A_perfect_Storm

Thank you all so much!!!  I haven't had the chance to read through yet, but wanted to say thanks for being so welcoming!!  Looking forward to learning all about royal and planning our vacation ?

Thank you @Brobbins246 I will definitely check this out.  We live in central Illinois and would normally drive, but since our daughter only has a week for spring break, flying will be a must.  Thanks again!!

Well I went from not cruising for 8 years Jan 2011 to booking a cruise in Dec for Jan 2019. Than I put a deposit down on 1/9 for a cruise in Aug 2019 & today I put a deposit down for one in Feb 2020. My wife asked was I getting carried away all of the sudden LOL but she didn't say no.
Upcoming cruises
Allure          1/27/2019
Ovation       8/9/2019
Adventure   2/1/2020
Guess I'll just work on planning excursions ect.. for the last 2 & hold off booking anything else for now. Thanks to Michelle - MEI Travel.
 

Also if you book any 3rd party shore excursions during the planning process, I recommend doing the credit card foreign authorization thing before charging your deposits as well.  Find out what country the charges will come from (for example Cayman Islands for Island Marketing Ltd charges) and give your cc company their name, country of origin and amount you'll be charging. I didn't do this before putting three deposits down on the same day, and as the charges started hitting my account, my cc rejected them and sent me an alert to call and authorize them.  I then had to contact the excursion company again and have them resubmit the charges.  Major pain in the a$$ that could have easily been avoided. 

I will add that at 90-120 days check your cruise planner to book entertainment.  (Oasis/Quantum classes only)
I will also add that if you are like me and don't want to make monthly payments to RC, open a savings account exclusively for vacations and make monthly payments to yourself. Then you'll have the $$ you need to make the final payment without a huge shock.  You can also add expected airfare to your monthly savings to have the money for that too.
One final thing is to look at is trip insurance.  Some plans require you to purchase it within 30 days of your deposit to cover pre-existing conditions.  You can buy it later but it may exclude certain things.

I absolutely agree with this one (as well as all of @JLMoran suggestions he mentioned).   This is an often missed step and there's nothing worse than being on vacation out of the country and needing to use your credit card only to find it has been temporarily blocked for "suspicious activity"  .   Seems to be common practice for most of the larger CC companies and/or bank cards to flag sudden overseas activity as suspect.     

Most definitely at this mark.  The only exceptions that I have seen to that are March break and Christmas/New Years.  Those two times of the year do not seem to follow that trend.
For March/Spring break, when I look back at my records, the price (for Delta) was actually the lowest at first release.  I might just do that for next spring break and save myself all the stress of watching it rise.

One thing I realized I missed last night:
If you need to fly to the port, start checking airfares about 9 months out, when they first become available. When they’re at a price you’re comfortable with, book them. And make sure to fly in at least the day before sail date so you don’t risk getting delayed or having your flight canceled and missing your sailing.
If you use a low-cost carrier like Southwest or Jet Blue, my personal experience is that the fares are lowest when they’re first announced and just get more expensive as the seats fill up; others here have seen differently, so watch them regularly for a bit and be ready to book when you see a price you’re good with. The bigger carriers are more likely to fluctuate; @Lovetocruise2002 and I (and several others since) have done some experimenting by tracking prices every day for our trips, even after booking, and found there seem to be two sweet spots: One around the 90 day mark, the other I believe around 180 days but @Lovetocruise2002 can confirm that.

Be sure to check to make sure your travel agent doesn't charge you. While possibly not the majority, some agents/agencies DO charge a service fee (I got stuck with a $100 service fee for booking my cruise with a local travel agent - she offered last week to book my flight for another $50 service fee - needless to say I've booked my next cruise with an MEI agent).

One thing to do right now if you haven't already is check into getting a travel agent.  Even if you booked your cruise directly with RC, if it's been less than (I believe 60) days, you can still have your trip assigned to the TA so you'll have a knowledgeable planning partner at no cost to you.  A lot of us on this site use MEI Travel, and you can reach out to them for an agent.  
Also start doing research on your ports of call to get an idea of what activities you might like to do for shore excursions.  Some islands have better beaches than others, some are good for self-exploring, where others are advised to stick with something more organized, etc.  You might see some excursions already available for booking in your cruise planner, but others will definitely be added later, so you can keep checking back for more options.  Don't be afraid of independent excursion operators either - just do your homework to make sure they're reputable and offers refunds if your ship docks late or has to route to another island, things like that.  
In my experience, RC seems to offer the best discounts overall on Black Friday, so definitely watch for those and reprice any purchases you've already made that are cheaper then.  
Have fun!!!!

Hi there, @A_perfect_Storm, welcome to the message boards!
I'm not aware of any specific planning timelines like you mention, but here are some general guidelines I think work for any cruise. I'm sure I've missed some things, others here will fill in the gaps
Starting right now Think about making monthly payments towards your cruise balance; this is a great way to spread out the cost over as much time as possible Put a reminder in your calendar for 3 days ahead of your final payment date, and make sure the cruise is paid off then -- if you miss final payment, you lose your cruise! No backsies, no mulligans, no second chances! About 12 months before sailing -- start checking your Cruise Planner for any items you may be interested in purchasing, like shore excursions, internet packages, beverage packages (alcoholic or non), specialty dining, etc. @Matt, who runs the site, is very good about posting in the main blog when new sales start in the Cruise Planner; you can re-check for things each time a new sale / promotion is announced Try to space out your purchases, to spread out the payments and avoid having a painful credit card bill in any one month Know that you can always cancel something you bought, and then re-purchase it, if you find later on that the price has dropped 8-9 months before sailing -- check your passports and make sure they will still be valid for at least 6 months after your cruise ends; if not, get them renewed now so they're in effect for about 6 months prior to sailing Also apply for passports for any family members who don't yet have them; while you can sail with just a drivers license and birth certificate, having a passport is generally better 90 days before sail date You had that reminder fire off and you took care of final payment, right? If not, do it on this day or lose your cruise! Do your online checkin and complete all forms, print your set sail pass 45 days before sail date -- start checking for your eDocuments on the web site (available under the View More Details link for your sailing after you log in) When you have your documents, you can also print your luggage tags 1 week before sail date Get all documents and papers together; passports, set sail passes, luggage tags, etc. If you haven't yet, put a travel alert on all credit cards you expect to use abroad 2+ days before sail date -- get cash for tips and other small expenses, souvenirs if you don't want to use your credit card, etc. 1+ day before sail date -- fly down to the port; never do this the day you sail away!! Hope this helps! The next year and two months is going to be a blast as you prepare and plan and eagerly await your vacation!