bertrande

6 hours ago, dolphingirl47 said:

Photos from Coastal Kitchen 

Thanks for the photos, Corinna.  Hope you are enjoying the cruise and its ports thus far!

4 hours ago, CruisingHusker said:

I finally heard from our genie, Sunil. I have read that his pre cruise communication isn’t the best but he’s amazing on board. I hope that’s the case. I’m glad I reached out and didn’t wait for him to contact me. That might not have happened. I can relax now!!

I agree with what you have heard.  Sunil was our genie on Ovation.  We did not hear much from him pre-cruise (but this was also due to Royal not being sure whether the Royal Suite Class programme would apply on our sailing which was out of Singapore and not China and he told us he was all set for vacation until a couple of weeks out!) but onboard he was amazing.  My kids loved him.  We bumped into him again when we were on Symphony (we had a different genie) and he was still always going around trying to give his guests the best possible cruise experience.  I'm sure you will have a wonderful time!

Great photos Corinna.  Enjoy your day at port today.  Is it a full sailing?  Also, does Coastal Kitchen have a good variety of cuisines or is it primarily Asian (given that the cruises are marketed as a culturally enriching experience)?

2 minutes ago, dolphingirl47 said:

We do have complimentary internet. Enjoyed our lunch in Coastal Kitchen and are now chilling in the Concierge Lounge.

 

Corinna

 Sounds wonderful.  Am glad RCL has its act together onboard its ship if not its shoreside operations and communications.  Have a great cruise - are you on the 5N Spice of SE Asia cruise?

On 11/21/2019 at 4:36 AM, dolphingirl47 said:

Thanks. Will do. I snagged a Grand Suite through Royal Up so I will have first hand experience.

 

Corinna

Have a wonderful cruise today, Corinna!  Please do update if the Grand Suites have complimentary internet and other Sky class perks.  We received the email from our genie this morning so Star Class is in place together with complimentary specialty dining (although not sure if we still have to pay for iFly and 270) so it will be interesting to see what perks are included for the Grand Suites.

On 11/21/2019 at 3:44 AM, RFerrington said:

I hope you have one of the Grand Loft Suites on Deck 8 and not one of the ones on Deck 10.  The ones on 8 are wonderful.  Not so much, the ones on 10.  The ones on 10 are tiny in comparison. 

We took one on Deck 10!  We have done Deck 8 GLs on other Quantum class ships so I hope we won't be too disappointed!

To everyone else interested, I have just received the welcome e-mail from our genie so I think we can confirm that Star Class is available on the Quantum departing out of Singapore.

9 hours ago, dolphingirl47 said:

 Fang Lixin is the regular cruise director on Spectrum.

 

i am getting on Quantum on Monday and they do charge for North Star and iFly in my cruise planner.

 

Even when we sailed out Shanghai on Quantum during the last two years, there were plenty of activities including trivia in English. I can’t comment on the shows as I rarely bother with those. 
 

I will report back with more details once I am on the ship.

 

Corinna

Thank you!  Would you be able to report on whether the Royal Suite Class system is in effect for Jr Suites and above please?

I hope you have a wonderful time on the Quantum!

5 hours ago, cadburyguinness said:

Check your junk mail Bertrande!

We are sailing 23rd Dec and got the email at the beginning of Nov.

It was just the  preliminary “questionnaire to find out all about you” rather than any confirmation about perks or bookings, but I don’t think you get that with the “China sailings Suite Class” as far as I have been able to determine

Urgh my junk mail only goes back a month and nothing so far.  I also saw from Cruise Planner that internet is US$20 less than what I had purchased!!  Not sure what to do now - I incur exchange rate losses if I cancel and rebook, and if internet is included in the suite, I would much rather hold on to it and then get a refund onto my onboard account when we get on the ship.  If only Royal would be clearer on what is included - their communication on this is dismal.

5 hours ago, cadburyguinness said:

I have received the Genie questionnaire for our December cruise, so I reckon that’s a good sign

 

This is awesome - may I know whether your cruise is in early December?  We are on the 9th December sailing and have not heard anything!  We have also purchased internet from the online portal which I hope will be refunded to my account if internet is included...!

On 10/11/2019 at 10:31 PM, nigel_ht said:

I'm guessing I already know the answer to this question (nobody knows yet) but since Quantum is moving to Singapore will it get Royal Suite Class for Singapore sailings like Anthem did?

 

The real questions are:

 

"who do I ask to get the right answer?" and "when should I ask?"

 

I wish I knew - grabbed a Loft suite for this purpose as well but checking in now for my December cruise, I see on the app that there is a fee for iFly and 270 and my set sail pass just says "Suite Class" - not Royal Suite Class.  So I am not hopeful!

On 9/5/2019 at 2:50 AM, Ru2on said:

Thanks for the replies, they have reassured me, we ended up booking a five day  5 NIGHT SPICE OF SOUTHEAST ASIA CRUISE.   Leaving & returning to Singapore. Will be a whole new experience for me.

 

It is a shame Royal have decided to charge for activities that are apparently free of charge in other parts of the world but I decided to just get ahead of it(hoping to avoid queues) and prebook the activities on my Cruise Planner. 

Unfortunately although the email I have been sent tells me they will be available to book through Cruise Planner they are nowhere to be seen 🤔.  

I do find it quite strangely comical that Royal are advising me that due to the cruise being a Culturally Enriching Cruise they have put a price on free activities .

Oh I am so disappointed hearing this.  We sailed Ovation out of Singapore and it was not a culturally enriching cruise.  Neither was there a price on the "usual" included activities.  However, right up to I think the start of the short season, nobody at Royal knew if the Royal Suite Class perks would be included (this was way before they standardised that all sailings on Ovation out of Sydney and Singapore would have the RSC system).  In fact, Royal was telling us to expect the same sort of cruise experience as those departing from Chinese ports.  We have a sailing on Quantum booked in December so I am hoping the same thing will happen again - fingers crossed.

1 hour ago, fabnsab said:

Pouring hot coffee over ice makes watery, luke warm coffee. I’m  not a snob, but I do like it strong and cold. 

Even at El Bacio, when I ask for an iced tea, they make it hot first and then pour it into a cup filled with ice.  Not sure it will be different for iced coffee?

Date of Cruise:                                                                                                                                                 

15 June 2019

Ship:                                                                                                                                                     

Edge

Cabin #:                                                                                                                                                             

12108

Deck #:                                                                                                                                                

12

Cabin Category:                                                                                                                                                              

Royal Suite (RS)

Cabin Location:                                                                                                                                                

Fwd

Bed Position:                                                                                                                                                   

Facing the balcony

Balcony Type:                                                                                                                                                  

Regular Balcony 

Balcony/Window Size:                                                                                                                                                  

Normal sized balcony - would say small for a RS.  Two loungers and a table

Balcony/Window View/Obstruction:                                                                                                                        

None

Balcony Overhang?:                                                                                                                                                      

None

Magic Carpet Issues?:                                                                                                                                                   

None

Noise Issues?:                                                                                                                                                  

We were directly under the spa area but did not hear anything.

Wind Issues?:                                                                                                                                                  

None

Connecting Cabin? Where Does it Connect?:    

None

Suite Details:                                                                                                                                                    

Great storage area, lots of well thought out space.  Large bathroom with separate shower area.  Location of bathtub right in the middle of the bathroom seems nice in pictures but means a big splash with little containment when the kids are using.  "Double sink" was actually a long trough with a faucet attached at each end.  Again, nice to look at but not practical - it takes a long time for water and gunk to flow from one end to the central drainage area and sometimes, there is not enough flow to get there...eeps. Cannot fault the location - just across from Luminae and one floor down from spa, two from fitness centre and Retreat Lounge. Camp@Sea is also on deck 3 using the same forward escalators.  The room seems fairly soundproof - hardly heard any noise!  Two small bar fridges which hold plenty.  Good number of electrical outlets and also USB charging points - very practical and good for us! 

Advantages/Problems/Comments:                                                                                                                           

Loved the location - didn't like some parts of the design of the bathroom as detailed above.  Also, as the Royal Suite is now "only" the fourth highest category of suite on the ship, we felt there was a slight difference in the amount of attention the line paid - no special invites to tours etc.  Laundry perk attached to the cabin is a HUGE plus with kids.

Would You Book It Again?:

Yes.

Perhaps I should clarify - Fine Cut was not sold out.  However, as we want to eat early (thanks to @vtcruising and also the fact that we have two young children), our preferred slots for all dining is generally around 6/7pm.  For Fine Cut, these timings were full on our preferred days (but other timings were still available).  We therefore took a 6pm on another day and waitlisted for those preferred days.  Hope this helps.  Demand *is* high for Fine Cut but we were also firm on not wanting to eat later than 7pm. :)

Just to update on this thread, I was contacted by Shoreside Concierge about 3 weeks before the cruise to take reservations for specialty dining.  It is good that they did so - Fine Cut availability was very limited and we are currently waitlisted for our two preferred dates and times while holding a confirmed reservation on another day.  We have been advised to check onboard whether our preferred timings open up.  

3 hours ago, vtcruising said:

RTGG in Monte Carlo sounds wonderful - hope you can see the sunset!

 

The Edge really is a different experience than S and M Class, though same great service. Though we missed a few things from the S Class ships, overall we enjoyed the very unique experiences we had on the Edge, from entertainment to food to new activities to gorgeous art, staircases, lighting, decor (and the lovely Retreat Lounge and Sundeck). We are very happy to have another Celebrity choice. 🙂

 

Enjoy your Royal Suite!  I toured a couple of those on the Edge - the soaking tub is huge!  I'm not sure if saw this thread about the suite life:

 

 

Thank you very much once again - that thread together with the dining resources post that you made were fantastic to whet our appetites for our cruise.  Not long more to go now before we are on our way - we booked this cruise the moment Edge itineraries were released and are very excited about it!

Such a helpful resource, thank you very much!

Thank you for all the wonderful tips here - especially about eating earlier at Fine Cut Steakhouse in the evening!  We will try to do Rooftop Grill on the one night that we will still be in port at dinner time (Monte Carlo).  We have not been back on Celebrity for a couple of years now and are really looking forward to our cruise.  We've done the S class and M class ships so we are interested to see what's different (apart from the Retreat) on the Edge class.

12 hours ago, dkjretired said:

You should not have a problem, there are perks for the suite, one of those is to see your Butler when you board. He will take care of you.

11 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

We've never sailed on Edge but have been on other ships in the RS and did not have a problem getting reservations.  Sometimes we've had to adjust the time by 1/2 hour but we did get a reservation.  We've also been able to change reservations on board.  They do hold slots for RS guests.

8 hours ago, twodaywonder said:

You will have no problem. Not crowded at all.

Thank you all for your reassurance!  I will wait until we are contacted by the shore side concierge then.

2 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

It sounds like you are in a Royal Suite or higher.  You should be contacted by the shore side concierge 1 to 2 weeks before your cruise and you can arrange your dining then. If you do not get a call or email call the Captains Club and ask to be transferred to the shore side concierge.

Thank you for your response.  Yes we are in a Royal Suite.  Hopefully the specialty dining availability will not be too limited a fortnight out - that is what we are afraid of.

We are sailing on the Edge next month and we apparently have unlimited specialty dining as a perk of our stateroom.  However, I can't seem to make reservations via the Cruise Planner without having to pay.  Do we wait until we are onboard before making the reservations (I am afraid they will all be booked out by that time) or do we reserve via the Cruise Planner, pay the fee and then have it refunded to our onboard account upon boarding?

Thanks in advance!

If having dinner regularly in the MDR, you could request for purees to be made for every meal. They are really good about trying their best to make sure baby's needs are accommodated - we had mashed peas, steamed carrots, baked potatoes etc for our babies when they were younger. Requests for no salt were kindly accommodated as well. Now that our kids are bigger, they know they often go for the grilled chicken breast or salmon and will make it without salt if the request is made in advance.

As for other cruising tips - you can rent bags of toys (no charge) from the nursery and rotate the bags as well. This way, baby will have some form of entertainment in the stateroom.

Enjoy your cruise, our children have always started cruising at 6-9 months of age and it has always been enjoyable for us.

None of the RCCL ships sailing from Hong Kong and Mainland China do not have the Royal Suite Class. So Quantum does not have Star Class. However, Quantum may switch to Royal Suite Class during her Winter 2019 Singapore season.

That would be brilliant if it happened - Ovation has the Royal Suite Class for sailings out of Australia and Singapore so it would be good if Quantum followed suit.

Marla is back on the Symphony after vacation, replacing Reyno, who was fantastic!

Any idea who the genies on Symphony are at present? Thanks!