Allure Star Class Take Two

[Tiffeven]

Well my husband has been after me about blogging our trip, so here goes.  He claims that he will be helping me blog, but I'll believe it when I see it.  Atleast at this moment he is sitting next to me looking at the screen and not reddit for once.

A little background on us:

I'm Tiffany, and he's Steven.  Our circus consists of four kids who are nine, seven, one, and eight months.  Steven retired from the Army last year, and I'm a stay at home mom.  We knew we wanted more time to be able to cruise, so we decided to take a stab at homeschooling this year.  So far so good, and to make it even better, it is significantly cheaper cruising when it's not over school break.

Our cruise plans:

We were originally on the Allure of the Seas September 1st cruise that got shortened by three days due to Dorian.  We stuck with the cruise, and had an amazing time and got a nice future cruise credit since we were in a 2 bedroom aquatheater suite.  It was so great, in fact, that we had to do a "grounding cruise" in a non-Star class cabin to bring us back down to Earth.  Guess it didn't work, because here we are doing another Star class cruise on November 17th.

The ship and cabin:

Allure of the Seas 

10730 (2 bedroom aquatheater suite)

We would have loved to be back in the deck 8 aquatheater suite, but since it's a last minute booking for a family of six, we were lucky to find this one open.

We will try to keep this as live as possible but with four kids and star class food coma, no promises. 

 

[Lovetocruise2002]

Haha...we tried the “grounding” technique too. We failed. Following along.

[Tiffeven]

We booked this cruise on 10/10 and immediately emailed Jay asking if he would be okay with us requesting him again.  Received a reply that night from Anna saying Jay would still be on vacation and that we'd have Alan.  We will miss Jay, but we are looking forward to meeting Alan.  Speaking of, if anyone has any gift ideas for Alan or would like to say anything about him, we would more than appreciate it.  We received our questionnaire the day after booking.  Now, it is just a waiting game for our genie email, but I feel like we cheated since we already know who our genie will be.

[S0nny]

7 hours ago, Tiffeven said:

We will try to keep this as live as possible but with four kids and star class food coma, no promises

lol

 

Thanks for any and all updates! We're cruising in a month and DEFINITELY not cruising Star Class .

For now I'll live through you! 

[AshleyDillo]

12 hours ago, Tiffeven said:

Well my husband has been after me about blogging our trip, so here goes.  He claims that he will be helping me blog, but I'll believe it when I see it. 

Hah!  You are all over social media that I've seen but I have yet to see Steven chime in

13 hours ago, Tiffeven said:

We were originally on the Allure of the Seas September 1st cruise that got shortened by three days due to Dorian.  We stuck with the cruise, and had an amazing time and got a nice future cruise credit since we were in a 2 bedroom aquatheater suite. 

Definitely following along!  It was great to meet you guys on Allure and I can't wait until 2021 when we cruise with your crew again!  

I know you've got other cruises between now and then..if you blog all of them we can practically watch your kiddos grow up! 

[Tiffeven]

5 hours ago, S0nny said:

lol

 

Thanks for any and all updates! We're cruising in a month and DEFINITELY not cruising Star Class .

For now I'll live through you! 

When I'm not cruising, I'm vicariously living through everybody else's blog on here.  Glad to have you following along.  Star or not, any cruise is better than no cruise.  Have a blast!

[S0nny]

1 hour ago, Tiffeven said:

Star or not, any cruise is better than no cruise

Ain’t that the darn truth!

[DJsMrs]

We’re in that exact room Dec 8 - super excited to follow along!!

[Queenbeecruises]

I am bursting with excitement to follow along.  Our first star class cruise is 11/30/2019 so I can not wait to read yours!!!  

 

[GregD]

Following along as well. I have to wait for February 2021 for our first star class experience. We will also be in a ATS2BR, except on Oasis.

[Tiffeven]

4 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Hah!  You are all over social media that I've seen but I have yet to see Steven chime in

Definitely following along!  It was great to meet you guys on Allure and I can't wait until 2021 when we cruise with your crew again!  

I know you've got other cruises between now and then..if you blog all of them we can practically watch your kiddos grow up! 

Steven said "She's on social media so much, that I don't have to be."  In other words, let the wife do the work and then he chimed in, "I'm just here for my looks."  #sigh

It was so nice meeting y'all last month. We are looking forward to cruising with you again in 2021.  We're still jealous that y'all got deck 8, but we are more than happy with our deck 9 A2.  Good point about watching the kiddos grow up.  I hadn't even thought about it that way.  

[Tiffeven]

2 hours ago, DJsMrs said:

We’re in that exact room Dec 8 - super excited to follow along!!

You are going to love it, but I warn you, you will be addicted to Star class after that.

[Tiffeven]

1 hour ago, Queenbeecruises said:

I am bursting with excitement to follow along.  Our first star class cruise is 11/30/2019 so I can not wait to read yours!!!  

 

I was just reading your blog yesterday and am very much looking forward to following along.  I would love to do a villa suite with our extended family, but we've yet to even get them to agree to a cruise.

[Tiffeven]

54 minutes ago, emsff02 said:

Following along as well. I have to wait for February 2021 for our first star class experience. We will also be in a 2BRATS, except on Oasis.

You are going to be spoiled.  I understand how waiting feels like eternity as we had to wait about 11 months between our last cruise and our September 1st cruise due to pregnancy (can't cruise after 24 weeks pregnant) and waiting for the littlest one to turn six months.  Once we got on board... or rather, once we met the genie in the terminal, we realized how much the wait was worth it.  Just keep yourself busy with blogs and youtube vlogs, and it will be here before you know it.

[Lovetocruise2002]

15 minutes ago, Tiffeven said:

You are going to love it, but I warn you, you will be addicted to Star class after that.

^^^ @DJsMrs That is truth right there!

[DJsMrs]

16 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

^^^ @DJsMrs That is truth right there!

We have two more booked after this

[The Cruise Junkie]

I Will Be Following This One. Have A Great Cruise On Allure.

[Lovetocruise2002]

22 minutes ago, DJsMrs said:

We have two more booked after this

We also had three more SC cruises booked even before we took our first one! 

[Tiffeven]

29 minutes ago, DJsMrs said:

We have two more booked after this

 

5 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

We also had three more SC cruises booked even before we took our first one! 

Even booking is addictive.   We have three more Star class booked after this and seven on ships that don't have Star class.  I need to delete Royal out of my phone, I feel like I book a new cruise everytime there is a new sale.

[Tiffeven]

19 minutes ago, Jaymac Radio said:

I Will Be Following This One. Have A Great Cruise On Allure.

Thanks.  Glad to have you following along.

[Lovetocruise2002]

7 minutes ago, Tiffeven said:

Even booking is addictive.   

That is the general consensus here on the message boards. YOLO Book It and we all enable each other. 

[Andrew72681]

4 hours ago, emsff02 said:

Following along as well. I have to wait for February 2021 for our first star class experience. We will also be in a 2BRATS, except on Oasis.

We’re doing one of those in November 2020 as well. On that cruise @Tiffeven is right below us. 

[Tiffeven]

8 minutes ago, Andrew72681 said:

We’re doing one of those in November 2020 as well. On that cruise @Tiffeven is right below us. 

I'm so excited about that cruise.  Revamped Oasis is going to be awesome.  We definitely should try to get our genies to coordinate the escape room , so our ten year olds can join.

[Lovetocruise2002]

1 hour ago, Andrew72681 said:

We’re doing one of those in November 2020 as well. On that cruise @Tiffeven is right below us. 

 

56 minutes ago, Tiffeven said:

I'm so excited about that cruise.  Revamped Oasis is going to be awesome.  

I have the A2 for Oasis in March 2020! Down to 5 months dry dock now.

[Tiffeven]

3 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

 

I have the A2 for Oasis in March 2020! Down to 5 months dry dock now.

That's awesome!  I can't wait to read your blog.  It will help me pass the days until our November 2020 Star Class.  I probably read your "I Dream of Genie" blog five times while we were waiting for our September cruise.

[Andrew72681]

2 hours ago, Tiffeven said:

I'm so excited about that cruise.  Revamped Oasis is going to be awesome.  We definitely should try to get our genies to coordinate the escape room , so our ten year olds can join.

Definitely, and after reading @WAAAYTOOO’s master class on cabin crawls we definitely need one of those as well. 

[Tiffeven]

Steven: I've been trying to symbolize my wives last Star Class experience on my first true comment here. Here I go...

[Tiffeven]

1 hour ago, Andrew72681 said:

Definitely, and after reading @WAAAYTOOO’s master class on cabin crawls we definitely need one of those as well. 

Yes, we do.  We will have to set something up on our cruise critic group.

[WAAAYTOOO]

I’m somewhat concerned after reading accounts of Genies who would not coordinate the Cabin Crawls without a fee.  Maybe the days of gala Cabin Crawl parties is over.  I sure hope not.  It was a wonderful service.  I’m not saying it isn’t a lot of work for the Genies.  It is.

Maybe the new strategy should be NOT to mention Cabin Crawl at all.  Just request food and drinks without mentioning the reason.

[Tiffeven]

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I’m somewhat concerned after reading accounts of Genies who would not coordinate the Cabin Crawls without a fee.  Maybe the days of gala Cabin Crawl parties is over.  I sure hope not.  It was a wonderful service.  I’m not saying it isn’t a lot of work for the Genies.  It is.

Maybe the new strategy should be NOT to mention Cabin Crawl at all.  Just request food and drinks without mentioning the reason.

We were definitely disappointed when Jay told us we'd have to pay for the food for our cabin crawl, but like I said there was 59 of us, so maybe, it was because of such a large group.  When we had friends over to play cards against humanity one evening, they had no problem delivering food.  We asked for light snacks as it was only four of us and they showed up with a ton a food and beer.  Granted, our friends were also Star class, so there was two genies coordinating snacks.  I wonder how much different it would have went over if I had just ordered a bunch of snacks rather than mentioning it was for a cabin crawl.  Maybe that's what we should do @Andrew72681 next November. 

[AshleyDillo]

Our Genie helped a little bit on Anthem.  He wasn't able to get some stuff we had asked for such as some stuff similar to what would be on a Jamie's plank (meats and cheeses and the like) because he said they weren't open at that time, which is understandable but I would think there would be other ways to source something similar.  He did get some fruit and I believe chicken fingers but we put in a room service order ourselves to have delivered with a lot of the finger foods on the menu.  I also went and ordered in-person a Izumi to-go order since the Genie had made it seem like delivery of that wouldn't be an option since they weren't open until shortly before the Cabin Crawl.  This was in 2017, though, so near the start of the Genie program and the Genie we had is no longer with them.

[CGTLH]

23 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

Our Genie helped a little bit on Anthem.  He wasn't able to get some stuff we had asked for such as some stuff similar to what would be on a Jamie's plank (meats and cheeses and the like) because he said they weren't open at that time, which is understandable but I would think there would be other ways to source something similar.  He did get some fruit and I believe chicken fingers but we put in a room service order ourselves to have delivered with a lot of the finger foods on the menu.  I also went and ordered in-person a Izumi to-go order since the Genie had made it seem like delivery of that wouldn't be an option since they weren't open until shortly before the Cabin Crawl.  This was in 2017, though, so near the start of the Genie program and the Genie we had is no longer with them.

This was the Genie ordered/delivered spread.

Still can't recall the exact excuse given. I remember the crawl was planned close to when dining venues would have been stopping service. Thinking 1:30 to 2:00 PM range.

[JVPIII]

On 10/14/2019 at 1:47 PM, emsff02 said:

Following along as well. I have to wait for February 2021 for our first star class experience. We will also be in a 2BRATS, except on Oasis.

Which sailing? My family will be in our first Star Class room on the Oasis sailing leaving January 31, 2021 also in a AT2BD, cabin 9330. We are super excited as I put the deposit down on it yesterday.

[GregD]

38 minutes ago, JVPIII said:

Which sailing? My family will be in our first Star Class room on the Oasis sailing leaving January 31, 2021 also in a AT2BD, cabin 9330. We are super excited as I put the deposit down on it yesterday.

We are Feb 21st in the same cabin!

[JVPIII]

27 minutes ago, emsff02 said:

We are Feb 21st in the same cabin!

Well we will try to keep it together for you . No Promises!

[Andrew72681]

On 10/15/2019 at 11:12 AM, Tiffeven said:

We were definitely disappointed when Jay told us we'd have to pay for the food for our cabin crawl, but like I said there was 59 of us, so maybe, it was because of such a large group.  When we had friends over to play cards against humanity one evening, they had no problem delivering food.  We asked for light snacks as it was only four of us and they showed up with a ton a food and beer.  Granted, our friends were also Star class, so there was two genies coordinating snacks.  I wonder how much different it would have went over if I had just ordered a bunch of snacks rather than mentioning it was for a cabin crawl.  Maybe that's what we should do @Andrew72681 next November. 

Sounds like a plan. One other thought I had was having different snacks along the way in the star class cabins on the crawl. Any idea how the genie assignments usually go? Both being in AQ suites do you think we’ll have the same genie?

[Tiffeven]

6 hours ago, Andrew72681 said:

Sounds like a plan. One other thought I had was having different snacks along the way in the star class cabins on the crawl. Any idea how the genie assignments usually go? Both being in AQ suites do you think we’ll have the same genie?

It really depends.   Usually the genies have certain cabins that they look after, and unless you request a certain genie, you get whichever one is assigned to your cabin.  For example, on the November 17, 2019 sailing, Anna is in charge of 10330 and Alan is in charge of 10730, so just because we are both staying in Aquatheater suites does not mean that we have the same genie.  What I can tell you from my limited Star class experience is that the genies work very well together, so even if we have different genies, it shouldn't be a problem having them coordinate together.

[Tiffeven]

31 days out and we received our genie email!  Even though I knew it was going to be Alan, I still got super excited when I saw it in my inbox.  Last time, we received our email at 28 days, so I have been checking my email almost nonstop for the past few days.  There's something about receiving the genie email that makes it seem more real.  I responded to the email with a pdf of snacks we like, our daily routine, places we want to eat and ones we want to skip, and shows and activities that we are interested in.  I really was not expecting a reply so soon, but Alan already replied.  He seems responsive and enthusiastic, and we are very much looking forward to meeting him.

[JVPIII]

21 hours ago, Tiffeven said:

31 days out and we received our genie email!  Even though I knew it was going to be Alan, I still got super excited when I saw it in my inbox.  Last time, we received our email at 28 days, so I have been checking my email almost nonstop for the past few days.  There's something about receiving the genie email that makes it seem more real.  I responded to the email with a pdf of snacks we like, our daily routine, places we want to eat and ones we want to skip, and shows and activities that we are interested in.  I really was not expecting a reply so soon, but Alan already replied.  He seems responsive and enthusiastic, and we are very much looking forward to meeting him.

Would you share your requests? Trying to get an idea what to ask for.

[Tiffeven]

51 minutes ago, JVPIII said:

Would you share your requests? Trying to get an idea what to ask for.

Here is a screenshot of the list we sent Alan.  He read through it and said everything would be taken care of.