WAAAYTOOO

Yes, that is the only massage option that qualified for the lowest price/highest discount.  I purchased a couples massage and in order to get the lowest price I had to book on boarding day but that's fine.  

Whatever you do, do NOT cancel your cruise yourself.  Let them come to you with whatever offer they are going to make.

Well after doing much research, I ended up not on RCCL, but on Celebrity from Miami.  I had to weigh everything and right now Celebrity is offer a deal of the century, booked a Sky Suite, got FREE PREMIUM DRINK PACKAGE FOR 2, FREE INTERNET FOR 2, PREPAID GRATUTIES and $300 OBC all for the same price I'm paying for Grand Suite on a 5 day Bermuda Cruise.  It made no sense.  I'm sure for latter part of 2019 back to RCCL and in between as I love them, but couldn't pass this up! 

I agree with you, Emerson.  If people are SO unhappy that they actually want to cancel the cruise, I think Royal should let them do just that.
I think it's pretty short sighted of the passenger to do that, but if you are really THAT upset about this [better, IMO] change to your itin then by all means, we do NOT want you on our cruise !

Presuming they just don't have a propeller laying around (Not sure it is something you have laying under your bed) the lead time to manufacture on would be at least a month, then you have to ship it (3 weeks by ship and a very expensive flight otherwise which they will probably go for considering operating costs). Then there is planning the fix itself. I imagine they already have a team of divers assembled and are setting up a simulated environment to plan the fix. Having over 1000 dives including some working on repairing fishing boats (Somewhat smaller than Allure ) it is going to be extremely difficult and you would want to prepare for it just like astronauts prepare for a spacewalk. They are probably going to have to preform a fix that has never been done before and probably has never been designed to be attempted in the water. As a Diver this is right up there with the most difficult dives your could imagine and is going to be extremely difficult. The only thing they have going for them is it is it isn't at depth so decompression should be an issue and if it is a controlled environment hopefully the visibility isn't too bad (I've done a fix where even with high powered diving touches you could only see an arm length in front of you, I can't imagine doing this type of fix in bad viz).
I really hope they do a documentary on this fix as it really is going to be an interesting one...

It might also be worth going to the spa open house on the first day to see if there are any specials being offered for those who sign up on embarkation day. 

Title:. To sea, or not to sea?

Yes.  They usually have a "bundle" kind of offer where you can choose 3 services/procedures from a list of several and they package them together for a bundled price.  As you suggest...facial, back massage and foot massage (this is usually what I get !!).
As @RestingBirds mentioned, the best deals (IMO) are on port days since most people get off the ship and I suspect business is slow at those times.  That's usually when they run their bundled deals.  They also tend to vary by times of the day.  The earlier appointment times are the hardest for them to fill (I guess) and are often cheaper than those for the afternoon or early evening.
I'm not a huge spa person but I recommend that you wait until you're onboard unless you see a pre-cruise special online (I never have except when they run the very scarce cruise planner specials) as they tend to offer better discounts onboard - at least, that's what it seems like to me !
If you ever go to Costa Maya, be sure and get the beachside massage in Mahaual.  They are very very affordable (like $20 for an hour...you have to haggle though !!).  We always get them when we go.  In fact, we sometimes cruise just to go to Costa Maya just so that we can get a $20 beach massage.  How sick is that ??

Yes.  They usually have a "bundle" kind of offer where you can choose 3 services/procedures from a list of several and they package them together for a bundled price.  As you suggest...facial, back massage and foot massage (this is usually what I get !!).
As @RestingBirds mentioned, the best deals (IMO) are on port days since most people get off the ship and I suspect business is slow at those times.  That's usually when they run their bundled deals.  They also tend to vary by times of the day.  The earlier appointment times are the hardest for them to fill (I guess) and are often cheaper than those for the afternoon or early evening.
I'm not a huge spa person but I recommend that you wait until you're onboard unless you see a pre-cruise special online (I never have except when they run the very scarce cruise planner specials) as they tend to offer better discounts onboard - at least, that's what it seems like to me !
If you ever go to Costa Maya, be sure and get the beachside massage in Mahaual.  They are very very affordable (like $20 for an hour...you have to haggle though !!).  We always get them when we go.  In fact, we sometimes cruise just to go to Costa Maya just so that we can get a $20 beach massage.  How sick is that ??

When I had the Celebrity Reflection booked for the Mardi Gras cruise next year (I have since cancelled it) we chose the Best program.  It did a nice job of bundling all of the packages together.

Don't see it on sept. 3-10 Oasis cruise. Probably a good thing. I think I would eat myself into misery if I had the ultimate dining package. 

Essentially. I think it was a little more than your description, but not much.
It is ironic that while the industry is going less all-inclusive, Celebrity, Princess, and NCL are running specials that add it back in (e.g., gratuities, drink packages, specialty dining, etc.). While I'm okay with unbundling the costs so that only those who use the services pay for them, this isn't happening. Look at the airlines. They charging for baggage supposedly to reduce airfare yet they're making record profits. It just doesn't add up in the end.

Well, I guess this answers the question about whether or not Allure fixed the propulsion problem(s) it had been experiencing the past couple of sailings....
Personal opinion - I would WAAAY rather visit San Juan than St. Thomas.  I think the schedule change is a GOOD thing but that's just me.

Maybe the peas are stuffed into the rice to make it more attractive to kids?  

Totally stealing @WAAAYTOOO awesome answer... Lobster is always available in Chops on Caribbean sailings but there is an upcharge so I don't think it would be included in the Ultimate Dining Package. The MDR usually has lobster on the second formal night (Fisherman's Platter) at no extra charge but it is not cold water lobster. Still, not bad.

In my opinion it's arrogant, irresponsible and concerning that ANY cruise line would not recognize if a person does not drink alcohol or maybe a recovering one, force them to buy an alcohol package.  It blows my mind that they can not find a reasonable solution to this matter. Oh wait, they don't care!

See if you can find a scanned version of the compass from a previous cruise.  This can help if your are a planner.  We always enjoy the audience interactive stuff.  Love and Marriage show, pool competitions, and trivia.  I personal would not waste time going to the art auction (over priced computer printed art) and shore shopping show (again over priced tourist traps).

This combo is being offered on our Group Cruise for $71 PP/PD but it is not being offered at all on my 2 Sept. Grandeur cruise.
It is a savings over buying both packages separately ($46 for the beverage package and $29 for the dining package)  but not a significant savings.  $4 PP/PD.
I guess $56 is $56 (for 2 people).

The NCL casino program sounds like a better program. I can't even imagine the fact that they disclose "tiers" after dealing with the casino Royale Top Secret/Classified program for so many years! At least you know where you stand on NCL.

I think what you are asking is....if I book now for just 1 of us and they change the rules to require both persons to purchase a package, will they honor the single drinks package that I purchase now ?
We certainly can't say for certain but in most cases, Royal will honor the conditions under which you original purchase was made.  So, I would say....yes, if you purchase 1 package now, even if they change the rules down the road, they NOT require both of you to purchase a package once onboard.  This is only my opinion and is based purely on the fact that Royal has always honored the conditions under which a purchase is originally made, even if they rules change in the interim.  I certainly hope that I am not proven wrong here, as it will be the first time ever....and I want to keep my record in tact...  LOL

That program started by the sommeliere on the Liberty!  I'm so glad to hear it extended to Freedom.  It was NOT on the Independence this past July.
It's fantastic!  It's MDR food that is paired by the sommeliere!  It's absolutely perfect.

My mom refuses to book a GTY because she wants to be absolutely certain of where the room is

Far too early! 
On every cruise line I have been on I have been well off by 8:30am. Lie DocLC said it normally depends on the time you dock (Which is normally around 6:00am) but you can expect they will want you off by 9am at the very latest (And out of your cabin by 8am).
 
I would love to see a documentary on the work that ends to be done from when they dock Actually probably more like 9pm the night before) to when they leave port with the new group of passengers. It must be a very well orchestrated machine. 

Mr. Sancho"s it is.  Thank you all very much. 

This is precisely what I do.