twangster

In July you will be competing with land cruisers since kids are out of school.  Certain popular tourist things may be very busy.
May is nice but I like cool nights and warm but not hot days.  Same with October.  Canadian Thanksgiving is Oct. 12, 2020.  Canadian Thanksgiving isn't the massive travel week it is here.  However if a port of call falls on Oct. 12, 2020, that port may see closed stores and venues.  If wearing a light jacket or light sweater at night is out of bounds for you on a cruise, May/October may be like that.  Personally I like that kind of weather.  
I'm doing Adventure in October on the "Snowbird Migration".  It boards on Canadian Thanksgiving this year.  It's a one way from Quebec City to Florida as a repositioning cruise.   I'll probably be live blogging it here.  This cruise starts with an overnight in Quebec City which I really like.  Check in, go to cabin, then go explore this historic city.  Sleep on the ship and have a full day the next day to do the same before sailing many of the standard Canada ports, then 2 in Maine, Boston and then down to FL.  The second day in Quebec City should work well since the first day is Canadian Thanksgiving.  The first day I may just walk around and take pictures while self exploring. 
Bienvenue au Canada. 

Diamond Plus in the Crown and Anchor Society can select a welcome aboard beverage gift including a beer option.  Perhaps that is what they were referring to.  

Welcome to the message boards!
I'm not sure about ordering beer to your cabin.  There are some liquor and soda packages that can be ordered but the liquor bottle is only 375ml.  That website is https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/royalgifts/
On board some bars have offered a beer cooler bag deal.  This isn't delivered to your cabin, you walk up and order it at a bar.  Not all bars offer it though and it it may not be offered on day one.
 

This Royal excursion offered for Hubbard looks interesting so I've booked it. I assume they pick up from the ship like a tender boat does.  $269 so not cheap, but it is on sale this weekend for $242.
http://www.royalcaribbean.com/shoreExcursions/product/detail/view.do?sourcePage=shorexByPort&ProductCode=HG03&DestinationCode=ALCAN

I did this identical Radiance itinerary on Celebrity last year.  This excursion was NOT offered, I just looked at the excursion book I kept from last year.  Here is a timelapse of Hubbard from the Celebrity Millennium last year:
A cruise ship will be restricted from going closer than 1 nautical mile from the glacier.  The massive current a large ship can create would cause large sections of the glacier to calve so ships are kept at a safe distance. 
Excursion boats like the one above can approach much closer.  You'll also be much closer to the water and dodging the massive chunks of glacier floating by.  They must pick you up straight from the ship which makes this excursion really cool (literally, the water will be cold so I'll dress warmly).
I'm really excited about this excursion and hope it isn't foggy or we have to skip Hubbard for some other reason.
Plus it's a three hour tour on the Minnow.  What could go wrong?

The local hamsters union has been trying for years.

Likely confusion over the same names.  The system or a human saw your name and associated it to your C&A account.  
The other person likely doesn't see it in their dashboard.  

The Kraken in you must want some water...

Live vicariously through others by reading live blogs and watching periscopes along with copious amount of alcohol.

Thanks for the tips and the tons of previous posts on the Forum!
 
Thank you Matt!
 
Thank you!!

Coki Beach on St Thomas is great for snorkeling with kids.
All of the Oasis shows are good for kids except the comedians.  They often will do a family friendly comedian session so watch for that.  I'd make reservation for all of the shows as soon as you can, generally 90 days out but sometimes sooner.  Cats is very personal.  Some love it, some not so much.  It's a Broadway caliber show so ask yourself would you take your kids to see it on Broadway?
The general consensus is that the kids programs are pretty great.  Get them involved on day one so they become part of the kid's crowd and aren't trying to join a group on subsequent days that has already bonded.  
Check out this blog on Adventure Ocean:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/09/25/six-things-know-about-royal-caribbeans-adventure-ocean
and
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/01/09/cruising-kids-royal-caribbean
Flowriders will have lines at times but sometimes near dinner time towards the end of an open flowrider session lines are smaller.  If you stay on a ship or return early on a port day sometimes lines are smaller.  Rock climbing usually isn't that busy but this can change sailing to sailing.
Loungers in prime spots like front row or close to pools will go first but often loungers one deck up are available depending on group size.  Reserving loungers by placing something on them and leaving is against the rules and should be avoided even if you observe others doing so.
The first two nights can often see cheaper prices on some of the specialty restaurants but I often cruise without going to them.  Food is very personal but I enjoy the MDR food and sometimes do dinner in the Windjammer.
Check out this blog for first timers on Oasis:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/01/31/first-time-cruisers-guide-royal-caribbeans-oasis-of-the-seas
 

As I've thought about this and in particular your last sentence in reference to your daughters accepting this:
I can safely predict that won't be an issue.  
You have displayed great patience and resolve as this has played out.  Sure at moments it has gotten to you, and how couldn't it?  In the end you let it play out, maintained faith in Sharla and MEI Travel and worked towards a resolution.  That is commendable.
Our children watch and learn from us in subtle ways none of us appreciate from their early years to later in life.  My kids have endured flat tires, locked up brake calipers, hotels that didn't come close to the brochure, flights delays, lost luggage, pets pass and so on.  It didn't take me long to learn that their reaction mirrored my own during life's challenging moments.
This is a process for them too but I'm confident you will find they handle it with as much grace as you have despite how frustrating it has been.    After all, they learned that from you.  
 

The local hamsters union has been trying for years.

The local hamsters union has been trying for years.

On the main page for RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com scroll down and on the right side of the web page you will find his links for social media.
Look for this:

 

Welcome to the message boards!
The best way to learn of cruise planner sales is to follow Matt and his blog on social media.  He usually posts to Twitter and Facebook when sales are occurring.  

And once again a live blog goes off the rails...
One word.  Pizza.

Could be... I have relatives in Jolly Olde England.  

In July you will be competing with land cruisers since kids are out of school.  Certain popular tourist things may be very busy.
May is nice but I like cool nights and warm but not hot days.  Same with October.  Canadian Thanksgiving is Oct. 12, 2020.  Canadian Thanksgiving isn't the massive travel week it is here.  However if a port of call falls on Oct. 12, 2020, that port may see closed stores and venues.  If wearing a light jacket or light sweater at night is out of bounds for you on a cruise, May/October may be like that.  Personally I like that kind of weather.  
I'm doing Adventure in October on the "Snowbird Migration".  It boards on Canadian Thanksgiving this year.  It's a one way from Quebec City to Florida as a repositioning cruise.   I'll probably be live blogging it here.  This cruise starts with an overnight in Quebec City which I really like.  Check in, go to cabin, then go explore this historic city.  Sleep on the ship and have a full day the next day to do the same before sailing many of the standard Canada ports, then 2 in Maine, Boston and then down to FL.  The second day in Quebec City should work well since the first day is Canadian Thanksgiving.  The first day I may just walk around and take pictures while self exploring. 
Bienvenue au Canada. 

I bought a Rolex a couple of years ago.  They are quite affordable but I hardly wear it and it's a bit bulky. 
It was $36 on the streets of San Juan.  
Still not sure what all the fuss is about.

Always at a table for two, by myself.  Tables are so close though that if you have friendly neighbors you can have a conversation.  
I actually prefer this and usually get great service.  In and out in under 45 minutes, sometimes faster.

Day 8 - Livorno/Florence
We had an early start this morning with a 7:45 meeting time for our trip to Florence. As Florence is about 1.5hrs drive from the port and often has bad traffic, we'd again booked a transfer with RC. I booked it a while ago so can't remember the exact price but it was in the region of £45-£50pp. This included a tour guide on the coach (Trudy who was extremely informative and good fun), a stop at a leather factory enroute to Florence and a guided walk from the coach drop-off point into the centre of Florence and then 4hrs free time for sightseeing. 
Florence is a beautiful old town with some incredible architecture. Well worth a look if you're ever in the area. We saw the tomb of Michelangelo, the Ponte Veccio and several other historic sites. We got quite lucky with the weather as it was hot but with partial cloud cover so it made the temperature bearable. 
In the afternoon we returned to the ship and had a turkey kummelweck sandwuch from Sorrento's which was delicious. Then we played some shuffleboard (the less said about that the better), before going for a dip in the Solarium pool to cool off. The bars were pretty busy before dinner so we got drinks from Bolero's and took them out on to the Promenade Deck to watch the sun beginning to set. Dinner was in the main dining room where we were treated to a rendition of 'O Sole Mio' by the waiters. 
As we came out of the dining room,  I heard someone saying something about lightning so we went out on deck and sure enough were treated to a natural light show out at sea. We then headed to the Schooner bar where Piano-oke continued - it appears the piano player has some kind of throat problem and has been told to avoid singing. 
Tomorrow we have another port day in Toulon in the south of France. 
 

Compared to Harmony or Symphony, Explorer doesn't look brand new.  However I never thought to say she is old and tired.  
The only thing that caught my eye the whole week was the bar in the pub.  It's different compared to other Royal pub bars.  The pub bars that I have experienced before were along the back wall leaving the bulk of the pub space open.  On Explorer the bar is near the entrance, triangular shaped and occupies a lot of floor space in the pub.  As a bar this worked okay with good access to bartenders.  When the pub singer was there, I didn't feel there was a lot of room to sit and listen to the music.  That's not "old and tired", it is just different. 
Keep in mind I was on sister ship Adventure in May a month before Explorer.  Adventure was refreshed earlier this year.   I was pleasantly surprised to see newer carpet in our Explorer Interior cabin, just like Adventure.  The chair at the desk had been replaced just like Adventure.  I noted the same on our brief cabin crawl.  Their were large flat panel TVs in the remodeled "Tavern" bar. I was very pleased with Explorer over all. 
No water slides, but that isn't "old and tired" either.
It may not be new like Anthem which has decor like Harmony, but I was quite happy with the appearance of Explorer.  I suppose if someone has only sailed Voyager class and they are longing for something different, only then might you say that you are tired of her.  However that doesn't make the ship "old and tired".  

Following!

I bought a Rolex a couple of years ago.  They are quite affordable but I hardly wear it and it's a bit bulky. 
It was $36 on the streets of San Juan.  
Still not sure what all the fuss is about.

I bought a Rolex a couple of years ago.  They are quite affordable but I hardly wear it and it's a bit bulky. 
It was $36 on the streets of San Juan.  
Still not sure what all the fuss is about.