NCL Launches New ‘More At Sea’ Promotion To Replace ‘Free At Sea’

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Norwegian Cruise Line has launched a new promotion called ‘More at Sea’, which replaces the previous ‘Free at Sea’ and ‘Free at Sea Plus’ packages.

NCL More at Sea

However, while the promotion claims to be even better value for guests, there are some caveats which may mean that guests are actually worse off than they would’ve been under the Free at Sea promotion.

The new promotion came into effect for all new bookings from 1st October 2024. It’s an optional upgrade which includes a mix of benefits, including free drinks, free speciality dining meals, free WiFi and shore excursion credit.

However, it’s a paid-for upgrade (costs vary by sailing length) and it doesn’t include the extra costs of gratuities for the drinks package and speciality dining meals.

It’s likely that anyone who had booked a cruise with Free at Sea will get the same benefits they had already booked, although it’s not yet clear.

However, guests who had paid for the Free at Sea Plus package, which offered even more benefits, are saying that the package has been removed from their online account, with speculation that it may be cancelled and refunded.

The key differences in the More at Sea promotion are:

  • Guests will be able to enjoy a wider selection of included drinks, with no $15 per drink limit (though not everything will be included)
  • All guests in a cabin will now get free WiFi minutes, not just the first and second guest
  • Many guests will enjoy additional free speciality dining meals, with the maximum increasing from 3 to 5 (depending on cabin choice & sailing length)
  • More included appetizers and desserts with every speciality meal – up to 3 of each

Guests will continue to get a $50 shore excursion credit for the first person in a cabin only.

The negative changes are:

  • Increased gratuities for the drinks package – guests will now pay $30 per person, per day compared to $21.80, meaning a 7-night cruise for two guests will cost an additional $115
  • Increased gratuities for speciality dining – guests will now pay $20 per meal, compared to $11.80 under Free at Sea
  • Guests on cruises of 12 nights or more will have their free WiFi minutes halved from 300 to 150

The loss of Free at Sea Plus will also be disappointing as it means guests can’t pay for the upgraded package, which included bottled water, speciality coffee, unlimited WiFi, extra speciality dining meals, more premium drinks and additional shore excursion credit.

Response on social media has been mixed, with many guests feeling like the ‘upgrades’ are now putting more of a squeeze on budgets due to the increased gratuity costs.

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1 thought on “NCL Launches New ‘More At Sea’ Promotion To Replace ‘Free At Sea’”

  1. Jean Morgan

    Tony and myself (Jean) are booked to sail on Norwegian Sun from Melbourne (AUS) to Auckland (NZ) in January 2025. This is a bucket list trip as this time last year I was in hospital getting heart surgery to replace a valve and 2 further ops.
    I think this may be our last time with NCL. I will wait and see for a few months before I make a decision. At least they have now reinstated the speciality dining and our Free at Sea Plus package as I booked early enough to fit their criteria.

    Reply

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