KLA

Scott,
 
This is what I took from your post.  Essentially, you've given us a decision tree regarding the drink package.

Welcome aboard, Amy! :D B)

Ah, the old drink package debate. Can AMY drink enough? That's the only real question. Every other answer is subjective. If you can drink an average of 7 a day, EVERYDAY, then get it (the "average" is based on the quantity of drinks, as well as the price of the drinks you enjoy). I consider myself a professional drinker. I drink nearly everyday. I got the Premium Package on Freedom last October. In the end, it worked out in my favor. However, there were days I was worried it wouldn't. The experience gave me new insight.
Do you have a lot of port days?Don't get it. Conversely, do you have a lot sea days?Get it. Do like beers?Don't get it. The lower price will make it harder to break even. At $5-$6 per, you'll need ten a day. Do you like premium spirits like Hendricks Gin or single malt Scotch?Get it. The higher price makes is much easier to break even. At $12 per, you'll need less than 5. Do you like the idea of having the freedom to do whatever, whenever, and even if you lose out a little, it's still worth the peace of mind?Get it. You get the idea?

My typical cruise day: (1) I would have Bailey's with my coffee to start the day. (2-3) I would have a pina colada or frozen margarita poolside (or both). (3-5) I would have a cocktail or two at R Bar before dinner. (4-6) I would have wine with dinner. (5-7) I would have an after dinner drink. (6-8) I would have a drink at the show. (8-11) I would have a drink or two (or three) during the evening festivities. So each day, I was somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 drinks.

But, that's a sea day! If I had to be off the ship by 8 am, I'd miss the first 3-4 drinks. And, if you drink while in port, you might miss even more when you get back (because you're already buzzing nicely). Remember though, in the end I did win. There were party nights which helped to make up for the sea days. And again, I drink top shelf, so that helps. As did my wife.

Final point. On the other hand, we're about to board Enchantment in 5 days, 3 hours, 6 minutes, and 7 seconds (but who's counting?). We are NOT buying a package. We're testing an idea: Drink as freely as we did on Freedom and see what the price comes out to. If it's less, no more packages. If it's more, packages. Got it? However, there is one exception to this. We've already decided that we'll be getting a package in April of 2017 when we sail on Navigator. Why? Our Canadian and British friends are joining us, and they can drink!!!! So, we're fairly sure we'll win that one! ;) (In other words, your sailing buddies can also help determine how much you'll drink.)

Hope that helps.

This far out, I would be surprised if you didn't make it in to traditional dining before your sailing. 

I agree that the acting is intentionally "cheezy"...that's part of the fun.  But if you had some bozos showing their backsides I can see that would be a problem.  Some people are just NEVER happy !

It has become complicated for them.  
 
Way back when, the cruise experience was basically the same for everyone.  You only paid for what type cabin you wanted and any differences were inside the cabin... not outside.  The only "special" guests to contend with were the frequent floaters.  Now that the model dictates that the cost of the cabin can impact the entire cruise experience (suites), the suite guests are also a "special" group to contend with.  (I'm not judging, as people should get what they paid for, as advertized).  So you have 2 special groups...who is more special?  One spends a lot of $$$ on a single sailing, while the other spends lots of $$$ over the long haul.  How do you make them both feel like they are the tops without the other knowing?  Is a frequent floater staying in a suite "extra" special?  Add into the mix the fact that creating a popular product has caused your frequent floater program to explode in popularity, and you can almost end up with more guests with some sort of status than those with none on a single sailing.  
 
Popularity is a double edged sword it would seem.
 
As for me, I've been D+ for a while now, and I never use the DL or CL (and since I don't book suites, won't be using the SL either).  You're much more likely to find me in the back booth at Sorentos, the cigar lounge, or the Viking Crown, reading a book.  Even at my hoped for rate of 3 or 4 sailings a year, I probably won't ever see a Pinnacle Club badge with my name on it.  And thats ok, as I like the product, and will sail with them as long as I do.  

I have read some good things about snorkeling at Coco Cay - as Doc mentioned, you can bring your own gear but it is also available to rent for I believe around $30 if you don't want to bring your own. I believe there are some sunken shipwreck type things that Royal Caribbean has placed that you can check out around the snorkeling area as well.

Good news, Allure was able to dock there today http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2016/01/26/royal-caribbean-resumes-visits-private-destination-of-labadee

I guess port stops could have a bearing on it, as well as length of cruise. Every cruise I did up to my last one was only 4 nights with 1 or 2 stops and usually one of those stops was Coco Cay where your drink package worked.
 
My April cruise is a 7 day with 6 port's so it will be interesting to see how that works out.
 
That being said....I can't ever see myself NOT having 5 drinks in a day(which is about the break even point along with some pop and water throughout the day).
 
Cpl beers once back on the boat...cpl glasses of wine at supper......shot of bailey's in my coffee after supper......that's 5 drinks and I still have 4-5 hours ahead of me for the evening on the ship!

Disney seems to add class to everything they do. Their slides look cool and well integrated. Carnival just looks tacky.

You know there was some anxious moments onboard once they found out they where cruising a extra day at no cost. All that subsized once the Captain made the Announcement "There is enough food onboard" :P

I have never been on the Enchantment so take my opinion for what it's worth - generic and not specific to a ship.
 
I find the food in the MDR to be very good and do not feel it is necessary to EVER eat in a specialty restaurant.  I have certainly eaten in all of the specialty restaurants before....but in the end, it is really not necessary to spend more money when the complimentary food is absolutely good enough.
 
I am not overly fond of the Windjammer, but that is b/c I have bit of a bias against ANY buffet style, but for a buffet, even the Windjammer is ok.
 
I have never had a bad meal in Chops and I have never had a bad meal in Portofinos/Giovannis.  Maybe I'm just easy to please....

We had a similar experience on our first time, too, on the Jewel. However, we gave it a second and now third chance and it has been spot on since.

Doc's exactly correct! Every evening on Freedom, I'd stop at R Bar, grab a drink, take it back to the room, and sip on it while showering and getting ready for dinner. You're on a Royal Caribbean cruise! You're ROYALTY!!! You can do almost anything you'd like to do (except for streaking in the Centrum!).

Thanks All so far.
 
Looks like I can get most beers and ciders but limited on spirits and wine.
 
Just as well I'm a beer/ cider monster  :P

I think the top range of beers (outside of the specialty Belgians or Fosters that might be in the Pub, as mentioned by above poster) capped at around $6 or $7 I believe - http://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/royal-caribbean-drink-prices
 
In my own experience (as primarily a beer drinker and someone who isn't terribly picky about wine), I was perfectly happy with the Select package, though the Wine selection was quite a bit more limited... just a couple reds and a handful of white wines. I'm going with the Premium drink package on my upcoming cruise, but that was mostly because I'm a beer snob and I got really bored with the selection on my last 5 day sailing. :)

Yes, there are lockers at the shack where you go through the safety briefing.  You can wear sunglasses or a hat (they make you turn the hat backwards).  You can shoot video with a camera or cell phone, but it has to somehow be attached to your harness or body.  

Just bought my drink package last night for my February cruise... kicking myself for not buying it a couple of weeks earlier!  :D  ^_^

My son drooled over the suites on the Liberty and admired the fact that they had door bells.  He has also requested a Loft Suite on the Allure next year.  Unfortunately for him, my wife and I are thrifty and would rather cruise more than live the suite life.  Plus, I reminded him he already experienced a suite on his first cruise.  Granted he was two at the time, but he still experienced it. ;)

In addition, if you purchase the package in advance, you have price protection should the cost of the package increase.

I have mentioned this shore excursion a couple of times on Periscope, so I wanted to give a quick write up on it. 
 
About a 15 minute ride from the Falmouth cruise terminal is the Martha Brae river, on which locals provide a guided rafting adventure.  This isn't your typical white water rafting- instead, you get to sit back, relax, and let the guide do all the work.  Think the Venice, Italy gondolas.. but Jamaican style.
 
Royal Caribbean offers this as an official excursion, or you may take a taxi from the terminal.  We personally hired a tour guide who brought us here as part of our day long adventure, although next time we will start with this in the morning and enjoy the cruise terminal shops in the afternoon.  Royal Carribean has this tour currently priced at $79 per adult which includes transportation.  If you were to arrive on your own, the cost is $60 per raft which can hold two adults and a child.  We decided to leave our 13 month old on the ship and were glad we did.  We did see another couple with their baby in a baby carrier attached to dad, which would work as well.
 
When you arrive at the starting point, there are gardents that you may peruse.  They grow herbs and plants that are used for medicinal purposes.  There are also restrooms here, and I would suggest going before getting on the raft- it's an hour and a half before you'll get the opportunity to go again!  The walk down to the river is a little bit uneven, but doable for most people.  They load you up on your raft, and you're on your way. 
 
The actual rafting was quiet and peaceful.  The river doesn't run very fast, so you don't get wet.  The guides are nice and enjoy talking with you about Jamaican culture.  They actually build their own rafts, which are about 30 feet long and can weigh up to 800 pounds when wet.  Our guide, Franklin, owns two rafts.  We talked with him some and enjoyed the peaceful quiet as well.  At the end, the guides try to sell you some carved gourds, which you can decide to purchase.  We did, and it looks nice on our book shelf.  There are also stands on the side of the river that your guide can stop at if you are interested in shopping local crafts. 
 
I'm glad we brought: water, cameras, and hats for those who needed it.  Wish we would have brought bug spray. 
 
Here are some pictures:
 

 

 

I think it was $90.  It took about an hour and a half total.  First, you check in and get fitted for a harness.  Then you walk over to the practice line, which was actually a pretty decent length.  You are in a large group, so it takes a while to get people through the practice line.  Then, you ride up in a big truck to the top of the mountain to the main zip line.  The ride up was an adventure in itself!  Depending on how quickly your group gets to go, you could be up there for 15-20 minutes (they run 5 people at a time).  When you get to the end, you just walk back and return your harness and you are done.  We thought it was worth it, but probably won't do it again until my daughter is tall enough to go.

Yea except it was like Black Friday with people wrestling each other. It's a good thing it was in the Royal Promenade because I think people would have been thrown overboard  :D

Sorry to hear about your experience.
 
My advice about buying jewelry or art or pretty much anything else of value, but it because you like it and you think it would be a good fit for your collection.  Purchasing purely for value can lead to situations like this. 
 
Of course, hindsight is 20/20.  

I cruised in January last year, and can also confirm that the games were readily available on the ship. It was fun to watch the Bengals poolside! Also, on Enchantment in Oct, they had games playing through the day in Boleros for anyone who wanted to see them. I'd have to imagine that the games would be playing SOMEWHERE on any of the ships. 

Halloween!! I was on Enchantment for Halloween this year and it seemed like everyone on the ship remembered to pack their costume. There was a huge party in the centrum, which turned in to a poolside sail away party from Nassau at midnight. I would definitely recommend it!