F1guynz

We are booked on Quantum for 2023, I hope things are nearly back to normal by then otherwise we will be in trouble.

We are booked on Quantum for 2023, I hope things are nearly back to normal by then otherwise we will be in trouble.

Princess cruises has now cancelled Australian cruises through to 19 December 2021.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-cruises-cancels-australia-cruise-holidays-through-december-19-2021-301323790.html
I assume Royal won’t be too far behind.
I have paid for all our cruises in full to optimise the 125% fcc to use when we rebook.

Princess cruises has now cancelled Australian cruises through to 19 December 2021.
https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/princess-cruises-cancels-australia-cruise-holidays-through-december-19-2021-301323790.html
I assume Royal won’t be too far behind.
I have paid for all our cruises in full to optimise the 125% fcc to use when we rebook.

Yeah, we were due to be on Ovation from 3rd - 23rd November. We are also the Transpacific in April but that is not too good either. Looks like we will have to wait until next season ?

We have 3 booked for November which were originally last November.

No surprise really but final payments have been suspended while RCI review port closures and possible changes/cancelations.
 
 

I am assuming our Transpacific in April will be cancelled eventually which will be very disappointing as the whole extended family was going.
Even though we are fully vaccinated it is very frustrating but being able to plan anything with any certainty.

Yeah, we were due to be on Ovation from 3rd - 23rd November. We are also the Transpacific in April but that is not too good either. Looks like we will have to wait until next season ?

I am assuming our Transpacific in April will be cancelled eventually which will be very disappointing as the whole extended family was going.
Even though we are fully vaccinated it is very frustrating but being able to plan anything with any certainty.

Hmmm....this is really a hard thing to quantify.  Some people truly enjoy the service of a Genie and some think they are completely overrated and unnecessary.  How's that for a non-answer ?  I'm going to be completely honest, here.  I am one who loves, loves, loves the Genie and Dan honestly doesn't really care for the Genie service.  The first time we did SC it was so new and so different from anything we had ever experienced, we both really enjoyed it.  The second time and the third time, etc. Dan began to resent that the Genie always seemed to be interrupting us for one thing or another.  The door bell and/or phone seemed to ring incessantly...which is true. They were always bringing something or dropping by to take something away.  If Dan got his way every time, we would probably never do SC again.  It's just too much commotion for him.
To answer your question, yes, I think having a Genie is going to be even more important in the restart than they ever were before.  Once they start to ramp occupancy back up I think things like specialty reservations are going to be more and more difficult to get.  I think things like expedited boarding and disembarkation are going to be more and more valuable.
One of the services of SC that I really love is the fact that they do your laundry for you.  You can have it sent out once a day, twice a day or never. I really enjoy this service.  They bring it back to you on hangers with your unmentionables in a bag.  There are so many things that are nice....
Is it worth the money ?  I guess I think it is. Many disagree.  It's hard to really quantify the level of service that SC provides.  Many will say....I'll just buy the UDP and the DBP+Voom and I will have the same thing, minus the Genie and save myself $$$.  But that's really not all there is to it.  On the first 2 SC cruises, I hosted the CC Cabin Crawls.  We had no less than 40 people on each of those who came to our cabin and were offered all the beer, soda, water, and food from the specialty restaurants (most of that food came from Jamie's/Giovanni's).....all at no charge.  We also offered champagne and wine (which we paid for but it was very inexpensive).  It was so much fun to show off our suite and have everyone enjoy themselves.  On each of those Cabin Crawls I know for SURE that we "sold" Star Class to at least 3 couples....so it's probably in Royal's best interest to cover such events.  Sky Class gets complimentary room service from the MDR menu.  Star Class gets room service from any and all of the Specialty Restaurants.  Big difference.
As far as what the Genie can do that you cannot do for yourself, the only thing that really comes to mind are the reserved seats at entertainment venues.  It's nice to be able to arrive at an entertainment venue just minutes before it begins and have the specific seats that you want, reserved for you.  Here is another example.  We had a credit card issue on one of our SC cruises.  The CC company (which was the Royal Caribbean Visa card, BTW !!!) began declining our onboard charges.  YIKES !  That was a real problem for us almost instantly as we charge considerable $$ to our onboard account at the casino.  The Genie talked with the revenue dept. and it was resolved - or so we thought.  Next day....charge declined.  By now, Dan was furious not to mention the fact that it was embarrassing when the casino pit boss had to tell us that our cash withdrawal had been declined.  Oh boy....  We tromped down to Guest Services, hoppin' mad.  It just so happened that another one of the Genies just happened to be there...and b/c the Genies all know who the SC guests are, even if they are not the Genie, he recognized us and asked if he could help.  When Dan explained the problem, the Genie disappeared behind the GS door and reappeared very shortly - this time with the ship's Revenue Manager - and this time, the problem was fixed...for good. Perhaps our Genie should have done this in the first place, but it was nice that it finally got handled properly by a fellow Genie.  They truly are a team.  We are always told that if, for some reason, our Genie is not available, feel free to ask any Genie for help. 
If you can afford it, SC is definitely a treat.

Yeah, we were due to be on Ovation from 3rd - 23rd November. We are also the Transpacific in April but that is not too good either. Looks like we will have to wait until next season ?

We have 3 booked for November which were originally last November.

No surprise really but final payments have been suspended while RCI review port closures and possible changes/cancelations.
 
 

No surprise really but final payments have been suspended while RCI review port closures and possible changes/cancelations.
 
 

1.  I agree with @12thman.  I would NOT depend on RoyalUp if you really want a full suite.  Those chances are extremely remote.
2.  GS - I am a huge fan of Grand Suites on all of the Royal Caribbean ship classes EXCEPT for the Quantum class (of which, Anthem is one).  Since you mentioned your mom uses a scooter, I would scratch this one off your list immediately.  The half wall where the TV is mounted in the Q class GS makes that suite VERY cramped and I would think that she would have a big problem with a scooter.  Frankly, I think you would have more room in your JS than you would in a GS on Anthem.  I will never EVER pay for a GS again on a Q class ship.
3.  I have never stayed (or even seen) a 2 BR GS on the Q class ship so I really have no opinion about this one.  As long as the living area is not designed the same as it is in the 1 BR (with that half wall for the TV) you would probably be fine.  This might actually provide you with the most comfortable situation as you would each have a regular bed.
4.  While I have never stayed in an OS on a Q class ship, I feel confident that you would have plenty of room for your mom's scooter in an OS.  Not only would you have plenty of room, but you would have a dining table and regular chairs in your suite so that you could enjoy a comfortable room service meal if you decided to try that.  With a full suite, room service is complimentary so you could have breakfast, lunch or dinner (or all 3 !!!) delivered if you chose to do that.  It's a very nice treat.
Honestly, if you are going to spend additional money, I would NOT waste it on a GS on Anthem.  I am fairly sure that you would have to completely remove the coffee table in the living room to be able to get to the bedroom with a scooter.

Being added as we speak.. the usual suspects.

I agree with what twangster is questioning. RCI sells the cabin including a genie service. To me it feels counter-intuitive to then pay extra to the person providing that included service. Living somewhere without tipping/gratuities I really struggle with this.

As you are sailing on Ovation while it is Australia, that is an interesting question. As it is not normal to tip here, I suspect unless the guests are American or Canadian a lot of guests wouldn’t tip at all or tip a lot. For example they provide a lot a services that a conceirge would provide and I have never tipped a conceirge and nor do many people in this market.
i know the people that we sailed with on Ovation who had a genie did not tip him. Anita and I If we had a genie on a 14 day cruise down here we would probably tip around $100. If we were in the US we would tip more as that would be the expectation.
if you comfortable tipping maybe you could calculate 1-2% of the cabin price and tip them that. We had a not at a Suite with a genie and that was around $20,000 NZD so that would equate to $200-$400 NZD

It depends on the country you are in. In Australia or New Zealand you lose the whole deposit which is either $200 or $400 depending on the length of the cruise.
When booking a non refundable cruise you will see the fine print by clicking on cancellation policy on the guest information screen of the booking screen.

 

It depends on the country you are in. In Australia or New Zealand you lose the whole deposit which is either $200 or $400 depending on the length of the cruise.
When booking a non refundable cruise you will see the fine print by clicking on cancellation policy on the guest information screen of the booking screen.

 

Nope, unfortunately its never a Victoria's Secret model charter cruise

Nope, unfortunately its never a Victoria's Secret model charter cruise

Nope, unfortunately its never a Victoria's Secret model charter cruise