Momof4crazytocruise

Registration opens at 1pm and, yes, I would recommend going at that time to sign him up.
What you don't want to do is be that parent that brings their kid later in the evening with Adventure Ocean is open and wants to register and blocks everything up.

Is this your first baby? You'll probably hear every peep even on the balcony. I generally didn't start ignoring mine until the third or fourth came along...

Some things I felt very helpful.
1) Don't bring the giant stroller. There is not a lot of room in the cabin, and it take up a lot of space. Invest in a compact folding stroller. We had one that folded up the size of a carry on suit case and we could store it in the closet. Bring the baby carrier. You really won't want to fight the stroller everywhere and wait for elevators all the time. We used the stroller in port and in the Windjammer so baby could sit while we ate. 
2) Call and request a pack and play be in the room when you arrive.  The room steward will set it and a make it up each evening just like a bed, and then you don't have to bring one.
3) Bring WAY more diapers than you think you will need. If you can get in town early enough, plan a trip to Walmart or somewhere and buy a big box and just check that at the port like you would a suit case (pack 10 more than you think you will use in the diaper bag for boarding day). Or have some shipped to the hotel, but check with them first. Bring bags to put dirty diapers in and take them to the hallway or public bathroom trashcans. Those get emptied frequently and your cabin won't be stinky by diapers sitting all day.
4) We found that on some ships you could check out toys, or during the day they would set up the teen club for a few hours with toys for the babies and toddlers.
5) When you get on the ship, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go DIRECTLY to the nursery to fill out paperwork and get your reservations. The nursery fills up very quickly and you will find that it is harder to get a dinner break than you realized. 
6) if you are nursing and planning to pump - request a medical refrigerator. The ones in the room are coolers and the milk will not keep. I found using the key words "nursing mother or breastfeeding mother' got me almost anything I needed with little to no argument. 
7) visit the dining room after boarding and ask them to add a highchair to your reservation. That way it's already set up when you arrive. 
8. For flying - pack WAY more diapers than you think you will need and 3 more outfits than usual. My kids were guaranteed to have a massive blowout somewhere in the process. 

Some things I felt very helpful.
1) Don't bring the giant stroller. There is not a lot of room in the cabin, and it take up a lot of space. Invest in a compact folding stroller. We had one that folded up the size of a carry on suit case and we could store it in the closet. Bring the baby carrier. You really won't want to fight the stroller everywhere and wait for elevators all the time. We used the stroller in port and in the Windjammer so baby could sit while we ate. 
2) Call and request a pack and play be in the room when you arrive.  The room steward will set it and a make it up each evening just like a bed, and then you don't have to bring one.
3) Bring WAY more diapers than you think you will need. If you can get in town early enough, plan a trip to Walmart or somewhere and buy a big box and just check that at the port like you would a suit case (pack 10 more than you think you will use in the diaper bag for boarding day). Or have some shipped to the hotel, but check with them first. Bring bags to put dirty diapers in and take them to the hallway or public bathroom trashcans. Those get emptied frequently and your cabin won't be stinky by diapers sitting all day.
4) We found that on some ships you could check out toys, or during the day they would set up the teen club for a few hours with toys for the babies and toddlers.
5) When you get on the ship, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go DIRECTLY to the nursery to fill out paperwork and get your reservations. The nursery fills up very quickly and you will find that it is harder to get a dinner break than you realized. 
6) if you are nursing and planning to pump - request a medical refrigerator. The ones in the room are coolers and the milk will not keep. I found using the key words "nursing mother or breastfeeding mother' got me almost anything I needed with little to no argument. 
7) visit the dining room after boarding and ask them to add a highchair to your reservation. That way it's already set up when you arrive. 
8. For flying - pack WAY more diapers than you think you will need and 3 more outfits than usual. My kids were guaranteed to have a massive blowout somewhere in the process. 

My frame of reference is for 11-12 month olds (twice) so it should be close but might not be perfect.
To do today: Make sure you have a crib reserved for your stateroom unless you are bringing your own.  Depending on the ship these may be mini-cribs or may be pack-n-plays.  If you are particularly concerned about perfectly flat sheets and whatnot I would recommend bringing a pack and play sheet as the stewards frequently just use a regular flat sheet folded a few times, its not perfect if they toss and turn.  
For flying: You are allotted a car seat, stroller and diaper bag for the infant regardless of whether the infant has a seat.  I recommend utilizing all three, you will probably need to gate check the stroller and the car seat but once you get to Miami you can pretty much use any transportation you want.  We usually book a hotel with a free airport shuttle and then uber/livery service to the port.  Order diapers and have them shipped to your hotel.  I usually check with the hotel and ask if they would let us send them a day or two early and how they should be addressed to make sure they end up in the right spot.  Most will work with you.  If something goes wrong you still have 12-24 hours to make an emergency run to a local store to grab something if needed.  Freedom has a baby splash pad so dont forget swim diapers.
Once on board register at AO as soon as possible and sign up for your nursery slots  you are limited to a certain amount (usually somewhere between 8 and 24 hours) depending upon how many other infants are on the cruise.  Pick times you know you definitely want/need prioritizing earlier in the week.  After the first couple days they usually remove the hour limit and you can add more times. 
Everything else is more or less the same, just be mindful that you will probably be doing less due to nap schedules and limited infant/toddler energy.  

Some things I felt very helpful.
1) Don't bring the giant stroller. There is not a lot of room in the cabin, and it take up a lot of space. Invest in a compact folding stroller. We had one that folded up the size of a carry on suit case and we could store it in the closet. Bring the baby carrier. You really won't want to fight the stroller everywhere and wait for elevators all the time. We used the stroller in port and in the Windjammer so baby could sit while we ate. 
2) Call and request a pack and play be in the room when you arrive.  The room steward will set it and a make it up each evening just like a bed, and then you don't have to bring one.
3) Bring WAY more diapers than you think you will need. If you can get in town early enough, plan a trip to Walmart or somewhere and buy a big box and just check that at the port like you would a suit case (pack 10 more than you think you will use in the diaper bag for boarding day). Or have some shipped to the hotel, but check with them first. Bring bags to put dirty diapers in and take them to the hallway or public bathroom trashcans. Those get emptied frequently and your cabin won't be stinky by diapers sitting all day.
4) We found that on some ships you could check out toys, or during the day they would set up the teen club for a few hours with toys for the babies and toddlers.
5) When you get on the ship, do not pass go, do not collect $200, go DIRECTLY to the nursery to fill out paperwork and get your reservations. The nursery fills up very quickly and you will find that it is harder to get a dinner break than you realized. 
6) if you are nursing and planning to pump - request a medical refrigerator. The ones in the room are coolers and the milk will not keep. I found using the key words "nursing mother or breastfeeding mother' got me almost anything I needed with little to no argument. 
7) visit the dining room after boarding and ask them to add a highchair to your reservation. That way it's already set up when you arrive. 
8. For flying - pack WAY more diapers than you think you will need and 3 more outfits than usual. My kids were guaranteed to have a massive blowout somewhere in the process. 

Sounds like an issue on your travel agent's end. To be clear, you booked and paid for the packages through the travel agent? Why are they not working this with Royal? And in the future, I highly recommend letting your travel agent manage the cruise itself, but all other purchases and excursions through the cruise planner. 

A reputable travel agent doesn't transfer a booking to a cruise line, they make the booking in the cruise line reservation system.  
It sounds like you got scammed by your agent.  I'd call your credit card company and dispute the charge if your travel agent isn't responding.  

Sounds like an issue on your travel agent's end. To be clear, you booked and paid for the packages through the travel agent? Why are they not working this with Royal? And in the future, I highly recommend letting your travel agent manage the cruise itself, but all other purchases and excursions through the cruise planner. 

So you booked through a TA, then the TA transferred the booking back to RC?

Sounds like an issue on your travel agent's end. To be clear, you booked and paid for the packages through the travel agent? Why are they not working this with Royal? And in the future, I highly recommend letting your travel agent manage the cruise itself, but all other purchases and excursions through the cruise planner. 

Prepare to be addicted

You don't need to bring an air mattress. Your cabin will have beds. Not sure type of cabin, but each room is rated to be able to handle a certain amount of guests, which means there are beds.

We like the R-bar for cocktails before dinner if we are dressed up a little. Mostly because they are easily accessible, but feels a little more 'fancy' than say the Schooner Bar. Mostly it's just on the way to wherever we are going. 

Shhhh! We don't want them to close this loophole!

To be clear, the state of TX does not limit the brands, they only require that the alcohol has had TX tax paid on it. 
Royal limits the brands they wish to pay the tax on. 
 
But as you said, the selection is fine until dinner time, when you hit the 12 mile mark 

The only port I know has an issue with selection of drinks on embarkation day is in Galveston. Not Cape Liberty.

actually, I have always found that if I may a My time reservation in the cruise planner, meaning I don't want early or late seating, but I want a pretty regular time, say like 6:30, we have always had the same table and the same wait staff each night. And if I request a window seat, we get the same table by the window every night. This is obviously not the case if you just show up each night whenever you feel like eating - then you get whatever is open. 

If it’s cheaper for 4 just book for and make the 4th person a family member that won’t be traveling. No penalty for someone not showing up. You then will probably even have a slightly bigger room that will be more comfortable for the 3 of you. 

Yep, I've had this conversation with several posters before. Going to the bank for a big envelope of singles is like a pre-cruise ritual... and then I wonder if they think I'm going to a strip club.

I can’t think of any instance where moving (or touching) someone else’s belongings would result in a positive encounter, whether they were a “chair hog” or not. 

If they're in the water, they need a place to come back to. This is allowed. It's the "I'll put a towel here now so when I want the chair in six hours it will be there for me" folks that are the problem.

We always do specialty restaurant on embarkation just because it's so much relaxing and quiet. It's worth the few extra bucks to me. 

Why do people drop in just to complain and tell us how they will not cruise RCL.  I would not mind if they were here for help or sharing wisdom but the popcorn, really?  When I was on the ship, I went over to get some popcorn and seen there was a charge and made a decision that I did not want popcorn enough to pay for it.  As far as the bill,  
You can see your bill on the TV in your cabin. You can see your bill on the RCL app. You can stop by customer service anytime and get a copy of your bill. I watch my bill every day and make sure I am not charged for something I should not.  if there is an issue, I call the ships customer service and they fix it.

Per Michael Bayley: