Al Horner

I was personally escorted off the ship at disembarkation on Friday with The Key. You just have to find a staff member monitoring the line.  

I always sail in a junior suite. Typically, I have embarked with the suites and disembarked, very slowly, with the herd. For my next cruise on the Symphony in 97 days (!) I purchased "The Key" which indicates escorted priority disembarking. We'll see!

If Royal Caribbean really wants to build five new private islands, they should probably start building the piers now.

Musicians of this nature are not usually on the ship for long periods of time.  It's quite common for them to perform for a few weeks or even less, disembark and move to another ship for a small stint.  If you knew a particular sailing you might be able to look over the cruise compasses posted on this site and find the name in one of them.
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass?ship=1167
 

I hear they are trying to bring Perfect Day into Galveston itineraries. 
If Vision out of NOLA can do Key West, Nassau and Cococay you would think they could do the same out of Galveston.  Two sea days in that itinerary are done at ~12 knots to burn some time off.    
I just booked a Liberty cruise in April.  Airfare much cheaper than Florida (from Colorado) $260 round trip on Southwest.   Add an Oasis class ship into TX, some itinerary spice and I'd rather fly to Hobby than Florida.  
The Texas market has the potential to extend well beyond the Texas borders.  Folks on Vision in January out of NOLA were driving vast distances from across the mid-west to sail her.  With Royal lacking any West coast presence (beyond Alaska cruises) an Oasis class ship in Galveston has a pretty good sized market to draw from.   

Cuba or anywhere else that's different and interesting from the itineraries RCL currently offers out of Galveston.
 

I live near Houston, TX and in 100 days I will be driving to Miami to take the Symphony. I would much prefer to drive to Galveston but, as stated above, Royal Caribbean has very little variety of cruise itineraries. How about the Panama Canal, South America, Southern Caribbean or Key West? Just something different.
 

OK, it took me a minute to understand the meaning of your topic title. At first, I thought you were the victim of another IT glitch and had your beverage package dropped (removed) from your purchases for no reason. Got really confused for a minute when I all I saw you writing about was price drops!

Yesterday I experienced a trip delay returning on a cruise and I thought it would make an interesting "lessons learned" post.
My 4 night cruise on Brilliance of the Seas left Tampa on time and on schedule.  It was a great cruise with a group of friends and we all enjoyed it.  When we finished our day in Cozumel and re-boarded the ship none of us knew how mother nature had her own plans for our return to Tampa despite calm seas and smooth sailing.
Fog.  Heavy fog.  
To reach the pier in Tampa you need to pass under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.  In 1980 during severe weather a freighter struct the original bridge sending a section of the bridge crashing into the bay killing 35 people.  As such, Tampa and it's pilots don't take chances when it comes to weather.
We arrived to the Tampa pilot station six hours ahead of schedule in an attempt to beat the fog but the fog beat us, arriving earlier than forecast.
Our attempt to beat the fog and arrive early didn't come without cost.  Running any boat, vessel, craft or ship at full speed consumes a massive amount of fuel compared to running at a nominal cruising speed.  Royal spent tens of thousands of dollars on fuel and it's an example how Royal does try to do the best thing for everyone involved even if it costs them significant sums of money.
Waking up early on debark day I noted our speed was zero but we were still outside of Tampa Bay. Oh boy, here we go.  Up on deck 12 I could see several cargo and tanker ships hanging around with us in the fog.  Beyond the lights of the other ships you couldn't see much of anything.  Fog.
The Captain informed us that the channel into the port was closed by the Coast Guard and we would need to wait until the channel opened and a pilot could come out to board the ship.  The initial estimate was a 2:30pm arrival at the pier.
Not long after the Captain informed us that he just got word that another cruise ship got stuck in port the day before and couldn't leave due to the fog.  The channel through Tampa Bay is narrow and only one cruise ship can occupy it at a time, two ships cannot pass each other in the channel.  It takes 2 to 3 hours for a ship to transit the channel.  We had no choice but to wait for that ship to depart and clear the bay before could begin our entrance to the bay.  Estimated arrival now 5:30pm.  
Lesson 1 - Don't book early flights.
While sitting around an airport for a day doesn't sound that attractive you need to understand the risk that comes with booking an early flight.  Delays happens for a number of reasons most of which are no one's fault and unavoidable.  Weather delays happen, some ports like Tampa or Galveston are more likely to experience delays at certain times of the year.  Do some research before booking that flight.  Delays can occur for many reasons beyond weather.  
In my case, I had booked a 6:30pm flight home because it was cheapest, like $175 cheaper than the 10:30am direct flight.  Over the weeks before the cruise I kept looking at that knowing I could pay the difference on Southwest and grab the earlier direct flight but if someone said to me "I'll give you $175 and all you need to do is stay at an airport for 8 hours" I'd take that deal every time.
I knew I could get some work done using the free airport wifi so my plan was to get off the ship early and spend the day working from the airport knowing if there was a delay, I could be relaxed and not stressed out.  Not only did I save money but the later flight also saved me a bunch of stress during this experience.
Lesson 2 - Travel Insurance.  This is a perfect example of how travel insurance needs to be high on anyone's list to consider. 
Our group of about 70 included folks with travel insurance and some "self insured" as they put it.  Some people were out $400 or $500 per person to rebook next day airfare and they had to pay for a hotel and meals on top of that.  For a couple that can be over $1,000.  For a family of four that could be over $2,000.  Those with insurance will get some, if not all of that back.  Those without just lost a whole lot of money.
However know your travel insurance coverage and limits.  My annual travel insurance policy was chosen primarily for medical coverage.  It has some trip interruption coverage but it doesn't have great reimbursement for delays of this nature.  
Lesson 3 - If you have travel insurance, know how to use it.
A lot of people in our group had insurance but had no idea what to do in the hour of need.  What is their phone number? What is the policy number?  What is covered and what isn't?  How much is covered?  Do you need pre-approval? What documentation is required?  The ship had letters pre-printed and available at guest services stating there was a weather delay and some insurance companies will need that documentation for a claim to proceed.  
If you buy insurance that's great, but know what to do when you need to use it.
Lesson 4 - They keep the food and beverages flowing.  
No need to worry about your extra time on board, they have ample food for such events and lined up more activities to keep us busy.  Most people took it all in stride and rolled with it.  It was quite enjoyable, much like any sea day.
Lesson 5 - Listen to announcements and pay attention. 
On the last night of the cruise many people put their luggage tags on their bag and place them in the hallway.  Bags are collected by the crew and prepared to be offloaded once the ship reaches the pier.  It takes time for the pier personnel to offload thousands of bags.  There is a reason why bag tags have numbers and bags are offloaded in order so that numbers can be called only when those bags will be ready and waiting in the terminal.  
During an event like this there a natural tendency to want to get off as soon as the ship arrives but cruise terminals cannot hold thousands of people waiting hours for luggage to be offloaded.  
Of course what occurred once we did finally reach the pier?  Hundreds of guests ignored the announcements, made a stampede to exit during the "self assist" time and found themselves having to stand outside the terminal waiting for up to 2 hours for their luggage, with no where to sit and no food or water.  If they had listened to the announcements they could have been sitting comfortably on the ship with access to restrooms, food and beverages. Instead they made the self-assist process more chaotic and accomplished nothing but misery for themselves in the process. 
Listen to the announcements, follow instructions.  
Lesson 6 - You can't fight mother nature. 
It's not the crew's fault, it's not the Captains fault, it's not the cruise line's fault. Don't be one of those people making an already difficult situation any worse.   Even if you are one of those people who choose to ignore the lessons above, at the end of the day becoming ugly or snarky with the crew or terminal employees accomplishes nothing.  Sit back, take a deep breathe and relax.  Life will go on and it will all work out in the end.  Put a smile on in the face of adversity.  Be kind to other's and don't get everyone else spun up.  Staying calm and friendly helps other's stay calm and friendly.  If you are stressed out, it will make your spouse and/or kids stressed out.  If you are calm and smiling through it, your loved ones will be more relaxed.  Do it for them.
Lesson 7 - If you don't buy insurance you've only got yourself to blame.
Accept the fact that you saved some money by not buying insurance.  You took a gamble and lost.  The money saved by not buying insurance may take a small bite out of your losses.  No cruise line can change factors beyond their control.  It's not their fault.  You took the chance and lost.  Accept responsibility and move on.  
Me?  I got lucky.  A lot of factors combined to work out in my favor.  I had booked a later flight.  I have travel insurance.  I always use self-assist.  Customs was fast.  Taxi's were waiting.   TSA Pre lines had no wait.  Southwest did an amazing job getting my luggage on the plane checking in at 38 minutes before departure.  The stars aligned for me perfectly and I didn't need to make a claim against my insurance policy.  I was fortunate but in a small group of lucky guests.

Now that I've finally found the elusive email and am waiting on that first golden ticket to appear, it got me wondering a few things about how it works.
Is your bid a set amount, or function as a max?  Say I bid $1000, and the next highest bidder only bids $500, do I win at $1000 or, say, $505?
I got offers for both a junior and a grande suite.  What happens if i win both? Does it default to the higher of the two, or does it give me a choice?
Can a pending bid maybe interfere with printing my papers?  I've been trying to print my set sail pass and luggage tags for the last 4 days, and cant get in.  Didnt know if maybe it's because it might well change (though i can't imagine RC's IT to be that intelligent)
Lastly, anyone feel like waiting for that won/lost email is about the same as waiting for that imminent sail date that just wont hurry up and get here?

Shhhhhh...don't bring up computerization, simplicity and common sense with respect to the RCL website. It's like a massive dumpster fire here. ?
Have your list ready with time options 1, 2 & 3 for each reservation you want to make on your list. They will have a kiosk in the promenade...find it when you get on the ship as soon as you can.

Sure, no issues hitting up Windjammer prior to dinner. They don't keep track of who goes in.
Bigger issue is keeping to the thought of "small bite".

About three years ago we also won a cruise through Royal Caribbean bingo. Everything takes time. After two weeks, I would be calling them. Hopefully, you kept a copy of your certificate in case it gets lost. Ultimately, we did use our certificate with an upgrade and had a very nice, very inexpensive nine day cruise.

About three years ago we also won a cruise through Royal Caribbean bingo. Everything takes time. After two weeks, I would be calling them. Hopefully, you kept a copy of your certificate in case it gets lost. Ultimately, we did use our certificate with an upgrade and had a very nice, very inexpensive nine day cruise.

As John said, I can no longer recommend Samba.  Back when we first started cruising on Allure, it was a fun dinner. They had the place decorated and it looked great.  They had a cute little "carnivale" show with dancers in beautiful costumes.  Now it's a dull and uninteresting venue and the food is unimpressive.  If you are a BIG meat eater then you will probably enjoy the food...but be careful NOT to fill up on the cheap cuts that they serve first.  They save the good stuff for the end.  The last time we were on Allure we were Star Class so we tried it just b/c it was available to us but I would not bother with it again - even if it's free.
Frankly, I hope when Allure goes into dry dock next year, they will replace that venue with Hooked.

Seapass cards for me please. I don't see any benefit to the bands...something around my wrist is not comfortable and annoying imho...I am sure eventually I will have no choice but to adapt......

If you are sailing out of Terminal A in Miami can you tell us of The Key experience from that aspect when you arrive at the terminal (I notice that the terminal has sign's for Suites & Pinnacles when you walk in the door but not sure where The Key people are led when they walk in the terminal).

I have The Key for my sailing on Mariner next Monday - I can report back what I find, although it might not answer questions for those sailing on the Oasis-class ships.  But I'll tell  you what I know from my sailling anyway.

As @AshleyDillo , says your reservation gets you in the door before everyone else is allowed to enter, once you enter the theater or the Aqua theater or Ice Show there will be people with signs showing where the reserved seats for the Key are (As well as Diamond+ and Pinnacle) Star Class reserved seats may or may not be different but they will have a red sash over the seat back that says Star Class reserved.
15 minutes before the show they will start letting everyone in but the week before last on Allure they held the reserved seats until about 5 minutes before the show and then released them.
As Star Class on the Allure sailing we were still told by the Genie to get to the show 15 minutes before to make sure there were no issues with our seats.
At the Ice show they even removed the Star Class reserved off of the seats about 10 minutes before the show and there was 3 people that about knocked my wife and I over trying to get these really good seats when they were opened and I thought how rude of them, but come to find out they were Mother, Father and Brother of one of the main male skaters. They had never seen him skate on the ship, he couldn't acknolwledge them when he was skating but during one quite moment he shouted "Hi" from the wings and everyone clapped.

FYI... I just got off of the phone with RC customer service and they confirmed that the entertainment reservation policy was changed back to the way it was originally rolled out (as @twangster experienced it in DEC). She explained that it may still appear incorrectly in the Cruise Planner (stating no reservations required).
At least for my cruise (Allure, 5/19/19), we now have to make reservations (makes sense since they could run into seating capacity problems if the majority of the Key "holders" arrive to the same show!)... a little disappointed that we lose that flexibility, but I'm glad that @marcg125 mentioned it so it won't be a surprise!
109 days!!!

They are waterproof.  They do not have time on them, so you would still need a way to tell time.  Roaming waiters will need to take the band if they're going to be delivering you a drink.  Some of the bars and stores will have the scanner accessible where you can reach it and not have to take it off, but a lot of them do not.  You can use the Wow band to pay anywhere you would use your SeaPass card to pay IF they have a scanner.  I never used mine when I had access to them.  They just weren't comfortable for me.  It was easier for me to use a lanyard with my SeaPass card that I could easily snap off and hand over as needed.  I could see the benefit in the Wow bands for kids to be able to get into their rooms and not have to worry about losing their cards..but even then I think a lanyard works better (outside of being in/out of pools all day).

This is a personal question.  Like 'should I get a drink package' or 'dining package'  or 'photo package'.  
You can cruise and have a great time without buying a drink package, dining package, photo package, internet package (Voom) or The Key. 
If you tend to buy Voom and like to be 'connected' that's a big part of the Key.  If you like to show up and skirt long lines and have special access for some people that is golden, others not so much.  
I really can't tell you "yes, you NEED the Key"  or " No Way!"  no more than I can tell you MUST book a balcony or suite over an inside cabin.    We all cruise differently.   

I've found that the Schooner Bar on both Freedom and Anthem has Paulaner Salvator doppelbock, but only in bottles. I'm surprised that Playmakers doesn't have it on their menu, but maybe you'll find it in your ship's Schooner Bar.

If Royal Caribbean really wants to build five new private islands, they should probably start building the piers now.

There are a few crafts at Playmakers. Here's the menu from Symphony