In November 2018, our family embarked on a seven night Bermuda and Boston cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas. This was not the first time we have cruised on this beautiful ship. We’ve had the pleasure to sail on her twice previously, and she is definitely our favorite! We also love that Anthem sails out of Port Liberty cruise port in Bayonne, New Jersey, because it is approximately 40 minutes from our house. There’s no flight, no hotel hassles, it’s just wake up, grab our bags, and jump in a cab.

What made this trip a little different however, was that this was our first cruise sailing Star Class. For anyone not familiar with Royal Caribbean’s Star Class program, it is a level of service beyond the regular cruise experience. First off, Star Class guests are assigned a genie, or personal concierge, for the duration of the trip. Our concierge communicated with us via email in the weeks prior to the cruise to get an idea of what our preferences and expectations were for our trip. Then on boarding day, he came out to meet us in the waiting area as we were waiting to board the ship. We were still unsure of what to expect from Star Class, but our genie Derek was courteous, professional, and extremely personable, so far we were very pleased!

One of the perks of Star Class is priority boarding and disembarking. What made it even nicer is that our luggage was brought directly to our room, it never got mixed in with the other guest’s luggage. When we checked in at the port, the porters put our suitcases on a cart that went straight to our room to await our arrival. Meanwhile Derek walked us onto the ship, and right to the Coastal Kitchen restaurant for our embarkation lunch. As we were finishing up our lunch, Derek returned to walk us to our room #10324, a beautiful aft suite on the 10th floor. Here’s a quick tour:

Check out our view:

The room we were in was spectacular, the view was amazing, and the service we recieved everywhere was the best we have ever experienced.

Our room was kept stocked with bottled water, soda, and ice. Fresh glasses of wine were brought to our room on a daily basis. Our genie Derek took care of making all our dinner reservations prior to our trip. All the specialty restaurants are complimentary for Star Class guests, so we were able to eat at restaurants we normally wouldn’t try, and we were very pleasantly surprised. Derek also took care of scheduling anything special our family was interested in trying: Ifly, bumper cars, escape room, flow rider, even the North Star.

We were so thrilled with everything Derek did for us! I have to be honest, my family and I are not fussy people, so we were not sure if Star Class would be something we would enjoy. We weren’t sure how we would feel about having a genie as part of our experience. We weren’t even sure exactly what the whole Star Class, genie experience would include, but I must say we were beyond impressed! I’m not sure I can go back to cruising as anything other than Star Class, but my wallet may disagree. Star Class is expensive and is only available when booking certain suites, but it was one of the most memorable, enjoyable cruises my family has ever had the pleasure of taking. And I’m sure all the Royal Caribbean genies are wonderful, but Derek was so amazing that by the end of our cruise, he felt like a part of our family!