JLMoran

In the long run, it will probably be cheaper to rent a car and do the airport on your own. Plus, if you rent from the airport location, you have your travel for the next day covered. The airboat tour runs about $30 pp, so you can estimate costs from there.  A one day rental from FLL over New Years was about $65 for two days.

You cannot leave your luggage at the port.  Here are some ideas for what to do with it
Rent a car Leave the luggage at a hotel you are not staying at.  Just ask bell services to hold the luggage because you haven't checked in, and tip them nicely.

You no longer have to prepay gratuities for My Time Dining.  I've recently booked directly with Royal Caribbean for June 2018 and have MTD and will pay tips when on board.  I don't know when the policy changed

Sarah

I feel like that needs one of those asterisks followed at the bottom of the page by a nice paragraph of small-type legalese...
 
$300 price reflects purchase of inside studio stateroom with optimal promotional package applied. Price does not include port fees or taxes, which let's be honest will be more than the room price on this ultra-cheap room. Price does not include land or air transportation to / from port, parking fees, or other travel costs. Price does not include mandatory gratuities of $18.69 per day, or obligatory tipping to porters even if all you brought was a backpack with a single change of clothes and a toothbrush in it. And let's be honest, you're having at least 3 labadoozies; we know it, you know it, stop trying to pretend it won't happen.
 
 

Hah! And speaking of things to do on board, look what @Matt just posted! First Time Cruiser's Guide to Royal Caribbean's Onboard Activities

Hi jqueen, welcome to our group!
I'm a fellow first-time cruiser, not departing on our first trip until the end of March next year. I can definitely provide some advice based on my own experience picking our first cruise, as I agree that it's pretty overwhelming!
The main advice I would give is to not try and figure this out on your own. i did it with my family and it caused far too much stress! It's my biggest "If I had it to do over again" bit of advice: Find a travel agent who specializes in cruising, and work with him/her to work through figuring out a good ship for your familiy that works with the time frame you'd like to go. The travel agents know the ships, usually know multiple cruise lines, and will work with you to narrow it down with a lot less stress. I didn't find Heather until after we had settled on this cruise and was just working with her for booking it, but then leveraged her a lot to pick a second cruise that we also booked for later in 2018.
I can highly recommend my travel agent, Heather. If you'd like her contact information, I can private message you the details. Full disclosure -- Heather is an agent for MEI Travel, which is a sponsor of this site. But she's very good, quick to respond to both emails and voice mails. Also, importantly in your situation, I think, she's fine with taking time on the phone to talk about ships, itineraries, cabin options, etc.

Yes!  the male M&Ms have nuts

I'm on the March 31 Freedom sailing. If you're disembarking that day, we'll have to wave at each other as you're leaving the port and I'm driving in! 

Hah! And speaking of things to do on board, look what @Matt just posted! First Time Cruiser's Guide to Royal Caribbean's Onboard Activities

Hah! And speaking of things to do on board, look what @Matt just posted! First Time Cruiser's Guide to Royal Caribbean's Onboard Activities

Good point, Candie! I'd say consider Freedom class as well, since they have quite a bit going on for them and could be a bit less (potentially) overwhelming for a first-timer. Of course, @Matt did happen to write a whole article about Oasis vs Quantum for first-timers, so yeah... 
One other thing I just remembered was pointed out to me in one of my first questions -- I was warned that an 18 to 20-year old might find it a little frustrating getting involved with ship activities. The teen-oriented activities cut off at age 17, so he can't get into the teen club at Adventure Ocean or other events on the ship geared to that social group. But the activities geared to adults generally are for people 21 and older and he may not be able to take part in those, either. This may not be as big of an issue on the Oasis or Quantum class ships, which are so much larger and have so much more going on throughout the day. I know you're planning to contact Heather, so ask her about that if you get a chance.

Here it is:. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/cruises/articles/crime-on-a-cruise-ship/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_em
I hesitated on paying it as it isn't specific to Royal. And although they start off by acknowledging that cruising is the safest form of travel, they then go into a lot of crimes that have occurred in cruise ships, which goes against the premise of the article. 
But since you asked . . .

Speaking as a first-time cruiser who hasn't even taken his first cruise yet (so feel free to take this with as many grains of salt as you want), I have to say that I find your statement that you're "paying a premium" for the RCI cruise to be really perplexing. I priced out Disney and RCI cruises, and Royal was always significantly less expensive for trips of the same length and cabin type, with the same (or often greater) number of port stops. That's not "paying a premium" by any stretch in my book; that's saving a lot of money for the other parts of the cruise that matter to me and my family that we consider not optional (mainly shore excursions).
We originally looked at both Oasis and Harmony, and Disney was consistently 1.5 - 2 times the cost for the same level ocean view or balcony cabin. We ultimately went with an itinerary on Freedom that we felt was better, which cost even less.
Everything else in terms of the packages offered is 100% optional. If you don't drink soda, no need to pay for a package. If you drink soda but don't plan to have more than 1 or 2 a day, you can pay for them individually instead of buying the package and still come out ahead compared to Disney's price. And if you drink 3 cans of Coke with breakfast, a couple of Mountain Dews at lunch to charge up, and then 2 more Cokes at dinner with Cherry Coke at dessert every day; well then the package is your best friend in the whole world!
Same goes for the alcohol packages, the internet packages, etc. @coneyraven summed it up best -- it's "a la carting" your trip.
 
I really debated including this next part, but in the end I felt like I had to call out the fallacy of your "paying a premium" statement.
 
7-night RCI cruise on Allure of the Seas (priced just now, with a "60% off second guest" promotion currently in effect) Four ports, no private destinations Leaving April 1, 2018 2 D1 deluxe ocean view with large balcony cabins (equivalent class)
$4,174.10 (incl port fees and taxes)
  8-night RCI cruise on Freedom of the Seas (the cruise I actually booked, price reflects all adjustments since booking for better promotions) Four ports, including private destination Labadee Leaving March 31, 2018 2 D1 deluxe ocean view with large balcony cabins (equivalent class) Includes $200 onboard credit as part of the last applied promotion
  $4,894.92 (incl port fees and taxes)
  7-night Disney cruise from Port Canaveral on Disney Fantasy (priced just now on the disneycruises.com site) Four ports, including private destination Castaway Cay Leaving March 31, 2018 2 verandah cabins
  $10,611.36 (incl port fees and taxes)  
But RCI is making me "pay a premium"
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Am I the only person who thinks it's phenomenal that JL has well over 300 posts here and has never even cruised?

 
I bow to you, sir!
 

I feel like that needs one of those asterisks followed at the bottom of the page by a nice paragraph of small-type legalese...
 
$300 price reflects purchase of inside studio stateroom with optimal promotional package applied. Price does not include port fees or taxes, which let's be honest will be more than the room price on this ultra-cheap room. Price does not include land or air transportation to / from port, parking fees, or other travel costs. Price does not include mandatory gratuities of $18.69 per day, or obligatory tipping to porters even if all you brought was a backpack with a single change of clothes and a toothbrush in it. And let's be honest, you're having at least 3 labadoozies; we know it, you know it, stop trying to pretend it won't happen.
 
 

Speaking as a first-time cruiser who hasn't even taken his first cruise yet (so feel free to take this with as many grains of salt as you want), I have to say that I find your statement that you're "paying a premium" for the RCI cruise to be really perplexing. I priced out Disney and RCI cruises, and Royal was always significantly less expensive for trips of the same length and cabin type, with the same (or often greater) number of port stops. That's not "paying a premium" by any stretch in my book; that's saving a lot of money for the other parts of the cruise that matter to me and my family that we consider not optional (mainly shore excursions).
We originally looked at both Oasis and Harmony, and Disney was consistently 1.5 - 2 times the cost for the same level ocean view or balcony cabin. We ultimately went with an itinerary on Freedom that we felt was better, which cost even less.
Everything else in terms of the packages offered is 100% optional. If you don't drink soda, no need to pay for a package. If you drink soda but don't plan to have more than 1 or 2 a day, you can pay for them individually instead of buying the package and still come out ahead compared to Disney's price. And if you drink 3 cans of Coke with breakfast, a couple of Mountain Dews at lunch to charge up, and then 2 more Cokes at dinner with Cherry Coke at dessert every day; well then the package is your best friend in the whole world!
Same goes for the alcohol packages, the internet packages, etc. @coneyraven summed it up best -- it's "a la carting" your trip.
 
I really debated including this next part, but in the end I felt like I had to call out the fallacy of your "paying a premium" statement.
 
7-night RCI cruise on Allure of the Seas (priced just now, with a "60% off second guest" promotion currently in effect) Four ports, no private destinations Leaving April 1, 2018 2 D1 deluxe ocean view with large balcony cabins (equivalent class)
$4,174.10 (incl port fees and taxes)
  8-night RCI cruise on Freedom of the Seas (the cruise I actually booked, price reflects all adjustments since booking for better promotions) Four ports, including private destination Labadee Leaving March 31, 2018 2 D1 deluxe ocean view with large balcony cabins (equivalent class) Includes $200 onboard credit as part of the last applied promotion
  $4,894.92 (incl port fees and taxes)
  7-night Disney cruise from Port Canaveral on Disney Fantasy (priced just now on the disneycruises.com site) Four ports, including private destination Castaway Cay Leaving March 31, 2018 2 verandah cabins
  $10,611.36 (incl port fees and taxes)  
But RCI is making me "pay a premium"
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Believe me, we air gripes here quite a bit! You should have SEEN when Royal announced that room service would no longer be complimentary, or when shorts would be allowed (briefly) in the MDR for all but formal night.
For myself, I never have a problem hearing an opposing viewpoint, but I do ask that it have some evidence I can look at and review to back it up. I was a scientist before making a career change 25 years ago, and those habits run deep. ?

But you definitely can get "full" at traditional dining

I was on back in August of 2016... performance was inconsistent at best. Didn't work well in my stateroom, but worked better in public areas. 

I for one appreciate your review, and I bet many others here do too.
In a weird way, this board is not unlike a family with RCCL being the parents.  We have our squabbles.  We get mad at our parents.  But... when an outsider talks bad about one of us, we circle the wagons.
RCCL isn't perfect, but it does a lot of things very well.  I hope you enjoy your trip.

Upon further review...
We (wife and I) didn't think enough about the points that the great folks here said...that RC is a lot cheaper than Disney...someone said that it's best to think of it as a la carte rather than the 'nickel and dimeing'.
It's better to only purchase what you need.
Great advice from all...and great reminders! We wanted something 'cheaper' than Disney and we got that...however, we lost track of the 'pay for only what you want' aspect.
Our main gripe with RC was not having a good way for family members to easily (and free) communicate with each other like it is on the Quantum class or Disney.
Again, great advice from all, and thanks for the re-adjustment to our thinking...we were miffed about the communication options and that resulted in some sweeping generalizations which were not expressed well.
 
 
 

Speaking as a first-time cruiser who hasn't even taken his first cruise yet (so feel free to take this with as many grains of salt as you want), I have to say that I find your statement that you're "paying a premium" for the RCI cruise to be really perplexing. I priced out Disney and RCI cruises, and Royal was always significantly less expensive for trips of the same length and cabin type, with the same (or often greater) number of port stops. That's not "paying a premium" by any stretch in my book; that's saving a lot of money for the other parts of the cruise that matter to me and my family that we consider not optional (mainly shore excursions).
We originally looked at both Oasis and Harmony, and Disney was consistently 1.5 - 2 times the cost for the same level ocean view or balcony cabin. We ultimately went with an itinerary on Freedom that we felt was better, which cost even less.
Everything else in terms of the packages offered is 100% optional. If you don't drink soda, no need to pay for a package. If you drink soda but don't plan to have more than 1 or 2 a day, you can pay for them individually instead of buying the package and still come out ahead compared to Disney's price. And if you drink 3 cans of Coke with breakfast, a couple of Mountain Dews at lunch to charge up, and then 2 more Cokes at dinner with Cherry Coke at dessert every day; well then the package is your best friend in the whole world!
Same goes for the alcohol packages, the internet packages, etc. @coneyraven summed it up best -- it's "a la carting" your trip.
 
I really debated including this next part, but in the end I felt like I had to call out the fallacy of your "paying a premium" statement.
 
7-night RCI cruise on Allure of the Seas (priced just now, with a "60% off second guest" promotion currently in effect) Four ports, no private destinations Leaving April 1, 2018 2 D1 deluxe ocean view with large balcony cabins (equivalent class)
$4,174.10 (incl port fees and taxes)
  8-night RCI cruise on Freedom of the Seas (the cruise I actually booked, price reflects all adjustments since booking for better promotions) Four ports, including private destination Labadee Leaving March 31, 2018 2 D1 deluxe ocean view with large balcony cabins (equivalent class) Includes $200 onboard credit as part of the last applied promotion
  $4,894.92 (incl port fees and taxes)
  7-night Disney cruise from Port Canaveral on Disney Fantasy (priced just now on the disneycruises.com site) Four ports, including private destination Castaway Cay Leaving March 31, 2018 2 verandah cabins
  $10,611.36 (incl port fees and taxes)  
But RCI is making me "pay a premium"
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I feel like that needs one of those asterisks followed at the bottom of the page by a nice paragraph of small-type legalese...
 
$300 price reflects purchase of inside studio stateroom with optimal promotional package applied. Price does not include port fees or taxes, which let's be honest will be more than the room price on this ultra-cheap room. Price does not include land or air transportation to / from port, parking fees, or other travel costs. Price does not include mandatory gratuities of $18.69 per day, or obligatory tipping to porters even if all you brought was a backpack with a single change of clothes and a toothbrush in it. And let's be honest, you're having at least 3 labadoozies; we know it, you know it, stop trying to pretend it won't happen.
 
 

Speaking as a first-time cruiser who hasn't even taken his first cruise yet (so feel free to take this with as many grains of salt as you want), I have to say that I find your statement that you're "paying a premium" for the RCI cruise to be really perplexing. I priced out Disney and RCI cruises, and Royal was always significantly less expensive for trips of the same length and cabin type, with the same (or often greater) number of port stops. That's not "paying a premium" by any stretch in my book; that's saving a lot of money for the other parts of the cruise that matter to me and my family that we consider not optional (mainly shore excursions).
We originally looked at both Oasis and Harmony, and Disney was consistently 1.5 - 2 times the cost for the same level ocean view or balcony cabin. We ultimately went with an itinerary on Freedom that we felt was better, which cost even less.
Everything else in terms of the packages offered is 100% optional. If you don't drink soda, no need to pay for a package. If you drink soda but don't plan to have more than 1 or 2 a day, you can pay for them individually instead of buying the package and still come out ahead compared to Disney's price. And if you drink 3 cans of Coke with breakfast, a couple of Mountain Dews at lunch to charge up, and then 2 more Cokes at dinner with Cherry Coke at dessert every day; well then the package is your best friend in the whole world!
Same goes for the alcohol packages, the internet packages, etc. @coneyraven summed it up best -- it's "a la carting" your trip.
 
I really debated including this next part, but in the end I felt like I had to call out the fallacy of your "paying a premium" statement.
 
7-night RCI cruise on Allure of the Seas (priced just now, with a "60% off second guest" promotion currently in effect) Four ports, no private destinations Leaving April 1, 2018 2 D1 deluxe ocean view with large balcony cabins (equivalent class)
$4,174.10 (incl port fees and taxes)
  8-night RCI cruise on Freedom of the Seas (the cruise I actually booked, price reflects all adjustments since booking for better promotions) Four ports, including private destination Labadee Leaving March 31, 2018 2 D1 deluxe ocean view with large balcony cabins (equivalent class) Includes $200 onboard credit as part of the last applied promotion
  $4,894.92 (incl port fees and taxes)
  7-night Disney cruise from Port Canaveral on Disney Fantasy (priced just now on the disneycruises.com site) Four ports, including private destination Castaway Cay Leaving March 31, 2018 2 verandah cabins
  $10,611.36 (incl port fees and taxes)  
But RCI is making me "pay a premium"
¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I feel like that needs one of those asterisks followed at the bottom of the page by a nice paragraph of small-type legalese...
 
$300 price reflects purchase of inside studio stateroom with optimal promotional package applied. Price does not include port fees or taxes, which let's be honest will be more than the room price on this ultra-cheap room. Price does not include land or air transportation to / from port, parking fees, or other travel costs. Price does not include mandatory gratuities of $18.69 per day, or obligatory tipping to porters even if all you brought was a backpack with a single change of clothes and a toothbrush in it. And let's be honest, you're having at least 3 labadoozies; we know it, you know it, stop trying to pretend it won't happen.