gknep

I'll be on the Zaandam when it returns to Quebec on Sep 4th.

Thanks. I've done many Alaska sailings and a few on the Mexican Riviera. This will be our first time doing this route.

I look forward to your reports. We board the Zaandam on Sep 3.

For the 6 year old the Aquarium (downtown on the waterfront) might be a good place to go. We lived in Seattle when our daughter was that age and she loved going there.

The Encore will be great ship for your kids. Probably better than Princess or Holland America especially if they want the go karts, laser tag, virtual reality arcade, and water slides. If better docking in Juneau and Ketchikan are more important then Princess is probably better for the kids if only because they bring the sled dog puppies on board one of the days. I've been to Alaska multiple times with NCL since 2002 and twice on the Encore 2021, 2022, and will again be on the Encore in May of 2024. I've also gone to Alaska with Holland America. Our first time in Ward Cove the shuttles dropped you off right in front of the other cruise ships. Last year they dropped us further away (the shuttle driver told us it was because the town was upset at losing the port fees because of Ward Cove) From my perspective it depends on what you want to do at the Ketchikan stop. If you have excursions planned through NCL then Ward Cove is not that big of a deal, if you want to walk around the city and look in the stores it is a little more problematic. The big caveat with my experience at Ward Cove is that both of my times there the ship was not sailing at anywhere near capacity.

In addition to the Old Fashioned, the French Manhattan at the whiskey bar on NCL is fantastic.

The variation that NCL serves (on The Encore at least) is bourbon (or rye), Chambord, bitters, and a Luxardo cherry. Both recipes make for great cocktails.

French Manhattan from the. Whiskey Bar.

Did they say why Skagway was cancelled?

I had an aft balcony on deck 8 on the Koningsdam last January for a Mexican Riviera cruise. We did not notice noise from the pool deck above us. It was a great room

Enjoy the observation lounge. Eat the Indian food in the buffet. Kinky Boots. Choir of Men. Woodford Old Fashioned at the whiskey bar

Sky, Star, Pearl, Jewel, Encore.

Late September early October on the Encore. Plenty of stuff for sale at all price levels. Disappointing selection of duty free liquor for sale. Plenty of ship's models, t-shirts, and other Encore themed gear.

Most craft breweries can't do the volume cruise lines would require to have it regularly. I've seen Laguinitas on HAL Mexican cruises out of San Diego and Alaskan Brewing Company selections on Alaska cruises.

Just got off the Encore. We are Platinum so we had the two SDP and the two certificates. My brother has 2 SDP and bought 2 more meals before the cruise so we could all eat together. The waiter made sure to tell us on the nights when we used our certificates that we were limited but that my brother and his wife could order extra apps for us if we wanted. One night we were all in Los Lobos and my sister in law only ordered appetizers so the waiter told us he would only charge my brother one of his SDP meals. He had one left over at the end of the week which he and his wife split at Food Republic. My wife an I never had any issues with limits of the platinum certificates. We made more than enough food.

Used them on Friday and embarking today. Smooth as silk . Same process as when we did it in Jan

You can use it on any of the special liquor or wine tastings. You can use it for other fee based activities. You can use it in the shops. It can be used to pay the sales tax on drinks they collect in certain ports.

I sail Sunday and got tags in the mail a few weeks ago.

I've been in club balcony suites on other ships in same class as the Jade. If you are far enough forward there is no noise because you are under the spa area. If you are under the pool most of the noise is from chair scraping in the morning. If you are further aft you are under the buffet and/or the Great Outdoors area.

I have seen Teppanyaki open for lunch on sea days before, but that was a pre-covid on the Jewel.

Joby Gorillapod.

I was on the Encore last September and will be back on board in a couple weeks. If the MDR food is not to your taste try the Indian food in the buffet. It was outstanding. You have given the first negative review of Choir of Men I've ever seen, but like food, entertainment is subjective. I've been to Alaska several times with NCL and Glacier Bay never disappoints. Enjoy the rest of your cruise.

YMMV, but I like Ocean Blue and Onda better than Teppanyaki. If you go to Onda the Pappardelle is excellent.

I booked in April for a late September sailing. Got an email about bidding pretty soon after booking. A while later I got a second email. A couple days after that the banner appeared when I signed into my account.

The same change has been made for my Encore 9/25 sailing. I was in ISP last fall before the new gondola to the top of the mountain was finished. Going to do that for sure this time. It is a great place to go whale watching as well. My parents have done the cooking class and enjoyed it enough to repeat it on subsequent visits. The zip line looks fun if that is your kind of thing.