Booked this nine night cruise to New England two months before sailing. Even with the late date of booking I was still able to book all shows, I'fly, Northstar and a couple of restaurants. Here's my breakdown about what worked and a couple of what the heck:

We flew in the morning of the cruise and urbered it to Cape Liberty. We arrived at the Port around 10:00. We had not tagged our luggage beforehand so the porter did it for us. Took 10 seconds. Tip the porter if you would like to see your luggage again. :). A staff member greeted us at the entrance pointing us to a worker with a tablet who checked us in which took a moment. We had done all the precheck, as well as uploaded our photos, before we left home. Security was fast and we were pointed to where to sit. First come - first in. Bathrooms are in the terminal close to the suite check-in which offers better sitting and light drinks/refreshments.

Royal Caribbean started boarding around 11:00 with visitors and suite guests going first. Then you were allowed onboard in the order of seating. They allowed no cutting in line. The whole process was very organized. To avoid the Windjammer we headed to 270 located on the 5th floor. Premade sandwiches, roast beef sandwiches, chips, premade salads, salads you can personalize and typical desserts made up their menu. Read more