Free at Sea Plus

[Kjkerr1430]

This

[nhtravels]

We sail in the Haven and I definitely see the value.   We usually upgrade to the Premium Plus (I like the Veuve and the 1942, we both love the Aqua Panna and Pelligrino. and DH is a 2-3 day Starbucks guy).  And we always upgrade our Wifi, so we can work from the ship.  With the shore excursion credit we will come out a bit ahead of what we normally pay.    (The only thing we might not use is the extra specialty dining!  We get 2 with our booking, 2 for being Platinum and we enjoy a few nights in the Haven Restaurant).  

 

Still, for us, it's worth it and are adding it to all our 2023 sailings.  

[cruiseny4life]

On 8/17/2022 at 10:21 PM, The Shrike said:

3.1 drinks per day over nine days?  Well, I suppose I could cut back to that.  🤪

 

14 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

I hear ya…would be tough though. Very tough. 

 

Thankfully I'm not really a drinker. This summer I have drank two bottles of wine...that's all the alcohol I've had since getting off the Getaway back in April...so 3.1 drinks per day should suit me fine, or less. 🙂

 

I've definitely had my share of glory days in the past, and my past self would be very disappointed with where my consumption is now. 

[raschwinger]

Hi everyone.  Thanks for the info.  We will be first time Haven guests in June and I am trying to calculate the value of the Plus package.  For those of you who have been in Haven staterooms, I have heard the bar can use higher end liquor for their drinks and the food is specialty restaurant level.  We are not big Internet users on cruises, but do drink and will likely take a few excursions off the ship. I know there have been a few posts in this but I am still trying to put this together.  Thanks so much everyone.

[jcncamsdad]

2 hours ago, raschwinger said:

Hi everyone.  Thanks for the info.  We will be first time Haven guests in June and I am trying to calculate the value of the Plus package.  For those of you who have been in Haven staterooms, I have heard the bar can use higher end liquor for their drinks and the food is specialty restaurant level.  We are not big Internet users on cruises, but do drink and will likely take a few excursions off the ship. I know there have been a few posts in this but I am still trying to put this together.  Thanks so much everyone.

I think one of the biggest reason to upgrade to the Plus package as a Haven guest is the high quality liquors (specifically whiskeys for me🙂).  The regular package only gets drinks up to $15/glass. The Plus package gets anything on the ship.  There are many high end liquors/wine and champagne that cost well over $15/glass.

 

 

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, raschwinger said:

Hi everyone.  Thanks for the info.  We will be first time Haven guests in June and I am trying to calculate the value of the Plus package.  For those of you who have been in Haven staterooms, I have heard the bar can use higher end liquor for their drinks and the food is specialty restaurant level.  We are not big Internet users on cruises, but do drink and will likely take a few excursions off the ship. I know there have been a few posts in this but I am still trying to put this together.  Thanks so much everyone.

We booked Free at Sea Plus for a cruise in August, then canceled that cruise for a longer September cruise. So, we have not yet used Free at Sea Plus and probably won't, unless we go on a cruise that is really, really excursion heavy! 

 

Mainly, we don't think it's worth it is because we are not big drinkers. I do drink some. My husband, not at all. I couldn't tell you the difference between Grey Goose and whatever the cheap liquor is (fun fact, Grey Goose is included in the Unlimited Beverage Package). So, having access to top tier liquors isn't really for me. I don't care about wine or champagne.

 

We do use the internet. All three cruises we've been on in the last year, we've upgraded one of our plans to the unlimited plan. We're still debating over unlimited for next month's cruise. I want to...for Cruise Critic. How silly? My husband doesn't. Anyway...internet is still nice to have for us. 

 

Dining. If we were going on a ten day plus cruise. We would definitely want additional dining. Tried the buffet. No thank you. We go to the main dining room once or twice when something we want is on the menu. And, of course, we take our two included specialty dining's from the Free at Sea promotion. If you're cruising in the Haven, you're going to want to eat most of your dinners there, because the menu doesn't change, but you can always make special requests. I know there are some Haven cruisers on these boards who would never dine in anything but the Haven, but we like variety. 

 

Even though we do stray from the Haven, we always go back for meals. It is a truly great experience. The staff are lovely and want to ensure you have the best possible meal. The food, well it's elevated cruise ship food. Certainly better than anything else on the ship, but nothing when compared to what you can find on land...then again they can't change their menu daily with local ingredients (ok, they could, but they wouldn't), they can't use open flames, and the cooks aren't exactly classically trained chefs. But, I absolutely love every meal in the Haven. Even the burger...if I add bacon, extra cheese, and mayo to it. Otherwise, it's barely edible. 

 

Shore excursions...depending on the cruise, these savings could almost negate one person's upgrade fee for the Free at Sea Plus, so that seems really valuable to me. If you're in Europe or some really port intensive area. We've never gone on a cruise where this would really be beneficial. We've also barely taken any ship-provided excursions.

 

I know I rambled. I'm want to do so. I express myself through writing, not through verbal words. I'm more a grunter in my personal life. Mainly, because I have to be careful with my words at work, so as not to cause bigger issues. I'm the one that deals with the bull$*# when it hits. 🙂 So, I hope I've helped a little. I'm sure someone else will come on and do it much more eloquently than I. 

[sjacobs11]

We are sailing on a 9-nighter from Venice and plan to take 6 shore excursions ($300). We would most definitely have spent for the 2 extra nights of specialty dining (~$170), and unlimited internet x 2 (~$400), so before even one cocktail/bottled water/fresh juice/energy drink, we're at the total cost of the upgrade to FAS+. Was a no-brainer in our case.

[raschwinger]

Thanks for the replies.  Really helpful.  Our June trip is an 11 nighter in the Mediterranean, so seems like its probably worth it.  I appreciate the input.

[SEA DOGY]

On 2/16/2023 at 12:19 PM, jcncamsdad said:

I think one of the biggest reason to upgrade to the Plus package as a Haven guest is the high quality liquors (specifically whiskeys for me🙂).  The regular package only gets drinks up to $15/glass. The Plus package gets anything on the ship.  There are many high end liquors/wine and champagne that cost well over $15/glass.

 

 

How about wine? We like good wines but I think the good wines is sold by he bottles will they open these hi price wines and serve by glass? I’m kinda confuse. 

[palpieha]

4 hours ago, SEA DOGY said:

How about wine? We like good wines but I think the good wines is sold by he bottles will they open these hi price wines and serve by glass? I’m kinda confuse. 

 

There are two wine lists: one available by the glass, and one by the bottle.

 

With the Free at Sea Plus, all the wines in the "available by the glass" list are included. You can also order a bottle of any of those wines while dining.

 

As for the wines in the "available by the bottle" list, you can buy a bottle at a 40% discount if you have the Plus package.

[singleflyer]

Anyone know what added "fresh juice" benefits?  Do they actually have fresh squeezed orange juice, for example, with the Plus package?  Looking at spending a week on Spirit and considering the upgrade for bottled water, Wifi, extra dining and fresh juice if it is really fresh squeezed.

[Antimony]

35 minutes ago, singleflyer said:

Anyone know what added "fresh juice" benefits?  Do they actually have fresh squeezed orange juice, for example, with the Plus package?  Looking at spending a week on Spirit and considering the upgrade for bottled water, Wifi, extra dining and fresh juice if it is really fresh squeezed.

Not sure about Spirit, but on the Gem in January they had fresh squeezed juice at the breakfast buffet in the spot they put the scoopable ice cream during other meals. They had a variety of fruits/veggies and you could order whatever combo you wanted - I got carrot orange ginger most mornings, and it was lovely. After a couple of days the staff person recognized me and would start reaching for the carrots when he saw me, lol. The glass was quite large too. If you didn't have Plus, I think it was about $3, but I'm not certain. 

[nhtravels]

29 minutes ago, Antimony said:

 I got carrot orange ginger most mornings, and it was lovely.

That sounds delicious!  One more reason I can't wait for my upcoming May cruise!  Yum!