Hoppy2cruise

I've never been bored on a cruise. Downtime is just as much part of the experience as activity.

Yeah, I don't recall Royal Caribbean getting billion dollar handouts from the US taxpayers.

You want for free what is important to you.  The world doesn't work that way.

The two are intertwined.  More importantly the safety aspect creates an operating environment they are constrained by and creates an environment that isn't found on land so comparisons to land based businesses don't work.
 
Royal is a business not a charity.  It's easy to say they could provide <insert thing I care about> and not feel a thing.  McDonalds could provide free soda and not feel a thing.  Sports stadiums could provide free water bottles and not feel a thing, they cost pennies!!!  Banks could not charge maintenance fees and not feel a thing.  And so on, and so.  
Why should they?  Why should any business give up revenue? 
The thing is businesses won't accept less income.  Shareholders won't accept lower returns.  They would need to cover that loss of income somehow.  Something else goes up in price to cover that loss of income.  
Any time you waive a charge or subsidize it someone pays for it.  
I cruise solo often so my favorite <insert thing here> would be the single supplement.  I could rant and write long justifications why solo cruisers shouldn't have to pay single supplements but the truth is solo cruisers represent a loss of revenue potential and so as a business they charge solo cruisers more and there are times of the year they charge them even more because they lose more revenue on solo cruisers during peak times.     
Other popular < insert thing here >:
< free Voom for everyone >
< free drinks for everyone >
< free photos for everyone >
< free specialty dining for everyone >
< lower cruise fares right now > 
< lower suite fares > 
There are many things they could afford to do and not go bankrupt.  Not going bankrupt isn't the primary goal of any business.  Maximizing revenue should always be.  
Do you not own any investments or retirement accounts?  Are you okay with your investments not growing as much?  You good with retiring with less savings?  All so businesses can provide more free things?

Every soul on board must have a seat in a lifeboat.  This applies even to an infant that is 6 months old even though an infant at that age would not use their own seat in a lifeboat.  SOLAS regulations don't recognize or reflect a difference from an infant to an adult, a soul is a soul that requires a seat in a lifeboat.
If there was one slot left for anyone to book a cruise before that cruise was sold out, an infant booked on a cruise prevents an adult from booking that available slot.  Given the price models for the industry an infant is no different from an adult right down to the capacity of a muster zone that groups of cabins are assigned to with all the guests in those cabins having a seat in the lifeboats assigned to that muster station.
It's common for new parents to hope for a break in pricing for an infant but the price models for everyone who books a cruise are built so many common costs are covered or shared by the masses of adults booking that cruise.  "But it's just one baby" until there are 30 or 40 or 100 babies on a ship that carries several thousands of passengers.  At that point for a cruise line to offer cheaper rates to infants someone else has to pay more and that would be all the other adults.  That's fine from a socialist perspective but not all other adults want to cover the cost of someone else's infant.  
Fortunately for parents Royal does offer Kids Sail Free promotions but as many families discover those rates require more expensive cabins that can accommodate more than two guests which gets back to the seats in a lifeboat concept.  The vast majority of cabins on a ship are designed for two guests and that is part of the safety equation so that every guest has a seat in a lifeboat.  Hotels on land don't have lifeboats with finite seating capacity so cruise ships are not at all like hotels in this regard which can be a hard concept for some families to wrap their heads around. 
"It's just a tiny infant" except it isn't from a safety on a ship perspective.   If safety regulations were to be relaxed then there would be some less honest company that would attempt to circumvent safety regulations by over-stuffing a ferry or some other type of passenger vessel to leverage such a loophole.  For this reason safety regulations are not flexible even though a reputable company like Royal may not choose to find a way around the regulations should the regulations be less strict than they are. 
These regulations are international and they have evolved over the decades generally resulting from loss of life and previous disasters.    
And so it's complicated, more than apparent at first glance.

I've wondered about that. Some got ahead sure, but how many others just got to where they'd have been anyway if there was no shut down.

Yes, you do.
Good TA's get back to you same day. Great TA's get back to you in less than an hour.

A reputable travel agent doesn't transfer a booking to a cruise line, they make the booking in the cruise line reservation system.  
It sounds like you got scammed by your agent.  I'd call your credit card company and dispute the charge if your travel agent isn't responding.  

Bottom line...  That's why I do it all myself.  If there's a snafu with a TA involved,  there are so many fingers pointed in so many directions, while nothing gets fixed.  Now, if it gets messed up, I can only point a finger at Royal or at myself.  That's a lot of incentive for me to do it right and get confirmations. 😎
 
Now this doesn't help the OP's dilemma.  If the travel agent wont fix it, and Royal wont help, you're kind've out of choices other than to buy the package again at the market rate, and get a refund from the TA and/or otherwise dispute the charge with the credit card company. 

Sounds like miscommunication with and/or error by your travel agent.  Of course the cruise line isn't going to add something simply because you claim you paid someone else for it.  You need to address this with the person you paid.

Trying to follow. A travel agent booked the drink package on RC directly for you? Usually you get a confirmation number from Royal about the purchase which your TA should have given you. I would expect if you logged into Royal you would be able to see it in your purchase history. With the confirmation number it would be pretty easy for RCL to address.
Or you bought some cruise package that was suppose to include drinks? Seems to be more something with you TA, in either case they should be the ones dealing with it

Sounds like an issue on your travel agent's end. To be clear, you booked and paid for the packages through the travel agent? Why are they not working this with Royal? And in the future, I highly recommend letting your travel agent manage the cruise itself, but all other purchases and excursions through the cruise planner. 

I turned Pinnacle this year, during a cruise.   I was recognized at the C&A get-together at beginning of the cruise.  But did not get benefits until the next cruise.

Based on what's in the bottom of my suitcase after any cruise, I bring back sand from everywhere.

To be clear, the state of TX does not limit the brands, they only require that the alcohol has had TX tax paid on it. 
Royal limits the brands they wish to pay the tax on. 
 
But as you said, the selection is fine until dinner time, when you hit the 12 mile mark 

We often get into Florida late at night, like midnight.  We still get a hotel and some sleep.  Then head out to get on ship about 10am.    Since your cruise is a little over an hour away, Port Canaveral, you can stay either place.  But getting transportation from Orlando to Cape Canaveral area is harder to come by, and more expensive,  at that hour. I would stay in Orlando at the airport.  Then travel to ship in the morning.   

If you checked bags, those will be outside the terminal at baggage claim. After claiming, You will not be able to re-enter through security at this point since you will not have a boarding pass. You are now stuck outside the terminal area, which is not exactly a restful and quiet area even if you found a place to sleep. Leaving your luggage at baggage claim for 6+ hours is not good idea either if you are planning on not leaving the secured area of the terminal and sleeping there. 
get the hotel and don’t cheap out! Your body will thank you 

I would still get a hotel.  A few hours of sleep in a real bed will still be much better than trying to get any sleep in an airport.

You will sleep much better if you stay in a hotel. The Hyatt is literally inside the airport so I recommend that for sure. 

I can't imagine removing gratuities for a 2 year old.  I'm quite confident that when my son was that age he generated more trash than me, made greater messes at the dining table, and created a far messier bedroom.  If anything, the gratuities for a 2 year old should be higher!

We are taking our two granddaughters (and our son + dil) on a cruise in February 2024.  The two girls will be 1 and 3.  We are paying for them just like they were full grown adults.   We had to get a cabin that is made for four. 
 
Im sure more articulate people than me will explain in detail, but it’s normal. 

There is a mini "cooler" in the balcony staterooms but it is hit or miss on the actual cooling and there are no controls. You can request a medical refrigerator from the link above that is used in these circumstances.

You could move the cruise to the following week, but would have to pay the change fee.

A family without one?  That would be mine.  You really think most families have one?

When we went on Allure in July, 11 AM was the earliest check in available.  From what I understand, boarding is the same at all ports.  If you show up after all the guests from the prior sailing are off and boarding has started... you go through security and check in and then get on the ship.  If you arrive early, before boarding has started - you go through security and check in then to the waiting area.  When boarding starts they call boarding groups - suites, Pinnacle, the Key, various other crown and anchor levels, then people board as they arrive.  They try to start boarding as soon as they can get everyone from the prior sailing off, this varies from week to week.