Matt

Only if it's part of a group cruise

More info on bringing wine on your cruise: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/02/04/bringing-wine-your-royal-caribbean-cruise

When I have cruised from Galveston, I stayed in Galveston.

Put the wine in your carry on

In my opinion, that flight is too early for comfort.

I cannot recall a cruise where there wasn't a poker tournament listed in the Cruise Compass.

When is your cruise? It should be under Dining when looking at your Cruise Planner in the My Cruises section.

You might need cash for casino, tipping room service, tipping porters (not onboard but part of cruise experience) and when when in ports during shore excursions.

I did Thanksgiving on Brilliance last year and enjoyed it. Got sucked back into "doing the family thing" this year.

There is a bit of natural shade in CocoCay. When we went there last, we dragged some chairs under the trees and it worked for us. But if you want dedicated shade, a beach lounger, beach bungalow or cabana is what you will want.

I haven't seen it disappear, but that doesn't mean it couldn't disappear at any time. Your best bet is to buy it as soon as you can. It's fully refundable up until your cruise begins.

Welcome! Independence of the Seas is a great ship. Here's a recent post about 5 things to love about Independence of the Seas.

First and foremost, keep in mind that hurricane forecasts are notoriously incorrect, especially when you are talking 5+ days away. Forecasts for them change all the time, so I wouldn't bet on this current prediction quite yet. With that in mind, cancelling a cruise is rare. More often, the ship goes around the storm. According to the forecast in your post, the storm will be around Jamaica on Monday, which is quite a distance from Port Canaveral. There are a few options for RC if they want to avoid the storm (assuming this projection is even still valid on Monday). If I were to put money down on a bet, your cruise will happen.

Great tip. Often, many people run into that exact debate of lower room price vs. booking incentives. Be sure to keep it all in mind when repricing.

VPN and logmein should work fine with Surf and Stream.

I really enjoyed it. Compared to a regular inside room, it was quite nice having that view!

From experience, that gets you no where ;)

Welcome Angel!

Yes, champagne is considered "sparkling wine". There are few beverages not included in the drink package. Here are 5 common ones: http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/08/24/5-beverages-not-included-any-royal-caribbean-drink-package

What I have learned is that the various promotions rarely (if ever) benefit everyone, but a subset of everyone will benefit from each. BOGO 50%, 60% off second guest, WOW sale, Kids Sail Free, etc. They all will have different appeals. Royal Caribbean is always interested in tweaking offers and seeing which ones drum up the most business. I agree that ordinarily I would not want to stick 4 people in one room. I love my kids, but need separation from them (especially around bed time), but I cannot help but look at the deals for some of the larger staterooms if the 3rd and 4th passengers are free. It amounts to a big savings. It's not that few will take advantage. You might not, but others will and then sooner or later another deal will come out that will benefit you more than others. It's all a game to get people thinking about booking a cruise. From what I've heard, BOGO 50% off deals resonate extremely well with first time cruisers. Again, no one promotion ever seems to benefit everyone (perhaps last year's Cyber Monday deal was the one exception) but it is important to track them all for that one promotion that gives you a slight edge.

Good point. Door locks are all completely different, as are the SeaPass card readers because they are also RFID based.

In the spirit of this week's episode, can you post your Top 5 Liberty of the Seas experiences?

I think if you buy a bottle of wine, that is fine to share with as many people as you see fit.

A point of clarification, this 3rd and 4th pax free on Empress deal is for any guest, regardless of age. All promos are about marketing, and I will tell you that as a family of 4, when I hear kids sail free or 3rd & 4th pax free, I immediately pay attention and consider new bookings.

Thanks for the update!