By: Michele Benard, a Marvelous Mouse Travels agent
When sailing on Norwegian Cruise Line, what is "Free at Sea"? And is it really free?
Norwegian offers what they call Free at Sea. If you don’t know much about it, it can be a bit confusing, so let me break it down for you. Keep in mind that Free at Sea does not apply to Sail Away rooms. Most of these offers are for the first two guests in the stateroom with the exception of "3rd and 4th Guest Sail Free".
There are a variety of spirits and cocktails, wines by the glass, and bottled or draft beer (up to $15) for guests to choose from. Free Unlimited Bar also includes fountain soda, juice, and non-alcoholic beers for guest 1 & 2 in the room. However, guests will receive a 20% discount on bottles of wine, Wine and Spirit Experiences, and tastings or flights purchased onboard the ship.
The retail value of the Premium Beverage Package is $99 per person, per day. The retail value of the Adult Soda Package is $7.95 per person per day. You will end up paying the gratuities on these packages; those are added into the pricing of the cruise but considering the price of a drink package on other cruise lines, that is a steal.
Norwegian Cruise Line is known for its Freestyle approach to dining. This means no set dinner times, table arrangements, or main dining room. Instead, the cruise line offers a variety of dining options.
Guests will receive one meal for 3-6 night cruises regardless of cabin category. However, only balcony and above will receive 2 free meals for 7-11 night cruises. Guests on 7-11 night cruises who book a studio, inside, or oceanview will only get one free meal. On 12+ night cruises, guests get 2 meals for studio, inside, and oceanview or 3 meals for balcony and above.
.This is for guests 1 and 2 in the room. You can add on additional specialty dining for an additional charge. I recommend it. The food is good at the free complimentary dining areas and gives you lots of choices. The gratuities on the speciality dining is also added into the cruise cost.
This is a $50.00 credit that will come off the price of your excursion. This is 50.00 per port and for the first guest.
A 7-night cruise will get you 250 free minutes of wifi. If you plan on being on the wifi a lot, I suggest you upgrade and pay the upgrade fee to an unlimited plan. Of note, internet packages are not available on Great Stirrup Cay or Harvest Caye.
This is if you have more than 2 in a cabin...then the 3rd and 4th guest sail free. However, you will pay the taxes, port fees and gratuities. The cruise fare is what is free.
When this promotion is available, you must be open to any airfare. This could be a red-eye flight or a long layover. The first guest will pay for their air, the second guest is free but you do not get to choose your flight and typically you don’t know what flight you are on till a few months before departure.
