Karannk Posted December 8, 2019 Report Share Posted December 8, 2019 Our first star class cruise on Anthem of the Seas is approaching quickly. Today marks 50 days to go. We completed our genie survey this morning. This will be our first time as a family on Royal Caribbean (the husband previously sailed as a child on RCI). We have sailed on DCL concierge twice, both times on the Magic, once in the Walt Suite. The rising prices of DCL concierge had caused me to look into other options, and it seems that the amenities provided to star class cruisers on RCI are far beyond what is offered on DCL… and for a better price! Our suite will include myself, the husband, and our 8 yr old son (who will be celebrating his 9th birthday onboard). My parents will also be joining us on the cruise, but will be in a separate cabin. Cruise Itinerary: 11 night Southern Caribbean (Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Kitts) from Cape Liberty, NJ on 1/27/2020. Stateroom: Owner’s Loft #8720 Shore Excursions: St. Maarten Beach Rendezvous. Catamaran Sail, Snorkel, and Beach Cruise in Antigua. 4x4 Island Safari & Beach in St. Kitts. All were booked online on the cruise planner with Royal Caribbean. Transportation: We are fortunate to live approximately 2 1/2 hours from the port, therefore will be arranging transportation for the entire family through Delaware Express. We have used them many times for airport transportation, and have found them to be very reliable. Bonus: We didn’t realize this when we booked the cruise, but the Super Bowl will be happening while we are onboard. Looking forward to finding out who our genie will be! Lovetocruise2002, Jax, Grabthars Hammer and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 9, 2019 Report Share Posted December 9, 2019 5 hours ago, Karannk said: Our first star class cruise on Anthem of the Seas is approaching quickly. Today marks 50 days to go. We completed our genie survey this morning. This will be our first time as a family on Royal Caribbean (the husband previously sailed as a child on RCI). We have sailed on DCL concierge twice, both times on the Magic, once in the Walt Suite. The rising prices of DCL concierge had caused me to look into other options, and it seems that the amenities provided to star class cruisers on RCI are far beyond what is offered on DCL… and for a better price! Our suite will include myself, the husband, and our 8 yr old son (who will be celebrating his 9th birthday onboard). My parents will also be joining us on the cruise, but will be in a separate cabin. Cruise Itinerary: 11 night Southern Caribbean (Puerto Rico, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Lucia, St. Kitts) from Cape Liberty, NJ on 1/27/2020. Stateroom: Owner’s Loft #8720 Shore Excursions: St. Maarten Beach Rendezvous. Catamaran Sail, Snorkel, and Beach Cruise in Antigua. 4x4 Island Safari & Beach in St. Kitts. All were booked online on the cruise planner with Royal Caribbean. Transportation: We are fortunate to live approximately 2 1/2 hours from the port, therefore will be arranging transportation for the entire family through Delaware Express. We have used them many times for airport transportation, and have found them to be very reliable. Bonus: We didn’t realize this when we booked the cruise, but the Super Bowl will be happening while we are onboard. Looking forward to finding out who our genie will be! I loved Star Class on Anthem. I know you are going to have so much fun. 11 nights ! Woohoo ! Deck 8 is super nice. There will be so much for your son to do and having the Genie to assist is going to make it very special. Karannk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rags1 Posted December 12, 2019 Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 I've sailed on the Disney Magic in concierge.. loved it. I had the Walt Suite reserved several years ago but had to cancel. In 45 days I'll begin my third Star Class adventure with RCCL. I loved Disney - they do so many things right! But the Star Class experience can't be beat. You'll have a great time. Enjoy the experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sweety Posted December 12, 2019 Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 Following. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Cruise Junkie Posted December 12, 2019 Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 I Will Be Following This One. Have A Fun Cruise!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JLMoran Posted December 12, 2019 Report Share Posted December 12, 2019 Following this with interest. This is an itinerary I'd like to do one year once both kids are out of the house and school schedules are no longer an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jax Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 We have a similar story...3 concierge DCL on Fantasy and Dream and we are 7 days from our first star class in Royal! Like you I am giving the BLOG a try. Will be following along on your trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwagsAF Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 We will also be on this sailing! Just upgraded to a grand loft, and this will be our first time in star class. No contact from our genie yet, but since we just upgraded I am not surprised. I am also excited to see who our genie is and get started preparing. we also used to be avid DIsney Cruisers, but made the switch to RCCL for the same reason. We just couldn’t justify the rising prices for what was offered. In our opinion, the royal ships are far superior to disney, even for our children. we have 2 boys, ages 12 and 9. They LOVE Royal. Your son will have a great time no doubt. Jax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 Wow ! ANOTHER one ! Which GLS did you get ? Hopefully you will hear from your Genie very soon. Such an exciting time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srp431 Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 On 12/12/2019 at 7:52 AM, JLMoran said: Following this with interest. This is an itinerary I'd like to do one year once both kids are out of the house and school schedules are no longer an issue. Agreed, cruising during the school break holidays, is a big challenge for our budget, including the flights, since we live no where near a port Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwagsAF Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Wow ! ANOTHER one ! Which GLS did you get ? Hopefully you will hear from your Genie very soon. Such an exciting time. We got the Grand Loft Suite with 3 balconies. We are in stateroom 10720. Hopefully the weather is nice enough to enjoy the balconies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 We had this one on the second half of our Anthem B2B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ogilthorpe Posted December 14, 2019 Report Share Posted December 14, 2019 We have this suite in feb 2021, and are looking forward to your observations and experiences! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Gadwa Posted December 16, 2019 Report Share Posted December 16, 2019 Following!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karannk Posted December 21, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 21, 2019 We received a Royal Up email, inviting us to bid for the Royal Loft Suite. Currently, we are booked in the Owner’s Loft Suite. The upgrade would provide a larger room, separate bedroom area (sofa in media room can be converted to a queen bed) for our son, a bathtub, a larger dining table that would better accommodate the addition of my parents for meals, and of course a hot tub. I placed a bid. I know that the chances are slim, but we figured why not? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 21, 2019 Report Share Posted December 21, 2019 32 minutes ago, Karannk said: We received a Royal Up email, inviting us to bid for the Royal Loft Suite. Currently, we are booked in the Owner’s Loft Suite. The upgrade would provide a larger room, separate bedroom area (sofa in media room can be converted to a queen bed) for our son, a bathtub, a larger dining table that would better accommodate the addition of my parents for meals, and of course a hot tub. I placed a bid. I know that the chances are slim, but we figured why not? That's a Win-Win in my world !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karannk Posted December 28, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 Today marks 30 days. I am impatiently awaiting our genie assignment email. Looks like Andres and Romina are the current genies on Anthem. I guess there’s a good chance that they’ll be the genies onboard in 1 month’s time? Getting excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted December 28, 2019 Report Share Posted December 28, 2019 1 hour ago, Karannk said: Today marks 30 days. I am impatiently awaiting our genie assignment email. Looks like Andres and Romina are the current genies on Anthem. I guess there’s a good chance that they’ll be the genies onboard in 1 month’s time? Getting excited! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karannk Posted January 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 Genie Assignment We received an email from Andres Villarreal last evening. He will be our genie on our upcoming cruise. I've read some very good things about him, so this is exciting. I know that there is quite a bit of debate about whether or not the pre-cruise survey is actually read by the genie - and now I have proof. In the survey (which was sent to only to my husband's email address), I had asked them to include my email address in all future genie communication. Not only did we *both* get the email from Andres last evening, but in the body of the message he asked that I provide him with my parents' cabin number. Nice attention to detail. We're off to a great start! I'm currently working on our email reply, and will update with more details once available. Bobbieajd, Lovetocruise2002, JLMoran and 1 other 2 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 1, 2020 Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 1 hour ago, Karannk said: Genie Assignment We received an email from Andres Villarreal last evening. He will be our genie on our upcoming cruise. I've read some very good things about him, so this is exciting. I know that there is quite a bit of debate about whether or not the pre-cruise survey is actually read by the genie - and now I have proof. In the survey (which was sent to only to my husband's email address), I had asked them to include my email address in all future genie communication. Not only did we *both* get the email from Andres last evening, but in the body of the message he asked that I provide him with my parents' cabin number. Nice attention to detail. We're off to a great start! I'm currently working on our email reply, and will update with more details once available. Are you going to do a live blog ?? Please, please. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karannk Posted January 1, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 3 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said: Are you going to do a live blog ?? Please, please. I'm going to try. ellcee and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwagsAF Posted January 1, 2020 Report Share Posted January 1, 2020 2 hours ago, Karannk said: Genie Assignment We received an email from Andres Villarreal last evening. He will be our genie on our upcoming cruise. I've read some very good things about him, so this is exciting. I know that there is quite a bit of debate about whether or not the pre-cruise survey is actually read by the genie - and now I have proof. In the survey (which was sent to only to my husband's email address), I had asked them to include my email address in all future genie communication. Not only did we *both* get the email from Andres last evening, but in the body of the message he asked that I provide him with my parents' cabin number. Nice attention to detail. We're off to a great start! I'm currently working on our email reply, and will update with more details once available. You lucked out with Andres from what I have read! We got our notification last week from Romina for the same sailing. While I haven’t heard too many things about her (I believe she is brand new), she is also off to a great start. Excited for the countdown... only 26 more days! WAAAYTOOO and Karannk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetPea Posted January 6, 2020 Report Share Posted January 6, 2020 We have the 12 night version of your cruise in December so will be following along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabthars Hammer Posted January 6, 2020 Report Share Posted January 6, 2020 We have a future sailing on Anthem in a GLS! Will be following and hoping for a live blog! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karannk Posted January 19, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2020 Pre-Cruise Communication We have been in touch with Andres via email. Generally speaking, our emails have been answered within hours -- which is pretty impressive! We have a port arrival time of 1030AM. Andres has offered to have my parents (who are not Star class) check-in with us at the port, the only caveat being that their luggage would be delivered to our suite. No worries, since their room is right down the hall. We have requested that our mini-bar be stocked with: bottled water, Coke Zero/Diet Coke, bottled unsweetened/diet iced tea, hard cider, and Amstel Light. Our son will have a surprise birthday celebration with chocolate cake at some point during the cruise. Disembarkation will be around 845AM, so we are planning to have our transportation meet us at 9AM. I have read online that there is no indoor place to wait after disembarkation, and since it will be early February and presumably COLD, we need to make sure that this is coordinated well. Most of our packing is finished. Still need to do a few last minute things. 8 days and counting! So excited! amanuel2992, WAAAYTOOO, SwagsAF and 2 others 2 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amanuel2992 Posted January 21, 2020 Report Share Posted January 21, 2020 @Karannk looks to be a delightful cruise! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwagsAF Posted January 21, 2020 Report Share Posted January 21, 2020 On 1/19/2020 at 12:53 PM, Karannk said: Pre-Cruise Communication We have been in touch with Andres via email. Generally speaking, our emails have been answered within hours -- which is pretty impressive! We have a port arrival time of 1030AM. Andres has offered to have my parents (who are not Star class) check-in with us at the port, the only caveat being that their luggage would be delivered to our suite. No worries, since their room is right down the hall. We have requested that our mini-bar be stocked with: bottled water, Coke Zero/Diet Coke, bottled unsweetened/diet iced tea, hard cider, and Amstel Light. Our son will have a surprise birthday celebration with chocolate cake at some point during the cruise. Disembarkation will be around 845AM, so we are planning to have our transportation meet us at 9AM. I have read online that there is no indoor place to wait after disembarkation, and since it will be early February and presumably COLD, we need to make sure that this is coordinated well. Most of our packing is finished. Still need to do a few last minute things. 8 days and counting! So excited! We have also had a wonderful pre cruise experience with Romina. It seems as though the Anthem has some great new Genies! Can’t wait for embarkment on Monday! Jax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karannk Posted January 21, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2020 Genie Switcheroo We received an email yesterday stating that Andres will not be our genie after all. He will be “departing the ship momentarily” during our sailing, therefore has handed over official Royal Genie duties to Yen Lee. I have heard some very good things about Yen, so I am sure that we are still in good hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted January 21, 2020 Report Share Posted January 21, 2020 17 minutes ago, Karannk said: Genie Switcheroo We received an email yesterday stating that Andres will not be our genie after all. He will be “departing the ship momentarily” during our sailing, therefore has handed over official Royal Genie duties to Yen Lee. I have heard some very good things about Yen, so I am sure that we are still in good hands. We had Yen last Feb on our Anthem B2B. She is a great Genie but she lacks anticipation. She is extremely literal. Tell her what you want and she will get it for you but there is no spontaneity or anticipation. She is a bit impersonal - particularly at first. I have no idea how she is with kids but I think she might do well. She rode the North Star and bumper cars with us and seemed to have fun. Jax 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabthars Hammer Posted January 25, 2020 Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 On 1/21/2020 at 4:35 PM, SwagsAF said: We have also had a wonderful pre cruise experience with Romina. It seems as though the Anthem has some great new Genies! Can’t wait for embarkment on Monday! Have fun!! Please come back to let us know how everything went and with a review of Romina!! I just got her as my Genie and haven't really found any reviews of her on the ship besides that she's new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grabthars Hammer Posted January 25, 2020 Report Share Posted January 25, 2020 On 1/21/2020 at 4:45 PM, Karannk said: Genie Switcheroo We received an email yesterday stating that Andres will not be our genie after all. He will be “departing the ship momentarily” during our sailing, therefore has handed over official Royal Genie duties to Yen Lee. I have heard some very good things about Yen, so I am sure that we are still in good hands. I heard she has a lot of pull on the ship. That pretty much anything you ask for gets done! Karannk and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnK6404 Posted January 26, 2020 Report Share Posted January 26, 2020 Have a great time! Will be following! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GregD Posted January 27, 2020 Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 Happy Cruise Day. I'm looking forward to following along! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karannk Posted January 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 Currently in the Delaware Express transport van on the way to port! I didn’t sleep too well last night. Too excited! Ogilthorpe, Jax, WAAAYTOOO and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karannk Posted January 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 Embarkation Lunch at Coastal Kitchen While we had originally planned embarkation lunch at Chops, we opted to change to CK based upon Yen’s recommendation. She has us scheduled for dinner at Chops tomorrow night. ellcee, The Cruise Junkie, Guy Gadwa and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karannk Posted January 27, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2020 Room Goodies Skigoofy, Lovetocruise2002, JLMoran and 10 others 12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa6191 Posted January 28, 2020 Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 4 hours ago, Karannk said: What is this?? Looks amazing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karannk Posted January 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 6 minutes ago, lisa6191 said: What is this?? Looks amazing! Royal chocolate cake. It’s pretty awesome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lisa6191 Posted January 28, 2020 Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 Just now, Karannk said: Royal chocolate cake. It’s pretty awesome. When we had the Royal chocolate cake on Explorer, it did NOT look like that! I wonder if it is different in Coastal Kitchen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karannk Posted January 28, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2020 Coastal Kitchen Dinner Caesar salad Crispy pork belly Rigatoni Seared duck breast Apple pie a la mode Jax, Guy Gadwa, ellcee and 6 others 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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