melmar02

Whoa. She needs a new travel agent. My guess is they charged her a fee to book it as well ?  (My travel agent emailed me and told me to log on and get the $18/day price when it was available! - I had already gotten it, but dang -she's my girl 4 life now!)

Welcome to the blog, Scott and thank you for your military service.
You are fortunate, indeed to have received a military discount from Royal Caribbean.  They are, unfortunately, very rare. It’s one of the few disappointing things about Royal Caribbean. 
In all of our years of cruising, We have only received a military discount once and that was on Carnival, years ago.  They required that I fax the “proof” to them when I booked. I really have no idea how Royal handles it but I would certainly take either the 214 with me or a military ID or something. No sense in having utter chaos ensue at the port by not having some kind of paperwork with you, just in case.
As far as tipping goes, it’s completely a personal choice.  You are already tipping the room attendant by virtue of your daily gratuity so an additional tip, should you choose to give one, would be on top of that.  We always tip our attendant extra but it is not required or even expected, from my experience.
I’m happy to hear that your somewhat disappointing first cruise hasn’t spoiled you from the chance to try again.  You certainly picked a great ship.  Allure is a beauty.  If your wife is uncomfortable in crowds I will offer a suggestion regarding the muster drill.  That is the one and only time I ever feel crowded on a ship - any ship.  
Let’s say the muster drill is at 4:30.  At around 4:00, go to your muster station and find the person who is scanning Seapass cards and have that person scan both of your cards.  Then tell that person that your wife is claustrophobic and that you are going inside to have a seat.  Go to one of the bar areas (but not at the bar itself) and have a seat. That is where people who are in wheelchairs or have other physical limitations will sit through the drill.  If anyone says that you must go to your muster station, just tell them that your cards have already been scanned and that you are going to sit where you are for the muster drill. You will find others will come and sit there as well.  One of the staff will perform the life jacket demonstration for those of you who are seated inside.  Then...once the drill concludes and everyone begins to surge towards the elevators, just remain seated and enjoy your seat for a while longer until the crowds clear out.  Not only will you avoid the mass of humanity but you get to sit down in the cool bar area while everyone else is cued up outside.  Of course, on Allure your muster station might be inside anyway but you can avoid the crowds by being elsewhere.

I like to use wake up calls especially on sailings where the time may change.  You never know if your phone will actually adjust to the right time at the right part of the cruise.  

I have given a carry on size suit case to the porters. Come to think of it, my son's suit case is about that size too, and we will be giving his to the porters in a few weeks.

Me too !

One of my top reasons for cruising RCL lol. NCL serves Pepsi and I'm a Coca-Cola snob
 

I just saw this meme and thought of you. 
 

My kids, now 20 & 22, have been cruising since they were 2 & 4.  You only can bring what fits in your bag.  End of story.  Mom's bag is for mom! 

Can't do it, bot wiring and programming doesn't allow it.

@twangster, I'm starting to feel like I'm in The Matrix and it just glitched with a Deja Vu!
Have (yet another) great trip!

In the words as sung by Britney Spears...  ? Oops, I Did it Again ?
For those who are wondering what is he talking about?  (or thinking I've enjoyed one too many happy hour drinks)  I just finished 14 nights on this little beauty last week.  You can read about that B2B experience here:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/14213-empress-b2b-14-nights-on-the-biggest-little-ship-july-2019/
Those cruises were great but they were Western Caribbean and this 8 night cruise is Eastern Caribbean including a stop at Tortola in the British Virgin Islands.  Royal hasn't visited the BVI very much in recent years so when I saw the BVI added to the itinerary in the wake of the Cuba cancellations I knew I had to do it.  Icing on my cake comes courtesy of another visit to Perfect Day at CocoCay. 
Itinerary
Miami Perfect Day at CocoCay Sea Day San Juan Tortola St Thomas Sea Day Sea Day Miami Our Perfect Day ends at 2pm so we can make it to San Juan for a 3pm arrival after a day at sea.  We stay until midnight in San Juan so if all goes well I hope to get some evening and night pictures around San Juan.
Sailing in a Junior Suite I have scored one of the most forward deck 9 JS cabins this time.
I love this small ship and her big heart.  It's a good thing I love this ship because this will be my fourth cruise on her.  My Crown and Anchor points haven't been posted yet from my last cruise on her so with the "paint still wet", I'm heading back to the love of my life, or at least the love of my life right now. 
Because I'm flying I don't like taking just one cruise so with a night off the water in between, I'm doing a side-to-side over to Majesty right after this cruise.  A few years ago I started dreaming about a tour of the small ships and this marks another step towards completing that goal.  
I think I set a record this time having packed my suitcase a full two days before the cruise.  Basically I took my cruise clothes from the dryer and put them right back into my suitcase.  
      " You see my problem is this
       I'm dreaming away
       Wishing that heroes, they truly exist
       I cry, watching the days
       Can't you see I'm a fool in so many ways
       But to lose all my senses
       That is just so typically me
       Oh baby, oh "
Okay that doesn't make total sense but it's the only part of the lyrics that somewhat fit so I'm going with it.  

@melmar02 as of right now I do not know the answer to your question, but I’ll ask on board. 

I just saw this meme and thought of you. 
 

This morning we got the email from the concierge explaining all of our perks, her name is Eliana. We emailed her back to make our dining reservations and she was very prompt in her response. 

I appreciate the WJ burgers because they usually have bacon available as part of the fixins'!  Don't have to make it to breakfast hours to get my meat candy fix.

If you are going to continue to sail with Royal Caribbean, then there is nothing but up sides to climbing the ladder.  Status for the sake of status makes no sense but status to enjoy the benefits of status, does.
When they started converting the Concierge lounges to Suites Lounge and kicked the D+ down to the DL they ALMOST lost me but I played their silly game and began cruising nearly exclusively in suites. I guess I showed them !  ?? 

I'm more of a forward person. 
Some ships do shake in the aft depending on ship speed but more importantly when I'm forward I get to where we are going first.  

We only cruise with carry-on size.  Unless we know we're bringing back locally made products - aka adult beverages - which we will have to check.  Then we bring the big ones. 

Just so you have a second data point — did a 5-night Cruise last year, wife and I each used only a carry-on size for our stuff. Checked both with the porters and just used a small backpack to carry around stuff we wanted with us after boarding.

We brought our combo battery operated/plug sound machine and had no issue. Worst case scenario, bring a battery operated one and extra batteries. Or, just load an app on your phone.

I just saw this meme and thought of you. 
 

Thanks for the advice everyone. We're driving so space isn't going to be an issue. I think we will chance it and bring them. 24 days to go!

Oh great! That definitely puts me at ease. Thank you and I hope you guys have a wonderful cruise! 

We're in a 2br grand suite. Videos on YouTube lead me to believe this won't be a problem for us this sailing.

You can also get them from Dollar Tree, if you have one in your area. (6 clips to a pack.)