First Time Star Class 8 night Holiday Bahamas Cruise Anthem 12/20/19

[Jax 490]

Our HVAC issues have finally been fixed!! I am simplifying the issue but essentially the main floor thermostat was set to heat (couldn’t get it off heat setting) and was directing heat over my bed on 2nd floor.  The HVAC team tore apart some things on both levels and things are finally running smoothly. They came again today to do some A/C testing. The HVAC supervisor checks in a couple times a day and is monitoring our thermostats remotely.  He is the best!! Andreas said he would share details about a future OBC for the hastle and inconvenience.  I will update once I know more.  

[Jax 490]

Review of Spectra’s Cabaret 

I enjoyed the technical aspects of the 270 theatre and the performances individually were good but the show lacked a storyline. I thought it was a futuristic storyline  but then it went in a completely different direction.  I was confused. 
Lindsay’s review is that it was 54 minutes too long and 55 minutes of his life he will never get back. He felt the entertainment was better watching people fight over food in the people jammer.  

 

[Jax 490]

Lindsay hits I Fly & Wave Rider ️️️️️
Lindsay had tons of fun doing both these activities. Star class benefits really pay off as can book I Fly multiple times and star class gets you preferred access on the wave rider  
If he can move in the morning from the workout he got today on the wave rider he is trying  stand up tomorrow. Hours are 9-5 on 2 remaining sea days.   

[Jax 490]

Photo Package 

We bought the unlimited digital photo package. We got a great Black Friday deal for $149. I had no idea what to expect; as I only knew what Disney did. But it was definitely worth it. Evening pictures start at 5 and end around 10 with 2, 30 minutes breaks in between sessions. Most are set up on Decks 3,4&5. Throughout the day there have been pictures with Santa and the Captain and various others.  And a few times they have been at specialty restaurants.  They took some at Labadee but I didn’t see them in the suites area (I may have just missed them) The only suggestion I would have is to change up the poses. I think Disney offered more creative poses and props.  But regardless I would purchase again as they are a great keepsake of our trip.  

[Jax 490]

We are down to our last 2 sea days . So glad we have 3 nights in NYC to look forward to before heading home.  We have lots more to do. More I fly, bridge tour, We Will Rock You, comedy show, Wave rider, BINGO and North Star.  
Lunch for the boys is at Izumi today with me ordering off alternate menu. 
Getting laundry done today before I start to pack. I love that laundry service is included as it would have been a budget killer.  I was a bit reluctant with my stuff but so far everything has been great. The only items I don’t send are ones that I hang to dry. In those cases I have requested dry clean. It’s all been great.  They are using our laundry pods provided. 

[Jax 490]

Food & Beverage deliveries to Suite 

I read lots about this on other star class blogs. The only deliveries to our room were beverages. Everything I mentioned in my Pre cruise communication with Andreas that didn’t come in a can was delivered all at once. It didn’t matter whether we were in our suite to accept the delivery. The drinks had ice in them so by the time we got back they were watered down and undrinkable. It was wasteful and we asked for this to stop. None of favorite snacks were ever delivered.  I don’t think Andreas paid much attention to our genie questionnaire but rather relied on our pre cruise emails. In hindsight it seems like it was a waste of my time. 

[Lovetocruise2002 10,783]

7 minutes ago, Jax said:

None of favorite snacks were ever delivered.  I don’t think Andreas paid much attention to our genie questionnaire but rather relied on our pre cruise emails. In hindsight it seems like it was a waste of my time. 

I really think that the reading of the pre-cruise questionnaire can really vary from genie to genie.  Even pre-cruise communication can vary.  Some Genies (I've heard) barely communicate pre-cruise and then once on board they are fantastic!

[WAAAYTOOO 11,568]

17 minutes ago, Jax said:

None of favorite snacks were ever delivered.

Wow !  I'm stunned.  I had to read this 3 times to make sure I was reading it correctly.  This is the first time I've EVER heard of anyone getting LESS food than they wanted.

Did you ever mention snack food delivery to Andreas ?  I completely believe that he might not have read the pre-cruise questionnaire.  I think that thing is a total waste of time.  It's much too far in the future to be of any real help (at least, it seems that way to me).  ...but I would have thought that Andreas would have discussed this with you at the very beginning of the cruise.  He did not ?

It is FAR more common to have waaaytoo much food delivered vs nothing at all !  We finally instructed Joyce to cease ALL afternoon random food deliveries and only bring food that we ordered directly.  The random afternoon food would just sit there on the table and get stale.  How many grapes can 2 people eat ?

[Jax 490]

11 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Wow !  I'm stunned.  I had to read this 3 times to make sure I was reading it correctly.  This is the first time I've EVER heard of anyone getting LESS food than they wanted.

Did you ever mention snack food delivery to Andreas ?  I completely believe that he might not have read the pre-cruise questionnaire.  I think that thing is a total waste of time.  It's much too far in the future to be of any real help (at least, it seems that way to me).  ...but I would have thought that Andreas would have discussed this with you at the very beginning of the cruise.  He did not ?

It is FAR more common to have waaaytoo much food delivered vs nothing at all !  We finally instructed Joyce to cease ALL afternoon random food deliveries and only bring food that we ordered directly.  The random afternoon food would just sit there on the table and get stale.  How many grapes can 2 people eat ?

On Sunday I asked Andreas to stop beverage deliveries to room unless they were in a can or we were there to receive them. I told him we only wanted our favorite snacks and foods delivered as per our list provided.  No food has been delivered. Really, we don’t need more food but from what I read on other reviews this surprised me. I think it comes down to the genie as Romina (another genie) is everywhere with her families. Making deliveries, meeting up with her families throughout the day. I think Andreas is just less visible and works behind the scenes. We didn’t get off to a great start onboard as HVAC issues consumed our first 4 days. I have asked Andreas to deliver chips and dip but that’s it. 

[WAAAYTOOO 11,568]

I think I would tend to agree.  This must be a Genie thing.  I am also very surprised.  Even after you mentioned "list provided" he did not think to review that with you ?  Very surprising.

[Jax 490]

1 hour ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I think I would tend to agree.  This must be a Genie thing.  I am also very surprised.  Even after you mentioned "list provided" he did not think to review that with you ?  Very surprising.

I have held off on reviewing genie experience as I want to experience the full 8 days first but with only 2 sea days left I think some of the shortfalls may be due to his newness and inconsistent communication. The schedule the genie provides does not match up with the calendar in the app. So our app says we are eating in places that is wrong. Today for example the app had us at Jaime’s for lunch and Izumi for supper but we were actually scheduled for lunch at Izumi and supper at CK  It has been frustrating to keep track of and it would be ideal if everything was loaded in app calendar.  I also think it would help if we had frequent check ins from Andreas to review the days activities and dining the day before. It isn’t uncommon not to see him until he shows up while we are eating supper. Being new to Royal and star class perhaps we should have done a better job at setting expectations.  We have no idea what the debarkation process is in terms of luggage or last day breakfast or time off Etc. So I will follow up on this. 

[Lovetocruise2002 10,783]

2 hours ago, Jax said:

Being new to Royal and star class perhaps we should have done a better job at setting expectations.  

Please don't take this the wrong way...

I really think that Star class blogs are a double edge sword.  On one hand, it gives you really great information on what you can expect, on the other hand, you cannot help but to make comparisons. 

From what I have learned about Star Class over the last 2-3 years, the basics (saving seats, all inclusive drink/dining package, laundry, etc.) of the program is consistent.  Everything else is not.  All the "special experiences" you hear about, all the pics that people post, it all comes down to Genie and ship and what individual guests ask for.  If we did not know about the experiences of others, we would not know what to expect or ask for and the experience would be great because the basics of the program alone is better than Sea or Sky class.  At the same time, we hear about others and while knowledge is helpful, we expect the same sort of experiences as others.  When this doesn't happen, disappointment sets in. 

In my opinion, this is where Royal drops the ball on Star Class because the experience should be the same across all the ships in the fleet that offer it.  But is is not.  Even the Genies admit that what they can or cannot do really depends what ship they are on.  What I am trying to say is that with your last few days left, don't worry what your experience is like compared to others.  Instead, ask yourself if you are enjoying it.  If you are, then let it be that.  Your experience, while not the same as what you may or may not have heard, isn't any worse if you are still loving and enjoying every minute of it.  New Genie or not, it's still Star Class and that's the best!  And you're still getting way better value than DCL lol.  That's my two cents. 

[Jax 490]

We Will Rock You  ️️️️
Lindsay thought the show was excellent. Great singers, storyline, crowd gets involved, lots of good songs from Queen, good length.  Take the time to go see the show.  

[Jax 490]

Led Zeppelin Tribute band was excellent. Lindsay had a family member who is a huge fan of Led Zeppelin on FaceTime and they loved watching it remotely!  He headed over to the Schooner bar and the guy playing the piano played a request for the same family member on FaceTime
 

[Jax 490]

Laundry is one of my favorite star class perks! Picked up today at 10am and back by dinner time. I finally caught our doing some of his magic...Restocking my Pepsi

[WAAAYTOOO 11,568]

Interesting. Since the Genie was restocking the drinks, that sort of confirms that he (the Genie) procured those drinks on his own.  Normally there is a bar attendant who takes care of the drinks.  Since Royal only has Coke products, I think your Genie got those Pepsi’s for you.  Great service on his part.

[Lovetocruise2002 10,783]

44 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

 Since Royal only has Coke products, I think your Genie got those Pepsi’s for you.  Great service on his part.

+1 on that train of thought.

[Jax 490]

We have a great final day planned tomorrow. The  boys are going to try stand up Wave Rider and hopefully the climbing wall — weather has restricted its hours; cold initially and then winds.  We hope the weather cooperates . Then 1 final I fly session followed by the bridge tour which Reyd and I are super excited about!! Supper at Chops and Lindsays last chance for the seafood tower followed by a headliner finale. 
Good news is that we do not have to put out our luggage tomorrow night Andres will meet us at our suite with a porter and they will take us as far as customs before handing us off to a terminal porter.  We are planning breakfast at Coastal Kitchen Saturday morning. Andres says he has a few good hiding spots for us in life boats if only it were that easy .  

[Jax 490]

Unlimited Photo package - I just found out that when you purchase the unlimited digital package you get a photo book at 50% off so tomorrow will be spent widdling down 200+ pictures to 34. Wish me luck! 

[Jax 490]

Reyd’s first I Fly experience    Photographer got some great shots. Just another reason the photo package is so great! 

[Jax 490]

I sure will miss this view from bed  

[Jax 490]

There’s a ton of stuff happening on our last sea day. Check out Day 8 cruise compass. 
Our highlights today are to hit the thermal suite, I Fly, Bridge tour, hopefully wave rider will be open as it’s currently raining pretty hard, Supper at Chops, attend headliner comedy show starring Greg Vaccariello and fireworks later tonight.  Oh and I gave Harry our last 2 bags of laundry. (I will miss Harry ) And I can’t forget making the final selections for the photo book. 

[WAAAYTOOO 11,568]

I'll be interested to hear how things go in the thermal suite.  Being the last sea day and raining, it is likely to be very busy.  Wonder if being SC will make any difference for you.

[Jax 490]

2 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

I'll be interested to hear how things go in the thermal suite.  Being the last sea day and raining, it is likely to be very busy.  Wonder if being SC will make any difference for you.

It has been great all week. It’s felt like we have been at home using ours as we have never had anyone in there with us. I usually go in about 9 - 9:30 am and Lindsay goes in a bit earlier. I didn’t know what to expect but it has been great! 

[WAAAYTOOO 11,568]

10 minutes ago, Jax said:

It has been great all week. It’s felt like we have been at home using ours as we have never had anyone in there with us. I usually go in about 9 - 9:30 am and Lindsay goes in a bit earlier. I didn’t know what to expect but it has been great! 

Were you allowed to use the thermal suite multiple times without a charge ?   That’s interesting if you were.  Usually it is only once, complimentary.  Originally, SC got unlimited TS access but shortly after the program began, they cut it back to once.