The other day I posted an article about ways to really maximize your Royal Caribbean drink package.

That was a pretty simple article.

And there was a comment that I got on Facebook that says, Matt, aren't you, they put Diamond Plus on pinnacle.

But anyway, if so, why get a drink package?

And this is an example of something that actually I get a lot of, which people are asking why I do certain things.

And people are actually surprised I do certain things on Royal Caribbean cruises. I mean, we all cruise differently and,

you know, Royal Caribbean and Cruises in general are very personalized, right? The way that you

cruise and the way I cruise could be fundamentally different even though we are on the same ship.

But nonetheless, today I wanted to talk about the things that I do that people really are surprised by for one or reason or another.

Let's begin with, yes, I do buy drink packages, even though I get six free drinks a day with being a Pinnacle Club member.

And this goes back to even being a diamond member.

You know, the free drinks are great.

And they are kind of a way of a kind of a poor man's drink package. I mean, six drinks a day is a lot, and I would never drink six drinks today at home. But on a cruise, it's different. And on a cruise, I'm also not always sailing just with my family. In a lot of cases, I sail with friends and family members, like extended family members, I mean. And when I do that, there is sometimes more of a different vibe on those

sailings. And six drinks can go a lot faster than you think. I mean, I'll use one up every morning

for my coffee at Cafe Promenade or Pearl Cafe, Cafe Latitudes, right? So there's one easy,

and let's be real with all of you guys. I might need a second one in the afternoons. That's one or two right off the bat that are gone. And then if you want to have a social drink at trivia at the schooner bar, be up at the pool deck, you know, and then maybe one at dinner. I mean, it is a lot of drinks, but in the cadence of a cruise, it goes quickly. And I will buy drink packages. Two things have to happen. First of all, there's who I'm cruising with. There's certain people, certain friends I'm cruising with. I'm more likely to get a drink package just for the simplicity of it, because that is one of the major selling points of a drink package is that you can go to it and be like you know what i don't have to worry about it i don't have to think about how much i'm spending receipts it's all taken care of so you got that to start with the second component to it is also the price of the drink package i won't buy a drink package at any price to be clear what i do is i'll always track the price ahead of time but you know i'll definitely look at any price, to be clear. What I do is I'll always track the price ahead of time.

But, you know, I'll definitely look at the price of the drink package leading up to it. I mean, there is a point where I wouldn't buy a drink package. All right, Matt, what is that

point? That's a good question. I probably would not buy a drink package, certainly over the $80 or

higher per day threshold. I really can't see myself anytime soon doing that. Below 80, in the 70s, I think twice about it. Once you get into the 60s, certainly the 50s, I don't even think twice. That's like a, to me, that's fine. I can live with that. But again, it depends on the cruise. It depends on the sailing. It depends on who I'm with, the duration and the cost.

And that is a reason why, yes, sometimes I do buy a Royal Caribbean drink package.

Number two is I book all my cruises, every single one with a travel agent.

And I probably get the most comments about this from other cruisers.

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