MrHaga

I had this happen once on my honeymoon cruise. We flew into Rome for a med cruise, and the airline never put my luggage on the plane. 
As pointed out by others, RCCL was very helpful in providing me with some t-shirts, basic toiletries, a free tux rental for formal night, and one free laundry service. It took about 4 days before my bag finally caught up to the port we were in, and then I had to pay to have my bag actually delivered to the port to get onto the ship. RCCL helped me through the entire process.
Ever since then we do a few things 1) we now always fly in at least one night before sailing in case of any issues (especially on international cruises), 2) pack at least one change of clothes in carry on, and 3) my wife and I each pack at least one extra outfit in each other's suitcase (so, in theory, between what I wear on flight plus clothes in carry on and in spouse's bag, I at least have 3 changes of clothes). 

Ice cubes, can't select crushed or not.

Many people are starting to put GPS trackers in their luggage for this very reason.  It may not help the airline get your bag to you, but you may be able to determine if it's still with the airline or if it's been stolen.
One example is below, but there are certainly others.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08NRS3YP8?tag=cttv04-20&linkCode=ssc&creativeASIN=B08NRS3YP8&asc_item-id=amzn1.ideas.3RY5B8EG2VXLP

Essentials, used to be for 24 hours now thinking at least 48 hours, for everyone in carry ons.  1 day, and cross packing checked bags, was always my rule.  This trip we are flying in 2 days early & 2 days of mix & match in the carry ons!

We had an experience in New Zealand in 2018, before current fiasco.  We used our agent to inquire through American Airline, and they just said they lost visibility when Air Tahiti Nui took over.  We filed luggage claim in Auckland and then told Customer Service when we boarded the cruise the following day.  Royal had a team that worked with NZ Air to track down the luggage-we gave Royal Staff a copy of our claim. They gave us a t-shirt and toiletries, provided free laundry service, and eventually delivered our luggage about day4 of our 14-night cruise.  We had to buy extra clothes and "beauty aids" in NZ and our trip insurance covered all costs (delayed luggage claim with receipts provided).
Could it have been worse?  Yes, the bags might have been lost or stolen.  Hence, a few extra items need to be in your carry-on, always cross-pack, always have a TA, and always have trip insurance of some type (some Airline Credit Cards have luggage coverage).

It seems specific airports are also having a more difficult time right now so another level of complexity.  Direct flights seem to do better compared to having a connecting flight in some cases. Good luck!

@Lovetocruise2002 had an experience with this not long ago.  
There are a lot of "it depends" involved.  Are you talking as an American cruising from Europe?  Or a European cruising from America?  European cruising from Europe?  North American sailing from America?  Transatlantic?  Round trip Caribbean cruise?  Hawaii?  Australia?  etc. 
Domestically in the US airlines in the past would often help each other move lost luggage.  Now?  There may be less cooperation between airlines because of how messed up luggage has become.  International is more tricky as luggage is supposed to accompany an international passenger.  It depends.
Some airlines will attempt to forward luggage if they can.  The legacy carriers have an advantage because they fly to more places.  Low cost or ultra low cost carriers that are mainly domestic may not yield the same success.   It depends.
Hopefully you are flying in the day before in which case the airline may try to have your luggage flown on a later flight or one the next morning.  They might offer to deliver your luggage to your hotel but that adds the complexity of waiting for a delivery company to collect and drive your luggage to the hotel.  If your bag is flying on the next flight after yours waiting in the airport or going to your hotel and then going back to the airport may be smart even though it's inconvenient.  Some airports may not allow you to come back later and get to the luggage carousels, especially with international flights.  It depends.
If your airline offers to forward your luggage to a port of call the first thing to do is notify guest services on board the ship.  They will attempt to work with the airline to facilitate acceptance of delayed luggage.  Royal doesn't take ownership for the movement of the lost luggage but they will try to work with airlines so they know the bag is coming at a port of call.  It's still the airlines job to get it there.  
If your airline doesn't have the relationship with other airlines to forward your luggage (much more complicated with international flights) or they don't offer any assistance forwarding your luggage then your luggage may sit at the city you flew to and wait for you there.  Some airlines will agree to fly your bags back to your home airport when they are so lost you never get them during a cruise.  Some airlines will hold the luggage at the city they were supposed to fly it to and do nothing beyond that. It depends.  

The way it charges is kinda silly with no way to track what you have left. I just kept using it until one game of air hockey finally posted to my on board account. I can't tell if it is the fact that the arcade credits were not taken into account when they designed the sea Pass ecosystem or if it is a deliberate attempt to try to get you to spend more by accident. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt and say at the very least it seems like a tacked on after thought to the whole Sea Pass system.

Make sure you take a tour of the arcade before buying credits.  They haven't been the same since covid.

Pre-purchased arcade credits are loaded on your SeaPass card. So you just swipe and use them.

If you want to travel on your own, Rick Steves is the best.  We used his guide for our cruise on Wonder a few weeks back.
Rick Steves Mediterranean Cruise Ports (Rick Steves Travel Guide): Steves, Rick: 9781641710954: Amazon.com: Books
Naples, Barcelona, Mallorca, and Marseille are easy do it yourself ports. 
La Spezia is very far from Florence so I would at least consider the ship tour to ensure there are no issues getting back in time.  We decided it was too far to Florence and chose to do Cinque Terre on our own.  I have a review in the shore excursion section of what we did.
Rome is 50/50 - Its close enough to do on your own, just make sure you leave enough time to be back to the ship.  Personally, I would book a private tour here to maximize your time.  There is a lot to do in Rome.  We started in Rome and stayed 3 extra days.

I'll just throw this out there cause I haven't seen it mentioned yet, we really enjoy doing the walking tours that are available in most European cities.  Many are free or very low cost and the guides work mainly on tips.   We have met some really good and informative people this way.

I went on this cruise, plus I live in Europe. Everything on that itinerary is easy (and safe) to do on your own. 
If you have any specific questions you can DM me. Going on Wonder again next week (same itinerary)
 
Tourist trap: all those websites and on-site sellers who sell you 'skip the line' tickets. For all attractions you can just go to their own website and buy tickets in advance. This is as 'skip the line' as it will get and much cheaper. Especially in Rome there are a lot of fake sellers out there. They even show you an ID so it looks like they are 'official'.

I was an IT project manager before I retired and with me, I plan everything.  Even if you decide to wander, I would at least make a list of sights that I wanted to see.  For sure in Rome.  Make the list, then go to google maps and map out a walking route or public transportation route, etc.  The Colosseum, Trevi Fountain, The Vatican, the Pantheon and much, much, more. There are Piazzas, churches and museums galore.  Walk a block or two away from the main streets and hit some window service cafe type place. Best Pizza I ever had. Same with Gelato. 
But do be aware of your surroundings and count your change.  The first time I went to Rome, they were still using the Lira and it was crazy to keep up with the exchange.  A subway ticket was like 3,000 lira (just a few bucks). I slid a 50,000 Lira note to the subway ticket guy. He pushed back something like 10,000 back thru the change window and paused, I waited, he pushed another 10,000 and paused again, I still waited and finally he pushed the balance to me.  I wonder how many tourists, grabbed that first 10,000 and left.  They are on the Euro now, so most of that exchange nonsense is over. 
How to use Google Maps walking directions

This type of thing happens all over the world! 
Go to mainland Europe someone may pickpocket you!
Go to Asia or Africa and your gold chain may get ripped from your neck! 
Go to London you may get a knife stuck in your face while threatened and robbed! 
Go to US its same as above but more likely a gun than a knife! 
So doesn't matter where you go you should always be alert and take care

Here are some inputs about cities we've been:
- Mallorca/Palma: A must see! Walk leisurely through the City of Palma, spend some time shopping (they have all major european brands and small island style shops there), have a lunch at Bar Café Coto. You can use the bus for low price to get around. Check out St. Catalina, the market hall and all the spots the city has to offer. No need to roam outside Palma!
- Rome: As said, at least 1h travel time to the city with train. But worth it! Pick some spots to visit, choose of the overpriced tourist trap cafés and feel some italian spirit 😉
- Naples: We did not leave the ship. Ugh. Polluted air, congestions everywhere. Trips to capri pricey.
 
Carotthat

Hey
What is the best ports on a western mediterranean cruise itinerary to just go of the ship and do your own wandering.
LEAVING FROM:Barcelona, Spain onboard Wonder of the Seas VISITING:| Palma de Mallorca | Provence (Marseilles) | Florence/Pisa (La Spezia) | Rome (Civitavecchia) | Naples (Capri)   If someone has writtern any good post on this forum about this topic before, a link to the post would be very much appreciated.   -Any ports its is diffucult or just nothing special to experience? -Any tips to what to go see on your own? -Any tourist-traps to be aware of? 🙂

Inserting a comment on safety.  Please realize, like any heavily tourist area that there are pickpockets, bag thieves at these types of ports/tourist areas.  I went 2 bocks down a side street in Marseilles and saw a pile (about 4 ft high) of the contents of luggage and handbags on a corner.  Scattered around it were said empty luggage and handbags.
Even in my fairly quiet suburb/town there have been thieves that take a handbag off the back of a chair while dining or steal out of a stroller.  In Marsailles I watched many people walk through the outdoor cafe that did not belong there, my thought were shopping for easy pickings, bags on the floor, bags over the back of chairs, or distract/ bump and pick.

You might want to look at Rick Steves' PBS videos or paperback guides as he is a bit of a rambler.  Also, because of pickpockets be sure to keep the valuables you take with you very safe.  As you walk, try not to look completely like a tourist.  We found Pisa underwhelming, so we will go to Florence on our next opportunity.  However, I did enjoy seeing the Leaning Tower having read about it in my youth.  Have a great trip!

Echoing the hop on/hop off, especially in Mallorca there is a stop when you (FINALLY! Longest terminal walk-to-exit I've ever seen) exit the terminal that runs regularly. We really enjoyed seeing Mallorca that way. 
Civitavecchia is a long (~1 hour) train ride from Rome and there is nothing at the port.
Florence/Pisa there are good train options as it's a lot closer to the port.
Not yet been to Capri or Marseilles. Good luck.

IMHO - Look for information about Hop-on-Hop-off buses at each of the "minor" ports if available.  At least there will be some sort of direction and explanation/history of the area and what you are looking at.
Using Google, find a high rated, guided tour for Florence and Rome.  There is just too much to see at those stops. You could spend a week in Rome and not get to everything.

It’s not a cruise compass, but if you want to see the daily planner for a specific ship and you have the Royal Caribbean App.
open app
Click on the person icon top right
Click select a different sailing
Go all the way to the bottom to “Get more details on ships we support”
Click on the ship you want to see the daily planner for.
Then click the sailing dates.
I usually only click the current sailing dates so I don’t know how far in advance they publish the activities for future sailings

Likewise, as we're sailing that ship & itinerary on 14 August and a little advance intel on likely highly similar scheduling would be nice to see.

I've read posts that if you miss your scheduled time you are told to wait in line and periodically those in line are processed in as time permits.  Royal wants you to sail.   

No, you only pay the gratuity once, at the time of purchasing the drink package