Good afternoon!
A little background before the review... We are in our 30's and this is my 7th cruise. I love Royal the best but have cruised with Norwegian and Carnival as well. We have a 4-year-old and this was his first cruise, so this will give you perspective from both sides of the coin!
Embarkation- We arrived at the port around 10:40 which is the earliest we have ever arrived! I started in the line and checked in from 10:50-11:10ish. It took a total of 50 minutes until we officially boarded. It normally doesn't take that long and usually aren't waiting in a wrap around line to board so not sure what the hold up was. We avoided the picture line too. I take enough pictures!!