The perils of sailing star class.......

[dodgestang]

Yes, it isn't all unicorns and rainbows when you sail star class!  I have found the fatal flaw in the program (or rather my wife has).

 

Picture the stage....Anthem of the Seas, Sea Plex...Bumper cars, mid morning....you know how the line looks...it wraps 9/10 of the way completely around.  Arrive with your genie and that means you get to go on.  So I show up with 8yr old daughter...and we ride in 2 cars.  Then we get off.  Then she says "can we go again" so I begrudgingly say "sure"...so we wait a round (which is what they ask you to do), and then the genie puts us back on.  We run our round.  Then the wife and son arrive (they were on a kitchen tour).  They want to go now...so we wait a round, then the genie puts us back on using 4 cars.

 

You can see where this flaw is going I bet since we get to go repeatedly in short succession...apparently that puts targets on your back.  One gentleman who was waiting must have taken exception to what he perceived must have been the a-- holes (aka us) and spent the entire round focused on us (or more specifically my wife since every time I saw him coming for me I just moved out of his way 😉 ).

 

I don't know about you all....but when I bumper car with the family....I actually only hit my family on purpose.  I dodge and weave and dart back and forth around all the other people and pick out my targets.......maybe some people just randomly hit anyone....but this was a mean bumper car session to be sure 😉 😉 😉 😉 .

 

She got a nice little bruise out of taking his ire when getting t-boned at fill speed while she was stuck on the side guard.

STILL HAD FUN THOUGH 😛

Edited August 10, 2019 by dodgestang

[reallyitsmema]

I got a bruise on the base of spine from those bumper cars.  Any session that I have ridden has been pretty "mean".  I was hit head on and t boned at the same time by two guys that were going after people.  Nothing was said to them at all.  I know last time I told this story I was called a wimp, among other things, but they should have people go in one direction and not allow head on collisions.  Every other bumper cars I have ever ridden have made people go in one direction so there aren't head on collisions.

 

As far as the star benefits, you paid for them, so you get front of the line access.  I do think you put a target on your family by going that many times in a row with such a huge line waiting.  Some are going to get bent out of shape as you get access, but the genie can run interference.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[grapau27]

31 minutes ago, dodgestang said:

Yes, it isn't all unicorns and rainbows when you sail star class!  I have found the fatal flaw in the program (or rather my wife has).

 

Picture the stage....Anthem of the Seas, Sea Plex...Bumper cars, mid morning....you know how the line looks...it wraps 9/10 of the way completely around.  Arrive with your genie and that means you get to go on.  So I show up with 8yr old daughter...and we ride in 2 cars.  Then we get off.  Then she says "can we go again" so I begrudgingly say "sure"...so we wait a round (which is what they ask you to do), and then the genie puts us back on.  We run our round.  Then the wife and son arrive (they were on a kitchen tour).  They want to go now...so we wait a round, then the genie puts us back on using 4 cars.

 

You can see where this flaw is going I bet since we get to go repeatedly in short succession...apparently that puts targets on your back.  One gentleman who was waiting must have taken exception to what he perceived must have been the a-- holes (aka us) and spent the entire round focused on us (or more specifically my wife since every time I saw him coming for me I just moved out of his way 😉 ).

 

I don't know about you all....but when I bumper car with the family....I actually only hit my family on purpose.  I dodge and weave and dart back and forth around all the other people and pick out my targets.......maybe some people just randomly hit anyone....but this was a mean bumper car session to be sure 😉 😉 😉 😉 .

 

She got a nice little bruise out of taking his ire when getting t-boned at fill speed while she was stuck on the side guard.

STILL HAD FUN THOUGH 😛

That's a nasty bruise,some people are horrible.

I hope your wife is feeling better now.

[dodgestang]

4 minutes ago, grapau27 said:

That's a nasty bruise,some people are horrible.

I hope your wife is feeling better now.

She's feeling horrible right now.....because the cruise ended 10 hours ago!  🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

[grapau27]

Just now, dodgestang said:

She's feeling horrible right now.....because the cruise ended 10 hours ago!  🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

Yes I get that horrible feeling at the end of our cruise too.

Hope you have a safe journey home.

[actuarian]

1 hour ago, dodgestang said:

Yes, it isn't all unicorns and rainbows when you sail star class!  I have found the fatal flaw in the program (or rather my wife has).

There is another fatal flaw in the program.  It is addictive! Once you have cruised in Star Class, it isn't easy to go back to cruising without being in Star Class.

[dodgestang]

57 minutes ago, actuarian said:

There is another fatal flaw in the program.  It is addictive! Once you have cruised in Star Class, it isn't easy to go back to cruising without being in Star Class.

 

Considering I did 2 this year.....I'm right there with you 😉

[John Reid]

No perils for those of us in Steerage.

[Lionesss]

I can only dream of sailing star class.

 

You are in a suite that provides these benefits...............................ENJOY THEM!!!!!!!!!

 

I would.

 

Safe travels.

[123funcruiser]

14 hours ago, dodgestang said:

I don't know about you all....but when I bumper car with the family....I actually only hit my family on purpose.  I dodge and weave and dart back and forth around all the other people and pick out my targets.......maybe some people just randomly hit anyone....but this was a mean bumper car session to be sure 😉 😉 😉 😉 .

 

I´m sorry for the nasty bruise she got from the bumper cars. I remember being a kid I rode bumper cars (not on a ship) and got a big bloody ouch from them. Unfortunately These Kind of Things happen and I´m glad your wife took it with a good attitude. 

 

Anyway I do think your idea of bumoer cars might not be the same of most. When I ride buper cars I don´t care who I hit. It´s called bumper cars and not try to drive you car in circles without hitting one. It´s a free for all as in who you hit. JMHO.

[RazorbackIslandGirl]

There are people who behave badly to those in Star Class. I've experienced it. It's sad the way people can act. You paid for the services & should be able to enjoy them without harassment. There will always be those who begrudge others that have something they don't. I certainly hope no one would target your wife for being SC! But unfortunately it just might be the case. I hope she is feeling better & doesn't have that nasty bruise for long!

[lovescats5]

We will be sailing Star Class again in November on Anthem.  This will be our 5th SC cruise and people do give you the hard time because you paid for the genie and you should use him/her to the fullest extent.  We loved the bumper cars and consider them a free for all.  I have also gotten bruises because those cars zip right along.  We also go to the front of the line more than once every time they are running.  My granddaughter felt pretty special when several people approached her and told her they remember her from the bumper cars, she always got the pink #1 car.  SC is hard to give up once you experience it because you do not have to worry about anything.  We are doing Liberty in 2020 and I am having a hard time trying to book drinks, meals and whatever else, it is much easier to wait for the genie to contact you and then just tell them what you want.  Would love to hear which genie you had on Anthem and how you liked them.

[dodgestang]

37 minutes ago, lovescats5 said:

Would love to hear which genie you had on Anthem and how you liked them.

 

We had Wendy in April and Yen Lee last week.  Both were excellent and very attentive.  I felt Yen Lee may have been secretly a little over whelmed because we were supposed to have Alina...but she became 'unavailable' the day of sailing so Yen and the other Genie had to split the extra rooms between them.  We did not see her around the ship quite as much as Wendy....but....things we never asked for started happening/showing up...like late afternoon room service with all the items the kids had been going and getting from Johnny Rockets would simply come to the room, we got a Thank You cake, and our Daughter (who made no qualms about being a Queen fan) had 2 baseball hats and a cast photo signed by all the performers of We Will Rock you show up on the last night (as well as a CD from the guitarist and some swim googles).  It made her day.  It's already framed and in a place of honor in her room.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2019 by dodgestang

[RFerrington]

We had Yen in B2B SC on Anthem in Feb. We thought she was wonderful. It took a while for her to warm up to us but by the end of the second cruise she was a buddy.

 

We only did the bumper cars once. I thought it was very rough. The only dirty looks we got were when we went to the front of the line for North Star. We sat at the bar in the shade until it was our turn and then Yen took us to the front of the line to board.  Honestly, I can understand why people weren’t happy. It was a long line and it was in the hot sun.

 

It certainly is addictive we have completed 6 SC cruises and have 2 more booked each of the next 2 years.

[lovescats5]

It is nice to hear good things about the other genies.  We got to know Wendy a little in April.  We have had Derick twice now and will get him again in November.  We try to get to know them all as we will be on Ovation in Sept.2020 and are hoping one of the genies we meet will be on Ovation then.  SC is really addictive.  We have had 5 with 2 more booked and will not sail on a SC ship without being one of them SC people.  How spoiled we can get in a short 7 days.

[bburk00]

I apologize for going off topic, we will be sailing our first Star Class in March 2021 and wondered how much do you normally tip your Genie? I believe I read that they do not share in the normal tips.

[dodgestang]

Tipping is ultimately personal and comes down to the person there is no right or wrong answer IMO.  I tip $250-300

[ownedbypets]

54 minutes ago, bburk00 said:

I apologize for going off topic, we will be sailing our first Star Class in March 2021 and wondered how much do you normally tip your Genie? I believe I read that they do not share in the normal tips.

 

The tip for the Genie in not included in normal tip.

Tipping is a very personal matter that is discussed a lot without any consistent amounts given. It really depends on how much your Genie does for you and what you feel comfortable with. I have read that some have given a few thousand but that doesn't seem to be the norm. We are very low maintenance but we tip well and did give extra because our Genie added 2 guests that were traveling with us, not star class, in our plans.

[bburk00]

Thank you for the info.

Edited August 12, 2019 by bburk00

[klfrodo]

I can understand both sides of this issue. I've been dirt poor where my clothes were hand me downs and dinner was cheap mac -n-cheese. Paydays meant there were hotdogs in the mac-n-cheese. I also remember being envious of those with new and fashionable school clothes. I also remember being bullied due to my families situation. Fast forward many years and I'm now in a more comfortable situation.

I understand where the OP had the right and the privilege to ride the bumper cars as often as they wanted to and had the right to jump the line. That doesn't mean the OP had to exercise that right though. When baby girl had so much fun asked daddy if they could do it again, that was a teachable moment. I can only speak for myself, but I would have said something to the affect of Yes, baby girl we will do this again. Let's let some of these other people standing in the line go, and we'll come back. Let's get some ice cream (or some such diversion) then contact the Genie to get us on the ride again.

 

Now, how the others reacted whether perceived or reality was unacceptable on their part. If real and intentional,,,, their reactions were wrong.

[dani negreanu]

2 hours ago, klfrodo said:

...That doesn't mean the OP had to exercise that right though. When baby girl had so much fun asked daddy if they could do it again, that was a teachable moment. I can only speak for myself, but I would have said something to the affect of Yes, baby girl we will do this again. Let's let some of these other people standing in the line go, and we'll come back....

 

Well said.

[dodgestang]

Oh we all learned something.  😉

 

And continue to do so.

 

 

[ownedbypets]

4 hours ago, klfrodo said:

I can understand both sides of this issue. I've been dirt poor where my clothes were hand me downs and dinner was cheap mac -n-cheese. Paydays meant there were hotdogs in the mac-n-cheese. I also remember being envious of those with new and fashionable school clothes. I also remember being bullied due to my families situation. Fast forward many years and I'm now in a more comfortable situation.

I understand where the OP had the right and the privilege to ride the bumper cars as often as they wanted to and had the right to jump the line. That doesn't mean the OP had to exercise that right though. When baby girl had so much fun asked daddy if they could do it again, that was a teachable moment. I can only speak for myself, but I would have said something to the affect of Yes, baby girl we will do this again. Let's let some of these other people standing in the line go, and we'll come back. Let's get some ice cream (or some such diversion) then contact the Genie to get us on the ride again.

 

Now, how the others reacted whether perceived or reality was unacceptable on their part. If real and intentional,,,, their reactions were wrong.

 

I'm sure this little girl has had a lot of teachable moments in her life. Maybe this wasn't the time for one. This could have been her last opportunity to ride the bumper cars for that cruise. When we have cruised Star Class there have been plenty of times that it was awkward for us to skip the line so we didn't and others when the Genie just told us not to make eye contact with anyone. We were nice to everyone and extended our perks whenever we could. Working hard and doing well in school to be able to afford the things you enjoy is also a teachable moment.

[brookmill18]

My only idea would be to double up in the cars after the first ride, esp if you have smaller kids.  Not necessary at all, but how many cars do they allow to go out at a time?  If each family member consistently takes one car each, over several rides, that can greatly impact the number of people in line able to get on before they close the rides. I think those are the things that get to people in line.  

[rcclmiami]

We had a “butler” on celebrity galaxy. Took care of reservations, cleaning, etc. I realize galaxy didn’t have all the frills of anthem (which we have been on), but genie service should be “behind the scenes” so to not tick off the 95 % of us who can’t justify the outrageous prices for RCCL suites.