Encore's low ratings

[dshefter]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

Did you watch the video?  He clearly states it was not a review and he will post a full review shortly.  The video is called "First Impressions."  He booked a "sail away rate" with no perks.
(this part not replying to you)

Good grief.  People who have not sailed Encore attacking those who have sailed Encore who call it a great ship but not liking some features and giving detailed reasons why.  Such extreme cheerleaders that they cant even allow any other point of view expressed without personal attacks or conspiracy theories against bloggers.
Calm down everyone.  I have not seen anyone bash the Encore.  Just because some people point out a few things they don't like about it is no reason to melt down.  Clearly some people have not watched the video.  Different ships are for different people.  I will be on Encore next month and enjoy everyone's experience both good and bad to assist me plan my vacation.

First of all, I never said he was bashing the ship. Was asking for more thorough analysis. Simply stating there are a lot of bars on this ship isn't anything that is life-altering. How about breaking down some of the details he had with dining? I take every review with a grain of salt. I have boarded ships that have received awful reviews from people and found the ship to be terrific. I have never had a bad cruise. Just looking for good nuggets of information that will allow me to enjoy my cruise a bit more, especially with the Encore because it is new and there have been a lot of complaints about the lack of public space. Therefore I am interested in what people say about the Vibe passes and where they purchased them and did they sell out quickly. Did they use Priority Boarding and did it go smoothly. Was it a valuable purchase in their eyes. I am a journalist by trade, so I know the value of a fair and balanced review.

[david_sobe]

3 hours ago, dshefter said:

First of all, I never said he was bashing the ship. Was asking for more thorough analysis. Simply stating there are a lot of bars on this ship isn't anything that is life-altering. How about breaking down some of the details he had with dining? I take every review with a grain of salt. I have boarded ships that have received awful reviews from people and found the ship to be terrific. I have never had a bad cruise. Just looking for good nuggets of information that will allow me to enjoy my cruise a bit more, especially with the Encore because it is new and there have been a lot of complaints about the lack of public space. Therefore I am interested in what people say about the Vibe passes and where they purchased them and did they sell out quickly. Did they use Priority Boarding and did it go smoothly. Was it a valuable purchase in their eyes. I am a journalist by trade, so I know the value of a fair and balanced review.

I never said you attacked Don. If you see my post, I purposely go out of my way to say my comment was NOT directed at you.  Even though its not a "full" review, I appreciate his insight since he practically lives on cruise ships.  He calls the balls and strikes of every ship.  He has videos of the top 10 worst things on the RCCL Oasis ships but then will point out what he likes about them.  The Encore probably is not the ship for him but he did praise the entertainment stating it was better than he was expecting and how beautiful the ship is.  He's not into go karts and that's fine.  I posted the other video because that family has an interesting take.  They had mixed feelings but cruised the ship purposely for the go carts.  They were not finding anything wrong with extra charges for all the fun stuff.  What irked them was they found it very difficult to get reservations.  I think those perspectives are important to know prior to sailing.  We all love the pictorial reviews with almost no comments.  But we should appreciate those who do balanced reviews of what they liked and what they didn't like. It makes me better prepared for my cruise especially with the advice they give.  When Cruise Critic did not give Bliss 5 stars or when Cruise Critic does not give NCL very many awards, there are several posters who allege conspiracies against NCL and freak out.  Cruise Critic does not bash NCL ships.  However its wrong to only accept extreme praise of ANY cruise line.  I am keeping my expectations low for my upcoming cruise.  Again, none of this is directed at you.

Edited January 17, 2020 by david_sobe

[BoundForSea]

1 hour ago, david_sobe said:

I never said you attacked Don. If you see my post, I purposely go out of my way to say my comment was NOT directed at you.  Even though its not a "full" review, I appreciate his insight since he practically lives on cruise ships.  He calls the balls and strikes of every ship.  He has videos of the top 10 worst things on the RCCL Oasis ships but then will point out what he likes about them.  The Encore probably is not the ship for him but he did praise the entertainment stating it was better than he was expecting and how beautiful the ship is.  He's not into go karts and that's fine.  I posted the other video because that family has an interesting take.  They had mixed feelings but cruised the ship purposely for the go carts.  They were not finding anything wrong with extra charges for all the fun stuff.  What irked them was they found it very difficult to get reservations.  I think those perspectives are important to know prior to sailing.  We all love the pictorial reviews with almost no comments.  But we should appreciate those who do balanced reviews of what they liked and what they didn't like. It makes me better prepared for my cruise especially with the advice they give.  When Cruise Critic did not give Bliss 5 stars or when Cruise Critic does not give NCL very many awards, there are several posters who allege conspiracies against NCL and freak out.  Cruise Critic does not bash NCL ships.  However its wrong to only accept extreme praise of ANY cruise line.  I am keeping my expectations low for my upcoming cruise.  Again, none of this is directed at you.

Don’s review is spot on. Im Platinum and our Encore 9 night experience was worst of all. The design comprimises customer satisfaction and experience for profit more than any other ship and by a great margin. Eacape is the home run folks. Second by Bliss and then BA/GA. 

 

You know what I respect the heck out of Don? Most of these Content Creators get thrown free or very reduced incentive cruises from NCL and these people go on there and give some roses and flowers and unicorns review because they were comped the cruise. The cruise line is buying their content as advertising. If NCL pays for their cruise or a large portion of it (The sailing from NY to MIA or Germany to Southampton was a freebie for Content Creators) the creators have been bought. Don calls it like it is. Thats called integrity. 

 

As for Encore, it will make the investors and shareholders very happy. Thats a fact. 

[david_sobe]

11 minutes ago, BoundForSea said:

Don’s review is spot on. Im Platinum and our Encore 9 night experience was worst of all. The design comprimises customer satisfaction and experience for profit more than any other ship and by a great margin. Eacape is the home run folks. Second by Bliss and then BA/GA. 

 

You know what I respect the heck out of Don? Most of these Content Creators get thrown free or very reduced incentive cruises from NCL and these people go on there and give some roses and flowers and unicorns review because they were comped the cruise. The cruise line is buying their content as advertising. If NCL pays for their cruise or a large portion of it (The sailing from NY to MIA or Germany to Southampton was a freebie for Content Creators) the creators have been bought. Don calls it like it is. Thats called integrity. 

 

As for Encore, it will make the investors and shareholders very happy. Thats a fact. 

You are 100% correct about many "content creators" aka vloggers and "travel agents."  The cruise lines throw them free cruises or very reduced cruises and in return they rave about the ship or may not be invited back.  Its like the car companies that heavily advertise in a car magazine and people think its a coincidence when the magazine picks their "car of the year."  
I am SO looking forward to my Encore cruise and eating up every review in sight.

Edited January 18, 2020 by david_sobe

[BoyMommax3]

We are booked for the Encore for July! I have to say it has taken us 4 years to cruise again with NCL.  Our last cruise was a 9 Day Breakaway in 2016.  This upcoming trip on the Encore is significantly more than the 9 day cruise.  It seems like so much has changed in 4 years and not for the better.  
 

The July 2016 cruise was our second time on the Breakaway and it didn’t go the way I hoped.  Most of my family is going on this trip and due to budget reasons...Haven is not in the cards.  
 

Being that we haven’t cruised in 4 years, I’m worried about the reviews for the Encore.  Part of the reasons we choose this ship was based activities for the teens/preteens.  We went to Disney in August so I feel like I’m right back into over planning mode.  Final payment is soon and I’m having real doubts if we should proceed.  

 

 

 

Edited January 18, 2020 by BoyMommax3

[Two Wheels Only]

4 minutes ago, BoyMommax3 said:

Final payment is soon and I’m having real doubts if we should proceed.

 

I think that you'll have a great cruise. Some people are looking for things to complain about or are uninformed about what to expect on the ship. You have months to prepare yourself before the cruise. The more you know, the better your cruise will be. 

[BoyMommax3]

42 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

I think that you'll have a great cruise. Some people are looking for things to complain about or are uninformed about what to expect on the ship. You have months to prepare yourself before the cruise. The more you know, the better your cruise will be. 

Thank you! I’m trying to be stay positive! It’s a week of no cooking or cleaning that this Momma truly needs.  I will book as much as came when my window opens and hope for the best! 

[Peachypooh]

1 hour ago, BoyMommax3 said:

We are booked for the Encore for July! I have to say it has taken us 4 years to cruise again with NCL.  Our last cruise was a 9 Day Breakaway in 2016.  This upcoming trip on the Encore is significantly more than the 9 day cruise.  It seems like so much has changed in 4 years and not for the better.  
 

The July 2016 cruise was our second time on the Breakaway and it didn’t go the way I hoped.  Most of my family is going on this trip and due to budget reasons...Haven is not in the cards.  
 

Being that we haven’t cruised in 4 years, I’m worried about the reviews for the Encore.  Part of the reasons we choose this ship was based activities for the teens/preteens.  We went to Disney in August so I feel like I’m right back into over planning mode.  Final payment is soon and I’m having real doubts if we should proceed.  

 

 

 

Don't worry about not being in the Haven. We were in the Haven on the Encore and spent most of our

time outside of it. We sat by the pool, had our happy hour in the observation lounge, and ate in the buffet

and the local. The only thing we really gained by being in the Haven was no standing in lines and we are probably

older and less mobile than you are. For those booked in the Haven yes it is a beautiful area and if you take advantage

of the butler services and like eating in the Haven restaurant (it is a nice place) you will benefit. We probably

would have been fine outside of it. We found out we are just as happy outside it as inside it. Have a wonderful

cruise.

[BoyMommax3]

14 minutes ago, Peachypooh said:

Don't worry about not being in the Haven. We were in the Haven on the Encore and spent most of our

time outside of it. We sat by the pool, had our happy hour in the observation lounge, and ate in the buffet

and the local. The only thing we really gained by being in the Haven was no standing in lines and we are probably

older and less mobile than you are. For those booked in the Haven yes it is a beautiful area and if you take advantage

of the butler services and like eating in the Haven restaurant (it is a nice place) you will benefit. We probably

would have been fine outside of it. We found out we are just as happy outside it as inside it. Have a wonderful

cruise.

Thank you! Good to know! I would have booked Haven in a heartbeat to alleviate some of gripes from the last cruise.  But would have been the only one out of the group of 8 cabins.  We have a Connecting mini suite and balcony room booked to accommodate my brood!  I’m sure we will have a great time! 

[swmichigan cruiser]

1 hour ago, BoyMommax3 said:

We are booked for the Encore for July! I have to say it has taken us 4 years to cruise again with NCL.  Our last cruise was a 9 Day Breakaway in 2016.  This upcoming trip on the Encore is significantly more than the 9 day cruise.  It seems like so much has changed in 4 years and not for the better.  
 

The July 2016 cruise was our second time on the Breakaway and it didn’t go the way I hoped.  Most of my family is going on this trip and due to budget reasons...Haven is not in the cards.  
 

Being that we haven’t cruised in 4 years, I’m worried about the reviews for the Encore.  Part of the reasons we choose this ship was based activities for the teens/preteens.  We went to Disney in August so I feel like I’m right back into over planning mode.  Final payment is soon and I’m having real doubts if we should proceed.  

 

 

 

Just my two cents but we did the first two cruises on the Encore out of Miami and really enjoyed it. I hope in the future to take my 20 year old grandson on it as I know he would also really enjoy it. My  biggest problem is I probably won't be able to do it for awhile because we already have three long cruises booked on other NCL ships. He really had a good time on the Bliss so I know he will like the Encore but even more. Just my opinion.

Edited January 18, 2020 by swmichigan cruiser
Forgot word