Norwegian Cruise Line has officially retired its “More at Sea” program and brought back the brand’s long-running “Free at Sea” promotion. Effective November 5, 2025, the familiar package will return with a few significant updates, including simplified pricing and reduced perks for longer voyages.
According to travel agents online, Norwegian Cruise Line is making the change after receiving mixed feedback on the “More at Sea” branding. Rumors had been swirling online for days over NCL’s upcoming changes, with some travel advisors leaking details before the official announcement.
The updates are now confirmed by Norwegian Cruise Line on their website, with the Free at Sea promotion available for new bookings.
The shift is largely considered a marketing rebrand, but with a few key differences. Many of the previous perks under More at Sea remain intact under the revived Free at Sea program, though several details have been simplified or adjusted.
Travel agents online have also confirmed the changes, with one Reddit post titled “More at Sea is dead. Long live Free at Sea” detailing the program updates.
Although the term “free” implies that guests won’t be charged for the perks, the poster clarifies this isn’t the angle Norwegian wants you to take. Instead, it’s meant to highlight the freedom you get from having these perks.
The program continues to apply to all sailings of two nights or longer and now extends to Sail Away fare categories (IX, OX, BX, MX), which were previously excluded. Guests must select their Free at Sea choices at least 24 hours before sailing.
NCL’s short-lived “More at Sea” program failed to resonate with cruisers
Norwegian Cruise Line originally introduced Free at Sea nearly a decade ago as its flagship value promotion. With the pricing package, guests were able to bundle popular add-ons such as drinks, dining, Wi-Fi, and shore-excursion credits into one simplified offer.
In January 2025, the line replaced Free at Sea with More at Sea. This attempted refresh was meant to highlight the program’s paid components and reposition the brand as more “premium.”
However, the change was met with widespread confusion among travel agents and guests. Many found the new name misleading and the pricing structure overly complicated.
As such, NCL has reversed course less than a year later by retiring More at Sea and reinstating Free at Sea with modest updates and clarified pricing.
The poster said, “The [More at Sea] branding has not worked for NCL, and they have decided to bring back their ever-popular promotional branding, Free at Sea.”
What’s different under the new Free at Sea
Norwegian has replaced the “package price” terminology introduced under More at Sea with a simpler “gratuities” model. The cruise line clarified that this represents the total add-on cost, not an extra fee, to eliminate confusion.
Because of this change, many travel advisors assumed the new language meant that prepaid service charges, or daily gratuities, were now included in the cost of Free at Sea. That does not appear to be the case.
The use of “gratuities” refers only to the added per-day cost of the package itself, not the automatic service charges applied fleetwide.
In other words, the Free at Sea “gratuity” replaces the old package price structure rather than adding to it, but prepaid daily service charges remain a separate onboard expense.
Guests who booked under the previous More at Sea program will keep their original perks and pricing. Norwegian confirmed that those reservations “will not be changed” unless a passenger chooses to reprice their booking under the new structure.
“There will be no changes to your reservation. You will still receive the More at Sea amenities at the price you paid at the time of booking,” the cruise line states.
Drink Package Changes
The Free at Sea beverage package now costs $28.50 per person, per night, regardless of cruise length. That’s a small reduction from the previous $30 nightly rate for most seven-night sailings, though guests on longer itineraries over seven nights will now pay slightly more. Drinks are capped at $15 each.
Specialty Dining Changes
The specialty dining package remains $20 per meal, but the number of meals is now tied solely to cruise length rather than cabin category. The new structure provides:
- 1 meal for voyages of 2–4 nights
- 2 meals for 5–6 nights
- 3 meals for 7–8 nights
- 4 meals for sailings of 9+ nights
This change is meant to simplify planning for guests and increases the number of meals for inside and oceanview cabins, though balcony and suite passengers on longer cruises will now receive one fewer dining credit than before.
Internet Access Changes
Wi-Fi access has also been updated with Free at Sea. All guests now receive 150 minutes per person, replacing the old three-tier system. The cutback negatively impacts longer itineraries while shorter itineraries will receive more minutes.
With More at Sea, guests received 75 minutes of internet access on short voyages, 150 minutes for 7–11 nights, and 300 minutes for 12+ nights.
Apparently, Norwegian noted to travel agents that no other major cruise line includes Wi-Fi minutes in its base fare. The cruise line called even the limited offering a competitive advantage, although many see this as a major downside.
What remains the same with Free at Sea
The fundamentals are largely unchanged. Guests can still enjoy unlimited drinks, specialty dining, shore-excursion credits, limited internet minutes, and discounted fares for additional guests.
The drink package continues to be unlimited onboard with no daily drink limit. Other cruise lines, like Carnival, cap guests at 15 beverages per day with their CHEERS! drink package. However, NCL’s drink package still does not include specialty coffee or bottled water.
The specialty dining package also remains mostly unchanged in format, although longer itineraries will receive fewer credits. Each meal credit covers three appetizers, one entrée, and three desserts.
The shore-excursion credit offers a $50 discount per port for the first guest in each stateroom. The cruise line notes this is a potential savings of up to $500 on a seven-day cruise if the guest books multiple excursions per day.
Third and fourth guest discounts are also continuing, including “kids sail free” promotions.
Exclusions remain in place, including the continued restriction that NCL’s beverage packages are not valid at Great Stirrup Cay, the cruise line’s private island in the Bahamas.
A “Free at Sea Plus” upgrade may be coming
Sources indicate that Norwegian Cruise Line might relaunch a premium-tier version of the promotion in the near future. The rumored “Free at Sea Plus” add-on would bundle together additional benefits, potentially including drinks at Great Stirrup Cay, streaming Wi-Fi, Starbucks coffee, and bottled water.
If introduced, the package would effectively create a nearly all-inclusive option for guests who want to simplify onboard spending.
The Reddit post detailing the Free at Sea changes states:
“Details, including pricing and the package name, have not yet been determined, nor has the availability date. However, it will be possible to add this package, when it is finalized, to a reservation that has either More at Sea or the refreshed Free at Sea. Reservations must have the base package to be eligible for this upgrade.”
“HBO Max of cruise lines”
Overall, reaction to the return of Free at Sea has been lukewarm. While some guests welcomed the familiar branding and clearer pricing, most expressed disappointment that the changes amount to little more than a rebrand.
Many said they had hoped for meaningful upgrades, such as unlimited Wi-Fi, expanded beverage options, or the inclusion of daily service charges. However, many found the announcement to be underwhelming.
“Rearranging the deck chairs,” one commenter wrote. “I guess this is a partial admission that they really screwed up getting rid of Free at Sea in the first place,” another user posted.
Another Reddit commenter expressed frustration with the internet perk, writing, “Just make Wi-Fi free. It’s 2025.”
Many responders agreed with this comment, as unlimited internet was one of the added inclusions that NCL cruisers were hoping for. While shorter voyages received more internet minutes, longer sailings are reduced from 300 minutes to 150 minutes.
Another added, “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
A few passengers remain optimistic that the rumored Free at Sea Plus package could bring back the popular add-on.
For now, the consensus is that Norwegian’s latest update feels more like marketing than modernization. The quick reversal has drawn comparisons to HBO Max’s brief rebrand to “Max” only to revert back to “HBO Max”. Some cruisers have joked that Norwegian’s marketing shifts mirror the streaming service’s confusing name changes.
NCL’s stock takes a hit after third-quarter earnings report
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NCLH) reported record revenue for the third quarter, about $2.94 billion, up nearly 5% from last year. But despite the milestone, investors weren’t impressed.
Wall Street had expected slightly higher results with revenue around $3 billion. In addition, the company also lowered its outlook for the rest of the year, worrying analysts about the cruise line’s performance. NCL now expects slightly smaller profit margins than it had forecast earlier.
That news caused investors to sell off shares, sending NCL’s stock down more than 10% after the announcement. This is one of the stock’s biggest drops in months. So far this year, Norwegian’s stock is down about 13%, while rivals like Royal Caribbean and the S&P 500 index are both up.
MarketWatch states, “It’s now a trend, as revenue from passenger tickets and onboard spending has missed expectations for three straight quarters.”
Because of this, Wall Street has expected more from the company, as strong demand has led to record bookings for future cruises, especially to the Caribbean.
