The Princess Plus package can be purchased in advance or on day 1 or 2. After that, you’re out of luck. I have never seen a sale price on Plus or Premier. But, I have heard that in the UK there are sales, just not the US. And, the price keeps rising. It went from $40 to $50 to $60. And I don’t think it will stay there.

The packages became a much better deal when wifi went from $15 to $25 a day.

We don’t get close to 15 alcoholic beverages a day, but drink a couple sodas, a couple specialty coffees and lots of bottled water. For us, the savings over ala carte are between 20 and 50%. It’s not a difficult calculation to determine whether it makes financial sense.

And yes, I drink more when I’m cruising - package or not.

My husband and I are 4 star Mariners on Holland America and we never buy the drinks package. We also never consider the All in One package, which was (at some point before the cruise) offered at $50 per day/pp. On a 28 day cruise, that would have added up to $2800. We got our gratuities covered by our internet travel agency. We used our status to maximize discounts on the cruise, which included 50% off a wine package, minibar purchases, and premium restaurants. We bought several cokes in the Exploration Cafe and that was it.

So I was on this cruise and I didn't get a drink package. Normally I would have had a cocktail or two but I was OK with the included wine at dinner.

I did buy one cocktail and found it weak. So if you are thinking that you'll just pay for one or two- you may be disappointed by what you actually get for your money.

Having quickly read thru this thread there is one key word missing by everyone other than OP. Alaskan.
Light on sea days, heavy on outside activity. Claims to not be a heavy drinker. Haven't a clue about Princess or packages. 18% gratuity charged on top of package cost?

I was looking at the Premier package and it's unappealing if both of have to have it.

This seals the deal. Despite the appeal of not having a post cruise sticker shock I'll do ala carte for this cruise. Being hungover on a port stop isn't desirable and I can't honestly say I wouldn't try reaching the maximum daily consumption limit at least once.

As Elites on Princess, we get 50% off on wifi. For a mini-suite, that comes to $56.50 for tips and wifi, meaning that as long as we pay less than $63.50 per day for drinks, we're better off without a package. The other extras are worth nothing to us.

Packages include gratuities.

I see foregoing the (alcoholic) drinks package as a healthy option to either go dry or at least drink less (not that I drink very much), and saving a great deal of $$$-$$$$ in addition for often-mediocre drinks selection. Of course, I have an all-inclusive cruise (supposedly decent quality drinks included) coming up in 2 1/2 weeks but mercifully short. Only 2 ports of call but I'm not letting those get in the way of enjoying the F&B (former reportedly/reputedly best among all cruise lines) onboard.