Live from the Encore July 24-31

[YVRteacher]

I have not been able to access internet or Cruise Critic at all in the past 24 hours.

 

Cruise Day 4 Part 1

 

As we were heading down the gangway this morning to get off the ship in Skagway, several couples were heading back up the gangway from their return trip into town.  They were laden with bags from the t-shirt store.  People, the stores are open all day.  There is no need to use precious sleeping time for t-shirt shopping!

Now, we always decline the pamphlets and brochures the port shopping consultants are thrusting at cruisers as they depart the ship.  One fellow today, who must be a first time cruiser, took the brochure, opened it up and exclaimed, “this is a map for diamonds, not a map for fudge!”  My kind of guy!

 

Meeting up with our friend who is a bartender on board, we headed to the seafood restaurant closest to the railroad dock.  My dad treated us to a terrific lunch (seafood for them, veggie sandwich that wasn’t on the menu for me.) It was so nice to have a leisurely meal and chat and catch up.  He had to be back on board for a staff training session and we had a shore excursion.  (Note that he had permission from his manager to dine offshore with us.  I’m not going to name the source but there is a cruise blogger who recently reported that he and his partner met up with a crew member ashore and the crew member was disciplined for doing so.  This was not on an NCL ship.)

 

We have done most of the shore excursions (except for the helicopter tours) in Skagway so I booked a non NCL tour through The Red Onion and we had a fabulous time doing the Ghosts and Good Time Girls walking tour.  Our guide was wonderful and we were a small group of 6.  This tour is offered through NCL but on our cruise it was an early morning excursion and we just don’t do mornings.  As we were exploring the tourist part of Skagway my dad decided this is his favourite Alaskan town.  Not to be confused with his favourite port: Icy Strait Point.  

[YVRteacher]

Cruise Day 4 Part 2

Our weather In Skagway included sun, wind, drizzle, fog, more sun then some heavier rain.

When we returned to the Encore in the late afternoon we were quite hungry so we hit up the Haven snacks in the Horizon lounge.  It’s a fabulous little spread of food that isn’t available elsewhere on the ship and we appreciate the variety.  We also appreciate those red velvet cake pops!  

 

We spent the time between snacks and dinner at the Haven bar.  Keshawn and Ron-Ron did magic tricks that got better with each drink I had.  I haven’t talked about Ron-Ron yet.  He is the Haven bartender.  He is kind, friendly and a drink-making wizard!  Today after I enjoyed my first Mudslide of the cruise I asked him for a drink that was chocolately but didn’t contain dairy.  He took some time to think this through then selected a round-like-a-fishbowl glass into which he put ice and soda water.  He turned to the fridge to get something out of a container.  It was pink and floppy and I thought he was putting ham in my drink.  Nope! It was a hibiscus flower!  He placed another glass on top of the flower and drizzled chocolate syrup inside.  Then the magic happened.  I saw some vanilla vodka, some crème de cacao, some Bailey’s, a dash of chocolate bitters, a spritz of Chanel No. 5 and voila.  C’est manifique.  We had a wonderful time chatting with cruisers about their days in Skagway and Juneau and everyone we talked to loved their time in both ports.  I’ll also add here that so many times on this cruise I have stepped on to an elevator and people have been discussing how wonderful the crew are on the Encore.  

For dinner we ate in the Haven restaurant.  I ordered  just a glass of Prosecco and somehow we ended up sharing and finishing the whole bottle.  Our waiter, Louie, is very sweet.  He always stops to chat and is efficient and accurate with meal service.  When we ask for small portions he communicates this to the chef.  Tonight our dinner tasted so-so.  I had the spinach and egg raviolo.  It was one big piece of pasta with an egg yolk in the middle.  My dad had the veal scallopini and he didn’t like it.  The presentation was awful and should never have left the kitchen.  We told our waiter and the maître d that it wasn’t good but they didn’t do anything.  They just said “we’ll make it up with dessert.”  Most people were ordering the surf and turf and there was so much food waste.  The family next to us ordered two lobster tails for their 6 year old.

Dessert was, of course, yummy.  My dad chose Decadent Chocolate and I savoured the OMG cheesecake.  We also both really liked our appetizers (Green Goddess Salad for me and butternut squash soup with duck confit soup for him.)

Dad’s complaint of the day= his soup bowl is too big.  It’s not that there’s too much soup it’s that the bowl itself is large and should have been smaller.  

Pillow Update:  our cabin steward has removed all but two pillows from my dad’s room.  

 

Cruise Day 4 Part 3

I have a sore throat and it’s not from Covid.  It’s from seeing Choir of Man two times this evening and woo-hooing so loudly after each performance.  For the first show we sat quite near the front and my dad gladly accepted a beer from the stage.  He turned to me and said, “I love this show!”  If you travel on the Encore be sure to see Choir of Man and arrive about 30 minutes before the posted start time.  You won’t regret it!  These guys put on an incredible show.

My dad, who is not easily impressed, remarked that it is the best show he’s ever seen.  I’ve dragged him to Wicked so many times and he so patiently sat through Elpheba  and Glinda belting out how popular they are when really he needed a group of men singing Chandelier and Hello.  

Note: mostly men take the free beers Tom the bartender pours.  About half of these men need to use the restroom partway through the show.  A cruise staff member waits at the top of the staircase and guides them to the bathroom!  NCL thinks of everything!

 

In between the two Choir of Man shows we thoroughly enjoyed Alexa on the piano in the District.  My dad had another beer there.  I think all the beer yesterday really helped him enjoy Cruise Day #4!  He is in such a great mood tonight and is pretty much gushing about what a great day it was.

Edited July 29, 2022 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

 

 

Edited July 29, 2022 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

Day 5

Cruise Day 5

If you don’t want to read a bunch of complaints, maybe skip on by this post.

We entered Glacier Bay early, early this morning.  While we were sleeping the park ranger began her scripted broadcast on the PA system.  While it wasn’t directly broadcast into cabins, it was blaring loud and in all the hallways and public spaces.  Her voice was annoying (to me) and having these announcements on for nearly 4 hours wrecked the peacefulness of Glacier Bay and I wish they were only played in specific places so people could choose whether or not they hear them.

I’ve always loved our glacier days when on the Jewel-class ships and was expecting the same today. 

 

 Not the same.

 

We had breakfast as we sailed down Tarr Inlet toward Margerie Glacier.  We saw about 50 otters and the waiters were telling other passengers they were sea lions.

At the glacier the captain did one turn before heading away.  We did get much closer than I was expecting as I had read that larger ships don’t get as close.  There were not a lot of icebergs today so that likely made the difference.  As we were heading up to the Haven sun deck 4 different kids ran into me.  4!  On this cruise the Haven is at 100% capacity and there are hundreds of kids.  This has had a huge impact on our Haven experience, including use of the lounges, the pool and hot tubs always being full, loud meal times and just generally creating a spring-break like feeling.

It started pouring so we went to the Haven lounge.  Families were on their walkie talkies or face timing other family members back home.  It was loud and annoying.  We just went back to the cabin and spent the next few hours there.  Our balcony floods when it rains as there is no drainage so it’s a massive puddle today and actually we have not been able to use it during this cruise.

Johns Hopkins glacier was pristine and gorgeous in May and today it was mostly black.  Several seals were sprawled on bergy bits and we were treated to whales today.  This is the first time we’ve seen whales in Glacier Bay.

Maybe it was the weather, maybe it was the crowds or maybe I was expecting too much but today was not a spectacular glacier viewing day.  The Haven was not a nice place to be and the Encore did nothing to make it special like the Jewel does.  If you are going on the Encore and this is your first time seeing glaciers you will still be impressed but for us today was “meh.”

More complaining coming up!

So I am sleeping in what is the living room of the cabin.  During the day the bed is a couch.  I wanted to take a nap today and there was nowhere for me to curl up and have a cozy snooze.  As a couch it tilts to the stern and there are no blankets to be found.

For dinner tonight we had made a dining reservation with our butler (as previously mentioned that’s how it’s done on the Encore) and I told him I would need a vegetarian meal.  Today I went to the concierge desk in the Haven to try to change the time for later as the butler did not reserve the time we wanted.  The time could not be changed. I tried to confirm with the staff member at the concierge desk that a vegetarian meal would be provided.  She called the food and beverage department and they told her that I needed to arrange a vegetarian meal in advance.  I told her I told the butler 5 days ago I would need a vegetarian meal.  In the end we cancelled our reservation for tonight.  Even though we did not receive a letter in the cabin we were told today that on the Encore the free latitudes meal for Cagney’s can be used at Onda or Ocean Blue as well.  That works out well for us.  I’m just annoyed with how the butler did not follow through and how the staff on the Encore were not willing to provide a vegetarian meal tonight.  This is the first time in hundreds of nights with NCL that we have encountered this.

When the afternoon snacks were delivered today it was another butler who said our butler is now on sick leave.

Now I feel badly for our butler and I hope he is okay!

 

We did have a terrific lunch in the Haven.  I asked for a plate of raw vegetables with cheese and crackers and the maître d went and made it herself.  I know this because when she brought it to the table I said, “thank you-this looks lovely and  it’s exactly what I wanted.  Please thank the person who made this for me!” She smiled and put up her hand and said “I did!”  

It’s interesting because we have have so many moments like this and also some really crummy moments.  I try to let the good outweigh the bad but my dad can’t do that.  He loved last night and had such a fabulous day yesterday but today he is back to saying that he won’t come on this ship again.

There is nothing to do this afternoon so we check out the hot tubs.  Pool deck hot tubs are full.  Haven indoor hot tub is full.  Haven pool deck hot tubs are full.  We try to play Scrabble but there are only two boards in the Haven and neither of them are on the shelf.

So here I am on a sea day writing out my complaints.  I think it’s time for an adult beverage.

Right now it is a torrential rain storm.  It’s 4:00pm and the Freestyle Daily says something about outdoor poolside games.  

Pillow update:  all 8 pillows are back.

Dad update: my dad is enjoying going through the Freestyle Daily each night and circling the typos.  He also likes wandering through the Garden Cafe and pointing out the misspellings on the food labels.  Who needs a planned activity when you can find entertainment like this??

 

There were literally no activities this afternoon so we walked around the ship to get some steps in.  People were eating and drinking.  Bars were packed and the observation lounge was buzzing with conversation.  We tried to go to the Haven bar but it was 3 persons deep so we went to the District brew house.  I’m not going to get the name of my drink right but it had habanero lime syrup and a spicy rim.  6 hours later and my lips are still burning!  My dad loved his Alaskan amber ale.

For dinner we ate in the Manhattan dining room.  The Haven has one vegetarian entree and I didn’t really like it yesterday so that’s why we ended up in the Manhattan.  I would rate the meal as a C+.  I think the ship ran out of basil.  The dining room dress code does not seem to be enforced (not that I care and not that it makes a difference to me at all.  I’m just noting that it was extremely casual.). Note to our waiter: when a woman asks for a half portion of food you do not ask her if she is on a diet!!!!!

 

Best part of the day?  Kinky Boots!!  We saw it on Broadway the year that it was nominated for all those Tony awards and we saw it with Billy Porter in the role of Lola.  This version was slightly slow to start but picked up steam and was definitely worthy of the standing ovation.  The drag queens stole the show, the costumes are amazing and the performers provided a great evening of entertainment.  People were coming in 10 minutes before start time and could not find a seat.  Arrive early if you’re planning on seeing Kinky Boots and maybe do some squats because even though the theatre seats are comfortable 105 minutes are a long time to sit.

This is my 4th cruise with NCL since the restart and it’s the first one where NCL has had a full range of entertainment options.  In my opinion the evening entertainment options are A+.  You know the line up is great when there isn’t time to see and do everything and you need to choose from a variety of awesome venues and performers.  This is where the Encore shines.  I know it’s Thursday but I think I have a little Man Crush Monday on 7/12 of the Choir of Man.

 

Dad complaints of the day: -there are too many instructions on the hair dryer

-he asked for a half order of fettuccine Alfredo with shrimp for dinner and they gave him a half order of the shrimp part but not the pasta part

-the glaciers were dirty

-there were too many teenagers at the Haven bar

-someone brought a baby to Kinky Boots

-the walk from our cabin to the elevators is too long and he “despises” it.  

 

From the teacher librarian:

Has anyone read Andy Weir’s newest book?  Any sci-fi fans out there?

 

[YVRteacher]

[YVRteacher]

[mauitiki]

Great review!

[weltek]

10 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

 

From the teacher librarian:

Has anyone read Andy Weir’s newest book?  Any sci-fi fans out there?

 

I've been quietly reading along to this thread (thank you!) and figured now I'd now speak up because a) Your dad complained about the glaciers being dirty and I think that takes the cake, and b) yes, I did the Audible version of Hail Mary and well, it was different. I enjoyed it, but definitely not as much as The Martian. I'm not a huge sci-fi fan, so it was a bit of a stretch for me. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

Glaciers are too dirty!!  🤣😁😆

 

ETA: has anybody told you recently that you're a very good daughter? 😎 

Edited July 29, 2022 by ChiefMateJRK

[gvgseg]

13 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Cruise Day 4 Part 3

I have a sore throat and it’s not from Covid.  It’s from seeing Choir of Man two times this evening and woo-hooing so loudly after each performance.  For the first show we sat quite near the front and my dad gladly accepted a beer from the stage.  He turned to me and said, “I love this show!”  If you travel on the Encore be sure to see Choir of Man and arrive about 30 minutes before the posted start time.  You won’t regret it!  These guys put on an incredible show.

Leaving in 3 hours to fly up to Seattle to board on Sunday! 

 

Is the Choir of Man show the same every time or does it change with each show? Which nights are the shows on? I am trying to rearrange my specialty dining meals around the show and port nights.

[Tippyton]

Rain isn't unusual in Alaska.  And sorry the glacier butlers did not tidy them up for you.  [ In poker that's called a tell.]

[Jac199]

16 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Dad update: my dad is enjoying going through the Freestyle Daily each night and circling the typos.

I literally laughed out loud at this! 🤣

 

I'm sorry the day was kinda lousy, but I'm glad you didn't sugar coat it. Life is not all rainbows, lollipops, and unicorns. I want to hear about the good and the bad. It allows one to set realistic expectations.

[hello]

Thank you, thank you, thank you ... and your Dad too!!

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 hours ago, Jac199 said:

Life is not all rainbows, lollipops, and unicorns.

I've been on a number of cruises.  I've yet to be on one where the entire time wasn't rainbows, lollipops and unicorns.

[YVRteacher]

10 hours ago, gvgseg said:

Leaving in 3 hours to fly up to Seattle to board on Sunday! 

 

Is the Choir of Man show the same every time or does it change with each show? Which nights are the shows on? I am trying to rearrange my specialty dining meals around the show and port nights.

I hope you have a great cruise! This week Choir of Man was on Monday and Wednesday at 7:30pm and 10:00pm.  Please let me know what you think of it!

[YVRteacher]

Day 6

 

Slept well.

Ate well.

Relaxed.

Won brain teaser trivia.

Gave away the prize.

We arrived in Ketchikan at 7:00am.  The last shuttle from Ward Cove to town was at 9:45am and the last shuttle returning to the ship from Ketchikan was at 11:00am.   Today we decided that this is not the best itinerary for a first-time Alaskan cruise (this is our 13th time to Alaska and we do prefer longer hours in port.) For the first time ever we stayed on the ship.  There was no one in the hot tubs so we spent a little bit of time up on deck 19.  The hot tubs are lukewarm at best and full of flies.  Zero jets work.  If I was in a regular balcony cabin and had paid $1500 for this trip I wouldn’t care.  For what we paid I care.  I didn’t last too long in the lukewarm tub because there were so many flies and particles floating about I felt like I was in a bowl of Gnat and Skin soup.  It was nice to be up on the sundeck in the sunshine with no one else there though.

We had lunch in the Haven which was yet again pretty much ruined by screaming kids and waitstaff egging them on.  We did speak to the maître d and told her what we thought.  I’m not expecting a change for this cruise though.

Lunch service was so slow that we missed our scheduled Sail and Sustain mixology class (latitudes perk.) We’ll catch it another time.

There are now many, many people coughing, sneezing and blowing their noses with gusto so we are avoiding elevators as much as possible and scooching away from any mouth borne particulates.  

This is the first ship we’ve been on where elevators are an issue.  There simply aren’t enough of them to handle the capacity of people on board.  We tend to hang back and wait rather than squishing in. I think I had a mini panic attack today because we were in an elevator and a huge group stuffed themselves in so I leapt out like a gazelle being chased by a leopard.  Note: I look nothing like a gazelle so that simile doesn’t really work.

 

The NCL app on my phone hasn’t updated so it still shows Thursday and a Glacier Bay schedule even though it is Friday and we were in Ketchikan.  Internet manager told me to restart my phone. I had already tried that with no success.  Billion dollar ship and the app has the incorrect day, date and Freestyle Daily.

 

This afternoon we watched the last little bit of Deal or No Deal (not on purpose; we were trying to get a seat for trivia) then did world travel trivia and stuck around for Win, Lose or Draw.  We definitely prefer games in lounges like the Spinnaker lounge or the Bliss lounge rather than the Atrium.  We tried a few times to have drinks in the Haven bar with Ron-Ron but it was always full so we went to the Observation lounge bar.  Great team of bartenders there!  I love watching bartenders do their thing.

 

When I was booking the dinner reservations for this trip I booked Los Lobos because I had enjoyed it so much on the Bliss.  Well, we ended having the best experience there tonight.  My dad doesn’t like spice (he can’t tolerate anything even a little bit spicy) so the chef made him the jumbo shrimp skewer with no spice.  I have a photo with our waiter holding the skewer and my dad grinning like a little boy who just got a new bike.  Our food was superb and when my dad was thanking the waiter he got a little teary.  He said it was the best meal he’s ever had on NCL.  The chef came out to talk to us and he is from Mexico.  We switched our reservation for tomorrow to Los Lobos and we are hoping our friend on board gets permission to dine with us.  

 

For the first time this cruise we had time in our busy schedule (my dad circles the Freestyle Daily each day and I just go with what he wants to do.  We have similar tastes and enjoy the same entertainment so this works fine) to take in the Levity Comedy show in the Social.  Lenny Schmidt kind of tanked.  He made so many jokes where he then had to tell the audience that that was the joke and it was time to laugh.  He kept saying what a weird crowd it was but his jokes were tired and a lot were about Covid.  It was a short show.  He gets off the ship on Sunday.

 

Battle of the Sexes and The Perfect Couple were held in the atrium and there was an enormous standing-room-only crowd for both.  We laughed until we had tears.  

 

I picked up a future cruise brochure for 2023-2024 cruises and I circled future cruises the way my dad circles activities in the Freestyle Daily.  I find many desirable options and hand the brochure to my dad.  He says, “2024?! I won’t even be alive then!”  Picturing those artifacts in the science lab in high school I tell him all the beer he drinks is preserving him.

Edited July 30, 2022 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

[YVRteacher]

My dad is asleep so I’ll ask him for more comments tomorrow.  He had a wonderful day so there are no complaints about NCL.  
However, while putting on his shoes today he did get grumbly about his feet being too far away and this evening he said they don’t make Levis jeans the way they used to.  

[YVRteacher]

Dinner at Los Lobos

 

[spacepotatoes]

Thanks for a very enjoyable review, @YVRteacher!

 

I actually read Project Hail Mary during our Disney Fantasy cruise at the beginning of July. It was just ok for me. I loved The Martian and Hail Mary didn't measure up to that. I did enjoy it but some parts of it were just too much. 

 

Looking forward to reading about the rest of your cruise 🙂

[yesngo]

What is that lovely square with avocado from Los Lobos?  Looks delicious!

[drumming cruisers]

42 minutes ago, yesngo said:

What is that lovely square with avocado from Los Lobos?  Looks delicious!

I was wondering the same thing. 

[YVRteacher]

Hi!  It’s the Nopales salad.  It’s sooooooo good!

 

[gvgseg]

Welcome back!

[graphicguy]

On 7/30/2022 at 12:34 AM, ChiefMateJRK said:

I've been on a number of cruises.  I've yet to be on one where the entire time wasn't rainbows, lollipops and unicorns.

Wait….what?