Everything... Norwegian ENCORE! Launch Nov 2019

[TheDougOut]

Aqua Racer water slide has made an appearance... 

 

 

Edited June 22, 2019 by TheDougOut

[david_sobe]

Yay!

[TheDougOut]

Weekly web cam update...

 

 

[TheDougOut]

 

Edited June 25, 2019 by TheDougOut

[Lupush]

Does anyone know if the Casino will be non-smoking like on Bliss?

[TheDougOut]

40 minutes ago, Lupush said:

Does anyone know if the Casino will be non-smoking like on Bliss?

 

Sure looks like it’ll have the walled-off smoking section...

 

 

[QueenOfZoom]

1 hour ago, TheDougOut said:

 

 

 

Can almost see my cabin in this shot 😂

[quillwercruisers]

How did I miss it being said that the Vibe will be on 2 decks??  19 & 20.  It is going to be huge!!

 

 

[js]

Thank you SO much for the pictures! I LOVE coming on this thread and reading about updates, speculations, etc.  Sailing July 19, 2020 in Haven H4 and cannot wait (hope they have three cheese ziti 🙂 hahaha)

[UFMOM]

On 6/25/2019 at 1:16 PM, TheDougOut said:

 

Sure looks like it’ll have the walled-off smoking section...

 

 

 

Very Happy about this!! Enjoyed the smoke free casino on Bliss despite the strong cigarette smell near the door to the smoking room. Still much better than actual smoke wafting around or someone lighting up at a machine next to you. Interesting that the low minimum roulette table was located in the smoke room. Hope they change this on the Encore.

 

 

 

 

Mary Ann

[Steff79]

https://www.meyerwerft.de/de/meyerwerft_de/besucher/termine_1/wichtige_termine.jsp

 

at the german Meyer Werft page they wrote, the float out is planned for middle August and the Ems conveyance for end of september.

[mattee]

i am thinking of booking my first cruise on the TA on nov 2nd.

 

and i am tossing up between a sail away balcony or a studio.

 

I have been checking the prices on cruiseguru and its approximately $2830aud for the studio vs $2484aud for the sail away balcony.

 

The only benefit with the studio for me is the espresso machine in the solo lounge. Is there anywhere else on the ship with complimentary coffee available all day?

 

Also with the sail away fare its listing two fares: a select fare and a sail away fare for the same price. What is the difference with these?

 

Thanks for your help

[CazV]

Hi @mattee welcome to Cruise Critic. I noticed the prices you quoted were AUD so assume you'd be making your booking in Australia? Your terms and conditions of booking may be different to the US and UK booking T&Cs so bear that in mind with anything you read on these forums. 

When comparing the Studio v Sailaway Balcony look at any perks you might be eligible for with both types of booking. In the UK we pay a little extra on any type of booking in order to add perks. In the US it's different and it's my understanding that sailaways usually don't qualify for perks at all. If you drink alcohol, do think about the cost of that as part of your decision making, as the drinks package is good value for money. 

Does the Select Fare offer something different than the Sailaway Fare? If one offers more than the other for the same price then that's another consideration. I've not seen the Select Fare term before, but maybe someone else can chime in on that one. 

If you book solo in a Balcony you will still be able to join in with any solo meetings, but generally you wouldn't have 24 hour access to the lounge... although I have heard that some have managed to get access added to their keycards. As for coffee, yes there is coffee available elsewhere on the ship... maybe not quite as good, but it's fine. 

If it was me making the decision and I could get the drinks package with the Balcony booking for less than (or same as) the Studio, I would book the Balcony. I'm watching for changes in pricing on the 24th November sailing in case a similar situation occurs as I would love to try sailing with a Balcony. 

Hope this helps. 🙂 

 

[Wedgie23]

4 hours ago, mattee said:

The only benefit with the studio for me is the espresso machine in the solo lounge. Is there anywhere else on the ship with complimentary coffee available all day?

Balcony rooms (at least on the other ships) have their own coffee makers in them. Again this is based on the other NCL ships I've been on but coffee in the morning was available in many areas of the ship, set up in coffee sections of H20, margaritavilla. The buffet had the only all day/night included coffee though if I recall the casino also had a coffee set up out most of the time. 

 

I have to echo Caz on not knowing the 'select fare' part of your question. I haven't seen that either. 

[Beardface]

44 minutes ago, Wedgie23 said:

Balcony rooms (at least on the other ships) have their own coffee makers in them. Again this is based on the other NCL ships I've been on but coffee in the morning was available in many areas of the ship, set up in coffee sections of H20, margaritavilla. The buffet had the only all day/night included coffee though if I recall the casino also had a coffee set up out most of the time. 

 

I have to echo Caz on not knowing the 'select fare' part of your question. I haven't seen that either. 

 

Haha you listed 2 things that are absolutely not a part of this ship.

[Wedgie23]

7 minutes ago, Beardface said:

Haha you listed 2 things that are absolutely not a part of this ship

Quite true. I was listing places I'd found them on other ships to give an idea of the availability of included coffee. While not at every closed bar that I saw in the morning, they had stations at several. I don't think anyone knows exactly where they will be on Encore but I have to imagine there will be several stations spread around the ship in the morning.  

[Peachypooh]

Coffee is available in the Garden Cafe (buffet). In addition to the regular

brewed coffee they usually have one or two machines that grind

the beans right before you get your coffee. It is better than

the already brewed stuff.

[js]

For 346aud difference, I would take that balcony and you can use the "saved" money to purchase coffee and still come out ahead and have a balcony, but that's just me :)

 

Enjoy and happy planning!

 

[Rulers Mom]

8 hours ago, mattee said:

i am thinking of booking my first cruise on the TA on nov 2nd.

 

and i am tossing up between a sail away balcony or a studio.

 

I have been checking the prices on cruiseguru and its approximately $2830aud for the studio vs $2484aud for the sail away balcony.

 

The only benefit with the studio for me is the espresso machine in the solo lounge. Is there anywhere else on the ship with complimentary coffee available all day?

 

Also with the sail away fare its listing two fares: a select fare and a sail away fare for the same price. What is the difference with these?

 

Thanks for your help

 

 

Hello @mattee,  we are on this cruise.  We booked a mini-suite when it was originally offered.  The itinerary back then was Southampton to Miami, so we were thrilled with the balcony, the last part would probably be warm enough to enjoy the balcony. 

 

Now that they changed it to Southampton to New York, we doubt we’ll have much balcony time.  Cold to Cold in November. 

 

There is a facebook group, a roll call on this board, and a roll call through the facebook group.  We have a lot of activities booked onboard, and a meet & green in Southampton the evening before we sail.  Here’s a few links:

 

https://www.cruiseencore.com/roll-call/

 

 

[vpearlkc]

Being 69 years old, our possibly last ocean cruise will be on the encore in April 2021. We have already decided no more cruisenext certificates. Our all-time favorite NCL ship is the Spirit followed by the Dawn. We have enjoyed the Breakaway and Escape as well but prefer a smaller ship without all the over the top stuff. 

 

We are not giving up cruising, just changing directions. We are planning a cruise around the Hebrides in a boat with 13 passengers and a crew of 3 and after that a Danube river cruise. It should be quite a change.

[SailorMan20]

4 Days ago I booked My first ever cruise on the NCL Encore in December of 20. I am on deck 15. B9 . I am estatic. I do wish there was a bassketball court on top deck.

[FreestyleNovice]

 

Two noticable things in the photo; top left, the chimney in the yard's roof is where the funnel will be, the chimney allows Meyer to test/run ship's systems as soon as they connect the half complete funnel to the chimney.
The other are the large(r) balconies, bottom center just above the Waterfront in the indented part of the balconies, I think those are the special ones (rel. larger) within the B8 category and shouldn't be forgotten for those looking for the larger balconies and going for the forward M6's or aft balconies.

Edited June 30, 2019 by FreestyleNovice

[SailorMan20]

I see My dec

15 hours ago, FreestyleNovice said:

 

Two noticable things in the photo; top left, the chimney in the yard's roof is where the funnel will be, the chimney allows Meyer to test/run ship's systems as soon as they connect the half complete funnel to the chimney.
The other are the large(r) balconies, bottom center just above the Waterfront in the indented part of the balconies, I think those are the special ones (rel. larger) within the B8 category and shouldn't be forgotten for those looking for the larger balconies and going for the forward M6's or aft balconies.

I see My deck in this picture. lol

[cruis247g]

Thanks so much to everyone for this thread! 

 

Although we tend to like mid-sized ships (e.g., Jade and Gem) best, we had a wonderful time on the Joy and just decided to book a Bermuda cruise on the Encore! I am so very excited and really looking forward to trying out the Encore!

 

Thanks again for this fun and informative topic.

[bjtravelnews]

We love cruising and are especially fond of the freestyle concept.  We have sailed on the Breakaway twice to Bermuda and more recently, on the Escape  (loved the Escape!!!).  I was going to book the Encore for Bermuda next year.  After looking through the threads and deck plans, I am having some second thoughts.  We cruise to enjoy the food, drinks, shows and relaxing places on the ships.  It seems the Encore is trying to attract families with adolescents and teens (thinking race track, laser tag and VR games).  Those things don't interest us much.  We can't afford Haven suites and really want to make sure there will be places to unwind, have a drink and read a book.   For those of you who are following the building of the Encore, do you think there will still be enough places to kick back and enjoy some quiet time?  Thanks to all!