ScooterScott22

The most important thing is to make sure you don't create a wind tunnel by leaving the balcony doors open.  It makes for unpleasant door slamming and gusts of wind inside the room.

Hearing a lot of negativity towards Prime and that it is not worth the perks they provide.  Glad to hear that it is working. 
There are quite a few people in the world that do actually enjoy casino gaming as a form of entertainment.  For those folks the time and money spent gaming IS their "fun".  Any perks that happen to come with that is a bonus no matter how some people feel about the program.  The key is that people have their entertainment dollars and they can enjoy them as they like.   
Good luck on getting to prime.

over a period of a one week cruise or 9-11 days, a casual cruiser/gambler may achieve points to get a free inside cabin ....maybe prime. but the 30cent player...forget it. Waste of money but maybe they just enjoy the entertainment.  Most times I get a junior suite then I upgrade it through casino royale customer service for very little in many cases up to sky suites. Depends on who's manipulating the all the data.  I check weekly my comped cruises.... right now I have at least a dozen to choose from. I will be on Odyssey of the Seas this Jan for one month GRATIS...and I dont have to gamble a penny. Status already achieved for next cycle April 1.   Grant it , it takes time to figure all this out and you need to stay on top of it. I had a personal casino host, but they stopped doing that for some reason.   Im always calling in to see what upgrades I can get... many times for almost nothing... like 50-100 bucks.   Grand suite and above. 

Thanks for the great review and pics @twangster.  We had that booked but turned it into the Royal Loft Suite and added my parents for a cruise this past fall.  Was sort of regretting missing out on a unique cabin but I think we made the right decision.  

Nothing is ever really free. But I will tell you that I have saved tens of thousands of dollars over the years through casino comps.  Overall, it's a winner for us.

We were lucky enough to tour one of the Ultimate Panoramic Suites (starboard side) on OA a few weeks ago.  It is much bigger than I thought it would be.  I don't think the lack of a balcony would be a problem for me but I certainly don't care for its location.  Still, for the right price......

Betting that this will be a difficult item to get an accurate count, for a few different reasons. 
First, likely only the cruise line will probably have this info not the travel agents.  Starting at the agents, they probably could give you a very good estimate on how many of their clients they typically book that have passports vs. not.  That will require the individual agents to roll client information up to a larger pool.  I'm doubting that sharing of information is happening.  A large agency might aggregate information but again there is a pretty low chance that gets shared.  Unless someone polls agencies and agents for a conference presentation it is pretty unlikely they are getting a percentage.  They just want to know the processes to book guests with and with out passports since the trends will vary also.  
As for the cruise lines, there is likely variability between lines and times of the year.  My guess is Princess and Holland likely have more passport guest and Disney has one of the lower ratios.  So one cruise line might have a large number of cruisers with passports and some may not.  Even Royal likely has a dip in number of passports on shorter, weekend, or at common vacation/holiday cruises.   
My guess is cruisers with passports outnumber those with Birth Certificates.  If I had to guess, it probably is somewhere between the 2/3 to 3/4 ratio.  
 

Some people like the side deck and those additional small side balconies but IMO the amount of space you lose on the inside is not worth it.  We did not use those side balconies even once but the suite itself is small and cramped (by Star Class standards).  Some also like the split bathroom on the first level of the side GLS but I don’t.  If you have the opportunity to move from the side GLS to one of the middle suites, I would do it….but that’s just me.  I’ll never forget the disappointment I felt when we moved from one of the big middle deck 8 GLS to that tiny side GLS on the second half of our SC B2B on Anthem in 2018.  Such a letdown.  I recall our Genie (Yen Lee) remarking that the deck 10 GLS was “cozy”.  

@Templecruiser the deck 10 corner loft suites are smaller, but we found it acceptable for our party of three.  We sailed 10270 in Alaska and found the combination of the three veranda's a big plus for that itinerary.  Having done other loft suites on the Oasis class, I'll add that now we would feel that room is a little small for the Star Class lofts in comparison but it is still larger than a standard stateroom.  The bigger drawback for our party was that there is no tub in the suite.  
Good luck with everything and happy planning.

@Templecruiser the deck 10 corner loft suites are smaller, but we found it acceptable for our party of three.  We sailed 10270 in Alaska and found the combination of the three veranda's a big plus for that itinerary.  Having done other loft suites on the Oasis class, I'll add that now we would feel that room is a little small for the Star Class lofts in comparison but it is still larger than a standard stateroom.  The bigger drawback for our party was that there is no tub in the suite.  
Good luck with everything and happy planning.

Have been there for work and once for a cruise.  We did the Marriott Pinnacle for our pre-cruise and it was pretty decent.  The piece of advice I'll share is there are tons of options in downtown around the port, do a little searching to find the best deal for you.  Adding that with 2 days, I would stay in the Coal Harbor area (see map below).  Likely you will be able to see the water from the room.  You can also walk to a number to things including Stanley Park (along the waterfront), Gas Town area, and even the cruise port.  (And there is nothing better than to hear the nightly cannon being fired!🤣) 

My youngest son is 9 and we went to Alaska last June on the Ovation.
Although we cruised before with the older son, this was our youngest son's first cruise and our first cruise paying for most of the bells and whistles.
We got the UDP for both kids. The 9 year old's UDP was about $9 per day when we bought the package.
Though I am a former chef, my 9 year-old is a picky eater.  
Once on board, our first dinner was at Wonderland and my 9 year-old tried things he would never eat at home.  He ended up learning to love things like lobster, lamb chops, mushroom soup, etc.  Anything he did not want to eat, we simply considered it an extra course for us and went to Sorrentos for free pizza if my 9 year-old was still hungry.
So from our perspective, the UDP was a great deal even with a 9 year-old.  Just because he is 9 doesn't mean he was limited to the kids' menu.  

We have done Star a few times and have never been in the MDR on those cruises, including a 12 day.  Between the choices of all the specialty and in room dining option it wasn't really necessary or fit in the schedule.  For that second part, the Genies will keep you busy (if you want) with show and events and also likely be providing snacks in the room so expect no need or time for MDR dining.  
The caveat is if you really want to sit in the MDR for dining the genie will keep that on your schedule.  It can be though to give up the planning but turning that task over to the genie really is the perk of Star Class.  Relax and put it into the Genie's hands.  

We have done Star a few times and have never been in the MDR on those cruises, including a 12 day.  Between the choices of all the specialty and in room dining option it wasn't really necessary or fit in the schedule.  For that second part, the Genies will keep you busy (if you want) with show and events and also likely be providing snacks in the room so expect no need or time for MDR dining.  
The caveat is if you really want to sit in the MDR for dining the genie will keep that on your schedule.  It can be though to give up the planning but turning that task over to the genie really is the perk of Star Class.  Relax and put it into the Genie's hands.  

The genie assignment is usually pretty reliable but there are instances that could cause some genie assignments to be late or change.  I share this because we had one re-assigned on the day of the cruise.  Our poor (new) genie got reassigned late from the Caribbean to our Alaska cruise.  He had no warm clothes!!! 
If the staff is in the middle of a contract, it should not be an issue unless there is an illness or emergency.  if there are staff that are rotating out due to contracts ending, it could create a slight delay. 

As others have hinted/mentioned, your success will be dependent on how you have packed.  
 
The arrival time you have will make it much more likely that you will be able to bring the bags to the room without handing them off to anyone.  They will still need to go through security.  We did some large suitcases once and they fit, so unless your suitcases are extremely oversized you should be fine.  As long as your party can handle their bags (not too many and they are easy enough to roll/maneuver) you should be fine.  
 
As for pro’s and con’s really doesn’t seem to be any more than personal preference.  Your bags will be with you which could be a plus or minus.  Luggage delivery doesn’t seem to be too late so with a later boarding time not sure there is a huge difference on when you would see your bags.  The only real plus is that the chance of a bag going missing is not really there if you carry on yourself.

It will probably depend on your actual sailing dates, with respect to how smoky the casino will be.  Even then it might be somewhat subjective.  We were on Navigator over thanksgiving and it really didn’t seem too bad to me.  At one point I was playing a machine in the smoking area and didn’t even realize that I was in the “smoking” section.
That cruise was heavy with family and kids so likely less smokers and casino traffic in general.  And the kids in the casino were not smoking.

We did Reykjavik overnight a number of years ago and there are a few Royal itineraries that have an overnight there.  Great place to do a 2 day, especially in summer since sunset and sunrise there can be only 3 minutes apart!!!

The point of testing and masking is to try and reduce the transmission and further illness and death.  Yes, most people who get COVID are not dying these days and yes, birth is fatal 100% of the time.  BUT this is a disease that we actually can decrease with some precautions.  Death rates are down but we are still losing thousands of people a week in the US.  

This is like the Radiance leaving port every Saturday with a full cruise and coming back a week later with no living passengers.  If that was actually happening, people would likely be less flippant about precautionary measures.   

Not sure if I have a skewed perspective, but it seems like it is extra effort to get to the MDR when you have the UDP (and suites).  We have not been to the MDR on our last five cruises and likely will not on our next one in a few weeks.  While two were in Star Class, three were not.  Two of those were also on Voyager and Freedom class ships but those were 4 and 5 day sailings. 
Breakfast is usually outside of the MDR (Windjammer, in-suite or Chops), while lunches are specialty first, Windjammer or one of the other venues (Johnny Rockets, Playmakers) and snacks at quick service or Windjammer.  With all the options available on most ships, the MDR doesn't seem to be a much of an option.  We did drop in once on one of our early cruises but it doesn't seem to matter, especially if you choose MTD. 

Confirming that there was a Pillow Menu on Allure - Royal Loft Suite about a month ago.  Sorry didn't grab a picture but there were like 4-5 choices.  My wife asked for the memory foam, otherwise we just used the pillows that were in the stateroom.

From a sign in Cunard, the "fancy" dress was not only for esthetics but for practical reasons if you went overboard.

Having done a 14 day from LA to Miami and experiencing both the Pacific and Caribbean, in December, they both are pretty similar in the temps.  The use of pools and slides likely will not be all that different.  The immediate local weather patterns will change and that can be unpredictable especially from far out.  Both have a pretty equal chance of pool weather.  

From a sign in Cunard, the "fancy" dress was not only for esthetics but for practical reasons if you went overboard.

I picture it this way.  We are all the chocolates while Lucy and Ethel are the terminal staff.  The plan is the initial conveyer system and the craziness starts when people start showing up early.