weltek

We went on the Encore, as we had 6 nights of specialty dining, so seemed worthy of trying it out once. Likes: -The theming of the venue and layout was fun. Liked that there was an actual small bar near the back for people who just wanted a drink and to listen to the band. -Banana pudding, deviled eggs, cornbread and peach bourbon cocktail were outstanding. -Love the live music. Country isn't even my real jam, but it was well done. It wasn't a "crew" band, it was a contracted band. Some classic country and some newer. If you want to avoid it, look at recent dailies from the cruise. It should list the live music in Q times. -Service was good Dislikes -Entrees were meh (smokehouse platter and sausage plate). I had low expectations that hovered around "maybe a little worse than Famous Daves." I would put it at Famous Daves level, not really worse. So, in that respect, I suppose I was slightly pleasantly surprised. -Sides other than the cornbread weren't worth eating other than to give your palate a break from meat. So if you have a lot of specialty dining credit, or if think Famous Daves is GREAT bbq, check it out. Otherwise, maybe go have a cocktail, deviled eggs and banana pudding at the bar while checking out the band.

I agree with avoid the buffet (plenty of other options), get a balcony, get a VIBE pass, cruise during low season, and make reservations ASAP. I'll add: -Take the stairs. NCLs newer class ship elevators are usually crowded. Pick a stateroom floor near where you'll be frequenting to make walking easy. Or split the different between two frequented areas. -Time disembarking at ports carefully. It's a bit of an art form, as busy often depends on port times (e.g., 6-7 am port time isn't that busy right away, but 8-9 am arrival is) and what you have planned.

I think the Shorex credits with Free at Sea promos, and number of port changes (e.g., DR), are really impacting the number of pre-booked ship excursions lately. Beau is not our jam, but I guess I understand why they keep him when so many like him.

Our Dec. 2022 sailing definitely had the most aggressive Cruise Next staff I've ever experienced with NCL. Felt like buying a used car. Totally took me off guard. Made me wonder if they were running some kind of sales competition being the year end or something.

Thanks for asking this. I've been curious given a few posts I've read and I'm considering whether to book a PC cruise or something else. Ports are a factor for me, and while I know things can change at any time, I might decide this cruise is best shelved until another year. The PC itineraries for 2024 seem to still be in flux. Joy has disappeared recently from the search results? I haven't looked into it too much, as we aren't ready to book quite yet.

Great review! Funny how if someone else experienced your cruise the same way, they could be much more dramatically negative about it. A cancelled excursion, cancelled port, average food, and multiple connections could've turned into a "AWFUL-DON'T BOOK NCL!!!" post. We are considering booking a Panama Canal cruise soon, so I'm grateful for those posting detailed reviews and giving me a lot to think about.

Dec. 11th week.

Thank you, OP. South American cruises are the one time I have said I'd consider booking BOGO with NCL. This gives me great pause, as with that return baggage fee, that starts chipping away at the savings enough to where I'd say it's not worth the potential headaches (and in your case, real headaches). Thank goodness you were planful enough to be on top of this and all worked out well enough in the end.

Pic from December below. I know that most of them weren't planning on going anywhere for awhile (though not sure about vacations). We specifically asked quite a few.

Being from Wisconsin, I totally understand how a post could spiral into a multi-page mac & cheese debate.

Been on both. I would definitely consider both for future sailings, and for the most part, many offerings and service similar. For me (no kids), the pros for each: PRO ENCORE Gorgeous, comfortable observation lounge with light breakfast and snacks Some of my favorite management team and staff on long term contracts there right now Port of Miami is close-ish to the airport (if driving, I'd put Escape/Port Canaveral in the pro column) PRO ESCAPE Spice H20 (adults only sundeck & bar, hot tubs) Pincho Tapas (fee applies, but really yummy tapas) Ropes course (not a big deal at all, but I prefer it over the race track on Encore) Bigger pool (I'm not a huge pool person, so again, not a huge deciding factor for me) So for me, it comes down to obs lounge, favorite staff, and airprort closeness vs. Spice H20 and Pincho. If it were me, this year, I'd pick Encore.

Personally, the Observation Lounge snacks on the newer ships took away any potential desire I have to take food back to our room. My need for snacks was always something light (okay, one exception: chicken wing craving) while having a drink and reading. The Observation Lounge experience brings together those kinds of snacks with a beautiful, comfortable setting.

I commend you for wanting to research an area before booking. My personal tolerance tends to be fairly high. The only cruise port I've visited where I had concerns at the time was in Guatemala around 2007. I think all cruise lines still had some concerns about this port, but the Guatemalan government was really working on tourism, and were trying to make it safe. But we still had moderate concerns. We usually explore ports on our own, or hire a driver. For this port, we booked an NCL excursion that didn't go too far afield. I would do your own research about any Mexico cruise port you are visiting. Note that when travel advisories are listed, you need to read why and what they advise against to truly get a picture if it's a reasonably safe cruise port. For example, they often say things like "avoid going into areas with low traffic or at night without a local guide." So, as a cruiser, you are probably only there during the day, and as long at you stay in well populated areas and/or stay with a guide, you'll likely be fine. Of course there are exceptions, but those are very rare. As someone said, the violence in Mexico's tourist areas still tends to be cartel vs. cartel, and even the cartels are probably interested in keeping tourism money flowing in, so...

We ate there twice on our Dec. 2022 cruise. In short: I'd put it in the top half of my favorite specialties across fleet and would pick it again for one of my 4 specialty meals each sailing. Hits: -House cocktails-all of them -Short ribs app -Braised octopus app -Budino -Panna Cotta -Pappardelle Bolognese -Short Rib Ravioli -Mezzelune -Branzino, though it wasn't particularly "exciting" Not bad, but "Meh": -Beef carpaccio (made me miss the one from Bayamo, when it was the original Bayamo) -Burrata -Scialatielli...just didn't have much flavor, but everything was well prepared Did not try the pizza, but it looked awesome at other tables.

I love the large shower and robes/slippers. That's worth about $50 more/pp to me. The exception is the deck 8 CBS with large balconies on the newer ships. I adore the giant balconies and those are worth about $100-150/pp more to me if it's not a port-intensive cruise and I'll be spending more time on board.

Doing some winter cleaning and I think it's time to retire these old "souvenirs" from NCL. Vintage 2005-2010ish?

I remember my sister having one done on her NCL honeymoon cruise around 1990. The trend of caricature art seems to have died across our culture. I have zero feelings about that, other than having strong feelings that cartoon editorials are still an important part of cultures that needs to be preserved.

Agree, generally. If you are unsure if you'll like a cruise "vibe" and aren't just in the mood for a booze cruise, do 7 days to get a real feel. However, if you are primarily worried if you'll get seasick, perhaps a shorter is a better route for your first time. I did a 4 day on my usual line once in my 30s and it was pretty much a happy drink-a-thon for us! Got off the ship saying the same thing as you. Very different from a 7 day experience.

For us (Platinum) this month in Miami: We arrived around 11:15 and were waved into the general check in line because the line was so short. One couple in front of us. It would've been a pretty much non-existent (okay, maybe two minute max) difference for us to get into a Latitudes Priority line, so we didn't quibble when staff blocked it and waved us into general. We DID still get priority boarding. Called to board right after mobility assist group around 11:50 and on ship by noon.

To anyone who wants to be remembered by crew and doesn't have a lot of cash to spare: I tip very modestly (15-20% additional for specialty dining, $2-5 cash after a few drinks at a bar, and $50-80 for room steward), but talk about normal things with crew and am kind, and some remember me. So, if that's your goal, don't feel like you need to leave a big tip (but absolutely do if you can and want to!!!) or have a clever trick to get them to remember you. Just be a good, normal human and they'll also appreciate that "real" connection.

Marketing trick. NCL pretty much constantly offers some variation of this "deal." 50% off each guest or second guest sails free. You are not the first to ask this question and I guarantee you won't be the last. The cell phone companies, big box clothing retailers, etc. all do the same thing.

It's very much a personal thing whether there's value in it for you. We paid for it one sailing. We only used it for a total of about 4 hours. I thought we'd use it more in the evenings as a wind-down before bed. But it felt like too much work to change and go there, so we didn't. We just used it to relax for a few hours on some sea days and read in the quiet. The water features felt good and the heated loungers were nice. That was on ships that didn't have great public quiet reading space (older ships), so there was some value in just having a quiet space for us. It's not really on my list to do again on a warm-weather itinerary. I'd consider it for early or late season Alaska, but it's not a priority for us.

Wow, I cannot imagine anything, aside from a physical assault, being so bad that would make me disembark. I'd sit in my room and be a grump. 🙂 While some of your things seem like one-off bummers, the totality is concerning and it sounds like the ship might have a customer service approach problem. Anyway, I hope you have luck filing a case, particularly if everyone else you talked to follows through and shares similar issues. It makes me sad so many had this out of character experience from NCL, and that should be addressed by corporate if it really is a shipwide issue. The only time I've seen anything similar was ONE bartender dismissing someone's request for a bartender's suggestion for a drink in a martini glass that wasn't a martini. The bartender, who was otherwise great, literally lied and said, "yeah, there's really nothing if you don't like martinis." False...you are making a choice (which may or may not be supported by management directive) not to go outside of the printed standard drink menu at your venue (an all purpose bar) and fulfil the request. It was awkward to observe the conversation and I felt bad for the passenger who seemed to have an upbeat attitude and was nothing but kind in his approach. But the rest of that sailing was sort of a customer service dream for me on the Encore. Things I'd never had happen before (a buffet busser offered to get me water when I sat down with my plate...I'm in my 40s and don't look disabled, so I think he was just being nice) surprised me. I do think the GM (Deepak) runs ships very well, so I'm a strong believer in a GM making a big difference. I get why people care who the GM is.

You are giving a tip and they are customer service professionals, so of course you haven't gotten any negative feedback. In all reality, many of them just don't care. But sure, a few probably do think it's interesting if they are new to cruise work. But most probably don't give a hoot and they see a few of these "clever" people with stacks of $2 bills each sailing. Those people will put up with the American-splaining with a smile and move on, happily spending their $2 bills on toiletries at the Miami Target next sailing. So, if it makes you happy, go for it.

Because you asked, I'll be honest. I find it silly and forcing awkward conversation, but to each their own. It's like "here look at this neat-o relic I'm giving you, ask me questions and tell me how cool you think it is." Not every staff person will find it charming and cool. And many have seen them before and then have to figure out the best place to get rid of them. Maybe they'll keep one to give to their kid back home as novelty. But many of their children will not even understand it's a novelty. If someone gave me a lesser used British currency, unless I was really into coin collecting and wanted to save it, I would find it useless and awkward to try and use. But if someone gave me that lesser used currency and had an expectant look on their face and apparently wanted to describe it to me, I'd be polite and entertain them with a fake enthusiasm. But hey, that's just me. I almost guarantee there are more interesting things to talk to crew about than $2 bills.