Premium Plus Upgrade Worth it on the Sky for 12 days?

[Dieselmedicine]

Sailing on the Sky out of the DR next March, curious if ,given the smaller/older ship and fewer options, it's worth considering taking the upgrade on the already included FAS package?

 

Biggest uses for me would be:

 

- Starbucks and bottles of San Pellegrino (last cruise I was on, I ended up getting 3-4 bottles of Pellegrino through the day)

- Whiskey: without a dedicated whiskey bar, are the premium Single Malts (Talisker 10,  readily available?

- Wine: wouldn't mind trying some nicer wines at dinner, but hearing mixed reviews on what's actually on offer. Solo cruising, so not sure how useful the bottle discounts will be though there is a thought to getting a nice bottle and splitting it over a few dinners if they save and tag it for you.

 

The upgraded FAS also gives me the 2 extra SDPs, which I wouldn't mind eying menus and reviews. Vacation is also going to be about 3 1/2 weeks total with stays before and after, so the unlimited wifi for messaging family isn't bad either. 

[wally4ever]

It's very much person-specific.  I'd recommend sitting down and doing the math.  Would you take advantage of the upgraded wifi?  Would you use the $50 excursion for second passenger (and if so, how many times)?  Would you be likely to upgrade the meal package if you didn't get the FAS+?  How much would you expect to spend on drinks without the upgrade?

For my next seven day cruise, it was a no-brainer to do it for the $686... my wife will take advantage of the $50 off excursions at each port (there's $200), we would have needed to upgrade to unlimited wifi and add a second device anyway (there's another $209 for the second device, plus whatever the upgrade cost would have been) and we typically do six specialty meals (so there's another $80 per person).  As long as my wife and I drink $100 worth of upgraded drinks, we save money overall, no matter what the wifi upgrade amount would have been.  If all goes to plan, I'll drink that much in whiskey before we get to the first port.  

 

I'd sit down and run the numbers to decide what's worth it to you.

 

EDIT: Just saw you're cruising solo so the shore excursion won't apply, but everything else is still relevant.

Edited August 6, 2023 by wally4ever
Adding info

[davencl]

For us it didn't pencil out.   At $686 per person that's $1372 total.   $50 excursion credits for 10 excursions would have reduced by $500 but leaving $872.  Unlimited WIFI wasn't valued to us or the premium drink package.  Your situation is entirely different.  Just wanted to give you my take.

[Dieselmedicine]

38 minutes ago, wally4ever said:

It's very much person-specific.  I'd recommend sitting down and doing the math.  Would you take advantage of the upgraded wifi?  Would you use the $50 excursion for second passenger (and if so, how many times)?  Would you be likely to upgrade the meal package if you didn't get the FAS+?  How much would you expect to spend on drinks without the upgrade?

For my next seven day cruise, it was a no-brainer to do it for the $686... my wife will take advantage of the $50 off excursions at each port (there's $200), we would have needed to upgrade to unlimited wifi and add a second device anyway (there's another $209 for the second device, plus whatever the upgrade cost would have been) and we typically do six specialty meals (so there's another $80 per person).  As long as my wife and I drink $100 worth of upgraded drinks, we save money overall, no matter what the wifi upgrade amount would have been.  If all goes to plan, I'll drink that much in whiskey before we get to the first port.  

 

I'd sit down and run the numbers to decide what's worth it to you.

 

EDIT: Just saw you're cruising solo so the shore excursion won't apply, but everything else is still relevant.

 

So far the math seems to be working out - my bottles of water are around $20-25/day; say two of the premium glasses of wine at dinner etc. Just curious with the fewer options - like a dedicated whiskey bar - if it limits what you have available. 

[wally4ever]

10 minutes ago, Dieselmedicine said:

 

So far the math seems to be working out - my bottles of water are around $20-25/day; say two of the premium glasses of wine at dinner etc. Just curious with the fewer options - like a dedicated whiskey bar - if it limits what you have available. 

I'm a big scotch drinker, and I've never had trouble finding the good stuff even without a whiskey bar.  My go-to is Macallan Quest, and it's always in the venue bars.  

[Dieselmedicine]

5 minutes ago, wally4ever said:

I'm a big scotch drinker, and I've never had trouble finding the good stuff even without a whiskey bar.  My go-to is Macallan Quest, and it's always in the venue bars.  

Good to know!

[fastpitchdad]

4 hours ago, Dieselmedicine said:

Sailing on the Sky out of the DR next March, curious if ,given the smaller/older ship and fewer options, it's worth considering taking the upgrade on the already included FAS package?

 

Biggest uses for me would be:

 

- Starbucks and bottles of San Pellegrino (last cruise I was on, I ended up getting 3-4 bottles of Pellegrino through the day)

- Whiskey: without a dedicated whiskey bar, are the premium Single Malts (Talisker 10,  readily available?

- Wine: wouldn't mind trying some nicer wines at dinner, but hearing mixed reviews on what's actually on offer. Solo cruising, so not sure how useful the bottle discounts will be though there is a thought to getting a nice bottle and splitting it over a few dinners if they save and tag it for you.

 

The upgraded FAS also gives me the 2 extra SDPs, which I wouldn't mind eying menus and reviews. Vacation is also going to be about 3 1/2 weeks total with stays before and after, so the unlimited wifi for messaging family isn't bad either. 

 

Definitely don't do it for the wine, you would come out way ahead both in quality and price if you brought your own.