaneous. 
But, some might always try to take advantage if the opportunities shows up.
 
In general, I could say that, people on a cruise ship would tend to be "more civilized"  compare to your normal neighborhood. 

She's everything we hoped for.... A few minor glitches today, but nothing that isn't to be expected for the first passenger cruise.
 
 
Clean, sleek interior. Crew is excited to be here, drinks are flowing and already I feel I've eaten my weight. I'll randomly post thoughts as the trip goes on... B2B on the Harmony and then headed to the Navigator... Stay tuned folks!

Because most Americans have been brainwashed into thinking:
 
1. Tipping results in better service...... It does not.
 
2. That it is only  a little money.......It is millions saved by the company.
 
3. That these poor workers are underpaid.... In fact overpaid when compared to wages in most of their home countries. 
 
4. That tipping is required... Again it is not.
 
But most Americans also believe that the World revolts around the US Standards.

Royal Caribbean's giant new ship also is its fastest

http://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2016/05/21/royal-caribbean-harmony-cruise-speed/84699146/
 
ABOARD HARMONY OF THE SEAS -- It's not just the biggest cruise ship in the world. It's a fast one, too.
  Royal Caribbean Cruises chairman and CEO Richard Fain told USA TODAY the line's new Harmony of the Seas hit a top speed in excess of 25 knots during recent sea trials, making it the fastest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet.   "We would never go at that speed," Fain said Saturday during a pre-inaugural event on the 226,963-ton vessel. "The real objective is to go 18 or 19 knots much more efficiently, (and) the thing that makes it able to do that also makes it faster."

Royal states teen club is for 12 to 17 year old, and based upon that passengers book the cruises, from a legal side Royal cannot change and allow older people into the program. 
 
Here is the Youth Program Link 
 
And here is information that appears to contradict youth program guidelines.
 
 " Tween & Teen Programs
Whether hanging out with other cruisers or checking out games, sports and parties are on your tween's agenda, our teen-only spots are the places to go. Our Teen program also allows older kids the freedom to come and go as they please. They'll love it so much the only thing you might wish for is a little more time with your kids."
 
But I do not believe you should be worried about her or she should worry. On a ship of this size I would guest at least a couple of hundred travelers 18 to 20 years old. I'm sure she will find a group within the first day of the cruise. The real question will be once she meets all the other young people on the ship will you ever see her? She will find fun safe things to do for all the time she is on the ship, and have a new group of friends before the end of the cruise.
 
To get her excited, maybe direct her to the many YouTube videos posted and Matt's Blogs with all the great stuff on the ship.  Also since August of 2017 over a year away lots of time to post on this site and others for a youth roll call. Your whole group will have a great time.

Welcome to our family, Kim and Jeff !  Addicted after just 1 cruise.  That's my kinda' cruzer !
 
1.  MTD is just that - ANY time you want to dine (during hours that the MDR is operating, of course).  That is precisely why MTD was created.  Feel free to make reservations for whatever time you want or don't !  You can just walk up to the "no reservations" MTD line and be seated without any reservations at all.  It's very easy and very flexible.
 
2.  Specialty dining is definitely a matter of personal preference.  I will caution you about the Samba Grill.  If you are a BIG meat eater, then that is the place for you !  Unless you like sampling a lot of different cuts of meat and different meat options (chicken, sausage, lamb etc.) then I would caution you not to allow them to fill you up on the cheap cuts early in the meal.   They save the good stuff 'til last !  I had never had meat that actually melted in my mouth (I always thought that was just a fantasy) but that picanha cut actually WILL melt in your mouth.  I'm NOT saying that the other meat isn't good....I'm just saying that if you don't feel you can eat it all, and you want to really enjoy the picanha, then I recommend that you pass up on some of the early cuts.  I'm not a huge meat eater so that's easy for me to say...and it's just my opinion.  Giovanni's Table is really excellent.  They serve "family style" so while they normally allow you to order only 1 entrée, they will bring LOTS of side dishes for everyone to try and there is soooo much food.  Again....go hungry !  I'm not a huge fan of Chops...but that's the whole "non-meat eater" thing.  Many people swear by their steaks.  For me, not so much.  The red velvet cake is not as good as it looks.  The Sabor restaurant on Allure isn't nearly as nice as the one on Liberty.  The food is still good...but the ambiance isn't the same.  I will say that Sabor is a damn sight better than Rita's Cantina was (which is where Sabor is now)...so that change was definitely a step in the right direction.
 
3.  I am also an over-planner....so I start making reservations as soon as they open them up !  That can be anywhere from 1 year to 60 days ahead of sailing.  You just have to keep checking to see if the reservations have opened up.  They will, eventually.  Food will usually open up before entertainment...but again, there's no rule about that.  Just the way it USUALLY works.  If you want to have MTD reservations during the busy hours (6 - 7:30 ??) then I would make those reservations as soon as possible.  Those times fill up first, followed by early seating times.  Late dining is usually easy to get.
 
4.  Opinions about MDR food range from wonderful to awful.  I am in the "wonderful" category.  I love the MDR food and never feel the need to pay for specialty restaurants.  Some menus are better than others but I have never failed to get something that I liked on any given night.  Do NOT pass up the Grand Marnier Souffle.  It is the best thing on the entire ship (along with the cream of mushroom soup).
 
You will not go hungry.  That's for sure !

WHStoneman, you are SO right about taking your prescription medication with you.  I have a friend who just got back from an NCL cruise.  It's a very long story but due to AIRLINE f-ups, he did not get his luggage before he sailed.  They (airlines) kept telling him, "it (his luggage) will meet you at the next port" and with each and every port stop - nothing.  So he was on this cruise without anything...including his medication.
 
He had to make 2 very expensive (and time-consuming) visits to the ship's physician(s) (who changed, mid-sailing...who knew that a ship's doctor would change mid-cruise ??.  Learned something new) to get prescriptions to be filled in different ports.
 
Now...did he know better ?  YES !  ...but he didn't follow his own "best practices" and paid a dear price.  I'll bet he won't make that mistake again !
 
BTW, he did not get his luggage for more than 2 weeks after he left for his cruise.  God only knows where it had been all that time...but I learned ANOTHER lesson from this - never trust the airlines when they tell you that your luggage will meet you at the next port. 
 
Apparently NCL was extremely gracious to him over all of this even though it was in NO way their fault.  They gave him free laundry service and  some OBC to purchase necessities.  He also said that the Guest Services Manager, with whom he worked ALL week trying to get this solved, was very gracious and actually told the airlines representative "you're lying to my guest !" when they ONCE AGAIN said that the luggage would be at the next port. Of course, it wasn't there, as he had predicted.
 
DO NOT PACK YOUR MEDICATION IN YOUR CHECKED LUGGAGE !

Thanks! I am actually going to do both!

Some nice photos of Harmony in this article:
 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3593741/The-cruise-ship-makes-Titanic-look-minnow-docks-Britain-man-braves-thrilling-terrifying-100ft-slide.html
 

I would suggest that you shop with your local jeweler that you have an established pattern of trust.   Buy your wife something very nice and give it to her on your first night at sea.  You know that you are purchased something that she will love and you can trust your purchase will be wise and secure.    

Isn't the drink of the day advertised in the Compass ?  I think I remember seeing the drink of the day mentioned in there somewhere.  Usually the bars around the pools push the drink of the day.

Love the carry on bag!! 

On Freedom, it was kind of hit and miss.  Seems like only a few bars advertised the DoD.  
I tried to find 'em, honest!

Be careful where you find the $1,500 number. Royal Caribbean's web site averages out the per-person cost, factoring in the 60% savings on the second passenger. The price you see there already includes most of the sale pricing factored in.
 
If, for example, the price for a cabin were $1,500 per person, what Royal Caribbean's web site would show you is that it's $1,050/person (based on $1,500 for the first person, $600 for the second person, meaning a total of $2,100, or $1,050 per person).

😠I am HERE!!!!!!!!!!!! Hubby is getting the rest of his sleep, from working Graveyard Shift Friday night/this morning. I am relaxing from the Drive, so will scope later this afternoon/early evening.

I think the key with any cruise ship is to research it ahead of time and understand what it offers (and does not offer) so that your expectations are in line.
 
I think the biggest mistake new cruisers make is not look at the major differences between various Royal Caribbean ships. There are 24 ships in the fleet, and they each offer something different.  By learning about the features of each ship, I firmly believe it helps avoid issues later on.