WAAAYTOOO

Tony, you definitely will not have to pay for room service from the MDR.  That much I know for sure.  As long as the food is delivered to your suite you can get as much as you want from the MDR during hours that the MDR is operating.
As for access to the CK/Suites Lounge, I'm not really sure what to suggest to you.  There are 2 Concierges - one in the D Club and 1 on the Suites Lounge but from my experience, there are numerous people at or near the doors of both the CK and the SL so "seeing" the Concierge might not really help you.  It can't hurt to try.  I'm sure that the correct answer is that only suites guests are allowed in the Suites Lounge but I also know that having them go to dinner with you in the CK should be easy to arrange.  The lounge is definitely more problematic than the restaurant.  I would just ask and see what happens but then you're alerting them to the fact that your parents are NOT suites guests so if the answer is not the one you want, then they will know for sure that your parents aren't eligible to be there.
I was in a similar situation last Feb. on Harmony and, in the end, we ended up just not inviting our non-suite guest friends to the lounge b/c we didn't want to make them feel bad that they weren't allowed in and we didn't want to put the Concierge in an uncomfortable position to have to deny them entrance.
One thing I will say....we were in a Star Class suite and our Genie made sure that our [non-suite] friends were always included in any activities that the Genie arranged for us.  They were presented with a bill for specialty dining (we were not) but they were never excluded and they always had reserved seats with us when we went to the theater or the ice show.  I was very grateful to him (our Genie)  for that.
 

Good luck !!!

There's a dollar to be made !  What else ?

Just a quick update to let you know what I found out.  I called the travel agent and they said they couldn't figure out why it wouldn't let me reserve the My Time Dining.  They gave me a number to call Royal to get them look at it.  I called the number and think I got the Guatemala call center.  I could hear many operators talking in the background and many were speaking Spanish.
But back to my topic:  The woman I spoke to said that she didn't know why the website wouldn't allow me to select times.  She guessed that maybe they would load later, but admitted that the message I got was odd.  She was able to access the reservations and made all the dining reservations for me.  They are now showing up in the calendar.  I can even click on the Modify button now and see the available times, in case I want to make any changes.

To be honest, I don't even know if Royal Caribbean still has a link to information about the Player's Club.  I couldn't find it...but that doesn't mean there isn't one.
You do not have to join the Club anymore.  It is my understanding that you are automatically enrolled in the program when you insert your Seapass card into a slot machine or have a dealer swipe your card at a table. HOWEVER, I recommend that if you want to be "noticed" and seriously considered for benefits (if you aren't a high roller...as I am not) your best course of action is to make sure that you make yourself known to 1) the casino host/hostess 2) the casino manager and 3) the pit bosses, in that order.  Tell the casino host, the very first time that you enter the casino, that you want to be considered for casino rates on bookings and the other benefits that come with being a member of Club Royale.  IMO there is no substitute for being known by the management.  You will be "known" one of 2 ways (or perhaps, both) - either throw a lot of money around (make large wagers, consistently) or spend a lot of time in the casino with more modest wagering.  I fall into category #2 as I do not make big wagers. 
Undoubtedly, the casino management will tell you that is a function of accumulating points.  As Marc said above, doing that with slots is a whole lot easier than it is with table wagering.  The slot machines tally your wagers very methodically (1 point for every $5 wagered, I believe).  Tracking play at the tables is much more difficult as it is a combination of swiping your Seapass card and depending upon the dealers and pit bosses to track your wagering and win/loss patterns.  ...and in the end, no matter what they tell you, I think it's really a matter of perception - whether management believes you have played a sufficient amount of time in the casino or not.  Obviously, if you have sufficient points then you have sufficient points but there are times, I know for CERTAIN, when neither Dan nor I had sufficient points but we still retained our status.  It's really a fickle program without much structure or metrics.  They will, no doubt, recite the rules to you, but I'm not sure that they actually follow them.  Just my opinion.

There's a dollar to be made !  What else ?

Did someone say Meat Loaf?

Same here. Our only rule was "be home when the street lights come on".  Other than that, we were long gone every day.  No helicopter parents in those days !  ...and guess what ?  We all survived !  AND we learned how to entertain ourselves.  Kids don't even leave the house these days unless mommy or daddy is taking them to an organized event - usually at an exorbitant fee.

Now THAT is FUNNY !
I agree with Brian.  Good to know those cannons are onboard JUST in case....

Sounds like they have definitely made some changes then.  The last time I booked they told me that the purchase window was 18 months.  Now it seems that they have cut that back to 12 months.  Yes, it sounds like they are really reigning in the parameters.  Good to hear that they took your certificate.  That one has me really worried.
I will indulge myself in a small rant (this is not aimed at you, Candie...you just happened to be the one who mentioned it !).  I really do NOT see how reserving the best cabins and then cancelling as the cruise gets closer as a losing situation for them.  #1, they have my deposit money to use for this entire time period.  #2, by the time "...the cruise gets closer"...and I decide to cancel (which rarely happens with me, BTW) the price on that "best cabin" has probably doubled as I cruise almost exclusively in suites and the prices on those NEVER go down.  I just don't see how this is a problem for them.  If I were cancelling 2 days before the cruise....maybe I could see it....but with a suite, especially, they do NOT have a problem selling them and they will end up getting top price for it where I would have sailed in it at the lowest possible price.  If these were rooms that are hard to sell....different story.  But the Grand Suite and above are always the first rooms to sell out on almost EVERY cruise.  This same reasoning also applies to the non-refundable deposit, BTW.  It makes no sense to me.
So...why do I think they are doing this ?  I believe they are trying to minimize the "casino discount compound effect".  1). The rooms are least expensive when the itins are first released. 2).  Add the effect of the casino rate (this is a cascading discount with the lowest % discounts given to the inside cabins, graduating to the largest discounts for the suites).  3).  Add the value of a certificate and you have a pretty sweet deal.  By limiting the purchase window to no more than 12 months in advance they are effectively taking away #1.  I had heard stories that they were also taking away #3 but those stories are conflicting so I'm not sure what is true at this point.

Marc or Tony...maybe you know for certain but to my knowledge there is no restriction on club membership.  Just not sure about pricing since UK pricing rules are so different.  I believe that you would be eligible for all of the onboard perks such as free drinks in the casino and waiving the 5% convenience fee (so long as you qualify).  I don't want to steer you wrong though.  Anyone else ?

People who don't take the guest assembly drill seriously like the same people who don't pay attention during the safety instructions on a airplane!!!

I was on it but switched over to the Vision trans-Panama Canal trip.  I will be on Harmony on Sept. 16 and Explorer in June 2018 though !

My final payment date is October 2018, so I have a bit, heh...
I haven't sailed with RCI in awhile so was unsure with how their rates worked, but with Carnival in the past, they didn't always honor their price changes like they said they would. 
I called RCI and got the $135 price difference (it included the $76 OBC), and the booking agent was really pleasant to talk to. 
A side note, every time I've called RCI, their agents have been SO pleasant to speak to. This has not always been my experience with other lines in the past. I really have to give them props for this. 

I hate that there's nothing on tv. Oh sure, I know, I'm on a ship, who needs tv ?  But honestly, who doesn't wish there was something good to have on, even if just as background sound, while dressing, or napping, or chillin out late at night, reading the next day's CC ?  We cracked up the last 2 cruises, they had the same episode of Big Bang on a loop ALL WEEK. 

Cruise ship casinos operate in international waters and don't follow any particular state's laws governing casino operation.
It's probably safest to assume that the slot machines onboard are set to the lowest value possible that doesn't otherwise scare away players.

You have a lot of fun coming up ?

My best ever of a cruise was my first sea day on my first cruise on vision of the sea.   Im a person who goes all the time (and my trips are usually disney busy vacations) and to be able to lay on a pool deck with my teens and not have to do anything was the most relaxing day of my life.   I have had great times at ports and on other sea days, but that was the best.   Don't forget to give yourself permission to relax and simply enjoy the moments you've been planning months for!  Jane

Same here. Our only rule was "be home when the street lights come on".  Other than that, we were long gone every day.  No helicopter parents in those days !  ...and guess what ?  We all survived !  AND we learned how to entertain ourselves.  Kids don't even leave the house these days unless mommy or daddy is taking them to an organized event - usually at an exorbitant fee.

I was on it but switched over to the Vision trans-Panama Canal trip.  I will be on Harmony on Sept. 16 and Explorer in June 2018 though !

The lack of unlimited money and time to be on a ship

I am paying so much for our spring break air fare that we decided to leap and do europe next year.   The airfare looks to be only 200 to 300 more!   Uts not good when you are paying 3/4 of your cruise in air fare (like we are next march! ) Jane

It's called Crown Royal. ;)

He might have been one of the few. I'm old enough to remember when seat belts weren't even standard equipment on cars! 

Although you may not want to lay out the money this far in advance, booking it now will protect you from any future price increase. If/when the sale happens, you can cancel it and buy at the sale price.