Before you book a Norwegian Cruise Line trip in 2023, you will want to know all about the Norwegian Cruise Line Free at Sea program. In this complete guide to NCL Free at Sea, we cover all of the details from the perks, to the inclusions of each perk, to how you can save the most money with this promotion.
GUIDE TO NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE FREE AT SEA
0:00 Introduction
1:05 Free at Sea Promotion Details
4:03 Free Unlimited Open Bar Package
7:50 Premium Plus Beverage Package
8:48 Free Specialty Dining Package
11:51 Free Shore Excursions
13:14 Free WiFi
15:04 Free 3rd and 4th Guest
15:48 Free Airfare for 2nd Guest
16:53 Gratuities Not Included with Free at Sea
17:40 How Much Does Free at Sea Really Cost?
19:45 Picking Your Free at Sea Perks
22:35 What is Free at Sea Plus?
24:05 Upgrading to Free at Sea Plus
In this updated video, we take a look at all of the @norwegiancruiseline Free at Sea perks. We begin with the Free at Sea Drink Package, The Free at Sea Dining Package, and other benefits, like free WiFi and free shore excursions.
In this analysis of the Free at Sea on Norwegian Cruise Line, we also compare potential upgrade options as well to help you decide whether it is worth it for you to upgrade or not.
One potential upgrade option is the Premium Plus Beverage package. NCL allows guests to upgrade the Free Open Bar Package to this more inclusive drink package which includes Starbucks coffee. Thus, we analyze whether upgrading makes sense for you given the added costs and benefits.
Since our last video looking at the Norwegian Free at Sea promotion, the cruise line has rolled out the new Free at Sea Plus option. This additional upgrade includes the enhanced Premium Plus drink package, as well as additional specialty dining credits, better WiFi, and additional shore excursion credit. This new option might be worth it, especially if you were planning to upgrade to the better drink package anyway.
READ OUR UPDATED NORWEGIAN FREE AT SEA GUIDE ON THE BLOG:
https://eatsleepcruise.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-norwegian-cruise-lines-free-at-sea
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If you are planning a cruise with Norwegian
Cruise Line this video is for you as we have A detailed and update look at the cruise
Line's popular promotion free at Sea and How to save you the most money when
taking advantage of this offer up next Welcome aboard Cruisers I'm Don B from eat sleep
Cruise where we help you plan the perfect Cruise So you can see the world one port at a time now
the wife and I are a huge Norwegian Cruise Line Fans and we've sailed on several of the ship's
Breakaway and Breakaway Plus Class ships so We're very familiar with the Norwegians free Etsy
promotion in fact we made a video a few years ago Covering all the details about this program but
the program has recently been changed quite a bit Plus there's a brand new free
at Sea plus promotional offer So we've created this updated video giving you
all the details about the new free at Sea and Helping you decide if it's worth upgrading to
the free at Sea plus promotion so let's Dive In Now if you're completely new to Norwegian Cruise
Line and not familiar with the free at Sea program This promotion entitles guests to free perks
like drink packages specialty dining Wi-Fi Kids sale free and more the number of perks that
Cruisers receive does vary based on the current Sale and the statement category booked but usually
guests can get up to five free perks with the sale Occasionally there are up to six perks if
airfare is part of the current promotion For example ntl's free at Sea previously offered
guests who booked a studio inside Ocean View Balcony or Club balcony Suite rooms the ability
to choose two free perks guess who bought Suites In a Haven received all five free perks although
recently yes booking most cabin categories can Receive all five free perks now to us that's a
really good deal when you opt for this package It offers a more inclusive experience and guests
will know the majority of their Cruise costs up Front and not have to worry about the bill at
the end of the cruise of course it's important To read the fine print at the time of your
booking as the terms of promotion can change For instance some categories like a studio
or an inside cabin may only qualify for one Perk at certain times further make sure
to read the fare that you're purchasing As Norwegian Cruise Line usually offers sell away
rates which are similar to a guaranteed cabin These rates are often excluded from the free
at Sea promotion all the perks include this Offer have no monetary value thus if you opt
to decline any of the entire perks which you Can you'll not receive a refund nor can you
get on board credit or gifted someone else Further it can vary as how many guests and state
we receive each perk for instance ncl38c provides Drink packages to all guests but dining packages
only to the first two guests on the reservation This promotion can be combined with other offers
being run by the cruise line like two for one Deposits can also be combined with travel agent
office like extra perks or onboard credit this is One of the easiest ways to save money when booking
a Norwegian Cruise Line Cruise you must like your
Free at Sea choices at least 24 hours prior to
sailing further it's important to know that both The first and second guests in The State Room need
to pick the same perks NCL is free at Sea only Available on cruises that are three days or longer
and not applicable to chartered dates government Taxes or expenses and fees discretioning onboard
service charges or gratuities are also additional For those sailing in Alaska do know that this
promotion is not applicable to the land portion Of cruise tours so now that you have a general
sense of what the Norwegian Cruise Line free at Sea promotion looks like let's take a deeper
look at the perks involved in the free at Sea The most popular of the Norwegian free at Sea
Parks is the unlimited open bar package for Obvious reasons this perk entitles guests one
through eight on the reservation a Norwegian Cruise Line premium beverage package there is
an additional 20 gratuity that's added to this Free beverage package and the cruiser will be
responsible for paying that 20 fee and the 20 Service charge is based on the retail value
of the drink package if you have guests under 21 sailing with you those guests will get this
soda package as a substitution only if they're The first or second guess on the reservation
however guests three through eight that are Under 21 years old will not receive a solo
package as a substitution essentially they Don't get any drink package the retail value
of the unlimited open bar package it's 109 per Person per day whereas the retail value of the
soda package is only 7.95 per person per day Guests can upgrade from the open bar package which
is a premium dream package to the premium plus Drink package for 29 a person per day now later
on we'll break down whether upgrading makes sense For you based on what's included in bullet train
packages and your own drinking habits now the NCL Free drink package which is part of the free at
Sea promotion includes the following beverages Select premium cocktails and spirits that are
under 15 dollars a variety of beer and wine by the Glass which are also under fifteen dollars twenty
percent off all bottles of champagne and bottles Of wine and unlimited soft drinks and juices this
free drink package is good at all bars lounges Restaurants and the private island of Great
Stirrup key although it does not work An Origin Cruise Line's Private Island Harvest key Belize
on any beverage items that are over 15 per serving Guests will receive a 15 discount and then you
need to pay the difference plus the 20 gratuity Guests are entitled to two beverages
per person per transaction the premium Beverage package does not include room service
or ship specific promotions or buckets of beer The package also doesn't include designated super
premium brands bottle wine or liquor or mini bar Purchases now if you want to know what brands are
actually included you can check in the description As we have a link to ncl's website where they list
all of the included brands the drink package does Not include any wine or Spirit experiences on the
ships tastings or flights and for us unfortunately It doesn't include Starbucks the ice bars and
wine stations found on some and sale ships
Unlike most other Cruise Lines premium
non-alcoholic drinks are not part of this free At Sea drink package so guests will need to pay
extra for items like bottled water fresh squeezed Juices specialty coffee and energy drinks however
guests do get that 20 discount on such things as Bottles of wine wine and spirit experiences and
tastings or flights purchase on board the ship The Hawaii beverage package is applicable to Pride
of America sailings only for guests one through Eight on the reservation this package includes
a variety of beverages up to Fifteen dollars It also includes fountain soda freshly squeezed
juice bottled water flat sparkling non-alcoholic Beer and Specialty coffees but in the dining
room the package does not include specialty Coffees outside the restaurant room service mini
bar purchases or vending machines the retail value Of the Hawaii beverage package is 109 per person
per day and like the traditional free at open Bar perk guest sailing in Hawaii you need to pay
the 20 gratuity on this free perk now if you're Thinking about upgrading to the premium plus
beverage package you can enjoy all the previous Inclusions plus a variety of upgraded beverages
the premium plus beverage package includes all top Shelf cocktails and Spirits all beer champagne
and wine buy the glass select premium bottles Of champagne and wine with dinner and then 40 off
all other bottles unlimited soft drinks and juices Unlimited still and sparkling bottled water in all
Starbucks coffees and Specialty drinks Norwegian Cruise Line is known for its freestyle approach
to dining this means no set dinner times no table Arrangements or main dining rooms Instead The
Cruise Line offers a variety of dining options While there are several complimentary options many
of the dining venues do charge an additional fee Luckily there's a Norwegian Cruise Line
specialty dining package this package Entitles users to dinette many of the four fee
restaurants on any NCL ship for one set price More importantly this specialty dining package is
commonly one of the ncl's free at Sea perks the Specialty dining package perk is only applicable
to the first two guests on the reservation At the cruise line signature Cagney Steakhouse
in La Bistro you can order as many starters sides And desserts as you want however you can only
order one entree you'll need to pay all our car Pricing for any additional entrees a specialty
dining package for meals in food Republic the Tapas bar and wasabi include four menu items per
person room service Starbucks a bake shop Cocos Dolce Gelato the jazz brunch or wine lovers and
murder mystery lunch are not part of the specialty Dining package beverages are also not included
additionally Cruisers can use a specially dining Meal credit for entertainment-based restaurants
for an additional surcharge like the shark dreams However if you wish to use a meal credit you'll
need to wait until you're on board the ship To actually book of course even if you receive the
package as part of the free at Sea promotion you Can always purchase an additional special dining
package for extra meals prior to your sale date You may receive promotional offers to upgrade
your dining package with additional meals at a
Discounted price in early 2022 the perk had been
updated or actually should I say rather downgraded Now the number of meals is based on the length of
the cruise and The State Room category you booked Previously all guests used to receive one
free meal for cruises that were three to Five nights long and two free meals were
cruises that were six to eight nights long Cruises that were nine to ten days long qualify
for three free meals I'm sure you're starting to See the pattern here with cruises that were 11 to
14 days long being four meals and cruises 15 days Long or longer getting five free meals now all
guests receive the following cruises from three To six nights get one free meal regardless of the
cabin category on cruises that are 7 to 11 nights Crews are staying in balcony or above will
receive two free meals but Cruisers who only stay In a studio inside our ocean on cruises that are
seven to eleven nights long will receive one free Meal likewise on cruises that are 12 nights or
longer guests staying in a balcony or above will Get three meals while guest staying in studios
insights or ocean views will only get two meals Similar to the quote unquote free drink package
all guests must pay the 20 gratuity on the retail Value of the specialty dining package prior
to their Cruise Cruisers can use the specially Dining package at most specialty venues these
include the American diner cagneys food Republic Honda by Scarpetta La Bistro Los Lobos mardano
ocean blue cute Texas Smokehouse and Teppanyaki Plus several others another common perk of
norwegian's free Etsy promotion is free shore Excursions if you're new to cruising you may not
know the linga but the term Shore Excursion can Refer to any number of different activities
that occur at each Port of Call pretty sure Excursions occur authorship and are completed
during the hours you are docked at the port Shark surgeons give Cruisers the opportunity
to maximize their time ashore while eliminating Some of the legwork of planning or just
winging it and doing your own thing these Tours are usually designed to highlight the
best attractions that the area has to offer NCL is free at Sea free short versions Alpha is
the first guess only on the reservation for a Credit of 50 per report guests can use this
credit to purchase any tour offered by the Cruise line if the tour is less than 50 there
is no refund the tour is more than 50 which Honestly it most likely will be the guests
will be responsible to pay the difference Latitude member discounts are combined with this
perk though the 50 Shore Excursion credit does Not apply to equipment rentals and great syrup key
or harvest key the cruise Line's private islands Pre-crews and post Cruise land tours are not
eligible for this promotion either obviously The retail value of this perk will be based on
the number of ports of calls scheduled for your Itinerary but if you're taking a seven-day Cruise
you're probably gonna visit three to four ports so It'll be around 150 to 200 dollars another one
of norwegian's free at Sea perks is free Wi-Fi Although this perk also changed in early 2022
similar to the specialty dining package this
Perk is based on the length of your cruise while
Norwegian cruise line does offer an unlimited Internet package guests only receive a certain
number of minutes with the free at Sea promotion Guests receive 75 minutes per person for a three
to six day cruise 150 minutes per person for a 7 To 11 day cruise and then 300 minutes per person
for cruises at a 12 days or longer although these Minutes are per person and not per stateroom which
is an improvement from the past bookings will Receive two logins per stateroom of no internet
packages are not available on graystrip key or Harvest key further these minutes can only be used
on one device at a time it is important to know That while cruise ship internet is getting faster
it may never be as reliable as your internet back Home cruise ship internet depends on satellite
connections and geographical location the ship's Distance offshore as well as interference from
Landscapes and weather can all cause available Cruise ship internet speeds now based on our
experience you should be able to use these minutes For basic tasks like checking email and posting
on social media however you shouldn't plan on Using these minutes for streaming purposes like
the previous perks you can always upgrade your Wi-Fi package Cruisers often receive promotions
to upgrade the discount rate prior to the cruise Enterprise with the unlimited Wi-Fi
package is 25.50 for one device If you want to stream the unlimited Wi-Fi with
streaming package starts at 34.99 for one device There are also two device and four device
packages available at reduced rates Often Norwegian Cruise Lines free at Sea includes
free third and fourth guests in The State Room Motion is also sometimes called kids sale
free and as a name implies this offer is Valid for guests three and four sharing
a stateroom with the first two guests Paying a full Cruise fare this offer is
only applicable on select sailings thus Popular times of year like school breaks and
holidays are usually not part of the promotion If there are guests five through eight in a
reservation those guests will pay prevailing fares Now keep in mind while the cruise fares might be
free with this promotion guess we'll need to pay The taxes and related port fees for guests three
and four when taking advantage of this promotion Times Norwegian Cruise Line even offers
free airfare for the second guess Now this offer is only valid on seven plus
night sailings with this perk the second Guess on the reservation flies for free
when buying airfare for the First cast The offer is not applicable to guests three
through eight on a reservation generally Guests must make the reservation more than 75 days
prior to sailing to qualify further this air offer Applies to economy round-trip flights from select
departure gateways only guests traveling solo will Receive 50 off Norwegian Cruise Line's promotional
airfare pricing each way Airline impose personal Charges such as baggage fees are not included
and are paid directly to the airline now with This perk there's a number of additional terms
and conditions but don't worry in the description
Down below we have a link to our complete guide to
Norwegian Cruise Lines create sea back on the blog Where we detail all the additional things you need
to know about the free airfare for a second guess Now unlike some Cruise Lines who offer all
included or have it all packages norwegian's Free at Sea does not include gratuities and
Norwegian Cruise Line has some of the highest Gratuities in the industry currently NCL rates
for gratuities are 25 per person per day for Guests staying in the Haven and Suites and twenty
dollars per person per day all other state rooms Club balconies Suites and Below now if you booked
your cruise before January 1st of 2023 and prepay Your gratuities before the sale date you can get
them at a reduced rate that reduce rate includes 20 per person per day for the Haven and Suites
18 per person per day for Club balcony Suites And 16 per person per day for all other stateroom
types now of course throughout this video we've Mentioned several times that Cruisers need to pay
the gratuity on top of some of these free perks Which really means some of these perks are not
truly free While others are for instance the free Open bar you need to pay that 20 surcharge so for
a typical seven day cruise each guest will need To pay 152.60 for the premium beverage package the
soil package would have a week-long price of 11.13 This gratuities add to the total cost of
the cruise fare at the time of booking Well for us this is still a great value it's
still a considerable amount to pay for a free perk Thus you can choose to opt out of the drink
package if you're offered all five perks if Offered only two perks you can choose two
Alternatives instead this is especially Applicable to guess if you do not drink alcoholic
beverages further if you enjoy specialty coffee Or want bottled water you'll have to pay extra
to upgrade to the premium plus beverage package Likewise guests need to pay gratuity
on the specialty dining package as well Recruiters staying in a balcony or above and
getting those two free meals on a seven night Cruise that gratuity is 17.80 per package this
of course does not include any additional tips That you would like to provide to your await staff
likewise in terms of the free Shore Excursion 50 Credit per stateroom will not cover much so you'll
likely need to pay extra to cover the cost of Short excursions of course if you plan on booking
short excursions anyway this is essentially free Money although if you're booking them just to
utilize the credit it will likely cost you extra When taking advantage of friends and
family sell free perk you will still Need to pay the government fees taxes and
Port expenses for all the sale-free guests These fees vary based on the itinerary but will
likely cost you 200 plus dollars each guest Another thing to consider is that cheaper room
categories often qualify for Less perks but they Are cheaper if you're paying more money for a
higher room category just to score the free perks You'll need to determine if it's worth it for you
to upgrade of course one of the most frequently Asked questions we get is which ncl's free at
Sea Park should I pick now recently Norwegian
Cruise Line has been offering all four or all five
free perks as a promotion since the cruise restart But historically that has not been the case so if
the current promotion is only offering a few perks You'll need to decide which ones to choose now
before you do so let's review the retail values Of each perk based on a typical seven day cruise
the open bar has a retail value of 763 dollars per Person this is before the 20 gratuity likewise
a specialty dinner for two individuals again in A balcony or above as a retail value of 89 per
person the shore excursions credit as a retail Value of fifty dollars per person per Port again
around 150 to 200 for a typical seven night cruise And though 150 minutes with two logins per
stateroom has a retail value of 125 dollars so Base solely on the retail value choosing the free
open bar is a no-brainer for most it will save you The most money on your cruise but again only if
you drink alcoholic beverages now you don't have To drink 763 dollars worth to make this package
worth it for you because remember you are paying The gratuities thus if you don't think you'll
drink at least a hundred and fifty dollars of Alcohol over the week which is approximately two
to three drinks a day then you probably shouldn't Opt for this perk or again if you're given all
the perks you can just decline it and then pay All a car for your drinks once on board if you're
sailing with a family the third and fourth guests Sale free isn't another obvious choice this perk
will easily save you hundreds of dollars as well The other three perks are much closer in value
so it really comes down to your preferences We usually opt for the specialty dining as
we really do enjoy NCL specialty restaurants But honestly the internet is rather slow
especially when compared to other major Cruise Lines so we'll likely eat
up those minutes pretty quickly If you do want or need internet during your cruise
we just recommend purchasing an unlimited package If you plan on booking short excursions in
multiple ports this perk might be a good value Although if you're like us and you plan to stay
on the ship at some ports or have a lot of sea Days in your itinerary this might not be the best
option to choose also remember you don't need to Book your short excursions through the cruise line
you could wander the port on your own or purchase Cheaper and often more authentic experiences
through local tour providers or other third-party Retailers if given two free perks we always pick
the drink package and the specialty dining package But of course if you time things right with
a promotion that offers all of the perks for A balcony stateroom that's an even better deal
now this year Norwegian Cruise Line rolled out Its free at Sea plus program this package is an
upgrade from the promotional free at Sea package Guests can upgrade their free perks for
more premium level or 49 per person per day This new free at C plus package includes the
premium plus beverage package for guests one And two additional specialty dining meals
for guests one and two an additional 50 Shore excursions credit for the second guess on
the booking and the unlimited Wi-Fi package for
Guest one and two but the typical unlimited
Wi-Fi not the streaming package unfortunately If the second guess on the reservation is a child
or your cruising solo again we'll refer you to our Blog post which has more details about how the
free at C plus package works in those instances If the second guess is under 21 the upgrade is
cheaper at 29 per person per day it's also cheaper For solo travelers to upgrade at forty two dollars
per person per day further if you want streaming Wi-Fi you can upgrade the free Etsy plus Wi-Fi
streaming for ten dollars per person per day Like the typical frequency promotion
there are some terms and conditions Packages only available on sailings that are three
nights or longer and it is applicable Fleet wide Except on those pride of America sailings so with
this new perk it comes down to whether it's worth It or not to upgrade should you upgrade from that
air fringers quote free frequency promotion to the New free at Sea plus package once again though
this is an individual decision basically you'll Need to decide whether you would spend more
than 49 per person per day on these extra perks So if we're starting just with that additional
Shore Excursion credit you know it'll be worth About fifty dollars only for Port days so again
additional 150 to 200 depending on your itinerary When looking at the two additional specialty
dinners alone it wouldn't be worth upgrading Either that package is worth 99 because again
it actually includes the 20 gratuity Which is Less than fifteen dollars per person per day
not to mention you can often score a dining Package upgrade on the free at Sea promotion at
a discount rate in terms of Wi-Fi the unlimited Wi-Fi and the free at Sea plus program is 25.50
per day to purchase if you just want to upgrade To the premium plus beverage package that will
only cost you an additional 29 per person per day So generally speaking if you plan to upgrade the
drink package and will utilize at least one other Perk then the free at C plus is probably worth
it for you if you're interested in two perks But one of them is not the drink package
honestly it's probably not worth upgrading Likewise if you're only really interested in one
perk then you should just pay for that perk out Of pocket and save yourself some money for us we
enjoy the added benefits of the premium plus drink Package like Starbucks and bottled water we also
enjoy the NCL especially restaurants and we would Probably upgrade our Wi-Fi package anyway thus
the free at C plus makes complete sense for us and Would help us save money on our Norwegian Cruise
Line Cruise and now that you know everything about Norwegian Cruise Lines free at Sea and the free
at Sea plus program it's time to start planning If you're not sure which Norwegian Cruise Line
should choose we highly suggest you check out Our review for no gym Cruise Line's newest Ship
Norwegian Prima in that review we cover everything From the dining to the entertainment onboard
activities staterooms and more we cover every Square inch of Norwegian Prima to help you decide
if that ship's right for your next Cruise vacation