Lovetocruise2002

Hands down, without a doubt....the mushroom soup as well! It is one of my favourite menu items in all of Royal Caribbean.

With you on that one. Utopia is probably my favourite Oasis class even though it’s super similar to wonder. And I only had 4 days on her.

I am here to see how the dining package unfolds for you! Your plans look good but I see a potential for food coma on this day. But it's your last day so who cares! You beat me to it! I was thinking the exact same thing! @OCSC Mike are you a Star Wars fan? If so, I never knew.

Also agree on this point. One day, when Hubby retires from the flowrider and we make Pin, I will migrate over to X more. The one sailing we had last year with them I really enjoyed.

That is essentially the trade off.

Onto more positive news! Our flight home was smooth! Even landed 15mins early at DTW. Crossing the Ambassador bridge was easy too today. Less than 15 min wait and that is a huge win. To put it into perspective, when we come home after spring break & NYE sailings, the wait is over an hour sometimes at the bridge. Got home around 4pm. So not bad at all from ship to driveway in 8 hours. Now completely unpacked, and settled on the couch waiting on pizza. Freeloaders had good intentions to do their laundry. However, when I got home, I noticed everything was loaded into the machine but it was dry. One freeloader, the one who was not working today, forgot to turn the machine on. So back to doing laundry for them. I actually breathed a sigh of relief when I stepped back into my own bathroom! Back to my shower where water will not go all over the floor and enough counter space for yours truly, the product junkie.

Nuts? Yes. I completely agree with you. Are any of us who know Royal surprised? Not really. Whatever makes them more money. We all know who to thank. That is my rant.

I agree with @OCSC Mike, you need to try Oasis class!

Same. We caught a good price on the suite GTY on Freedom already, and then with the sale on the package, plus the spend to save challenge made it worthwhile to try.

I sure hope so! They start offering it on ships that have the true suite class system and people will have a fit! lol It would dilute everything.

Bingo! I flat out said this to the GSM and he did not deny it.

Flight update: it’s on time so far and we got a complimentary upgrade to Delta Comfort+! Small win but we will take the earlier zone boarding

Our best Chops experience so far has been on Utopia.

The lobster was slightly overcooked. Mushroom soup was runnier than usual, and the creamed spinach was not too fresh.

The Royal Genie Package experience: Our Genie for this sailing was Lissandra. She is coming from a suite concierge role into Genie. It would seem like all 4 genies working in this RGP role are newer genies on their first or second contract. Despite being newer to the role, Lissandra was fantastic for what we needed. She was able to anticipate our cruising needs rather quickly and once she got to know us a bit, conversations flowed easily. She constantly checked in on us, both through WhatsApp, and in person. She was very thoughtful as well. The genie experience itself was no different than regular Star Class. Everything that a regular star class genie could do for us, she did as well. Embarkation and disembarkation process remained the same as Star Class. The RGP experience is similar to Star Class, but it’s not. They are not trying to market it as such either. It is marketed as the RGP, right down to the banners, literature in the room, seapass card, reserved seats signs, etc., nowhere is the word “star class” mentioned, because they are not trying to make it star class. Their target market for this program is new and/or suite cruisers. For those who are familiar with SC, it makes it trickier for them in that you should not book this expecting it to be identical. There are many similarities: the genie and their “powers”, the inclusion of dining and drink packages, dedicated flowrider sessions, priority embarkation and disembarkation (identical in procedure to SC), etc. But there are definitely differences as well. One being the exclusion of gratuities, and laundry is questionable. On Freedom it seems to be pressing only; and Indy might be full laundry? The other difference is the room. When you book regular SC, part of the WOW is the suite. With the RGP, depending on what room you book, there is not much WOW. In fact, the smaller rooms hinder the ability to really take advantage of the food delivery etc. The smaller ship also limits what the genie can do. Not as many activities and amenities to offer to guests. So is it worth it? In my opinion, at the right price, maybe. Let me try to clarify. If I was booked on a Non-QN/OA/IC class ship in a category lower than a GS, then it would be worth it at the right price. At $300pp/day, it’s still a hard sell for me. The disclaimer here is that I am already D+ and have access to the crown lounge even without the suite lounge. If I was booked in a GS or higher, no way would I consider the RGP. I would probably be just as happy buying the Unlimited Dining Package, VOOM, and Evian water package. The only way I would consider the RGP if I was booked in a GS or higher would be if the price went down considerably to make it worth it. For the amount it costs (regular price) for the RGP, my money is likely better spent sailing true Sky Class on QN/OA/IC class. Overall, Hubby and I think the RGP gives you the SC “lite” experience. If you have never tried SC and want to test it out at a possible lower cost, then it’s worth trying. It’s quite similar. If you are familiar with SC, then book with the mindset that it will be a slightly downgraded experience from true SC due to the reasons mentioned above. Happy to answer any other questions anyone might have. 3 weeks to SY! This cruise was easier to end knowing there’s a short dry dock.

Final thoughts on room: I don’t think that I will book another suite GTY in the future, unless it’s a steal of a deal. Even then, I would have to give some serious thought to age of ship etc. As I already mentioned we ended up with a JS, which I expected. The accessible part, I did not. We really enjoyed having the open space in the living area. But the bathroom was another story. Hubby had no trouble with it, but I was never able to shower successfully without getting water all over the floor. Most days I ended up putting down a blue pool towel instead of the bath mat. Also, perhaps because the ship is older, there was some not so pleasant smells in the room. There was an area by the side of the bed that I slept (near the night table) that smelled like my 8th grade classroom. There was also an area near the balcony that did not smell too fresh either. None of this seemed to bother Hubby. But for someone like myself, who is quite sensitive to smells, it did bother me all sailing. We did not say anything about it as we just chalked it up to being on an older ship.

Not bad at all! Room to curb 15 mins. Total time from room to airport…1 hour. Now sitting at our gate at FLL.

Off to Chops for breakfast and then off the ship.

I was just saying to Hubby last night that the truffle soup at Chops is one of my favourite meals in all Royal Caribbean restaurants. We usually pair Izumi lunch with Chops dinner because we get the lobster at Chops and it’s ok if we had a heavy lunch. If we are eating Izumi Hibachi for dinner, then it doesn’t matter because Hibachi is not as heavy as the sushi side. If we are at PDCC then Izumi sushi dinner is safe for us. Crystal meth twins!! I don’t know why but at 6:45am, this really makes me laugh. Good luck to you lol

No show tonight. We’ve seen it before and did not care for it the first time. Packed all our stuff after dinner. Lissandra is going to meet us in our room at 7:45am. Making the trek back to FLL and fingers crossed for a smooth return home.

Dinner was at Chops tonight. It wasn’t the best Chops experience, but also not the worst. Just mid as my 8th graders would call it.

Careful with that thinking. While Izumi “looks” light, it sure is not! We already try to make sure we eat Izumi on a day with something lighter. Maybe it’s all the carbs. All coming tomorrow. A thumbs down on the room though. More tomorrow. He didn’t hurt himself falling. He was trying to do an acid drop and heard a big crack in his back. Thank God there was some miracle healing by this morning lol. He said he also prefers the old style. And there’s no rooster tail. You realize I have no clue what any of this means. I am just the messenger lol I totally hate the grabby shower curtain! It’s only on Freedom and Indy at the moment. we need to find a way to sail together again! This is true for me too! Maybe that is why I never saw a point in them. But careful, she is going to claim betrayal again

Got lost in my book and almost forgot to post this. Lunch was at Izumi today. Something interesting to note, portion sizes are very inconsistent here on Freedom. Night 2 our rolls were half the size of today’s. The people sitting next to us today got rolls that were 2/3 the size of what we got. Ramen bowl looked like it was half eaten. It’s usually filled almost to the top. This Izumi is strange….

Under VIP passes in the cruise planner.

Hahaha!!!!! Bingo! lol. As long as I make it in time for my MJ brunch, I will be happy!