SLJ

So true!!  I never get to dress up anymore. Nowadays I'm either covered in my kids' snot or milk, or food splatter from cooking.   Alright, I'm gonna fancy it up like no one's business.

Thanks @fonemanboband @SpeedNoodles. This makes me feel more at ease.  Do they allow you to use your own camera at the photo ops? 

I'm past the snot and milk covered stage fortunately, but I usually have at least one color of buttercream icing on me at all times! ?

So true!!  I never get to dress up anymore. Nowadays I'm either covered in my kids' snot or milk, or food splatter from cooking.   Alright, I'm gonna fancy it up like no one's business.

So true!!  I never get to dress up anymore. Nowadays I'm either covered in my kids' snot or milk, or food splatter from cooking.   Alright, I'm gonna fancy it up like no one's business.

I don't blame your wife. I have the exact same affliction!  lol.

I like to see military members in dress uniforms, they almost always look sharp. If my wife sees a handsome naval officer in dress whites she starts to breathe funny, gets the shakes and begins to mumble.

So true!!  I never get to dress up anymore. Nowadays I'm either covered in my kids' snot or milk, or food splatter from cooking.   Alright, I'm gonna fancy it up like no one's business.

I say go for it. "Dress to impress" is a good rule of thumb, and it's never wrong to overdressed (especially compared to being underdressed).

At the photo ops where they have a backdrop and the area is set aside for ship photographers they typically do not allow you to walk up and use your own camera.  If you can find a nice place to take pictures where they haven't setup the professional cameras, then you can take pictures.
I often see people trying to use staircases and such but there is nothing to stop other guests from accidentally photo-bombing your pictures as they walk down the stairs.  
Generally speaking most guests are very accommodating when they see someone trying to take a family picture on the stairs but our fellow guests come from a cross section of our society and sometimes a guest couldn't care less that you are trying to capture a family moment on a public staircase.    

I haven’t noticed a particular difference in formal-ness but many people get into the spirit (including Dan and me) with holiday adornment.  We have “naughty” and “nice” Santa hats. I am NEVER naughty.
??

I've worn full-length evening gowns for formal night, and saw quite a few on my 4-night night Mariner cruise in Feb (where there's a "Dress Your Best" night.  Seeing the evening gown women sitting next to the table with the guy in a graphics t-shirt and shorts was interesting.  

Best put. From A to Z.  I say go for it.  Most people dress up quite nicely.  And go to several photo ops.  We  have gotten some awesome photos over the years.  

I have 2.
1st story
I work for a national mens clothier.  I go off and buy what I think is a great outfit for my husband.  White/navy blue striped cotton sweater, and navy shorts.  One a.m. we were at the pool and it was kind of chilly, but he knew it would warm up, so he wore this outfit.  It is @ 10 a.m. and he is sleeping on a lounge chair next to me...snoring.  Passengers are walking by and glaring.  Thus, I nudge him so he will stop snoring.  He stops snoring, but they are still walking by and mumbling under their breath.  Huh? I don't get it, why are they looking at him this way.   A few mins later a bar staff member walks up to me and asked if I needed a drink.  I looked at him, looked at my husband and broke out in laughter.  His outfit was almost identical, just different stripe design on the sweater.  I am positive all those passengers thought he was part of the crew sleeping on the job!
2nd story
We as a family (siblings and cousins) decided that we were going to surprise my Mom for her 80th with a cruise.  She got wind and said she was not going.  We (siblings/cousins) decided we were still going and celebrate my Mom's Bday without her.  My brother is a practical joker.  He went to Staples and had a 24x32 picture of my Mom printed up.  In his mind, she was going on this cruise with us no matter what.  He took it with him on the ship, but kept it a secret.  Formal night rolls around and VOILA he pulls this picture out for the photos..  I can't recall the Captain's name, but he was European and needed staff to translate.  There is my brother asking the Captain to take a picture of him holding this huge picture of my Mom.  The captain could not wrap his head around he was being asked to do.  I am pretty sure when he got back to the bridge, he told everyone, now he has seen it all for the photo ops.  
My brother also makes calendars for every family member as a xmas gift.  Every month is a photo.  That yr. her bday month was the picture of the Captain holding this picture of her
 

They handle it for the hotel and cruise industry in general.   It's called Plusgrade. 
www.Plusgrade.com

Bid for 3 different categories in the beginning of March for a 19 May Baltic Cruise.  We're inside, when I checked on March 8th. Both outside and spacious balcony bids were marked "expired" balcony was marked "pending". I received an email a few minutes ago saying our bid was accepted for a balcony which happens to be midship......so it does happen

@Justice. Agree.  I bid on a GS and won.  I was notified on February 15 with a set sail date of February 24, 2019.  Moving from a JS was great.  

@12thman We're going on the Allure too, in May.  Since this is our first cruise and we have our second cruise booked for next year, I figure I'll try without the package this time and see how much our drink bill will come out to at the end of the cruise. During the day we'll have our thermos to fill up on lemonade, ice tea, water, etc. and we'll buy a drink at dinner. Since we're not big drinkers, our bill should be less than the package. We'll see.

I'd skip Cozumel, but just because I've been-there-done-that. There is good snorkeling, downtown is decent to explore. I'd consider taxing to the beaches around the East side and bar hopping as well. Have done Xplor in Playa Del Carmen and it was neat if you like the high adventure stuff. I think we picked up a stomach bug there as about a day later half our crew of 8 had some issues. Could have gotten it somewhere else though. 
Roatan wasn't a favorite of mine, but we did really enjoy the Daniel Johnson sloth and monkey. I've heard the snorkeling/scuba is fantastic. 
Costa Maya is like a "Caribbean Mexico Theme Park" when you disembark into the port, which I'm not really into, but we've done Maya Chan both times we've been there and highly recommend it. Not one of the great beaches of the world (curse that sea grass!) but definitely some of the best hospitality, food, and just beach-chill places I've ever been to. 

We visited Roatan on our last Symphony cruise and really enjoyed it.  Did a private tour which visited the sloth and monkey place, the chocolate factory and West Bay Beach (which is beautiful).  The tour guide was great too with lots of info on culture, etc.
We had same itinerary as you but Nassau instead of CoCo Cay so that's the one we skipped.

Hmm, toss up between Roatan and Costa Maya.

I agree.  We've done the Deluxe in the past and if fact our last cruise on the Jewel managed to snag it at $38/day which I haven't seen in a while.  On that cruise I did keep track and we easily drank more than we paid but we for sure drank way more than we would have if we hadn't purchased it.  The other thing I really noticed was that I eat substantially less with a drink package, it just seems like I'm always full from drink calories.  Obviously another win for the cruise line that you paid extra for... haha.  
Now with that said, walking up to any bar and ordering any random drink to try has me wanting purchase a drink package again.  Marketing at its finest!

One. ?

Here's my two cents on all of this:
I always buy the refreshment package (except for star class).  Does not matter if I am sailing in a suite or not.  For me, I like the convenience of being able to go to any venue (not just the suite lounge) to grab a bottle of water, specialty coffee, etc.  I think I drink enough water alone to cover the cost of the package so it is a no brainer for me.  I purchase it on sale.  Never at $26/day.  The best deal lately was the Black Friday deal at $17/day.  Right now, Symphony for July is sitting at $20/day.  This is USD that I am quoting. 
The deluxe package is a whole other story.  I will sometimes buy and sometimes not.  The first factor I go through is are my kids with us?  If yes, then the deluxe is likely a no as we spend a lot of time with our kids while cruising so, I would less likely be sitting around drinking something. 
The next factor is how long is the cruise?  For example, for the Anthem GC, I am almost certain that I will be #teamnoDX because for 9 nights, that is pretty pricey.  And my kids are with us so double whammy, likely no.
The next factor I consider when debating between Deluxe and Refreshment is what is the difference in cost between the two packages?  For example,  our July Symphony sailing (anniversary just hubby and I) coming up, the price for Deluxe has dropped to $49/day and Refreshment is $20/day.  The total difference between the two packages is $239.54.  That is equivalent to about 2 drinks per day (+$25 left over).  I can easily go through two drinks in one day on a cruise like that so I will be calling Royal right after this post to purchase.
Those are usually the scenarios I run through to make a decision.

We got the refreshments package for all of us, because we want the peace of mind of not having to worry about how much we are actually spending on the ship. It is all paid for, including gratuities. We got the package for $20 a person, and they add 18% gratuity to it. So, for 5 days, it came to $100 + $18 gratuity per person. We don't want to have to say "no, you've already had enough to drink today". The kids can get a couple mocktails, fill up in the Coke machines, get juice, water bottles. I think we'd easily spend over $20 each per day (maybe not on the port days, although the package works in Labadee). Then we'd have to worry about the 18% gratuity on top of the money over the $20. I think it would add up. At least for our family. I think it makes sense for us, but won't really know until after since it is our first cruise. I just really wanted to mention the gratuity piece, since I hadn't seen anyone else mention it.