LeeW

United normally does participate in EZCheck and it would be great for you. The Fort Lauderdale airport won't let you check bags until 4 hours before your flight, so when EZCheck isn't working I have to store bags ($10 each, and they search them) a half level down from right end of the ticketing desks. Then we go in to the United lounge until I can check luggage in. I leave the lounge, get the baggage tags, get the bags, drop them off and reenter security. Have had two cruises recently where the luggage handling wasn't available, but we ALWAYS use it if it is. Ask at Guest Services early in the cruise for the form. If it isn't available, you might want to rent a car for the day. Avis and Budget are just across 17th from the north port entrance, within walking distance if your ship is at the usual terminal. When you make your reservation specify airport dropoff. No dropoff charges in Florida.

On Sky last year think steak was only a few days (filet for upcharge) but many meals had a decent beef cut, like medallions. But many nights we wandered up to the buffet for desserts and they were cooking steak to order up there. And they looked much better that those in the dining room.

Also check AlaskaShoreTours. Lots of offerings in many ports and we have used them many times. DyeaDave also great in Skagway (and they can book car/train combinations into Canada).

We've only booked pre/post cruise hotels through Princess a couple of times, and all transportation was included. HOWEVER, hotel price is roughly rack rate per person, so they have a lot of your money to pay for that. Several times we were supposed to put bags in hall and be downstairs by 9 AM, only to find out the bus wouldn't come until 2 PM. Have seen a couple of times in Ft Lauderdale where people from ship would arrive at Embassy post-cruise at 9 and not be able to get into their rooms until 4 (pretty typical at that hotel even when not going through cruise line). In London got into airport 7 hours late and transfers to hotel worked very well, so there can be some advantages to booking through the cruise line. Traffic was nasty, but small vans did a great job and unloaded us in the hotel courtyard. Bus to ship was big bus that loaded on street for trip down to Southampton. Didn't get to that ship until after 3, though.

Bring an inflatable noodle or even floating lounger - start at around $8 on Amazon. Only place we can't use these is on Disney cruise. Turn right when you get off the tender. Fewer people and more trees. The clamshells are over there as well, although lots of folks quit using them due to lack of air circulation out in the sun. Buffet and bar less crowded as well. Snorkeling gets pretty murky after a few hours, especially near the pavilion. Less traffic to right of the harbor so it stays clear longer. WATER SHOES, WATER SHOES, WATER SHOES. Highly recommend taking your ID and going out to the vendors outside the fence. Lots of fun crafted items and some local food. Cash required (US$). Most vendors inside the compound except hair braiding use your cruise account.

Denali Lodge has a strip of stores across the highway. Several restaurants. Subway was $8 for a half sub 10 years ago first time we went. We used this for our lunch, although the box on the bus wasn't bad for me. The longer Tundra Wilderness tour into the park is not running this season - landslide isn't fixed at Mile 43 Hotel bar had great burgers/fries, large enough to share. Other lodges are out in the woods by many miles. About 45 minutes to Talkeetna from McKinley Lodge and bus costs after one trip. Not that Talkeetna has much there - shopping is more like a fishing lodge at a lake. All the hotels have gift shops with some snacks. Most longer Princess excursions do supply some kind of food (might be only granola bar, reindeer sausage and a soda).

The Hampton Blue Lagoon shuttle picks up just after the hour at MIA. Lots of restaurants around that hotel and decent breakfast with waffles. We have also stayed at the Embassy just NE of the airport. Both are easy to get to the pier either by shuttle or cab. Downtown locations are more expensive, and you will need transportation both to hotel and pier. Technically hotels in Brickell area can be reached by the metro, but you will need to haul bags to rental car center on free train, then switch to paid train for trip downtown.

You shouldn't need to call to get your Crown & Anchor number. Just log in to the Royal site with your email and Captain's Club password and you will see your status on Royal. Note the C&A number and try a mock booking with entering that number. Will show any balcony discount (assuming that the existing promotion doesn't exclude the balcony discount). You are likely Diamond on Royal, so you get the 4 drinks each day automatically at most bars or dining room. Good for cans of soda, water as well. Note that on Royal if you buy the soda package it doesn't include cans, just fountain. You may not get casino offers right away, but you can sign up for them at https://www.clubroyaleoffers.com/NotGettingMyOffers.asp You will also get instant offers for future cruises onboard when you hit various number of points.

Foreign port is required for cruise to sail from US. Likely Nassau or Coco Cay.

This cruise stops in Bahamas, USVI, St Maarten, St Lucia and Barbados before getting to Puerto Rico. It is NOT direct travel to either St Thomas or Puerto Rico. Passport is definitely required. Flying directly to either St Thomas or Puerto Rico can be done with a driver's license. But open loop cruises always require a passport. Closed loop cruises out of US ports generally allow travel on birth certificates. There are a few countries that require passports - Martinique and Colombia, for example. None of the ports the OP is hitting require passports at all for cruise entry, so expiration date shouldn't matter. Our experience has been the port folks don't even look at expiration date, but the most likely response would be to remind them to renew when they get back.

Log into your account, either on computer or app. App will show a checkin link either at the bottom of the page or your profile page. Computer will show checkin where you see the cruise list. On the app you can select the arrival time without filling in the other information. Computer requires you to fill in info listed in other post first. Easier to do the passport and other information on a desktop. We have used the same photos for years (although you can resize them when you upload them). Same with passport image - saved on computer. You can fill in the information for your entire party. In theory checkin opens at 9 your time but don't be surprised if it runs a few minutes late. If app isn't letting you check in, try refreshing or select another cruise (can be the same one). This reloads the cruise you are trying to check in on. Most folks do the midnight checkin to get an early arrival time. You don't really need to do that unless you are trying to get the earliest time. On many cruises I have checked in 12 hours late and still gotten the second arrival group. And they often don't check what group you are in at the terminal anyway. Once done, the cruise documents and boarding pass will show up roughly 30 days before the cruise.

Luggage transfers will be fine but the "guarantee" doesn't work for Alaska one way cruises to Whittier. If you miss the ship in Vancouver and the next stop is a US port you can't get on in any port due to PVSA rules. Not allowed to travel from one US port to another on Alaska routes. So don't miss sailing!

You can either buy a large cake (arrange with a headwaiter a day in advance) or just tell the waiters. The latter will get you a small piece of cake to share, candle, and singing for free. Or you could book them a dinner in a specialty restaurant.

We like Equinox and tried Beyond just after Christmas (not in Infinite Suite). If you like specialty dining Edge-class ships are great. All interior (and a lot of exterior) space seems to be devoted to specialty dining venues. If you are not into that, ship is pretty blah (although beautiful).

OP, your status should have automatically updated on Celebrity since their accounts are closely connected with Royal. Try logging in, deleting your Captains Circle number and then re-enter it and saving again. Should update the system. If it doesn't, call Captains Circle and they will fix it.