Royal Caribbean’s Royal Genie

On our latest cruise on Harmony of the Seas, we sailed in a Star Class suite, which gave us access to a Genie (Daniel, in our case).  Genies can be thought of as  “Super-Concierges”; they are there to make your cruise as effortless as possible.  And Daniel did just that for us.

How a Royal Genie is trained

Royal Genies are trained by the British Butler Institute before heading to Royal Caribbean’s training center to learn the cruise line’s specific way of doing things.  Royal Genies are not stateroom attendants.  Think of them as someone who would grant you wishes on your cruise.  Want a dinner reservation at the last moment? Your Genie will take care of it for you.  Want front-row seats at all the shows?  Your Genie will personally save your seats for you, escort you to them and then call over a waiter for your drink order before the show starts.

What about Shore Excursions?

Your Genie can help you research and book shore excursions at each port.  If you have an excursion booked through Royal Caribbean, your Genie will escort you to the meeting point.  He/she can also assist with shopping, either at port or on the ship.  Having a Genie is a great resource of information if you are visiting a port for the first time.

What about the Cost?

I’ll admit, there’s a little bit of sticker shock when you first get the cost of your cruise that includes Star Class privileges. But being in a Star Class suite is the closest thing to an all-inclusive Royal Caribbean cruise that you will find.  It includes your gratuities, drink packages, specialty restaurants, WiFi, laundry, dry-cleaning and being escorted on and off the ship.  We definitely felt like rock stars!

Little Extras

Somehow, Daniel always seemed to know what we needed before we needed it.  He also left us personal gifts for our celebrations (our wedding anniversary, Kid #2’s college graduation and Kid #1’s engagement).  They were really very special.  He also arranged to have a cake delivered to us at dinner on our anniversary and had all of the waiters sing to us at Chops.  Another great moment was that Daniel arranged for us to meet the cast of Fine Line after their second-to-last performance.  They were so sweet and gracious; it really was special.  We watched the last performance of the show from our balcony and every once in a while, we’d get a little wave from one of the cast members during the show!

Star Suite guests were invited to a special Sailaway Party on the Helipad when we left Labadee.  We were greeted with champagne and got to see the ship from an entirely different perspective.  We also got a little wave from Captain Johnnie as we were leaving port!

My interview with Daniel, our Genie

I asked Daniel if he would be open to letting me interview him for my followers. Here is our Facebook Live video – enjoy!