VinceC

Can someone give a detailed explanation of how the two private islands compare to each other?

Do you mean if you want to fill your YETI or RTIC up with free provided ICE water that is available self service at every bar?  Yes, FREE ice water is available and there are signs instructing you to NOT fill any personal bottles therefore taking the water and putting it in the sanitized cups before filling your bottle / cup is for health reasons.  You are comparing consuming the provided water with buying one drink package and sharing it.
I have found the rules for you from the RCL site regarding sharing of packages and ordering more than 1 drink at a time.
Q    Can I order multiple drinks at a time with Royal Caribbean's all-inclusive beverage packages?
A.No. As this is a personal package, only one beverage per guest will be served.
All packages are for single guest use and cannot be shared by multiple people.

It is stealing.  No matter how you attempt to console yourself, it is wrong and you are stealing.

I steal mini shampoos and soap. 
I steal teas and coffees. 
Its not stealing. Its a contained expense they can write off due to the bulk they buy this in. I'm assuming RC pay full taxes, otherwise its stealing. I'm assuming they pay a living wage to their staff, otherwise its stealing. 
 
You are not suffering, you just havent got two staterooms. 

Where do you draw the line?  When is stealing okay versus stealing is bad?  Pay hundreds for a hotel room and steal mini-bottles from the bar or refill them will apple juice because you paid for the room?
I'm sorry, stealing is never okay and hopefully you'll remember that when karma bites you really hard in the rear end.  It's because of people like you that causes the rest of us to pay higher rates.  It's not okay to steal, period.

The sharing is why Royal went with the requirement that everyone has to purchase it.  The profit margin is huge on alcoholic drinks and they don't make as big of a profit off of the drink packages.  
Is it allowed?  No.  Do people do it?  Yes.  They also sneak alcohol onboard the ship.
The policy is you can only order one alcoholic drink at a time without having two cards with the package.  Your photo shows when they swipe your SeaPass, so you can't just hand your card off to someone else to go use.  
Royal has the right to revoke your drink package if you are caught "bending" the rules.  It's your personal choice to do so, it's just not condoned on these boards at all.  
Just remember that being nice to bartenders and tipping can often result in them taking great care of you.

I am sorry to hear that for your own sake but more importantly because your stealing increases my costs and all the other folks on here who abide by the rules.  

?
I'm stealing as we speak. Just ripping a song off YouTube. 
 
I'm comfortable in my skin knowing that I'm paying RC several thousand pounds upfront, and another fortune on board in extras. Any saving I can make, while bending rules, is all good. 

I definitely need a DRINK after Reading through this blog topic....  Who is serving one up.....?

I definitely need a DRINK after Reading through this blog topic....  Who is serving one up.....?

The problem is you need TWO ALCOHOLICS for each cabin.....  LMAO...  Just an FYI... not all drinks are $12, a regular Vodka with a Juice or a Martini I think was about $8 to $10.
I just figured my cost on the Allure a few weeks back was 57/day/person or 798 for the week for drink with Internet, take 9 off for internet leaves 48 or 672 for the week.  So we had approx 55 drinks mostly Vodka and juice or a Martini, they were about $8 each (cost of Most vodka drinks) ($440).  We had about 8 large Specialty coffees (lattes) about $6 each ($36).  We had about 5 fresh squeezed juices, about $3 each($15).  We had about 20 waters at about $3.50 each($70).  So my total was 440+36+15+70=547, so I lost about $125.  Even if they charged $10 each for the Vodka Drinks that would add another $110 and I would still be $15 short.    And this was just me drinking.....  NO only kidding... 
Not thinking the package is worth it then and with the prices going up, really not worth it now.

The time that we went, the event was on Liberty (this was before the O class ships !!!!) and they had the event in the conference room.  I assumed that's how they did all of them....but maybe not.  We are also on Oasis next year in early December (December 6 - 13).  This is precisely what Dan did...played hard on Day 1, went out and then we enjoyed the cruise stress-free ! 

I just figured my cost was 57/day/person or 798 for the week for drink and Internet, take 9 off for internet leaves 48 or 672 for the week.  So we had approx 55 drinks mostly Vodka and juice or a Martini, they were about $8 each ($440).  We had about 8 large Specialty coffees (lattes) about $6 each ($36).  We had about 5 fresh squeezed juices, about $3 each($15).  We had about 20 waters at about $3.50 each($70).  So my total was 440+36+15+70=547, so I lost about $125.  Not thinking the package is worth it then and with the prices going up, really not worth it now.

Older one.
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/royal-caribbean-drink-prices

I just got off the Allure and I think the Boarding day prices were lower than everything that I have seen in the Cruise Planner.   Can this really be possible?  are we getting shammed into pre-purchasing or is this just a rare occurrence?

Oasis of the Seas - November 29, 2020

2 swings and 2 misses !

I just won a satellite tournament on the Allure last week and won a Cruise on the Oasis in November 2020 as well as a seat in the Royal Poker Finals tournament on the Oasis.

I AGREE....  I am a travel agent and I never add any extra charges.  I also follow up with the pricing changes,  just recently I saved one of my clients over $400 on a pricing change that I noticed and had them take advantage of.   I keep a file of all of my clients and their upcoming cruise dates and re-price them out at least on a monthly basis or every few weeks depending on how far out their cruise is.   As a travel agent it is my responsibility to make sure my client is getting the best price.   This is what brings me return business and client referrals.

Oasis of the Seas - November 29, 2020

I just won a satellite tournament on the Allure last week and won a Cruise on the Oasis in November 2020 as well as a seat in the Royal Poker Finals tournament on the Oasis.

I just won a satellite tournament on the Allure last week and won a Cruise on the Oasis in November 2020 as well as a seat in the Royal Poker Finals tournament on the Oasis.

I AGREE....  I am a travel agent and I never add any extra charges.  I also follow up with the pricing changes,  just recently I saved one of my clients over $400 on a pricing change that I noticed and had them take advantage of.   I keep a file of all of my clients and their upcoming cruise dates and re-price them out at least on a monthly basis or every few weeks depending on how far out their cruise is.   As a travel agent it is my responsibility to make sure my client is getting the best price.   This is what brings me return business and client referrals.

I just won a satellite tournament on the Allure last week and won a Cruise on the Oasis in November 2020 as well as a seat in the Royal Poker Finals tournament on the Oasis.

They hold qualifying tournaments throughout the cruise (usually on sea days) with the final on the evening or afternoon of the last sea day.  If they have enough Entry money to cover the cost, the first place prize is a seat in the final tournament (usually held in early December on one of the big ships) and the complimentary 7 night cruise for 2.  If they do not get enough Entry fees to cover the cost of the cruise + tournament entry, they just give cash prizes to the top few winners.
Dan won a satellite tournament years ago and we went on the free cruise and he played in the final tournament.  He went out the first day and we were able to thoroughly enjoy the rest of our cruise without the stress of worrying about the tournament !
I came in second once and got about $1200 as I recall.
We rarely even enter anymore.