Jump to content

Encore


 Share

Recommended Posts

What is everyone's opinion of this ship who have sailed her.  I am hearing bad things about this ship and we are booked on Encore for February 24 -March 1, 2021 5 day to Costa Maya and  Harvest Caye.  Did we make a mistake?  Can we use OBC for specialty dining also?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If you go to the cruise review section there are quite a few online reviews to read. That said, we took a mid  December 2019  cruise on the Encore in a 2 bedroom Haven cabin. Even though we were in the Haven we spent a majority of time

in the non-Haven areas. I don't know about the OBC because we didn't have any. What I will say is that there are quite a few

positives about this ship. It is sparkling new and clean with beautiful decor. The food is outstanding. The public areas like

the Observation Lounge are very enjoyable. The crew were unfailingly helpful and cheerful. That said we won't be re-booking. The ship shakes and rattles like no other ship we have been on. It made it almost impossible to sleep. There are some lucky people who didn't experience this but most people that I have talked to agree. This is even in calm seas. I don't think you made a mistake in terms of Costa Maya and Harvest Caye. We like both ports. I would read the cabin reviews in the Encore section and see if your specific cabin is mentioned and if that cabin experienced the shaking and crashing and all around movement ours did.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had a great cruise on the Encore in February.  Crew was wonderful, food was very good (only ate in the specialty restaurants), entertainment was outstanding.  But I have to agree that this ship shook and rattled more than any other I have been on.  I had a forward facing ocean view and while I loved the layout of the cabin, the first two nights were almost impossible to sleep.  We were in rough seas and once we docked in San Juan, the problem disappeared until the last evening.  From the others I spoke with in our FB group, this shaking seemed to be limited to the forward part of the ship...those mid-ship and aft did not have this issue.  I would sail this ship again in a heartbeat but would make sure I wasn't in the front of the ship.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So, the ship is beautiful.  I was on the TA so 9 days, no stops almost all indoors due to weather.

 

Compared to other Breakaway/+ class ships, Encore is not really an outdoor ship.  No Spice H2O and an average side pool area.  Meaning, Encore was designed for Caribbean winters and northern summers.  So unless you expect to layout on deck sunrise to sunset, no, you didn't make a mistake.  If you are, you might want to pay for Vibe.

 

Observation Lounge is great.  Q is great.  Onda is really good.  American Diner...hit or miss.  Coco's is really good.  All my vlogs/reviews are on YouTube.

 

Yes, OBC can be used for Spec Dining.

 

I had a forward facing cabin and loved it, especially with the high seas, ~40'.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We loved the Encore on our January cruise.  Our cabin was an Aft Balcony and we didn't notice any type of unusual shaking or rolling.   We do not lay by the pool, but we did love the Observation Lounge, Choir of Men show and the specialty restaurants.

 

We ate at Onda, Los Lobos, Q, Cagneys & Ocean Blue and enjoyed them all.  Onda is especially good!   We used OBC at Q as portions are big there so just ordering some appetizers was plenty of food.

 

We were supposed to be on Encore again this week and had pre-booked Onda for two nights.    We hope to re-book Encore for early next year🤞

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, cruisekitty22 said:

What is everyone's opinion of this ship who have sailed her.  I am hearing bad things about this ship and we are booked on Encore for February 24 -March 1, 2021 5 day to Costa Maya and  Harvest Caye.  Did we make a mistake?  Can we use OBC for specialty dining also?

Enjoy your cruise. Just because it is on the internet, doesn't make it all true. 

 

We [use to] sail frequently and sailed on the inaugural Encore out of Miami to the Eastern Caribbean over Thanksgiving. The cruise was at max capacity for the ship. We liked the ship. It had all of the contemporary features. 

 

Measure of goodness: We liked the ship so much, we had booked a second Encore cruise in a couple of weeks from now from New York to Bermuda. Well, that plan will be delayed for a while.... maybe a long while... while we wait for the coronavirus to die down. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hello there.

I just got off Encore last month.  Strangely enough the cruise you are booked on (5 night Western, Feb 2021) was the cruise I intended on booking when I got back.  However, I was not able to use my cruise next certificate since it was less than 6 days and then cruising stopped.  So I don't think I will make that cruise.

I loved Encore but I was spoiled in the Haven.  However, the strong points are the restaurants.  Onda and Los Lobos are incredible additions to the NCL line up.  Some of the best restaurants at sea and even land.  However they are expensive if you don't use your dining plan.  The entertainment was pretty good too.  We also loved Starbucks being onboard.

Here is what we loved and things we did not love.  I also did a review just over a month ago if you can find it here.

 

LOVE
Restaurants especially Onda, Cagneys and Los Lobos

Galaxy Pavilion

Spa

Entertainment

Haven

Staff
Starbucks

 

Did not LOVE
The pressure to book everything and make reservations

So many activities and bookings that they frequently conflicted with other things we had planned.  We tried so hard to see the Beatles group but every time they played we had a dinner planned or another entertainment option booked

Atrium seating - not enough seats for the shows

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...