CasinoCruzGirl

14 minutes ago, AlexandNessa said:

Totally agree with you. Genie = Haven concierge + butler on steroids. 

 

There is absolutely no comparison. I mean, not having to leave your luggage out the night before, but having your Genie come to your room at the agreed upon time with a porter to escort you off? How about dumping your clothes on the couch at embarkation to have it pressed and then coming back on hangars so you just need to put it in the right closet? How about having your show seats reserved for you... With your drinks waiting? 

 

How about being charged 5$ for shrimp on Norwegian, where Royal waiters recognize you as Star Class and take pride in trying to gorge you with everything, even if you didn't order it. 

 

I created a chart to compare. 

 

We are Platinum Plus on Norwegian (all Haven or suites), but given the same price point, Star Class on Royal wins for me. 

Royal Port of Cape Liberty-2.docx 15.07 kB · 6 downloads

That spreadsheet is awesome it says everything I wanted to share. Thank you 

16 minutes ago, erdoran said:

We have a lot of value for the Haven product because of the private bar & restaurant (no upcharge), private pool/courtyard (no chairhogs/crowds), priority disembarkation for ports, etc, etc - basically not having to deal with crowds or stand in lines, and top-notch crew members who are willing to go the extra mile to keep my hubby happy - for example, there was nothing he wanted on Haven restaurant menu, he prefers simple foods like spaghetti & meatballs so Haven restaurant made sure he had what HE likes!

 

How does the RC equivalent product compare on these points?

Star class and sky class have access to private dining called Coastal Kitchen same aspect as Haven. It also has a suite sun deck same as NCL with a bar. Also has a suite lounge with free beer and wine, soda and water available from 11am until 11 pm and other alcoholic beverages and appetizers free of charge from 5pm until 8 pm. This comes in handy if you don’t have the beverage package. One night I was in the coastal kitchen and wanted something else it was made and brought to me. It happened at the steak house also it was prime rib night at the MDR they didn’t have it on the menu at chops so they brought it to me. Don’t get me wrong like I said above NCL is my cruiseline of choice just the experience I had being star class on RCI blew my haven experiences away including my two cruises in a 3 bedroom garden villa on the gem and the jade. Yes we also had priority embarkation and disembarking. As a matter of fact our genie brought us from the suite lounge to our cabin and walked us to customs at disembarking 

3 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Did you get to sit at the big table in CK?

I’m guessing the answer is no because I don’t know what the big table is lol

8 minutes ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

 

Almost every time I have sailed including gifts left for me with other butlers or the concierge....but off the top of my head......multiple bottles of champagne, T-shirt’s from the  Philippines , hand drawn sketches, oil paintings among lots of other things. 

I guess they forgot to give us gifts when we were in the Garden Villa (shrug)

I have pretty much been loyal to NCL.  NCL being my cruiseline of choice. Have been in suites on NCL from garden villas a few times to haven penthouses and haven spa suites. Last week I was on a RCI cruise on the Allure and had the good fortune to be in a aqua theatre 2 bedroom suite which includes Royals version of a butler called a Genie.

there is absolutely no comparison between the two.  We first met our genie in the suite waiting lounge before boarding. She handed us a folder and said I took it upon myself to make reservations for you for all your dinners and shows. Knowing from email correspondence before the cruise our dining preference time was 7 pm. She made reservations to all of the specialty restaurants and said “I don’t want to see you in the buffet or MDR” lol she would change anything we wanted which we did end up doing a couple of times.  She showed up several times a day at every dinner found us at the casino at the pool just to check on us.  Took us on bridge tour on a kitchen tour. Decorated our suite for my friends birthday and to top it off gave US all a gift. When’s the last time anyone received a gift from your butler?  NCL needs to take notes on what a butler really does from RCI 

Just now, eynsteinp said:

This is great to hear as I have a one bedroom ATS and bid the max on a 2 bedroom but was giving up hope since it shows sold-out for all Star Class suites.  When I called to ask about just paying for the 2 bedroom they told me that the Royal Upgrade department would have pulled them from inventory since they accepted bids on them already and it was only 60 or so days out from the cruise.  I wasn't so sure about this explanation but my fingers are crossed that somehow they still give us the upgrade.  

I had given up hope to and to our surprise it was accepted 

12 minutes ago, Paelos said:

What's your casino game of choice? And what's your average bet that gets you this kind of comp?

I mix it up slots and tables mostly slots. This comp was from my outside host. I’m seven stars at caesars entertainment and he’s my host for that maybe he vouches for my play because I’m not a high roller by any means although I do love gambling. 

day 7 sea day 

we actually went to the buffet for breakfast. Our genie Anna had told us the first day I don’t wanna see you in the buffet or MDR lol. It was really good though plenty of good options for breakfast. We went to the pool for a while and tried to stay out of the sun because of our sunburns. We had a bridge tour at 2:30. Also forgot to mention earlier in the week we had a tour of the kitchens. Dinner our last night was again at samba grill genie had us set up for Izumi sushi but I don’t eat sushi so charged to Samba because we loved it. Try the cheesecake strawberry parfait omg to die for. 

Because we were star star class we didn’t need to put our suitcases out a porter came to our room when we were leaving.

our last night was spent in the casino (shocking I know lol)

we we had a 10:30 am flight and Anna came to get us at 8 am with the porter who took our bags and we were off the ship in a flash. 

Some random things ill mention now.

i have cruised in suites on NCL many times and have had butlers. Royals Genies are NCL butlers on steroids. NCL butlers do nothing compared to what genies do.  She showed up every day multiple times at multiple venues to check on us. NCL butlers and Royals genies have no comparison. She actually gave US gifts when’s the last time an NCL butler gave someone a gift?

the ship was awesome. We were completely spoiled. I really can’t tell you how it would be to cruise in a regular cabin. Royal Caribbean’s star class experience is top notch. It was the smoothest sailing I have ever had never felt any rocking at all. Also because we were in an ATS we were able to see the aqua show several times from our balcony. Any questions please feel free to ask. 

day 6

labadee Haiti day. Wow this was a great day. It was hot and sunny out. We were taken by our genie to barefoot beach were we found some lounge chairs in the shade. I asked one of the workers how much the Mats were and he said they were free. He gave us 4 of them and we spent most of the afternoon floating in the refreshing water. We got very sunburned so make sure u have sunblock on. They had a buffet lunch set up from 11:30 to 1:30. Again so much food, steak, shrimp, chicken, burgers, hot dogs, salads, fruits all was excellent. We returned to the ship around 2:30 that afternoon showered hit the casino then had dinner at coastal kitchen and the ice show. It exceeded my expectations the skaters were fabulous.  My friends birthday was a week prior to the cruise and our genie Anna had a cake brought for dessert and when we got back to the cabin there was about 20 signs and decorations posted all over the room saying happy birthday

Day 5

san Juan day. We arrived in San Juan at 7 am to pouring rain. We had some breakfast in suite and then the rain stopped and the girls went out to shop a little and see umbrella street 

we had our port day in San Juan cut short and all aboard was at 1:00. Had some lunch at coastal kitchen and the casino opened at 3:30. Headed there before dinner which was at Sabor (Mexican). We had a variety of appetizers food and drinks were yummy.  We had the comedy show that night. Hysterical. Because we were star class our genie placed us right smack in center from row. My friends mom who was with us is from Italy and has a heavy scent. That’s all the first comedian needed to hear and he spent 15 minutes talking to her lol. If you don’t wanna be picked on do not sit in the front rows  he was really funny the 2nd comedian was ok not as good as the first one though. 

random pictures of our snacks in suite and Johnny rockets and boardwalk

On 5/27/2019 at 9:27 PM, Danitroline said:

Has anyone had a bid accepted for  category that was shown as "sold out"?

Yes our cruise was sold out our ATS 2 bedroom bid was accepted 4 or 5 days before our cruise 

On Allure last week we had lunch there twice. The shake was great. Burger good. It was all free for us being we were star class. Not sure I would pay for the burger but would for the shake 

9 hours ago, rockwallroses said:

We are loving this review.  We are currently in a 1 Bedroom Aquatheatre and have Bid Up for the 2 Bedroom--crossing our fingers!!!  Can't wait for more---we leave the 16th

  

I hope you win your bid it was a great experience 

day 4 was sint marten day. We grabbed a van to Maho to watch the planes land. It was $32 round trip to do it this way. When we got there the beach was very crowded but they have a pool on the left side of the bar for $10 each we rented a chair and pool access for the day. It was a great day and I was really happy I didn’t have to deal with the crowd on the beach.  This is a perfect option. After returning back to the ship around 2 we went to Johnny rockets for lunch. I was surprised the casino was open that afternoon in port. Dinner was at chops this was an experience not to miss. Once the waiter knew we were star class he couldn’t give us enough food. He brought us so many appetizers and lobster tails and shrimp and steaks. We ate more on this cruise than I have ever before 

day 2

we had room service breakfast 5 out of the 7 days, eggs, bacon, sausage coffee, etc. out on our very roomy balcony.  After breakfast we headed down to the casino and played for a few hours (we have to earn our keep since we were on a comp cruise lol) but that’s what we enjoy doing some may say we are degenerate gamblers.  That’s actually how I met my friend. We met here on cruise critic 4 years ago talking about gambling and the first time we shared a cabin was in the Garden Villa on NCL Gem with 7 other women we met here on cruise critic.

the 3 other girls went to Mama Mia for the 2:30 show and were seated in the first row by our genie. I passed on going I wasn’t a fan of the movie so opted to not go. They enjoyed it.

dinner night 2 was in Izumi hibachi which I love. We had my host and his wife join us for dinner. Food was very good.

day 3 was another sea day breakfast on our balcony, some casino and pool time. We were invited by my host and his other guests (16 of us) to Giovanni’s table. Appetizers were served family style and we each ordered our main course. It was ok not my favorite Italian restaurant 

Our bags arrived very quickly after putting our things away we went up to coastal kitchen for lunch. We then explored a little bit we had to check out the casino where we knew most of our time would be spent. If your a smoker you are able to smoke in the casino when it’s not even open which is very different than NCL. We then had our muster drill at 3:30 and sail away @ 4:30. After that at 5 pm our casino host had a party at Dazzles with drinks and snacks. Dinner the first night was the Samba Grill which was my favorite. The food was amazing. We actually ate here twice it was so good. 

Anna our genie and fully stocked water and sodas and juices.  In addition to this “our bartender” called every afternoon to see what drinks we would like brought to our room. Everyday we also had snacks brought cheese and crackers, fruit, sushi, shrimp cocktail, nachos, cookies

1 minute ago, John&LaLa said:

Which deck?  We have 8 for the March TA

10730

Our suite 

• Ana handed us a folder with all the reservations she had made for us. Dinners and shows. She said I took it upon myself to book everything for you but feel free to change whatever you want. She escorted us to our suite about 10:30

I’m going to do a short review of my Allure cruise May 26 - June 2.

i have an outside casino host who books all my casino trips. I met him 20 years ago at the Rio in Vegas. Last year he retired from caesars entertainment and him and his wife opened their own casino travel company.  I have been pretty loyal to NCL and getting comps on my own direct through casinos at sea.  My host bill sends out emails saying what cruises he will be sailing.  One of them was the May 26th Allure cruise. So I asked one of my friends if she wanted to go and she said yes and her mom and her daughter would join us.  I spoke to my host and said ok we are in what can you get us.  He was able to book us a Crown loft suite for $95 each WOW ok booked!!!!  About 3 months before the cruise we received the Royal Up email to bid on either the 1 bedroom ATS starting at $100 pp or the 2 bedroom ATS starting at $400 pp or the Star loft suite starting at $800 pp. didn’t make sense to bid on the 1 bedroom ATS because it was still Sky class and we would be giving up a bathroom and we thought bidding $800 pp for the Star loft was to expensive so we ended up bidding $500 pp for the 2 bedroom ATS which was star class. I played around with the bid in the next few weeks bidding up and down but settled on the $500 pp which was $100 over minimum. We figured if we got it it’s only $250 pp for the 4 of us since the bid is only for the first 2 passengers. Several days before our cruise I got the congratulations you’ve been upgraded email. We were so excited we could barely contain ourselves. 

We flew into Fort Lauderdale the day before from New Jersey and we decided to be cheap on our hotel and booked the Days Inn cruise port airport. DUMP don’t ever stay here. We waited over an hour for their free shuttle to the hotel. Once we got there I asked if they could put us in a low floor near an elevator room. They put us in the back on the 4th floor far far away from elevator. There was only 5 floors so no not a low floor. We put our bags in the room and headed to the hard rock casino via Uber which was $15. We had some dinner there and played for a bit but was so exhausted so headed to hotel to get some sleep.

cruise day was finally here hooray. The hotel had a shuttle to the port for $10 pp so we took that at 9 am and arrived at the port about 9:30. We were directed to the door that said “suites” once we told a porter we were star class he grabbed our bags and said follow me. About 10 am the doors opened and we along with our bags were ushered right through security and met with a women who took us to check in and then brought us upstairs to a suite waiting area. After 5 minutes our genie Anna Liao came to greet us. We knew after 3 minutes with her we loved her. 

5 minutes ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

 

You really should not be that flattered, I point out discrepancies in other posts, not just yours.

As far as looking up the posts, yes, because I knew the figures you tossed out did not match up to your previous posts,  I cannot help if I have a memory for numbers.

People question posts all the time, you have questioned other people’s posts, why would other people wanting clarification be any different from you wanting clarification? 

I do not understand your comment about not commenting on my posts because you do and there is one at the top of the NCL sticky thread right now and a few others prior to that one. It is a public forum and I have done nothing to disrespect you with my post but if you feel I have then you do have the option of blocking my posts if you so choose. It is the same as not reading threads you have no interest in. I do that all the time. 

I rest my case your the cruise critic discrepancies police. Like I said have a wonderful weekend. I’m off to catch my flight 🍑

44 minutes ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

 

Last time I checked this was a public forum.

I guess you must have forgotten the reason everyone volunteered me to handle all the financials tracking on the Garden Villa cruise.

I am the numbers person & when numbers do not add up I will of course notice.

 

And we also both know I will always point out inconsistencies I come across, It’s just my nature.

  

Lol yes it’s a public forum but for you to go out of your way and research my posts and post them together and even pull a post I made on a completely different thread “pulling your leg comment” shows you had a desire to point out my “discrepancies”. Look we were and are excited about our upgrade and I changed our bid MULTIPLE times shoot me that I didn’t put the exact amounts in correct order. But you seemed to think I was lying about getting the upgrade which was proven that we did in a photo of our letter above in another post.  Why you felt the need to do what you did is beyond me. I make no comments on anything u post so please give me the respect and do the same for me. Thank you and have a nice weekend...I’ll be cruising 🤣

1 minute ago, Casino Comp Chick said:

 

Last time I checked this was a public forum.

I guess you must have forgotten the reason everyone volunteered me to handle all the financials tracking on the Garden Villa cruise.

I am the numbers person & when numbers do not add up I will of course notice.

 

And we also both know I will always point out inconsistencies I come across, It’s just my nature.

  

Smh