Cowcrazy65

You can also get double points for cruising solo.  Heck, if you cruise solo and book a suite, you get quadruple points!

Newbie here.....How do you get to be a Diamond Member?

To become a Diamond member you need to accumulate 80 cruise points. You receive one cruise point per night that you cruise, i.e. 7 cruise points for a 7-night cruise. If you book a suite class stateroom, you earn double cruise points (14 points for a 7 night cruise in a suite, including Junior Suites and up).
 
One other option is to reach Elite Level on Celebrity Cruises or Explorer Level on Azamara Cruises. Royal Caribbean will match your status on those cruise lines with Crown & Anchor Diamond status just by calling the Crown & Anchor hotline.

One thing i noticed on our Navigator trip was they seemed to be enforcing tender groups as much as possible (ie tender tickets they have available the day before).

We didn't experience that but then again we were like #4 in line. They let us right on the first tender without any tickets.
 
I'm not saying my experience is what will always happen but if you're early enough, it seems like you slip by. I made sure to be very early because I had heard all the horror stories about tenders in Belize

if the steamer is plastic you may get it on, but otherwise they take them a lot of times
Downey Wrinkle release actually works pretty good and I use the shower, and steam up
the bathroom while using them on some clothes, just an idea

It's worth trying. RC will sell you the package at a pro-rated rate every day you wait to purchase it but there has to be at least 4 days left on your cruise.
 
And yes, the drink package works at Labadee and CocoCay

Welcome Lisa and Ron!

Not sure if Margaritaville is open but many shops will be open because they know they have to be there to make money

If the ship docks at 7am, shouldn't be much of a line to get off the ship at that time so being ready to leave at 7am (or shortly thereafter when locals clear the ship) should be fine.  The lines will be there closer to 9am or so.

You can absolutely get off the ship and come back on and get back off.  
 
Also Falmouth is an interesting port.  You dock in a cruise-line created area that has shops and restaurants (Margaritaville).  In this area, you can easily get back to the ship without any hassle.

I agree about the smart phone app idea for the noise machine

I use an app on my smart phone as it's easier and lighter than a fan. However, I don't think you'll have any issues getting a steamer or small fan onboard based on my own experiences.

Lines will form on deck 2 where the gangway is.  It's first come, first served in terms of boarding a tender.  During prime time (first hour or two and last hour or two) they run a lot of tenders to get people moving.  It's pretty simple and a short ride to shore.

My wife and I went there last year and found it to be beautiful. The beach is very nice with soft sand and it was raked several times during the day we were there. The water was warm and clear.
 
It's a basic resort but I liked it and would go back again.  For a $29 cruise ship booked excursion, it was great!

ive read that if there are at least four days remaining, you can buy the package.

I think we came back and hour and a half before we were scheduled to be back ..

When I went to cayman on The Brilliance of the Seas we were suppose to tender at 8 and I got in line at 7 ..it started to get crowded at 25 til ..we were the first ones off the boat and the tender is quicker than most other ports from what I was told ..I had an excursion at 830 and we had plenty of time to get there..make sure you ask when you leave the ship when is the last tender you can catch to get back on the ship and you and you should be fine..

When Getting off  in Grand Cayman do you just get in line and wait for your turn to board the boat? We tender at 10:30 am, what time should we get in line?   I would assume if you want to be back on the ship by 5pm, you should get in line at the port about 4pm?  Sorry about all of the ????   I like to be prepared!!!!  Thanks again!  L

At least the 90 mins, sometimes more based on my experiences.
 
I have seen it take 2 hours from being seated, till I left the table when not MTD. This maybe more the case with the traditional seating times though.
 
On my last cruise, I was in and out in less than 60 mins, but there was only 2 of us , and we knew what we wanted prior to sitting down.
 
I would suggest the buffet when trying to time it with a show/event after that you want to attend if the times are close.

I think 90 minutes is a safe estimate. When dining with just my wife, we're sometimes out in roughly an hour, but it really comes down to the efficiency of your wait staff and how much you order, what you order (e.g., specialty coffee with dessert), etc. I have found that open dining usually runs faster, but again it depends on your service team. If you're at a big table, add an addition 30-60 minutes especially if you like your table mates as the conversation slows things down.

It also depends on you.  You can get in and out in like 30 minutes if you want or take longer it can go closer to that 90 minute mark.  
 
It's been my experience the MDR will take 60-90 mins if you don't say anything about speed. 

Ditto what was said above.  If you mention that you have something planned and need expedited service, the crew will do everything they can to make sure you get to your event on time.  

In my experience "My Time Dining" is somewhat faster than your traditional dining experience; I don't mind a two hour meal as it gives me more alone time with my Better Half. :)

I just wanted to remind everyone to ask for the kids' menu in the MDR especially if there's nothing to your liking on the regular menu or if you're looking for something different (e.g., finger foods).  We often find that desserts of the kids' menu can be a nice change as most cruise lines have some version of a banana split which can make the regular ice cream a bit more appealing.  On Royal, it's more like sliced bananas with chocolate syrup, but still quite tasty especially if you opt for the specialty flavor of the night.
 
Remember, any adult can order for the kids' menu just like any kid can order from the regular menu. :)

Exploring the ship is always a great idea, for new and old.  There's so much onboard, don't miss any of it!

Great point!