Note: We’ve updated this article to clarify that the new cost for drink packages included with NCL’s More At Sea is based on a set daily fee per passenger and not simply a gratuity charge.
Norwegian Cruise Line is saying goodbye to one of its most popular offerings, but it’s actually something we think passengers are going to appreciate.
That is, if they are also ok with also paying more to get more.
For years, NCL has offered a package known as “Free At Sea.” With this offer, you can book the deal and get a number of perks included with your cruise. This includes everything from drink packages to wi-fi, shore excursion credit, included specialty restaurants and more.
Now Free At Sea is going away and being replaced. Norwegian announced that it is rolling out a re-branded offer it calls “More At Sea.”
If we’re honest, the term “Free At Sea” always seemed a little funny. First, it definitely wasn’t free as prices for the package deal were (understandably) higher than if you booked the traditional “Sail Away” fare with no perks included.
As well, gratuities were also added onto the list price of the drink package and specialty restaurants even though you were getting them included. So for a couple sailing on a week-long cruise with a “free” drink package, they would still pay approximately $300 in gratuities. It was still a good deal, but not really free.
In basic terms, More At Sea is a new name for the retiring Free At Sea offer. Book the new deal and you can get all of the following included with your fare:
- Unlimited Open Bar
- Specialty Dining
- Wi-Fi Package
- Shore Excursion Credits
- Free 3rd/4th Passengers
- Free Airfare for 2nd Passenger
But this isn’t only a renaming. NCL is also enhancing some of the perks with the new More At Sea package. These changes give passengers more benefits in booking the offer.
The upgrades include…
Unlimited Open Bar: With More At Sea, Norwegian is now offering more premium brands with the included drink package. This includes Grey Goose, Casamigos, and Woodford Reserve. It is also removing the $15 beverage cap on drinks included with the offer. NCL says the new drink package offer will provide 45% more brands compared to Free At Sea.
Specialty Dining: Previously, specialty dining was limited to only two meals during a 7-night cruise and one meal for 3-6 night cruises. With More At Sea, that is being bumped up to three meals for a 7-night cruise, two meals for 4-6 nights, and staying at one meal for a three-night trip.
Wi-Fi: Under the old rules, the included wi-fi was for 75 minutes for the first and second passenger on cruises of 3-6 nights or 150 minutes for 7-11 night trips. Now those amounts are being offered for each guest, doubling the total minutes for two people sailing.
The new More At Sea benefits go into effect January 1, 2025. But it appears that so too is a higher cost to passengers.
More (Money) At Sea: A $115 Increase in Drink Package Cost For a 7-Day Cruise?
It’s become common in cruising that whenever there is a change in an offer, there’s often a new price attached. That looks to be the case here with More At Sea.
We priced out several cruises and found that the total fare price per person is $50 more for the More At Sea offer compared to the standard Sail Away pricing. This is in line with what’s been offered in the past.
However, we’ve also noticed a big jump in charges for the drink package that will mean considerably more out of pocket.
With the Free At Sea offer, passengers get the drink package (Unlimited Open Bar) included, but they still pay a 20% gratuity charge on the list value of the package.
For instance, we priced a 7-day cruise with the current Free At Sea offer. For that, you still pay a 20% gratuity on the $109 list price of the drink package included with your cruise. That comes out to $21.80 per day, or a total of $305.20 for two people on a 7-day sailing.
Take a look:
We then priced the same exact cruise departing in early 2025, after the new More At Sea program goes into effect. For this cruise, the drink package cost has jumped to $420 for two people on a 7-day cruise, or $30 per person, per day.
That’s an additional $115 over the course of a week for two people sailing with the drink package.
It seems instead of charging a 20% gratuity on the list price of the drink package as with Free At Sea, there is now simply a flat fee per person, per day.
This cost is according to the following schedule listed on NCL’s website:
- Cruises 1-7 Nights: $30 per person, per day
- Cruises 8-11 Nights: $27 per person, per day
- Cruises 12+ Nights: $23 per person, per day
A few things to keep in mind, however. As with Free At Sea, passengers can always choose to skip the drink package if they don’t want to pay this charge. And if they do include the package, it now offers more brands and no drink price limit as it did before.
Finally, paying $30 per day for a drink package is still a good value.
Another Change: Premium Plus Package Being Removed
Looking through the cruise line’s drink package options on its website, we did notice that there’s been another big change.
Norwegian had offered two alcoholic drink packages. One was the Unlimited Open Bar Package with the $15 price cap. The second was the Premium Plus Beverage Package that included essentially all drinks on the ship and was priced at $139 per person, per day.
The Premium Plus Beverage Package has been removed from NCL’s website and the cruise line did confirm it will no longer be offered.
Notably, the regular package is still priced at $109 on the website and mentions having a $15 per drink cap. According to the cruise line, that price per drink cap will go away after 2024.
