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2 Questions: Formal Nights and Alcohol Packages


MaxZoran

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Thanks in advance for the help! We're heading out on the Allure on the 9th and are finalizing some things. On to the questions:

 

  1. Do you have to participate in formal nights? If not, what other dining options are available?
  2. Are alcohol drink packages generally worth it?

 

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1. No you do not, you can go to any dinning venue, I prefer to dress business casual, but you will see people in tuxedos and evening gowns to nice jeans and button up shirts. Any specialty dining, Wind Jammer buffet, they are all open for dinner, specialty require reservations.

2. This is a loaded question (No pun intended), read this article and see if it helps, to me it really depends on how much you drink, what your itinerary is, IE. if you have 4 stops and plan on going ashore everyday, then you won't be on the ship to utilize your drink package, https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/2017/04/13/answers-10-commonly-asked-royal-caribbean-drink-package-questions

 

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4 hours ago, MaxZoran said:
  1. Do you have to participate in formal nights? If not, what other dining options are available

The name "formal night" seems to be a hold over from cruising days gone by. As tiny260 mentioned above, the dress for "formal night" is all over the board. Dress as you wish, but it seems that business casual is about the minimum for most people.

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3 hours ago, tiny260 said:

I'm a non-drinker (ex-drinker), so maybe a forum member that has done the drink package in the past will add something.

Matt has posted a ton on this,  but look at your habits, days in port, if you are a wine drinker and being bottles,  etc.   I did the drink pkg when i had 3 sea days,  but when i had only 2 on my other cruise i didn't.   Usually the rule is about 4-5 drinks a day,  or fewer and sodas or specialty coffees.   Also you might be too close,  but there is a cruise planner special right now i think and that cuts the price and cuts the number of drinks you need to break even.   Jane

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11 hours ago, MaxZoran said:

Thanks in advance for the help! We're heading out on the Allure on the 9th and are finalizing some things. On to the questions:

 

  1. Do you have to participate in formal nights? If not, what other dining options are available?
  2. Are alcohol drink packages generally worth it?

 

It's always nice to enjoy your cruise and remember I said your cruise so if you want to dress casual on a formal night then go for it. We tend to dress up once and then to be honest I've had enough and would sooner just wear what I want and after some great food and drink if I'm going to the casino I want to feel comfortable not hot and stuck in a collared shirt.

As for the drinks package my advice would be if you drink a lot then average out the price of drinks you may have and if you exceed the cost of the package by say 3 or 4 drinks per day then over the course of the week it's worth it but if you only have 2 drinks a day then no its not but bear in mind if you have a Starbucks habit like Matt (sorry Matt ) everything adds up.

If you count up as an example some bottled water maybe a few coffees , cold sodas then a beer and some wine with dinner and a drink before bed it adds up quick.

To be honest if your still not sure then just go with the flow this time and buy as you go and at the end of your cruise compare the cost of all the drinks you have had to a drinks package and you will have your answer.

Hope this helps.

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22 hours ago, MaxZoran said:

Thanks in advance for the help! We're heading out on the Allure on the 9th and are finalizing some things. On to the questions

  1. Are alcohol drink packages generally worth it?

 

As mentioned above, the general break even point so to speak is like 5 drinks a day, every day of your cruise. This is taking into account that you spend an average of about $12 a drink. Matt has mentioned a lot previously about drinkers fatigue. This is where by day 3 or 4 you have really slowed done on your drinking and don't use your average of 5 drinks a day. That being said, if you are a big drinker in general, like myself that always has a beverage in your hand, mine all non-alcoholic as I haven't drank in 19yrs, it might still be worth it. All the soft drinks, lattes and such can really add up. I purchased the refreshment package for myself and got it for $18 a day, so I know I will definitely be getting my moneys worth.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Count Labadee or Coco Caye as a sea day, too, as the drink package works there, too. 

Whether the drink package is worth it or not is really a personal decision and remember to include specialty coffees and bottled water. And even if you don't have money, there is a convenience factor of having the package and the expense prepaid. 

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If you enjoy drinks then do it. It is so easy to have 5 drinks a day. Plus a latte or cappachino after dinner, fresh squeezed orange juice at breakfast, bottled water for port days or in the gym. You can try all the fancy cocktails you normally wouldn't order and not feel pressured to finish it if you don't like it. Plus 900 dollars (for two people on a week cruise) paid in advance before the cruise is a lot better than a 900 dollar bill at the end of the cruise. Or worse. Formal nights are not for everyone but I really enjoy them. I wear dress pants and a button up shirt. Nothing fancy. The best meals of the cruise are usually reserved for the formal nights. I can eat my weight in lobster tails and prime rib. :) 

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For anyone who does "drink", the package is worth it.

 

When you add up the things mentioned liked bottled water, soda, coffee, juice in the morning...it only takes about 3 drinks during the day to break even(or 4-5 drinks if you only drink alcohol and nothing else that costs money for the cruise)......so unless you have ONE drink or less a day on average than its not worth it......as soon as you have 2-3 alcohol drinks plus the extras you get, its worth it.

 

Beer would take a few extra drinks to break even as the cost is about half that of the cocktails on average.

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I like to rock climb in the afternoon, while my wife gets ready for dinner, and RC prefers mostly sober climbers, so that limits my beer or fancy drink intake each day.  We've always gone into town for each port, so again as others have said, time lost to use the pkg.  Between the two of us we probably have 6 or 7  drinks per day, max, so we just buy them individually.

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