Build Your Perfect NCL Ship

[JamieLogical]

With the details still not being filled on on the Encore's deck plan, I was thinking about my favorite things from the Breakaway/Breakaway+ class ships and what might Encore my new favorite. We already know there will be an Observation Lounge, Galaxy Pavilion, Go Karts, and Laser Tag, but what would you like to see in the way of restaurants, entertainment venues, performers, etc? Here's my list of things that would make Encore NCL's best ship:

 

• Howl at the Moon
• Pincho
• Los Lobos
• Q
• Le Bistro
• Cavern Club
• Better flow to the Garden Cafe (flow on the Bliss was really bad compared to the Escape)
• Better late night snack at the Garden Cafe (they only had nachos one night of my 7-day sailing!)
• Put a bar back in the main theater
• Choir of Man
• District Brew House
• Separate smoking room in the Casino
• Dart boards in The Local

[Son of a son of a ...]

More and faster pool side/deck bar service

[MrMike45]

All the cool new stuff on the newer (Breakway/Plus) ships....on a ship that holds as many people as the jewel class ships, so no more 4000+ passengers and lines 

[Minoushka]

I like outdoor eating area at the back ofthe ship like on Spirit ..parts shadedothers under the sun over thewake 

late showsafter late dinner 

free sauna or Tpool indoors is ok orunder retractable roof 

more sinks in all eating areas 

better variety every day at buffet or in mdr 

better quality in all specialty restaurants ...lately they have been subpar 

Make aback pool in aft of ship 

[Marine Mom]

12 minutes ago, Minoushka said:

I like outdoor eating area at the back ofthe ship like on Spirit ..parts shadedothers under the sun over thewake 

late showsafter late dinner 

free sauna or Tpool indoors is ok orunder retractable roof 

more sinks in all eating areas 

better variety every day at buffet or in mdr 

better quality in all specialty restaurants ...lately they have been subpar 

Make aback pool in aft of ship 

The Spirit is one of my favorite NCL ships.

[tallnthensome]

A solarium pool with retractable roof like the MSC Seaside. Why they didn’t think about doing this when they built the Bliss for Alaska is beyond me. I think all new ships should have one that could be used in cooler weather cruises. Dart boards and table shuffleboard but in the District Brew House. Not enough in there to entertain besides drink. 

[LD Silver]

Adults only!

[JamieLogical]

1 minute ago, LD Silver said:

Adults only!

 

Yes to this one!

[rmurray847]

I live in land-locked Albuquerque, New Mexico...so an amphibious ship that can sail from Albuquerque would be ideal.

[Newleno]

Water slides, basketball court, (Soccer prohibited even on tv, except during world cup and olympics) weight room, jogging track, mini golf, golfing cages, walking the plank, Zip Lines, Covered heated pools for adults only, a grand walking promenade that goes completely around the ship Mcdonalds, Popeyes, Taco Bell, 70's & 80's  rocknroll all the time, Overnights in Ports,  Videos of how to conduct oneself at the buffet,  Inclusive pricing for standard package (aka no more $649 for cruise fare, $205 for port fees taxes, $15 per day DSC) just tell me the price my calculator cant handle it.   Plus many more plus I guess I might not be opposed to an up charge for a beer out of the keg only package.  Just beer a cheap package.

Edited May 10, 2019 by Newleno

[Quencups]

All the bells and whistles of the newer ships, with a Garden Villa....ahhhhh….

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Dart boards and table shuffleboard but in the District Brew House.

 

Ooh! I really like this idea. We love playing darts in O'sheehan's on the Escape, but we also love beer.....

 

Also, I could really use some table-top shuffleboard practice. Played against a coworker while we were traveling for a conference last week and he beat me horribly even though it was his first time ever playing and it was definitely NOT mine!

[david_sobe]

The most common complaint of recent NCL ships is not having a forum for its game shows which are held in the atrium.  Limited seating and many others have to stand and cant see even with the second tier looking down.  Having said that

 

#1 (priority) is a mini theater that can hold about 300 people.  All the game shows that should be on a stage for people to see can be held there.

#2. Move the Haven Aft or put the haven pool somewhere with an ocean view.  Hello!  People are paying such high prices for an exclusive area with a tiny pool with no view.

3. Get a pizza place that has great pizza.  No more cake boss.  Go to NYC and franchise some local famous pie for its ships.

 

[JamieLogical]

7 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

The most common complaint of recent NCL ships is not having a forum for its game shows which are held in the atrium.  Limited seating and many others have to stand and cant see even with the second tier looking down.  Having said that

 

#1 (priority) is a mini theater that can hold about 300 people.  All the game shows that should be on a stage for people to see can be held there.

 

 

I agree with you here. In my imaginary scenario, we are filling in the blanks on the Encore deck plans, so that doesn't really afford any space for this sort of venue, but it is definitely a major issue on the Breakaway/Breakaway+ ships. On my Escape sailing last month, we would literally sit through 2-3 events prior to the one we really wanted to see in order to try to snag decent seats. We played this little game where we would start off standing or poorly positioned somewhere, then as soon as an event let out, we would pounce on any seats that opened up. Then after that next event, we would try to pounce and any better seats that opened up. Rince, repeat, until we hopefully had decent seats for the event we actually cared to see!

Edited May 10, 2019 by JamieLogical

[Marine Mom]

6 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

The most common complaint of recent NCL ships is not having a forum for its game shows which are held in the atrium.  Limited seating and many others have to stand and cant see even with the second tier looking down.  Having said that

 

 

That is why we love the Gem.  Spinnaker Lounge is a great space and all the game shows, parties, etc., is held in there.

[Steff79]

i say yes to and:

Howl at the Moon

Q

Cavern Club

Put a bar back in the main theater

Choir of Man

District Brew House

Separate smoking room in the Casino

Dart boards in The Local + Billiard

+kinky boot at encore is great.

+spa like the escape but with a balcony

+Margaritaville included or something other there

 

if we can start the encore new i would wish

no race track

no laser tag at top deck ( put it where inside, it is in the dark better most people said)

 

wonder too, why they don´t built the cold weather ship with a Solarium, indoor pool  or sea plex like the Quantum/Anthem for example ( that looks great ). Or like the new Aida ships with a indoor beach club or four elements ( indoor waterpark, climbing, movie screen and such things are there ) some pics i have in a album, link in signiature

Edited May 10, 2019 by Steff79

[Newleno]

16 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

The most common complaint of recent NCL ships is not having a forum for its game shows which are held in the atrium.  Limited seating and many others have to stand and cant see even with the second tier looking down.  Having said that

 

#1 (priority) is a mini theater that can hold about 300 people.  All the game shows that should be on a stage for people to see can be held there.

#2. Move the Haven Aft or put the haven pool somewhere with an ocean view.  Hello!  People are paying such high prices for an exclusive area with a tiny pool with no view.

3. Get a pizza place that has great pizza.  No more cake boss.  Go to NYC and franchise some local famous pie for its ships.

 

Yes decent pizza, apparently very hard to make a decent pizza on all cruiselines, and pasta apparently cruiselines dont know how to open up a jar or prego, instead we get nasty tasting stuff.  Bizarre the most easy dish to prepare.

[cincicruisers]

If I had to choose one thing I would agree with posters to have a better venue for games/entertainment.  There is just not enough room for everyone who wants to attend in the atrium.

 

My second item would be Howl at the Moon.  We missed having it on the Bliss.

[Two Wheels Only]

 

• Put the Haven aft with an infinity pool on the adult-only sundeck (Project Leonardo?)
• Add a 2nd Haven pool for all ages in the courtyard with a retractable roof
• Put the Haven Restaurant on the Waterfront deck with outdoor seating
• Put VIBE directly in front of the Haven sundeck so that the space is shared (pool, hot-tubs, bar)
• The middle of the top deck for Waterslides, go-karts, splash area, zipline, ropes course, rock climbing, family pool
• The front sundeck for an adult-only pool/Spice H2O area (bar, hot-tubs, big screen, etc)
• Continue with outdoor seating for Waterfront restaurants
• Forward-facing Spa and Forward-facing buffet under the Spa
• 2 lanes of traffic with arrows to make traveling throughout the ship easier
• Sports Bar showing multiple sports
• 24 hour dining in at least 2 locations
• Pop-a-shot basketball
• Non-smoking ship

[Two Wheels Only]

41 minutes ago, david_sobe said:

 

3. Get a pizza place that has great pizza.  No more cake boss.  Go to NYC and franchise some local famous pie for its ships.

  

 

So far, MSC has the best fresh pizza at sea, IMO. Any pizza sitting under a heat lamp in the buffet will be bad, though. Must...be...fresh.

[FLAHAM]

Full bar and bartender in my cabin.

[4774Papa]

We have 7 NCL cruises on the Gem, Jade, Star, Epic, Sun and Dawn.  Our least favorite ship was the Epic, next the Star and then Dawn.

 

The Gem and Jade were our favorites.   Celebrity has wonderful ship design, their S class ships are the best.

 

What I hate is when a ship doesn't have a sunset bar outside the buffet.  Some of NCL's ships block off the aft part of the ship and have a spa/fitness center there.

 

Also, I hate it when there are few places to enjoy viewing the ocean.  

[sverigecruiser]

Right now I'm not an NCL-cruiser, because of the insane prices for the Haven, so maybe my opinion doesn't count but I have some wishes:

 

One formal restaurant.

 

Less two bedroom suites in the Haven (=less children).

 

A Haven elevator to all decks.

 

A real promenade deck around the ship without obstructed view.

 

A Champagne bar with many houses by the glass and good snacks, for example high quality oysters.

 

Haven lounge with balcony overlooking the pooldeck. (How great should it be if the Haven lounge on the Epic had a balcony?)

 

 

 

Edited May 10, 2019 by sverigecruiser

[david_sobe]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I agree with you here. In my imaginary scenario, we are filling in the blanks on the Encore deck plans, so that doesn't really afford any space for this sort of venue, but it is definitely a major issue on the Breakaway/Breakaway+ ships. On my Escape sailing last month, we would literally sit through 2-3 events prior to the one we really wanted to see in order to try to snag decent seats. We played this little game where we would start off standing or poorly positioned somewhere, then as soon as an event let out, we would pounce on any seats that opened up. Then after that next event, we would try to pounce and any better seats that opened up. Rince, repeat, until we hopefully had decent seats for the event we actually cared to see!

Last time on Getaway 2015 we were eating dinner and a NCL survey person came by and was asking us questions about the ship.  Getaway was new back then.  When we mentioned about the shows in the atrium, the person acknowledged it was the #1 complaint.  Not enough seating for entertainment in the atrium, etc.  NCL has built 2 and delivered 2 more ships since then and no changes.  Go figure!

NCL surrendered its theater to the pre-booked shows years ago.  They truly need another entertainment venue.  Besides seating, the acoustics are horrible.  I am seated in O'Sheehans and I can barely make out what everyone is saying into the microphone.  Plus the atrium is too loud when its next to intimate venues.  In 2013 we celebrated Valentines Day in Le Bistro on Epic and all we could hear was someone talking loudly in the atrium with a microphone.  So much for an intimate dinner 🙉

[Red-Sol]

Two features I can think of but haven't seen:

 

A lazy river water feature that could circle the perimeter of the pool deck.

 

Underwater cameras that could project somewhere scenes of what might be swimming along near us.