Thanks Harryfat1 for the great memories!
We did the same cruise. Of note, it was a short Uber ride of around ten minutes to the port. Ubers were readily available at 1115 unlike the night prior’s arrival to FLL which incurred a 30 minute wait.
We had an 1130 checkin time and were onboard at 1150. Super smooth.
The check-in clerk retook our group’s photos- everyone’s. I asked her why after I spent ten minutes taking what I thought were perfectly lit and composed mugshots. She replied that they take photos of everyone regardless of guests having a photo uploaded or not and then chuckled about how many poorly lit and non-compliant photos they see (as far as sunglasses, cluttered backgrounds, pictures taken from a guest’s younger years, facial hair in a picture vs now being clean shaved, etc.). Based on those points, I wouldn’t be surprised if the photos are used as a facial recognition component in security’s CCTV system to facilitate investigations after a problem occurs. See another thread on these boards where someone’s magnet was stolen off their door and security found the culprits after a report was made…. Also pretty sure the terms and conditions allow them to use photos as part of the photo package auto sorting system so long as you opt in.
As for IFly and the North Star, we could not get free reservations as early as 11:40-ish on boarding day. I spoke with an activities rep on our second sea day and she coyly mentioned that I should continue checking the app for availability as they continually assess schedules and interest. Sure enough- a batch opened up later that day. So don’t give up! Pretty sure they had some more open around day six- but don’t quote me on that.
