More at Sea

[ready2cruzagain]

I just remembered last night that this was going to happen. We decided to book a cruise we have been thinking about booking. Looked this morning, Cruise is $325 more. Glad we decided to book last night. This will probably be the last Cruise on NCL. We have 2 booked on MSC, which I really miss, then 2 on NCL. Not happy with the price increase with such a major decline in food.

[ready2cruzagain]

4 minutes ago, mistertomatoe said:

 

It says no corkage fee if you have the package as part of More At Sea. Is this new?

No, it has been that way for a while

[KeithJenner]

4 minutes ago, mistertomatoe said:

 

It says no corkage fee if you have the package as part of More At Sea. Is this new?

No, that’s been the case with free at sea (or purchased beverage package) for a while.

[david_sobe]

Ok my caffeine has kicked in and I am understanding this a bit more.  Someone correct me if I am wrong.

Excursion credit - no change

Internet offer - slick marketing with "enhanced internet"  no change

Drinks - can now go above $15 per alcoholic drink.  Still no water or specialty coffees included

Meals - can now get an extra specialty dinner for balcony and above plus gratuities

Cover charges now apply to all specialty dining

I really did laugh out loud where it states "guests can now order 3 appetizers and 3 desserts at specialty restaurants"   Who is eating 3 desserts after a full meal at a specialty restaurant?  Perhaps someone on My 600 pd life?

 

No extra perks for Haven bookings.  I see this is slick marketing.  It will make the specialty restaurants even more crowded since it sort of directs passengers to those pay restaurants.  I suppose some will find some benefit i.e. those that drink lots of top shelf liquor and eat 3 desserts for dinner.  But I see most of this as a wash and not even worth emailing my NCL PCC about my future cruise. 

Edited Tuesday at 10:09 AM by david_sobe

[mistertomatoe]

I'm hoping the additional meals I get with my Latitudes hold up. 

 

FAQ:

27. With the addition of More At Sea, will the Latitudes® Rewards offerings/benefits be revamped? The Free at Sea offerings will be replaced with More At Sea™, but the structure of the Latitudes program will remain unchanged.

[mistertomatoe]

32 minutes ago, mistertomatoe said:

 

 

 

More-On pricing and details:

 

• Price for the More At Sea Beverage Package listed below per person 21 years of age or older, per day.

  

• Prices indicated are subject to change. This Package does not include:

Bottled Water/ Bottled Wine
Connoisseur's Collection
Designated Super-premium brands (list subject to change)
Energy drinks or vending machines 
Freshly squeezed Juices
Ice Bars
Mini-Bar purchases
Package Sales
Room Service
Ship-specific promotions or beer buckets
Starbucks
Wine dispenser
Wine & Spirit Experiences, tastings or Flights 

 

There goes the Starbucks, freshly squeeze juices, and bottled water. I did the bolding in the text below. If they didn't remove the other packages it would be a mess for the bar people to deal with. I wonder what new alcohol will be included and what gets pushed to the Connoisseur's Collection or removed completely. I'm sure my Hennessey XO will be one of them.

 

From the FAQ:

29. Are any other promotions or amenities impacted by the addition of More at Sea? The Premium Plus Beverage Package and Free at Sea Plus Package will be sunsetting with the addition of More at Sea. All previously upgraded beverage packages will be removed and the original form of payment will be refunded. The enhanced More at Sea™ beverage package includes more beverage brands across all categories and because we want our guests to experience MORE, all guests sailing in 2025 and beyond, regardless of whether they have Free at Sea or More at Sea™ will be able to take advantage of the enhanced beverage offerings at no additional cost!

 

30. With Free at Sea Plus being discontinued, will Starbucks or bottled water be included in the More at Sea Beverage Package? Starbucks and bottled water will not be included in the More at Sea Beverage Package, but both Starbucks and bottled water packages are still available to purchase. Information on all beverage packages can be viewed on the onboard packages page: https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages .

[shof515]

2 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Still interested to know how they are going to handle booking Platinum reservations.   Ours open up in 6 days and wondering if I have to prepay the coverage charge then get reimbursed or the system will acknowledge the Platinum vouchers.

 

i am wondering the same thing. its going to cause headachs if i have to prepaid the cover charge and then request a refund on the ship

[vacation44]

1 hour ago, nimbex1970 said:

Please let us know what happens in six days

 

6 minutes ago, shof515 said:

 

i am wondering the same thing. its going to cause headachs if i have to prepaid the cover charge and then request a refund on the ship

I will report back in six days.

[paradyne64]

Are any other promotions or amenities impacted by the addition of More At Sea™?

 

The Premium Plus Beverage Package and Free at Sea Plus will be sunsetting with the addition of More At Sea™. All previously upgraded beverage packages will be removed and the original form of payment will be refunded. The enhanced More at Sea™ beverage package includes more beverage brands across all categories and because we want our guests to experience MORE, all guests sailing in 2025 and beyond, regardless of whether they have Free at Sea or More at Sea™ will be able to take advantage of the enhanced beverage offerings at no additional cost!

 

I have 10 day cruise I booked in April 2024 for May 2025 and I purchased the free at sea plus and upgraded the unlimited internet to unlimited "streaming" internet.  Does the above statement mean I just lost the unlimited streaming internet, plus starbucks and water that was already included with the free at sea plus?

 

Edited Tuesday at 10:39 AM by paradyne64
correction

[ronheg]

I watch the price of my upcoming cruises daily.  About a week ago the price of my cruise went up $50 per person.  Now I know why.  My sailing now includes one more specialty dining meal.  Ncl adjusted it’s price before the announcement so it doesn’t pay to rebook the cruise.

[vacation44]

The cruise that I have been keeping a tab on as an estimate for a future 2027cruise went up $195.20.  Now it includes the extra credit for a specialty restaurant and the expanded drink package.   I would rather keep the $195.20 as my husband and I really do not need another specialty dinner (especially if we stay in the Haven) and really never have had an issue with old beverage program. 

 

Also, it seems like purchasing the two extra dinners for my son and his girlfriend yesterday will end up saving me anywhere from $34.60 to $74.60 based on where my daughter decides we are going to eat.

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, paradyne64 said:

Are any other promotions or amenities impacted by the addition of More At Sea™?

 

The Premium Plus Beverage Package and Free at Sea Plus will be sunsetting with the addition of More At Sea™. All previously upgraded beverage packages will be removed and the original form of payment will be refunded. The enhanced More at Sea™ beverage package includes more beverage brands across all categories and because we want our guests to experience MORE, all guests sailing in 2025 and beyond, regardless of whether they have Free at Sea or More at Sea™ will be able to take advantage of the enhanced beverage offerings at no additional cost!

 

I have 10 day cruise I booked in April 2024 for May 2025 and I purchased the free at sea plus and upgraded the unlimited internet to unlimited "streaming" internet.  Does the above statement mean I just lost the unlimited streaming internet, plus starbucks and water that was already included with the free at sea plus?

 

You have certainly lost the Starbucks and water (with a refund to come). Anything premium plus beverage packages or free at sea will be cancelled.

 

If you upgraded the internet outside of free at sea plus then it isn’t as clear as I’m not sure whether they are also being cancelled, but I can’t see where it says they will.

 

The internet may be complicated if you have upgraded from the free at sea plus offer, as that upgrade won’t be valid.

[Cubs90]

I had purchased the free at sea plus package and now today I see it is no longer listed. So does that mean it’s all gone?

 

edit: I wish they would communicate to us about the changes because I’m really confused now as to what changed for me and what didn’t. Since I had FAS+ it looks like I lost all those benefits and am getting a refund but that’s a poor customer decision after the fact. 

Edited Tuesday at 12:37 PM by Cubs90

[insidecabin]

UK pricing is out with the cost for beverages for 3+ passenger
(They are still changing the UK web site with updates)
 

Sail Length	GBP (PER PERSON PRICE)	3+ Over 21 Bev Package
3-4 Nights	£ 149	£ 99
5-6 Nights	£ 199	£ 159
7-8 Nights	£ 249	£ 189
9-10 Nights	£ 299	£ 229
11-12 Nights	£ 349	£ 259
13-14 Nights	£ 399	£ 279
15-16 Nights	£ 449	£ 319
17-18 Nights	£ 499	£ 359
19-20 Nights	£ 549	£ 399
21+ Nights	£ 599	£ 419

 

 

This was the old pricing

 

Sail Length	FAS Upcharge GBP Per Person
3-5 Nights	£149
6-8 Nights	£199
9-11 Nights	£249
12-14 Nights	£299
15-17 Nights	£349
18-20 Nights	£399
21+ Nights	£449

 

 

 

[BirdTravels]

8 minutes ago, Cubs90 said:

I had purchased the free at sea plus package and now today I see it is no longer listed. So does that mean it’s all gone?

Cancelled. 

[Cubs90]

6 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Cancelled. 

Looks like I will have to purchase the unlimited internet and pay the cover charges for the additional dining that came with the free at sea plus package. Kind of annoying that this changed after I booked it and thinking I was all good to go 

[belchro22]

I am trying to figure out how they will handle the drinks package. We had a cruise already booked under FAS which limits drinks to $15. Since this MAS offer is for cruises booked after September does it mean that I will still have the $15 limit while those under MAS will not?

 

 It says “Guests sailing in 2025 and beyond, who booked prior to October 1, 2024, will enjoy both their current Free at Sea benefits plus the new More At Sea™ beverage package, providing an enhanced unlimited open bar experience, at no additional cost!”

But in the FAQs it says “Guests who are sailing January 1, 2025 or beyond, booked prior to October 1, 2024, are more than 120 days prior to sailing, and would like to take advantage of More At Sea™ can re-price their reservation, taking advantage of prevailing rates and prevailing promotions.”

Edited Tuesday at 01:02 PM by belchro22

[BirdTravels]

14 minutes ago, belchro22 said:

I am trying to figure out how they will handle the drinks package. We had a cruise already booked under FAS which limits drinks to $15. Since this MAS offer is for cruises booked after September does it mean that I will still have the $15 limit while those under MAS will not?

 

 It says “Guests sailing in 2025 and beyond, who booked prior to October 1, 2024, will enjoy both their current Free at Sea benefits plus the new More At Sea™ beverage package, providing an enhanced unlimited open bar experience, at no additional cost!”

But in the FAQs it says “Guests who are sailing January 1, 2025 or beyond, booked prior to October 1, 2024, are more than 120 days prior to sailing, and would like to take advantage of More At Sea™ can re-price their reservation, taking advantage of prevailing rates and prevailing promotions.”

You can drink anything on the MAS "expanded menu". There is no $15 limit.

 

If you pick anything on the Connoisseur Menu, you pay the difference over $15. 

[BirdTravels]

So,,, they will generate some revenue because of requiring you to take more meals (used to be $19.80 for 2 meals on a 7-night cruise).

 

 

 

[BirdTravels]

Beverage Pricing 

[Menocchio]

1 minute ago, BirdTravels said:

You can drink anything on the MAS "expanded menu". There is no $15 limit.

 

If you pick anything on the Connoisseur Menu, you pay the difference over $15. 

I predict that either almost everything over $15 is being put on the connoisseur menu or the a la carte prices are being hiked such that it's more difficult to find anything for $15 or less. Since the beverage package is no longer referent to a specific price point, they can now charge whatever they want and have the package still have some value.

 

I still don't like this, but it's not as bad as I feared. I think the beverage package is just a somewhat camouflaged price increase. I don't think the changes to the dining works in the favor of most people (I really don't like that I can't prepurchase additional meals for a discount). And they really did a number on the WiFi for longer cruises. But at least I can still get the WiFi and the ShorEx for no additional cost. And the price hikes aren't that much. And we no longer have to hear whining about how Free at Sea isn't actually free. It is undeniably "more" (than without the package, not so much than it was before)

[robtx100]

My reservation that was booked in 2023 for sailing in 2025 just shows "Unlimited Open Bar" which was the old Free at Sea and the 2 specialty dining. The upgrade offers for FAS+ (sunset) are no longer there. The only upgrade available to my reservation is Unlimited WFI and Premium WIFI. 

[PammyMouse]

Hmm, I wanted to book FAS+ for my 12/2/24 sailing but it is no longer available.  Will I need to call?  I was just trying to spread out the charges.  I will sit tight for the moment, and deal with it when the time comes, but it was a better value for me.    

 

Thanks, 

PM

[txcfa]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

Cancelled. 

Yes, our "free at sea plus" has disappeared for our December sailing.   We are sub 90 days to sail.   Anyone have experience yet this morning barking at NCL or Haven Concierge for this ?   I am guessing they will not give us any break to cancel, but I find this hilariously bad customer service.   We had upgraded for the water / starbucks / unlimited internet with the 2 extra meals a bonus.

[justhappy]

3 hours ago, paradyne64 said:

Are any other promotions or amenities impacted by the addition of More At Sea™?

 

The Premium Plus Beverage Package and Free at Sea Plus will be sunsetting with the addition of More At Sea™. All previously upgraded beverage packages will be removed and the original form of payment will be refunded. The enhanced More at Sea™ beverage package includes more beverage brands across all categories and because we want our guests to experience MORE, all guests sailing in 2025 and beyond, regardless of whether they have Free at Sea or More at Sea™ will be able to take advantage of the enhanced beverage offerings at no additional cost!

 

I have 10 day cruise I booked in April 2024 for May 2025 and I purchased the free at sea plus and upgraded the unlimited internet to unlimited "streaming" internet.  Does the above statement mean I just lost the unlimited streaming internet, plus starbucks and water that was already included with the free at sea plus?

 

It sure sounds like it. I have the same problem with a cruise next September where I prepaid for FAS+