NCL’s Free at Sea upgrades have always been trendy for those sailing with the cruise line. The program enables guests to either pay a relatively small fee or even receive it for free with a booking and, in exchange, get things such as complimentary WI-FI, specialty dining, beverage packages, and more.
As of January 18, the cruise line did make some changes to the program. The changes have been made to the specialty dining packages, where guests get less, and the WIFI packages, which have been increased.
Free At Sea Dining
If Norwegian Cruise Line is known for one thing, it’s the freestyle dining concept. Eat where you want, when you want. The Free at Sea dining package lets you enjoy the restaurants onboard the vessels that are typically available at an extra cost, and you only pay the gratuities.
In the past, the Free at Sea promotion included one to five meals per stateroom, depending on the cruise length. This has now been changed. Previously, on a 3-5 night cruise, you would have gotten one complimentary meal; on a 6-8 night cruise, two meals; 9-10 nights would have gotten you three free meals; 11-14 nights four free meals, and for a 15+ night cruise you would have gotten five free meals in specialty restaurants.
In the updated promo, the number of free meals is based on the room, and the length of the cruise:
- Cruise Length: 3-6 nights
- Stateroom: Any
- Free meals: 1
- Cruise Length: 7-11 nights
- Stateroom: Studio, inside, Oceanview
- Free meals: 1
- Cruise Length: 7-11 nights
- Stateroom: Balconies & above
- Free meals: 2
- Cruise Length: 12+ nights
- Stateroom: Studio, inside, Oceanview
- Free meals: 2
- Cruise Length: 12+ nights
- Stateroom: Balconies & above
- Free meals: 3
As you can see, these are some pretty significant changes to the Free at Sea Dining packages, especially if you are booked in the Studio, Inside, or Oceanview rooms on longer voyages.
Free at Sea Wi-fi
The Free at Sea Wi-fi packages has also seen some changes, although these are mostly positive, as long as you’re not traveling alone. The change has to do with the free WIFI time that is included. Previously the packages were per stateroom.
So a 3-6 day cruise would have gotten 100 minutes free per cabin. Now, that same cruise length gets you 75 minutes per person. So if you are traveling as a couple, you get 50 minutes extra. If you are traveling alone, you get 25 minutes less.
A 7-13 day cruise would have gotten 250 minutes of WI-FI time per cabin; this has changed to 7-11 days and 150 minutes per person. So an additional 50 minutes again.
Finally, 14+ day cruises would have gotten 500 minutes free; this has been changed to 300 minutes per guest on 12 days and more cruises. An additional 100 minutes if sailing with your partner. If sailing alone, you lose a massive 200 minutes.
What About the Other Free at Sea Promos?
There are six Free at Sea promos available from Norwegian Cruise Line. Besides the Dining and Wifi packages, there is a Beverage package with a retail value of $99 per day and a promo for $50 shore excursion credit per port.
Read Also: Norwegian Cruise Line Overhauls its Latitudes Rewards Program
The Kids Sail Free promo is ideal for those looking for a good family deal. The promo is valid for 3 or 4 guests sharing a room with only two guests paying full fare. Lastly, there is are some outstanding cruise and flight packages available from Norwegian, where you can get up to 35% off.
