Loonbeam

Other than usual diligence I would not have any concerns. As notable as the current issues have been, they are not in the port area, have been focused around hotels, and while tragic represent a VERY small number of visitors...

I rented and tested both on my Nikon D500. The Nikkor is sharper,but not THAT much sharper at equivalent lengths. The Tamron loses a little at the 400 end, but it HAS a 400 end. The versatility was more important to me than the difference because while saying that the Nikkor is sharper implies the Tamron is not sharp and its not true. It's more of a comparison to good/very good than bad/good. Except for wildlife or landscape runs, the 18-400 rarely leaves the body now.

You can easily take a taxi there from the port, and Coral world will call one for you to pick up at the beach next door to get you back, just plan times accordingly.

As far as rainforest goes, I would recommend a tour guide like Ellis (who we used). By doing so, you can plan in advance what kind of day, they will already know the appropriate trails etc, plus they know the spots likely to be less crowded etc.

Pretty much. Viator just resells tours, you could book through them and get Marysol. We did Marysol's and were very pleased. Had a van for just the two of us, great guide who customized the tour for us and a driver to watch and move van. (yes, it did include two shopping spots where I am sure he got a kick, but we actually were happy with both of them, both had cheaper prices and better stuff than port area (Jewelry store at Amber Museum and a Souvenir shop somewhere near the Brugal facility.) We did the Cable Car first (worth doing and had it to ourselves almost on the way up, then the town central and amber museum, the the Brugal Factory and tasting, then a chocolate factory (we had no interest in the scheduled cigar factory) as well as stops at the fort, the aforementioned shop. I don't think we did lunch that trip, ate back on the ship as it was only about a 5 hour tour. Driver had water and snacks cold. The only downside to private tours (applies to both) is the way Carnival has Amber Cove set up, its a LOONG walk to the port gate and then to tour pickup. We very much underestimated the distance and heat, so plan to disembark a little before you think you need to.

When cruising, I would have the 150-600 second body on a tripod for glacier bay and while underway for possible sea life (I didn't have mine then but it would have been on my travel tripod if I had). Then use the 10-24 or 28-300 around the ship on the other body.

morrisomar23@gmail.com or via FB

This is currently challenging. Karib apparently has gone bust. Omar (Grand Turk adventures) has decent good recent reviews on Tripadvisor but his website was hacked at one point (supposedly) and is now down. Wet Money has a website and some options, but honestly I felt their rep onsite was sleazy (he was offering pretty girls discounts and I am pretty sure weed). They were also the only one operating inside the port area for some reason. We used Omar (pre-reserved via email paid on site) and were fine with it. The cart itself wasn't the best but it did the job and he was great with email responses. There are many threads on the topic, some have maps etc. Note that the island itself is only 7 miles long, there's not THAT much to see there (and no road signs but its kinda hard to get lost)

Someone posted the effectively the same question about 1 day earlier, going to respond there to avoid duplication.

Excellent! I also put that in there in case someone saw it and went 'What a good idea! Lets take my drone!' for future reference.

Still catching up on the great review, but one thing I need to point out if no one has.. Not sure if you took the drone pic at the beginning, or someone else, but... Don't fly drones on ship. I had mine on the Anthem and was considering it, and noticed someone starting to fly one off the pool deck late at night (presumably for a similar shot). I'm not kidding. 3 minutes later 2 security guys and an officer were there requiring he bring the drone it, land it and never use it on board again or he would be disembarked immediately... I knew they had a policy but assumed it was hit or miss enforcement. Nope. Not this one. (https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/can-guests-bring-drones-onboard) And now, back to the review (only on P2 so far! Great work!)

Let me get this straight. Somehow a waiter adding a $10 tip has something to do with ship safety, and because they don't monitor that the ship is somehow unsafe because of cultural issues? I have no idea what the OP expected to happen. They got comped a meal. Do they want evidence the waiter was tossed overboard and left to swim home for his or her transgression? Bluntly if something like this came in repeatedly over multiple channels for a $10 issue? I'd just close the customer's account and tell them to go find another provider. Not worth the effort involved.

Note that while you do not NEED a passport, it is highly recommended. If there is an emergency or diversion however, you will not be able to fly home without assistance from the US Embassy

I have an 18-105 as well, as part of my kit, a sigma Art I use for city shooting, etc. I was referring specifically to zoom. If you really want the 600, the 150-600 is a good one, and if you want a general purpose lens I go with the 18-400 because its in play when you don't want the heavier lens around..

Depends on how much sightseeing you want to do how much beach time as well as your ship's schedule, but David has a package that would work, and he was super nice: https://www.davidsfuntours.com/what-we-offer