SPS

@SPS @twangsterperfect, thank you!

Oldest DD developed Celiac at age 15 - she's almost 26 now, so we've been dealing with this for a while. She's gone on 2 cruises, and had no problems with any kind of cross contamination.  DH took a ship's tour, and they brought them to the kitchens & showed them the allergy prep area - completely separate from the rest of the kitchen.  She will say it's a gluten allergy if people don't understand celiac, so that they take it seriously.   Unfortunately, the longer she is gluten free, the worse the consequences are for accidental ingestion - her body really doesn't tolerate it well, severe stomach upset, brain fog, etc for a few days after.  That being said, while she found the MDR safe, & got special help in Windjammer (buffet) some people are concerned about the specialty restaurants, as they do not have separate prep areas.  We did Chops and Giovanni's on Adventure without an issue for her, but she is careful to order simple items, ones that are less likely to be contaminated.  MDR waiters gave her the next days menu each night, & she told them what she wanted. Even if it wasn't labeled gluten free, most of the time it could be prepared that way. Exceptions were things like ravioli or lasagna, which did not have gluten free options. Sometimes, she got a baked potato instead of whatever the other potato option was if it had gluten in it.  She never had as many options as the rest of us, but she never went hungry.

You're welcome. I visited the Buffalo Trace Distillery back in October. (My wife gifted me a Kentucky Bourbon Trail weekend for my 50th) No Blanton's was available, but I did bring home a delicious bottle of Eagle Rare.

Yes, you will need to upload your vaccine cards. However, you will need to bring the physical card with you on embarkation day.
Checking in as soon as it is available is really just to get a preferred early arrival time, if that matters to you. If an early time is what you want, you can just do the arrival time selection after midnight and then come back later to finish check-in.
FYI: Earlier arrival times may become available later. This past December I grabbed a Noon-12:30 arrival time on check-in day. A week later, 11:00-11:30 times became available. The app allows you to change your arrival time to earlier or later times as long as slots are available. 

Shop in St. Martin: Gulmohar's (Whisky Paradise), http://www.gulmoharsxm.com/
Back in April the had the Black and Red versions on Blanton's... $225 and $250
My purchase, Willett Rye (4y) for $55 Michter's Straight Rye for $40

Ship/venue wise, best selection has to be at The Mason Jar on Wonder.

 
Plus, The Mason Jar is the only spot with the large style ice cubes.

The standard list of bourbon that is usually onboard is Buffalo Trace (My go to brand!) Bulleit, Maker's Mark, and Four Roses. There may be others, but I generally stick with Buffalo Trace unless the onboard bar I'm at is out.
There are many other brands of whiskeys and scotches available, too.
I doubt Blanton's will be available onboard anytime soon. It's hard to find and currently retails at about $150 a bottle. (I know this because I just bought a bottle!)

About the food....kinda feel like that was really their mistake. The same area of the site that talks about the specialty dining talks about all the included areas...
also guessing they didn't realize she could cancel those reservations at any time...
I kind of have to wonder if some or all of what the author got was chosen for them...
 
I also went on to read why this person thought that cruising wasn't for them and...
"The passengers I met love cruising. I didn't find any other first-timers."
 - 100% this had to do with the fact that this was the or one of the inagural sailings of Wonder. It's big and newsworthy and is FULL of fans wanting to be first. Not a good sample size to judge.
Motion Sickness.
 - fine....i guess...there are plenty of people who cruise with high-sensitivity motion sickness but I won't be the one to tell her to suck it up.

"I booked excursions for the ports, thinking I'd have time after to explore the destination....I was also hoping to see the stops at night, but we always departed before sundown."
 - all of this is pre-published literally on booking and should not have been a surprise.
"I found myself seeking solitude in pockets like the adults-only area, but every day involved dealing with busy crowds."
"I'm not much of a swimmer, athlete, or thrill-seeker. I don't have kids, so I'll admit that most of the activities on board didn't appeal to me."
"Cruising solo proved to be more expensive and challenging than other solo vacations."
 - personal preference, true and sadly, true. No disagreements here - valid reasons cruising may not be for her. Or at least, this type of cruising.
 
Overall..I think...she didn't know AT ALL what she was getting herself into and I put the blame for that on her and her company for not giving her more information

It doesn't look as though they did any prior research on cruising. It almost is they just booked and went seemingly unprepared.
Just some simple poking around the official RC website would have been informative.  It's as if she didn't even look at the Cruise Planner page. That alone would've saved A LOT of extra $$$ on dining.
Being a travel blogger, you would think she would have put out a pre-cruise blog telling her reader's about the upcoming trip and receive hints, tips, and tricks from her readers. (And I'm sure a reader would have told her about royalcaribbeanblog.com to better prepare her for cruising!)
 

I can't remember the exact day I received it, but it was right around 75 days.  I thought for sure I wouldn't hear anything until Mid-July at the earliest.

@USCG Teacher May I ask when you got the initial offer to bid on a Royal Up?
I was surprised yesterday to get a Royal Up email offer 75 days before our Quantum sailing to Alaska. Now I'm weighing my bid options.

My wife has to eat gluten free & Royal is VERY accommodating!
First, you'll notice in the Windjammer that one section of the buffet is clearly labeled as Gluten-Free. And any of the made to order items can usually be requested to be made to accommodate any specific dietary restrictions.
Second, if you are eating the any of the specialty restaurants, just make your server aware of any of your dietary restrictions. They can also help in pointing our menu items that are already gluten free or can be prepared gluten free.
THIRD, AND MOST IMPORTANT, In the main dining room, your waitstaff (they will be your servers the entire cruise) will ask if there are any specific dietary needs/requests for anyone at your table. After you let them know about your need to avoid gluten, they will also help you to select that night's menu items that are already gluten free or others that CAN be made gluten free.
Here's where it gets good, following each night's meal, your server will present the next night's menu so that you can select items for the next night; items already gluten free as well as items that can be made gluten free with advanced notice. While others at your table are served rolls, your assistant waiter will bring you gluten free bread.
TIP: Ask about when flourless chocolate cake might be available!
You can also have "gluten free" noted on your reservation by emailing [email protected], with your reservation information(https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/dining-dietary-restrictions-customer-care).
I hope this helps! Like I started with, Royal Caribbean is VERY accommodating with all your needs!
PS: Navigator is a great ship! We sailed on it for our first cruise, too!

Sorry, everyone, but each time this subject comes up, I have to post this! 😄

@USCG Teacher May I ask when you got the initial offer to bid on a Royal Up?
I was surprised yesterday to get a Royal Up email offer 75 days before our Quantum sailing to Alaska. Now I'm weighing my bid options.

I tried to organize a professional Hide & Seek tournament, but it was a complete failure.
Good players are hide to find.

Sorry, everyone, but each time this subject comes up, I have to post this! 😄

The first time sitting on the balcony by myself and watching the ocean roll by all of my stress just drains out of me. 

I tried to organize a professional Hide & Seek tournament, but it was a complete failure.
Good players are hide to find.

I don't even know where to start, but all of the reasons above and more.
1. We like the ability to book well in advance and pay over time before the cruise. It's nice after a great vacation to not have large credit card bill or have a considerably lower bank balance.
2. It's much less stressful than a typical land vacation. I don't have to rent a car and get us from place to place on a daily basis. Our "Hotel" takes us from place to place with spectacular views along the way.
3. Other than the occasional specialty dining experience, we don't have to worry about shelling out money for restaurant food several times each day. And where else am I going to be able to try caviar and escargot for no additional charge?
4. So many activities that would cost so much extra on land that are included; Entertainers, Theater shows, Flowrider, iFly Skydiving sim, the North Star, and so much more.
5. We have been able to visit destinations that we had never even thought we would be able to see.
6. We like being able to do "as much" or "as little" as we want. Particularly on sea days. Nothing better than having a cocktail out on the deck while the waves roll by OR while soaking in the hot tub in the Solarium.
7. SERVICE: Sometime during the first day of each cruise, I'm reminded of just how much the crew and staff spoil us! They crew on each ship we've sailed on aims to please.
8. The chance to "unplug".  We purposely do NOT buy internet service so we can get away from the usual noise of our daily lives and live more in the moment.
THERE'S MORE BUT THIS POST IS GETTING TOO LONG! 

I tried to organize a professional Hide & Seek tournament, but it was a complete failure.
Good players are hide to find.

I don't even know where to start, but all of the reasons above and more.
1. We like the ability to book well in advance and pay over time before the cruise. It's nice after a great vacation to not have large credit card bill or have a considerably lower bank balance.
2. It's much less stressful than a typical land vacation. I don't have to rent a car and get us from place to place on a daily basis. Our "Hotel" takes us from place to place with spectacular views along the way.
3. Other than the occasional specialty dining experience, we don't have to worry about shelling out money for restaurant food several times each day. And where else am I going to be able to try caviar and escargot for no additional charge?
4. So many activities that would cost so much extra on land that are included; Entertainers, Theater shows, Flowrider, iFly Skydiving sim, the North Star, and so much more.
5. We have been able to visit destinations that we had never even thought we would be able to see.
6. We like being able to do "as much" or "as little" as we want. Particularly on sea days. Nothing better than having a cocktail out on the deck while the waves roll by OR while soaking in the hot tub in the Solarium.
7. SERVICE: Sometime during the first day of each cruise, I'm reminded of just how much the crew and staff spoil us! They crew on each ship we've sailed on aims to please.
8. The chance to "unplug".  We purposely do NOT buy internet service so we can get away from the usual noise of our daily lives and live more in the moment.
THERE'S MORE BUT THIS POST IS GETTING TOO LONG! 

I don't even know where to start, but all of the reasons above and more.
1. We like the ability to book well in advance and pay over time before the cruise. It's nice after a great vacation to not have large credit card bill or have a considerably lower bank balance.
2. It's much less stressful than a typical land vacation. I don't have to rent a car and get us from place to place on a daily basis. Our "Hotel" takes us from place to place with spectacular views along the way.
3. Other than the occasional specialty dining experience, we don't have to worry about shelling out money for restaurant food several times each day. And where else am I going to be able to try caviar and escargot for no additional charge?
4. So many activities that would cost so much extra on land that are included; Entertainers, Theater shows, Flowrider, iFly Skydiving sim, the North Star, and so much more.
5. We have been able to visit destinations that we had never even thought we would be able to see.
6. We like being able to do "as much" or "as little" as we want. Particularly on sea days. Nothing better than having a cocktail out on the deck while the waves roll by OR while soaking in the hot tub in the Solarium.
7. SERVICE: Sometime during the first day of each cruise, I'm reminded of just how much the crew and staff spoil us! They crew on each ship we've sailed on aims to please.
8. The chance to "unplug".  We purposely do NOT buy internet service so we can get away from the usual noise of our daily lives and live more in the moment.
THERE'S MORE BUT THIS POST IS GETTING TOO LONG! 

I like unpacking once and having the "hotel" transport me to new places. 
 

The ease of it all. Once you’re on the ship, all you really need to worry about is having a good time.
With a land based vacation there’s usually a lot of coordinating between parties and vehicles and activities. On the ship, the activities are planned. You simply show up.
The fact that there’s always something going on at all times. I know you can get that an an all inclusive resort but not for the same price.
Being out on the open water and the calm that comes with that.

All of the above…plus;
I usually sail solo. At first I planned cruises with others…and then tried cruising solo. Changed my life. Living in the northeast the winters can be annoyingly dull…short days with cold, wet weather. No outside activities for me…I don’t do winter sports. So I sail to summer. I love cruising out of the Hudson River in winter, usually on the Anthem in the fully enclosed, heated Solarium with the full glass forward view. And then, seeing how the temperature warms up virtually by the hour as we sail south. I’ll usually cruise from September to May. I love staying aboard at the ports (been there done that) and enjoying the near empty ship…although it seems a lot more passengers are opting to stay aboard. Port Liberty is a short drive. I love everything from planning, packing and driving to the port…and, after the cruise, I can’t wait to go back. I now do primarily b2bs. It’s a great feeling when seeing the luggage in the halls on the last night knowing I’m staying aboard. Being solo, I do what I want, when I want. I can meet people…or not. I can remain gloriously anonymous or join a conversation. I find cruisers are always welcoming and pleasant…heck, they’re on vacation. 
It’s a great lifestyle and I know that I am lucky to be able to do it…and grateful. Enjoy!