Norwegian Cruise Line food: The ultimate cruise guide to restaurants and dining on board

21.03.2024 - 12:57 / thepointsguy.com

Norwegian Cruise Line has always been a bit of a rebel when it comes to food.

Back in 2000, the company introduced the concept of Freestyle Cruising, and with it, the idea of Freestyle Dining. Guests no longer were assigned to traditional early or late dinner seatings in the main dining rooms on Norwegian Cruise Line's ships, but rather could decide when they wanted to eat and with whom.

The cruise line also began to roll out specialty restaurants — smaller, cuisine-specific dining venues such as the French-themed Le Bistro and Cagney's Steakhouse — that passengers could reserve for an additional cover charge.

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Today, passengers will find more than three dozen dining options, including 21 that require a cover charge or feature a la carte pricing, on board NCL's 17 ships. While the cruise fare covers a number of restaurants, specialty restaurants requiring an extra charge are popular, and new specialty restaurants are introduced with each class of ship.

The onboard restaurant lineup also varies by ship, with those in the Prima, Breakaway and Breakaway Plus classes having a larger selection than the line's older, smaller ships.

How do you make sense of it all? We've compiled a rundown of all the Norwegian Cruise Line food options, from coffee and gelato shops to a la carte restaurants where the tab can easily top $150 for two. Here's what's included, what you'll pay extra for and the ships that feature each dining venue.

Included; lunch and dinner

This 1950s-inspired diner featured on all six ships in NCL's Breakaway and Breakaway Plus classes offers quintessential midcentury comfort foods — from cheeseburgers and meatloaf to chicken pot pie and spaghetti and meatballs. Desserts include bread pudding and carrot walnut cake. The food is now all free (Norwegian made this change in early 2024), but if you want to wash it down with a milkshake, you'll need to pay up.

Available on: Norwegian Bliss, Breakaway, Encore, Escape, Getaway and Joy

A la carte; coffee and snacks

Atrium Cafe is a coffee and cocktail bar that serves hot and cold beverages along with a selection of cookies, pastries and other snacks. Alternately, some NCL ships feature Starbucks cafes.

Available on: Norwegian Escape, Jewel, Spirit, Star and Sun

Included; breakfast, lunch and dinner

You'll have to head to Hawaii to enjoy the barbecue pulled pork sliders, pretzel bites, Reuben sandwiches and more served up retro-style in the Cadillac Diner. This venue, with its funky black-and-white checkered floor and vinyl booths wedged between two sections of a vintage red sedan, is found exclusively on Norwegian Cruise Line's Pride of America. It's open 24 hours a day, and