Momof4crazytocruise

Same here. If you get cut off this reason, arguing your case isn't likely to get you anywhere but it will provide great entertainment for those watching.

Unless your significant other also has the package…Then you can present both cards and get two drinks.  We have been able to get a drink and a bottle of water at the same time using one card.

The larger the ship the more crowds, action, noise and kids. When I cruise with my kids…that’s what I want to keep them occupied. When it’s just me and the wife, we like smaller ships. Personally on a cruise more than 5-7 days with many seas days, a ship that is too small may be boring.

Not familiar with Miami…but in NJ, I pull my car up to the terminal where the porters are waiting. They take my luggage, I give them a tip. The next time I see that bag is outside my room later that afternoon. 
Then I get back in my car and pull into the parking garage, and then walk with my carry-on rolly bag to the terminal entrance which is steps away.
There are always lines and groups of people clustered about. Most of them are people who, for whatever reason, arrived before their times and have to wait.  
If I am on time, I walk to the front, show my boarding pass, and am waved into the terminal. Then comes the security line…then check in with a worker where my paperwork is examined (I always bring paper copies of everything…don’t have to worry about showing essential documents on my device). Then I board and do pretty much what you described. Then I celebrate!😁

The same argument could be made for "why would anyone pay for a meal on a cruise when there are so many great included options?" 

For your teens, I recommend just going to guest services and adding 'cash' to the teens accounts. That way you can control how much they have on there, and you don't have to worry about holds on the accounts. If they go over, you can always add more.  If there is left over in the account, you can cash out at the end of the cruise.

Safety and liability is why they canceled St Pete, not due to any political statements.

This is two of my words colliding (spaceflight and cruising), so this is gonna be fun: 
The launch customer (the company that hires SpaceX to put the payload into orbit) dictates the launch time, which typically aligns with some other entity (for instance, an ISS cargo re-supply MUST launch at a precise time to most efficiently catch up with ISS). These launch windows are typically instantaneous, meaning you can't hold and wait for even a few minutes, because the object you want to catch up to has already flown by. Additionally, it's very difficult to "hold" a countdown, mainly due to fuel constraints. Rocket fuel is stored at incredibly low temperatures, and as it's pouring through the ambient fill lines and fuel tanks, begins to boil off. This is why a Falcon 9 has so much fog around it immediately preceding the launch. SpaceX practically "overfills" the tanks, because they account for a certain amount of boil-off during fuel loading. They also load fuel right up to 90 seconds before launch. When T-0 hits, SpaceX knows how much fuel is on-board, how much has boiled off, etc. If there's any kind of hold, the fuel continues to boil off, which affects launch weight (it gets lighter) and, more importantly, could impact how long the rocket fires. Less fuel = lower velocity = lower target orbit. Some Space Shuttle launches could hold because the External Tank was INCREDIBLY well insulated and kept fuel colder for longer, but also because some Shuttle missions were self-contained (not rendezvousing with another orbital object) and the launch window could flex. 
 
The other component that the launch customer can dictate is "azimuth", or basically the direction of the launch. When NASA/SpaceX launches to ISS, they basically launch up the east coast to intercept the orbit of ISS. More recently, SpaceX has been launching in a more easterly manner, and even directly south into polar orbits (polar orbits used to be exclusively the domain of the west coast launch facility, Vandenberg AFB). SpaceX has proven that they can safely launch the first stage over the ocean, then "dog-leg" the second stage over land where, if a failure were to occur, the ballistic trajectory would put it into the Caribbean. 
Here's a Google Maps overlay showing launch trajectory/azimuth. They really thread the needle here:
https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?hl=en&mid=1Kl-SydwGM7KVkBIl_-88qIZeYPy1t7HV&ll=26.11030793705532%2C-79.11965267822265&z=7
 

Like just about anything in life WE set the price that companies charge for packages like this.  
If people are willing to pay they'll keep charging that rate.  If collectively WE don't buy something at their price point they will eventually lower the price.  
As long as people are paying they will continue to accept people's money.
The deluxe drink package isn't required to have a great cruise.  If the math doesn't work for you, don't buy it.

The pools are great for general swim, but if your kid swims competitively, the pools may be too small for a good workout. He/she will surface just in time for the next flip turn.
 

Not only that, try calling and asking for a price check when a reservation is through a TA.
100 out of 100 times the response is - talk to your TA, we can't talk to you.

...Don't mind me, I'm just over adding Aleve to my cruise kit...  that's crazy!
 
 

This is funny… the couple being watched are on the Tulum Tour with me.

I totally would have done this. LMAO

My new favorite cruise cocktail! Yum!

I would bring the passports and birth certificates.  It shouldn't be a big deal on the itinerary you are on.  Get them renewed as soon as you get back.

For those who have been on the Jewel (maybe on other Radiance class ships as well), you know how the Diamond Lounge is on the deck overlooking the pool deck.
Well, I went there to get coffee and there were these two men, probably in their 80s, watching people on the pool deck. An elderly lady joins them as they point out to a couple making out in the pool.
Some of the lines I remember were:
”Don’t they have a room on the ship?”
”There are children on the pool deck, you know”… (Reply) “But the children are gonna find out about it sooner or later”
“I’m a prude, I care about private things being private”
”Look, they’re going at it again”
 
As I was leaving I said to them in jest, “Boy, I have to be careful how I behave on the pool deck”

My new favorite cruise cocktail! Yum!

I love this drink!  It is Malibu coconut rum, Blue Curacao & Pineapple juice.

I'm confused why you believe Royal should be responsible for luggage lost by the airline.

Some people act like jerks on cruise ships (or any vacation) for a myriad of reasons, and this must just be their latest thing to go off about.  Sorry for those of you who have had to encounter it, and I hope you shook it off and had a great time despite them.  🙂

Haha. I can only imagine what runs through their heads when the elevator door opens and they meet my half-vaxxed, masked, wide-eyed 5 year olds. "Oh, yuck...unvaccinated kids. Why do people choose to bring these things on MY cruise and put ME at risk of catching COVID and getting sick and possibly dying. There is no way I'm getting on an elevator with you".  What's going thru my kids' minds: "What a strange reaction - why were they so disgusted when they saw us"? Me: "Don't pay them any mind - they are out of theirs".
We won't let you get in the way of our having fun - have a nice day.

Cruise from Galveston almost Guaranteed that you'll hit Cozumel
 

Sadly we found this to be true on the Adventure in June. Our daughter was given a RED band at the time "the band of the unvaxed" We were treated as lepers especially by our dining team. The service was non existent, even though they wore masks and we all had negative Covid tests minutes before stepping on board and days before as well. Let's just say it was not a nice experience. The crazy thing was the servers stood so far from the table they practically tossed our plates it was all very dramatic yet the dining tables were nearly on top of each other when there was room to spread out more, strange It was a weird dynamic and some other passengers dramatically covered their faces with their arms or tucked their head in the top of their shirt, or even a cloth napkin they took from the dining room it seemed! We just ignored the behaviors and made the best of it.
We always had the elevator by ourselves though, as soon as the band was in view it was ours!