twangster

The mid Atlantic Ocean has always been known as the Sargasso Sea. This started in the 15th century. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sargasso_Sea By mere geography, ocean currents and land masses, the Caribbean Sea catches a lot of it from the Atlantic and always has. Like anything in nature, things go through cycles.

In absolute certainty? No. That would require checking every single room. However it is believed all were touched. However understand what that means. They did not gut the room to the studs and replace everything. They replaced carpet, desk chair covers, sofas and so on. They did not replace the bathroom, nightstands or built ins such as desk and closet.

How awesome it would be if they'd adopt the Canadian drinking age while in Canada and that would boost drink sales but they won't even do that.

Royal tends to be hush. Even Odyssey is hush beyond the class of ship and it's the next to hit the water. OA5 doesn't have name yet and it will come before Icon. They haven't said what Explorer will get in it's AMP and that's next spring. Just how Royal rolls.

The problem is... define legal. Legal by state law is irrelevant. Legal in Canada may mean legal for someone to possess but not to import or export. Leaving the US and then returning could be a potential issue. You may ultimately prevail if you can prove it was produced in compliance with the Agriculture Improvement Act 2018 with a prescribed medical need. For the most part the cruise line isn't going to go through your stuff looking for prescription drugs but if something happened and you needed medical attention for another reason then it could become an issue if you have it in your possession. I've never tried or tested taking it on a ship so I can't advise beyond what I've heard living in a state that is very friendly to it and THC based products.

A large gray area still, proceed carefully. While cruising in North America ships will tend to adopt federal law for this purpose. The feds haven't exactly embraced CBD oil offering only: "Products/medications that contain hemp-derived CBD or are approved by the FDA are legal as long as it is produced within the regulations defined by the law under the Agriculture Improvement Act 2018". You also have to very aware of where you are traveling to. Arriving in a country like Bermuda and you could face legal consequences for importing substances not legal in that country even if you never take it off the ship. Bermuda police have even been known to board a ship and raid cabins. When they find something off you go to their jail to sort it out.

Here is a typical dinner kids menu for Chops: Not sure how this changes for lunch.

Be prepared for an Uber driver who may not speak English. I find this often in South Florida so if you can put it all in the app they can follow the GPS guidance right to the specific cruise terminal. When searching for destination in Uber/Lyft I generally start with the terminal # then "port everglades" so the ride is exact and right to where we need to go.

As @Momof4crazytocruise mentions you can choose how much OBC to apply to a cruise planner purchase right down to pennies: Voom and excursions are more on board, better to use the OBC now if you can.

Surf, not Surf and Stream. Correction, they do get Surf and Stream, however few Pinnacles out there would consider Key, just like Star Class guests wouldn't. By the time you make Pinnacle you know the system.

The cruise terminal generally begins accepting guests around 10am. Until that time they are focused on guests debarking and clearing the ship so that new guests such as yourself can begin boarding typically around 11am to noon.

Few Key benefits overlap C&A benefits. Priority boarding is one exception. C&A guests don't get Chops lunch on day one, free Surf and Stream internet for the whole cruise, exclusive hours to attractions, priority tendering, special full service departure breakfast, etc. The Key is capacity controlled so if its not showing up it's likely sold out.

No shops within the port area. Port Everglades is a multi-use facility that handles cargo and tankers offloading oil and gas products. Most South Florida gas stations are supplied from Port Everglades. As such it's a secured port requiring each guest entering to show ID. It's not a facility dedicated to cruising, cruise ships are a small use case of the overall port operations. No shops or touristy areas within the port. Many hotels are near grocery stores. Stopping at one to pick up a razor shouldn't be a huge issue.

On Oasis class there will be some walking no matter where your cabin is located. For any given cabin, something is close and something isn't as close. Deck 14 is convenient to pools, windjammer and solarium but areas like the promenade, central park and boardwalk involve a walk. A cabin on deck 6 is convenient to the promenade, central park and boardwalk but you have to walk to pools, windjammer and solarium. Cabin availability can change any time as people cancel, even close in to the sail date but you just never know. You can generally change between cabins in the same category i.e. a 4D balcony to a 4D balcony. Changing categories such as 2D balcony to 8D balcony generally involve repricing at current rates and may not always be allowed.

Check out this podcast: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/podcast/episode-231-packing-alaska-cruise

There is also an app that will list the ships on any given day and which terminal each will use. Search in the app store for "Port Everglades". Terminal 18 was built for Oasis class ships but can service any ship when an Oasis class isn't using it particularly on weekdays. Right now (July 2019) both Allure and Majesty are using terminal 18 since each ship's sail dates do not conflict with each other. That can change over time if more ships use PEV.

Typically Surf and Stream is bundled with beverage packages.

Often you can't. Once in a while someone will have success where it seems to be bookable for a short spell before it isn't again. I've never been so lucky.

There may be a charter train through Royal and the regular train anyone can book from Seward to Anchorage. One thing I've though about doing is just riding the trains around in Alaska. Depending on routes and availability find a hotel when needed. You can also rent a car in Seward and drive to Anchorage taking your time and then exploring the Anchorage area by car.

In North America you should be able to. Other regions have nuances that might impact a downgrade. Never hurts to call and ask them, or your travel agent if booked through a TA.

Part of what you pay for is the ambiance. Most specialty venues have the feel of restaurant like at home compared to the hotel catered mass meal feel of the MDR.

Steiner Leisure provides all spa services. Perhaps you can track them down and ask them directly since they do all staffing of the spa. They do the spa on most cruise lines.

Check out this thread with a drink calculator

In Star Class you'll get into what ever restaurant you want to. You may even be able to ask for the CK menus ahead of time so you can decide if you want to do dinner in there on a specific night.