question about encore additional passenger capacity

[Seas_The_Day]

i was on the first (pre-inaugural) sailing of the encore. we were told at the time the ship was between 2/3 and 3/4 full. the ship seemed similar to the ody class as far as passenger density i.e. not being crowded in any place. in fact it seemed even a bit less congested which was very nice.

 

i was wondering if anyone on the actual inaugural trip or later when the ship was full had any comments on how crowded the ship seemed? any noticeable difference? any specific areas too crowded (pool area? colonnade? MDR?) do you think it's about the same? less crowded?

 

thanks

[frantic36]

We sailed on the Encore inaugural. In my husband and my opinion we felt that Seabourn Square was noisier and much busier during the day. If wanting assistance at the desk it was better to go late afternoon or call Guest services.

 

The TK Bar and Observation Deck Bar were also much busier and patience was required to get drinks. Unfortunately The Club set up meant it wasn't as appealing, so people went to the two other bars which made them busier. I am hoping that they will rethink the set up with the club bar. Maybe have two people at the bar and always have one staying to serve and one go behind the door to make the cocktails.

 

The Gym didn't seem to get busier when I was using it. The Colonnade seemed fine as they opened up the outside seating area on Deck 8 to use for overflow from Deck 9. In fact Deck 8 was a nice peaceful area to sit for lunch and breakfast.

 

Can't help you with the pool area.

[free101girl]

I'm on Encore now and have been on since the inaugural. We've previously done an Antarctic cruise on Quest and a Med cruise on Sojourn. To me the new ship actually seems less crowded than the Odyssey class ships in many areas.

 

Seabourn Square always seems to have plenty of seats available. The Observation Lounge is usually close to full at peak pre-dinner time (7-8 pm) but we've always found seats without having to join strangers. We like the Grill bar and have had no trouble getting seats there. Tables seem to turn over frequently.

 

We do not like the Club on this ship, and it was our favorite on the other two ships. We went on our first night and never returned. It seemed crowded with furniture (not people) and the bar situation is also odd.

 

Colonnade has been great. Lots of tables available every time we've walked in. On Sojourn we gave up on eating there because we could never get a table. To be fair, that sailing seemed to have a large number of passengers who arrived at opening for lunch and dinner and "camped" for hours, tying up all of the tables. We didn't have that problem on Quest.

 

A big problem, and one I have complained about to management, is the tenders, with long waits, late departures and overcrowding being common. It affected two of our excursions very negatively. I think they need another tender for this many passengers. Hopefully it will be worked out. As it is, we won't go on any of the ship's excursions that require tendering until we hear the situation has improved.

[Able Seaman H]

Re: the tendering situation.

 

I assume from your comments that you are referring to the first couple of tenders for a particular day (because you talk about excursions which always leave first thing).

 

Something I noticed was that the ship always seemed to clear late and I wonder if that is the cause of the overcrowding. If the ship is due to clear customs at 8.00am people arrive then for a tender. There is then a delay of an hour. More people arrive to wait, the excursion groups get priority, tempers flare and it all gets ugly.

 

I don't know why the ship is taking longer to clear customs. Whether it's because it is a new ship and there is additional paperwork or whether intended pleasantries from the various ports of call are unintentionally delaying proceedings.

 

Later on in the day after the initial rush there isn't a problem, although some of the close quarters boat handling from tender helmsmen was appalling. It was painful seeing them trying to dock the boat and making fundamental mistakes. On at least one occasion we impacted the side of the ship with a deafening crunch. Just for clarification I am a commercially endorsed Yachtmaster (power) so have a reasonable understanding of the basics :)

 

Henry :)

[free101girl]

Re: the tendering situation.

 

I assume from your comments that you are referring to the first couple of tenders for a particular day (because you talk about excursions which always leave first thing).

 

Usually, but not exclusively. In one case a large number of passengers who had completed excursions were waiting on the dock for a return tender. After a long while, one arrived, disgorged its passengers, and those of us waiting were informed that the tender had to return empty. So we stood in the heat for another long period. I spoke with Destination Services about this and asked if there was an operational reason for it. I was told no, "that should not have happened."

 

Something I noticed was that the ship always seemed to clear late and I wonder if that is the cause of the overcrowding.

 

Yes, this has been an issue and the man I spoke with in Destination Services says they are very frustrated about delays caused by port authorities and not sure what is causing them. However in Hamilton Island yesterday, we were at anchor two hours early and nevertheless, the second tender went out at 9:25, which was 25 minutes late. A large number of passengers who were not on excursions had been allowed to board the tender ahead of passengers who were on a 9:00 excursion. It was completely jammed.

 

...some of the close quarters boat handling from tender helmsmen was appalling. It was painful seeing them trying to dock the boat and making fundamental mistakes.

 

My husband has made the same observation. It's worrying and an accident waiting to happen.

[SKP946]

A big problem, and one I have complained about to management, is the tenders, with long waits, late departures and overcrowding being common. It affected two of our excursions very negatively. I think they need another tender for this many passengers. Hopefully it will be worked out. As it is, we won't go on any of the ship's excursions that require tendering until we hear the situation has improved.

 

Does Encore use 2? dedicated tenders( as the little ship's had ) instead of the ship's lifeboats as tenders ?

On our last cruise on Quest they were using 3 of the 4 lifeboats as tenders which meant hardly any waiting.😀

[free101girl]

Does Encore use 2? dedicated tenders( as the little ship's had ) instead of the ship's lifeboats as tenders ?

 

Yes.

[BasandSyb]

Re: the tendering situation.

 

ILater on in the day after the initial rush there isn't a problem, although some of the close quarters boat handling from tender helmsmen was appalling. It was painful seeing them trying to dock the boat and making fundamental mistakes. On at least one occasion we impacted the side of the ship with a deafening crunch. Just for clarification I am a commercially endorsed Yachtmaster (power) so have a reasonable understanding of the basics :)

 

Henry :)

 

Do you think this is why Mooloolaba was missed. The weather didn't seem that bad/difficult.

[Able Seaman H]

I couldn't comment on why a port was changed but feel sure there will have been good reason.

 

One thing worth remembering is that many Seabourn passengers have mobility issues and you have to cater for everyone so the bar is sometimes set cautiously low.

 

Whilst you or I might be able to leap a couple of feet onto a pitching deck others struggle with 6 inches - (and don't quote that out of context :) ). Imagine the outcry on here if a guest was refused access to a tender when others were being allowed to board.

 

Henry :)

[BasandSyb]

Too true, Henry.

 

We subsequently heard there was quite a swell further out where the ship was holding - although it looked quite picture perfect from shore. Also, the wind increased later in the day. So perhaps a combination of both with the fear of re-loading later in the day. Hopefully Encore will be able to call in on the return trip. I understand the local mayor is a ceremony short of a plaque presentation :rolleyes:

[frantic36]

Do you think this is why Mooloolaba was missed. The weather didn't seem that bad/difficult.

 

We had friends doing the Bali to Sydney cruise and they told us they had missed Mooloolaba due to the swells being too big. Captain Dexter did wait awhile before deciding not to risk it.

 

My husband is an ex-yachtie and had his own boats and he wasn't surprised. He showed me a youtube of a boat about the size of the tenders trying to get past the "bar" that is near the entrance to Mooloolaba. After it got past it was smooth sailing up to the dock but for quite a number of minutes it was rocking and rolling quite heavily.

 

It would be quite risky if the swells were big and passengers might get get thrown around and injured.

 

That's okay our friends got to enjoy a glorious afternoon/evening docked near the Rocks as Encore sailed to Sydney early. They seemed quite happy with this substitution.

 

Julie

[BasandSyb]

That's a good outcome as their time in Sydney was short. Don't know why Seabourn doesn't do more extra night stays.

[Joc123]

Hope the seas calm down as I've just booked a car in Mooloolaba so we can visit family in Noosa 😄

[ab21au]

I've been deep sea fishing off Mooloolaba and it was like glass going out from Mooloolaba harbour. Once you get outside the line of the islands the swell can be huge. On our fishing trip we could not see our sister boat at times and it was only 100m away. We had trouble turning back only to find it still glassy when we returned inside the islands.

 

I'm not sure how far off the beach they tender from at Mooloolaba but I'm not at all surprised, I know this can happen at this location due to the swell coming around the headland and the wind outside the line of the islands.