ScooterScott22

I thought you second line was going to read - “will be the first in the concierge lounge, linger over the food holding everyone else up, take as much as they can on a plate and leave half of it on the table as they leave”.  ?

I completely agree, only problem is that common sense isn't so common anymore!? 

To be honest, if I was in a suite for this sailing, my reaction would be "Fine!  Let them eat cake."  But only after I confirmed with the Captain that there was no guillotine on board...  ?

The local news just reported that a crew member went overboard from Harmony of the Seas.  Ship was reported to be ~200 miles from Puerto Rico.  Search is underway.

The local news just reported that a crew member went overboard from Harmony of the Seas.  Ship was reported to be ~200 miles from Puerto Rico.  Search is underway.

The local news just reported that a crew member went overboard from Harmony of the Seas.  Ship was reported to be ~200 miles from Puerto Rico.  Search is underway.

Those who raised a stink about this simple gesture should have their C&A accounts flagged as individuals to be up-charged on every future booking.
Does that suggestion sound petty enough to match the complainers?

Awww...  ...you made me miss JVF.  He was on the local news here in the past.

No one has put it bluntly but if you (your friends) have a passport then should there be an issue while out of the country it will be much easier.  It is pretty easy to find people on this board and other that say even though you can travel on ID or birth certificate it is best to have the passport.  So another vote for get the passports here! 
Funny side note on this topic.  My wife has been watching a FB thread about some folks that made the decision to get on a closed loop cruise with only drivers liscences.  They either didn’t plan well enough and took too many risks and are “stuck” in the Bahamas.  

IMHO it devalues the suites (I guess it determines what value one places on various parts, hard to create hard data for those variables). But based on what I understand about this option, it would make it less likely I would book a suite on smaller ships.

From what I can tell, the shorter the sailing the more valuable that The Key is.  If I was on a 3 or four night sailing then The Key is a no brainer purchase.  But as the number of nights goes up The Key loses a little bit of its value.  I think that anything over a 7 nights would not be worth buying The Key.

Where are you hearing so much about them?  On this and a few other forums I have almost exclusively heard of complementary upgrades as a result of the original room being unavailable for one reason or another.  (An aside, to upgrade a room means to get a better room.  The cost, or lack of additional cost, is not a part of the definition.)  I have heard of many people getting better rooms at really good rates, but very very few who have gotten randomly selected to be upgraded at no cost.
Much like Disney World, it seems that things that used to be random bits of (as they are referred to there) "pixie dust" have become well known thanks to forums and social media.  As such people started asking, and in more than a few cases demanding, these formerly nice bonuses bestowed by kind customer service individuals.  So companies put a stop to it across the board.  Given that instead they can sell the rooms for a premium, they probably wondered why they were giving them away in the first place.

One of the advantages of RoyalUP is handling of last minute cancellations.  They can take bids for cabins even if cabin types aren't available and might never become available.  
Before RoyalUP if a Royal Suite cancelled at T-24 hours, that RS would likely be given to a Pinnacle upon check in.  Net revenue increase $0.
Now they have pre-established a line of succession.
 
We have a GS willing to pay $1,500 for an RS
We have a JS willing to pay $1,000 for an GS
We have a balcony willing to pay $800 for a JS
We have an OV willing to pay $400 for a balcony
We have an INT willing to pay $150 for an OV.
RS cancels at T-24 and the system automatically executes the line of succession.  Net revenue increase $1,500+$1,000+$800+$400+$150 = $3,850.  Ships sails with an empty INT cabin.  Big deal.  
Five happy cruising couples who 'scored' an upgrade.  Pinnacle will never know what they didn't get.  Royal makes more money, even if they give a percentage to the 3rd party.  Win-Win (Pinnacle loses but they'll never know that so neutral).
 
If Royal was smart with RoyalUp in place, they would modify the last minute cancelation penalties and offer an FCC for last minute cancellations.  $50 for OV, $100 for a balcony, $150 for a JS, $200 for a GS, etc.  
I did a no-show on Majesty when my daughter graduated AF BMT.  It all happened last minute and I was in 100% penalty.  I didn't notify Royal, I simply did a no show.  Maybe a last minute hurricane or mechanical issue would impact my sailing and I'd get a refund.  Why notify and cancel?  I'd get zero.   I got taxes back even as a no-show so there is no reward to notify Royal if you need to cancel within the 100% penalty period.
My cabin likely sailed empty.
Now with RoyalUP they should introduce a last minute FCC for close in cancellations.  I'd take that and the RoyalUP line of succession can kick in.  The $200 FCC would be offset by all the RoyalUp line of succession revenue upgrades.  

IMHO Junior suite without perks of doubling C&A points it not worth even $500 extra. I would rather take that cash and put it as a deposit towards next cruise, but it's just me...

No, the cruise planner is not smart at all.  If you make any specialty dining reservations before you get on board you will be charged and then the Genie will have to get the money refunded.  It would be a big hassle.
As the others have said, do not book anything.  Your Genie will take care of everything.  We have never ever NOT been able to get the dining time or location that we wanted.  The Genie has a LOT of pull in getting you in where (and when) you want to go.
The only restriction to having food delivered to your suite from either the dining room or any of the specialty restaurants is that you must have it delivered during the normal operating hours of the restaurant.  In other words, you cannot ask them to bring you lobster from Chops at midnight.  As long as your requests are within the normal operating hours your request will be honored.  I also agree that dining in your suite is one of the biggest benefits you have as Star Class guests.  Take advantage of it.
I know it's hard to do sometimes, but relax and just know that your Genie will take care of everything.  EVERYthing.

Let the Genie know when you receive your initial contact email from them. They should be able to get you in for those times and it will also be helpful for them in scheduling all of the other activities.  Star Class is great and the Genies make every effort to get you in for everything that's available to you on the ship.  Definitely kept our schedule full on both Anthem and Symphony. 
It was also flexible enough that we were able to take a look at the schedule the Genie set for us and make changes to it the night before or morning of.  We opted to have food delivered to the room to eat on our balcony rather than sit at the restaurant and the Genie even arranged for us to have access to certain menu items in Coastal Kitchen that were not being served on the evening we had scheduled to eat there.  
I've done Alaska too (not as Star Class, though) and if I did have the Genie I would probably just have the food delivered when the dining times coincided with the scenic traveling.  If you aren't planning on doing Alaska multiple times I would make every effort to make the most of your time in port.  Have later dining times or take advantage of having it delivered to your room and enjoy the ports and the scenic sailing.  Use the Genie to beat crowds off the ship if you have early private excursions and don't stress about doing it all or experiencing everything on the ship.

I have not gone yet, going Star class in March, but from all that I have read and heard, do not book anything.  Let your Genie do it.   They can get you anytime you would like.  Just let them know in the email 1-2 weeks prior to your sailing.  As a Type A individual, and after planning many cruises on my own, it is hard to let go.  I too have found it strange to barely look at my cruise planner for that sailing.  From what I understand, they block off times for Star guests and they can basically squeeze you in whenever, even if availability online is not showing.  People even decide the day of and get the times they want.

I think I must be checking the other cruise forum as I wasn't expecting such a snarky response.  I'm sure we'll manage.
In all of my other cruises, everyone was on only 1 SetSail pass and was told to make sure everyone in our party was there before we went through security.  Not sure if they were wrong and we could have split up. Just trying to verify everything before I cruise next week.

Matt you are not too far from me and I’ll agree with your statement with a caveat.  That is a very optimistic view.  I’ll take the more realistic view.  Those are overall trends and do hold true.  Temps and humidity will drop usually from late October up to maybe mid March.    Out on the water and the further south you go the more likely temps and humidity will increase. 
The weather fronts will determine what you can expect over a particular week or even a couple of days.  If a front comes up from the south expect warmer and humid conditions.  Fronts from the north will drop the temps and have dryer air.  Unfortunately you can never tell how that will impact a particular cruise unless you are booking very last minute.  One can plan a cruise during that time and if you live farther north will probably feel more humid but watching the weather in the last week will help set expectations.  
And it is all relative (humidity that is).

A crew member on our last cruise on Navigator suggested my wife drank ginger ale and ate a green apple to help with sea sickness. She had used wrist bands and Dramamine up to that point but felt much better after she started with the Apple and ginger ale. 

The number per cabin is usually stated as a maximum not a minimum.  Normal occupancy is viewed as two per stateroom.  Usually the only “penalty” is if you are one.  The third person in a cabin is usually a lower rate.  It should be possible to drop the third person and keep the stateroom.  It sounds suspicious that they will move you to another stateroom if you have at least two.  There must be more to this story.

Comando in the MDR! Who's in? 

Agree with the epee but I doubt they would do the Sabre.  While I liked it, some of the slashes really can sting (and leave a mark) more then when scoring with the foil and epee.  I think RCCL might get some bad reviews that people got hurt and it wasn’t pleasant, not to mention some funny marks visible as people are walking around in their bathing suits!

OK, now as a college fencing veteran I have to ask -- will they have proper supplies of not just foils, but epees and sabers as well? I mean, I'm 6' 3" tall, fencing with a foil was never an option for me! ?

Exciting, I did a little fencing in college, are they going to allow me to bring my own mask and foil?  That is not specifically listed and is a sporting goods item, but yes weapons are banned.?