SLJ

@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.

Thats to say you can find a bar open early enough to make you a mocktail at 7 or 8 am (depending on when you get off the ship).
 

They typically won't fill any personal container you bring but you are free to order something and dump it into your container before leaving the ship.   

Go For this price, Our group that is going on Liberty for Oct 27th, we have booked our packages at a higher rate, last night my brother/Sister in law had the deluxe package and refreshment, they cancelled last night and rebooked with this rate and save themselves $93.00. ( we all cancelled our drink packages and rebooked with the new rate) Hopefully RC wont take to long to put the credit back on the credit card.  I am the watchdog  for the group for the cheaper rates  I must thank the blog  for all the information and knowledge,.  Also to note some of the tours are pretty reasonably priced.  Been watching them since January and booked yesterday for Cozumel and Roatan and saved $125.00 Canadian for my husband and I.

The average was 6.00 (just looked at some of my receipts).  Anywhere from 5.50 - 7.00 for the non alcoholic cocktail.  One thing to note is they use those sugary mixes and when you do not have any alcohol they have to use more to make the blender blend correctly so you end up with a very sweet and calorie filled drink.  
I thought i would do 3 - 4 a day to get my money worth but 1 was plenty.  I had a real trouble getting value even out of the 20.00 a day, especially because the speciality coffees were all a single size and it was the small size.  You really have to force yourself to go get things on your refreshment package to make it truly worth it.

Depends also on the ship , in Oasis class you can use it also for real fruit shakes in the SPA bar , while most of the rest as I remember are using mixes out of a box.
Please mind , you might find the refreshment package around 19.90 in real sail , 26.8 is the regular price in cruise planner, its 30% off the on board list price.  
Beside the mocktails/Soda  you can also get special coffee ,  bottled water and fresh orange juice at the  morning 

The safe thing to do is buy it while it is on sale right now. 
If you change your mind up to 2 days before sailing you can cancel it for a refund but who knows if it will go on sale again before your cruise.  
Any one can buy the refreshment package on an individual basis.  Only the deluxe beverage package is subject to the rule that requires everyone over 21 in the cabin to buy it if anyone in the cabin buys it.  

@tradercj  This is actually what I want to look for as we'll have 14 people and will be staying at a hotel the night before. Thanks a bunch :)

@WAAAYTOOO I think our neighbor has that love seat set up. I made sure ours has the sofa bed for our kids. Come to think of it, we probably would be the louder neighbor ?

@WAAAYTOOO I think our neighbor has that love seat set up. I made sure ours has the sofa bed for our kids. Come to think of it, we probably would be the louder neighbor ?

I have never had a noise problem with adjoining rooms.  My problem with adjoining rooms is that there is that you must sometimes sacrifice the full couch for a smaller love seat b/c the door to the adjoining cabin takes up wall space normally consumed by the bigger, full couch.  That is not ALWAYS the case but sometimes it is and I have even been in adjoining rooms where there was no couch at all....just a chair.

We have had cabins with an adjoining room and it hasn't been louder.

Not advertising for them but, You can get simcards from roammobility for phone and data plans into US for very cheap. 
I regularly use it for myself and wife while traveling to the states. You can pick up the SIM cards from staples in Canada. 

I use Roam Mobility for my US phone/data plan.  It's about $5.xx a day.  Gives you 500mb data per day purchased, unlimited US/CAN calling/text.  I believe they use mostly T-Mobile network.
You can purchase the SIM card at Petro Canada.  Your cellphone must be unlocked.  My personal phone is dual-SIM so it's very convenient to just switch from my carrier to Roam Mobility.   

Royal charged me $60 for a two way transfer from/to FLL-Port Miami for my cruise on Allure last week.
There was no indication that this transfer was even available on my cruise planner, the royal app, or the royal website; I had to call in to request it.
 
Yes, there is free public wifi at FLL.

Yes but the wifi is not great and I doubt it extends outside.  Uber/Lyft are really meant to be used with a data connection.
@Lovetocruise2002 may have some experience with this as a fellow Canuck.

There is free wifi but it is unreliable. The ride share waiting area at FLL is between terminals. Once you step outside of the terminal, the wifi goes.
We use Telus Easy Roam. I pay a $7 flat rate per 24hr period and use my own data and minutes from my existing monthly plan. This only gets activated when I put my phone into data roaming mode. Perhaps look into a package like this with your carrier. 
If not then a cab is your best bet. However, I have not had any good experiences with FLL cab drivers. That is why we switched to Lyft in the first place. There is a site called ride guru which allows you to compare fares between all the ride share and cab options. I find that helpful.

This reply is for MEN ONLY. Women, DO NOT read this post! Okay, now that we men are together by ourselves.... here's where I stand on formal night. Women like to dress up. Sorry but they do. Ask the wife what she's wearing. Ask her to suggest something for you. She is thinking not just what you or she will look like, she'll be thinking what you'll look like together, standing in that line or in front of the photographer. Of course you can suggest a slight downgrade "Honey the jacket is nice but I don't think the tie is necessary" might get you out of the tie, but if the wife wants to dress to the hilt.... sorry bud, you will too. Think about it... it's all really about making them happy, and if a night or two of pinched collars, tight shoes and sweating in a jacket will do it, it's really a small price to pay. When dinner's over suggest grabbing a drink to take back to the room. Then change out of that monkey suit as fast as you can and continue on with your plans for the night. 

Thank you @SpeedNoodles !

Thank you @Matt !  By the way, I JUST came across your Youtube channel. (Yes, I know, a little late to the party). So I binge watched a lot of your videos and now I'm all prepared for my first cruise on Allure in May. So thank you thank you!!!

Thank you @Matt !  By the way, I JUST came across your Youtube channel. (Yes, I know, a little late to the party). So I binge watched a lot of your videos and now I'm all prepared for my first cruise on Allure in May. So thank you thank you!!!

I may have a look at it if it appears for our Allure sailing for next year and the price is right.
Some of the bits and bobs we may not use (don't think theres any ports where we have to tender for example) but I think overall it would amplify the cruise.
I do see some issues that would be good to avoid and hope they get ironed out, one of the recent comments made mention of the Activities and that the times weren't specifically for The Key and crew where advising just to jump the queue. I don't like doing things like that, I don't want to put anyone else out whos already queuing or anything like that.
Also seems that some are getting a bit upset with people buying the key because they now have similar perks to someone to paid a lot more for a suite or someone with a higher C&A rank. Not sure how I feel on that one, I'm still a Platinum about to move to Emerald so will still be a while before I can get to Diamond perks so I don't have the feeling that The Key is stealing my perks but can understand why long standing members may see it this way.
In the end I guess I'll make my own call if/when it goes up for our sailing

Thank you Twangster for the link. It's super helpful. 

Thank you Twangster for the link. It's super helpful. 

I just read a few reviews at the bottom of this blog.....the first thing that popped into my mind was the old saying "Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder".