Star class genie requests

[A&L_Ont]

Couple things to add to this:

 

- I've sailed Star Class four times this year, three out of PE and once out of PC. Embarkation at PE for Star Class has always been a mess. The issue seems to be the porters are completely regimented in their routine and anything that deviates (Star Class) throws them for a loop. On the last visit, they had RCI employee (one of the people who usually works behind the desk) waiting by the Star Class kiosk to check you in and ensure the porters got your bags to the right place. If you get passed around to a different porter or two, you must reiterate "Star Class right?" I learned my lesson on Harmony in March when I wasn't quite so proactive about it and the bags were lost for hours upon hours.

 

- As far as Genie requests, they're usually pretty good about whatever you need. I've found it's way easier to call them for your needs than attempt any other form of communication, which just leads to frustrations. Why they can't just get the Genies company iPhones for iMessage/texting/shoreside communication I'll never know.

 

Here's a few things we've asked for in the past:

 

 

- Suite party for a lot of guests, which had a fully catered menu and open bar.

- Reserved seats in the various shows.

- Reserved table in the night club.

- Private shore excursion arrangements.

- Consistently refilled minibar (beer IS included).

- Specific table requests in the restaurants (i.e. by the window in Coastal Kitchen).

- Room service from specialty restaurants.

- Latest possible departure escort.

- Figure out why buffalo wings were available on the room service menu but nobody on the ship knows what buffalo wings are.

 

Trojan, your wing comment had me laughing. As for the luggage have you sailed from PE since March? If so how long it took you luggage to get to your cabin and was it waiting for you or did it still take a while? We sailed in March and the entire luggage drop off was a cluster ____. We had one bag arrive just before muster and 2 were after sail away.

[RFerrington]

The issue seems to be the porters are completely regimented in their routine and anything that deviates (Star Class) throws them for a loop.

 

Concur with this. We've had 2 bad experiences with Harmony. I don't understand why they don't have dedicated luggage stewards right there at the Star Class check-in. Twice (but never again) they had us take our luggage over to some stewards that were supposed to be for Star Class (blue flags) but both times our luggage was significantly delayed. I will not do that again in September when we go again. I will insist that our luggage accompany us rather than go separately.

 

The only other disappointment that I had (second Star Class experience) was that the Genie seemed to know nothing about the Luggage Valet Program and seemed entirely uninterested in helping with it. We barely got our paperwork in on time and had to schlep it to CS ourselves (not that this is such a strenuous effort but it should have been handled by the Genie, IMO).

 

Other than those 2 things, our Star Class experiences have been wonderful. The Genies have proven invaluable with in-suite events.

[A&L_Ont]

Just thought I'd throw this one out there, anyone tired of doing the pre-cruise survey yet?

 

We just finished our third one in less than a year. My answers this time were completely comedy gold and if my wife hadn't changed them they might have died laughing or at least snorted once or twice. That is if someone actually reads it.;)

 

Has anyone here just not done it yet on purpose because they don't want to take the time after doing them over multiple cruises? I am fairly certain it does nothing other than get the cruiser excited for their upcoming cruise, which I bet is highly effective with the one and done cruiser or one and done Star Class cruiser.

 

Just curious.

Andrew

[Frick_&_Frack]

Just thought I'd throw this one out there, anyone tired of doing the pre-cruise survey yet?

 

Just curious.

Andrew

 

Funny you should bring this up as I received mine yesterday for the Allure cruise. I was wishing there was a way to "copy and paste" from the last one (no, it's not hard to answer, but, meh). I doubt they read them other than maybe to get a hint as to preferred name?

[RFerrington]

Just thought I'd throw this one out there, anyone tired of doing the pre-cruise survey yet?

 

I am fairly certain it does nothing other than get the cruiser excited for their upcoming cruise, which I bet is highly effective with the one and done cruiser or one and done Star Class cruiser.

 

Yes, those questionnaires are inane and worthless. I'm 100% positive that neither of the Genies we have had in the past actually read them. It may serve to get the cruiser excited but I'll bet they can find something better than these !

 

Utterly stupid and useless.

[A&L_Ont]

Funny you should bring this up as I received mine yesterday for the Allure cruise. I was wishing there was a way to "copy and paste" from the last one (no, it's not hard to answer, but, meh). I doubt they read them other than maybe to get a hint as to preferred name?

 

Yes, those questionnaires are inane and worthless. I'm 100% positive that neither of the Genies we have had in the past actually read them. It may serve to get the cruiser excited but I'll bet they can find something better than these !

 

Utterly stupid and useless.

 

I honestly say it is just for PR, for the "new" cruiser, either to Star Class or overall. For my next one I will answer the questions with the strangest of answers just for fun and see if anything comes from it.

 

For the island question I answered the following.

1)Food

2) Water

3) Birth control

 

Needless to say my wife changed my answers. Last March I said sea plane, fuel, and a pilot.

[Maven3]

I honestly say it is just for PR, for the "new" cruiser, either to Star Class or overall. For my next one I will answer the questions with the strangest of answers just for fun and see if anything comes from it.

 

 

 

For the island question I answered the following.

 

1)Food

 

2) Water

 

3) Birth control

 

 

 

Needless to say my wife changed my answers. Last March I said sea plane, fuel, and a pilot.

 

 

 

I love it! I don't think I would have changed it, your answer would have solicited an eye roll if you were my husband though.

 

If RCCL has any kind of customer database, which they should have one connected to our C&A #s, they should have some notes already entered regarding our likes, dislikes, etc.

 

I agree, the surveys are a waste of time. I only filled out info I thought was relevant-- then they ask you the same stuff again later. All they really need is:

 

What name(s) do you prefer to be called?

What do you want in your minibar?

What reservations you want the Genie to make prior to getting on the ship?

Do you have any questions?

 

This isn't a dating game or a therapy session, they don't need probing questions. The Genie's are busy, I am sure they only skim the questionnaires for info that is actually relevant to their jobs.

 

 

 

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[Frick_&_Frack]

I honestly say it is just for PR, for the "new" cruiser, either to Star Class or overall. For my next one I will answer the questions with the strangest of answers just for fun and see if anything comes from it.

 

For the island question I answered the following.

1)Food

2) Water

3) Birth control

 

Needless to say my wife changed my answers. Last March I said sea plane, fuel, and a pilot.

 

Great answers! I made sure "electricity" was on my list this year (since the whole deserted island thing sounds super!) ;)

[TrojanUSC]

Just thought I'd throw this one out there, anyone tired of doing the pre-cruise survey yet?

 

We just finished our third one in less than a year. My answers this time were completely comedy gold and if my wife hadn't changed them they might have died laughing or at least snorted once or twice. That is if someone actually reads it.;)

 

Has anyone here just not done it yet on purpose because they don't want to take the time after doing them over multiple cruises? I am fairly certain it does nothing other than get the cruiser excited for their upcoming cruise, which I bet is highly effective with the one and done cruiser or one and done Star Class cruiser.

 

Just curious.

Andrew

 

Never once filled one out and no Genie has ever mentioned it to me once. I have a standard email that I copy + paste in response to the Genie's actual introduction email!

[TrojanUSC]

Trojan, your wing comment had me laughing. As for the luggage have you sailed from PE since March? If so how long it took you luggage to get to your cabin and was it waiting for you or did it still take a while? We sailed in March and the entire luggage drop off was a cluster ____. We had one bag arrive just before muster and 2 were after sail away.

 

We sailed in July and it required me to be really forceful by reiterating to every porter that came near "Star Class, right?" By doing so, someone was finally assigned to take the bags up directly via the guest security checkpoint. In this case, they beat us up to the suite. They had an RCI employee a clipboard last time checking Star Class guests in and radioing to the genies. This seemed to help smooth things out a bit. My previous sailings you were kind of on your own unless you had pre-arranged a time with your genie and even then it was 50/50 they were out there.

 

As far as the wings, it was a mess. The options on the fleet-wide room service menu are "BBQ, Buffalo or Asian." We asked for buffalo. They showed up with BBQ. We asked for buffalo. They apologized saying they were out but the chef would make new sauce in the morning. The next day we ordered buffalo wings and they made a big deal about how excited they were for us to try their delicious buffalo sauce! Alas, it was BBQ sauce with tons of red pepper flakes in it. Someone errantly assumed the only difference between buffalo and BBQ was spice level. Then we explained it to them the next day and they made the wings plain, with a side of tobacco that had a pad of unmelted butter floating in it. The whole thing was a mess. It happened on both Oasis and Allure. Just embarrassing.

[Sorcerer Tim]

Thank you for the luggage tip. It is sad that we have to be so insistent to receive a benefit we paid for. We are out of PE on Harmony next month and I am looking forward to having my bag meet or beat me to our room.

[constable145]

We sailed in July and it required me to be really forceful by reiterating to every porter that came near "Star Class, right?" By doing so, someone was finally assigned to take the bags up directly via the guest security checkpoint. In this case, they beat us up to the suite. They had an RCI employee a clipboard last time checking Star Class guests in and radioing to the genies. This seemed to help smooth things out a bit. My previous sailings you were kind of on your own unless you had pre-arranged a time with your genie and even then it was 50/50 they were out there.

 

As far as the wings, it was a mess. The options on the fleet-wide room service menu are "BBQ, Buffalo or Asian." We asked for buffalo. They showed up with BBQ. We asked for buffalo. They apologized saying they were out but the chef would make new sauce in the morning. The next day we ordered buffalo wings and they made a big deal about how excited they were for us to try their delicious buffalo sauce! Alas, it was BBQ sauce with tons of red pepper flakes in it. Someone errantly assumed the only difference between buffalo and BBQ was spice level. Then we explained it to them the next day and they made the wings plain, with a side of tobacco that had a pad of unmelted butter floating in it. The whole thing was a mess. It happened on both Oasis and Allure. Just embarrassing.

 

I really hope you meant tobasco and not tobacco......

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[TrojanUSC]

I really hope you meant tobasco and not tobacco......

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

Oops definitely Tabasco!

[A&L_Ont]

I really hope you meant tobasco and not tobacco......

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

Oops definitely Tabasco!

 

That caught my eye too and made me laugh too.

[kandj05]

I honestly say it is just for PR, for the "new" cruiser, either to Star Class or overall. For my next one I will answer the questions with the strangest of answers just for fun and see if anything comes from it.

 

For the island question I answered the following.

1)Food

2) Water

3) Birth control

 

Needless to say my wife changed my answers. Last March I said sea plane, fuel, and a pilot.

Gee Andrew, and I thought Lisa would have written Birth Control. 😆😆

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Forums mobile app

[A&L_Ont]

Gee Andrew, and I thought Lisa would have written Birth Control. 😆😆

 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Forums mobile app

 

Lol, maybe she moved it up higher up in the order of my three items.:confused::')

[constable145]

Got my invite to use Loop yesterday. I must say that I'm a tad disappointed.. I was expecting an app that gave notifications of a new message.. Not a webpage that I constantly have to refresh.

 

 

I suppose this is what most people call a first world problem.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

[A&L_Ont]

Got my invite to use Loop yesterday. I must say that I'm a tad disappointed.. I was expecting an app that gave notifications of a new message.. Not a webpage that I constantly have to refresh.

 

 

I suppose this is what most people call a first world problem.

 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

 

I fully agree, it could be a much better system. My impression is it works best before you get on the ship. Once on board just call their direct phone.

[pollyspockets]

Has anyone had their genie set up private flowrider time. 10 cruises down and I'm always afraid to go because someone will see me making a fool of myself!

[TonyL128]

Has anyone had their genie set up private flowrider time. 10 cruises down and I'm always afraid to go because someone will see me making a fool of myself!

 

 

 

Yes, once you get the email from your Genie, you can make your requests to him/her.

 

 

Harmony, 7/17 B2B

Oasis, 4/17

Oasis, 2/17

Oasis, 12/16 B2B

Oasis, 11/16

Harmony, 7/16

Anthem, 11/15

Adventure, 12/14

Allure, 7/14

Allure, 1/13

[pollyspockets]

Excellent! We will be on oasis sls 1718 and it will be our first star class cruise. I was wondering what to ask of our genie besides the dining/show reservations. We will be hopefully getting an over the water cabana too. Anyone request anything that made their cruise special? We won't be having any parties as it's the three of us, but I think dining al fresco one night may be nice.

Yes, once you get the email from your Genie, you can make your requests to him/her.

 

 

Harmony, 7/17 B2B

Oasis, 4/17

Oasis, 2/17

Oasis, 12/16 B2B

Oasis, 11/16

Harmony, 7/16

Anthem, 11/15

Adventure, 12/14

Allure, 7/14

Allure, 1/13

[TrojanUSC]

Has anyone had their genie set up private flowrider time. 10 cruises down and I'm always afraid to go because someone will see me making a fool of myself!

 

Yes they will do it but there's a fee associated. I believe it's $350/hour without instruction, $500/hour with.

[TonyL128]

Excellent! We will be on oasis sls 1718 and it will be our first star class cruise. I was wondering what to ask of our genie besides the dining/show reservations. We will be hopefully getting an over the water cabana too. Anyone request anything that made their cruise special? We won't be having any parties as it's the three of us, but I think dining al fresco one night may be nice.

 

 

 

Sorry to tell you, but the over water cabana on Bearfoot beach were all damaged by Irma, they may not be rebuilt by then.

 

 

Harmony, 7/17 B2B

Oasis, 4/17

Oasis, 2/17

Oasis, 12/16 B2B

Oasis, 11/16

Harmony, 7/16

Anthem, 11/15

Adventure, 12/14

Allure, 7/14

Allure, 1/13

[Maven3]

Excellent! We will be on oasis sls 1718 and it will be our first star class cruise. I was wondering what to ask of our genie besides the dining/show reservations. We will be hopefully getting an over the water cabana too. Anyone request anything that made their cruise special? We won't be having any parties as it's the three of us, but I think dining al fresco one night may be nice.

 

 

 

The private Flowrider time is pretty expensive. You can get lessons as an alternative. There is usually a max of 6 people & the lessons are early in the morning so there aren't many spectators. The people that ride the FR are generally pretty easy going & helpful. Nobody but you will care if you fall.

 

Your Genie will save your seats at the shows, make sure you have the beverages you want in your refrigerator, collect & return any laundry you want done, fix any errors on your onboard account, arrange for room service from specialty restaurants etc.

 

Our Genie, Susan on the Allure, also escorted us off the ship for a private excursion I had arranged. She made sure we connected with our charter provider. She also got the name of the boat we were going on, what marina it was going out of, contact numbers for the captain & when they planned to have us back to the port. This was a nice safety feature I hadn't really thought of before. If something had happened & we didn't show up for the all aboard time, she would know where to start looking for us.

 

On the morning of debarkation, she arranged for our luggage to be picked up & she escorted us through the crowds and off the ship.

 

On another note, we are sailing on the Oasis in suite 1718 for my 50th birthday. I would love to hear your impressions of it!

 

Vickie

 

 

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[TonyL128]

We were in 1718 in April, it a great suite, quiet and with ocean view. I think the Loft layout is better than 1720. We posted a video on YouTube on this suite, just search Oasis 1718.