Free at sea???

[Crusin Karen]

 I Sail almost exclusively with CCL. My home port is Manhattan/Bayonne/RedHook. I’m in NJ right over the GW Bridge. 2 years ago I was widowed and now I cruise solo. Introductions done 🙄: I like to cruise from my home port in the winter. CCL will not have a ship here in ‘25. I am this close to booking escape deck 12 solo balcony. It’s very expensive and itinerary stinks but I like to CRUISE. What are the guidelines for the free at sea-specifically drink package and specialty dining? TIA

[LongIsland-Cruiser]

If you don’t want to wait for crowd sourced answers you could search the forum and find all these answers and more.  It’s been discussed exhaustively 

[Crusin Karen]

7 minutes ago, LongIsland-Cruiser said:

If you don’t want to wait for crowd sourced answers you could search the forum and find all these answers and more.  It’s been discussed exhaustively 

Thx I did a bunch of searches but found few answers here few answers there! 

[shof515]

58 minutes ago, Crusin Karen said:

CCL will not have a ship here in ‘25.

For 25, CCL is returning to summer season out of NYC  just like what they used to do before. no more year round sailings like what they are doing this year. . The Carnival Venezia will return again back to NYC on May  22 and will be in NYC for only 6 months leaving on November 8. NYC is a seasonal port for carnival with ships only here from like May to November from what i noticed over the years

[Liljo22]

Drink package is for drinks up to $15 but if something is more expensive you just pay the difference.  There is no daily limit like Carnival and you can get two drinks at a time.  The package doesn’t not include water, specialty coffees, fresh juices or energy drinks.  If you want those included you will need to upgrade to Premium Plus.  Most drink will be included unless you like higher end whiskeys and wines.  
 

At the al a carte restaurants, the dining package will get you 1 appetizers, 1 soup/salad, 1 main entree, 2 sides and 1 dessert.  For the smaller plate restaurants like Food Republic and Nami sushi, you can choose any 4 items.  

[stinkyharriet]

My sister & I took the Escape to Canada/New England in October last year and really liked the ship.  It was a little smoky all around the casino area on decks 6-7-8 but not too bad. It was my third cruise, all NCL, and we thought the food on the Escape was better than our previous two cruises (Joy & Prima).  We never ordered anything that wasn’t covered by the basic drink package.  We had an inside cabin and I think we only had one included specialty dining.  We chose Moderno and it was not good, the only disappointing meal we had on the ship.  

[BirdTravels]

5 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

 I Sail almost exclusively with CCL. My home port is Manhattan/Bayonne/RedHook. I’m in NJ right over the GW Bridge. 2 years ago I was widowed and now I cruise solo. Introductions done 🙄: I like to cruise from my home port in the winter. CCL will not have a ship here in ‘25. I am this close to booking escape deck 12 solo balcony. It’s very expensive and itinerary stinks but I like to CRUISE. What are the guidelines for the free at sea-specifically drink package and specialty dining? TIA

 

The drinks package covers the first $15 of each drink. If you exceed $15 (which is hard unless you are asking for top shelf liquor), you pay the difference plus gratuities on the difference. So a $16 would cost you $1.00 + $0.20 grats = $1.20. 100% of the drinks we order are under $15.  There is no limit on the number of drinks per day. Just a limit of two drinks at a time. So, you can start with mimosas at 8:00 am and end with after dinner drinks at 2:00 am and repeat daily. There is a sample bar menu on post #26 and #51 on the link below. 

 

The dining package is good at any specialty dining restaurant. You can order 1 appetizer, 1 soup/salad, 1 entree, and 1 dessert. Most NCL restaurants are a la cart. Some are fixed price (like the Teppanyaki Japanese steak house). Your dining credit will work in all. Note: there are a small number of items at specialty restaurant which have an upcharge if ordered with the dining package.... mostly things with lobster. All other entrees are included. 

 

The following link is to a live post I did from the Norwegian Joy leaving NYC. It will give you an idea of what the daily programs look like, specialty dining menus, main dining menus, etc. 

 

Edited January 28 by BirdTravels

[Port Power]

8 hours ago, Crusin Karen said:

 I Sail almost exclusively with CCL. My home port is Manhattan/Bayonne/RedHook. I’m in NJ right over the GW Bridge. 2 years ago I was widowed and now I cruise solo. Introductions done 🙄: I like to cruise from my home port in the winter. CCL will not have a ship here in ‘25. I am this close to booking escape deck 12 solo balcony. It’s very expensive and itinerary stinks but I like to CRUISE. What are the guidelines for the free at sea-specifically drink package and specialty dining? TIA

I know nothing about Carnival, but I have been cruising solo for four years now.  Although I prefer smaller ships such as Azamara as a solo, NCL ships look after solo travellers very well.  There is a shared solo table available for lunch and dinner, or just ask to join any share table.  You can also meet people through the roll call and subsequent Meet & Mingle.  Enjoy your cruise, whatever you choose.

[Crusin Karen]

11 hours ago, shof515 said:

Thanks  everyone! Answered my questions perfectly!