NCL Free at Sea Plus

[RWK1952]

First time cruising on NCL and really want to know what is and what is NOT included in the “Free at Sea Plus” package.

 

My wife and I are booked for the Southampton to Barcelona, 10-day cruise departing March 28th, 2025 on the NCL Breakaway.  This is just the second time that we have done a large ship cruise, and the first time on NCL.  We took the Celebrity Millennium on the southbound Alaska cruise from Seward to Vancouver in September 2023.  We enjoyed that cruise very much but the deal offered for this 10-day cruise on NCL looked just too good to pass up. 

 

In addition, it seems to be an almost unbelievable option to only have to pay a refundable, $250 deposit to reserve our cabin, and to not have to pay the rest until the end of November.  That almost sounds too good to be true!

 

We booked a Family Club Balcony Suite on the 12^th deck, port, midship.  Our Aqua Class cabin on the Celebrity millennium was sufficiently roomy for us but this cabin is even bigger than that one.  Aqua Class also gave us access to unlimited basic drinks and wi-fi, and also special access to the wonderful “Blu” restaurant.

 

I’ve been trying to determine what is included in the NCL “Free at Sea Plus”.  Basically, what we are looking for are the following …

-    The option to have unlimited soft drinks and basic mixed drinks, and a non-premium sparkling wine. 

-    We want to have wi-fi access in the cabin which includes the ability to send/receive emails, but we don’t need to be able to do any streaming.

          Our reservation includes the internet package which provides 150 minutes per guest and appears to include email capability.

-    It looks like we have access to a number of 24-hour, complimentary dining options without having to make reservations. 

-    We also will want to book at least a couple of nice, specialty dinners which I assume we will need to book and pay for separately. 

          Our reservation includes a 2-Meal Dining Package.

-    We would prefer to have all of our gratuities prepaid.

-    We will want to book at least a few shore excursions.

          Our reservation includes a $50/port booking credit available to use for each of us.

 

My questions are the following … 

1.   Do we need anything beyond “Free at Sea Plus” to provide us …

 -    Pre-payment for all gratuities?

 -    The basic unlimited drink package I described above, since we do not need access to premium drinks?

 -    Does our wi-fi access include access to emails?

 

2.   Are there any other basic, unincluded “gotcha” fees that I am missing?

 

3.   I assume that, as with Celebrity, it will be better to book shore excursions ahead of time, not just for discounted prices, but also to ensure availability?

 

4.   Are there any particular additional packages that you might recommend we consider adding to our reservation?

,

5.   Any tips for when we board in Southampton or for when we disembark in Barcelona to try and avoid hassles, long lines, etc. if possible?

 

6.   Are there any catches to that $250 fully non-refundable deposit we made to book this reservation?

 

7.  We selected the discounted airfare and transfer for the flight to the U.K. but have opted to make our own arrangements coming back from Barcelona because we want to stay there for a week after the cruise ends.

-    Anything we need to be wary of with these discounted flight arrangements?  I was told that we would have the option to pay for upgraded seat assignments at the time reservations are made, but I am a bit concerned that all premium seats will be taken by that time.

 

We really appreciate any assistance you can provide to the two of us NCL newbies.

 

 

Edited March 10 by RWK1952

[KeithJenner]

I think that you may be getting confused with the packages and offers.

 

You get free at sea with tryout booking. Free at Sea plus is an additional charge.

 

However, from what you say, I think that free at sea will probably be fine. You get your basic brinks (non premium wines and spirits for example). You don’t get bottled water or speciality coffees though.

 

As you say you get a time limited internet (free at sea gives you unlimited internet but I’m not sure you need that). The excursion discount only applies to the first person named on the reservation (free at sea adds the second person) and you will get 2 speciality meals each (again , free at plus will add another couple).

 

Unless you want premium drinks, bottled water or speciality coffees or unlimited internet then free at sea plus is unlikely to be worth it. A lot of shore excursions may be a factor with an extra $50 per excursion discount for the second person, but I think that basic offer will have you covered.

 

As for your other questions, the main thing I will say is that disembarking is likely to be a dream compared to anything you may have done in the US. There is no immigration to deal with so you basically just walk off and pick Up your bags. I’ve never queued at all in all the times I’ve disembarked there. There are loads of taxis, but it is just worth checking how many other ships are in port. We once arrived there as one of 4 large ships and the taxis couldn’t cope (we ended up waiting over an hour). All the other times we were in a taxi within about 10 minutes of leaving the ship.

 

 

[Alatraveler1]

Keith Jenner gave you great advice.  Base on my reading of your post, the only thing that you might wish is more than the two included dinners with FAS.  Depending on how many more, adding them "a la carte" might be less expensive than the FAS+ upgrade charge.  Do the math to be sure.  NCL and Celebrity are our favorite lines and lately other than one Alaska cruise, NCL has given us the better value for our cruising dollars.

[idocdlw]

23 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

I think that you may be getting confused with the packages and offers.

 

You get free at sea with tryout booking. Free at Sea plus is an additional charge.

 

However, from what you say, I think that free at sea will probably be fine. You get your basic brinks (non premium wines and spirits for example). You don’t get bottled water or speciality coffees though.

 

As you say you get a time limited internet (free at sea gives you unlimited internet but I’m not sure you need that). The excursion discount only applies to the first person named on the reservation (free at sea adds the second person) and you will get 2 speciality meals each (again , free at plus will add another couple).

 

Unless you want premium drinks, bottled water or speciality coffees or unlimited internet then free at sea plus is unlikely to be worth it. A lot of shore excursions may be a factor with an extra $50 per excursion discount for the second person, but I think that basic offer will have you covered.

 

As for your other questions, the main thing I will say is that disembarking is likely to be a dream compared to anything you may have done in the US. There is no immigration to deal with so you basically just walk off and pick Up your bags. I’ve never queued at all in all the times I’ve disembarked there. There are loads of taxis, but it is just worth checking how many other ships are in port. We once arrived there as one of 4 large ships and the taxis couldn’t cope (we ended up waiting over an hour). All the other times we were in a taxi within about 10 minutes of leaving the ship.

 

 

Thank you for providing a polite, well thought out & comprehensive answer to the OP. Your answers will indubitably help other cruisers sort through the confusion.

[FLAHAM]

There are no true 24-hour dining venues on the ship.  Most have very restrictive (in my opinion) hours.  The pub comes closest to 24 hours, but has several substantial breaks throughout the day and night.

[hallux]

11 hours ago, RWK1952 said:

We want to have wi-fi access in the cabin which includes the ability to send/receive emails, but we don’t need to be able to do any streaming.

          Our reservation includes the internet package which provides 150 minutes per guest and appears to include email capability.

The included 150 minutes will work in your cabin, but only for web browsing, the email access is restricted to public areas 🤣. Yes, all web-based functions (email included) except streaming should work in your cabin.

11 hours ago, RWK1952 said:

We also will want to book at least a couple of nice, specialty dinners which I assume we will need to book and pay for separately. 

          Our reservation includes a 2-Meal Dining Package.

Yes, and adding 2 additional meals as an upgrade to your 2 included would be a one-time cost of $80 or $100 (it'll be available once you make the reservation).

11 hours ago, RWK1952 said:

We would prefer to have all of our gratuities prepaid.

You can opt to pre-pay those.  The beverage and dining service charges for the Free at Sea packages will be due at final payment, your daily DSC can be pre-paid though, so you don't get them added daily.

11 hours ago, RWK1952 said:

Anything we need to be wary of with these discounted flight arrangements?

Scroll through the forum, they're not as frequent recently but there have been MANY threads in the past discussing this promo.

[Manchester is blue]

I have “free at sea” within my cruise package for my forthcoming Ncl cruise.

As this is the first time I have cruised with NCL I’m a little unsure about what is, and what is not included.

One thing I’d like to know is would it be possible to order a pot,/  cup of tea from one of the bars, and also may I order an Irish coffee from the bars under the terms of my free at sea package?

Regards to all.

[nordicacres]

Here is a link to the comparison of FAS to FAS +.
 

https://www.ncl.com/sites/default/files/790164-BEV_Package_Flyer_UOBP_PPBP Update_V7_no_crops.pdf

 

If you’re looking for Bailey’s Irish Cream it is only offered to FAS+. 

Edited March 10 by nordicacres

[Manchester is blue]

Thanks Nord.  Yes I’ve checked out the publicised list but it doesn’t answer my question unfortunately,.. also Irish coffee is of course with Irish whiskey rather than Baileys…

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, Manchester is blue said:

Thanks Nord.  Yes I’ve checked out the publicised list but it doesn’t answer my question unfortunately,.. also Irish coffee is of course with Irish whiskey rather than Baileys…

You can order an Irish coffee with the basic free at sea package (unless something has changed recently, which is always possible.

[JandC_Cruising]

3 hours ago, Manchester is blue said:

I have “free at sea” within my cruise package for my forthcoming Ncl cruise.

As this is the first time I have cruised with NCL I’m a little unsure about what is, and what is not included.

One thing I’d like to know is would it be possible to order a pot,/  cup of tea from one of the bars, and also may I order an Irish coffee from the bars under the terms of my free at sea package?

Regards to all.

So, If you are still unclear, I'll try to explain:

- The Premium Drinks Package (included with Free at Sea) covers any cocktail or mocktail that is under $15.  If you select a beverage that is greater than $15, then you simply must pay the difference +20% gratuity.   For example a $15 cocktail is free, while a $17 cocktail will only cost you an extra $2.40.

- This package does not include specialty coffees or teas, does not include bottles/boxes of water

 

You can definitely order an Irish Coffee at a bar and they will use some other brand of Irish Cream without getting charged anything extra. (it is under $15).

If you ask for it with Baiiley's however, they will tag you with a slight upcharge.  Just like ordering a vodka tonic with something other than the "well" vodka.

 

Hope that helps a bit.

 

 

[RWK1952]

Thanks so much to all who have responded so far.  I used this forum prior to our Alaska cruise on Celebrity last September, and the member responses were very helpful.

 

Thanks especially to HALLUX who responded to a number of my itemized questions all in her/his one reply.

 

I have also been fortunate to hook up with a very helpful NCL agent who has responded quickly so far and who has made some excellent suggestions.

 

As I narrow down more and more specifics, I will reply to this thread with what I have found.  It does appear that since we already have Free at Sea, adding the $490/pp Free at Sea Plus package will not add much extra that we would otherwise seem to need, such as access to premium beverages.  I like the extra 2 meal dining add-on that it includes, but it sounds like I will be able to do that separately for much less than $490/pp.

 

One thing I think we will do differently on this cruise will be to book most of our shore excursions through NCL ahead of time.  I did all of our shore excursions myself through local vendors while on our Alaska cruise.  That did work out, for the most part, and we saved a lot of money and had more flexibility compared to booking the Celebrity excursions.  However, there were a few people we saw and came to know, almost every night in that “BLU” restaurant that we really liked as a Celebrity Aqua Class perk.  We were able to compare our various, daily shore experiences with them and quite often, we found ourselves perhaps wishing we had opted for the Celebrity excursion instead.

 

I think I will try and find, or create, an NCL thread relating generally to NCL shore excursions, and maybe specifically for those in France, Portugal and Spain, and then see if I can get some recommendations from people who have actually taken those excursions.

 

 

[Fogfog]

20 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

 

As for your other questions, the main thing I will say is that disembarking is likely to be a dream compared to anything you may have done in the US. There is no immigration to deal with so you basically just walk off and pick Up your bags. I’ve never queued at all in all the times I’ve disembarked there. There are loads of taxis, but it is just worth checking how many other ships are in port. We once arrived there as one of 4 large ships and the taxis couldn’t cope (we ended up waiting over an hour). All the other times we were in a taxi within about 10 minutes of leaving the ship.

 

 

Has this changed? As we sailed FtL to Barcelona and did have to present at passport control in the port at Barcelona (US cit not EU)

It was smooth

Here in FL ports the facial recogn makes it go quickly at disembarkation

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, Fogfog said:

Has this changed? As we sailed FtL to Barcelona and did have to present at passport control in the port at Barcelona (US cit not EU)

It was smooth

Here in FL ports the facial recogn makes it go quickly at disembarkation

It will be different if you have sailed from the US, as you are entering the EU. On a European cruise you will have been in Europe prior to arriving in Barcelona.

 

As the cruise being discussed is coming from the UK there may be immigration at some point, but it would likely be done during the cruise.

[Nolesfan]

I think it is a good value if you intend on using cruise ship excursions and eat at specialty dining and want to upgrade to unlimited internet. The cost for our upcoming Alaska cruise is $343 per person or $686 total. We plan on booking NCL excursions at 3 ports so that’s a $150 saving, we typically eat specialty dining 4 or 5 nights and without the dining credit they typically run at least $120 per meal.  We upgrade to unlimited internet so that is $109 each or $218 total.  
 

$686 FAS + cost

-150 excursion saving

-240 specialty dining cost

-218 unlimited WiFi cost

= $78 cost for premium plus beverage package. 
 

If we purchase FAS + then we end up paying $5.50 per person per day for fresh juices, unlimited Starbucks, Aqua Panna with all meals and top shelf liquors. That is well worth it, obviously if you don’t use some or all of the items above the value lessons but for us it is a really good deal.

 

[Menocchio]

I hope this isn't too much of a tangent but I couldn't find the answer anywhere. Does the discount given by Latitude status apply to either FAS+ or the separate upgrade to the Premium Plus Beverage Package? Or is that benefit just an artifact from when people actually purchased the Unlimited Open Bar instead of just getting FAS?

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, Menocchio said:

I hope this isn't too much of a tangent but I couldn't find the answer anywhere. Does the discount given by Latitude status apply to either FAS+ or the separate upgrade to the Premium Plus Beverage Package? Or is that benefit just an artifact from when people actually purchased the Unlimited Open Bar instead of just getting FAS?

No, it is as you thought, only applies if buying the basic package, which hardly anyone does.

 

Similar to the internet discount, it is of no benefit to most people.

[RWK1952]

13 hours ago, Nolesfan said:

I think it is a good value if you intend on using cruise ship excursions and eat at specialty dining and want to upgrade to unlimited internet. The cost for our upcoming Alaska cruise is $343 per person or $686 total. We plan on booking NCL excursions at 3 ports so that’s a $150 saving, we typically eat specialty dining 4 or 5 nights and without the dining credit they typically run at least $120 per meal.  We upgrade to unlimited internet so that is $109 each or $218 total.  
 

$686 FAS + cost

-150 excursion saving

-240 specialty dining cost

-218 unlimited WiFi cost

= $78 cost for premium plus beverage package. 
 

If we purchase FAS + then we end up paying $5.50 per person per day for fresh juices, unlimited Starbucks, Aqua Panna with all meals and top shelf liquors. That is well worth it, obviously if you don’t use some or all of the items above the value lessons but for us it is a really good deal.

 

 

We will be sailing on a 10 day cruise around the Iberian peninsula on the NCL Breakaway.  FAS+ would cost us $490pp ($980 total).  The premium drink upgrade and the unlimited internet are not a big deal for us.  We will be taking probably 6, shore excursions, so that is $300 since we already have 1, $50 credit per port.  The extra 2 meals, which I saw somewhere would be $82pp after a tip, or another $164.  So for us, I just don't see FAS+ being worth it.  

 

By the way, is the 150 minute internet inclusion limit with standard FAS per guest, or per cabin? 

 

Did you get the Priority Access add-on?  If so, do you think it was worth it?  I have read that it only affects shore excursions where there is a tender required, and all of our ports will be docked.  I am trying to find out if you get any benefit at all from it on a shore excursion without a tender.

 

Thanks.

Edited March 22 by RWK1952

[jackieodonnell]

I think it is a good deal. Unlimited Internet and Premium Beverages alone is much more. 

[hallux]

1 hour ago, RWK1952 said:

By the way, is the 150 minute internet inclusion limit with standard FAS per guest, or per cabin?

Guests 1 and 2 each get 150 minutes on cruises 7-11 nights, it's in the T&C's

 

• Offer will be applied to the 1st and 2nd guest in the stateroom.

https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions

Edited March 22 by hallux

[Nolesfan]

1 hour ago, RWK1952 said:

 

We will be sailing on a 10 day cruise around the Iberian peninsula on the NCL Breakaway.  FAS+ would cost us $490pp ($980 total).  The premium drink upgrade and the unlimited internet are not a big deal for us.  We will be taking probably 6, shore excursions, so that is $300 since we already have 1, $50 credit per port.  The extra 2 meals, which I saw somewhere would be $82pp after a tip, or another $164.  So for us, I just don't see FAS+ being worth it.  

 

By the way, is the 150 minute internet inclusion limit with standard FAS per guest, or per cabin? 

 

Did you get the Priority Access add-on?  If so, do you think it was worth it?  I have read that it only affects shore excursions where there is a tender required, and all of our ports will be docked.  I am trying to find out if you get any benefit at all from it on a shore excursion without a tender.

 

Thanks.

I am pretty sure the 150 minutes is per guest.  

 

We have only been in the Haven since the FAS+ has been an option so I have not seen an option for priority access, I am guessing since that comes with the Haven it just does not show up in my FAS+ offer.  Does the Priority Access part of the offer cover embarkation?  If not I don't think you would need it with no tender ports.

 

I have done cruises where we have had no prepaid packages, some things prepaid (like beverage package) and the last few we have done FAS+ so most things were paid for before we boarded.  I find not having to think about should I or shouldn't I get fresh juice or a Starbucks drink or eat at a specialty restaurant, etc. provides a layer of freedom that even if I added things up at the end of the cruise and I paid more with the packages it is still worth it. 

 

I don't think the Premium Beverage package is worth the $29 per person daily charge but because we are already expect to use all the other things in the FAS+ package it makes it so reasonable for us to  make it worth it.    

 

FYI the StarLink Wifi is much faster than old system but still throttled I think to about 1.5 Mbps but I am guessing as I had streaming packing on Prima with Starlink so I was getting 4-6 Mbps either way the 150 minutes can go fast.  

[DCGuy64]

2 hours ago, RWK1952 said:

 

We will be sailing on a 10 day cruise around the Iberian peninsula on the NCL Breakaway.  FAS+ would cost us $490pp ($980 total).  The premium drink upgrade and the unlimited internet are not a big deal for us.  We will be taking probably 6, shore excursions, so that is $300 since we already have 1, $50 credit per port.  The extra 2 meals, which I saw somewhere would be $82pp after a tip, or another $164.  So for us, I just don't see FAS+ being worth it.  

 

By the way, is the 150 minute internet inclusion limit with standard FAS per guest, or per cabin? 

 

Did you get the Priority Access add-on?  If so, do you think it was worth it?  I have read that it only affects shore excursions where there is a tender required, and all of our ports will be docked.  I am trying to find out if you get any benefit at all from it on a shore excursion without a tender.

 

Thanks.

One thing I haven't seen mentioned here is that NCL often has specialty dining discounts available. So if the included meals from FAS aren't enough, you may want to consider purchasing additional packages, which can be 20-30% off. That is what we did twice in the past. To me, that's even more of a reason not to opt for FAS+.

[cruiseny4life]

6 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

One thing I haven't seen mentioned here is that NCL often has specialty dining discounts available. So if the included meals from FAS aren't enough, you may want to consider purchasing additional packages, which can be 20-30% off. That is what we did twice in the past. To me, that's even more of a reason not to opt for FAS+.

This makes me chuckle. Back when Free at Sea Plus was announced, weren't both of us really excited about it? My memory could be bad (it is bad) and I might be thinking of someone else, but I swear it was you! To date, I haven't purchased it...but I have purchased the specialty dining upgrade prior to sailing. 

[Catchum]

I would say stick with what you have. Excursions in the Med are very easy to book with local providers or use local transportation. The included alcohol is more than adequate, WiFi depends on your needs, if you just want to check your email and look at a couple of maps included is great, if you want to stream movies not so much. Check out getting a Europe sim card to put in an old mobile phone (or esim if you are tech savy) so you have a working phone off the ship.

[DCGuy64]

7 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

This makes me chuckle. Back when Free at Sea Plus was announced, weren't both of us really excited about it? My memory could be bad (it is bad) and I might be thinking of someone else, but I swear it was you! To date, I haven't purchased it...but I have purchased the specialty dining upgrade prior to sailing. 

Not me. I've never seen the value in it for me and my wife. But we aren't loyal to any particular brand of liquor, and we don't use the WiFi much. I've just never been able to justify the extra cost. But I see lots of others on Cruise Critic who say it's worth it for them.