SweetHomeLady

Pro tip - stay off of that "other" website!
I am sailing on Anthem in 11 days, and I am not concerned whatsoever.  On my past RC cruises, I have never had a cleanliness issue with a room.  As WAAAYTOOO said, Royal would be all over that type of issue if they were made aware it existed.  

Thank you for your service.

Just wanted to say Welcome Home to him and thank both of you for your service!
-Navy Vet

Thank your husband for his service!
Happy cruising!

As long as he's home safe, everything else is small stuff.  You'll all have a great time!

+1

You might want to check out the Cruise Planner for a similar itinerary of your ship.  That will give you an idea of the recommended dinner attire or activities that your family would enjoy.  The link to Cruise Compass is at the very top of this web page.  Have a great cruise!  And I also applaud your husband's service as a retired Army civilian employee.

I can help a little with your questions, but first let me pay my debt of gratitude to your husband and family for his/your service.  Without it, and millions others we would not be free to share ideas on this forum, let alone actually go on cruises which everyone on here loves to do.
With regard to your stateroom on the Navigator I would say you have nothing to worry about.  The ship is huge and has built in stabilization.  Unless there is unusual weather you won't know you are on the water the vast majority of the time.  I will say a few years ago my now deceased beloved brother had his last cruise on the Carnival Magic which is a similarly sized ship with similar stabilization.  He was in a wheelchair and the only handicapped staterooms were all the way forward on deck 2 or 3.  He wasn't kept awake by the movement but rather the sound of the ship cutting into the surf.  It was a constant pounding even during calm weather.  However, that was deck 3 you are on deck 8.  I didn't look at the deck plan to see how far forward you are.  He and his wife were all the way to the front.  I don't think you have anything to worry about in that regard.
There is a section of the mail dining room that is for 'My Time Dining'.  Not sure about when you can make reservations and it may be a little difficult the first night, but should be fine after that.  We love RCCL, but typically choose our trips based upon what is best in given situation.  We are on the Carnival Breeze next month (my wife want to go to Grand Turk) and are working out the details of our 'My Time Dining' as well.  We had planned to do the standard early seating, but two of our ports are noon to 7 which would cut into our port time.  Hopefully you can work out what you need, and hope we can do the same.  I see a potential snag there.
I'm sure the ship will be full, but they pretty much always are, and for the most part, they are built to handle crowds.
I hope this helps a little.
 

Wait, whaaat mworkman?  We all want to know !

Comedians, jugglers, live music around the ship all the time....they only show the stuff you need to make reservations for in the planner

@Stan the Man 2 welcome to the message boards!
I think you might have your cruise lines mixed up.  We all would like to pick the best features that appeal to us from various cruise lines and have one cruise line offer them all but unfortunately it doesn't work that way.  
When I switched to Royal a few years back I accepted that Royal doesn't have self service laundry.  I've managed through it just fine including some 12, 13 and 16 night cruises.  As I've climbed higher in the Crown and Anchor Society loyalty program I've received discounted and even some free laundry services.  
Hopefully you can work past this difference and still enjoy your cruise.
Cheers!

airplane and cruise are 2 seperate setups. I pack first for the flight as normal, then make a few changes at the hotel before heading to the port. Take my snacks and reading material out and put in swimwear, sunblock, wine, electronics, cruise paperwork and a small toiletries bag and medications. I purchase wine after the flight and my wife buys hair product if we are doing carry on only on the plane. Wifey doesn't use the mystery soap and the 3 or 4 ounces allowed on a plane of hair product isn't close to enough to get her through the week
oh... this stuff i keep on the cruise on day 1 is usually done in 1 or 2 backpacks that the wife and I lug on. everything else goes to the porters to be brought to the stateroom in a few hours

Personally I always pay the gratuities far before the cruise to space out the cost of a cruise. I just tell my travel agent to charge it to my card I have on file(then I immediately pay off that charge of course, please don't charge up a bunch of debt because you want vacation you can't afford). Spread out as many expenses as you can before your cruise.
I also really don't like the idea of handing out tips in person at the end of the cruise. Like it or not, it's part of these workers wages and they really depend on that money. If you hand out tips at the end you are probably missing someone that depends on those tips. Instead I will give an extra tip to anyone that i thought was outstanding along the way. 
That's just my opinion

-Sailed alone..If one day river cruises count then yes.
--Sailed with a sweetheart/spouse...nope
--Sailed with other family members..yes my brother and mother
--Done a repositioning cruise..yes my Egyptian cruise started in Luxor and ended in Aswan
--Missed a port call because of weather..no
--Had your port of disembarkation changed because of weather...just the time
--Sailed in or out of a port in your home town...I live in Chicago so no
--Sailed in or out of a port in foreign country...Yes Egypt and Germany
--Gotten sick on a cruise..yes in Egypt
--Ate at the midnight buffet...no
--Had formal tea on a sea day...define Formal?
--Visited a cruise line's private island....CoCo Cay on my first RC cruise
--Toured the ship's galley....in Egypt
--Had a wardrobe malfunction on board...OMG yes, I wore a Lilo and Stitch Disney dress and my back poofy side got caught in my shawl. A kind woman informed me my black-tights covered butt was showing while waiting for the elevator?
--Sailed on a cruise line other than RC...yes MSC and the Egyptian river cruise line.
--Had the chef make something special for only your table...yes on the Egyptian river cruise...I don't eat fish and it was all seafood so he made me a hamburger and fries?
 

Day 0 
I flew into Newark like I always do.  I had Southwest booked but then they pulled out of Newark so I relied on my tried and true airline who rarely lets me down, Delta.
As it turns out that was a blessing.  On this occasion I was able to fly the new A220 aircraft born from the Canadian Bombardier C series.  There is some background to this aircraft but that's a story for another day.  Now it's offered as an Airbus A220.
My good ole airline even upgraded me to first class so I was able to "sit up front" on this occasion.  With boarding done early I saw an opportunity to peek into the cockpit and asked permission to take a picture, granted.  It's a very modern and comfortable aircraft.

The A220 didn't disappoint. 
Landing in Newark and reaching baggage claim I had a "things that make you go hmmm" moment when I spotted a blue container on the luggage carousel.  At least I'm not the only overpacker when it comes to cruising.

Unfortunately my Hilton hotel booked using points let me down.  The airport shuttle wasn't running so after standing in the cold for a while for a shuttle that was promised but never came I hailed an Uber and reach my Home2 Suites hotel.  No rooms.  Apparently housekeeping walked off the job today, or so they claimed.  They set me up with the Hilton down the road so with another couple also rejected they sent us to the Hilton in a taxi they paid for and off we went. 
Finally by 2am I was in my room at the Hilton Airport.   Now there are two Hilton brands I won't stay at.  Marriot - I'm coming back...

We usually use clear packing tape on our luggage tags.  Cut a strip of tape a bit longer than the paper tag, put the tag face down on the sticky side, then slide that through the luggage handle and fold it up, sticking the tape to itself.  Never had a problem.  Good luck!

Nope. All checked luggage is loaded into large bins that hold dozens of other suitcases piled up high. No care will be taken at all if they see a garment bag, it will just get thrown in with the rest of the pile.
If you have a suitcase with a suit section / pocket / partition, use that to keep the wrinkles to a minimum. Then either spray with Downy wrinkle release (if the suit's fabric isn't super-delicate or easily stained) or put it in the laundry bags available in each cabin on Day 1. Getting a suit pressed on embarkation day ran about $10 when I used that service in 2018. Dresses will run about the same, if I remember right (my wife and daughters all used the Downy stuff since their dresses were made of sterner stuff than my suit is).

1. No, there's no limit
2/2a You will print off as many luggage tags as you need from the website.
3. No, but I'd always have ID in/on them just in case you inadvertently leave it sitting somewhere.
4. There will be a place in the terminal when you disembark where everyone picks up their luggage - the areas are labeled with numbers that will match the tags they give you the night before.
5. Nope. But know that everyone is in the same boat (no pun intended ... ok, maybe a little), and you can either have your garments pressed by Royal (for a fee), or do what most people do --- bring Downy Wrinkle Guard and/or hang the garments in the bathroom when the shower is running on hot and let the wrinkles take care of themselves.  

1. No limit on number of bags
2. Yes, you'll be able to access a PDF document with your luggage tags. Print as many you need.
3. I'd tag a carry on bag in the event you get separated from it.
4. You'll pickup your bags inside the terminal building. Time will vary based on what number tag you get at the end of your cruise.
Also for reference:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2014/08/12/first-time-cruisers-disembarkation-day
 
5. Can't really comment on this one.
 

Go into cruise planner, go into order history, click cancel, go back to drink page, add to cart, purchase.
 
Be aware that cancelling requires a refund to be process which takes a couple days but purchasing it again puts it right on your card.

Note that if you used any onboard credit for your original purchase, it will be available  immediately to reuse for your repurchase.  

Amen, to that.  Sad, sad situation. Thanks for the rationality and thoughtfulness. Hope you have a great cruise! 

I’m on Enchantment of the Seas right now as well. I have a different perspective.
Tuesday afternoon a 600 foot tanker ran into an 80 foot fishing boat at the entrance to the Houston-Galveston Ship Channel. 1 person confirmed dead, 1 person in the hospital. The Coast Guard abandoned the search for two other missing crew members today and they are presumed dead. The crew of the Pappy’s Pride fishing boat and their families are having a horrible week, much worse than I ever hope you or I have. I’m happy to be enjoying time on a cruise ship with my family this week.
Due to this tragedy there has been NO ship traffic in or out of the ports of Houston, Galveston, or Texas City since Tuesday afternoon.  The economic impact of shutting down tanker and other ship traffic in this area is staggering. 
After Enchantment waited offshore all day, the Coast Guard was gracious enough to allow her into port Wednesday afternoon as she passed within yards of the wreckage site at a very slow speed while the responders were still securing the wrecked vessel, controlling the environmental damage, and searching for two missing human beings.
After waiting all last night and all day today, Enchantment was escorted out of port this afternoon in heavy fog with two pilot boats off our bow to ensure we safely traversed the fog. I was deeply moved as we passed the crash site at a very slow speed so as not to disturb the small fleet of boats and the crane platform that were continuing the recovery operation in the channel. 
Enchantment of the Seas was the ONLY ship allowed to come in or out of the area since Tuesday afternoon. Then Carnival Dream was finally allowed in this evening after she waited offshore all day. As of this moment the area remains closed to all other ship traffic. Only a few small service boats have been allowed in the area.
Royal Caribbean provided text and email updates about every two hours yesterday as we waited to learn when we could board. Enchantment’s captain provided several updates last night after we boarded, and several more updates throughout the day today. There was little information that they could provide because they had no control over the weather or the tragic situation in the Galveston Jetties, but they checked in with us regularly to let us know they were communicating with authorities and trying to get us underway. They also did not offer false hope or speculation  because they knew the situation was fluid and telling us one thing and then changing their story would have drawn much criticism.
We’re now underway to Cozumel and I’ve been having a great time, all things considered. I’ve used my cell phone as a tool to find out as much as I could about what was happening with our situation, much of which is spelled out above.
May God bless the crew of Pappy’s Pride and their families. May those who perished Rest In Peace. 

Yes, there is.  I always cut them off at the knees before I ever get any service by letting them know that I will not be purchasing any goods or services.  It has worked 100% of the time.  They always make you fill out <unnecessary, IMO>  paperwork prior to any service.  At the bottom of the page, I write in BIG LETTERS, "NO SALES" !!!!

Just watched a scope from @Galveston Steve - Enchantment was allowed to leave (although DAMN, that fog still looked thick).  Hope your honeymoon and birthday aren't still ruined (but really, that attitude).
Side note: I deserve a cookie for not typing the exact things that I'm thinking.  Ok, so I typed them, but then I hit backspace. Ok, three times.  But still.  Cookie.