Current Genies

[Flowerfield]

Our Genie on the Allure will be Anna Liao. Anyone had her before and is willing to share their experiences? Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. 

[Ironstone]

My Genie for my upcoming cruise on the Allure will be Anna Liao!

 

Previously I have had a great experience on the Harmony with Reyno.

 

Has anybody heard of Anna before? 

 

Any feedback is very welcome.

[RFerrington]

Never had Anna nor even heard of her but we had Reyno twice.  He is an AWESOME party planner !

[Wahed]

I looked through the posts here and didn't see a put together list.  Is there a Google sheet out there similar to the concierge list?

[Clarea]

17 minutes ago, Wahed said:

I looked through the posts here and didn't see a put together list.  Is there a Google sheet out there similar to the concierge list?

 

Not that I've seen here on CC.

[Zendeck]

We are on Symphony and our Genie is Alina Levchenko.  

[gouofi]

Our third star class trip coming up in June on Harmony.  Just got our genie email!!  Very early from what I remembered.  Genie is Allan F.  Anyone with any input on him?

 

Previous genies were:  Daniel Allure in 2017 - it was early in the program and he was OK.  I've read other post on people that have loved him.  We just felt that he didn't go beyond anything.  We are not high maintenance at all from the stories we have heard either but we know what we like.  Then on April of 2018 on Allure we had Philip who was AMAZING!!!  (Maybe that is why I think Daniel was ok because Philip was amazing.  I'm not sure if he is still with Royal.  

                             

[Shacky316]

Allan is fantastic.  We had him a couple of times on Oasis when he was a concierge.  We caught up to him again on Anthem as a genie.  Unfortunately, Allen was not our genie for that trip and had Jay who was a dud.

About to sail now on Symphony today.  Met genie Marla earlier.  I think we will be in great hands with her 

 

[flyguyjake]

On 4/17/2019 at 12:53 PM, Zendeck said:

We are on Symphony and our Genie is Alina Levchenko.  

How far out is your cruise? We are sailing on Symphony in 3 weeks, usually we get the email by now. Nothing yet, not even the 1 month out initial survey.

[JBC11]

12 hours ago, Shacky316 said:

Allan is fantastic.  We had him a couple of times on Oasis when he was a concierge.  We caught up to him again on Anthem as a genie.  Unfortunately, Allen was not our genie for that trip and had Jay who was a dud.

About to sail now on Symphony today.  Met genie Marla earlier.  I think we will be in great hands with her 

 

We had Marla back in September, she was great. Say Hi to her from John, Pikky, Rob and A. took great care.

 

Enjoy

John

[gouofi]

6 hours ago, flyguyjake said:

How far out is your cruise? We are sailing on Symphony in 3 weeks, usually we get the email by now. Nothing yet, not even the 1 month out initial survey.

It turns out that our genie email (over 6 weeks out from our cruise) is not the usual initial Genie email.  We compared it to our previous ones and this is definitely different.  Usually it comes out 2 weeks before the cruise so don't be too alarmed.  We got this one for a different reason and I'll explain.....

 

We have been booking suites for years because we love the cabanas at Barefoot Beach in Labadee.  We know that you have to email the concierge 3-4 months out to request a cabana.  Then when Star Class became available, we switched to that and NEVER had to email the concierge because the Genie always had them available.  We've had cabanas probably 6-7 times now.  It's one of my FAVORITE things to do.  So, when we booked this upcoming Harmony cruise in April of 2018, our itinerary had Coco Cay on it.  We had never been to Cococay but were told by the RC on-board agent that it was similar to Labadee in that they had cabanas and all the other things Labadee had.  We were thrilled.  We booked a ATS and had no other thoughts on the subject.  Then I started looking on Cruise Critic about a week ago (I usually do that a few months before the cruise to read about the ship, dining, genies, etc.) when I started reading crazy things like "no suite area at Coco Cay."  I got on the excursion page and saw no mention of reserving cabanas so we emailed RC's excursions department.  Their response was that they were all sold out and even if you have a Star Class suite,  you were supposed to have magically known to reserve one.  My husbands response to that was not as nice which is why I think it was forwarded to our upcoming genie.

 

Allen's email was essentially  not asking about the usual arrival times, drinks in the room, etc, but  giving us a link to reservations on Coco Cay and that this was how to book a cabana. My husband responded to him and told him that he did not see cabanas being available on the web site.  Allen then responded saying "oh, sorry, sold out."   Ok, I know this is a first world problem but we had NO REASON to believe this was any different then Labadee.  Had I known I had to book my own cabana, I would have done so in April of 2018. How on earth was I supposed to know? I assumed it was like Labadee (obviously one should never assume...) I'm a little surprised the don't have a suite/Pinnacle area (even during construction).  I'm also surprised they have not saved some cabanas (since they are obviously very popular) for the Star Class since the website says, "You'll have everything you want - and more than you ever imagined."  The website even has a picture of a family in a cabana with the statement, "Exclusive experiences -- you Royal Genie and Concierge craft moments for you." We are usually a very low maintenance family and don't overuse our genie at all -- mainly to set up meals and shows.  We've had excellent service on all our SC cruises but this one is starting out a little rocky......:(

[Cruise a holic]

Have been to Labadee and cococay.  Enjoyed cabanas at both.  Currently cococay is being renovated and the plans look beautiful.  We enjoyed Barefoot beach cabanas, especially the cabanas on the hill.  We did experience many ants in the cabana and recommend that everyone spray their feet with a good deet spray.  My DH had bad bites when we went back on board.

 

Note that the cabanas for the suite guests are typically booked once you board.  Your Genie or suite concierge will book for you as soon as you board.  I also got anxious as I didn't see any cabanas on barefoot beach available for our sailing, so I booked one at Nellies beach.  As soon as we boarded, we spoke to the suite lounge concierge and he made all of the necessary arrangements.  

 

Cococay has and will have a really nice suite area with Cabanas for rent- again speak to your concierge when you board.  I do not know why your Genie couldn't help you- but we got excellent service from the suite concierge.  We typically have a crown loft suite and do not have a genie.

 

 

Edited April 21, 2019 by Cruise a holic

[ownedbypets]

1 hour ago, Cruise a holic said:

Have been to Labadee and cococay.  Enjoyed cabanas at both.  Currently cococay is being renovated and the plans look beautiful.  We enjoyed Barefoot beach cabanas, especially the cabanas on the hill.  We did experience many ants in the cabana and recommend that everyone spray their feet with a good deet spray.  My DH had bad bites when we went back on board.

 

Note that the cabanas for the suite guests are typically booked once you board.  Your Genie or suite concierge will book for you as soon as you board.  I also got anxious as I didn't see any cabanas on barefoot beach available for our sailing, so I booked one at Nellies beach.  As soon as we boarded, we spoke to the suite lounge concierge and he made all of the necessary arrangements.  

 

Cococay has and will have a really nice suite area with Cabanas for rent- again speak to your concierge when you board.  I do not know why your Genie couldn't help you- but we got excellent service from the suite concierge.  We typically have a crown loft suite and do not have a genie.

 

 

 

When we cruised in Star Class our Genie booked our cabana at Barefoot beach about 2 weeks before cruising.

[RFerrington]

10 hours ago, flyguyjake said:

How far out is your cruise? We are sailing on Symphony in 3 weeks, usually we get the email by now. Nothing yet, not even the 1 month out initial survey.

We have always received the useless survey 60 days prior to the cruise and our Genie has always contacted us at least 30 days prior to sail date.  I think I would contact the ship and see what's up.

[RFerrington]

3 hours ago, gouofi said:

Allen's email was essentially  not asking about the usual arrival times, drinks in the room, etc, but  giving us a link to reservations on Coco Cay and that this was how to book a cabana. My husband responded to him and told him that he did not see cabanas being available on the web site.  Allen then responded saying "oh, sorry, sold out."  

I don't blame you for being upset.  I would be too.  I know that things at Coco Cay are a bit tenuous at present, with amenities are in flux but they need to make sure that this kind of thing does NOT happen.  I would go straight to Guest Relations and express my displeasure.  IF they're truly sold out, they're sold out and there's nothing they can do at this point but they need to fix this system if it is broken....and if someone in Star Class is not able to get a cabana, it is broken.

[RFerrington]

39 minutes ago, ownedbypets said:

 

When we cruised in Star Class our Genie booked our cabana at Barefoot beach about 2 weeks before cruising.

I agree....Labadee  is not a problem.  Things seem to be working the way they always have, on Labadee.  Coco Cay seems to be though. 

[ownedbypets]

1 hour ago, RFerrington said:

I agree....Labadee  is not a problem.  Things seem to be working the way they always have, on Labadee.  Coco Cay seems to be though. 

 

We have never had a problem with Labadee either and we aren't going to Coco Cay for a while so I don't have any experience on that.  I was commenting more that we didn't have to wait until boarding, because we had a genie,  to reserve our cabana.

[Dred pilot Roberts]

Something to remember with the new cabanas on coco Cay.  I just booked one for a cruise on the Mariner in September.  There are 3 categories of cabanas the original beach front ones no longer say anything about an upgraded buffet or float mats included.  Instead they say that food is available from one of the new to go stands a short walk away. 

[scorpluvsdolphins]

Does Coco Cay still have the suite/Pinnacle area with the upgraded buffet that is near the jet skis?

[Zendeck]

22 hours ago, flyguyjake said:

How far out is your cruise? We are sailing on Symphony in 3 weeks, usually we get the email by now. Nothing yet, not even the 1 month out initial survey.

 

I never got the letter from my genie because we were not originally Star.  We were sky class so I received the letter from concierge a week before and concierge booked all my dinners.  Then the day before my cruise I received my bid upgrade to star.  I never actually heard from genie until I met her at the port.  

[doubledown13]

On 4/20/2019 at 4:52 PM, Shacky316 said:

Allan is fantastic.  We had him a couple of times on Oasis when he was a concierge.  We caught up to him again on Anthem as a genie.  Unfortunately, Allen was not our genie for that trip and had Jay who was a dud.

About to sail now on Symphony today.  Met genie Marla earlier.  I think we will be in great hands with her 

 

We have Jay on our upcoming Med cruise on Oasis.  Curious about your opinion of him.  He has been pretty responsive to emails now, but I'm guessing that is because the ship doesn't have any guests at the moment and they have plenty of time on their hands.

[Dred pilot Roberts]

12 hours ago, scorpluvsdolphins said:

Does Coco Cay still have the suite/Pinnacle area with the upgraded buffet that is near the jet skis?

 

It does not sound like it.

 

DPR

[Sorcerer Tim]

There was a reserved area for suite guests in March. We could not get a cabana either, our Genie told us they are now open for everyone and do not hold back any for Star Class. That may be different when Coco Cay is up and running full speed, but that is what we were told in March.

[gouofi]

14 minutes ago, Sorcerer Tim said:

There was a reserved area for suite guests in March. We could not get a cabana either, our Genie told us they are now open for everyone and do not hold back any for Star Class. That may be different when Coco Cay is up and running full speed, but that is what we were told in March.

 

What was the reserved area for suite guests like in March?  No cabanas there?  Do they at least have some chairs and umbrellas?  I'm trying to get over my disappointment.  It's just that when we spend so much on these Star Class suites, I'd like to have known that I was supposed to have reserved my cabana last April and I would have!!  We have family coming with us this time and I was raving abut the cabanas at Labadee and how the genies can do anything!!  🙄🙄🙄 

[Sorcerer Tim]

Our Genie did reserve us two chairs, a small table and two umbrellas. I think they were $25/each, but she waived the charge. It was a nice beach, but just roped off from the general area, nothing like Labadee. I agree the cabana/suite area is great there. The new pool as part of the Perfect Day upgrade is really nice, but we did not spend any time there, just walked through. There is an amazing area you can walk out maybe 200-300 yards in the ocean up with the water around waist level or lower (depending on height) and can see rays and small sharks. It is worth bringing at least a mask or goggles if not a snorkel for. It is an area with the floating bar. Given a choice, I would take Labadee over it even with the new upgrades, but it looks like it will be a fun place when it is finished.