Ditchdoc

I never remember having any issues with boarding. Seems like one time we sat in a holding area for a short while but typically we arrive dockside, drop off bags, go through check in and board. Sure there are lines but I never remember waiting for more than a few minutes at any point in the process. We probably spent as much time walking up the long gangways to the ship as we did anything. The longest lines once boarding are going to be Guest Services as people try to make various reservations and want to ask questions. Most reservations can be made via the TV in your cabin if you have access when you board. Specialty restaurants, some entertainment and excursions require reservations and the most popular ones can fill up pretty quickly. If there is something you can't reserve on line in advance or you cant access via the TV in your room and you are concerned about it filling up, then standing in line is about your only recourse. Just keep in mind Guest Services are open 7/24 and much of the cruise there will be no lines. Boarding time is probably the worst.

" "get to the Port around Noon .... parked ....security ......boarding .....Specialty restaurant to make reservations ..... children to register for their respective clubs...it should certainly be after 1:00pm and we would meet back at the room" That might be a bit much for the expected time frame. The ship is huge and you will not be familiar with it. Don't over think it too much. It's certainly OK to have a plan and a list of "to-dos' but be flexible and take time to enjoy the journey with perhaps a bit less focus on the destination. Have fun ?

I guess something as simple as a motion detector in the room similar to those that automatically turn lights on and off would give a pretty good idea/clue about you being in the room or not. There are any number of 'non-invasive' sensors that could give clues including power consumption, water flow, door opening and closing, not sound recording but level, and so on. I had never really thought of it but in this day and age it could all be very real.

Pretty much the same experience. I rarely see them before 9am or after 6-7pm. The room always get made up while we are gone during the day. The beds turned down, the next days cruise compass and sometimes a towel animal with a small chocolate or something greets us when we come in during the evening. It is magic.

I've never been on a cruise where you did not have your seapass when you boarded. That is typically given to you at check in. The set sail is just all your documentation to speed check in. Your set sail info and your credit card and ID at check in, they give you your seapass and you are good to go.

There are a number of choices. First, since you are flying in the day before, you have plenty of time to get to the ship the next day. You can stay in pretty much any hotel between the airport and the cruise terminal and have all the time you need to get to the port. From Orlando near the airport to the Port, there are shuttles from $15 a person to $30 a person. The vans that can carry 10-15 people are cheaper and the smaller vehicles will cost a bit more. No doubt there will be 'hawkers' near the baggage claim trying to get you to use their service. Uber will take you and the prices vary depending on they type of car from about $60 to about $120. We use Uber quiet a bit in the Orlando area. It was generally cost efficient, quick, and generally the cars were pretty new, well kept and the drivers courteous. Again, these are from the airport so you shouldn't need a rental car. None of the hotels near the port are inexpensive. We have stayed at the Radisson Resort at Port a couple of times. They have a very nice pool and though it may cost a couple of hundred for the night, its a nice place to start your cruise. They will shuttle you to the ship.

Water shoes or Aqua Shoes. If you want something a bit more robust and funky, look up V-Trail technical shoe.

Well . I am pretty anal about always having 3 things these days, my keys, my billfold and my phone. Having a pocket for the phone got me to buying cargo type pants and shorts. There are not many times I do not have extra pockets. While cruising, all you need on board is the Seapass card. The same anal tendencies for keys/phone etc are simply extended to the Seapass card. I just always make sure it is in a pocket before I walk out of the cabin. I do not use my phone on board. I carry the phone when going ashore but it goes back in the safe on the ship. I just don't need it. Keep it simple.

I use a very similar model by iClever every where I travel including cruising. Never had any issues.

If you search for cruise ship crashes it becomes apparent that it happens fairly often. Mostly with piers or docks and sometimes with other boats and rocks. Navigating and piloting open and near shore waters are governed by volumes of national and international marine rules and laws. Many times it simply boils down to "don't run into anything." Conversation between a US naval ship and Canadian authorities off the coast of Newfoundland. US Ship: Please divert your course 0.5 degrees to the south to avoid a collision. CND reply: Recommend you divert your course 15 degrees to the South to avoid a collision. US Ship: This is the Captain of a US Navy Ship. I say again, divert your course. CND reply: No. I say again, you divert YOUR course! US Ship: THIS IS THE AIRCRAFT CARRIER USS CORAL SEA*, WE ARE A LARGE WARSHIP OF THE US NAVY. DIVERT YOUR COURSE NOW!! CND reply: This is a lighthouse. Your call. PS ... it is a joke .. this did not really happen.

Realizing this this a RCCL based site, I have been reading about affinity/travel related credit cards the past few days. No doubt there are some biased opinions out there and the credit card world is primary out there to skim money from retailers and charge exorbitant interest to consumers. Having said all that, some cards offer better travel benefits than others and the RCCL Visa is no where near the top on anyone's list of the 'best of'. I say that in spite of having used the RCCL Visa myself for over 10 years and earned a couple of 'two for one cruises' and several OBC's of varying amounts. I am seriously reconsidering that choice of credit card. I only carry one card, generally pay it off monthly and channel most every thing I can through it for the sole purpose of travel benefits. There are cards out there with all kinds of agreements with on line reservation systems, hotels, airlines and virtually any travel expense including cruise lines. Many of these offer large 'sign up bonuses' that amounts to hundreds of dollars and some offer as much as 10x credit per dollar spent. Most all convert 10,000 points/miles into $100. Some even allow that to be converted to cash in your pocket. Some are more biased toward airlines, some toward hotels and others for for any travel expense. Some have no annual membership, some have fairly steep annual membership though a good part of it can be offset with perks. Some are no doubt best suited for professionals that travel world wide on a regular basis. Some are a better fit for families that do vacations once or twice a year. Most are targeted toward people with good credit scores. Keeping all that in mind, there are some really good travel benefits to be had. Digging a little deeper, coupling some cards with online reservations as specific incentives with some hotels, rental cars and so on can seriously boost the points/miles you get. Its kind of like people that cut coupons, if you spend a little time researching and playing the game, you can save a lot of money on travel.

I never seem to need a lanyard. I look nerdy enough without looking like I am at a convention. ?

Packing cubes seem to just make it more complicated than it needs to be. My wife and I each have a soft sided duffel. We chose North Face Base Camp model. It has something like 4,000 cubic inches of storage. They are airport tough and last many trips.. They come in a multitude of colors so you can pick something that stands out on the airport carousel. We weight them at home and make sure we are under the travel limit. A carry on bag with what you want close and you are done.

Dare I say ..... the KY ..... I guess I dare.

We like to buy Sheridan. Sheridan's Coffee Liqueur is essentially two liquors in one with the bottle divided into distinct sections. On the right is black liqueur made from a blend of coffee and whiskey and on the left is white liqueur flavored with milk white chocolate. You just don't find it at the typical liquor store. Pouring carefully from the bottle into a shot glass, the two liquors separate into two layers. It makes for a great toast at celebrations and holidays. It is also great over ice cream or cake.

Maybe your husband will be nice and tell you to get a nice massage and spa treatment.

Onboard I have always felt safe. If we are going to spend time at poolside, we generally carry some kind of small bag for seapass cards, phones, e-readers, sunglasses etc. Most of the time, one of us is there with our chairs, towels, shoes, hats and personal items. If we both want to get in the Jacuzzi or what ever, we don't leave electronics and such in plain sight. We might toss a towel over items or over the bag with items. We have never had an issue. Going ashore, I never really felt unsafe anywhere we have gone with one exception. In Colon Panama, security police were stationed around the perimeter of the rather small tourist area at the dock. We started to leave the area to walk around town and were advised not to by the security police. On shore I would carry the minimal. Seapass card, passport, some cash, maybe a credit card if you intend to make a larger purchase like jewelry or watches. Keep these in a secure pocket that buttons or Velcros etc.

I have always been able to find a quiet area on board. Inside the various night time dancing and music venues are often empty or nearly so during the day. Some have tremendous picture window views of the ocean. Outside just walk around each deck and explore. You can often find smaller, somewhat isolated areas with deck chairs in sun or shade, protected from the wind and with very little foot traffic. Its pretty obvious where people will gather around pools, food, drink, sports activities and so on. Just go where people are not attracted. There are also great sitting areas around the main stairways that often have good views of the ocean and you can people watch.

Dress like you belong to the human race and you will be fine.

Search for: TaoTronics Bluetooth 5.0 Transmitter/Receiver, Wireless 3.5mm Audio Adapter (aptX Low Latency, Pair 2 at Once, for TV/Car Sound System, Volume Control) Available on Amazon for about $33. Note you can find other similar devices by searching for 'bluetooth splitter'. It uses the AUX audio output of phones/computers etc and splits the signal to two Bluetooth broadcasts so two wireless headsets/earbuds can listen to the same audio. It can also work in reverse, so to speak, by plugging in a wired headset and then Bluetooth to a compatible device like a phone. My wife and I both have our own Kindle Fire and Amazon Prime. We can download several movies to each Kindle and watch them inflight as we wish. Of course there are books and other activities as well. Just know that use in sunlight is marginal to impossible and some applications require a WiFi connection.

There are a number of shaded areas, typically along rail further from the pool. As you might expect, some shaded areas can change dependent on the time of day and the direction the ship is headed.

There are no doubt all kinds of scenarios where people could potentially get out of hand. Obviously the sad drunk that starts throwing up to the stone cold drunk that no amount of alcohol seems to put down, instead they just loose their mind and any sense of civility. Then there are groups that tend to feed off each other like young people or a themed cruse where a few hundred people that ride motorcycles, play banjos or work together in some capacity are cruising together. A more low key event that makes people uncomfortable could be as simple as a half drunk that joins in on karaoke, dedicates a song to his wife and starts singing "You've lost that loving feeling" . There are people with psychological issues. There was one very large man that carried around a stuffed toy monkey, he often talked to it and offered it bits of food. All these cases can lead to discomfort among other passengers and they would all be handled in different ways. Ships can literally have hundreds of cameras in public areas monitored by security. No doubt security would like to be discrete in its handling of unruly passengers but ships do have a brig and passengers have been known to spend time there.

" If I wait to print the tags until my room is assigned " One the room is assigned, then it will show up on the tag. If it is on the the tag, that is what will print.

Stomp was the first thing to come to my mind. Other than that … there are a lot of really good tribute bands out there though most music after the 70's is pretty much lost on me ?

The 'points issue' that irritated me was a cruise I paid for 3 cabins (six people). I only got points for my cabin. Only way I know is spend more nights on board. Think about a Panama Canal trip. That was 15 days I think. Go both directions back to back for 30 points.