MDabney

Early and Like for us and they can keep the towel animals

Just got off Anthem January 13th and the offers are the same as above with only a change to Diamond and above drink vouchers reloading to seapass card at 4:59am now instead of midnight. Good luck. 

Hard Seltzer is practically all my wife drinks with our benefits ... she uses them for it all the time.  Enjoy.

After using her two 50% beer/wine coupon allotment for the cruise she moves on to her Diamond 4 drink coupons/per day for the remainder of the cruise. 

There are instructions in the myVEGAS reward email that you receive to process the reward through Casino Royale by email or phone.  Word of caution though, if you have a group rate cruise discount through your TA, then it’s ineligible for these rewards.  Good luck with it.

We just got back from our Barcelona Cruise.  We stayed at two different places to take advantage of their location.
 
Before the cruise we stayed at Hotel Europark Barcelona, which is within walking distance of the Sagrada Família, and some of the rooms have a view of it as well.  The hotel was really nice and had a great breakfast.  Also a lot of the rooms have balconies.
 
After our cruise we stayed at Hotel Barcelona Universal, which is within walking distance of Las Ramblas and Montjuïc Castle, also only about 8 minutes to the port.  They had breakfast but we did not try it out.
 
A lot of the hotels in Barcelona seem to be comparable, they have similar pricing and amenities.  And there always seem to be lots of food and bars around.  If I were you I would look out for hotels that are on walking streets only, since you will have to haul your luggage across cobblestone baths to get to it.  And maybe find one that is close to a metro if you are interested in that.  But my best piece of advice is find one close to what you want to do in Barcelona.  Whether that be the beach, or a landmark, or shopping.

We've been to Barcelona quite a number of times and have stayed in at least eight different hotels that I remember...
Over the years, we have honed it all down to LOCATION.  By far, the best area in which to stay is close to the Placa Catalunya.  The Placa is the large public square at the head of as Ramblas--Barcelona's great walking promenade.  All of the city's transportation systems--buses, subway, HOHO bus tours, etc. use the Placa as a main hub.  There is a very large El Corte Ingles department store on one side of the Placa with an outstanding supermarket in the basement where you can stock up on drinks, snacks and anything else you need.  Lots of restaurants around the Placa and up and down Las Ramblas.  The Aerobus--cheap transportation to and from the airport--drops off and picks up at the Placa.
In the past, we've used the Continental, the 1898, Hotel Jazz--all in this area.  This next two visits (we have two cruises begininging and ending in Barcelona in the next ten months) we are staying at the H10 Catalunya Plaza--which is right on the Placa.  The Continental is usually a bargain...on Las Ramblas right off the Placa.  We've stayed there twice--but my wife doesn't like the mattresses and the place has some weird decor--sort of plastic and pink. But they do have 24 hour free snacks, beer and cheap wine and balconies overlooking Las Ramblas and is much loved by cruisers...as is the Hotel Jazz.  1898 is a bit pricier, but extremely nice--one of the higherst rated hotels in Barcelona.  H10 is a local chain, but this one is a smallish boutique hotel in that chain...but the location is incredible.
From the Placa, it is a very inexpensive short taxi ride to the cruise pier--at the opposite end of Las Ramblas. 

The neighborhood is nice enough...but aside from La Sagrada Familia (and it's still about four blocks from that), it's not really close to any of the main tourist sights...How do you plan on getting around Barcelona?  You may find yourself doing a LOT of walking...
The reasons I always recommend the Placa Catalunya?Las Ramblas is the convenience in getting to tourist sights.  Las Ramblas has La Boqueria (the amazing market) and you are right off the Bari Gotic (the Old City--to the East of Las Ramblas with sites such as the old Cathedral, the Jewish Ghetto with an amazing 1,000 year old Synagogue, the Picasso Mueum and more)...Gaudi's Casa Mila and Casa Battlo (and the Block of Discord) are walking distance up Passieg de Gracia.  Park Guell is an easy bus ride up Passieg de Gracia.  So much of the city is right at your doorstep.
We've also stayed at the Hilton in the Financial District on the Diagonal and the only saving grace for us on that visit was that we had a rental car.  And we've stayed at the Gran Havana--much closer to things than the Blu...and, even there, we felt we spent far too much time walking....
If you are at the Blu for several days, you may feel very removed from the action...JMHO... 

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.  Took that shot during a Summer 2019 cruise on Explorer out of Southampton. Nice port town with many kids and many ducks by the lake.

NO RULES!  Kinda like Outback.

LOL I forgot about Google.  Correct.

Sure its Stavanger Norway, sure i saw photos of friends beside something like this when they went for a footie game

Don't know this one, but I'd be interested in going. Anywhere that has a statue with ducks has to be a nice place to visit.

If cheating with Google is allowed… Seattle, Washington stone in pavement 

I know we are all RCCL junkies here but there are a few short (2-4 days) MSC cruises out of Miami and Port Canaveral available in your myVegas rewards now if you all are interested.  Good luck, point-wise (90K-100K), they are practically giving them away.

I can only talk about Greece (Athens & Santorini). In Athens, we used Athens Insiders and they were amazing. You can use them for the ubiquitous Parthenon/Acropolis tours if you've never done that before, or they offer custom tours, or other "off the beaten path" tours. We especially loved the treasure hunt, but did it with kids (although all the adults in the group enjoyed it as well). 
Santorini - if you are able to withstand a rigorous climb, we really loved taking a tour of the volcano (but we had a big group and did a private ship tour, so can't recommend any specific commercial tour). Other than that, Santorini is beautiful to just walk around in Oia, looking at the architecture. But you must do it well before sunset because the streets are utterly packed with people trying to get that "perfect" photograph. Like every walkway with any kind of view is wall to wall people. We were trying to get back to our hotel after dinner and got separated from my parents. We couldn't get through certain places at all, and I was terrified we were going to lose the kids. My husband, who is Greek-American and spent every summer in Greece growing up, said that Santorini "doesn't feel like Greece". People can be a bit rude, it is very expensive, there are rules about luggage, etc.
If you have a chance to do anything else in Greece before your cruise, I highly, highly recommend trying to get up to Meteora to see the amazing monasteries.
As far as your other questions, you might have more luck parsing them out into each individual port. I realize that it is much easier to put them all in one post, but you might not catch the attention of someone who knows about Ajaccio, for example.

Yes, you will need the cups to operate the soda machine. There is a chip in the bottom of the cup that unlocks the machine and let's you make selections.
I got annoyed constantly carrying cups around after 3 cruises so on cruise #4 I got these carry cases from Amazon. They don't do too much in the way of insulation but they add 0 extra weight, could easily slip onto my forearm  to keep my hands free, and if the cup was empty or almost empty, I just looped it onto whatever bag strap I may have had on me. (no belt loops cuz I'm all sundresses on vacay)

Who doesn't love a balcony cabin?   It seems a lot of people do because balcony cabins are one of the most popular types of cabins offered to cruisers.  What could be better than reading a book, eating breakfast or enjoying a favorite beverage on your very own balcony overlooking the ocean?
Budget minded cruisers can't always afford the extra cost associated with a cabin that includes a dedicated balcony exclusively for that guest.   Enter the obstructed balcony.
Cabins with obstructed views are nothing new to the cruise industry.  For decades cruise ships have had oceanview and balcony cabins in places where ship equipment or superstructure ends up blocking the view.  The obstruction could be a lifeboat, window washing equipment or structural pieces that are required in various places around a ship.  
Quantum class ships feature a design where the lifeboats are stored near the level of deck 5 for quick access in the event of an emergency.  Their location while optimal for quick and easy access in an emergency it does mean they obstruct some views for select balcony cabins on deck 6.
The good news is these deck six cabins are offered as obstructed balconies at a discount perfect for budget minded cruise guests who are willing to accept an obstruction in the name of saving money. 
It's pretty clear when selecting these cabins they are obstructed so no one should be surprised the first time they walk into their cabin.

 What isn't clear when selecting a particular obstructed balcony cabin is how obstructed one cabin may be compared to another in the same category.  Not all obstructed balcony cabins are equally obstructed.
Lifeboats are supported and lowered into the water by davits.  Davits are very strong structural towers that can raise or lower a fully loaded lifeboat.  The davits that support lifeboats themselves are an obstruction that also block the views for some deck 6 balcony cabins on Quantum class ships.  Davits can block more view compared to a lifeboat since davits are taller than the lifeboats they support.  
Consider this picture of Ovation of the Seas.

The deck 6 obstructed ocean view cabins within the green area in the picture merely have to look over the lifeboat which sits close to or just below the height of the balcony railing.  A few cabins in either direction the lifeboat davits impose a much greater obstruction.  The cabins highlighted in yellow may be partially blocked by a davit towards one end of the balcony.  
For someone picking a cabin on a deck plan it isn't immediately evident which obstructed balconies have less obstruction versus cabins that have greater obstruction.
Now we get to the whole point of this post.  Here is a preliminary guide to which cabins have davits in front of them and are therefore more obstructed.  

Using various videos and photos from Odyssey of the Seas during her construction and conveyance I've estimated which balconies are more likely to have a greater obstruction.  Since no guest has actually sailed on Odyssey when this post was written this is a preliminary version until guests can begin boarding and provide feedback with respect to these obstructed balcony cabins.
Since this is a preliminary guestimate follow through with your own research to make sure you pick the best obstructed deck 6 cabin for your needs.
Note that each ship within this class has slightly different variations of lifeboats and where davits are placed.  In addition there are at least four different types of lifeboats used on each ship.  Consequently you need to be careful drawing conclusions based on guest feedback from other ships within this class.
The image above may be a little blurry from web page compression so I am also including a PDF version that should be easier to read.
Odyssey Deck 6 Obstructed Balcony Guide.pdf
Obstructed ocean view cabins are a great way to enjoy all the benefits of having your own balcony while saving money if you don't mind an obstructed view.  If you book early you can often enjoy your pick of cabins within this category all at the same price.  By selecting carefully you can enjoy a much less obstructed view while saving hundreds of dollars that can be put into beverage packages or shore excursions.  

Thanks for the follow up but still the same no show for KSC or full price for me.  Take care and Happy Holidays.

Was there with the wife in early November (disappointed because Nassau was a substitute port for Key West).
Have been to Nassau pre-COVID a few times as well. 
We did a self-guided walking tour and was a little disappointed since the forts there were closed to the public (COVID precautions).
Getting to the point, what our experience was (on Thurs, Nov. 4 and walked from 8am - 10:30 am):
There were 4 ships in port but the port/shopping areas seemed pretty empty.  Probably because of a combination of: it was early in the day, ships were not full, people didn't get off the ship We felt perfectly safe as we walked around.  In fact, felt safer there in November than pre-COVID because the aggressive vendors were no longer there. We walked to the Queen's staircase and only locals were there.   This seemed to be cleaned up as well since there is a hospital entrance near there. The port area is under construction -- pretty much level ground at that time with some ground-moving equipment. The piers, themselves, were nicer than I remembered (it's been a while since were were in Nassau).  Can be a long walk depending on which pier the ship is moored at. The straw market was closed (might have been because of COVID or maybe we were there too early at 10am when we went by). Junkanoo beach was open -- there were some food/bar places open playing loud music.  We didn't linger too long but there weren't that many people there. Pier:


Straw Market:

Junkanoo Beach:


Queen's Staircase:

Downtown:

Glad you had a great time ... love those Oasis class cities, er, I mean ships. 

I do realize this is a good problem to have.  I am booked on a B2B Alaska 2022 sailing with my husband and two kids.  I would have made Diamond status after 1 night on the second  Alaska sailing.  Ug!  So frustrating!  Well...there is a great promo going on so I booked a 3-night cruise with a friend of mine that will allow me to have Diamond status for the second B2B.  WOOHOO!!!!  Ladies weekend! 
Because Diamond status is honored for your spouse and kids under 18 (only 1 of my kids will be under 18 at the time of Alaska), I was able to save buying drink packages for Alaska and that more than covered the cost of the 3-night cruise!
I am using miles for airfare so the airfare is a whopping $11.20. 
I think it is a great trade - cruise for Diamond status and no drink packages needed for 3 of us.  My 18-year old is autistic and only drinks soda anyway.  
Score for me! 🙂

That is correct, the May 31, 2022 deadline for CWC sailings is an extension of the previous April 30, 2022 deadline for CWC sailings that was in place for the longest time.  Good luck all.

IMO yes but everyone has a different idea of what is appropriate for their children.
The Showgirl production on Navigator is very similar to the Showgirl production on Odyssey and some other ships.  Here are pictures from Odyssey.  Navigator is very similar.
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/26522-odyssey-of-the-seas-entertainment-in-pictures/
 

4009 passengers, not sure on the percentage. Windjammer was open for dinner. Seating in the Windjammer could be difficult as not every table was available due to social distancing.