RedCoatMom

Here is something that will give everyone a chuckle. It seems that Royal Caribbean isn’t the only one with IT issues, or perhaps their recently released beverage package intern got hired by Amazon just in time for prime day.
Amazon Prime Day pricing glitch meant people bought thousands of dollars' worth of camera gear for $94.50
https://bit.ly/2Gj9QsV

Dad?  Is that you?

Huh? My head hurts just reading this. I'm old!

Whether it’s a “deal” or not depends on how much consume of any particular type of beverage. I like having the sunk cost taken care of so I’m not worried about the onboard statement. 
When we sailed as a family a few years ago we all had the Refreshment Package and my husband and I purchased “adult beverages” a la carte. Could count on one hand the number of drinks we had over the course of 7 days. When I sailed with a girlfriend earlier this month we splurged and got the Deluxe pkg, using OBC to offset some of the cost. Neither of us are big drinkers, but over the course of the day - and when you factor in bottled water - we absolutely got our money’s worth. And, even if we didn’t, it was nice to order something without worrying about the cost. 

@WannaCruise I recently just learned this too on the Anthem GC.  A fellow cruiser did not purchase the package pre-cruise and decided on Day 4 that he wanted to purchase it.  They needed to get special permission for doing so as they said the cut off was Day 3.  In the end it was not a problem but like @twangster said, ask early.

@ThyriC has  summed it up nicely and this is my reasoning too.
Also don't forget the ability to try several different cocktails and drinks you always wanted to try but didn't due to the price.
Lava Flows, mud slides, several different martini flavours and vodka flavors.
Sounds extravagant but you can simply order them and if you don't like them hey no problem you haven't just spent $13+tip for it so no problem just to leave it and order something else.
Also don't worry about them watering down the drinks like some all inclusive resort. On explorer of the seas we actually had to tell the bartenders to go easy on the alcohol measures the lava flow is easy to drink but it packs a punch ?
 

I'm a fan of the drink package.  Its more the peace of mind than trying to beat the drinking game.  I like to think of it more like "drinking insurance" than I think of it as a game of "beat the house".  Here's why.
1.  Soda costs 3.50 each.  Same with bottled water.  Do you like bottled water or do you like tap water?  Do you like tea or lemonade over soda?
2.  Specialty Coffees are in the 5 dollar range.  Do you like your coffee plain?  Or do you like a latte or other specialty coffee?  
3.  Adult beverages.  Your typical rum and coke will run you around 8 dollars.  A Lava Flow with Kraken rum will run you 13.  
Now lets add up our numbers.  You wake up, have a latte or two.  That's 10 dollars for the day thus far.  Now you go do trivia or something and have a soda.  We're up to 13.50 for the day.  Its now lunchtime.  We're on vacation so we get our day drinking on.  Lets have that lava flow.  26.50 for the day.  Lets also have a bottle of water so we dont have issues with alcohol.  we're already at 30 on the day.  Now we have a latte at midday for a little extra pep, 35 for the day.  Lets have a soda before dinner.  38.50 for the day.  Lets have a glass of wine with dinner.  45 for the day.  We go to the nightclub or to the evening show, lets have a rum and coke and dont forget that bottle of water.  56.50 for the day.  Before gratuity on the adult beverages.  You're pushing 60 dollars without the DBP and that's really not drinking heavily at all.  
And this isnt trying to challenge our alcohol tolerance in the least and we've hit a rather high number for the DBP.  Anything more than that, and you've exceeded the DBP.  That's not to say you cant have a great time having regular coffee or tea with breakfast, drinking tap water, "enhanced water" tea and lemonade throughout the day, the same with lunch and dinner, and maybe one alcoholic beverage a day to get you to 13 a day.  Then, yes, the DBP is not for you.  
But for me, I'm on vacation.  I want my frozen adult beverages.  I want my special coffees, and I need my soda to survive.  I'm not a fan of tap water on a ship.  Its definitely drinkable, I'm just not a fan of it.  Bottled for me please.  
 

Just get it and don't worry about it. ? 

You can do the math and certainly make it work for you. But there's also a "quality vs. quantity" argument for it as well. I love the drink package because, if I'm paying by the drink, I will most likely stick with drinks I've had and know I'll like. But with the drink package, I will branch out and try new things. Worst case scenario, if I don't like something I just order something else. But I've discovered a lot of really tasty cocktails I otherwise probably wouldn't have tried without the drink package.