Orange Crush

Also, Netflix recently added a feature to download select TV show episodes and movies to your device for offline viewing. So you don't necessarily have to buy them on iTunes or another service. From the device you plan to use, open up Netflix and go to the show you want. From the list of episodes (for TV series) or the main info screen (for movies), look for an icon labeled "Download"; icon image is a down-pointing arrow above a horizontal line. If you see that icon, you can download that episode / movie.
I'm in the US, so this may not be available yet in the UK. But from my own account, I can see that I have kid-friendly movies like Madagascar 2 - Escape Africa, The Angry Birds Movie, Minions, and Kubo and the Two Strings available; in TV series, I see the original Voltron series (yeah, I'm dating myself here), Flash, Arrow, and Supergirl.

I agree. If the ship and itinerary were great, I'd cruise on it if it was named, Chicken of the Seas! I do love tuna!

I was also thinking this would be the name of a Quantum class (or maybe "Quantum Plus"?). Quantum and Spectrum, though, are both pretty scientific names. I certainly love it, being a science nerd and all, but doesn't really have the greatest marketing ring to it.
Maybe "spectrum" here in the sense of you get the fullest breadth of service and entertainment available anywhere? Almost literally, "Taste the rainbow"? ?

I actually pretty strongly dislike it, due to the automatic association with a cable and internet company. I could see this very quickly turning in to, "THIRD AND FOURTH GUESTS SAIL FREE WHEN YOU SWITCH TO SPECTRUM!". 

Ahh... I guess that's m... 
NOPE!

If your sailing is in the next 80 or so days there shouldn't be any changes, as no policy has actually been drafted yet.  The Treasury Dpt has 90 days from the announcement to present the details.  After that?  It's really a bit of guesswork based on limited information, but it seems safe to say that cruises will continue - the details (how you'll be required to tour, for example) are sketchy.
http://www.cruisehabit.com/us-update-cuba-policy-roll-back-people-people-trips-cuba-organized-tours-become-requesite

@Orange Crush What we've generally heard is that "free" or "included" packages cannot be upgraded. A similar situation occurs when people book Boardwalk balcony cabins which includes the soda package. They haven't been able to upgrade. In all likelihood, this is a perk given to Costco by Royal to pass on to the customer, so that would mean there's no true value to upgrade from.

Yeah, I'm seeing the Deluxe Beverage Package @ $52 or Deluxe + Voom @ $56 on my upcoming Majesty sailing just after Thanksgiving.  That's not much better than the usual $55, but I went ahead and bought Deluxe + Voom to lock something in.
I've been checking the Cruise Planner every single weekend.  Hopefully a better sale comes along between now and then.  Maybe the 4th of July will pleasantly surprise us. :)

You've only been a member of this site for 5 months, you've never actually gone on a cruise, yet you still manage to rack up 338 posts. 

I learned this lesson earlier this year too when WiFi discount was reduced and I was waiting to buy it.  Key is to buy something and lock in the price to prevent against this sort of scenario.

Also watch for drink & internet combos on the drink package page.  I had booked the $48/day Deluxe Drink packages and then saw a deluxe + surf & stream combo for $52/day pop up later.  I wasn't going to pay full price for Internet, but $4/day was hard to pass up.

Also watch for drink & internet combos on the drink package page.  I had booked the $48/day Deluxe Drink packages and then saw a deluxe + surf & stream combo for $52/day pop up later.  I wasn't going to pay full price for Internet, but $4/day was hard to pass up.

I'd spend at least a couple hours walking around.
Looks like you're there 10am-6pm.  When you get off the ship, head down Caroline Street and get something to eat:
Pepe's if you want Breakfast Schooner Wharf often has live music Half Shell if you just want to sit by the docks with some decent seafood B.Os fish wagon if you want conch fritters, onion rings, hot dogs or just about anything fried.  Don't let the appearance fool you, this place is a gem! From there, walk off the food by heading back the way you came and turning left down Duval.  There are some interesting shops and museums between the T-shirt sellers and slushy-rum-thing spots.  If you hang a right on Olivia (about a mile down) you'll walk past the Hemingway house.  I've never done the tour, but have been wanting to--time just got away from us the last few times.
You can backtrack to Duval or hang a right on Whitehead to get to Mallory square and back towards the ship (there's more stuff to see on Duval, but there are a few neat spots on Whitehead).
Overall, skip the ship-sponsored tours, I wouldn't bother with the trolley if you don't mind walking a 2 mile loop at a leisurely pace.  I also would skip the Southernmost Point, it's just a big concrete buoy with a long line of people waiting to take their picture in front of it.

I'd spend at least a couple hours walking around.
Looks like you're there 10am-6pm.  When you get off the ship, head down Caroline Street and get something to eat:
Pepe's if you want Breakfast Schooner Wharf often has live music Half Shell if you just want to sit by the docks with some decent seafood B.Os fish wagon if you want conch fritters, onion rings, hot dogs or just about anything fried.  Don't let the appearance fool you, this place is a gem! From there, walk off the food by heading back the way you came and turning left down Duval.  There are some interesting shops and museums between the T-shirt sellers and slushy-rum-thing spots.  If you hang a right on Olivia (about a mile down) you'll walk past the Hemingway house.  I've never done the tour, but have been wanting to--time just got away from us the last few times.
You can backtrack to Duval or hang a right on Whitehead to get to Mallory square and back towards the ship (there's more stuff to see on Duval, but there are a few neat spots on Whitehead).
Overall, skip the ship-sponsored tours, I wouldn't bother with the trolley if you don't mind walking a 2 mile loop at a leisurely pace.  I also would skip the Southernmost Point, it's just a big concrete buoy with a long line of people waiting to take their picture in front of it.

Hi all,
 
My fiance and I are treating his parents to a Chistmas Cruise this year (Majesty 4-night out of Port Canaveral).  There was a medical scare last Christmas and we think a lot of it was brought on by how over-the-top they go throwing their big Christmas Eve party, so this year we want to take that off the table and just take them on a nice relaxing trip where they can be pampered and chill. We're basically living the setup to "Christmas with The Cranks."
 
My gift is going to be covering their gratuity and drink packages.  Future Dad-in-Law will get the money's worth out of a drink package without question, but future Mom-in-Law might have two cocktails the whole trip.  I'm trying to decide whether to get her the non-alcoholic Refreshment Package or just put what I would've paid as a credit on their stateroom so she can use it for whatever she wants.
 
So my decision here hinges on a few things I'm thinking about:
We want this to be as stress-free for them (her in particular) as possible.  I don't want her to even think about charges she's accumulating and JUST RELAX She'll appreciate the sodas, fresh squeezed juices, fancy coffees and teas, but I'm not at all sure she'll appreciate $26 worth of them a day.  Is there anything else the package gets you that I'm not thinking about? If I get her no package at all, she's liable to stick to the free stuff because it's free rather than getting what she'd actually enjoy She *does* have a bit of a sweet tooth.  Outside of Johnny Rockets which charges you for milkshakes whether you have a package or not, are there milkshakes at Latitudes or elsewhere on the ship that would be covered? How much is a fresh squeezed juice ala carte?  Is it available outside of the MDR?

Serenade was painfully slow last November.
 
Was refunded 5 of the 11 nights package.

I've only ever used the Surf & Stream - and for a while, that's all there was.  It really comes down to which ship you're on, which is unfortunate.  You'll find, from what I understand, that Voom on Majesty works quite well.  
 
I've heard great things about Voom and/or had positive experience on: all Oasis class ships, all Quantum class ships, Freedom of the Seas, Empress of the Seas, Majesty of the Seas.  Indy was iffy - didn't fit squarely in the 'naughty' or 'nice' column.
 
Perhaps we'll start collecting speed tests like Cruise Compasses...

I was on Adventure right after the half-"refurb" while they were still tweaking it.  24 hours with no access at all in the middle of the week sucked, but oddly enough one of the better locations with a strong signal strength was on my balcony in the aft corner of deck 9.  

Yeah, you probably won't save any money buying a bottle of something available stateside in a port shop, besides the ship probably has a supply you can have as much as you want of with your drink package.
 
Get something the locals make.  The Mexican shops have some really nice blue agave tequilas you can't get here.

This one change won't really affect me, since I'm not likely to use room service anyway, but I don't like the continuation of the trend of nickel-and-diming.
 
These places to eat are included, but these places are not.  These beverages are included, but these are not.  Buy a drink package!  Now these drinks are included, but these are not.  This show is included, but this show is not...  On and on and on...
 
If they couple this with something new and complementary, I'd feel better.  More late night food options that aren't pizza would be a welcome addition.

This one change won't really affect me, since I'm not likely to use room service anyway, but I don't like the continuation of the trend of nickel-and-diming.
 
These places to eat are included, but these places are not.  These beverages are included, but these are not.  Buy a drink package!  Now these drinks are included, but these are not.  This show is included, but this show is not...  On and on and on...
 
If they couple this with something new and complementary, I'd feel better.  More late night food options that aren't pizza would be a welcome addition.

This one change won't really affect me, since I'm not likely to use room service anyway, but I don't like the continuation of the trend of nickel-and-diming.
 
These places to eat are included, but these places are not.  These beverages are included, but these are not.  Buy a drink package!  Now these drinks are included, but these are not.  This show is included, but this show is not...  On and on and on...
 
If they couple this with something new and complementary, I'd feel better.  More late night food options that aren't pizza would be a welcome addition.