Stephanie

Only free wifi when you're in Star or Sky class suites, which isn't navigator unfortunately. 😞 
If you haven't read this already it's a good review of benefits - https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-suites-program 

We did a cruise out of Bayonne for Christmas. It's a little strange having to pack for winter & summer ...  Like the others said, the 1st day / day & a half are cold and you don't want to be outside, but then it warms up. We were in the Bahamas on Christmas Day in shorts & a t-shirt.  Made me wish I could always have a tropical Christmas.
I haven't done a NYE cruise, but I will say Royal knows how to celebrate the holidays. The Christmas cruise was tons of fun, so I can only imagine how fun a NYE sailing would be.

The fitness centers on every ship I have ever been on have been top notch.  Very similar to a commercial gym.  The only thing they lack are squat racks and free weight machines. They are all cable machines and each ship generally has at least 1 Smith machine.  They do have plenty of dumbbells.  Still, I have never had an issue getting in quality weight training on the ship.  And they have tons of cardio machines, so that's never an issue.
As to water bottles - no. They have a water fountain, but you will need to grab a water bottle prior to going to the fitness center.  And, if you're an early bird, I'd say plan ahead the night before b/c most of the bars are not open at 6 am.  I've had to go to the Cafe on 5 to get a water to trek back to the Fitness Center on 11 many times.

The fitness centers on every ship I have ever been on have been top notch.  Very similar to a commercial gym.  The only thing they lack are squat racks and free weight machines. They are all cable machines and each ship generally has at least 1 Smith machine.  They do have plenty of dumbbells.  Still, I have never had an issue getting in quality weight training on the ship.  And they have tons of cardio machines, so that's never an issue.
As to water bottles - no. They have a water fountain, but you will need to grab a water bottle prior to going to the fitness center.  And, if you're an early bird, I'd say plan ahead the night before b/c most of the bars are not open at 6 am.  I've had to go to the Cafe on 5 to get a water to trek back to the Fitness Center on 11 many times.

The Crown Plaza is in a safe neighborhood.  It is in the city of San Pedro.  There are a lot of great places to eat in San Pedro near the intersection of 5th and Mesa St and 6th and Mesa St.  I live in this area and one of my favorite restaurants is Niko's Pizzeria.  It is on the corner of 6th St. and Mesa St.  According to Google Maps, it is 0.2 miles away from the Crown plaza and Google Maps says it's a 4 minute walk from the hotel.  There are also MANY great restaurants right by Nikos.  The San Pedro Brewing Company, Kalaveras (Mexican food) are also great.  You will find Thai food, Italian Food, Mexican Food and any other kind of food you may want all in that same neighborhood. See Google Maps Walking Directions Below:
from Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Harbor Hotel, an IHG Hotel, 601 S Palos Verdes St, San Pedro, CA 90731 to Niko's Pizzeria, 399 W 6th St, San Pedro, CA 90731 4 min (0.2 mile) via W 6th St
Mostly flat Use caution–walking directions may not always reflect real-world conditions Crowne Plaza Los Angeles Harbor Hotel, an IHG Hotel 601 S Palos Verdes St, San Pedro, CA 90731 Head west on W 6th St toward S Centre St 0.2 mi Niko's Pizzeria 399 W 6th St, San Pedro, CA 90731

Ditto.  I travel with Downy wrinkle release.  I'm also a big advocate of rolling.  For the nicer clothes, I've found if you stack them, then roll them all together (like a burrito), you don't get any wrinkles at all.  It's also a more compact way to pack.  I can get so much more in my suitcase when I roll clothes.

every day.,....haha
 
Its always the same sale pretty much.....don't worry about that. It doesn't ever really change the price.
 

One thing I wish I had learned earlier on is that you can eat in the Main Dining Room for breakfast & lunch, too.  It's less hectic and not nearly as crowded as the Windjammer. 
Also, pay attention to the Cruise Compass.  There is so much valuable information provided on it each day - it's not just show times & activities.  It provides the operating hours for various stores, restaurants, etc on the ship.  We went on a cruise with family members a couple of years ago and we were mid-way into the cruise before they asked how we knew so much about what was going on all the time. ?‍♀️?
 

Don't miss the pier runners. It's an additional show that is complimentary.

There are pros and cons to both the smaller ships and the larger ships.  Many of which have already been touched on.  It's really a personal preference.  Our first few cruises were selected due to the itinerary.  It wasn't until 2 years ago that we specifically chose the cruise based on the ship.  My husband wanted to experience a larger ship that had more activities.  We chose Anthem and fell in love.  My only complaints about Anthem are that the elevators seem particularly slow compared to the other ships and there isn't 1 MDR (a minor detail, really).
My dream cruise for years & years had been the Western Mediterranean.  We lucked out that Symphony just so happened to be sailing that itinerary for one summer only, so we got the opportunity to sail on Symphony in her first season.  She is incredible!  We loved Symphony!  Our stateroom was on 8 - the same as Central Park, and we enjoyed walking through the park multiple times a day.  But, like others mentioned, you lose some of the personal connection on the big ships.  
The shows on Anthem and Symphony are great, and the promenades are fun for people watching & all the Cruise Director Staff activities.  That said, I think the "Royal Caribbean Singer & Dancer" shows are not as good as on the smaller ships.  We love the Centrium on the smaller ships because - silly as this may sound - we really enjoy watching other cruisers ballroom dance!  It's harder to find the dancers on the larger ships.  Sometimes they're in Boleros...  The smaller ships certainly have less in the way of daily entertainment, but you also have less crowds, which is nice.
Frankly, Anthem was "just right" for us.  Like @FManke, we're not hot weather people.  But, we love to cruise.  Our next cruise was ship-based again, not destination based.  Almost all of the European itineraries excite us, but for now, we're staying state-side.  So, Anthem it is!  We may not even get off the boat. ?

It was weird...on our B2B in Feb on Anthem the photos that we submitted were used for the first half of our B2B but they had to retake our pix for week #2.  I never have figured that one out.

WONDERFUL!!!  I just want to let you know that I am happy for you! I absolutely KNOW that you guys will have a great time!  We were on Majesty of the Seas (smallest ship in the fleet) and still had an absolute amazing time.  We sail on Brilliance on the 19th-23rd of December of this year and I can not wait!  Wait until you see the menu for Christmas dinner.......

Thanks, everyone!  We booked the cruise.  I love Christmas, so I am especially excited to see the ship decorated and to have all the "extra" Christmas activities on the ship!  
As far as getting to the ship, we have plenty of points to cover our airfare, so that will compensate for spending a little more on the cruise itself.
Earlier this year, we bought the business my husband has worked at for the last 13 years.  As new owners, it's hard to feel like we can leave for more than a couple of days right now.  We'll be closed for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, so by going on our cruise this week, we get to have a vacation without feeling like we're gone & out-of-pocket for too long.  It's a win-win (hopefully)!
@Hoski, thanks for the tip on the dining package.  I had seen that on another thread as well. Duly noted!

Thanks, everyone!  We booked the cruise.  I love Christmas, so I am especially excited to see the ship decorated and to have all the "extra" Christmas activities on the ship!  
As far as getting to the ship, we have plenty of points to cover our airfare, so that will compensate for spending a little more on the cruise itself.
Earlier this year, we bought the business my husband has worked at for the last 13 years.  As new owners, it's hard to feel like we can leave for more than a couple of days right now.  We'll be closed for Christmas Eve & Christmas Day, so by going on our cruise this week, we get to have a vacation without feeling like we're gone & out-of-pocket for too long.  It's a win-win (hopefully)!
@Hoski, thanks for the tip on the dining package.  I had seen that on another thread as well. Duly noted!

Have done one Christmas cruise in the past and had a great time.  This year we are doing Allure of the Seas over Christmas with my son, DIL and grands and really looking forward to it.  We have never spent Christmas with them before so it will be a special treat for us.

We did Majesty of the Seas over Christmas about two years ago and it was wonderful! I would not hesitate to do one again! That being said, we were suprised to find that they had so many people that wore Christmas themed pajamas, or tacky sweaters, or suits the day of Christmas!  There were activities all over the ship, they had caroling, singing, shows, Santa managed to show up, decorations, it was absolutely amazing!  I hate to say it because for me Christmas is all about family and extended family, but I have to say that I think that it was one of the best that I have had in quite a few years.  Just do yourself a favor and book it and enjoy your Christmas holiday!  ?

The classes vary by ship.  Typically "zumba" classes are activities put on by the Cruise Director's staff and are free.  They're not always called "Zumba" as that name is trademarked and you have to be a licensed Zumba instructor to use the name.  I've actually been on ships where there were staff who were licensed Zumba instructors and vice verse.  On the ones without licensed instructors, the activity is usually called "Latin Fitness" or something of that nature.
The fitness classes offered in the fitness center are usually an up charge and you have to sign up in advance as space is limited.  Some of the ships I have been on offered spin class, but it's typically yoga or stretching classes.

My husband and I are thinking of booking a cruise over Christmas.  Is there anything special we should know / take into consideration for cruising over the holiday?  Aside from the obvious air travel considerations of flying over the holidays! ?
It's been nearly a year since our last cruise and I.AM.DYING!!!  I need my Royal Fix.  Lol

Tough call between A or B.  I just did 7 days from Barcelona - Palma - Marseille - Florence - Rome - Naples.   I'd love to go to Santorini, but option B doesn't have Naples.  For our day in Naples, we took the ferry over to Capri & it was the best stop of our entire trip.  The beauty on the island is unsurpassed!!  Simply breathtaking.  But, I honestly don't see how you could go wrong with either option.
In full disclosure - Rome is an 1.5 bus ride from the port and Florence is a full 2 hour bus ride.  Those days back-to-back are extremely long & tiring days, but worth every minute.

Oh the choices!!  I'm going on my bucket list (Western Med) in a couple of weeks.  I say if you've seen those places, go somewhere else ...?  I've never been on Oasis, but I hear it's ah-may-zing!  I've been on Serenade and Explorer.  Both nice, but they are smaller, older ships.

Ditto.  I travel with Downy wrinkle release.  I'm also a big advocate of rolling.  For the nicer clothes, I've found if you stack them, then roll them all together (like a burrito), you don't get any wrinkles at all.  It's also a more compact way to pack.  I can get so much more in my suitcase when I roll clothes.

As Matt suggested, not all the bars have blenders or milk, so if it's a frozen drink or requires milk (i.e. Mudslides or White Russians), you may be out of luck.  Most all of the bars will have the "drink of the day" - blender required or not - because they're pre-made & in pitchers.  I don't recall running into the no blender thing much on Explorer...  
Some of the bars have specialty cocktails on their bar menu that you can't generally get in the other bars simply b/c the bartender has no idea what you're talking about. ?

No worries, I drink the water station water a lot on cruises.  It's pretty easy to use one of their clean glasses to fill my personal water bottle, staff have never said anything or complained about dealing with my shortly used glass.
On a kitchen tour the chef once said "Do you know why we are so careful with food preparation?"  After a few dumb guesses on our part he replied... "Because there are over 5,000 guests and crew on board but the medical center downstairs only has four beds".
On a serious note, things like noro are a thing because of guests, not because of the ship.  While not washing as many plates would save money, it's not worth the cost of sick guests.  
Wash your hands, it's easy to do, you only have two...

We have done both.  In Alaska, I booked through local tour companies.  And, in the Caribbean, we've caught tours once we were on shore.  Particularly in the Caribbean, the islanders live solely on tourism.  Everyone knows all of the ship's schedules and can pretty well recite them to you by heart.  Because they rely so heavily on the cruises for their livelihood, they do everything they can to get you back to the ship on time.
That said, for our upcoming European sailing, I booked all of our tours through Royal.  Foreign countries, foreign languages and countries who are not solely reliant on tourism for their economy ... I wasn't willing to take the risk.

I just want to throw in my "thank you" for reporting this as well.  In today's world - someone who works in the engine room on a large passenger cruise ship .... definitely scary & you definitely did the right thing!