One more question- we are flying into Ft Lau the night before the cruise- How far is the airport and what is the best hotel to book that is close to the dock to board the next day?!
Airport is about a 5-10 minute cab ride away from Port Everglades. Don't know what your flight time is, but chances are you'll make it with time to spare. If you get an internet package, check in online to get that out of the way.
My current favourite is Hyatt Place 17th Street. You can go to valuetrips and get a room for relatively cheap. Only thing is that it may take a couple of weeks for them to get back to you with a confirmation. There are other hotels in the immediate area as well. The good thing here is that there are several restaurants within walking distance, plus a Publix, TJ Maxx and Total Wine in case you've forgotten something (or want to bring some wine aboard).
How does the Alcohol/Soda/Dining/gratuities packages work? and how much are they?
So others have noted the prices. Another thing to note is that if you purchase the ultimate drinking package, ALL people of drinking age in your room need to purchase the drinking package. With that said, people have reported some success in getting exemptions by calling Royal Caribbean and giving a reason such as "my spouse doesn't drink" or similar. Cruise Planner usually advertises a BOGO (I think I got the % wrong) deal on the drink package.
Unadvertised deals are a prepaid draft beer card and a prepaid drink card. These may or may not be offered on the cruise and usually appear around Day 3/4. The card is pretty much what you think it is - pre-pay for 10 drinks and get a discount off the list price. I didn't see the beer card last time around, but the drink card was $89 and good for any drink up to $13.
As a suite guest you will get charged $17.50 per person per day in automatic gratuities. You can go to guest services and get that changed if you want. I find the non-suite rate to be fair and usually top it up at the end of the trip. But YMMV.
Breakaway was extremely casual, do we need dressy clothing for Harmony?
This is always a point of contention but imo it's your cruise, so wear what you want. FWIW I personally don't mind dressing up for dinners, so that's what I do.
ANY Advice is welcome! Thank you all.
My big one is to try the various free venues for meals. Lots of people go up to the WindJammer buffet for breakfast and lunch... and on a ship of 5-6000 people it gets really crowded during peak times. For breakfast, you can go to the MDR, Mini-Bites, Park Cafe and Johnny Rockets. Lunch is the same minus Johnny Rockets.
If you're going to Labadee and just hanging out at the beach, take the (free) water taxi over to Columbus Cove. It's a nicer beach and less people go there.
