Norwegian Switches The American Diner to Complimentary

Norwegian Cruise Line’s ships are known for having lots of dining options, with an average of 17 eateries on a single ship. Many of them, though, are an additional cost. On average, less than 25% of Norwegian’s restaurants are complimentary, compared to 40-60% of the restaurants on Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships. Now we see one of their restaurants, The American Diner, will be switched from having an extra fee to being included. 

The American Diner on Norwegian Ships

The American Diner is a retro-themed restaurant aboard six Norwegian ships. On some ships, American Diner replaced the previous venue, Margaritaville At Sea, when they lost the branding rights in 2020. 

Ships with American Diner

• Norwegian Bliss
• Norwegian Breakaway
• Norwegian Encore
• Norwegian Escape
• Norwegian Getaway
• Norwegian Joy

It is located just one deck over the pool deck (either Deck 16 or Deck 17, depending on the ship)

The restaurant has a 50s vibe with vinyl seats, booths themed like Cadillacs, and lots of reds and blacks. It’s a sit-down restaurant where food used to cost $6-$22 per item (or you could use a specialty dining credit). 

New menu for the complimentary American Diner version

Norwegian will change the menu for the complimentary version of the American Diner; they’re scaling it down to remove more “premium” items. 

You’ll still find a cheeseburger, but before, it was a “blend of chuck, brisket,and short rib, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickle, red onion, and toasted bun.” Now, the description is much less premium: “American cheese, shredded lettuce, tomato, red onion, sesame seed bun.”

Similarly, the “loaded nachos,” which were previously served with chili con carne, are now plain cheese nachos. 

Some menu items have been removed altogether, like mozzarella sticks, lobster sliders, mahi-mahi Reuben sandwich, the French dip and crispy chicken sandwich, shrimp and grits, and BBQ pork spare ribs. 

But the menu isn’t necessarily smaller as Norwegian added a few new options like meatloaf, lechon asado (a Cuban-style pork sandwich), chicken pot pie casserole, and a battered fish sandwich.

Guests can also get premium milkshakes here for $7 each.

Complimentary option rolling out through the start of the year

Guests aboard the Norwegian Breakaway have indicated this change is already in effect for their sailing. In the NCL App, the Norwegian Joy lists this venue as complimentary starting February 13.

If you have a sailing on any of these ships in the first part of this year, check your NCL app to see if it’s complimentary for your sailing. 

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