DMLM

As a person who works in Insurance (auto) I am all about insurance.  The medical costs will be astronomical without it.  I just picture myself walking down the stairs tripping and breaking my leg.   Getting sick is one thing but having a real issue is another.  Also you may have to be left off the ship at a port if it is that serious.  The insurance is not that expensive.  Last trip we took for three people (one minor) was about 94 dollars total.  This was for 6 nights and about 50k in coverage for medical. (we drove to port so didn't need flight added in)  You can choose your coverage.  Say you want more medical but less luggage.  The amounts vary. 
Again anything can happen, a broken bone, the flu, more serious inj.  Not worth the risk.

After years of never buying insurance, we buy it now. The medical side of things is what compelled me as well. Bottom line, I don't want to have to weigh seeking medical attention versus breaking the bank.

DD (29 now, 1st cruise age age 23) has several medical issues, 2 of which, if they occurred on a cruise, could require evacuation & hospitalization -- and because she is also mentally & physically disabled, would not be able to advocate for herself, meaning there goes everyone else's cruise. We not only get insurance that covers pre-existing conditions, we get the kind that covers everyone in the travel party if one has to be evacuated for medical reasons.  YMMV, of course, but it's a couple of hundred dollars, & well worth it for peace of mind.

Insurance is the only thing people buy and hope they never use.

I used to not buy cruise insurance when my wife and I were younger and the kids little.  Now my kids are teenagers and we are not getting any younger.  My fear is not so much about trip interruption or lost bags (although hat would not be good) but rather the medical side of things (like transportation).  I thankfully have not had to deal with it but you just never know and I hear that it can become very expensive on a cruise.  As a result we have bought insurance the last few cruises and just bought it again for the next one (even though we will be driving to the port).  We have been purchasing from llianz Global Assist.
I know this will be a mixed bag of views but curious if there are others who do the same and if they are using Allianz Prime?
Thanks.
D

I was there this past April and had a nice time.  It's been a staple for years and my visit made me realize that this is the case for good reason.  No, it's not one of the all-inclusives with a lot of entertainment options and such (though there is an $18 option to enjoy those things if you're so inclined).  It is a nice beach however, with friendly folks service reasonably prices food and drink.  
Matt's write up from July 2018:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2018/07/25/excursion-focus-paradise-beach-cozumel
My visit there in April 2019:
https://www.cruisehabit.com/holland-america-line-nieuw-statendam-live-blog-–-day-6-cozumel-mexico
 

We have chase sapphire preferred.  Excellent coverage for delayed luggage.  $100 for a 3 hour delay.  More for longer delays.  Good medical coverage and above standard trip cancellation coverage.  Card is pricey.  $450 annual fee but $300 travel expenses reimbursement yearly.  Net $150 fee annually.  I find trip insurance well within that cost.  Plus generous points for travel and dining 

We have found the medical coverage through Allianz better than Royal Caribbean's (Archer).  You can buy just medical insurance from a number of carriers, but the problems we have had previously were luggage related --either lost or delayed.  We see travel insurance as part of the cost of the cruise, and it has seemed expensive only when our trips have been overseas with air fare, cruise, and land combined.  You get what you pay for, but @ransrider  is correct about shopping around.

Hi DMLM. We use tripinsurancestore.com to get quotes, pick our plan which is usually TravelSafe Classic (they are the only ones that do not penalize if you don't purchase for the total cost of your travel), pay and we're done. I always purchase within the "no look back" period. My last purchase was for an upcoming Independence cruise of 5 nights and will include flight because we live in MN. I don't care much about losing the cost of the trip only want to make sure I have medical coverage. We are in our late 50's with no current health issues but I feel much better spending $60 ($500 coverage for one) to make sure I am covered if needed. The team at TIS.com are wonderful to work with for any purchases or changes to your policy. I have never had to use the insurance so can comment on TravelSafe. Good luck and happy cruising!

Michael,
We took a Mediterranean cruise last summer with our teenagers and they loved it.  We visited Florence (not Venice) and went to a basilica in the main square (Santa Croce).  It had the graves of many famous people (Michelangelo, Galileo, Machiavelli, and Rossini to name a few).  The square had some shops, eateries, and the church was a nice.  We also strolled around from that square and saw the Ponte Vecchio (a medieval bridge) that also has jewelry.  We did not shop but the bridge has some history and was neat.
 
We also visited Santorini on the cruise and loved it.  We booked an excursion with the cruise that took us on a bus to the ruins (Akrotiri-associated with Minoan civilization) and then around the island to the top (where the blue roof is).  They dropped us at that top and we took the cable car down (warning, lines can get long.  Leave time to get down before you have to be back on the ship).  The ruins were absolutely fabulous (especially if you like that) and the views spectacular.  We were glad we booked that

Welcome to all the new cruiding friends!  This is a great place to hang out!!!   Jane

Welcome.  we are new to this group as well and just obtained diamond +.  I have enjoyed the site so far and have found the people friendly/helpful.  Welcome from one site newbie to another!
D
Damian 

Thanks!  We are so jealous of your Diamond Plus! ? 

Welcome.  we are new to this group as well and just obtained diamond +.  I have enjoyed the site so far and have found the people friendly/helpful.  Welcome from one site newbie to another!
D
Damian 

Concur with @twangster based on our experience at both ports and elsewhere in the Caribbean.  You need to know what you are buying (quality) and what the approximate price for a similar item would be at home.

Just wanted to say hello to everyone!  We are new here....but not to cruising Royal.  We have our 10th Royal cruise coming up in February '20 on a 9 night to the ABC islands.  We are Diamond C&A members!  We hope to be able to help others out from our experiences and get help from others from theirs!  We love talking cruising since it's the best type of vacation there is!!!  We have taken videos and photos of lots of our adventures while cruising and will try to share those as appropriate.  Again hello and hope to get to know some fellow Royal travelers!  Royal is the BEST!  ?    

6 days into our first ever cruise and we have booked our next with plans for 2 more before we go on that one. 
 
Addicted!!
 
Thanks to everybody for helping us make this leap!
 
Nikkoo

I just own the wrinkles and go for it.  I'm on vacation.  I don't iron when I'm home and I'm SURE as sh*t not gonna iron when I'm on a cruise !

In all honesty you are on vacation and who cares about a silly wrinkle.  Besides if you get stuff pressed its a matter of minutes before the wrinkles are going to reappear anyways.  And the chances of seeing any of these people ever again are about the same odds as winning the lottery.  

A bit of a funny story regarding irons (at least it was funny for my wife).  Not suggesting anything here but wanted to share as you might get a kick out of it.
We have been cruising now for over 20 years and back when we started we use to pack a travel iron.  It was nice and compact while doing a pretty good job in getting most of the travel wrinkles out.  As the years passed (and several cruises as well), Royal became more vocal on the prohibition of those type of devices.  At the time we did not really have an appreciation for the risk associated with them on a ship but rather figured they just wanted to sell more services. 
We are not the type to really break any rules but are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  We were going on our cruise and packed our garment bag at the time as we always did.  We arrived at the ship and dropped off the bags with the luggage valet (as everyone always does), and proceeded to the ship.  We spent the day as we usually do and went to the room to get ready for dinner.  Everything was going as it always did and we were in the relax mode already.  All was good until we looked for the bags in the hall and noticed that the garment bag was not there.
Since we were sailing and it was well past the time to get bags to the rooms i elected to call guest services to inquire.  Guest services then transferred me to security.  Security got on the phone and said they had my bag and I needed to go down to deck 2 and see them.  No real explanation so I now start to grow concerned.  I tell my wife and off I go.
When I get to security and tell them who I am they bring my bag over.  I immediately indicate it is my bag and was relieved it was there.  The security guard then asks me if I have any contraband.  What?  My mind is racing and I'm thinking someone stuck drugs in my bag or something and this is it for me.  I responded with a very firm no, and thinking the worst, I then looked around to see if there were any gloves nearby.  I was happy to see there were none.  They asked me again if I had contraband and I said no, you can look if you want. They quickly open the bag (as if they already knew what was there and where it was), and pulled out the travel iron.  I immediately tell them what it is and feel relieved that it was not what I feared.  They proceed to educate me politely, retain the iron for the remainder of the cruise, and give me my bag.  What a story to tell my wife.
The following year we cruise again and low and behold it happened again.  What is this woman doing to me?  She just was in the habit of storing the travel iron in the bag and forgot to remove it.  At that point I told the cruise to throw it out!  Happy to report we are now about a decade free of contraband searches and I'm still married to my lovely bride :-)

A bit of a funny story regarding irons (at least it was funny for my wife).  Not suggesting anything here but wanted to share as you might get a kick out of it.
We have been cruising now for over 20 years and back when we started we use to pack a travel iron.  It was nice and compact while doing a pretty good job in getting most of the travel wrinkles out.  As the years passed (and several cruises as well), Royal became more vocal on the prohibition of those type of devices.  At the time we did not really have an appreciation for the risk associated with them on a ship but rather figured they just wanted to sell more services. 
We are not the type to really break any rules but are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  We were going on our cruise and packed our garment bag at the time as we always did.  We arrived at the ship and dropped off the bags with the luggage valet (as everyone always does), and proceeded to the ship.  We spent the day as we usually do and went to the room to get ready for dinner.  Everything was going as it always did and we were in the relax mode already.  All was good until we looked for the bags in the hall and noticed that the garment bag was not there.
Since we were sailing and it was well past the time to get bags to the rooms i elected to call guest services to inquire.  Guest services then transferred me to security.  Security got on the phone and said they had my bag and I needed to go down to deck 2 and see them.  No real explanation so I now start to grow concerned.  I tell my wife and off I go.
When I get to security and tell them who I am they bring my bag over.  I immediately indicate it is my bag and was relieved it was there.  The security guard then asks me if I have any contraband.  What?  My mind is racing and I'm thinking someone stuck drugs in my bag or something and this is it for me.  I responded with a very firm no, and thinking the worst, I then looked around to see if there were any gloves nearby.  I was happy to see there were none.  They asked me again if I had contraband and I said no, you can look if you want. They quickly open the bag (as if they already knew what was there and where it was), and pulled out the travel iron.  I immediately tell them what it is and feel relieved that it was not what I feared.  They proceed to educate me politely, retain the iron for the remainder of the cruise, and give me my bag.  What a story to tell my wife.
The following year we cruise again and low and behold it happened again.  What is this woman doing to me?  She just was in the habit of storing the travel iron in the bag and forgot to remove it.  At that point I told the cruise to throw it out!  Happy to report we are now about a decade free of contraband searches and I'm still married to my lovely bride :-)

A bit of a funny story regarding irons (at least it was funny for my wife).  Not suggesting anything here but wanted to share as you might get a kick out of it.
We have been cruising now for over 20 years and back when we started we use to pack a travel iron.  It was nice and compact while doing a pretty good job in getting most of the travel wrinkles out.  As the years passed (and several cruises as well), Royal became more vocal on the prohibition of those type of devices.  At the time we did not really have an appreciation for the risk associated with them on a ship but rather figured they just wanted to sell more services. 
We are not the type to really break any rules but are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  We were going on our cruise and packed our garment bag at the time as we always did.  We arrived at the ship and dropped off the bags with the luggage valet (as everyone always does), and proceeded to the ship.  We spent the day as we usually do and went to the room to get ready for dinner.  Everything was going as it always did and we were in the relax mode already.  All was good until we looked for the bags in the hall and noticed that the garment bag was not there.
Since we were sailing and it was well past the time to get bags to the rooms i elected to call guest services to inquire.  Guest services then transferred me to security.  Security got on the phone and said they had my bag and I needed to go down to deck 2 and see them.  No real explanation so I now start to grow concerned.  I tell my wife and off I go.
When I get to security and tell them who I am they bring my bag over.  I immediately indicate it is my bag and was relieved it was there.  The security guard then asks me if I have any contraband.  What?  My mind is racing and I'm thinking someone stuck drugs in my bag or something and this is it for me.  I responded with a very firm no, and thinking the worst, I then looked around to see if there were any gloves nearby.  I was happy to see there were none.  They asked me again if I had contraband and I said no, you can look if you want. They quickly open the bag (as if they already knew what was there and where it was), and pulled out the travel iron.  I immediately tell them what it is and feel relieved that it was not what I feared.  They proceed to educate me politely, retain the iron for the remainder of the cruise, and give me my bag.  What a story to tell my wife.
The following year we cruise again and low and behold it happened again.  What is this woman doing to me?  She just was in the habit of storing the travel iron in the bag and forgot to remove it.  At that point I told the cruise to throw it out!  Happy to report we are now about a decade free of contraband searches and I'm still married to my lovely bride :-)

A bit of a funny story regarding irons (at least it was funny for my wife).  Not suggesting anything here but wanted to share as you might get a kick out of it.
We have been cruising now for over 20 years and back when we started we use to pack a travel iron.  It was nice and compact while doing a pretty good job in getting most of the travel wrinkles out.  As the years passed (and several cruises as well), Royal became more vocal on the prohibition of those type of devices.  At the time we did not really have an appreciation for the risk associated with them on a ship but rather figured they just wanted to sell more services. 
We are not the type to really break any rules but are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination.  We were going on our cruise and packed our garment bag at the time as we always did.  We arrived at the ship and dropped off the bags with the luggage valet (as everyone always does), and proceeded to the ship.  We spent the day as we usually do and went to the room to get ready for dinner.  Everything was going as it always did and we were in the relax mode already.  All was good until we looked for the bags in the hall and noticed that the garment bag was not there.
Since we were sailing and it was well past the time to get bags to the rooms i elected to call guest services to inquire.  Guest services then transferred me to security.  Security got on the phone and said they had my bag and I needed to go down to deck 2 and see them.  No real explanation so I now start to grow concerned.  I tell my wife and off I go.
When I get to security and tell them who I am they bring my bag over.  I immediately indicate it is my bag and was relieved it was there.  The security guard then asks me if I have any contraband.  What?  My mind is racing and I'm thinking someone stuck drugs in my bag or something and this is it for me.  I responded with a very firm no, and thinking the worst, I then looked around to see if there were any gloves nearby.  I was happy to see there were none.  They asked me again if I had contraband and I said no, you can look if you want. They quickly open the bag (as if they already knew what was there and where it was), and pulled out the travel iron.  I immediately tell them what it is and feel relieved that it was not what I feared.  They proceed to educate me politely, retain the iron for the remainder of the cruise, and give me my bag.  What a story to tell my wife.
The following year we cruise again and low and behold it happened again.  What is this woman doing to me?  She just was in the habit of storing the travel iron in the bag and forgot to remove it.  At that point I told the cruise to throw it out!  Happy to report we are now about a decade free of contraband searches and I'm still married to my lovely bride :-)

Our experience has been consistent with what @DMLM reported.  We use a travel agent, who typically follows-up with Royal to get us a seating in traditional dining after we've been defaulted to My Time.  I also agree with @FManke , and have used that strategy after we checked in Day 1 (before Cruise Planner was created).

My kids (b/g twins) starting cruising at around 3 years old and have now been on 10 cruises with Royal.  My daughter stayed with the kids menu longer than my son and occasionally will order something from it (as a teenager).  On the other hand, my son was so excited to try the adult menu and the variety of cuisine (around 7-9 yo) and loved it.  He would order multiple items every night and try many different things.  He always ate it and I could not believe how much he consumed. 
My son always indicates that was one of the best memories he had when he had that opportunity and loves cruising ever since.