Olinsky_Cruisers

We were on the Sapphire Princess last month to the South Pacific. There were 6 mahjong sets in the library.  I believe one was Chinese and the rest American version sets.

I am on the Sapphire now and have an hdmi cable with me. How do you change the input on the tv?

Does wifi calling work with the “standard” internet that we get on board?

Yes, we plan on taking our luggage off ourselves to save time.  Thank you,

Thanks to both of you.  I have informed the transportation company to plan on 8:30am.

Mel

Hi,

We are on a transatlantic cruise that disembarks in Dover.  It is scheduled to arrive at 7am.  What time should I schedule a car service for transportation to the airport?

Thanks!

I went on the dining options and chose a same time dining every day reservation in the Palm Dining Room.  It accepted my request.  However, I have read that the Palm dining Room is reserved for suites and club class mini suites.  I am in a balcony cabin. Should I change my reservation?

Thanks,

Mel

I asked during our recent cruise on the Enchanted Princess and was told that Generoso retired.

He was terrific and very well liked by all!

Hi, we are on this cruise also.  I don't think they sold any cabins below balcony to limit capacity.

Yes, the additional service charge was just on the upcharged item.  

Also, be aware that when you use your Platinum benefit dinners (or even your specialty dining package), wherever you go, if you order an entree with an upcharge, they will also add an additional 20% service charge.  

We just returned from a terrific cruise on the Encore.  We have taken many cruises on NCL but really felt that the Encore has raised the bar. It certainly helped that capacity on board was reduced to 2200 passengers with no young children. The passenger to crew ratio was close to 1:1 which made for outstanding service.  There were never any lines at the buffet or crowding anywhere.  There was construction going on in Taste, one of the main restaurants, but it did not impact us at all.  We went into this cruise knowing that late September is not the ideal time for a cruise to Alaska and expected lots of rain and chilly weather. The temperature was in the low 50’s and we did get some rain but it did not affect us very much

Three days before our cruise we went for Covid tests – just to be on the safe side.  NCL does not require pre-testing but suggests that you do it.

After a beautiful day in Seattle the day before and perfect weather for sailaway we took an Uber from our hotel to the port. We had a 9:30am arrival time but heard that Covid testing began around 8:30am.  Since our bodies were still on Eastern time we were up early and anxious to get going.  When we got to the dock there was an early drop off location for our bags and we were sent upstairs to wait for our tests. I had preregistered and had my barcode printout ready. They opened the testing at 8:30am and we were first in line.  Before our numbers even appeared on the large screen I received a text message that we should proceed to the check out area. I don’t think we were there more than 15 minutes. We received our wrist bands and proceeded to do our ship checkin and receive our room cards. We still had to wait until 11am to board he ship. As soon as we got onboard we took care of our specialty restaurant reservations and show reservations. They gave us a list of all the entertainment and we checked off the days and times we wanted.  I appreciated seeing all the entertainment options in one place.

It was great not to have to wear masks on the ship (crew wore masks all the time). Washing hands before entering the buffet was closely monitored but we were free to serve ourselves.

From there we went to lunch and while waiting for our cabins we took a walk around the ship.  Although we had been on the Breakaway and Escape and were pretty familiar with the layout, the one area we fell in love with was the Observation Lounge on deck 15. This turned out to be our favorite place for relaxing and enjoying the day we spent in Glacier Bay.  It covers the front of the ship and wraps around  both sides approximately half way back.  It has beautiful large glass views on all sides and food available throughout the day. Although we had a balcony cabin, other than sailaway day, we rarely used the balcony.  The Observation Lounge was our go to place to be.

There was a a CruiseCritic Meet & Greet on Sunday at noon in the District Brew House.  It was very well attended. Ship officers were there to welcome us and beer and snacks were served.

Ports: Icy Straits was probably my least favorite stop.  Besides the fact that it was raining, there was very little to see ashore – just a few shops. The gondolas were not running which was a disappointment.

Juneau was okay.  Busses were provided to get us to town but it was not that far and we could easily have walked. It was raining lightly but not terrible.  A few shops were open however several of the shop owners told us this was their last day in Alaska and they were heading for St. Thomas for the winter. The most popular shop was the T-shirt store across from the Tram ride.

Ketchikan was probably the best port.  Although the NCL dock is several miles from town and busses were provided for the trip to town, we didn’t mnd the ride.  They were running very frequently and there was no crowding. We did find the Nieuw Amsterdam in port when we got to town. All of the stores were open and it was fairly busy. Although it rained a bit, we actually saw some sun in the afternoon (rare for Ketchikan!) and a beautiful rainbow appeared as we left port.

But our favorite day was sailing through Glacier Bay. We had a perfect day for this and a great location to view in the front of the Observation Lounge.  Several naturalists were there to tell us what we were seeing. Hot chocolate was brought around to us. The Captain (who had just boarded that week) got us very close to the glacier at the end and did two 360 degree turns before leaving.  They also opened a crew area on deck 8 at the front of the ship for better viewing but we chose to stay inside and relax in the lounge.

Restaurants: We ate in the Manhattan Room twice, Cagneys, Ocean Blue, Le Bistro and Q. All of the specialty restaurants were excellent. One note, we had a specialty dining package for two nights and Platinum vouchers for two night, if you order any of the upcharge items – like lobster in Ocean Blue for $25, they will also add on a 20% service charge so the lobster was actually $30. Not a big deal but just don’t be surprised.

Entertainment: We were looking forward to Kinky Boots and were not disappointed. It was an excellent show very well done. Choir of Man was scheduled for Thursday and Friday nights but on Wednesday the Cruise Director announced that it was cancelled for technical reasons.  We suspect there was a positive test among the performers and they were quarantined.  We had seen Choir of Man on the Escape and although we loved the show they replaced it with the Beatles Invasion which drew a full crowd and was excellent.  They normally performed in the Cavern  - a smaller venue.  We went to it one night but found it too crowded and very loud.  Seeing them in the main theater was perfect. We also saw a couple of mentalists who were very good.  The Company of Men performed – also very good.  Our least favorite show was the Broadway singer.  We might have enjoyed her more if she actually sang more than just one Broadway number from a show she had appeared in).  The theater was pretty empty for her show and I noticed people leaving early. The comedians appeared in a smaller venue which we did not go to.

The ship seemed very quiet – having reduced capacity and no children certainly made a difference. We were very spoiled. We also did not miss the usual Muster Station Drill.  A video in your cabin (which you had to watch before you could view regular programs) and a quick stop at your Muster Station to show your room card was all that was required.

We used the free Port transfer service for our bags which I love.  Because I am elite on American Airlines there as no charge for this service.  Another advantage to this is no overweight charges!  It made leaving the ship a breeze. We took an Uber back to Seatac.

We honestly could not find fault with anything about our cruise.  We were very comfortable on the ship and  felt safe all the time.  Even elevators did not get overfilled. The crew could not have been happier to see us (and us to see them) and went out of their way to make sure we were well taken care of.

I am not sure I would cruise to Alaska again this late in the season but I would not hesitate to return to the Encore in the future.

Does Seabourn Encore onboard internet support wifi calling?

We will be first time cruisers on Seabourn-Encore in February and would love a referral coupon.

thanks in advance.

Mel

mel.olinsky  at gmail

You should be able to make reservations when you board. They only release a percentage of tables for pre-reservations.  Just go directly to the room assigned for making reservation or one of the interactive screens as soon as you get onboard.