CarolinaMamma

We were in the Haven and boarded around 11. In the past when we’ve arrived early and not in Haven or other priority group,, we’ve boarded around 12-12:30. U think these days we all just have to be flexible and not have set expectations. You never know if they’ll have to do extra cleaning or whatever. 

18 hours ago, life is to be happy said:

I fully agree.... yeah not having to queue and being Able to get a lounger at the pool is amazing however when my family and I cruise I love to meet people and "people watch" and by sounds of it that won't be what we want for the time being.... also our teen daughter likes to meet people and hang out with around the ship so probably not too many about for her to enjoy her holiday... the low numbers doesn't excite me at all but will hopefully change soon with more people allowed on board to have the  "Cruise Experience" but for now ill just keep wishing

My teens did take a little longer to find their “crew,” because there were fewer teens on board, but they ended up hanging out with three other sibling pairs and had a great time. 

Did you have travel insurance? If so, it probably covers needing to cancel because someone in your party was sick. You’ll just need a letter from their doctor saying they couldn’t travel. That may be a better deal than taking the FCC. Think about it. Even in pre-Covid times, someone in your party could have gotten the flu, you’d have had to cancel, and the cruise line would not have given you an FCC. 

4 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Which is what some of us thought when those sailings were cancelled.  

Yep. I was one who thought that as well. Interesting to see them publicly admit it when the cancellation letters led with “We are concerned about safety…” implying that it was Covid-related. 

2 hours ago, kdmlex said:

Thank you! Do they still have the silent disco ? I know encore did in 2019 and they called it “crank up the silence” but I didn’t see it on these freestyle dailies. 

I didn’t see Silent Disco. I remember it from 2019, too! 

Not sure, but one thing I found was that at Onda, all of the outside tables were two-tops, and were bolted down so they couldn’t be moved. Our party of four couldn’t eat outside unless we split up.

You may want to subdue your party into groups of 6-8. Very hard for a waiter to give good service on a larger table. 

4 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Thank you as this post is very helpful.   We will take your suggestion and also take a home test at our hotel before we leave for the terminal for an additional peace of mind.    As we also have a 9:00-9:30 a.m. check in time, what time did you arrive at the port?

We arrived about 8:45, parked the car, and got in the testing line about 9:00.

4 minutes ago, debnjoe1438 said:

The email registered with - would this be the email NCL has or the email given to CVS when registered? I ask as I apparently put in an incorrect email for my husband. I called to see if I could get the bar code after the fact - no such luck. At any rate I did ask the CVS rep to correct the email address. She said she did, however who knows. I suppose we may have to reconfirm email address at the testing area. 

The email given to CVS when you registered. I know this because my husband registered our teens using his email address, and he was the one who got their test results. 

We just went through the testing in Miami on 1/16. Here are a couple of suggestions:

1. If you can’t get a PCR test within 96 hours that will get you results before you leave (in our state labs were backed up and it was taking 5-7 days) and want NCL to cover any expenses not covered by your travel insurance in the event you test positive, consider ordering a proctored antigen test to do at home before you leave. We did the proctored BinaxNow tests, which were $33 apiece. You sign in and someone from India or the Philippines watches you swab yourself, 
 

2. if you don’t want to risk having to wait for hours and hours to get your luggage back in the event that you test positive, either (a) take your luggage with you to testing and hand it over after you know you are negative, or (b) take a home test at your hotel before you leave. We opted for the latter. I knew it was not likely that we would test positive, but I didn’t want to add insult to injury by having to sit at the pier for hours waiting for luggage. Based on some posts I read here, I saw that was happening with some people. How miserable! 

The testing process was easy. We did our online checkin at midnight as soon as it was available and got a 9-9:30 slot. Had to watch the safety video 4 times as we individually registered every member of our party. Snagged screen shots of each person’s barcode and put them in a “check-in” photo album on our phones.

There was no line outside when we got there, but a very short line inside. You show them your barcode, your vaccine card and your passport. You swab yourself while they watch, so very easy, They are no longer posting test results on a screen, just the time. You will get an email to the address you used to register within 15 minutes of your doing the test. Cell reception in there was not great, but we got the emails. Once you get the negative result, they scan the sticker they gave you, then you go on to security and check-in, We were in the Haven waiting area by 10 a.m. I’m sure it gets busier later in the day, but in the morning, was not bad at all. 
 

Happy to answer any questions.

2 hours ago, disneylover89 said:

Did you go to any Trivia?  Were there a lot of people?  

I didn’t go to the trivia, but every time I walked past it, there seemed to be “enough” people, but plenty of seating still available. 

Cruise director was JC Sanchez. Hope you can read the photo. 

Here are the dailies from our cruise. I’m just posting the daily schedule, not the whole thing with all the ads.  Hope these are helpful to some of you with upcoming cruises.

Day 2 was a revised schedule, because we missed GSC due to weather. 
 

There was no Kinky Boots on our sailing, and the country band was in quarantine, but some of the Kinky Boots cast members did a Broadway revue, which was EXCELLENT and showed how versatile these performers are.

We were in the Haven on Encore last week. We were told that we could ask our butler to escort us to shows, but why? There was no line and plenty of room. There was a special Haven area.  Seriously, why would someone need an escort in this situation? This photo was taken about 5 minutes before the show started. 

17 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

Some revenue is better than no revenue at the end of the day. This is all about kicking the can down the road until cruising is back to normal. 

Interestingly, the cruise director kind of let slip in one of the presentations that they were in a “comfortable” position with 1,300

pax on our cruise, and that some other sailings were cancelled because they didn’t have enough people, and they were hoping to consolidate them on the bigger ships. Someone asked if there was a “break even” point and if they were losing money on this cruise, and this was in response to that question. So there we have it, confirmation of why some of those other sailings, like Joy, were cancelled (not Covid) and that Encore can at least break even with 1,300

people onboard. 

19 hours ago, p5woody said:

I just cruised last week on encore (awesome cruise).  I saw NCL enforce mask wearing a couple of times.  Entering the buffet, the cavern, and the social.  However, I followed the rules so these are the only ones I witnessed and was never hassled.  I took my mask off when eating, drinking, and when I was outside.  At the buffet I put my mask on when getting food and took it off again after sitting down.  With all the drinking, eating and lounging outside, I probably had my mask on less then 20% of the time.  I didn't find it to be a big deal to just follow the rules and not force the crew into uncomfortable situation.  I am sure they hate bothering passengers.

I was also on the 1/16/22 sailing and agree with you. The masks just weren’t a big deal, as most people were wearing them to get from point A to point B, then taking them off when they sat down. I don’t want to get into a debate either, and whatever our feelings are about masks, it’s a “your house, your rules” kind of thing. If someone tells me they don’t wear shoes in their house, I’m going to take mine off, regardless of how I feel about how well this works to keep their floors clean or how dirty my shoes might be. No need to put the crew in am uncomfortable position by flouting the rules we agreed to. 
 

I will also add that I heard someone cough literally two times during the whole cruise, which is very UNlike the hotel we stayed in before the cruise, where every other table in the restaurant seemed to have someone coughing. The ship felt very safe. 

7 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

While there wasn't always a lot of us listening to Alexa in October, we certainly make her feel very appreciated!!  That smallish crowd just meant that we got more of our requests honored.  Nobody was sad at any point.  😎  That said, we developed a trend of the same core assembling each night at 9:00.  By the last night, we had a meaningful "crowd" and we demanded an encore.  She "had" to play well beyond her scheduled 10:00 PM quitting time.  After days of us pounding her with Queen requests, she shocked/surprised/rewarded us with a fine rendition of "We are the champions" as her final encore.  Fun stuff!!!!

She is so talented and so versatile, isn’t she? We just loved her! 

8 hours ago, worktocruise610 said:

Is the larger balcony wider and longer or just longer? From videos I see it goes past the bathroom, but can’t tell if it is also wider.

 

Thanks!

We were in a 2-BR with large balcony last week, and our butler brought us two padded loungers. 
 

7 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

I think it's unlikely that NCL would go ahead with a scheduled cruise if there were so few passengers on board as to make it seem like a ghost town.  They probably would just cancel and refund your fare.  That being said, however, I understand your point of view.  A party in a huge venue where only a handful of people attend is not much fun.  It takes a certain critical mass for things to click.

Yes. There was one night, for example, where we watched Alexa play for an almost empty observation lounge. That felt kind of sad. On other nights, they moved her to the atrium, which was busier. 

Last time we did this (3019) we declared the bottles when boarding, paid $15/bottle corkage fee, they put stickers on the bottles indicating we had paid the fee,  and gave them back to us, then we had them in the room and could consume them there or take them to any restaurant or bar. Not sure how it would work on a B2B if you’re not drinking them on the first leg though. 

On 1/19/2022 at 6:23 PM, KurtMo said:

CarolinaMamma,

We'll also be in the Haven on Escape soon - if you have any thoughts on Haven food versus specialty, favorite items, etc. I'd appreciate your thoughts.  Also would love a photo of Haven wine selections by glass if possible.  Have a great trip!

I liked the Hagen food, but in hindsight I wish I had bought more specialty dining, just for a change of atmosphere and some variety. Cagney’s and Onda were both good. Q was just so-so.  I’ve enjoyed OceannBlue and Le Bistro on other ships, so you may want to give those a try. 
 

I have wine list pics. On our sailing, they were out of a LOT of wines. There was one night where I struck out on four different whites by the glass before finding one they had. Same with a lot of the medium and fuller intensity reds. I don’t know if it’s supply chain issues or cost cutting measures, but be prepared to be flexible.

On 1/19/2022 at 5:17 PM, ElizaSTN said:

Does it feel *too* empty?  We’re looking forward to low crowds but I’m starting to get nervous it’s going to feel like a ghost town.  

I think it depends. We all enjoy different things about cruising. I’m kind of a quiet person who doesn’t like having to “compete”  to find a space to sit or wait in lines, so this was a great cruise for me. We still managed to meet people in the bars and have some good conversations. If you are a super extroverted person who likes the crowded, loud parties, then it might feel a little sad. 

On 1/20/2022 at 8:28 AM, vacation44 said:

How is the crowd on the Haven sundeck?    Is it easy to find loungers together or is it crowded with all of the upgrades to Haven that were awarded?  

You could always find a lounger on the sun deck. On the sea days, it was popular and you may not get the exact location you want, but there was always room.  (This is a port day.)

We just got off Encore. According to Haven concierge as of Thursday, you were expected to have 1,700 on the 1/23 sailing. She said there were lots of re-bookings from cancelled sailings that moved to Encore. Ours was expected to have 1,500, but we ended up with 1,300. It was very easy to get anything we wanted (show seating, specialty restaurants reservations, shore excursions) because we had so few people on board. Hope you have a great cruise! 

42 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Very nice post with the photo telling it all.  More chairs than hogs to worry about, what a change - enjoy. 

 

How are the MDR and specialty dining ... do take photos & share it here, as you wish.  Assuming that you are posting over ship's satellite WiFi on CC - can you do that successfully without needing to log into your account, difference in speed and/or lag time ?

We are in the Haven so I haven’t eaten in the MDR yet. All specialty restaurants are open. Had dinner at Cagney’s the first night. Food and service excellent. I had the prime rib, and it was “like buttah,” so tender. 
 

I didn’t buy a Wu-if package because I cruise to get away from internet. In St. Thomas, you have regular cell service like you would in the US, so that’s how im

posting now. 

1 hour ago, TominNC said:

I think I read your cruise made St. Thomas?  So how close to the original intinerary are you?

We missed GSC Monday because of weather, which I think happens a lot. Skipping GSC meant we arrived in St. Thomas a few hours early, so we had a nice, long day here, and the weather was perfect. We are headed to Tortola tomorrow and Puerta Plata on Friday. No word of any changes.