COME SAIL AWAY... FINALLY! Live Review of NCL Encore Alaska 8/21-8/28

[Brickwood]

@SeaTacMikeAm also interested to know if any covid info is shared with passengers given the recent CDC orange status.  

[lepidoptera]

2 hours ago, SeaTacMike said:

 

Thanks so much, looks like it is mostly cold tea. Think I will end up bringing some tea from home. I can deal with the selection on a hot Caribbean cruise,  but not a colder cruise where I will be drinking it more. 

[aubreyc1988]

interested to see what you think about Onda by Scarpetta, as I have it booked for my sailing on Sept 4th.  I too found La Cucina wanting. I almost tried Scarpetta at The Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, but their prices were like EEK and needed to save for the cruise. I have eaten at other restaurants in the Cosmopolitan LV that are top notch, even their food court is filled with unique restaurant names with very good food so I am hoping Onda will live up to my expectations.

[drumexpert510]

Well Folks... the votes are in for Onda... and it did not disappoint. A huge step in the right direction from La Cucina.
 

Starting off, the bread they bring to the table was very unique and started everything off on a great foot.

 

For our meals, we had the Burrata and the Spare Ribs apps and both had amazing flavor. The mains were also very flavorful, we had the lobster tagliatelle and the mezzalune.

 

The lobster tagliatelle was well rounded and the lobster did nothing over power. The mezzalune had a brown butter sauce that was to die for. If you are undecided on what side to get, grab the lentils... again, tons of flavor.

 

5 stars tonight! Great job NCL!

[zerooveride]

4 hours ago, libtrek said:

Please let us know how those 8th deck rooms are. We are in 8158 in mid September.

Well we aren’t happy right now. Airflow is non-existent in our cabin. Sweating my you know what off. I couldn’t imagine doing a Caribbean cruise in this room. Been waiting 45 minutes for maintenance 

[Wvshimmy]

12 hours ago, cruiservictor said:

Hi - we sailed with Deepak as the GM 4 times on the Escape in 2018.  He remembered us each time and took great care of us, as did his team.  It is always nice to see familiar faces on NCL cruises, and somehow they remember us from prior cruises, which is amazing considering they deal with thousands of people a week.  We always try to be nice, which probably helps.  Anyway, we hope he is still on next month.  Deepak is on the far right in this picture. 

Lots of excellent crew in that pic!

You even have Rowen in the corner. 

Agree , Deepak is top notch!

His friendliness and attitude trickle down to all officers and crew working with him.

Not all surprised he was tapped for the Great Comeback!

[SeaTacMike]

3 hours ago, zerooveride said:

Well we aren’t happy right now. Airflow is non-existent in our cabin. Sweating my you know what off. I couldn’t imagine doing a Caribbean cruise in this room. Been waiting 45 minutes for maintenance 

Hope that gets taken care of with the quickness.

[SeaTacMike]

5 hours ago, drumexpert510 said:

Well Folks... the votes are in for Onda... and it did not disappoint. A huge step in the right direction from La Cucina.
 

Starting off, the bread they bring to the table was very unique and started everything off on a great foot.

 

For our meals, we had the Burrata and the Spare Ribs apps and both had amazing flavor. The mains were also very flavorful, we had the lobster tagliatelle and the mezzalune.

 

The lobster tagliatelle was well rounded and the lobster did nothing over power. The mezzalune had a brown butter sauce that was to die for. If you are undecided on what side to get, grab the lentils... again, tons of flavor.

 

5 stars tonight! Great job NCL!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Surely this can't be your first live review, you're doing GREAT ! ! ! 
So good that I think even Bird might get some ruffled feathers LOL
 

[david_sobe]

The bread at Onda is so good that I could eat it as a meal itself.  You cant even compare it to La Cucina.  Those photos look delicious.

[katiecat]

It's so great to read a good review even if I'm not booked for an Alaskan cruise.

My biggest problem is getting out of Canada right now to go anywhere!

Enjoy every minute of your cruise and thanks for sharing your experience with us back home, we can dream. 

[EllieinNJ]

Enjoy. Following with you vicariously. 

[Shidah]

The CDC color guide is somewhat of a joke.  First, it is updated a few times a week and has not been updated since before this sailing took place.  Plus the color system is counter intuitive.  Orange is actually better than yellow.  Most normal charts would have those colors reversed, leading up to red.

[drumexpert510]

After dinner last night, we went straight back and hit the hay. It was a little rocky last night as we were traveling up the western coast of Vancouver. We are scooting along pretty good this morning and the weather is fairly decent and around 57 degrees. 
 

Today’s  schedule:

 

CC Meet & Greet

Slot Pull with some casino action

Thermal Spa Suite 

Some bar reviews

Choir of Men

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, Shidah said:

The CDC color guide is somewhat of a joke.  First, it is updated a few times a week and has not been updated since before this sailing took place.  Plus the color system is counter intuitive.  Orange is actually better than yellow.  Most normal charts would have those colors reversed, leading up to red.

Ships have to submit daily report. How long you stay on the "bad list" is defined in the CDC protocol. CDC is monitoring the ship versus investigating a breakout. 

 

The Encore went from Green to Orange during the first cruise. There was nothing reported on the ship wrt COVID with the exception of two fully vaccinated passengers testing positive at embarkation. That was probably reported and probably led to the change in color status (speculation). Other speculation was that some of the ceremonial aspects of the ship's maiden Alaskan voyage and dedications of the Icy Strait and Ketchikan docks may have violated some protocols with crew (Captain) in close, continual contact with untested, unvaccinated people ashore, breaking the ship's COVID bubble.

Edited August 22, 2021 by BirdTravels

[ecco41]

How is the wifi on the ship?  I receive a certain amount of minutes via the "free at Sea" but am considering purchasing the "streaming option" when I get on board.  I believe you get one account, so to enable the other people in my cabin to use it I simply need to log off, to let another person use the account?  I also could wait until I get into a port and just access using my normal cellular service (AT&T) or find a free wifi in town?  Suggestions and guidance would be appreciated.  

[ChiefMateJRK]

31 minutes ago, ecco41 said:

Suggestions and guidance would be appreciated.  

Well, I have a suggestion but some won't like it.  Look at the crappy wifi with "only" 250 minutes as an opportunity, not a limitation.  IOW, leave the phone in the safe and enjoy a (mostly) screen-free cruise.  The only time I checked my phone for anything on a cruise was when I had a house listed for sale and I needed to know if my Realtor was trying to contact me.  They didn't, but the house sold a few weeks after we got back.  Win-win! 😎

[Sailing12Away]

14 hours ago, HDtraveler said:

Do the two Covid-19 testing locations administer the same test? It seems like the World Trade Center uses at home Binax test and the Marriott uses the Eurofin Covid-19 test. Is one of these more accurate than the other?

The tests are the same I believe. Eurofins is just the company contracted to collect and perform the test. The actual test kit in use is the same Abbott Binax Now rapid antigen test. 

 

29 minutes ago, ecco41 said:

How is the wifi on the ship?  I receive a certain amount of minutes via the "free at Sea" but am considering purchasing the "streaming option" when I get on board.  I believe you get one account, so to enable the other people in my cabin to use it I simply need to log off, to let another person use the account?  I also could wait until I get into a port and just access using my normal cellular service (AT&T) or find a free wifi in town?  Suggestions and guidance would be appreciated.  

From past experiences, the wifi on NCL sucks donkey balls. You spend more time trying to connect or log off to save your minutes than you do actually being connected. For a quick check of email or a simple FB post to let friends and family know you're safe and where you are, it's fine. If you want to upload photos - forget about it. Wait until you're docked and find free wifi at a coffee shop or bar.

[drumexpert510]

51 minutes ago, ecco41 said:

How is the wifi on the ship?  I receive a certain amount of minutes via the "free at Sea" but am considering purchasing the "streaming option" when I get on board.  I believe you get one account, so to enable the other people in my cabin to use it I simply need to log off, to let another person use the account?  I also could wait until I get into a port and just access using my normal cellular service (AT&T) or find a free wifi in town?  Suggestions and guidance would be appreciated.  

WiFi is “fine” unless you have the “streaming” one you can not stream. It is not lightening fast but it gets the job done and can upload photos etc.

[drumexpert510]

Someone asked about the Starbucks teas on board. Here is the extent of everything currently offered at Starbucks 

[aubreyc1988]

22 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Well, I have a suggestion but some won't like it.  Look at the crappy wifi with "only" 250 minutes as an opportunity, not a limitation.  IOW, leave the phone in the safe and enjoy a (mostly) screen-free cruise.  The only time I checked my phone for anything on a cruise was when I had a house listed for sale and I needed to know if my Realtor was trying to contact me.  They didn't, but the house sold a few weeks after we got back.  Win-win! 😎

I love leaving the internet behind. I do check in a few times, but only use my phone to take photos for the most part! 

[vacation44]

Great job Drumexpect510--thank you!

[HDtraveler]

Cruisers on the previous cruise stated that disembarkation at Icy Strait Point was a mess. Could you let us know if NCL has corrected the problem. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

9 minutes ago, HDtraveler said:

Cruisers on the previous cruise stated that disembarkation at Icy Strait Point was a mess.

I read that it was a short wait for a free ride in nice new Gondolas through the trees to the old docking location. Did I read wrong?

[drumexpert510]

Is it a red or is it a white? Definitely recommend trying the “Black Glass Wine Tasting” in  The Cellars Wine Bar! 
 

It definitely throws your senses for a loop!

[SeaTacMike]

Buckle your seatbelts....  this is a screenshot of the internet speed taken aboard Majestic Princess on her first voyage to Alaska this year.  The angle of the satellites makes for very poor internet in that particular region.