Well where to start? This is my 3rd cruise this year, my wife's 5th. We'll also be coming back on the Dream on 12/15/11 for another 3-nighter; just worked out that way...
This is our first time on the Dream. We've been waiting for the chance to go and jumped when it finally came up. We've been on the Wonder probably 5-6 times before, 3-4 times each on Carnival and also Royal Caribbean, once on Princess to Alaska. We're early-50's, both work.
First time experiencing boarding time blocks. You can't just show up at 11am and expect to board. When you do your online check-in, you pick a boarding timeframe. What's still available is what you can choose from and it may be after 1 or 2pm before you can pick your time to get onboard. I see the logic; with 4,000 people to board, if everyone showed up at 11am to embark, it would suck. Don't like it, but I understand it. Based on what I've seen on Travel Channel shows, Royal does the same thing for the Allure and Oasis. Super ships just have to have different controls. We showed up and got onboard without a hitch and noticed others hanging around in the lobby waiting for their boarding time number to be called. Reminded me a little of Southwest Airlines boarding procedures...