Let's Book Your Cruise Blog

Should you buy this add-on for your cruise if it’s available?

I hesitated a bit before I hit the “purchase” button. $540 was a lot of money for a 3-night cruise, and the Genie package couldn’t be refunded if something happened and I had to cancel my trip.

But purchase it I did, for my 3-night cruise on Jewel of the Seas, and I’m glad I did. Here’s why:

For starters, the value proposition was actually pretty good. The $540 per person price included a premium drink package, an ultimate dining package, and a wifi package, for starters. I got a bottle of Moet and Chandon in the cabin upon my arrival, and I even got a ship’s model as a gift from my genie, Duane. Right there, you’re talking about almost $450 if I had purchased those things separately.

Duane reached out to me on the Tuesday night before my Friday cruise. Over the course of three days, he worked with me via WhatsApp to help put together a schedule for my three days onboard. He even worked in reservations for my friends who were traveling in separate cabins (and didn’t technically have their own genie).

When I arrived at the terminal, I was recognized by an employee and escorted through the terminal even faster than usual. After being checked in, I waited for a few moments until Duane arrived to bring me onboard. He then took me straight back to my cabin (even though it was only 11:30 am) so I could drop off my carry-on bags.

I arrived to find my cabin festively decorated and packed full of snacks and drinks. Duane had asked me for my water, soda, and beer preferences before I arrived so everything was perfect.

Throughout the weekend, Duane was always around to be helpful, but never intrusive. I can’t say enough good things about him! We communicated via a WhatsApp chat and he would meet us to walk us into dinner reservations and shows, where he had seats reserved.

My friends and I even got to be the first people off the ship at CocoCay! Duane knew we wanted to get to our Hideaway cabana early and enjoy it, and he met us at 5 minutes to 8 and escorted us past the lines so we were the first people to disembark.

It must take a special kind of person to be a Genie. Duane handled everything with grace and a smile on his face, which really made it a great weekend.

Royal Genies are typically only available for guests who purchase Star-Class suites on the Oasis, Icon, and Quantum class ships, but Royal has been testing them out on the smaller ships. It was a great way to try out this experience without breaking the bank.

Would I do it again? Maybe, but probably not on a longer cruise, and probably not too often. I did think it was nice to have a Genie even on a small ship. The service wasn’t so much about facilitating access, like it is on the bigger ships, but more providing niceties that help make your cruise feel a little more luxurious.