Royal Genie Regrets

[CruisinSinceIwasBorn]

My family and I are very fortunate to be able to travel in Star Class for the first time next month. As we work to prepare, I would love to know what people's biggest "regret" was. This could be: didn't ask for enough, asked for too much, didn't tip enough, didn't realize you could do X,Y,Z. Anything! Greatly appreciate your input!

 

As a side note, we are traveling with young children (7, 5, 2). So any input on Star Class with kids, especially during COVID, is welcome!

Edited January 25, 2022 by CruisinSinceIwasBorn

[CruiseBride926]

We sailed in a star class suite for the first time in September. I don’t really have any regrets as far as asking for things but the one thing my husband and I both agreed on is that we maybe let him over schedule us a bit. It was great being able to try all of the restaurants but having reservations for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily really dictates a lot of the day. As for the kids our genie was amazing with them and loved that he had cupcakes and cookies delivered for them daily. 

[cindyscruise]

I am so glad you asked this question.  We will be in a star class also for the first time.  Can you order from Izumi sushi and have it delivered to your cabin?

[topnole]

12 hours ago, CruisinSinceIwasBorn said:

My family and I are very fortunate to be able to travel in Star Class for the first time next month. As we work to prepare, I would love to know what people's biggest "regret" was. This could be: didn't ask for enough, asked for too much, didn't tip enough, didn't realize you could do X,Y,Z. Anything! Greatly appreciate your input!

 

As a side note, we are traveling with young children (7, 5, 2). So any input on Star Class with kids, especially during COVID, is welcome!

Regrets.  None.  Ask for what you want and enjoy.  They may not be able to accommodate everything so don’t be upset.  They can do a heck of a lot, and they will try hard, but there are limits.  Our only NO was private flowrider time in one trip.  We had it offered and did it on a prior star class trip and they changed the rules on that so it was a no go on the subsequent trip (same genie that we loved).  So you have to go with the flow (pardon the pun) because they aren’t actually equipped with magical capabilities.  I was quite bummed on that one and the genie felt really bad because she knew it was important to me and she had set it up for us the time before.   But she couldn’t do anything about it and I didn’t make any fuss about it.   
 

They will schedule things for you, but it only takes a call to them at anytime to change something.  So don’t assume you have to do everything they set up.  Out of respect for others you should definitely cancel anything with whatever lead time possible, but you can cancel or change whatever you want when you want.  Also, if too much stuff keeps coming to your cabin and that is a bother, just tell the genie and room steward you would like less frequent delivery of various things like cookies, drinks, or whatever else.  
 

There are threads about what should I ask my genie for.  Personally I wouldn’t worry about those.  Just think about what you are interested in and would like and request based on that.  To me the huge benefit is little to no planning needed and rarely if ever needing to wait (ex. Show up a few minutes before show time vs 15-30 minutes before to get good seats).  
 

Fee free to ask any questions.  I have 3 young kids too and will be Star Class again late this spring.  

Edited January 25, 2022 by topnole

[spooky981]

Did the Genie do anything related to childcare? Obviously they won't babysit, but can they make magical things happen when it comes to reservations at the kids clubs?

[AshleyDillo]

43 minutes ago, cindyscruise said:

I am so glad you asked this question.  We will be in a star class also for the first time.  Can you order from Izumi sushi and have it delivered to your cabin?

 

Yes. Go through your Genie for any specialty dining room service orders and they will make it happen. The general rule is only order from one restaurant at a time and the restaurant has to be open when you order. We just got off of Harmony and were able to communicate with the Genie through WhatsApp throughout the cruise to arrange anything that we needed from food delivery to the cabin and restocking the minibar to making reservation changes.

 

13 hours ago, CruisinSinceIwasBorn said:

As we work to prepare, I would love to know what people's biggest "regret" was. This could be: didn't ask for enough, asked for too much, didn't tip enough, didn't realize you could do X,Y,Z.

 

You won't know if something can be done unless you ask. The Genies aren't mind readers. Some are better at coming up with ideas of things to make the cruise special, but if you think of something special you can always ask if it is possible. Any activity that you see on the Cruise Planner that you would be interested in, ask the Genie if they can do anything to make sure it happens. The kids can be taken to the front of the lines for things such as ice skating, bumper cars, slides, carousel if you set it up with the Genie. Since they aren't doing the cupcake decorating classes onboard currently, you can ask if they can deliver ingredients to do that or an ice cream station in the room. You get free in-room  on-demand movies so you can plan an evening where you order snacks and watch movies with the kids.

[topnole]

14 hours ago, CruisinSinceIwasBorn said:

My family and I are very fortunate to be able to travel in Star Class for the first time next month. As we work to prepare, I would love to know what people's biggest "regret" was. This could be: didn't ask for enough, asked for too much, didn't tip enough, didn't realize you could do X,Y,Z. Anything! Greatly appreciate your input!

 

As a side note, we are traveling with young children (7, 5, 2). So any input on Star Class with kids, especially during COVID, is welcome!

You might want to mention which ship.  Advice could vary depending. 

[CruisinSinceIwasBorn]

37 minutes ago, topnole said:

You might want to mention which ship.  Advice could vary depending. 

 

Oasis of the Seas

[WarfRatWA]

2 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

 Any activity that you see on the Cruise Planner that you would be interested in, ask the Genie if they can do anything to make sure it happens. 

We are scheduled on the Anthem in Star class which will be our first time sailing with RCCL.  Very excited.  Do you do any planning in the cruise planner or do you let the Genie do all the planning?  

[Hutcha]

3 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

Go through your Genie for any specialty dining room service orders and they will make it happen. The general rule is only order from one restaurant at a time

I haven't heard this one before. In fact, I've seen it listed as a benefit that you can do different restaurants if members of your party want different foods.

 

I'll be following this one. We have our first Star class cruise on the Harmony in June.

[Hutcha]

Dare I even broach the subject on how much to tip the Genie?

 

I know, I know.....totally up to my discretion. Tip what I think the service was worth. Everyone one is different. I've seen all of the comments from people that don't want to give a suggested amount, or a "guideline". What about those that have something constructive to add?

[topnole]

32 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

Dare I even broach the subject on how much to tip the Genie?

 

I know, I know.....totally up to my discretion. Tip what I think the service was worth. Everyone one is different. I've seen all of the comments from people that don't want to give a suggested amount, or a "guideline". What about those that have something constructive to add?

Might want to start a new thread so this one isn’t ruined.  Or maybe the op is OK with that topic.  There are a lot of other reasonable comments on the genie tipping in some of the other threads.  

[AshleyDillo]

51 minutes ago, Hutcha said:

I haven't heard this one before. In fact, I've seen it listed as a benefit that you can do different restaurants if members of your party want different foods.

 

It was just the general rule that was emphasized by our Genie this time around. It's way more efficient for them to do one restaurant at a time over coordinating with different restaurants. Unless the Genie is the one running around picking up and delivering all the orders they won't be able to guarantee it all comes at the same time and certainly can't guarantee that the food comes at the appropriate temperature so they suggest that you stick to one restaurant. Of course the Genie wants to please so exceptions can be made, so if you are told the same rule just ask if the exception can be made.

 

Our most recent Genie even said to give a 2-hour heads up to make sure we could get what we requested. We didn't take advantage of specialty dining delivered outside of Johnny Rockets during this cruise (no heads up really needed for that). We actually ordered from the room service menu several times late at night and we had a couple of pre-scheduled delivered breakfasts that were set up through the Genie the night before.

Edited January 25, 2022 by AshleyDillo

[AshleyDillo]

1 hour ago, WarfRatWA said:

We are scheduled on the Anthem in Star class which will be our first time sailing with RCCL.  Very excited.  Do you do any planning in the cruise planner or do you let the Genie do all the planning?  

 

You don't have to make reservations for anything. Everything that requires reservations the Genie will schedule you. All you will need to do is let them know your preferred dining times and they work around that the best that they can in tandem with the entertainment schedule. The non-scheduled activities on Anthem such as the bumper cars, all you have to do is tell them you are interested and they will arrange what would be the best time for you to meet them for an escort to the front of the line. 

[topnole]

49 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

You don't have to make reservations for anything. Everything that requires reservations the Genie will schedule you. All you will need to do is let them know your preferred dining times and they work around that the best that they can in tandem with the entertainment schedule. The non-scheduled activities on Anthem such as the bumper cars, all you have to do is tell them you are interested and they will arrange what would be the best time for you to meet them for an escort to the front of the line. 

Agree and for things like the carousel I don’t imagine you would ever need the genie.  The line is always short or non existent.  
 

For Skating it might be a big benefit if the genie can help and the rock wall is a 50/50 whether you would need to face along line.   Some of the fun of that is watching a little before going anyhow.  The genie might be able to help you expedite doing the zip line, but at best only the 7 year old would likely be big enough.  The flowrider will likely have a pre-established star class process if they do anything at all now Post Covid.    Last time I went there was a star class line and they sort of let you skip the line a bit.  But only for one ride and then wait a while.  Only the 7 year old would be big enough for flowrider but even still they might be too short.  If you have any issues with anything (cabin, erroneous charge on your account, tour issue, whatever it is) just tell the genie.  They are technically guest services staff and they can do a lot of admin stuff like adjusting an erroneous charge on your account.   Also, if they bring up an issue to another department it will likely get dealt with accurately and quickly.  So don’t go the long way, just tell the genie right away and enjoy the short cut that you paid a lot for that week.  There is always something that comes up.  Just politely ask for help and they will likely make it right quickly.  
 

FYI.  The genie will likely have gifts for all of you at the end of the trip.  They will somehow try to pick up on what you might like.  So if they hear your kid loves soccer you may just get a soccer build a bear (or whatever it is called on Royal) for them at the end for example.  This may vary a lot and I think we tipped along the way a bit the first time and then had a repeat genie once who knew us.  
 

Keep in mind, like all things royal things

vary ship to ship.  One can be done on one may not be the case on others.  I have seen that first hand.  

 

[topnole]

1 hour ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

It was just the general rule that was emphasized by our Genie this time around. It's way more efficient for them to do one restaurant at a time over coordinating with different restaurants. Unless the Genie is the one running around picking up and delivering all the orders they won't be able to guarantee it all comes at the same time and certainly can't guarantee that the food comes at the appropriate temperature so they suggest that you stick to one restaurant. Of course the Genie wants to please so exceptions can be made, so if you are told the same rule just ask if the exception can be made.

 

Our most recent Genie even said to give a 2-hour heads up to make sure we could get what we requested. We didn't take advantage of specialty dining delivered outside of Johnny Rockets during this cruise (no heads up really needed for that). We actually ordered from the room service menu several times late at night and we had a couple of pre-scheduled delivered breakfasts that were set up through the Genie the night before.

Correct.  We heard that quality became an issue with orders from multiple restaurants (cold food) and we

experienced that as well.  The next

time we were star class they suggested ordering from only one restaurant for a

meal.  You can still order all the basics no matter (fruits and veggies, potatoes, rice, salad, etc) for the family and kids.  

Edited January 25, 2022 by topnole

[RFerrington]

We were definitely told that room service is limited to one restaurant at a time.  In reality, as long as you’re request is reasonable they will accommodate you.  What is unreasonable ?  I guess they don’t want every member of your party ordering from a different restaurant.  We never tried to find out.  We kept it simple.

[CruisinSinceIwasBorn]

3 hours ago, RFerrington said:

We were definitely told that room service is limited to one restaurant at a time.  In reality, as long as you’re request is reasonable they will accommodate you.  What is unreasonable ?  I guess they don’t want every member of your party ordering from a different restaurant.  We never tried to find out.  We kept it simple.

We requested snacks from two different places for sail-away; charcuterie from Vintages and nachos from Playmakers. Our genie said he can make this request happen, but going forward, we can only order from 1 specialty restaurant. His response: "Though orders can be placed from only one restaurant of your choice, I will arrange for the above for sail-away."  

[CruisinSinceIwasBorn]

6 hours ago, Hutcha said:

Dare I even broach the subject on how much to tip the Genie?

 

I know, I know.....totally up to my discretion. Tip what I think the service was worth. Everyone one is different. I've seen all of the comments from people that don't want to give a suggested amount, or a "guideline". What about those that have something constructive to add?

That could be a regret from some people, so I think it's fair question!

 

The general rule of thumb seems to be about $500 - $700 for a week long cruise. This is what we plan to do (2 adults, 3 children). If service is excellent, the high end, if it's just schedule support and room service ordering, probably the lower end. 

[CruisinSinceIwasBorn]

5 hours ago, AshleyDillo said:

 

You don't have to make reservations for anything. Everything that requires reservations the Genie will schedule you. All you will need to do is let them know your preferred dining times and they work around that the best that they can in tandem with the entertainment schedule. The non-scheduled activities on Anthem such as the bumper cars, all you have to do is tell them you are interested and they will arrange what would be the best time for you to meet them for an escort to the front of the line. 

 

One thing our Genie wrote back to us tonight is that you need to book the Hibachi on your own as it's often full and they won't (and shouldn't) bump people. They will reimburse the cost when you get on board. You also need to book any spa appointments on your own. 

 

"I recommend booking this online due to limited availability on board. Hibachi is a vaccinated only venue and seats a total of 8 guests, so you could have other guests joining you at Hibachi."

[CruisinSinceIwasBorn]

9 hours ago, spooky981 said:

Did the Genie do anything related to childcare? Obviously they won't babysit, but can they make magical things happen when it comes to reservations at the kids clubs?

I asked our genie this question about reservations. There have been comments that as of last week, reservations are no longer required. This was his response:

 

"Unfortunately, due to the present protocols, guests are required to visit AO and digitally sign-up their children. At that time you can choose the time you will like to have the children in. Please be advised that the time allocated for each child is limited due to the reduced number of children allowed in AO."

[topnole]

1 minute ago, CruisinSinceIwasBorn said:

I asked our genie this question about reservations. There have been comments that as of last week, reservations are no longer required. This was his response:

 

"Unfortunately, due to the present protocols, guests are required to visit AO and digitally sign-up their children. At that time you can choose the time you will like to have the children in. Please be advised that the time allocated for each child is limited due to the reduced number of children allowed in AO."

Never did AO as were were always with our kids.  But I think that you had to do that on your own pre Covid (not that it matters now anyhow).  There are certain best practices and protocols that go with child care facilities and my guess is that is why they parents had to deal with it pre Covid too.  Maybe others could verify that.   

[topnole]

8 minutes ago, CruisinSinceIwasBorn said:

 

One thing our Genie wrote back to us tonight is that you need to book the Hibachi on your own as it's often full and they won't (and shouldn't) bump people. They will reimburse the cost when you get on board. You also need to book any spa appointments on your own. 

 

"I recommend booking this online due to limited availability on board. Hibachi is a vaccinated only venue and seats a total of 8 guests, so you could have other guests joining you at Hibachi."

They used to set this up for you.  We did it on Oasis and the genie definitely set it up.  It was all star class at our table ( 3 different groups of us).  I guess this changed due to Covid.  Hopefully the genie gives you the schedule they set up before you have to book that (assuming you want to).  

[micruiser2002]

 

14 minutes ago, CruisinSinceIwasBorn said:

 

One thing our Genie wrote back to us tonight is that you need to book the Hibachi on your own as it's often full and they won't (and shouldn't) bump people. They will reimburse the cost when you get on board. You also need to book any spa appointments on your own. 

 

"I recommend booking this online due to limited availability on board. Hibachi is a vaccinated only venue and seats a total of 8 guests, so you could have other guests joining you at Hibachi."

I wonder if it depends on ship.  My genie is setting up all of our dinner reservations and that included Hibachi.  We will be on Allure.

[CruisinSinceIwasBorn]

5 minutes ago, micruiser2002 said:

 

I wonder if it depends on ship.  My genie is setting up all of our dinner reservations and that included Hibachi.  We will be on Allure.

 

I don't think he necessarily said that he "can't", just that us doing it ourselves now (month out) gives a better shot at getting a time because its usually full by the time he starts booking things a few days prior to the cruise.