AlwaysRollin

In the Online Planner (RCL Site) you just select the Dining tab.  Near the bottom you will see My Time Dinning.  Click the option to schedule a dinner and one of the options is to "Add a Guest".  Then the form below will pop up to add your friends.  you will need their information to add them to your reservation.
 

when you board at embarkation, head to the main dining room so that you can speak to the maitre d so they can group you together. you may need to be a bit flexible on the time, depending on the size of your collective party, but they will definitely do everything they can to accommodate you all.
always recommend taking care of anything with a request well ahead of time/before dinner itself so that you can be sure you've given as much time as possible for them to sort it out.

Another option that I'm actually learning of here on the forum is the idea of flying into Fort Lauderdale instead.  We're coming from DC and non-stops on our preferred airline are insane at the moment, about $1500 for 2 of us, it's a bit more affordable to fly into FLL, but not sure if the cost and hassle of Uber'ing from Fort Lauderdale to the Port of Miami would offset the savings of staying there vs the convenience of being in Miami.
We are flying in the day before and will likely prefer to travel mid day in order to allow us time to check in, go get some dinner, and come back and relax before heading to the port in the morning. Also, we typically stay at Marriott but I'm not limiting myself to that as this is only for 1 night.

We like the Hilton Hampton Inns - Brickell is very nice and near great restaurants (Including the one right next door), but a longer walk to a grocery or drug store (although definitely doable for most people). The one at a blue lagoon is also nice and directly across the street from my Publix and a TJ Maxx (and a block from CVS). There is fast food close by, not a ton of great dining however. Both offer airport shuttles and reasonably priced shuttles to the port (around 10-12 pp).

InterContinental Miami. You could almost walk there, on-site Starbucks, plus an excellent restaurant/bar as well. Give it a whirl and you will send me a Christmas card. Kimpton EPIC is also a great place that I would recommend, but is a pain to get in and out of.

Definitely Intercontinental Miami. No other hotel beats this view.

There are quite a few options and most are fine but would depend on your preferences.  How much do you want to spend, how long are you staying (when does your flight arrive, is it a short overnight), and do you belong to any loyalty programs are just a few thing to consider.  I have stayed at quite a few places there for work and once for a cruise so I’ll share a few thoughts.  
If you are doing just an overnight, and especially with a later arrival, the blue lagoon area mentioned above is a pretty good option.  It should be a little less $ than downtown, convenient to get to from the airport and has a few things like dining and shops nearby.  In the morning taxi or Uber down the expressway to the port.  The Hampton mentioned above is really decent and probably the best value compared to the others in the area.
Downtown is a better option if you have a full day or even maybe up to two days.  It is usually a little more but closer to the port and there are a few more things to do.  Bayside marketplace and the park are a very easy walk and there are some other options for sightseeing.  Most of the hotels in the downtown area have been around for a while.  They have been kept up pretty well but most are definitely not brand new builds.  More to the south of the port area, the intercontinental is probably the best choice, the Hyatt is a few blocks back and is another option as well as the JW.  North of the port area is a Hilton, Doubletree and Marriott.  Those three are actually all connected via a little mall (and a walkway from the Hilton).  They overlook the port and that little mall area has some dining and shops if you don’t want or need to venture out too far.
if you have more time or plan to stay for a while then Miami Beach or other areas might be more interesting and have more entertainment and dining options.
Happy planning. 

My 2 cents; don't over complicate it.  Different model TVs of the same brand use different IR codes.  The model and year of manufacture is are most likely different on every ship.  This possibly explains why the universal remote works.  

we had a couple standard bottles in our luggage, no issue.  We also ordered the canned water through the ship, and were pleasantly surprised to find that they provided bottled water instead of cans in our room.

Thanks for all of the great info!  This will be our first time not doing a cruise in the caribbean, so I guess I'm not quite sure what to expect. I have done France and when we were there we used Viator for a tour and during past cruises I have spoken with cruisers who booked things with Viator, as opposed to the ship's offerings. If there's not too much difference in price, I'll stick with RC tours but now hearing from a St. John native, sounds like it is very walkable. 

99% chance you'll have no problems, so it just depends on your tolerance for risk and if you're willing to take that 1% chance. 

Have you thought about weather conditions? Snow could REALLY screw up yours best plans out of DC on your embarkation day, regardless of your check in time. If it were me, I would take the flight that got me into your port around midnight, check into a hotel with a beach, get a good night sleep, enjoy the beach and then head off to your cruise ship. That way you will be well rested, stress free (hopefully) and pre-sun screened before boarding. Best wishes and hope it all works out for the best! 😎

It's a good idea to look at a past Cruise Compass from the ship you want to sail on in order to get an idea of what entertainment options there are.
We keep an archive of past Cruise Compasses here: https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/cruise-compass

Most of our sailings have been in Junior Suites, and they are well worth it to us.  Depending on the ship, you could either have double-bathrooms, or a huge single bathroom and a walk-in closet large enough to live in.  A larger couch, a larger balcony, and more floor space, all are nice. 


As we speak, I'm booked on a cruise next month in a balcony stateroom.  I was offered a Royal Up, jumped on it in a heartbeat, and I have my fingers crossed.😎

Wow these are great answers, thank you all for providing perspective. I think for now, we will be happy with our Balcony Cabins, and if we ever come across a sailing where the JS isn't quite double the balcony price, we may jump on it.... what I'd be afraid of is setting a new standard, and then not having the budget to spend on the other things like excursions and drinks etc... in the meantime, I'll try my hand at RoyalUp!

not since the restart of cruising.

There's no right or wrong answer to your question.
We made the decision to book JS on Oasis or Quantum class ships to get the extra C & A points and reserve a night or two in Coastal Kitchen.   One other perk that we received in Miami was we were allowed to board in the Pinnacle/Suites line instead of the general boarding line back in September.  Did not have the same "perk" in Bayonne.
Personally I don't like the bathtub and prefer the shower only but the walk in closets and extra space are really nice.   
On a smaller or older ship, there doesn't seem to be a lot of differences between the JS and balcony.  You don't always get a walk in closet or tub.    We are perfectly happy in a balcony cabin.  Sometimes there wasn't much difference in price, but I've noticed that since the resumption of cruising, these prices have gone through the roof.   Would rather save that money for dining, drinks, and excursions and get to cruise another day.  
 

My primary objection to a less-than-JS cabin is the bathroom.  I really, REALLY hate that toothpaste tube shower and beginning with the JS, you begin to increase the size of the bathroom.  The extra space in the JS room and balcony is certainly a bonus, but the bathroom is the reason that we began booking bigger staterooms.
There really aren't that many "perks" with the JS and with the Explorer there will be almost none...so you will have to try it once and see if it makes enough of a difference for you !!
Access to the Coastal Kitchen on the ships that have a CK is on an availability-basis only so just realize that it is not a guaranteed perk.  It seems as if access for JS to the CK seems to be a bit more reliable on the Quantum class ships than it does on the O class but there have been lots of mixed results for those staying in JS.

We stay in Junior Suites most of the time and do so just for the extra room moving about the cabin. We also like the larger bathroom too. Using the Suite line for embarkation is nice too. Now that we have stayed in a Grand Suite on the Symphony, that will be our new normal until we try an owners suite 😀

Like most A vs B questions about cruising, the answer is "it depends on your own preferences"
 
Do you need the extra space? Extra points? Bigger bathroom?

right?? why do they even have that as an option when searching?

Twangster's correct.   Revenue doesn't move between lines.   Royal cert is only good for Royal bookings.  

The post covid drydocks have all been oil change and rotate the tires type upgrades, not putting in a  lift kit and adding a fuzzy dashboard

Thanks!  That is what we put in... of course our uber driver didn't know where to go and insisted on taking us to the point on the gps (after we got through the security gate).. but we got to the big sign and I told him to go to 18.

wow, 2 for Michelle, she must be good. Not that it matters, but I'm in Northern Virginia as well, so I'll contact her for our next booking.