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Star Struck...Star Class on Allure 1/12/20


amanuel2992

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Hi my name is Amanda. My family and I are booked in the royal loft suite and my in laws have the owners pan in our upcoming allure sailing!!! 30 days!!! This is our 3rd Star class sailing but for  my parents this will be their first star class experience. I’m doing this semi live review because before our first star class cruise in March we searched all the boards for reviews on star class so we knew what to expect and I wanted to help others! So if anyone has any questions fire away and I’ll help anyway I can. I’m beyond excited to share this experience with my parents. They luckily have cruised  royal before with us, so I at-least know that they like cruising.

 
 
Our first star class cruise was in March 2019 on Harmony in the Royal loft suite and we had Araceli as our genie  and she was by far amazing! She set the bar so high for genies. I honestly felt like I had it the jackpot of genies! She is wonderful with kids as our daughter is 5 and she made her trip so special. If your lucky enough to ever have her as your genie your in for a real treat. 
 
Our second star class cruise was on Allure in September 2019 in the deck 8 Aqua 2 bedroom, our genies name was Agostina. We really did like her but as I said Araceli had set the bar extremely high and we now had an idea of how we expected star class to go. She did really well but I learned to just be very direct in what we wished to happen or what food we wanted sent to the room. Just be very clear on that and your trip will go really well. Our daughter Lexi loved her, she spent extra time making Lexi feel comfortable and kept doing little surprises for her to make our trip magical! 
 
 
So for this cruise we have already filled out the pre cruise star class questionnaire and we just found out we have Luciano Santos!!! 
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Woohoo !  Another Star Class snob.  Can’t wait for your review. I’ve never had Luciano as a Genie so I can’t offer any information.  I have heard good things about him, however.

Your parents are going to love the Panoramic. Do they have the Grand or Owner’s ?  We just got off the Oasis in the Grand and it was, by far, our favorite room, ever.  It is just incredible. The only negative is the smallish balcony but it did not impact our enjoyment one little bit.  Do they have Luciano as their Genie, too ?  We have the Owner’s next Dec on a Oasis.

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Star class did kind of spoil us and about fed us to death. I already like the fact Luciano emailed us at the 30 day mark. We are starting to set up some dinner and show reservations with him now. I’m going to try to set up a few little food surprises for my parents. 
 

 

My in-laws got the owners pan, this is their first time experiencing this room. Pictures and videos of it look gorgeous. We do have Luciano for both rooms. We had asked during our questionaire if we could have the same genie so setting up dinners and activities would be easier as we all do most things together in the evenings. 
 

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10 hours ago, amanuel2992 said:

Our first star class cruise was in March 2019 on Harmony in the Royal loft suite and we had Araceli as our genie  and she was by far amazing!

Were you on the March 10, 2019 sailing?  We were in the Star Loft and we also had Araceli as our Genie.  I remember she had a family in the Royal Loft and there was a little girl and this family had cabana B2 (beachfront) on Labadee.  Also, there was a bit of mix up and delay while boarding with this family.  Was that you guys?  Small world if it was you!  Anyway, I know exactly what you mean about being completely spoiled by her.  I was just saying to @Rags1, who also had Araceli a bit after us, that she set the bar so high, I am slightly nervous about who we might get in about 90 days from now.  This will be our first SC cruise after Araceli and I am not sure who can match her.  First world problems lol.

I don't know much about Luciano but the things that I have heard are all good.  He has been a Genie for around a year.  I remember hearing that he was trained on Harmony with Sebastian and Araceli and then he headed over to Ovation for a while and now he is on Allure.

Looking forward to following!

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@Lovetocruise2002 We actually went on the 9 night cruise a bit after yours... your review helped us tremendously. Thank you so much for that. 
 

That was our same issue. Araceli anticipated our wants and needs. She just made everything so outstanding and peaceful. Lexi is still asking to go back and see her. I’m so excited to see how Luciano operates. Since he was trained by the both of them... I can imagine I will be very lucky to have him.

Im also going to enjoy Champagne bar one more time before it’s gone. I know this will be our last cruise on Allure before it’s dry dock session and that’s removed. 

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As @Lovetocruise2002said we also had Araceli this past May. We were also in the RLS. Araceli certainly does give other Genies an example of how to do the job!  But I'm confident your Genie will be just as amazing!  We sail Jan 26th in the RLS on the Oasis for our third SC experience. In another 15 days or so we should know who our Genie will be. I know you'll have a fabulous time and I really look forward to your live blog!  

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OOhh - we just got off Allure yesterday with Luciano...   you're in for a good week.  I did feel for him a bit though - we had zero pre-cruise communication with him... just a few emails from Alan (responses were always fast and complete though).   It was Luciano's first week on Allure last week and I wonder if his head was spinning a bit!  He is so lovely though.   Anything you want (within reason) he will make it happen for you as long as you ask for it - I learned not to anticipate him reading my mind (same with my husband - lol).  I didn't get the sense that he is a super proactive genie (which was totally awesome for us as we just wanted to take it easy for the week) - but we did receive a lovely surprise from him one day.

I don't know what suite you're in - but if you have Karen as your suite attendant (we were in 10730 - 2 BR ATS) - you have won the lottery.  She's easily the kindest and one of the hardest working people I've ever met.   She is spectacular.

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22 days to go! Hopefully this will fly by with Christmas and New Years. 
Communication with Luciano has been excellent.

I have let him know the activities we are wanting to do onboard and went ahead and gave a tentative dining schedule, we will probably change that around once onboard and plans change.

Looking really forward to Giovanni’s! We aren’t big fans of Jamie’s so we are very thankful to have Giovanni’s onboard. That should be our anniversary celebration dinner.  
 

 

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20 minutes ago, amanuel2992 said:

22 days to go! Hopefully this will fly by with Christmas and New Years. 
Communication with Luciano has been excellent.

I have let him know the activities we are wanting to do onboard and went ahead and gave a tentative dining schedule, we will probably change that around once onboard and plans change.

Looking really forward to Giovanni’s! We aren’t big fans of Jamie’s so we are very thankful to have Giovanni’s onboard. That should be our anniversary celebration dinner.  
 

 

I agree with you.  Not a fan of Jamie’s 

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  • 2 weeks later...

One week out! ? We have been in contact with Luciano about weekly with different requests we have came up with. I am going to start packing later today, Our daughter would go ahead and fly down now if we would let her. This week will hopefully fly by ? , we are actually asking about getting a specialty liquor on board. I will let everyone know how that goes. 696C7382-66F7-4E86-9ECE-5903D5042E66.thumb.jpeg.96c4f53b8d2d1d292db233cf4f8526ca.jpeg
(picture is from Harmony in March)

I am so ready for some peaceful relaxation time on this balcony. 3DB84E54-CF93-4D1F-AA4D-C95193AE068A.thumb.jpeg.24896badf7e6ac28ad51abd0ef156c26.jpeg

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@Rags1 Once I had this room the balcony spoiled me. It’s so peaceful. I’m bringing some puzzle books to just sit on the balcony and relax. 
 

@Lovetocruise2002 I will do my very best ? I just love to cruise in general. When we get home I’ll be counting down the days till you go and I can live ship life through you. 

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@Lovetocruise2002 I think the room is great for two separate couples and kids. I can foresee that dream becoming a reality. ?️

I want to see the villa sooo bad. 
 

Luciano let me know he has already messaged the right people to try to have it onboard next week so I sure hope it works out for my FIL and dad. They love Crown Peach. 

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1 hour ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

The Villa has nothing on the RLS!  I just love Deck 17!  
 

But that should be an interesting cruise for us in December in the Villa. I will take lots of pics. We have the ATS in 10 weeks. Have you ever had that cabin type?

Please do. We have about 8-11 people who might go on that one if we do it. 
 

We had the ATS 2BR 8730 in September and I feel that it is a great value for star class however we just didn’t care for the room itself. It was pretty loud(travel noise) at night but watching the aqua shows from the balcony was super fun. The deck 8 part was nice as Central Park was just down the hall, helped me not miss deck 17 quite as bad with the suite lounge close by. This view though was so cool ?57EE9EC3-BDE3-4DB4-8DDE-5591C6282B8C.thumb.jpeg.9f42984fd8166dea75f5a459882e5137.jpeg

 

 

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@amanuel2992 our family will have the RLS and the Owners Pan on Allure in 350 days!  I love the way you think?!  It will be our first time in a RLS.  I’m addicted to the Utubes but would love to hear your view of similarities between the RLS on Harmony and Allure. 
About specialty alcohol,  On our most recent SC sailings Harmony has been less liberal with requests for bottles, but I know Genies have ways to make it happen. You can get as many shots or pours as you want, which doesn’t makes sense, but there’s no guarantee of bottle service in your room:-(   
Keep us posted and take lots of pics of royal stuff.  If you need a piano player, I can get a flight in a heartbeat?

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@MamaShark the RLS decor seems very different in the YouTube videos from Harmony to Allure. So I am excited as well to be able to compare them. I will take a lot of photos.

We still haven’t heard back if they will have the Crown Peach brought onboard but if we are lucky enough they do, I know my dad and FIL will be so happy. Luciano emailed us yesterday with the standard port arrival information. Counting down the hours at this point ?

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1 hour ago, amanuel2992 said:

the RLS decor seems very different in the YouTube videos from Harmony to Allure.

Agree.  Not just the RLS but all cabin decor in general.  I personally prefer the decor of HM and SY over OA and AL.  That's why I was disappointed to see that they did not redo them when the amped Oasis.

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Whew finally all packed! I did pretty good, only two suitcases and two carry on’s. Lexi’s suitcase is about the size of ours and it’s just her stuff ? she is definitely the best dressed! We fly out tomorrow around lunch time. We plan to get to the hotel then order food and watch the playoff games. Trying desperately to keep myself busy so time will pass, I cannot wait to get onboard! Still no update on the special liquor request btw.

C6AD1B6F-A7C3-491F-B305-87E46F5E605A.jpeg

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On 12/14/2019 at 9:59 PM, amanuel2992 said:

@Rags1 you guys are going to have so much fun on Oasis. We are supposed to go in May.  We want to go check out all the new stuff. The genie group for Oasis looks great. 

I’m keeping my fingers crossed they keep the good ones. We’re in the AQ2BR in November. 

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4 minutes ago, amanuel2992 said:

Hopefully they will, I can’t remember how long most contracts are maybe 8-9 months?

Nope.  Way shorter.  Genie contracts are typically 5 months and sometimes they get extended to 6 moths.  Only under extenuating circumstances do they go past that.  

Our weather here is not much better today.  I am even more jealous now!!

Safe travels!

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4 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Nope.  Way shorter.  Genie contracts are typically 5 months and sometimes they get extended to 6 moths.  Only under extenuating circumstances do they go past that.  

Our weather here is not much better today.  I am even more jealous now!!

Safe travels!

Thank you soo good to know. Then do they get like 2 months home? I find their jobs so fascinating. 

 

We are here and it’s a lot better  weather here! Update on the bottle request, they can get it onboard but it would be a $220 cost to us soo that was a pass.

6BD270CF-435C-45FE-BF93-81E53A6D0E2C.jpeg

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2 hours ago, amanuel2992 said:

We are here and it’s a lot better  weather here! Update on the bottle request, they can get it onboard but it would be a $220 cost to us soo that was a pass.

Delighted to hear that you made it !  Good luck getting any sleep tonite.

Your experience with the liquor in the cabin is the same as our friends experienced a few years ago - after many denials, they finally agreed, but at an outrageous price.  I find it an interesting policy since you can drink anything on the ship in as great a quantity as you desire, but they refuse to allow a bottle of liquor in your suite.  Perhaps they fear that people will request many bottles of liquor and it will go to waste...

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2 hours ago, Lovetocruise2002 said:

Yes, typically it’s about 5 months on, 2 off. Some who get extended will negotiate a longer time off.

When I get time I love to ask the genies about their life on ship.  I think it’s so neat. We will probably not sleep much tonight.... too excited 

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3 hours ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Delighted to hear that you made it !  Good luck getting any sleep tonite.

Your experience with the liquor in the cabin is the same as our friends experienced a few years ago - after many denials, they finally agreed, but at an outrageous price.  I find it an interesting policy since you can drink anything on the ship in as great a quantity as you desire, but they refuse to allow a bottle of liquor in your suite.  Perhaps they fear that people will request many bottles of liquor and it will go to waste...

I just don’t understand the extremely high price I could see double or maybe even triple but $220 for a $30 bottle worst case is just crazy and we couldn’t even keep it in our room. So no crown peach this week, but that is okay! We plan to head over around 10am. Im going to try to sleep, because I know I’ll be going everywhere tomorrow but I’m just so excited! I feel like a kid again. ?

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