Tamerlane

There is usually an additional casino discount. It has been running about 35-40% off the discounted online price (meaning the price after all the BOGO or whatever current “sale” pricing they are advertising).  Sometimes the discounts for lower level upgrades (meaning non-suite upgrades) are better than the full suite discounts but that is not always the case.

Be sure to check your casino offers friends.  There  is a 20SUN102 code and a 20FUN102 code.  My husband and I received both offers.  We booked a JS in July (Harmony) and a JS in October (Symphony).   

Yes and if you upgrade to a suite (JS or higher) you get double points.

They won't be able to offer anything different from what you could book yourself online when it comes to pricing.  You may get some OBC for the booking or they'll take the OBC offer off of the price of the cruise.  You need to make sure you book early enough before they close the cruise to new bookings, so I would definitely go the first night of the cruise and get that worked out.
You can always find the current NextCruise offer online at http://www.royalonboardsales.com/#seeoffer

Thanks for that link.

We will be there in early March and have reserved the Beach Club. I will make sure to post a review on my return!

Thank you all for the great advice! This current cruise is my first time using a TA and he has been great. I didn't want to miss out on his service just to get a better ($$) deal onboard. It is comforting knowing that if I decide to book another cruise during my trip, it will be able to be connected to my TA ?
Happy Sailing

This.  
 
We used a travel agent for the first time ever when booking my cruise next week. 
After it was booked, I wanted to add my son to the booking so they could join me. All it took was an email, and they were added.  It was just that simple. 
 
As far as I’m concerned, this was worth more to me than onboard credit..a simple email vs. waiting on hold forever to try to explain to a Royal Caribbean agent what I wanted to do.  
 
In addition, I’ve had questions that were answered immediately for me.  No waiting on hold or straining to understand.
Things like this are why I am so happy with our decision to use an agent.  I feel I have an advocate in my corner who will navigate the tangled web of pre-cruise customer service. 
I’ll never go back to booking on my own  
 

Ok, I deleted my original post.. I totally misread what you asked LOL
I do the same thing. I kind of do the research ahead of time. The advantage of TA- they can sometimes offer discounts that are not published. For example, they may offer an on board credit through them, because they have a group on that specific cruise... or they may be able to offer you a discount because of booking with a group.
A good TA will also keep an eye out for additional promotions that might happen- allowing for a possible reduction in cost.
I have booked with a TA with a refundable deposit and then when on a cruise- sat down with NextCruise. If I can get a better deal, I cancel with the TA and then book with NextCruise.. and just have them transfer the new info to the TA. I was told that this does  not impact the TA at all. I hope that this is true.
 

TWO magnetic hooks with a screwdriver to hold a very heavily stuffed hanging organizer.  The screwdriver was also used to tighten a loose hinge on a bathroom cabinet door on day one.

We will be there in early March and have reserved the Beach Club. I will make sure to post a review on my return!

Your ship will port on the South end of the most history packed concentrated area in the Western Hemisphere.  There are two world class forts, the oldest churches in the west and a million other historic sites with in a 15 minute walk.  There is plenty of shopping and restaurants, including a Senor Frogs right across the street from the dock.  You can make San Juan a beach day, but there will likely be better beach days on your cruise.  You can make it a tour day (Bacardi Distillery or the rain forest, ect), but with all you have right in front of you, there is no need.  
 
My recommendation is once you finish at Senor Frogs, walk directly West on the outside of the wall (it is a walled city, but the Eastern half of the wall has been removed).  Once you curve around the wall you will see the city gate which is how the city was entered for centuries.  Once inside the gate it's 2 blocks up the hill to an amazing Catholic Church (and by the way, I'm no fan of the Catholic religion, but this place is awesome).  It's open all day long and contains the grave of Juan Ponce De Leon.  Once out of the chuch head up the hill North and West until you see the El Morro.  What a fort.  Even my teenage daughters liked it.  You can get ice cream and drinks about anywhere along the way.  It's a nice day.
Read up on it.  OSJ is a great place.  Find the sites you and your family want to see.  It's all in a 7 square block area.

We will be there in early March and have reserved the Beach Club. I will make sure to post a review on my return!

On St. Maarten, our favorite excursion is Capt. Bob at Soualiga Destinations (https://www.soualigadestinations.com/).  We've gone with Capt. Bob our last 3 times in St. Maarten.  He is a very reliable independent excursion and just a short walk from the cruise port.  You go to a couple of snorkeling sites, stop at an island that has lots of iguanas, stop near the airport to see a plane land close over your head, and beer, drinks, and lunch are provided.  The kids will really like the speedboats when they open it up and go fast -- be sure to sit up front!  Can't recommend him enough.

We will be there in early March and have reserved the Beach Club. I will make sure to post a review on my return!

We will be there in early March and have reserved the Beach Club. I will make sure to post a review on my return!

Our main purpose in having a passport on the closed loop cruises is in case of an emergency.  If there is a medical or family emergency it is easier to get back in the US with a passport.  It doesn't do any good locked in your safe.  I think people are too paranoid about losing it.  Do you leave your drivers license at home because your afraid of losing it? Do you leave your wallet at home because your afraid of losing it?  I can count on one hand,  if I had four fingers missing,  how many times I lost my wallet or license.  Take a walk on the wild side,  take your passport with you on the port stops.

Price changes occur all the time.  While system updates and new features might be added during maintenance windows, prices on any ecommerce website can change at any time of day.
The Voom included historically has been Surf & Stream.  The verbiage of the package supports this:
We are bundling our Classic Soda Package with VOOM® high-speed internet, so you can enjoy unlimited soda in your Coca-Cola souvenir cup, while streaming all your favorite music, movies and sharing your unforgettable moments in real time. No one here knows. 
Keep in mind sales may not apply to all items on all sail dates.  Pick your favorite retailer or their website.  Rarely if ever has a company said "Everything in the store will be 20% off on Black Friday".  Generally there are selected items offered for sale.  A store may offer a deal on one model of a camera or video game but not every camera or video game they sell will have a discount available.  
Suffice it to say not everything on the website is going to be cheaper on Black Friday.  The thing you desire is probably different from what someone else desires.  There will be winners and there will be people reporting no price change for the thing they want. 

Does anyone know if we can expect to have these prices jump around during the Black Friday/ Monday sale event? I'm just wondering if this is the lowest it will go (I know there is no crystal ball, but just from experience)

I made a spreadsheet to calculate my break even point for getting the Deluxe Beverage Package on an upcoming cruise.  It turned out to be pretty useful and I thought others might find it interesting.  So...  I made a site on Wix to host an online version of the calculator for anyone that might be interested.
DrinkCalc
DrinkCalc V.2  (Now prettier and hopefully easier to use.)
I'm open to feedback to improve it as needed.  Keep in mind the options for style are limited but I can tweak the math as much as I want.

I'm personally not a fan of the matching shirts. My wife loves them. So we compromised and wore matching shirts. ?
 
Seriously, though, you'll see plenty of people who do them, so you certainly won't be out of place. So enjoy celebrating with your grandpa. 

Do you do it/ have you done it?
What do you think of people who do?
If its a birthday shirt do you ever go up to them and wish them a Happy Birthday?
 
I may or may not be wearing matching t's on my next cruise (am)
I may or may not be embarrassed (a little but its to celebrate my sweet grandpa's birthday so his happiness trumps all)