Norwegian Cruise Line just rolled out a completely new program called More At Sea, replacing the former Free at Sea. What is it? What does it include? How does it compare? We cover all the details in this complete guide to Norwegian More at Sea.

What is Norwegian More at Sea? Everything You Need to Know About This New Cruise Package

If you have sailed with Norwegian Cruise Line before then you are probably familiar with the brand’s very popular Free at Sea promotion. This promotion entitled guests to free perks like drink packages, specialty dining, WiFi, kids sail free (or 3rd & 4th guests sail free), and more.

This promotion offered guests a more all-inclusive experience, paying the majority of their cruise costs upfront so they didn’t have to worry about the bill at the end of the cruise. However, the biggest complaint with Norwegian’s Free at Sea is that it wasn’t “really free”. Guests still had to pay the gratuities on the drink package and specialty dining package which could run you around $200 in total per person.

Thus, cue the rebranding of Free at Sea to Norwegian’s new More at Sea program. The popular Free at Sea package has been restructured and renamed, but don’t worry, it’s generally the same with a few changes to give guests even “more value”.

While other cruise lines now offer cruise only rates with these packages being an additional charge, NCL’s More at Sea is still the base fare. Really, the only way to get a cruise only rate is to book the Sail Away rate which does not allow for room selection. However, guests can opt out of the “free” open bar and/or specialty dining if they choose, thereby eliminating the need to pay the additional surcharges.

What are the Norwegian More at Sea inclusions?

Norwegian’s More at Sea will still include an unlimited open bar, specialty dining, WiFi, and shore excursion credits. Free 3rd and 4th guests and free airfare for second guest is also available on select voyages.

The number of perks that cruisers receive does vary based on the current promotion and the stateroom category booked. Usually, guests can get up to 5 free perks. Occasionally, there are up to 6 perks if airfare is part of the current promotion. Guests sailing in The Haven always receive the highest number of perks available for that voyage.

It is important to read the fine print at the time of your booking though as the terms of the promotion can change. For instance, some categories like Studio and Inside have qualified for less perks in the past. Further, the cheapest fares are usually “Sail Away” rates, or guaranteed rates, and these are often excluded from the promotion.

All perks included in this offer have no monetary value. Thus, if you opt to decline any of the entitled perks (which you can), you will not receive a refund nor can you gift it to someone else.

Further, it varies as to how many guests in the stateroom receive each perk. For instance, Norwegian Cruise Line’s More at Sea provides drink packages to all guests but dining packages only to the first 2 guests on the reservation.

Unlimited Open Bar

With Norwegian’s More at Sea, guests will still receive an unlimited open bar, or the Premium Drink Package. However, NCL boasts that it will include 45% more premium brands like Grey Goose, Casamigos,
Woodford Reserve, and more! There is also no more $15 beverage cap.

Guests will also receive 20% off bottles of champagne and wine, Wine and Spirit Experiences, tastings or Flights purchased on board, along with unlimited soft drinks and juices. Unfortunately, unlike most other cruise lines, bottled water and specialty coffee are still NOT part of this package. Starbucks and bottled water packages are available to purchase for an additional charge.

This More at Sea perk is applicable to guests 1-8 (aged 21+) on the reservation when guests 1 and 2 select the beverage package. If guest(s) 1-2 are under 21 years of age, they will receive the Soda Package. If guest(s) 3-8 is under 21 years of age, they will NOT get the Soda Package as a substitution. We’ve never understood this. Why would NCL give alcohol packages to all guests but not the much cheaper soda packages?

With the new More at Sea, no changes have been made to the number of drinks a guest can purchase. Unlike brands like Carnival, guests can consume an “unlimited” number of alcoholic beverages. Of course, staff do have the right to refuse service to those who do not consume responsibly.

Further, eligible guests are only allowed two beverages per transaction. Packages may not be shared and are non-transferable and non-refundable.

Guests will need to pay for any beverages not included in the More At Sea; they’ll receive $15 off drinks in the Connoisseur Collection. Though, guests who have the beverage package as part of the More At Sea promotion will not have to pay a corkage fee if bringing a bottle(s) of wine onboard.

This Unlimited Open Bar perk does not include: Connoisseur’s Collection, Wine and Spirit Experiences, tastings or flights, Starbucks, Ice Bars, room service, package sales, bottled water, ship specific promotions or beer buckets, designated super premium brands (subject to change), bottled wine, mini bar purchases, fresh squeezed juices, wine dispenser, energy drinks, or vending machines.

Further, guests can not use the drink package at Harvest Caye bars, restaurants, or venues. Though, it does work at Great Stirrup Cay.

The retail value of this perk is $763 per person for a 7-day cruise. (Based on Premium Beverage Package pricing.)

Guests will need to pay an additional cost for the More At Sea Beverage Package and/or Soda Package prior to their cruise. Prices below are per person, per day:

• $30 for 1-7 nights
• $27 for 8-11 nights
• $23 for 12+ nights
• $12.50 for soda packages

Specialty Dining

When it comes to specialty dining, NCL is giving some guests a bit more as well with it’s new More at Sea package. Guests sailing in a balcony or above stateroom now get three specialty dining meals on 7-night cruises.

The breakdown for Studio, Inside, and Oceanview staterooms is as follows:

• 3-7 nights – 1 meal, plus $20 fee
• 8-11 nights – 2 meals, plus $40 fee
• 12+ nights – 3 meals, plus $60 fee

The breakdown for Balcony and above staterooms is as follows:

• 3 nights – 1 meal, plus $20 fee
• 4-6 nights – 2 meals, plus $40 fee
• 7 nights – 3 meals, plus $60 fee
• 8-11 nights – 4 meals, plus $80 fee
• 12+ nights – 5 meals, plus $100 fee

While this was always an unwritten rule of sorts, NCL is now publicly stating that guests can also order up to three appetizers and desserts for no additional fees. Extra entree charges will still apply.

This Norwegian’s More at Sea perk is applicable only to guests 1 and 2 on the reservation. Guests 3-8 will not receive these specialty dining meals. Children under the age of 18, who are the second guest in the reservation, will not pay for the dining package.

Guests can make reservations via MyNCL, NCL’s mobile app, by calling the reservations department at 800-327-7030, or once onboard the ship.

The retail value of this perk is $139 per person for those staying in a balcony on a 7-day cruise. (Based on previous dining package pricing.)

Can I still purchase additional specialty dining credits?

Norwegian Cruise Line will no longer offer specialty dining packages for purchase. Thus, guests will no longer be able to purchase additional specialty dining nights to supplement those received with More at Sea.

Guests who would like to dine at specialty restaurants beyond the number of dining nights included with the More at Sea (or guests who are not taking advantage of More At Sea) can eat at specialty restaurants by paying the cover charge at the respective restaurants.

Yes, NCL is reverting back to cover charges vs. a la carte pricing for its onboard specialty restaurants. The new cover charges for NCL specialty restaurants are as follows:

• Steak, Teppanyaki, French, and Seafood have a $60 cover charge.
• Brazil, Asian, Food Republic, and Sushi have a $50 cover charge.
• Italian, BBQ, Pincho, and Mexican have a $40 cover charge.

WiFi

Similar to the former Free at Sea, Norwegian’s More at Sea still only entitles guests to a certain number of free WiFi minutes unlike other brands that offer unlimited internet packages. However, guests will get more minutes per stateroom and faster internet speeds powered by Starlink.

These WiFi minutes are now applicable to ALL guests in the stateroom. Each guest will receive one login which they can use on one device at a time. On NCL, guests can switch between devices simply by logging off of one and then logging onto the other.

The breakdown of WiFi minutes is based on the length of the cruise and is as follows:

• 3-6 nights – 75 minutes per guest
• 7+ nights – 150 minutes per guest

This free WiFi is limited to the number of minutes listed above and does not allow for streaming.

If guests want additional WiFi, packages are available for purchase. The packages include the Voyage WiFi Pass (1.5MBPS) for $29.99 per stateroom per day and the Streaming Voyage Wi-Fi Pass (5 MBPS) for $39.99 per stateroom per day. Only when upgrading WiFi to one of these packages, guests can add extra devices for $5 per device per day, available for purchase once onboard.

Of note, the WiFi is not available at Great Stirrup Cay or Harvest Caye.

The retail value of this perk is not exactly comparable because there are only unlimited packages available when purchasing outside of More at Sea. These start at $29.99 per day.

Shore Excursion Credit

The shore excursion credit that is part of Norwegian’s new More at Sea package remains unchanged from Free at Sea. But, we would have liked NCL to give us “more” for this perk too, as it doesn’t cover much. It offers a $50 credit per port ONLY to guest one on the reservation. If the first guest purchases tickets for other guests, the shore excursion credit will not apply to such tickets.

For those new to cruising, a “shore excursion” can refer to any number of different activities that occur at each port of call. Cruise shore excursions occur off of the ship and are completed during the hours you are docked at the port. They give cruisers the opportunity to maximize their time ashore while eliminating some of the leg work of planning (tickets, transportation, etc.) for a DIY tour. These tours are usually designed to highlight the best attractions that the area has to offer. They also guarantee that the ship will not leave without you if you are late to return from the tour.

Guests can use this credit to purchase any tour offered by the cruise line. If the tour is less than $50, guests will not receive a refund for the difference. If the tour is more than $50, the guest will be responsible to pay the difference.

Latitude member discounts are combinable with this perk. Though, the $50 shore excursion credit does not apply to equipment rentals in Great Stirrup Cay or Harvest Caye ports of call. Pre-cruise and post-cruise land tours are not eligible for this promotion nor are private and/or custom shore excursions.

The retail value of this perk is based on the number of ports of call on your itinerary. So, if we assume most 7-day cruises have 3 to 4 ports of call, it would be $150-$200.

Free 3rd and 4th Guest

With this More at Sea perk, guests 3 and 4 sailing in the same stateroom as guests 1 & 2 sail free or for $99 on select sail dates. Guests should visit NCL’s website for full terms and conditions at the time of booking as this promotion may vary.

This offer is only applicable on select sailings as well. Thus, popular times of the year like school breaks and holidays are not usually part of the promotion.

If there are guests 5-8 in a reservation, those guests will pay prevailing fares.

Free Airfare for 2nd Guest

For select 7+ night sailings and destinations, the second guest on a reservation may receive free airfare with the purchase of airfare for the first guest. You’ll also want to visit NCL’s website for the specific terms and conditions at the time of your booking.

Generally speaking, the offer is not applicable on Sail Away rates and does not apply to guests 3-8 on a reservation. These guests will pay full promotional airfare amount. Solo guests will receive 50% off Norwegian Cruise Line’s promotional airfare pricing each way. Further, this air offer applies to economy, round-trip flights from select departure gateways only.

Additional Terms and Conditions:

• Reservations must be made more than 110 days prior to sailing to qualify.
• Air gateways are capacity controlled and subject to availability.
• For Domestic flights, Norwegian Cruise Line will book guests’ airfare with a maximum of one connection when possible; air schedules permitting.
• For International flights, Norwegian Cruise Line will book guests’ airfare with a maximum of two connections when possible; air schedules permitting.
• If flying from the West Coast to the East Coast of the U.S., NCL reserves an overnight flight allowing you plenty of time to get to your destination city.
• For cruises concluding on the East Coast of the US, you may be reserved on a flight that departs up to 10:30 p.m. depending on available inventory.
• For cruises concluding on the West Coast of the U.S., guests returning home to a city located on the East Coast or central U.S. may be reserved on a flight that departs up to 11:59 p.m. depending on available inventory.
• Guests embarking or disembarking in PortMiami may be reserved on flights arriving or departing at Miami International Airport (MIA) or Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLL).
• Ground transportation is available at the same cost for both airports.
• Guests embarking or disembarking in Manhattan Cruise Terminal (New York City) may be reserved on flights arriving or departing at LaGuardia Airport (LGA), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) or John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). Ground transportation is available at the same cost for the three airports.
• Guests embarking or disembarking in Quebec City may be reserved on flights arriving or departing from Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport (YUL) to ensure the most convenient schedule.
• Norwegian Cruise Line reserves the right to choose the air carrier, routing, and city airport from each gateway city and reserves the right to substitute commuter service and/or charter air service for scheduled air carriers without prior notice.

Norwegian More at Sea Additional Terms and Conditions

Norwegian’s More at Sea applies to all cruises booked on or after October 1st for sailings January 1, 2025 and beyond. Guests sailing in 2025 and beyond, who booked prior to October 1, 2024, will enjoy both their current Free at Sea benefits plus the new More At Sea beverage package at no additional cost. All guests sailing in 2024 will enjoy their current Free At Sea benefits. 

• Any reservation created on or after October 1, 2024 for sailing January 1, 2025 and beyond is eligible for More at Sea.
• More at Sea is valid on 3+ night sailings.
• More At Sea choice(s) must be selected at least 24 hours prior to sailing and cannot be changed on board.
• Promotion is not applicable to Traditional Groups
• This promotion is not applicable on the land portion of Cruisetours.
• Components included in this offer have no monetary value, are non-refundable and non-transferable.

How is Norwegian More at Sea different than the former Free at Sea promotion?

When it comes to comparing the new More at Sea vs. Free at Sea packages, they are mostly the same with a few key differences. These differences apply to the open bar, specialty dining, and WiFi perks.

With regard to the Open Bar, the main differences are as follows:

• More premium brands are included in the package.
• There’s no more $15 drink limit.
• But, there’s no longer a Premium Plus drink package or ability to pay to upgrade. This means guests can NOT pay extra to have unlimited bottled water and specialty coffee included in their drink package.

With regard to Specialty Dining, the main differences are as follows:

• Depending on your stateroom category, you may actually get more free meals. For instance, Balcony and above guests received 2 free meals for 7-11 night cruises with Free at Sea. Now, they receive 3 meals for 7-night cruises and 4 meals for 8-11 night cruises.
• There’s no longer the ability to purchase add-on specialty dining packages for additional meals.
• Specialty dining pricing for additional meals has changed from a la carte to flat-fee cover charges.
• Guests can order up to 3 appetizers and 3 desserts at specialty restaurants for no added fee.

When it comes to the WiFi packages, the minutes have stayed the same except for those on 12+ day voyages. These guests have actually been downgraded from 300 minutes to 150 minutes. The enhancements are as follows:

• All guests in the stateroom now receive a login as opposed to just the first and second guest as previous.
• WiFi is now powered by Starlink for faster speeds.

What about Free at Sea Plus? Upgrades to the Premium Plus Beverage Package?

With Norwegian’s former Free at Sea promotion, there was the option to upgrade to Free at Sea Plus. Guests could upgrade their free perks to a more premium level for $49 per person, per day.

The Free at Sea Plus package included Unlimited WiFi (no streaming) for Guests 1&2, Premium Plus beverage package for Guests 1&2, Two additional specialty dining meals for Guests 1&2, and Additional $50 shore excursion credit per tour for Guest 2.

However, with the rollout of the new More at Sea, Free at Sea Plus is no longer available. Guests will no longer have the upgrade option.

Or, guests could choose to upgrade just the “free drink package” to the Premium Plus drink package for $29 per person, per day. This NCL drink package included the addition of all Starbucks coffee & specialty drinks, all top-shelf cocktails & spirits, all beer, champagne, and wine by the glass, select premium bottles of champagne and wine with dinner and 40% off all other bottles, unlimited soft drinks and juices, and unlimited still & sparkling bottled water.

This too is also sunsetting with the new More at Sea. All previously upgraded beverage packages will be removed and the original form of payment will be refunded. Starbucks and bottled water will not be part of the More At Sea Beverage Package. Separate Starbucks and bottled water packages will be available for purchase.

Now, this is a huge detriment for us as we drink a lot of bottled water and specialty coffee on a cruise. While we get charging extra for Starbucks drinks, we’ve never understood why Norwegian Cruise Line is the ONLY cruise line that doesn’t include bottled water in its drink packages. Let’s give guests unlimited free alcohol but no water. How does this make sense?

The price of the Unlimited Starbucks package is $16.50 per person, per day, and all qualifying individuals in the stateroom must purchase it.

Water package prices range from $19.95 for 12 half liter bottles to $49.95 for 48 half liter bottles. While this probably works out to be cheaper than the former upgraded drink package in the long run, it’s really the hassle of having to remember to take this bottled water with you from your cabin or end up having to pay while on the pool deck or at a bar.

Does Norwegian More at Sea include gratuities?

Unlike some other cruise lines’ packages, NCL’s More at Sea does not typically include gratuities as one of its perks.

The current rates for NCL cruise gratuities are as follows:

• $25 for guests staying in the Haven and Suites
• $20 for all other staterooms, Club Balcony Suites and below

Is Norwegian Cruise Line’s More at Sea good for all itineraries?

Generally speaking, NCL’s Free at Sea is applicable to all sailings of 3 nights or greater. Chartered sailings and land portions of Cruisetours are the exceptions.

Hawaii sailings offer a slightly modified More at Sea promotion. The Hawaii Beverage Package is applicable to Pride of America sailings only, for guests 1-8 on the reservation. Though, there is no substitute for the package if guests cannot consume all beverages included.

This More At Sea Hawaii Beverage Package includes a variety of alcoholic beverages, excluding drinks in the Connoisseur’s Collection. It also includes fountain soda, freshly squeezed juice, bottled water (still and sparkling), non-alcoholic beer, and specialty coffee (limited to dining rooms only). It does not include specialty coffee outside of the restaurants, room service, mini bar purchases, or vending machines.

Eligible guests can get two beverages per person, per transaction. Packages are personal to the individual, may not be shared, are non-transferable and non-refundable.

Further, guests need to pay the additional costs of the More At Sea Hawaii Beverage Package prior to the cruise. These are: $30 per person, per day for 1-7 nights; $27 for 8-11 nights; and $23 for 12+ nights. However, when booking through the Australia office, additional costs related to More At Sea Hawaii Beverage Package are part of the fare.

The purchase of any alcoholic drinks within the Hawaii Beverage Package may, in certain individual circumstances, be restricted in accordance with Hawaii’s Intoxicating Liquor Law and applicable local rules and regulations.

Is Norwegian’s More at Sea Worth It?

If you know us, you know we love to crunch numbers to determine the real value of cruise offerings. So, we did a little math to decide if Norwegian’s More at Sea is worth it. Is is a better deal than Free at Sea?

If you take a typical 7-day cruise, the former 20% gratuity for the drink package was $152.60 for each guest. This price has now increased to $210 per person for the same 7-day cruise with More at Sea. This is an over 35% increase in price to get some additional premium spirits.

Similarly, the 20% service charge on a specialty dining package with Free at Sea was $19.80 for a 7-day cruise in a balcony cabin (2 meals). Now, the price has increased to $60 for the 3-meal plan on a 7-day cruise. While you are getting an extra meal, you’re paying over $40 additional (which is essentially paying for that meal based on new cover charge prices).

We also did some cruise price comparisons. We looked at pricing on September 30th and October 1st for a few different sailings across ships and itineraries. The good news is that of the five example cruises we chose, all prices were exactly the same. So, it doesn’t appear that NCL has raised prices to accommodate this new offering above the aforementioned. Of course, this doesn’t mean that pricing couldn’t trend up over time.

So, based on our calculations, guests are paying about $100 more for More at Sea than Free at Sea for a 7-day cruise in a balcony cabin or around $78 more for a 3-day cruise. At the end of the day, most guests would probably consider this a wash, as you are getting some additional benefits as mentioned previously in this post for this small increase in price.

For us, the biggest disappointment is the elimination of the Premium Plus Beverage Package/Free at Sea Plus. It was convenient to bundle all the upgrades into one package. Now, we’ll have to upgrade WiFi and make Starbucks and bottled water purchaes all separately.

Comments

What do you think of Norwegian’s More at Sea? Do you like the new More at Sea package better than Free at Sea? Drop us an anchor below to share your thoughts on this new NCL offering.