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

[brad0576]

9 hours ago, drumexpert510 said:

Dinner at Manhattan....

 

Well, I very much love the specialty dining options but everyone and then find ourselves in one of the MDRs. Tonight we were at Manhattan. 
 

First off, with reduced capacity on the ship, it was EMPTY in here. The staff was very attentive and were on top of everything.

 

The food however was ok. First, the French Onion was lacking and it was mostly on the cheese (see pics), the ratio to onions was also off (see pics). The pasta was good but I wouldn’t write home about it it. We got our dessert Togo (Boston Creme Pie), it looks good and I’m sure it’s hard to mess up BCP.

Someone doesn't like mushrooms lol

[OrcaGirl]

9 hours ago, drumexpert510 said:

If you have the chance to see this show, DO IT! If you  are tired, muscle through. If you have other plans, cancel them... go see this, you will not be disappointed. Also, for any of you onboard soon, they have Connor McGregor as a guest member of the cast!

 

 

👀 The mixed-martial-arts fighter? That's a flex...

[lks93]

Encore is back to GREEN status according to CDC cruise color code status.  I believe that means no reported covid cases (crew or passengers) for at least 7 days.  Way to go!!!  Great job NCL!

[zerooveride]

Sailing towards Icy Strait Point this morning 

[zerooveride]

https://www.facebook.com/100013376401929/posts/1292646901191178/?d=n

[Wink87]

25 minutes ago, zerooveride said:

Sailing towards Icy Strait Point this morning 

Perfect weather!

28 minutes ago, zerooveride said:

https://www.facebook.com/100013376401929/posts/1292646901191178/?d=n

Loved it! Th for posting that. Gorgeous.

[Cruiser021421]

Does anyone know how many passengers are on this cruise?

Edited August 23, 2021 by Cruiser021421
spelling

[cruiservictor]

Looks like another late arrival. I believe the planned arrival time was 1PM local. It’s now approaching 1:45 and there is still a ways to go. Did they say anything about arriving late?  Was it due to bad weather?

[drumexpert510]

We are still on the way to Icy Strait, we have a late scheduled arrival of about 3:30pm ship time. There were several whale pods this morning and even a semi breach.

 

Now that we are on the inside passage area, the water is smooth like glass!

[zerooveride]

31 minutes ago, Cruiser021421 said:

Does anyone know how many passengers are on this cruise?

I believe we were told about 2600 at the Meet and Greet by the General Manager Deepak

[andychris]

Enjoy your trip
 

 

[SeaTacMike]

GOOD NEWS EVERYONE ! ! ! ! 

[drumexpert510]

So I will go ahead and share the bit of information I found out last night... The cast of Kinky Boots is onboard the Encore and when I asked “when” I was told... “soon”! 

[karatemom2]

I think NCL needs to revise their port time for Icy Strait Point. This is the third week in a row they have been very late. The first week missing the port due to a medical evac was understandable, but there have been no such issues the last two weeks and yet they are still over two hours late. If they can't make it by 1 p.m. they should just acknowledge it and change the port times for future cruises so people can plan accordingly.

[drumexpert510]

Tip: When in the observation lounge and If you are looking for a nice cocktail to drink, might I suggest an espresso martini. It is a slight up charge of $3 with the beverage package but well worth it! 
 

 

[drumexpert510]

7 minutes ago, karatemom2 said:

I think NCL needs to revise their port time for Icy Strait Point. This is the third week in a row they have been very late. The first week missing the port due to a medical evac was understandable, but there have been no such issues the last two weeks and yet they are still over two hours late. If they can't make it by 1 p.m. they should just acknowledge it and change the port times for future cruises so people can plan accordingly.

I believe it has been because of extremely rough seas when traveling west of Vancouver that slowed us down. 

[Yo Adrienne]

1 minute ago, drumexpert510 said:

Tip: When in the observation lounge and If you are looking for a nice cocktail to drink, might I suggest an espresso martini. It is a slight up charge of $3 with the beverage package but well worth it! 
 

 

Looks awesome...!  What's in it...? 

[aubreyc1988]

6 minutes ago, drumexpert510 said:

Tip: When in the observation lounge and If you are looking for a nice cocktail to drink, might I suggest an espresso martini. It is a slight up charge of $3 with the beverage package but well worth it! 
 

 

YUM, Any other good martinis onboard? 

[drumexpert510]

3 minutes ago, Yo Adrienne said:

Looks awesome...!  What's in it...? 

Espresso and vanilla vodka, iced and shaken and finished with some roasted espresso beans!

[drumexpert510]

Just now, aubreyc1988 said:

YUM, Any other good martinis onboard? 

Unfortunately, I was told no and that is because there is not a martini bar onboard and is not a focus. Now I do know you can get a nice vodka martini at Maltings, but no other speciality one has been advertised that I have seen.

 

The observation lounge is able to do an espresso martini because they have an espresso machine behind the bar. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

9 minutes ago, aubreyc1988 said:

YUM, Any other good martinis onboard? 

I'm confused.  Are there "bad" martinis? 😆

[Seany527]

Loving this review. About time there was a quality live review from someone on board 😁

Edited August 23, 2021 by Seany527

[BSR]

24 minutes ago, drumexpert510 said:

Espresso and vanilla vodka, iced and shaken and finished with some roasted espresso beans!

Looking forward to having one!

[NJLVW]

Brad, loving your live review. So glad you are all having a great time. I am vacationing (in my mind, lol) through your review. So happy to see the industry coming back. Can’t wait to cruise again. Have a great week! 

[drumexpert510]

LIVE NCL Shore Excursion review coming your way soon!