We sailed the first week of January to check out Norwegian Cruise Line’s new More at Sea. We first reported on the changes to the new program in October when the cruise line announced an overhaul of their popular Free at Sea offering. The cruise line sunset the existing program with a promise of “more” for cruisers. As part of the change, NCL eliminated the ala carte restaurant pricing they implemented nearly 10 years prior. Instead, the cruise line now has the more typical “cover charge” cruisers have come to expect for specialty restaurants. With this change, we’ve posted the all new NCL Specialty Dining Menus – More at Sea with pricing. Scroll on and prepare to get hungry!
Teppanyaki
NCL’s Teppanyaki menu is quite familiar for anyone that’s ever enjoyed this style of cooking. As much about the “show” and preparation of the food as it is the meal itself. Start with a soup and salad, choose your entrée from either Teppanyaki Classics or one of NCL’s Teppanyaki Combinations, and then select your dessert.
Cruise Tip: Remember, you sit around an open-air cooktop where all of the aromas of food envelope you. Keep this in mind for what you wear to dinner this night as you’ll likely not wear any of it again during your cruise (unless, of course, you want everyone to know you went out for Teppanyaki!)
Cover Charge: $60
Location: Deck 6, Forward
Menu:
Le Bistro
If you’re feeling fancy, Le Bistro is a perfect spot to dine. It’s one of our favorite “date night” spots on board a Norwegian Cruise Line ship! The ambiance is, arguably, the best of any of the specialty dining restaurants on board. While the menu can be intimidating for the uninitiated, there are some fantastic dishes to try. We recommend the Steak Tartare, Baked Onion Soup, or the Goat Cheese Salad. If you’re feeling adventurous, I love the escargot. The filet and lamb are both outstanding; we’ve enjoyed both multiple times.
Cruise Tip: Impress your other half and reserve Le Bistro for a wonderful date night on board!
Cover Charge: $60
Location: Deck 6, Forward
Menu:
Moderno Churrascaria
One of the restaurants we’re most looking forward to trying, Moderno Churrascaria is an “authentic Brazilian churrascaria.” And if you really want to impress your friends, a churrascaria simply refers to the style of cooking. According to Wiki, it’s a Portuguese word that roughly translates to barbecue. In addition to the 49-item salad bar, the restaurant is known for their meats which are carved tableside.
Cover Charge: $50
Location: Deck 8, Aft
Menu:
Wasabi
Wasabi kicks off what we call the “seafood corridor” on several NCL ships as this area is home to sushi, Ocean Blue and The Raw Bar.
Cover Charge: $50
Location: Deck 8, Mid
Menu:
Coming soon!
Ocean Blue
Ocean Blue is the fine-dining seafood restaurant on board NCL ships. Like several of the other venues, there is both indoor as well as outdoor/patio seating. The menu offers primarily seafood options (as one would expect) as well as a couple land-based dishes for those of us that aren’t big seafood eaters.
Something interesting to note is that this venue was just ripped out and replaced with Palomar which is billed as “Norwegian’s first-ever Mediterranean restaurant.” According to NCL, “Seafood is the star attraction,” so it’s a similar concept, just with a “European essence” whatever that means. lol
Cover Charge: $60
Location: Deck 8, Mid
Menu:
The Raw Bar
According to NCL, The Raw Bar is an “easy casual” restaurant where you can “grab a snack or settle in for a meal.” Obviously, this description is from prior to More at Sea when you could purchase items at an ala carte price point. However, now with a $50 cover charge, most cruisers will likely stay for more than a snack!
The Raw Bar is only found on Norwegian Breakaway and Norwegian Getaway (however, it’s not even listed on the dining page for the ship!). With the conversion to cover charges, we expect to see this restaurant will be replaced in a future dry dock as it’s really not a cover-charge kinda spot. The Raw Bar has a menu that consists of oysters, shellfish, crudos, and more. Belly up to the counter to enjoy your meal while it lasts!
Cover Charge: $50
Location: Deck 8, Mid
Menu:
Cagney’s Steakhouse
Cagney’s is the steakhouse brand on board Norwegian Cruise Line ships. We’ve eaten here multiple times across our NCL sailings and it’s one of the most popular upcharge restaurants on board. In fact, this restaurant is so popular that during NCL Encore’s recent dry dock, the cruise line ripped out the neighboring restaurant in the aft and expanded Cagney’s to take up the entire back of the ship!
Cruise Tip: While Cagney’s is the official steakhouse on board, we’ve actually found better steaks at both Le Bistro and La Cucina. And both have significantly better service due to being less in demand.
Cover Charge: $60
Location: Deck 8, Aft
Menu:
La Cucina
We love this Italian venue on board NCL ships. In fact, we prefer La Cucina to the newer Onda by Scarpetta that the line is rolling out on newer ships. The food and ambiance are both better, in our opinion. Thanks to a fellow cruiser, this is the spot we actually come for our filet on board; the blue cheese ravioli and peppercorn sauce are phenomenal additions to the dish. When we dined here, we were able to add a pizza for the table (enough to serve 3-4 in addition to each person getting an appetizer). The only caution: the Cannoli get very mixed reviews from fellow cruisers. Stick to the Tiramisu or Torta Di Ricotta for a happy finish.
Cover Charge: $40
Location: Deck 8, Forward
Menu:
BONUS: Shanghai’s Noodle Shop
While this restaurant no longer has a cover under More at Sea, it’s still listed as “specialty dining” on Norwegian’s website. Like the other specialty restaurants, you will need a reservation here due to the smaller size.
Cruise Tip: Multiple reviews and fellow cruisers have complained about the fact that this restaurant is located off of the smoking casino. While separated, there is a definite smoke smell in this restaurant. Keep this in mind if you have a sensitivity to smoke.
Cover Charge: Complimentary
Location: Deck 7, Aft
Menu:
More at Sea Details
In addition to our detailed website post breaking down all the changes to More at Sea, you can check out our More at Sea video where we break down new pricing and details for you!