Is Free At Sea Deal worth it?

[weltek]

Savings
In my case, it's ALWAYS worth it because we (both adults) drink alcohol at a rate of about 4 per day, plus more on sea days. Before the drink package was a thing, our alcohol costs on a 7 day Caribbean cruise were usually around $800, which is far more than the 20% auto-gratuities of ~$138/pp x 2. Even if you factor in the sail-away rate price difference, we are still in the black by taking the Free at Sea promo.  It's also more convenient that we aren't attending things we don't really want to, just to score some free drinks.
 

Value Add
If we were penny pinching, we'd maybe only do one day specialty dining, so getting two is a good bonus.

 

The wi-fi saves us, as it's more than we'd normally buy to check work emails and a few social media browses. It's also more convenient, as we'd usually hunt down some free wifi in ports to supplement our needs.

Neutral

The shore excursion credit pretty much has zero dollars in value for us (as we don't book many excursions, and if we do, we always book cheaper more unique options off the ship), so it is a non factor.

I also value choosing my stateroom (but it's not a MUST), so while the Sail Away Rate is sometimes enticing, it makes me nervous.

 

 

[Travelling2Some]

We always take the Free at Sea package.  We are VERY picky about cabin location, we drink cocktails and also enjoy wine with meals.  The small gratuity charge for the included specialty meals is an absolute STEAL even though we are fine with the complimentary choices.  My DH is internet dependent and the shore excursion credit is sometimes useful if you want to use the HOHO bus or just use their transportation back and forth on one of the ship's "On Your Own" tours it frequently works out to less than the cab fare you would have paid to get there and back independently.

[nferr]

Absolutely worth if you drink more than about one a day. If you don't drink a sail away price might be better since you're also paying extra for the packages on Free at Sea. It all depends on what the difference is on the pricing. I've seen it pretty minimal and I've seen it substantially higher, all depends on the cruise and timing.