ScooterScott22

Hey gang, it must be getting close to the cruise!!!!
Royal ups are happening.
Might be time to start the countdown.

Not so much a debate - poor word choice on my part. TBH I haven't paid too much attention to star class blogs until the last year or so since we didn't have one booked. I read a bunch all at once and I guess the policies of the older and newer ones overlapped in my brain. I remember some people say genies wanted WhatsApp, some wanted something else, others are still saying request a dect phone (saw that one on FB just yesterday).  
Personally, I'm fine with WhatsApp - already have Smitha's number loaded as a contact and counting down the days until I can use it.

This seems to be one of the sailings that has a late departure from the port.  This happens in Vancouver due to timing the tides and passage at the Lions Gate bridge.  The time of departure here is because likely because they barely have to sail to get over to the next stop and Royal is also selling excursions in HNL.  Expect boarding times and processes to start at or near the "normal" times, it is just the ship will not sail away until the evening.  You will be able to board and have lunch as you expect.  You might even be able to have dinner and a show before sail away.   

Just returned from our cruise that included a stop in St. Maarten.  It was a 10-15 minute walk to get our passports stamped.  Here's the path we took...
 

And here's the building and door you're looking for...

They were very friendly.

Not sure I agree as the suites on the smaller ships a generally cheaper and are a good option when you just need the extra space without killing the budget. The non Oasis / Quantum ships just don't have the facilities to match the perks you find with Sky or Star class suites and are therefore cheaper and less prestigious.
Personally, I don't seek out suites unless I need them.  I paid for a 2 bedroom suite for an upcoming trip in January because I wanted to invite my daughter, her husband, and granddaughter -- and have a private living space where we could comfortably take care of the little one without having to run between staterooms.  This averaged out to about $650 a person which was a good deal to me because we wanted space on this trip.  My status would not have gotten me the desired benefit of having more space that comes with suites.  I used one of my casino comps and paid for the upgrade from a balcony to the suite which was well worth it to me in this case.  However, if it was just me and my wife (as it normally is), we would not have gone for the suite life as we would not have needed the space benefit.

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-suites-program
 
https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-royal-suite-class

Its a cruise, why pack underwear?  Besides people are always posting that the formal night and dress codes are a thing of the past so why bother, right?  The fact is it is also a space saver to not have to pack undergarments when there is so little room in the suit case.

While it is not as close as it looks, it is impressive to see.  Highly recommend getting up early to see that bridge passage.  
 
If you are not from the west coast, it shouldn’t be too hard to go to bed a little earlier and to get up early.  It should take a little to get from the port to the bridge and with the longer daylight hours, you should have some visibility.

I would leave it as is at this point.  You never know…he may have a friend or ?? that might want to join him last minute and he can just switch out the name and keep everything the same.  As long as he is on the cruise, I’m guessing, is what you truly want anyway.  
Hope everyone has a great cruise regardless of the end result.

We went last September and it was a nice change from some of the "standard" cruise dining experiences.  The food is pretty decent and there will likely be some hit or misses for everyone.  Some of that can be due to personal tastes and some of that can be due to how well certain dishes are executed that particular day. 
You will have a salad option at the buffet area of the Solaruim.  They will bring some vegetables and sides to the table family style but you can get more if you find something you like.  Then they will round with the meats.  Everything tasted fine from my viewpoint.  We would likely do it again if sailing in Star or have the UDP on the Allure.  If you are happy with that type of restaurant on land, it should be pretty similar so don't worry. 

We went last September and it was a nice change from some of the "standard" cruise dining experiences.  The food is pretty decent and there will likely be some hit or misses for everyone.  Some of that can be due to personal tastes and some of that can be due to how well certain dishes are executed that particular day. 
You will have a salad option at the buffet area of the Solaruim.  They will bring some vegetables and sides to the table family style but you can get more if you find something you like.  Then they will round with the meats.  Everything tasted fine from my viewpoint.  We would likely do it again if sailing in Star or have the UDP on the Allure.  If you are happy with that type of restaurant on land, it should be pretty similar so don't worry. 

Yes. Delete away!

Depends on the class of ship.  It's generally easier for a JS on Quantum class to access CK compared to a JS on Oasis class.  

@JohnnySB welcome to the forums!  I'll add a few details to some of the awesome information that has already been shared.   
We have done the Crown Loft Suites on Harmony and really liked it, I also travel to Miami for work besides cruises.  If you have any specific that you want answered please post here or Message me directly.
Suites boarding in Miami is just to the right of the Main entrance.  You will proceed to the right for security and to head to the suites waiting area.  The drawback is you do not go up the escalators under the big golden props.
  
Expect to spend minimal amount of time in the terminal lounge, unless there are boarding delays.  If you arrive before or near the start of the terminal opening to the guests, the boarding will still not have started but it usually doesn't take long before they start letting the suites and top tiers on the ship.  

As for dining on the Harmony we have done the UDP even though we were in a suite.  There is enough variety in the specialty restaurants that if you enjoy dining you will be satisfied.  Chops, and the two Izumi restaurants are what you would expect and good options.  150 Central Park has some nice options and we enjoy Jamie's (our family and friends).  Do some lunches at Johnny Rockets and Sabor and you can easily get your moneys worth.  Wonderland can be interesting and fun but for some of the less adventurous eaters it is usually a miss.  The other bonus is if you have the UDP and you are a planner, you can pick your dinner dates and times and submit that to the concierge when they email you.  You might have to make some adjustments but you can get most of what you want scheduled before boarding the ship.
The other detail is CK has not always been the most enjoyable.  It is nice but having been there as a suites guest, Sky and Star, it can be negatively impacted buy the number of Pinnacles that might be sailing.  Most of the time it is a quiet place that is welcoming but it can also feel as some folks are using the space as their own club and you are not invited.

@JohnnySB welcome to the forums!  I'll add a few details to some of the awesome information that has already been shared.   
We have done the Crown Loft Suites on Harmony and really liked it, I also travel to Miami for work besides cruises.  If you have any specific that you want answered please post here or Message me directly.
Suites boarding in Miami is just to the right of the Main entrance.  You will proceed to the right for security and to head to the suites waiting area.  The drawback is you do not go up the escalators under the big golden props.
  
Expect to spend minimal amount of time in the terminal lounge, unless there are boarding delays.  If you arrive before or near the start of the terminal opening to the guests, the boarding will still not have started but it usually doesn't take long before they start letting the suites and top tiers on the ship.  

As for dining on the Harmony we have done the UDP even though we were in a suite.  There is enough variety in the specialty restaurants that if you enjoy dining you will be satisfied.  Chops, and the two Izumi restaurants are what you would expect and good options.  150 Central Park has some nice options and we enjoy Jamie's (our family and friends).  Do some lunches at Johnny Rockets and Sabor and you can easily get your moneys worth.  Wonderland can be interesting and fun but for some of the less adventurous eaters it is usually a miss.  The other bonus is if you have the UDP and you are a planner, you can pick your dinner dates and times and submit that to the concierge when they email you.  You might have to make some adjustments but you can get most of what you want scheduled before boarding the ship.
The other detail is CK has not always been the most enjoyable.  It is nice but having been there as a suites guest, Sky and Star, it can be negatively impacted buy the number of Pinnacles that might be sailing.  Most of the time it is a quiet place that is welcoming but it can also feel as some folks are using the space as their own club and you are not invited.

We got the RoyalUp to a CLS on Harmony last year and had one of the aft facing.  Really thought it would be more of an issue and it was not.  You can still see out to the water and it is pretty open.  We thought it we ever did one of the CLS we would absolutely book a side facing, and while that is still our preference it would not be a deal breaker now that we have stayed in one of the aft facing.  
Funny thing is we did the Royal Loft Suite last fall and we spent as much time or more on the aft facing portion of the veranda as the more private side portion.  
If motion is a concern, we can’t share much as we have never had an issue even with stormy seas.  If it is really rough it seems to me that you will feel it pretty much anywhere.  If you are sensitive to the ships motion it may make a difference but since the oasis class is so big it really takes a lot.
 
 

We got the RoyalUp to a CLS on Harmony last year and had one of the aft facing.  Really thought it would be more of an issue and it was not.  You can still see out to the water and it is pretty open.  We thought it we ever did one of the CLS we would absolutely book a side facing, and while that is still our preference it would not be a deal breaker now that we have stayed in one of the aft facing.  
Funny thing is we did the Royal Loft Suite last fall and we spent as much time or more on the aft facing portion of the veranda as the more private side portion.  
If motion is a concern, we can’t share much as we have never had an issue even with stormy seas.  If it is really rough it seems to me that you will feel it pretty much anywhere.  If you are sensitive to the ships motion it may make a difference but since the oasis class is so big it really takes a lot.
 
 

Try staying inside the ship balcony, if not the views might be better until you splashdown.

This might be an unpopular opinion. I think it is probably about time to retire the Bionic Bar. Super neat novelty the first time you see it, but I think it gets my drinks right about 50% of the time when it is working, and it's a waste of space most of the time. They usually have at least 1-2 crew members there to make sure the thing doesn't mess up when it is open as well. Might as well just turn it back into the Champagne Bar or something. 

Without reading others feedback, I’ll share that we loved having a balcony on a Norway, Iceland, Scotland cruise.  We prefer balconies anyway but as you sail into or out of many ports you may be traveling in fjords.  Always some interesting sites and easy to jump out to the balcony for a quick peek.  The weather can be good or bad and I would actually say the balcony is a plus in bad weather.  Very easy to stay in and comfortable with the ability to pop out quickly to see a site.  Might even see a tiny island church.

or just watch the clouds hanging on mountains like these headed into Akureyri.

Without reading others feedback, I’ll share that we loved having a balcony on a Norway, Iceland, Scotland cruise.  We prefer balconies anyway but as you sail into or out of many ports you may be traveling in fjords.  Always some interesting sites and easy to jump out to the balcony for a quick peek.  The weather can be good or bad and I would actually say the balcony is a plus in bad weather.  Very easy to stay in and comfortable with the ability to pop out quickly to see a site.  Might even see a tiny island church.

or just watch the clouds hanging on mountains like these headed into Akureyri.

So I decided not to do a live blog during our cruise so I could just relax and enjoy my vacation but I would love to tell you all about our first SC experience.  We learned a ton during this cruise and had some wonderful experiences and some not so great moments.  The not so great moments were from other guests that were "upset" because we skipped lines or had seats reserved for shows ect...  Star Class is something everyone should do at some point.  I can tell you everything we were able to do and things we requested but its more than that.  Our Genie Jay was the kindest and most outgoing person we could have ever hoped to meet and we consider him a member of our family now.  Its such a personal experience and I am sure its different for everyone.  
The thing I enjoyed most was not having to worry about scheduling anything or waiting in line at all.  If we had any issues our Genie took care of them and he made arrangements on the fly for us.  He texted and asked if our daughters would like to go ice skating and he would meet us at Studio B.  When we arrived the line was probably 200+ people deep and he walked us right in and they were on the ice in probably 5 minutes.  After the 20 minute session they were told they could go back out if they wanted.  That is just one of the many things he did for us and it really made our cruise that much more special. 
I'll try to separate everything out day by day and if anyone has a question about Star Class I would be more than happy to share what I know.

Love the info but just have to comment….   … turntables are for records.  😄
 
Ships have a turning basin at some ports.  Here is Port Canaveral.

Now I know every ship and cruise isn’t like this, but our first impression:  
The Diamond Lounge isn’t all that and a bag of chips. 
 
We are currently on our first cruise as Diamond.  On boarding day we went in the lounge for a coffee.  It was really good coffee.  We went back after sail away for another cup and were approached by an old guy (a complete stranger) who asked how many cruises we had done.  When we said we’re on our 11th he started telling us how many he had and asked if we belonged in there. He asked how many points they lowered Diamond level to. 
 
Normally I’m aggressive to people like that, but we laughed, acted nicely deferential, drank our coffee and walked out.  After all, we know jerks exist all over the place, not just on cruise ships. 
 
We went back a couple afternoons later for a cup of coffee and he was holding court again.  He saw us and started in on C&A points, and number of cruises he has that he knows is more than years I am old.   This time I quietly stared at him until everyone became uncomfortable and found other places to be.  This  approach ended up with us being able to sit in some comfortable chairs since they were vacated after five or six  minutes of complete silence. 
 
Today we went in for a cup of coffee and he asked if we were still on our 11th cruise.  🙄  
 
I’m not looking for help with dealing with idiots, I work retail and am very comfortable doing so. 
 
My reason for posting this is to remind older Diamond Plus and Pinnacle cruisers that they aren’t the future of Royal Caribbean.  People like my wife and I are, along with the young families we’ve heard people in the lounge complaining about.  
 
Another reminder….no matter how much money you like to brag about spending, it costs nothing to be nice to someone else, especially people who obviously share a passion with you  
We’re heading back for happy hour tonight.  It will be fun to see what all the regulars do when we walk in  
 

You question is a little vague.  If you mean that you have two cabins for one party  (Don’t think that is the situation) or can you bid on multiple Royal Up options above your cabin category. 
 
Since I think it’s the second option and I’ve done it I’ll respond about experience.  Yes, you can bid on any category that is higher than yours.  We bid on select suites this past spring, our original was a balcony stateroom, and won the CLS.  They will only select one, if you even win the Royal Up at all.  
 
We did not bid on every option that was available and some bids were stronger than others.  Was surprised to get the CLS as our Owners Suite bid was actually the strongest.  Likely it was due to the availability of the category that helps determine a win.