Harmony LIVE, March 11th - 18th. Come Sail Away!!!

I'm guessing Indy or Freedom.

probably Freedom. Because we were on Indy and headed TO Cozumel on St. Patty's day...we got there on 3/18.

Ugh! The suspense is killin me!!!!

~Andrea

me too

Star Class Pier Welcome - or not.

Sorry for the overnight delay folks.

Last night I ended where we were walking away from our Uber driver with our luggage in hand. We were a little miffed that we could not reach our Genie by phone but we’ve done this before so no worries.

We headed to the Star Class Flag to where we were to drop off our luggage. What did we find there, you ask? No one. That being no porter in their white shirt (being a normal porter) and no agent of RC either. There were however two luggage carts/cans with luggage loaded on them.

We looked at one another and we both knew that there was no way we are leaving our non-tagged luggage sitting wayward at an unattended station. Our luggage wasn’t tagged because it was to have seamless transition right to our cabin. We had been informed that we needed no tags this cruise. If we had we would have printed them at home, just like all our other cruises we have been on.

So onward we continue to the suite checkin area to where the email said we were to go, with or without our luggage. This is where things turned sour for us. It was there that we met the “gentleman” that took our pre-cruise excitement and may as well have trashed it like an assignment to which one had a failing mark on. I will add his personality and mannerisms deserve an F mark.

We were waiting behind another couple and we were chatting with the people behind us in line. Once the couple in front of us were checked off this man’s list they continued on through the suite entrance door. We were next and the following is the conversation that we had with him almost verbatim.

Him - You can’t bring those in here.

Lisa - We were told we could.

Him - You can’t bring those bags in here.

Lisa - We are Star Class and we were told that we could bring them in here. We did last August.

Him - Take them over there (he pointed towards the flag). I told you you can’t bring them in here. I don’t deal with them.

I might also add that before his conversation with us he did not ask what cabin we were in and nor did he ask for our names. His first words were not welcoming, very abrupt and wasn’t even giving us a chance to speak.

At this point I was about to say something but then realized you aren’t going anywhere positive with this type of a$$hole with a Napoleon Complex and yes, he was short. I was going to state that in multiple post cruise emails we were sent it specifically said we can drop them off at the flag or bring them in, however I contained myself.

Me to Lisa - Let’s take the bags, it’s not worth it.

We slipped under the containing straps and headed back towards the luggage drop off flag.

That all being said our pre-cruise excitement that went from great, slid right into the crapper because of this person’s attitude. So much for “valued Star Class guests”. From not being able to get the Genie on the phone (no big deal) to this welcome (huge deal) this cruise was headed sideways quickly.

So we headed back to the Star Class Flag dragging our three suitcases, bag containing my flow boards and small rollie bag with exasperation and frustration. This is not the type of WOW factor that I think RC was trying to create. In less than an hour things went from being great to this.

What did we discover when we got to the luggage drop the second time you ask? No porter and no RC agent. After waiting around 4-5 minutes a porter finally came along and said he would help us, but he had to do something first. He disappeared for a minute and came back with another luggage cart and then proceeded to load someone else’s luggage onto it. After another minute he turned to us and said that he was ready to help us.

He proceeded to ask us what cabin we were in and then made luggage tags for us and then put ours onto the same cart. Crap we could have printed them at home and did that part ourselves, and then we had to give the mandatory tip to see that the bags made it to the ship.

It’s now about ten minutes later than when we first left the checkin door, as we approached it a second time. Neither of us want to talk to this jerk again but we obviously have to let him know what cabin we are in.

Him - What cabin are you in.

Lisa - 1724

Him as he looks at his list and not us - Go inside the door and wait to the side.

He then proceeded to say something into his two way radio, but we didn’t make out what it was. We say nothing more and go inside the door and stand there waiting for someone to come along to get us. After 4-5 minutes of waiting there no one had come along to get us and we are getting hotter under collar. There was no way we wanted to wait any longer near this man who clearly had no intention of helping us.

Since we sail almost exclusively in suites on Oasis Class ships, we know Terminal 18 like the back of our hand so we decided to continue on through security just to get away from Napoleon. Genies also stand out in their purple shirts and khaki coloured pants, so we could clear security while we waited and still very easily see any Genie that was coming to escort us for “our seamless transition from pier side to ship”.

After the extra time of going through security, no Genie had yet to come along to help us. It was now 11:15 and boarding had yet to begin so we decided to continue on through the boarding process. We continued onto the port worker who separates Pinnacles and Star Class guest from the rest of the suite guests. We informed this agent that we were “Star Class and we have yet to meet our Genie”. He said “that’s strange, but continue checking in”. So we did.

And as we did, we told every RC pier side worker/agent that “we were Star Class and had yet to meet our Genie”. We informed the lady who checked us in at the star class check in counter, the lady at the bottom of the escalators directing us on our way up, the lady at the wrist band muster station stop for Owen, and lastly we informed the woman who was manning the Pinnacle and Star Class holding tank prior to boarding the ship. The last lady said to us “ come on in and sit down, they’ll find you”. We didn’t see one Genie along the way and you could only imagine the forced smile we had to make for embarkation day photos.

We had now been at the port 25 minutes and we had yet to meet anyone that helped us find who we were looking for. And then there was our experience with Napoleon onto of that. We grabbed a seat in the holding area and started to look around, and low and behold there was a Genie but she was busy in discussions with other guests. We weren’t going to barge into their discussion, but I did pull out my cell phone and again tried calling our Genie’s number, to only get the same prerecorded message. Oh well.

The Genie that was standing 5 feet away from us was female and so was ours, but who knows how many female ones there are. At this point our frustration had got to the point that it was almost a joke that we had yet to be helped in the way it had outlined and promoted.

It was right then that the B2B cruisers went past and they started to prepare the Pinnacles and Star Class guests for boarding. We weren’t going to wait for help that wasn’t coming, so we followed along with the rest of the gang. We did say to the lady that was manning the suite area that we had yet to see our Genie and she didn’t have a response. She didn’t even ask our Genie’s name or even try to assist us in the process.

We swiped our set sail sheets and continued on up the gangway on to the ship in what would be the most disappointing embarkation process ever of 30 plus cruises. This Star Class embarkation was nothing like our one last August, for all the wrong reasons.

Boarding started at approximately 11:30 and Star Class guests are to have their cabins ready for immediate use upon boarding. So Lisa, Owen and I headed off to our cabin on deck 17. We took the elevator up to 17. Then we got to the heavy fire doors that are shut until 1pm when the cabins are ready. We however know from previous back to back cruises that you can open those doors and continue on. So we opened the door and went in.

That was where we were stopped in our tracks by the glass door that were shut. You can only get by them if you have your cruise card to swipe for entry, just like the Diamond Lounge, SL or even your cabin door. On Harmony of the Seas you cabin key is waiting in your cabin and we could not open the secured doors. We were about to knock on the glass door to get Brian’s (an attendant that we know from previous cruises) attention to let us in when the same heavy fire doors opened.

In walked the same Genie that was a few feet away from us in the holding cell prior to embarking along with some other guests.

Genie - Are you folks B2B cruisers?

Us- No.

Genie - Then you aren’t to be in here yet.

Us - Actually we are Star Class.

Genie stamouring with a bit of confusion - What cabin are you in?

Us - 1724.

You should have seen the Genie’s face. In the seconds that followed we found out we were her (Alexandra’s) guests for the week. As she walked down the hallway with us and her other guests you can imagine how quiet we were and not really in the talkative mood. In the meantime two other attendants that we know from other sailings called out our names welcoming us back. Yah, awkward silence.

Seepaul unlocked our cabin and Alexandra said she would be back in a few minutes once she settled in her other two cabins. We waited for her return while we pondered what we were going to say when she came back. Had Napoleon actually called her, she would have know we were there too, and escorted all of her guests at once.

It’s pretty safe to assume that Alexandra knew that we were not happy with our embarkation process which had now been an hour seen we left the hotel. We really didn't feel like valued guests by any means, and it sure wasn't the "magic carpet ride" that they proclaimed.

Seepaul our attendant visited with us prior to Alexandra’s return. We have sailed with him on numerous occasions and it was nice to see a familiar face from the past. We explained to him about our day so far and he shook his head in disbelief. He excused himself when Alexandra arrived, as he still had numerous cabins to clean.

Alexandra started by apologising for not meeting us. We then informed her of our boarding process and what the last hour and a bit had been like. We let her know that the number that we were to call did not work and she responded that “another guest had said the same thing”. She too was in disbelief of the gaps in our embarkation.

It would have been at this point that she would have explained the cabin and the Genie process, but I politely shut her down informing her that we have been in this cabin previous to Star Class (on Oasis and Allure over 10 times) and have had the Star Class experience before this past August with Frankie.

I wasn’t being rude, I was just trying to explain my frustration about what had just happened shore side and continued onto the ship. You also know the expression, “Happy Wife, Happy Life” — there is some truth to it. It also didn’t help that Lisa was getting Owen’s cold from a few days earlier. After we chatted a few more minutes I expressed that she should share our concerns to the powers that be.

We then reviewed our upcoming week with her and Alexandra asked if there was anything we would like in our cabin. I mentioned a few bags of chips as a late night snack and some ginger ale. I also spoke with her about some meat platters from Jamie’s for the CC cabin crawl that we were part of the next day at approximately 10:30 am. We had previously discussed it by email previous to boarding the ship. She said no worries it will be done and that she would catch up with us later on during our dinner at Sabor that night.

Any of you that have followed us on our cruise reviews or have met us in person know we are relaxed folks. Alexandra wouldn't though, so I let her know that we are relaxed guests who had been there and done it many times over. As we were ending our discussion I gave her a big hug and said that she was not to worry, as it was a shore side problem and regretfully she was dragged into it.

However in the back of our minds we also know bad things happen in three, so when was the next shoe to drop? Had we reached three yet? Was there more to come?

EDIT: Our luggage was not waiting for us in our cabin as promoted, and nor did it arrive before we left it at approximately 12:15pm.

There is more to come but I have to go for now. I will be back later tonight.

There is more to come but I have to go for now. I will be back later tonight.

Don't leave me hanging like that [emoji33]. I so wanna know what happened [emoji846]

Cindy

There is more to come but I have to go for now. I will be back later tonight.

Darn!! ANOTHER cliffhanger!

There is more to come but I have to go for now. I will be back later tonight.

Andrew -- you are killing me with the cliff-hangers!

Congratulations to Owen and his team-mates -- great job, great season!!

Lmao! 🤣I'm hooked! More!!!

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Nevermind that your phone call didn't go thru,I'm sure she knew of your arrival time and should have been on the lookout for you. I don't know how many cabins each genie has, but how do you lose ant entire family

Nevermind that your phone call didn't go thru,I'm sure she knew of your arrival time and should have been on the lookout for you. I don't know how many cabins each genie has, but how do you lose ant entire family

I'm just waiting in the city so I have a few minutes for answers.

Three cabins per genie. She also could/would have known what we looked like from our preloaded cruise card photos that Harmony uses. That is if she looked prior to our arrival.

Edit: we believe that Napoleon didn't actually call anyone out of spite. You know, I'll show them type of attitude. I have some interesting info to share later about the short man with the complex.

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[quote name=A&L_Ont;52641175

Edit: we believe that Napoleon didn't actually call anyone out of spite. You know' date=' I'll show them type of attitude. I have some interesting info to share later about the short man with the complex.

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Please tell me this ends with Napoleon being fired. Please.

Ok. I know I'm off the ship but a bit of tasty food porn.

Chicken strips coated with corn flakes and Capt'n Crunch.

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Wow I can't believe what you went through. When you are spending the money it costs for the Star Class there is certainly a level of expectations to go with it and so far it seems pretty disappointing.

On a plus, I just saw the news and it seems you may be in record high for weather when we are getting crappy 15 cm of snow with freezing mix.

Please do continue as I am sitting on the edge of me seat with the kleenex box beside me as I got the darn winter cold.

Wow I can't believe what you went through. When you are spending the money it costs for the Star Class there is certainly a level of expectations to go with it and so far it seems pretty disappointing.

 

On a plus, I just saw the news and it seems you may be in record high for weather when we are getting crappy 15 cm of snow with freezing mix.

 

Please do continue as I am sitting on the edge of me seat with the kleenex box beside me as I got the darn winter cold.

I have to agree with this also.....even though we will never be able to experience a star class suite/experience due to cost, when one spends that much money certain expectations should be met. I can't believe how you were able to hold your tongue. My husband would have totally gone off and asked to speak with a supervisor. But, as you say you get far more being sweet than being sour. Still I would have been as upset as you. I know it all turned out in the end but anxious to hear the rest of your story and hope this is a learning experience of what NOT to ever do to a guest again in a similar situation. I am so very sorry you went through all that.

Wow I can't believe what you went through. When you are spending the money it costs for the Star Class there is certainly a level of expectations to go with it and so far it seems pretty disappointing.

 

On a plus, I just saw the news and it seems you may be in record high for weather when we are getting crappy 15 cm of snow with freezing mix.

 

Please do continue as I am sitting on the edge of me seat with the kleenex box beside me as I got the darn winter cold.

Warm today here. Check out that temp. Hopefully it will get better for you. For the Americans following along remember that sped is in KPH not MPH.

I have to agree with this also.....even though we will never be able to experience a star class suite/experience due to cost, when one spends that much money certain expectations should be met. I can't believe how you were able to hold your tongue. My husband would have totally gone off and asked to speak with a supervisor. But, as you say you get far more being sweet than being sour. Still I would have been as upset as you. I know it all turned out in the end but anxious to hear the rest of your story and hope this is a learning experience of what NOT to ever do to a guest again in a similar situation. I am so very sorry you went through all that.

That is the reason why I didn't talk about this during the live review. Once I got it out of my system I didn't want to relive it again and again.

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Please tell me this ends with Napoleon being fired. Please.

I have a few mantras.

The two most appropriate right now are; good things come to those who wait and karma always calls.;)

Nice temps there! I'm jealous as the 3cm of snow we were to get overnight has not stopped yet and I think it's past 15cm now.

That's a pretty snazzy dash what is the make of vehicle?

Can't wait to hear the finale. Sorry you have to relive it but you now have us all on the end of our seats!

We left the cabin and did a few things. Got our bands for flow riding, ate some lunch, got Owen signed up for kids club, did the water slides, boogie boarded and did some flow riding.

Lisa went back to the cabin at 2:30 and only 1 bag was waiting at the cabin door. Owen and I returned at 3pm and right then our other two bags were being dropped off. So much for the "expedited luggage". In reality we have had it show up earlier when we in the Sky Class.

In reality we could have dropped it with the regular luggage and we would have received it at the exact same time.

See the photo again of the high lighted perks.

At this point we were still unhappy with the morning's events but we were rounding the bend and hopeful things were going to improve.

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Nice temps there! I'm jealous as the 3cm of snow we were to get overnight has not stopped yet and I think it's past 15cm now.

 

That's a pretty snazzy dash what is the make of vehicle?

 

Can't wait to hear the finale. Sorry you have to relive it but you now have us all on the end of our seats!

Hope you feel better soon and that snow melts quickly.

As for your car question. It's a practical, family friendly, winter squashing 2017 SRT8 Jeep Grand Cherokee. What is that you ask? Take a regular Grand Cherokee but insert a 6.4 Litre Hemi engine with 455HP, a top speed of 300 KPH and it red lines at 6,000 RPM. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, and it's great in the snow too.

Looks like this most of the winter.

And this in the summer.

My SIL calls it the storm trooper.

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Oh I know what the SRT means my friend's daughter had one but in black but you know I was never inside of it as she didn't have it long before she was surprised with twins. She quickly determined that with 2 babies and all the gear the Jeep wasn't cutting it she joined us own gals with the Tahoe LTZ. Sweet ride though! She still talks about it and wished she had kept it in the museum until she loses the car seats, strollers etc...

Back to the Napolean story..