The quoted post is nothing more than one person's opinion. You might want to tip someone but saying that you should tip someone is doing nothing more than trying to impose the posters opinion on others. Tip who you want, when you want and the amount you want. Don't let anyone try to push their OPINION on to you.
Usually it is 48 hours to cancel. If you cancel before sailing it will go back to your credit card, if you cancel on the ship the refund will go to your on board account.
The reports indicate that the current variant is more contagious than prior versions, though apparently less serious for most people, qand it is expected to take off, but who knows.
Sounds like OP booked a guarantee since he didn’t pick a cabin, or have an option to do so. ATA minimum he is going to have to pay the difference between what he booked and a cabin that he wants in the same category or higher. Sounds like the $500 quoted is a good deal.
Port visits and embarking don’t use the same pier. It’s perfectly”safe”. Because you have so many complaints about NCL you should definitely switch to MSC.
Yes it is Eastern time. The only reason to check in that early is to get an early arrival time at the pier, though in reality it doesn’t matter what time you get because they don’t check them.
The information in the quoted post is woefully inaccurate. For a US citizen on a closed loop cruise you don’t need a passport, and if you choose to sail with a passport as long as it is valid on the day you return it is perfectly acceptable.