I also wish folks would stop comparing sale prices under OLife with non-sale prices under SM, as it's an apple and oranges comparison. The will be future sales with SM, such as the recent ones and savings will be had. We saved $7,500 by switching from a non-sale OLife to a sale SM so it's important to compare like situations. Yes, prices will increase overall, just like on other lines, because of inflation and financial pressures.
I've also looked for cruises on similar ships that have similar experiences and similar itineraries with cruise only options, and like you found there's not much out there that doesn't include alcohol and excursions that interests me.