_Quinn_

Jesus. This whole thread is ridiculous. When it comes down to it, we are talking about the option of going on a vacation. A lot of people in the world don’t even get the opportunity to do that. I am about to go on my first cruise on Sunday post COVID.  I’ll sleep with a mask on if they want me to at this point. 

Not sure why people are so mad with this. Very little is being changed in comparison with what they already had. 
The only difference is that you can't take your mask off once seated for an indoor entertainment. Not a big deal. Everything regarding outdoors is still the same. 
I'd prefer cruise companies to keep sailing rather than have an enormous amounts of omicron outbreaks and CDC shut them down again. 

Exactly, I just got back from a cruise and I wore my mask the entire time I was indoors unless I was eating or in my stateroom. It was not a problem for me. I felt safe and it didn't take away from my experience. 

I don’t know guys but half the time I forget to take my mask OFF!  So used to wearing it now, I barely notice it.

Just remember: This isn't about you or your vacation. This industry cannot stomach a huge outbreak right now. It could kill them if they can't continue to prove that cruising is safe. We should understand that they know more about this than we do (these cruise execs have spent their lives focused on this for the past 22 months), and if they think it'll help they're probably right. At least more so than we can claim to know.
They are FULLY aware that people don't like wearing masks and that it drives down demand to make people wear masks any more than they have to. They know this will cause people to cancel. So obviously they feel this is necessary or they wouldn't do it. 

I'm sure more Royal Up (yours) will be accepted.
 

Yes, I was looking purely at the time span _Quinn_ noted for his sailing.

Hmm, couldn't say exactly. I looked at the Cruise Compass and our scheduled departure was 5:00 pm. I think we probably left before that though (by 10 minutes or so). I have a vague memory of being in the stateroom and my wife surprisedly saying, "Oh, we're moving!"

I sailed out of Tampa on October 25, and the metadata tells me this photo was taken at 7:25 pm. There are a ton of variables, obviously, but here's one data point. And for what it's worth, dinner in the MDR never took more than about an hour for us (two of us).
Oh! I almost forgot. We had selected late dining, but when we got our SeaPass cards, they had My Time Dining on them. We went to the MDR to clear it up, but they told us that everybody was on My Time Dining, they weren't using traditional seatings. We were able to make reservations at the same time every night and had the same waiter and table, but I missed the traditional experience. Our waiter just seemed much more harried than usual because all his tables were in different stages of dining. I understand this is just normal for most restaurants, but I'm hoping our cruise on Enchantment (in 12 days!) is back to traditional dining.
But aside from that we had a fabulous time on Serenade--enjoy!

I sailed out of Tampa on October 25, and the metadata tells me this photo was taken at 7:25 pm. There are a ton of variables, obviously, but here's one data point. And for what it's worth, dinner in the MDR never took more than about an hour for us (two of us).
Oh! I almost forgot. We had selected late dining, but when we got our SeaPass cards, they had My Time Dining on them. We went to the MDR to clear it up, but they told us that everybody was on My Time Dining, they weren't using traditional seatings. We were able to make reservations at the same time every night and had the same waiter and table, but I missed the traditional experience. Our waiter just seemed much more harried than usual because all his tables were in different stages of dining. I understand this is just normal for most restaurants, but I'm hoping our cruise on Enchantment (in 12 days!) is back to traditional dining.
But aside from that we had a fabulous time on Serenade--enjoy!

Hmm, @melmar02, my invoice looks different and doesn't mention formal nights. We're on an 8 night sailing on Enchantment of the Seas out of Baltimore on December 23. It's her return to sailing so there are no comparable cruise compasses, but I'm willing to take it as it comes.
Just as a side note, my wife and I were on Serenade of the Seas in October, and they were rebranding formal night as "dress to impress." Personally that's too much pressure--I can fit in with any dress code, but I'm never going to impress anyone!

Not too often you see "chutzpah" and "crab cake" in the same sentence!  lol

I'm new here.  I'm hoping to learn a lot and hopefully complain very seldom.   I want to learn how to Ace this cruise thing!

Well, @FionaMG, I'm a Virginian transplanted from Texas so I'm not technically allowed an opinion. But I'd say big lumps of fresh crab, as little binder as possible, and Old Bay (but not too much). Look up Faidley's in Baltimore, but I'm sure @MattG won't be afraid to set me straight.

DAY 2, PART 1:
Kids were up around 6:15am, got everyone dressed and hit up the Windjammer as they opened. Plenty of breakfast options available for everyone! We wrapped up breakfast around 8:30am, and as AO doesn’t open until 9am, went out the back of Windjammer to enjoy the view. As mentioned by many others, there are extra tables out here that are great to use when the weather’s not too cold (this morning was still a bit chilly and windy). We went up the stairs and scoped out the FlowRider, iFly, and the climbing wall. From there, we stuck our heads into the SeaPlex and checked out the first round of bumper cars until we realized AO was open! We hustled to the opposite side of the ship, and dropped the girls off in Aquanauts, and the boy off in Royal Babies. Both were very clean hand-offs, as all the kids were eager to go and play. 
After drop-off, the wife and I hit up the Fitness Center for a bit. All the equipment is pretty nice, plenty of variety for weights, cardio, yoga, etc. We did a mix of cardio and strength to try and offset what will be a lot of cocktails and ice cream 🤣. With some time left in our AO window, we went back, changed to bathing suits, and scoped out the hot tubs. We first checked out the Solarium, and while it’s warm, it’s a bit loud (lots of glass to reflect noise) and has a heavy chlorine smell. Moving back to the indoor pool is better, but the hot tubs were full. We ended up in a hot tub by the outdoor pool near the pool bar, which was one of the only hot tubs with a “lip” to store your towel, phone, etc. After about 30 minutes, I decided to check out the 11am FlowRider boogie boarding session. I ended up arriving a little late, and a line had formed. The staff were generous with time, as each person got about 4-5 minutes to practice bogey-boarding, no hands, knees, etc. I left the line after 30 minutes of watching to meet up with the wife, and go claim the kids from AO. 
AO pickup went very smoothly, the staff gave great updates on the kids, especially the little one (last diaper change, temperament, snacks). ALL of them want to go back (the littlest kept tugging back to the entrance saying “PLAY! PLAY!”), so we re-booked again for tomorrow morning. 
Lunch was back at the Windjammer, we got a table again towards the back. Everyone was worn out, but ate well. I volunteered to take the little one back to the room for a nap while the wife and nanny took the girls to the pool. Reports back from the pool was “the outdoor pool was too windy, and the indoor pool water was cold, like the heater wasn’t on”. The girls tried the hot tub, but deemed it too hot. Everyone came back to change and are out getting ice cream. The wife and nanny have some hair appointments tonight at the spa before formal night, so I’ll be on kid duty for a few hours. Should have another report with the rest of the day later tonight.
Random thoughts:
- Internet is working well, occasionally slow. Nothing to fret over. 
- Magnetic walls in the staterooms are a GODSEND! We got some “100lb” magnet hooks and two hanging shoe organizers just to manage all the little stuff that accumulates (coupes, remotes, masks, bracelets, bingo dabbers). Do yourself a favor and get a 10-pack of magnet hooks, even if you don’t think you have a need for them - you will find one by Day 2!
- We packed everything in duffel bags, and that was a great choice - we just nested them inside each other and stuffed them under the bed. 
- The wife, brilliant as always, pre-packaged the kids clothes by day in ziploc bags, and that’s been a game changer as well. Dirty clothes go in one of the duffels we’ve assigned for laundry, otherwise they’re still in their bags until the right day. 
- If your in an interior room, a nightlight or two wouldn’t hurt!
- North Star is exclusively “extended experience” during sea days ($29). No slots are opening up for the normal experience until day-of, I’m guessing that will be port days. 
- iFly appointments are also extended experience ($49), with normal experience not available today. There’s a small window for tomorrow during port, but that’s already booked up. I think they’re rationing it out. 
- Staff has been great. Main Dining Room last night was a little slow on service, not sure if that’s the norm or just day 1 jitters. 
- Virtual balcony has been hit-and-miss. The feed in both rooms gets a green, pixelated “flash” every now and then, which is super distracting in the middle of the night. We do pull the curtains closed, but it bleeds through a little. I only noticed it because I was awake anyway, but maybe it will be nicer when in port. 
- There’s a SpaceX rocket launch from the Cape at 1am when we depart back to NJ (Thursday morning, I think), with the flight path just north of the Caribbean. Gonna try and stick it out and stay up for that one!
 

I love those Maryland-style crab cakes. Clearly, I need to find a "real" one to try. What's the difference? I'm guessing the real deal must be a superior experience? 

Yeah, I’m sure it’s a corporate menu across the entire fleet - if they just called it a “crab cake”, I’d give it a pass. But don’t embarrass my state!

Hmm, @melmar02, my invoice looks different and doesn't mention formal nights. We're on an 8 night sailing on Enchantment of the Seas out of Baltimore on December 23. It's her return to sailing so there are no comparable cruise compasses, but I'm willing to take it as it comes.
Just as a side note, my wife and I were on Serenade of the Seas in October, and they were rebranding formal night as "dress to impress." Personally that's too much pressure--I can fit in with any dress code, but I'm never going to impress anyone!

Thanks, @SpeedNoodles. We're sailing out of Baltimore this month, and this is only the second time I've bought the drink package. I was just counting on blind faith that it would show up on our SeaPasses, plus receipts if I needed to argue my case. Here's one more thing I don't have to worry about!

Check your invoice. Just under the Itinerary is a note about the formal nights. Here's one from Liberty.
 

In addition to seeing it on the Set Sail pass, there is a spot on the sea pass card for "Beverage" and it will say "Deluxe" next to it. 

I'm confused why you believe Royal should be responsible for luggage lost by the airline.

I just got home from this cruise. Here are the stats, based up on conversations with the crew.
Passengers - 2000 (3807 max)
Crew - 400-500 (1200 normally)
Windjammer not open for dinner (sigh)
We had a really good time.

I'm a long-time drink package skeptic, but took the plunge when my wife and I sailed out of Tampa in October (to be fair, only our fifth cruise). I'm sure I didn't break even, because my wife doesn't drink very much and I couldn't drink enough to make up for her. But--I'd encourage you to think of it in terms other than just "am I saving money." It was really nice to try different things, not worry about if we were wasting money if we didn't finish something, and not have to constantly check my cruise account against my budget. And besides booze, we hit Cafe Lattetudes several times, which I probably wouldn't have done at all without the drink package. We're on another cruise out of Baltimore in December which is slightly longer and will include adult children, but I'm seriously thinking about biting the bullet and buying the drink package again.

I ordered from EMed - they are the same. Be sure that they won't expire before your testing date, though.