Jasukkie

It's a plus/minus thing. Yes, there are more lines for food. There are also more options for food. It helps if you don't mind adjusting your schedules to avoid the most popular times. It is a big, and wide, ship, which helps to distribute crowds. I will never understand the appeal of hanging out on the dim promenade with no view of water but at any given time there are hundreds of people there. The change in muster drills makes the first day a lot easier by the way.

It varies so much and some ships are better than others. Of my recent experiences, gold stars for the Navigator WJ crew. Had a surprisingly good steak there, and they really had nice seafood. Manager in there was top notch, wish I had his name. My least favorite WJ is Oasis. Favorite floorplan is Radiance class. Sometimes I just want a baked potato and veggies. The Indian food is always good. There's a spicy Indonesian noodle dish I always get if I see it. The worst thing is the lasagna, just mushy glop. The make to order pasta is good though. Sometimes we will do soup, bread, cheese, fruit, and a bottle of wine. I have nothing against MDR food, I just prefer a more relaxed setting. I'm not in a rush to get in and out, I just get tired of what feels a bit over-solicitous to me in the MDR. I don't like being asked repeatedly how everything is, sometimes before I've even had a bite.

Shhh, don't let the secret out! I have done entire cruises eating dinner only in WJ, more than once. I especially love the ones with outside seating, and booths. Just a great place to chill and be away from the masses. If you show up repeatedly, you will find the staff very friendly and helpful. If you don't mind waiting, the staff will be happy to make you special requests, just ask.

Yes, it's comical. I boarded an 11-night cruise earlier this month and when asked at check-in I showed them the picture on my phone. They didn't record this in any way, just that it was shown. You are free to use an old one or use a picture off google photos. They briefly glance at it and move on. Let your conscience be your guide.

No, just that additional packages are not being sold at this time. You are good. If you have your heart set on a certain time or restaurant for a certain day you should head to a restaurant once onboard and have them help you. My advice would be to not go to the restaurant that is open that day for lunch because they will be busy. My experience with UDP is that it varies tremendously from one ship and sailing to another. It was clearly undersold on my most recent cruise, which was a not purposefully half-occupied ship. There were several times we were the only table occupied in the restaurant, which is kind of weird. On the other extreme, I've had the UDP and every table was occupied and we had to be flexible with times. My other tip with this is to go easy on the food choices. You may burn yourself out on indulging. You don't have to order everything you are allowed to order, and the servers are always pushing more.

I might go in 10 years out of curiosity if the price is right but I'm happy on Radiance class. I keep myself entertained and love the ability to walk laps. It's great Royal is providing an even bigger ship for families. The Aqua Dome looks really cool.

You can also order any size or variety of coffee using your vouchers, unlike the single shot espresso/drink on the coffee card.

I've seen groups of your size set up with their own section in the Windjammer, guessing they arrange this with staff to come at the same time every day, at a less busy time. I like the scavenger hunt idea. I would focus on coming together over meals rather than trying to herd cats during the day.

How big a group would you have?

I tend to use my vouchers for a mix of non-alcohol and alcohol drinks. The specialty coffee shops will give you any size of any beverage, as opposed to the coffee cards which are each espresso shot equals one drink. If I haven't used my vouchers by the end of the day I stop by a bar and pick up a can of diet coke or water bottle for the next day.

I've had this happen in Bayonne as well and it did not lead to any problems with the sailing.

I'm recently off a sailing which by luck happened to be at about 50% capacity. I think the summer and holiday ones will continue to sell well but the shoulder seasons are more challenging. The price and logistics of Disneyworld is getting difficult for a lot of families so that may push some towards cruise deals.

The internet is yet to be determined due to the change to Starlink. As things are now, I'd be leery of any work which required video conferencing or streaming in general. It can also be highly variable from one part of the ship to another. Do not expect good wifi on your balcony for example. As for the food, the blahness may come from repetition. I've never noticed the quality changing over the course of a longer cruise. I believe they have the ability to add provisions in some ports as well? If you do the ship's tour you can see they have storage facilities maximized for each type of food. Produce at a certain temperature and humidity, dairy at another, etc.

He's a hoot. As the captain though, any lateness is on his decision to wait. It is pretty hilarious to hear him go on very directly about latecomers.

My experiences since the restart, enforced in Seattle and Bayonne, not enforced in Los Angeles. I've only done a port stop in San Juan so I don't know the logistics of boarding there but you may be able to drop your bags off and go eat lunch nearby or go sightseeing.