donolog

To make the most of your time take a taxi to one of the forts, tour that, then walk back to the port.  You'll be walking downhill that way.

"Old San Juan" is the second oldest European settlement in the "New World" (oldest in a US Territory) and it has been well preserved. A great place to just walk around to take in the architecture or eat at one of the great restaurants. This article by Jeff Stamer is oriented around great places to take photos, but could also be used as a basis for a self-guided walking tour of Old San Juan (it includes a map).  Castillo San Felipe Del Morro (a.k.a. El Morro) is the old citadel/fort and is a highlight along with its counterpart Castillo de san Cristobal. I think there's also a (free?) trolley that runs between some of the historic sites.

Definitely not weird, plenty of people do it.
 
But I agree with DocLC about San Juan. Don't need to book an excursion, just walk around Old San Juan -- should be fine on your own. If you have a National Parks Pass, bring it as it will get you into the old forts. I've been there twice and still look forward to having a walk around next cruise.

It's been like that for a few months now, I don't like it either.

Tried them when we first started cruising and they were definitely hit and miss.
 
We found the bigger problem than the actual signal was finding a clear channel.
 
Never forget sitting up in the Viking lounge reading my book and hearing a bunch of "chatter" on the channel my wife had instructed me to listen for her on when she headed off to do her thing. You could hear one lady getting increasingly loud and angry trying to make herself heard .... turns out it was my wife ... boy was I in trouble for ignoring her :)

We tried them on Navigator years ago .... as has been mentioned already, their effectiveness was limited, but when it really came down to it, they were just a pain to lug around..... The last thing I want is to have to keep track of another item for fear of losing it or leaving it behind ..... We keep our seapass cards in lanyards, and aside from occasionally taking our phones for their cameras, that's it ..... we like to be hands free when on vacation (unless, of course, there's a drink in them).

I agree with that if someone would otherwise be paying for those things anyway. I like all of those things, and if I had a package I'd get them and when factoring in their cost I'd "break even" on the package a lot quicker. However, if I didn't have the package I'd also be happy with the complimentary alternatives available (e.g. brewed coffee, glasses of ice water, orange juice from concentrate, etc.), and I wouldn't otherwise pay the price for the premium offerings.

The main blog just made a good post that helps sorting this out:
http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/11/30/royal-caribbean-drink-package-right-you
 
I would start with the last paragraph of the post:
 
"At a minimum, the unlimited alcohol package requires around a half dozen drinks per day, every day to be a good value for you. Reading this, you will have instantly thought to yourself, "That is a lot of drinking" or "That is not really that much" and that is when you know if the packages in general may be a good choice for you."

And then he can say "I married into Diamond Status"  :)

The main blog just made a good post that helps sorting this out:
http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/11/30/royal-caribbean-drink-package-right-you
 
I would start with the last paragraph of the post:
 
"At a minimum, the unlimited alcohol package requires around a half dozen drinks per day, every day to be a good value for you. Reading this, you will have instantly thought to yourself, "That is a lot of drinking" or "That is not really that much" and that is when you know if the packages in general may be a good choice for you."

Tanya -- your original post said you were planning to cruise in 2018 -- did you mean 2017?
 
If it is 2018 it might be a little early to book right now as prices might come down closer to the date.
 
D

I don't have experience with hotels in FLL but having just taken a quick look on Trivago I have to agree with WhiteSoxFan that the pricing seems very high. Are you set on a particular itinerary out of Fort Lauderdale? Perhaps consider one out of Orlando/Port Canaveral, where hotel rates seem to be a lot more reasonable (from my very brief search). It might also provide an opportunity to visit the Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios if that's of interest (certainly is for my daughter).
 
I am also planning a cruise in March 2018 with my daughter who is 10 now but will be 12 then. We have done several RCCL cruises with her over the past few years, and she loves it and always has plenty of things to do that she finds interesting. If I were to ask her, I think the list of top things would be:
Going to the Adventure Ocean and hanging out with other kids her age The pool Flowrider Climbing wall Mini-golf Shore excursions, especially when they include snorkelling Cupcake decorating class Bingo Going to the evening and ice shows Shrimp cocktail appetizer in the main dining room Lobster dinner in the main dining room In general, the newer ships have more things to offer kids this age -- especially the Quantum, Oasis, and Freedom class ships -- but to be honest, for the her the main thing is the pool and Adventure Ocean, and everything else is just icing on the cake with some ships having more icing than others.

But if you have an above average sized stomach you're golden.  :P

Go to 7-11 and get an Extreme Big Gulp mug.  I took one with me to military training in Louisiana one hot summer shortly after 9/11 before they got crazy with TSA.  I filled it with ice and it still had ice in it about 52 hours later.
 

$10 last week ... one pull , won $10, called it a night ;)

Well, I would like to tell you how much I have won, but I'm afraid someone from the IRS may be reading these posts. 

While I can't speak to Casino Royale Club or other casino specific loyalty programs, there are a few general points about the casino that may (or may not) be helpful.
 
Every night of your cruise, the cabin attendant will leave in your state room the "Cruise Compass", which is a sheet of paper listing highlights and a schedule of what's happening on board the next day. Take a few minutes to look through the list of things going on to find out what interests you (having a highlighter pen is helpful for this). I can think of four casino-related things to keep an eye out for on this:
the hours the casino will be open free learn-to-play events (probably less useful to experienced casino-goers) casino tournaments (e.g. blackjack, hold 'em, slots, etc.) drink promotions (e.g. $1 mimosas between 11:00-noon) Apart from slots and table games, the casino also holds a daily (sometimes twice-daily) lottery. You buy a ticket at the casino window during the day and they draw a winner later that night (mrs donolog won $100 on our last cruise!). The other major gambling-related activity onboard is bingo -- there will be several sessions over the cruise, but they are usually held in a lounge and not the casino (check the Cruise Compass for time and location).
 
This last point will only be useful if and when you do a second cruise, where you will also get a few gambling perks in your Crown & Anchor Gold Level on-board offers such as:
20% off a casino tournament (but it will likely exclude hold 'em tourneys) one free spin to win one free jackpot card when you purchase a bingo package None of these are earth-shattering but as they say "it beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick".

And of course you want to get on early enough so you can have lunch on board!

Yes!  I saw them twice from the deck of the ship - stunning

My favorite dessert is Creme' Brulee, I don't care what flavor, as long as it doesn't have coconut and I might eat it anyways. Most cruise lines have Creme' Brulee on the steak house menu. You usually can't get it in the dining room. I just came off of a 14 day Panama Canal and 7 day Mexican Riviera and when I went to the steak house they had Raspberry Creme' Brulee. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I told the manager I loved it and it wasn't served in the regular dining room. Every single night there would be a card on my desk that said a Raspberry Creme' Brulee was in my refrigerator, compliments of the steak house manager. That was a total of 21 of them. I now weigh about 20 pounds more.

Count me in too! The only thing I want t0 connect with is a cold beer or mixed drink!

If you're willing to drive to Orlando there are a million things to do. Cape Canaveral and Cocoa Beach on the other hand have very little. One new attraction is www.cocoabeachadventurepark.com. I haven't been yet, hoping to soon. There are also 2 escape rooms in Cocoa Beach. Some find the pier enjoyable. There are 2 putt-putt golf courses in town.

In your stateroom you will be provided a list of the shipboard offers. 
 
Sailor_to_Cruiser was kind enough to provide a pdf of one of these sheets in a recent post. That was for Oasis, but your's will be much the same if not identical.
 
To use the benefits you just need to provide your SeaPass card to the appropriate crew member. You'll get one set of offers for each person in the stateroom (i.e. two of each for a couple).
 
My advice is to use the ones that interest you as early as is convenient (i.e. don't "save them for later") ... the end of the cruise comes quickly.
 
Also, if you've lost track of what you've used on what card, crew members can generally look up what's available to you.

Awesome! Thanks!

In your stateroom you will be provided a list of the shipboard offers. 
 
Sailor_to_Cruiser was kind enough to provide a pdf of one of these sheets in a recent post. That was for Oasis, but your's will be much the same if not identical.
 
To use the benefits you just need to provide your SeaPass card to the appropriate crew member. You'll get one set of offers for each person in the stateroom (i.e. two of each for a couple).
 
My advice is to use the ones that interest you as early as is convenient (i.e. don't "save them for later") ... the end of the cruise comes quickly.
 
Also, if you've lost track of what you've used on what card, crew members can generally look up what's available to you.