Live from the Encore in Alaska

[GaryWT]

Just a few mid cruise notes, first time on NCL.  Beatles Invasion is amazing, most lounge singers are excellent. Choir of Men was the worst show I have ever seen on land or see, just horrible, can’t believe they pay them.  Food at Le Bistro and Cagney was excellent, other food is totally lacking.  First the choices are bad, everything has extra stuff dumped on it.  One night 3 of 4 ordered from the every night menu, the steak could not be cut it was so tough and the fried flounder cam with an entire salad on top of it. One night my wife refused to go to a dining room as the menu was not good.  So far Alaska has not been what we hoped but tomorrow is Glacier Bay so we are hopeful.  First time with freestyle dining and although not have a set time is nice, the staff does not get to know who you are since you mostly only have someone once. We have yet to meet our room steward but the room gets cleaned.

 

It probably sounds like we are having a miserable time but we are not.  Cruising is great, sitting on the balcony is great, sitting listening to music is great, the staff is great, drinks are great, the ship is great. The advances that this ship has compared to previous cruises is amazing. Double sinks in the bathroom, large shower, do not disturb any make up room lights are all wonderful.  Alaska will be off our bucket list.  Will do a review when it is over. 

[cruiseny4life]

You know you can request the "extra stuff" not come with the meal. Then you might only have two bites before it is over, but at least you'll be happier. So, did you and the wife go to the buffet? If so...well, I'm not so sure that was a better option. Any specialty dining? You must have received at least one meal to try? 

 

I'm a bit confused. "Alaska will be off our bucket list." Does this mean you're never going to Alaska again? I'm sad if that's true.

 

How many nights? What ports of call did you/are you heading to?

 

Looking forward to your review!

[graphicguy]

5 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

You know you can request the "extra stuff" not come with the meal. Then you might only have two bites before it is over, but at least you'll be happier. So, did you and the wife go to the buffet? If so...well, I'm not so sure that was a better option. Any specialty dining? You must have received at least one meal to try? 

 

I'm a bit confused. "Alaska will be off our bucket list." Does this mean you're never going to Alaska again? I'm sad if that's true.

 

How many nights? What ports of call did you/are you heading to?

 

Looking forward to your review!

To me, Alaska is one of my favorite cruise itineraries.

 

As you point out, lots and lots of dining venues on board.  If you don’t like the menu at one place, there are a bunch of others to choose from.

 

Curious…it sounds like this is your first NCL cruise given your comments about Freestyle.  Which cruise line(s) are you coming from to try NCL?

 

LOVED Choir of Man.  But, different strokes for different folks.

 

Hope the rest of the cruise is better for you.

Edited September 15, 2022 by graphicguy

[drumming cruisers]

  We love NCL. We hated being forced to sit with others on Royal (before they added their other options) and at same table. . We are diamond on Royal and been on a lot of their ships. Food  so much better on NCL and more choices of restaurants. Especially the newer ships. My DH refuses to go on Royal anymore.  hates the food so much. of course, everyone has own opinion on food. We usually have 5 nights in specialty restaurants. 

  We go to Alaska every year. it's so beautiful. Hopefully you go on excursions, see whales and bears.  Ketchikan is interesting to walk around town and so Is Skagway. 

  We go every year in early June and love the snow, and cold weather. We have been in August twice, but not the same. Very little snow and rainier, but if we get a good deal, we go again   we love it so much. 

  We liked Choir of Man, the Beatles, and Siglo. 

Hope you enjoy rest of cruise. 

[gknep]

I was on the Encore last September and will be back on board in a couple weeks. If the MDR food is not to your taste try the Indian food in the buffet. It was outstanding. You have given the first negative review of Choir of Men I've ever seen, but like food, entertainment is subjective. I've been to Alaska several times with NCL and Glacier Bay never disappoints. Enjoy the rest of your cruise. 

[Jember]

i'm sorry to hear this is your experience so far. I was on the August 21st cruise and everything was amazing. We loved Alaska, the ship and especially Choir of Man.  I hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise.

 

[ChiefMateJRK]

11 hours ago, GaryWT said:

my wife refused to go to a dining room as the menu was not good

Menu was not good?  Specifics?

[YVRteacher]

In my opinion, the cruises leaving from Seattle do not offer the best Alaskan experiences.  If you want to really see and experience Alaska, book a two week back to back from Vancouver to Seward and back in the NCL Jewel.  Alaska is by far the most spectacular in May.

 

That said, the Encore is a beautiful ship with so much to experience.  The Encore is a way nicer ship than the Jewel.  So choose the Jewel for Alaska and choose the Encore for the cruise experience.  Cruising is what you make of it and sometimes adjusting expectations helps.

 

Choir of Man is my favourite show at sea but they are going through some bumps right now with cast changes and I wonder if this current cast hasn’t quite gelled yet?  Or perhaps 12 men singing about piña coladas and walking 500 miles just isn’t your thing?

 

Hope the last few days of your cruise are fun and the food you order better suits your taste.

[PhillyTravelBug]

I hope your time gets better on NCL sailing.  My trip on the Bliss to Alaska was one of the best trips of my life.  

 

There are definitely pros and cons to set time dining and freestyle. I don't like a specific time to eat at. As you said, the waitstaff do not get to know the guests and it is a little impersonal. However, I hate being seated with strangers unwillingly. Enjoy the beauty that is Alaska.

[GaryWT]

4 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

Menu was not good?  Specifics?

There was nothing on the entire menu she was willing to order so we went to The Local which was good. 

[GaryWT]

11 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

You know you can request the "extra stuff" not come with the meal. Then you might only have two bites before it is over, but at least you'll be happier. So, did you and the wife go to the buffet? If so...well, I'm not so sure that was a better option. Any specialty dining? You must have received at least one meal to try? 

 

I'm a bit confused. "Alaska will be off our bucket list." Does this mean you're never going to Alaska again? I'm sad if that's true.

 

How many nights? What ports of call did you/are you heading to?

 

Looking forward to your review!

Yes we have not enjoyed it as much as Caribbean cruises.  My wife would much prefer sitting on a beach or poolside vs sitting inside a lounge all day.  So 7 nights, unfortunately Skagway is closed until further notice. Sitka was raining all day, Juneau was just ok but we just went into town.  Glacier Bay was awesome today, worth the price of admission.  Basically we do no see any reason to return. 

[GaryWT]

11 hours ago, graphicguy said:

To me, Alaska is one of my favorite cruise itineraries.

 

As you point out, lots and lots of dining venues on board.  If you don’t like the menu at one place, there are a bunch of others to choose from.

 

Curious…it sounds like this is your first NCL cruise given your comments about Freestyle.  Which cruise line(s) are you coming from to try NCL?

 

LOVED Choir of Man.  But, different strokes for different folks.

 

Hope the rest of the cruise is better for you.

So Royal and Carnival are past cruises.  We liked Royal and later cruised Carnival and liked the food better than Royal.  First NCL cruise.  Maybe if Choir of Men just sang it would have been good but with 5-10 minutes of jibberish between songs it got old fast.  Leaving the theater my wife was embarrassed she had all of go to the show. 

[GaryWT]

7 hours ago, drumming cruisers said:

  We love NCL. We hated being forced to sit with others on Royal (before they added their other options) and at same table. . We are diamond on Royal and been on a lot of their ships. Food  so much better on NCL and more choices of restaurants. Especially the newer ships. My DH refuses to go on Royal anymore.  hates the food so much. of course, everyone has own opinion on food. We usually have 5 nights in specialty restaurants. 

  We go to Alaska every year. it's so beautiful. Hopefully you go on excursions, see whales and bears.  Ketchikan is interesting to walk around town and so Is Skagway. 

  We go every year in early June and love the snow, and cold weather. We have been in August twice, but not the same. Very little snow and rainier, but if we get a good deal, we go again   we love it so much. 

  We liked Choir of Man, the Beatles, and Siglo. 

Hope you enjoy rest of cruise. 

The Beatles are awesome,  Skagway is closed, told probably until 2024, Ketchikan tomorrow we have a trolley tour, our tour in Victoria was just canceled. 2 night in specialty restaurants came with the cruise and Cagney and Le Bistro were excellent. 

[GaryWT]

3 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

In my opinion, the cruises leaving from Seattle do not offer the best Alaskan experiences.  If you want to really see and experience Alaska, book a two week back to back from Vancouver to Seward and back in the NCL Jewel.  Alaska is by far the most spectacular in May.

 

That said, the Encore is a beautiful ship with so much to experience.  The Encore is a way nicer ship than the Jewel.  So choose the Jewel for Alaska and choose the Encore for the cruise experience.  Cruising is what you make of it and sometimes adjusting expectations helps.

 

Choir of Man is my favourite show at sea but they are going through some bumps right now with cast changes and I wonder if this current cast hasn’t quite gelled yet?  Or perhaps 12 men singing about piña coladas and walking 500 miles just isn’t your thing?

 

Hope the last few days of your cruise are fun and the food you order better suits your taste.

If we ever come back we would probably do a northern or southern passage. 

[Jember]

16 hours ago, GaryWT said:

Yes we have not enjoyed it as much as Caribbean cruises.  My wife would much prefer sitting on a beach or poolside vs sitting inside a lounge all day.  So 7 nights, unfortunately Skagway is closed until further notice. Sitka was raining all day, Juneau was just ok but we just went into town.  Glacier Bay was awesome today, worth the price of admission.  Basically we do no see any reason to return. 

You should have done an excursion in Juneau. The Mendenhall Glacier was beautiful to see

[ChiefMateJRK]

18 hours ago, GaryWT said:

 Leaving the theater my wife was embarrassed she had all of go to the show. 

??  She was embarrassed to have gone to one of the most popular shows in all of NCL?

[BirdTravels]

19 hours ago, GaryWT said:

So Royal and Carnival are past cruises.  We liked Royal and later cruised Carnival and liked the food better than Royal.  First NCL cruise.  Maybe if Choir of Men just sang it would have been good but with 5-10 minutes of jibberish between songs it got old fast.  Leaving the theater my wife was embarrassed she had all of go to the show. 

Too bad your wife did not enjoy the show. It is one of the most popular on NCL ships and have resulted in NCL licensing it to present on more ships. 

[graphicguy]

19 hours ago, GaryWT said:

So Royal and Carnival are past cruises.  We liked Royal and later cruised Carnival and liked the food better than Royal.  First NCL cruise.  Maybe if Choir of Men just sang it would have been good but with 5-10 minutes of jibberish between songs it got old fast.  Leaving the theater my wife was embarrassed she had all of go to the show. 

Not all entertainment is everyone's cup of tea.  I get that.

 

Choir of Man also tours around Europe and has been well reviewed. But, CATS was well reviewed and I could not stand it.  So, there you have it.

 

Choir of Man is tame.  Can't think of anything embarrassing about it.  Now, if you saw one of the performances of Rock of Ages, I might have understood.

 

NCL in general has Vegas/Broadway type shows.  They are arguably the best at cruise ship entertainment.

[GaryWT]

4 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

??  She was embarrassed to have gone to one of the most popular shows in all of NCL?

It was so bad that she was embarrassed to bring us there. If she had know we would have skipped it. 

[GaryWT]

3 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Not all entertainment is everyone's cup of tea.  I get that.

 

Choir of Man also tours around Europe and has been well reviewed. But, CATS was well reviewed and I could not stand it.  So, there you have it.

 

Choir of Man is tame.  Can't think of anything embarrassing about it.  Now, if you saw one of the performances of Rock of Ages, I might have understood.

 

NCL in general has Vegas/Broadway type shows.  They are arguably the best at cruise ship entertainment.

She was embarrassed because it was so bad.  Most of the music was fine but the entire performance was so confusing we had no clue as to what was going on. The long monologues put us to sleep. 

[GaryWT]

6 hours ago, Jember said:

You should have done an excursion in Juneau. The Mendenhall Glacier was beautiful to see

We originally had planned to go to Mendenhall but somehow we ended up not booking. 

[YVRteacher]

How was Ketchikan today?

[Wulfwyn]

How many passengers were on your cruise

[PATRLR]

15 hours ago, graphicguy said:

CATS was well reviewed and I could not stand it.  So, there you have it.

Put me on the list as one more person who just didn't "get" Cats.  I also hated it.

[GaryWT]

17 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

How was Ketchikan today?

Ketchikan was good. We did the trolley tour which showed the town and an Indian village with totem poles.  Saw them making one.  There was a nice store on the pier.