NCL (Norwegian Cruise Lines ) have recently made a big change to their cruises. NCL were really one of the first mass market brands to go All Inclusive and have been for a while have now ditched their All Inclusive package as standard. They are now offering something call Free at Sea. This is what Eamonn Ferrin, vice president and managing director of NCL said about the change:
“This is all about reinforcing freestyle cruising, giving more flexibility, choice and value to our customers,” Ferrin said.“These are the key watchwords of our brand. The core values of Norwegian are that you can wear what you want, eat what you want and when you want, and that you can choose from a wide range of entertainment. We have done a lot of research among existing customers and those yet to cruise, and it was a real eye-opener into what they really want. Across all demographics and socio-types, having choice and individuality to create their own vacation experience was really important.”
The new change came into effect on 2nd April. What will happen now is you pay your cruise price and pre paid gratuities if you want to and then you have the option to add the following
NCL guests can pay £99 per person based on a 7 night cruise on Free at Sea and choose two of these option
-A premium drinks package worth up to US$99 per person per day, including gratuities and service charges
-Speciality dining for three nights of a seven-night sailing worth $89 per person, including gratuities and service charges
-Free WiFi up to 250 mins per stateroom, per 7 night cruise
-US$50 dollars on board credit per stateroom, per port, to spend on shore excursions
This seems a really good change as so many people will say they don’t drink and as NCL’s prices reflected having the package included this now works out so much better for these passengers as the cruise prices have come down and you get the chance of adding an extra that suits you. I am pretty sure this will work well for NCL and it will be interesting to see how many people take up the Free a Sea offer.