Good Deal? Everything to Know About Norwegian’s “Free At Sea” Offer (Including Free at Sea Plus)

Norwegian Cruise Line’s “Free at Sea” deal is one of the most appealing cruise line offers out there. If you book it, you get all sorts of perks included in your cruise, from a drink package to shore excursion credits to internet access.

But is it a good deal? It is worth buying? And what details should you know when you book?

While cruise passengers have gotten used to shelling out plenty of cash for extras on the ship after they board, not everyone likes being nickeled-and-dimed.

That’s why this offer aims to provide many of the extras you’d normally buy on a trip, all included in your cruise fare at a price that’s less than if you booked them all separately. That gives you a more all-inclusive atmosphere on the ship, instead of worrying about more spending once on the ship.

With Free at Sea, you book a cruise and get any number of perks included with your cruise. While what’s offered to passengers can change slightly from time to time, the traditional deal offers a lineup of perks for you to select from:

• Unlimited open bar
• Included specialty dining meals
• Shore excursion credits
• Wi-fi minutes
• Kids or 3rd/4th guests sail free

Norwegian has been offering some version of the sale for some time now, though it was tweaked in late 2024 from “Free at Sea” to “More at Sea.” And then in late 2025, the cruise line switched back, bringing back the naming as Free at Sea. 

Anecdotally, it’s one of the most appealing offers out there. Who doesn’t want to get drinks or specialty dining tacked onto their cruise? In fact, it promises to take away so many of the extra charges that creep into the cost of a cruise these days.

But while the sale sounds mouth-watering, there are definitely some things you will want to know before you purchase your fare in order to get the best deal… and avoid any surprises.

The Free at Sea Offer Now Seems to Be the Base Fare for NCL 

It used to be that NCL had two different type of fares. You could pay more and get the Free at Sea deal included or your could select a basic (and less expensive) fare without the deal.

Those days seem to be gone. We searched tons of cruises on the NCL website and found that Free at Sea simply seems to be the base fare now. There’s no decision to make now. When you book, you get the offer. 

Nevertheless, you’ll often see a timer on the site counting down until the sale ends. With the ability to get all the perks included with your cruise, it can be tempting to want to jump at the deal so that you don’t miss out. 

In this case, you don’t seem to have much to worry about. Some form of the Free at Sea offer has run in some form or another (there are tweaks here and there) for years. And while we don’t check every day, we can’t think of a time in recent history that it hasn’t been offered.

So yes, the sale may change slightly, but some form is seemingly always offered. Don’t think you have to rush to buy or risk missing out. If the time isn’t quite right to book, you’ll most likely see something similar when you are ready.  

You Still Have to Pay Gratuity or Extra Fees… Even on Included Things

One of the biggest draws to the Norwegian sale is that you can get unlimited open bar on your trip. With the price of alcohol on a cruise being high (think $10-14 for a cocktail or about $6-8 for a beer), having bar privileges can be a huge money saver. Meanwhile, the cost of a drink package on a cruise is normally around $80-$100 across cruise lines. On a 7-day trip, that’s hundreds of dollars you’re saving by having it included.

But with the included drink package, NCL still adds in a daily charge for the gratuities of the package. The drink packages charge is $28.50 per person, per day. 

So on a 7-night cruise, you’d actually pay $199.50 per person for the drink package. A couple traveling together would have to pay $399 as both people would be required to get the package if one person does. That’s still a great deal, but it’s not exactly “free.”

It’s similar with the specialty dining package. There, you will see gratuities on the included meals with the offer ($20 per person, per meal), which are paid when booking.

If you don’t want these charges, you can opt out of the drink package and specialty dining to avoid paying the gratuities. (See more on that below.)

You Don’t Have to Select a Perk If You Don’t Want It

With the extra cost of some perks like drinks and specialty dining, there can actually be a disadvantage to having it included on your cruise if you don’t use these offers. That’s ok. When you book, you don’t have to take advantage of every single perk that’s offered.

When making your reservation, you have the choice to opt out of those packages that require an extra charge such as the drink package and specialty dining. That way if you don’t think you’ll get your money’s worth, you don’t have to pay the fee.

Understand the Terms & Conditions Before Booking (Lots of Fine Print)

We mentioned the extra charges that come with the drink package and specialty restaurant dining. But there are some terms and conditions you should know about before you book. 

Daily Gratuities/Taxes/Fees for Free Guests: If you take advantage of the free fares for third and fourth guests in a cabin, keep in mind they will still be charged a daily service charge of $20/$25 per person (depending on the room type) on the ship like any other passenger. They will also be charges taxes and port fees. So it’s not 100% no-cost for an additional person to say. 

Specialty Dining: Other things to know include that the specialty dining perk is only for a some meals (three per person in total for a 7-day cruise, one meal for 2-4 night cruises) and you also see the $20 per person, per meal charge with the package we mentioned earlier.

Wi-Fi: The wi-fi offer is for only 150 minutes per person. It is not unlimited.

Shore Excursion Credit: The $50 per shore excursion credit is only applicable to the first passenger. All other will pay full price. 

For the full terms and conditions of the offers, you can click here. And here are FAQ of what’s included from Norwegian Cruise Line.

Shore Excursion Credits Are Applied AFTER the Excursion (If Booked Onboard)

One perk included with Free at Sea is a $50 shore excursion credit applied to the first passenger only. This is good for each port, so if you have four excursions at for different ports, you can be credited a total of $200. 

It’s a good deal that can help save on excursions. What can be a little confusing is the pricing with the credit.

If you book your excursion before the cruise, then you will have the credit applied at the time of purchase. So a $99 excursion will be priced at $49. 

But if you wait until on the ship to book your excursion, then you are charged full price. Only after you take the excursion is the credit then applied to your onboard account. 

Check Prices on Airfare Offers

One of the perks that can be popular for people living a distance from the port is free airfare. Often, it is free for the second guest on the cruise, although the offer specifics can vary.

As you might expect, there are some caveats when it comes to free flights. Most notably, airfare charges will vary depending on where you’re flying from. You’ll be able to select your departure city, and then it will tell you the price of airfare for the guest that does have to pay.

In that case, it’s worth a quick search of flight-search websites like Kayak to see what the airfare rate will be. In a recent search, we found flights on our own for cheaper than what we were quoted on the NCL website. However, when you consider the free airfare for the second guest, the Free at Sea offer was better overall.  

Free at Sea “Plus” Can Add More Value (For a Price)

By now you should have a good feel for the Free at Sea offer and what’s included. But there’s one more thing you should know, and that’s NCL has an upgraded offer known as Free at Sea Plus. 

What’s the difference? Free at Sea Plus includes the following items:

• Upgraded drink package with more high-end options, energy drinks, Starbucks coffee, and works on Great Stirrup Cay
• 50% off additional specialty dining after your already included meals
• Unlimited streaming wi-fi
• Prepaid service charges included

These extras come at a cost of $49.99 per person, per day. However, given that the service charges are $20 per day for most rooms ($25 for suites), the actual cost can be considered $29.99 per day for more drink options, more wi-fi, and the specialty restaurant perk. 

You can compare the two offers here.

Good Deal? Likely, But Do the Math Before You Buy

For many people, the Free at Sea offer is a no-brainer, and they will end up saving a considerable amount of money. 

The real question is whether or not to get the drink package included and/or if you should upgrade to Free at Sea Plus.

In our opinion, it comes down to how much you like to drink since that’s the major value. Given the cost of $28.50 per person, per day for the included drink package, you’ll break even with roughly two cocktails per day. Any extras (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) will make the deal definitely worth it for you. 

We think most people on vacation can meet that amount. But if you don’t plan to drink each day, then simply opt-out of the offer and still get the others included.

For Free at Sea Plus, the emphasis on what you drink is even more important. This is only going to be worth it if you drink high-end beverages, love Starbucks, and/or are visiting Great Stirrup Cay. Otherwise, the extra cost is going to be hard to recover during the course of your cruise, even with the other perks. 

More on Sailing NCL:

• Worth It? Complete Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) Drink Package Guide
• 25+ Fun Must-Do Things on a Norwegian Cruise
• 20+ Norwegian Cruise Tips, Tricks, and Things to Know

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