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I think I might have the price sheet from our May cruise. We also had a lot of OBC and took advantage of it in the spa. It’s the 4th of July today and we are out celebrating but I’ll try to post it tomorrow.

I really missed my omelettes! I found a new favorite breakfast on The Patio; breakfast tangines. There was a daily special or you could special order one. The Patio also had an open faced breakfast sandwich. I forgot about my omelette after a few days…😀

There were lovely little sandwiches at Seabourn Square that we paired with some fruit & cheese to tide us over to the later dinner times. Our body clocks took almost a week to adapt, making a two week cruise much too short!

We were on the Encore in May and were often the only ones using the aft pool area. Another place that was quiet during the early afternoon was the Observation Bar/Club Bar areas…they weren’t staffed until around 4. Seabourn Square was fairly quiet as well, but we were on a port intensive cruise so folks were out & about. As to the laundry, we used the $50 bag option and had our nicer clothes laundered & did a couple of loads in the launderette. We started our laundry on the way to dinner, put it in the dryer after dinner on the way to the show and collected it after the show. It worked out perfectly!

Maybe because we, women, get pedicures and our toes are pretty! 😉

Oh boy! We just got off a two week Encore cruise. Warm weather cruise. This look was totally appropriate and was worn mostly by guys from warmer climates…including my husband…Miami, Australia, California & Texas. While I never saw it in The Restaurant, it showed up just about everywhere else. I think it degrades the look to call it Tommy Bahama…the shirt is a traditional Cuban shirt called a guayabera shirt and can/is be worn to formal events. My dad, who owned multiple tuxes and loved to get dressed up, wore these all summer long, to church, weddings & dining out. It’s taken a while to get my husband in them because he likes to keep his shirt tucked in… but he’s coming around! 😉

We aren’t dancers but another couple we hung out with were. They danced in The Club before dinner and after the evening show. There was a great jazzy quartet before dinner and a party band after the show. People also danced at the Patio on nights there were deck parties.

It must be supersonic! It was supposed to be in the Eastern Mediterranean all summer. CruiseMapper shows it near Crete.

We recently sailed on the Encore and thought the evening entertainment was hit or miss depending on the day. The nights that featured the Seabourn Singers backed up with the party band were quite entertaining. Our Cruise Director, Robert, and his Assistant CD, Luperci, did a show of opera and show tunes that was outstanding, there was a magician/illusionist who was quite good and used the audience as his assistants which was fun. The worst entertainer was a comedian who performed at the end of the second week, so dreadful that people walked out. We thought that the lounge entertainers were hit or miss as well, since they did not rotate venues we felt like we didn’t get to experience the Observation Bar as it was envisioned because the duo that played there was not very good. The bands at The Club and the party bands were both very good. The pianist in the TK Grill did his job and stayed in the background.

We learned tonight that the list can be very dynamic. When there are only a few bottles left from the reserve list they migrate to the the included list. The wine featured at the beginning of dinner service might be different based on where you dine or even from one side of the room to the other.

Agree with 2SailingNomads, the Patio Bar has had the best selection of beers. They do have a standard list and it’s pretty pedestrian. Heineken seems to be the best choice of the lot but if you ask more specifically, for a local beer or IPA the door opens and you are offered a more extensive selection.

This was a dinner conversation last night on the Encore. Our group consensus was it might be upwards of 8-10 years before anyone goes to Russia. It was not on my list before the current events and I doubt that it will be on my list in the future but still sad that these places will not be seen for a long while. Why get one’s hope up by sending out the literature.

They have had some local beers, several from Turkey. I don’t recall seeing a specific list however. I asked for an IPA and was Laganitas.

Oh, so true! First night on board I asked for a Margarita with a twist…I received a marvelous margarita! Tonight, my bartender & I created the Mediterranean Sunset…it needs some refining but what a fun time we had! Tomorrow, I am teaching him a new trick…elderflower foam!

On Encore now. The wine glass in question is what I would describe as “petite”, it is a slim version of a flat bottomed wine glass. It is a thin glass, not Riedl, but nice quality. We have not made it to The Restaurant yet but it is being used at the casual venues and bars. We haven’t really asked for the complimentary wine list but their “suggested” selections have been adequate. For example, tonight was Australian night in the Colonnade, and the red suggested was a 2012 Shiraz from the MacLaren Valley, very drinkable with lamb or fish, which were the featured entrees. There are only 250 guests on board and we are being spoiled. There will never be a time to sail like this again. All the fuss and worry about nothing! The staff is bending over backwards to make this an amazing experience, let’s enjoy it and not sweat the small stuff!