My Week with Encore-- 2/12/23-- Ahhh, Good Times

[iambumbo]

Just got off the ship yesterday--- just my two cents and as always, YMMV.

 

-- We arrived a day early and stayed at the Hilton Blue Lagoon. Very unimpressive service so that won't get a return visit from us. 

-- Embarkation was speedy. No need to arrive super early.  We showed up around 11 and had our boarding pass #19 in hand within 15-20 minutes.  Once they started announcing boarding groups, it only took less than 20 minutes to get from group 1 to 19 so why sit there for 2-3 hours?  Muster drills are indeed in person again. Unremarkable. 

-- Overall service on Encore was at a very high level. The sad, disinterested staff I saw referenced in other comments must have moved to Earth 2.0 because I didn't see them. The service alone makes for a very high level experience on this ship.

-- Yes, you only get one cabin steward visit a day. Didn't impact us at all once I saw him day 2 and asked for him to leave 4 large towels each day as we shower after pool time and in the morning. Overall he did a great job cleaning the room. We had an OK sized hump balcony in 14758. Loved the easy access to stairwells. Didn't hear any noise and avoided what appeared to be a loooong walk to more forward cabins. 

-- My wife really was not a fan of the pillows. If you're like us and prefer a cold room at night, you may not sleep well. I'd guess it only gets down to about 70 degrees. 

-- We generally do not bother with the theater shows or the comedy club so can't comment on them although I did stop in and see the magician act... briefly. There's a reason his was the only act I saw that didn't offer reservations. 

-- As for the live music, the pianist Walisson de Melo was fantastic! And so was Latin Express! The reggae and country bands were pretty good. The ADDA band and Zoe were... present.

-- We had 4 specialty dining meals.  Had planned on Cagneys twice but after having the filet at Onda, we did that twice instead along with Ocean Blue and Cagneys once. Interestingly, the main dining room staff was just as high quality as the specialties and in a few cases even better. The main dining room dinner menus still rotate daily, which I appreciated. 

-- The general wifi was just OK. Enough to check email but would take awhile to download things on social media for those who care about such things. 

-- We liked the premium drink package to get the higher end wines/champagne and water included. They sure don't advertise it but each person can get a full bottle of wine at dinner if you get thirsty.  We certainly drank our share of the Veuve champagne.

-- Play the $5 bubble craps machine in the casino if you enjoy long stretches of extremely unlikely statistical occurrences in dice rolls. 

-- The ship skipped Great Stirrup Cay due to high winds making tender impossible.  With a forecast in the low 70s, we likely enjoyed the sea day better than if we'd stopped as we got to warmer weather sooner. 

-- We enjoyed the champagne snorkel tour in St. Thomas.  Got to see some turtles and a big variety of fish and the crew were fun. 

-- In Tortola we again hit high winds and couldn't snorkel to the Baths of Virgin Gorda so they took us to two other snorkel locations which we enjoyed. NCL graciously stepped up and warned us before we left that could happen and offered a full refund if anybody didn't want to go and a half refund if we couldn't do the Baths as planned.  Refund showed up on account that afternoon already. 

-- We originally planned on a massage while in port at Puerto Plata but changed our minds when we learned thermal spa access was not included and would cost $79/pp extra. Then they gave my wife a hard time about refunding because she prepaid before boarding and claimed they'd need to make some calls. They did refund the money but didn't notify us until after the credit showed up in account. 

-- Instead we went to the newly built pool area in Taino Bay which is free to use with first come seating. Drinks and food are resort prices but hey, look what you're saving on traveling anywhere. We had a good time with music playing all day and the pool was plenty cool temperature-wise. We'd recommend, especially when they finish building a lazy river that will double the size of the facility. 

-- The days at sea around the pool are indeed survival of the fittest for chairs. There aren't enough seats so either show up before 8 or after noon. Don't sleep in till 11 and then complain if no chairs are ready but people are constantly moving so you'll find a spot if you stay patient and persistent. The kiddie play area had water dumping constantly from overhead so if you just want to get refreshed, skip the pool and spend 10 seconds in there. 

-- The observation lounge bartenders deserve a shoutout, plus convenient to get drinks for the room there if you're in a location like ours. It's funny that the whiskey bar was always packed while Cellars directly across was always empty. The sommelier at Celllars was a little gruff to start but loosened up once you'd visit a few more times. 

-- For great views, hit the laser tag area in daytime when it's not running and admire the aft views from way high. Of course the aft view on the Waterfront was also very peaceful at night.

-- It usually takes me about 2 days to learn a ship in person and then I know exactly the fastest way to get there. This time I knew which floor rooms were on but had the hardest time figuring out forward or aft. Maybe I'm just getting old.

-- If you have the chance, book the 10:30am flight home. Ship was already docked by 5am. Had no issues doing self assist leaving the room at 7:15 and were waiting for an Uber pickup by 7:45. Thru airport security by 8:30. Yes, there's a miniscule chance you won't get there on time but I'll take those odds over a guaranteed 4-5 hour wait at the airport.

 

Thanks for tolerating my snark and I'm happy to answer any questions!  I'll post some pics if I'm able after this goes up. 

[iambumbo]

[iambumbo]

[Linsuesue]

Nice review- Thanks! We will be on the Encore in April. I thought the hallways on the ship had fish on the carpets. The fish are always swimming forward towards the front of the ship to help everybody with direction. 

[iambumbo]

11 hours ago, Linsuesue said:

Nice review- Thanks! We will be on the Encore in April. I thought the hallways on the ship had fish on the carpets. The fish are always swimming forward towards the front of the ship to help everybody with direction. 

You're correct on that regarding cabin hallways as that was the case on Encore. But where I became directionally challenged was really on decks 6/7/8 which didn't have the carpeting but all the action.

[vacation44]

Thank you for taking the time to report on your experience.  

 

 

[Linsuesue]

On 2/21/2023 at 9:25 AM, iambumbo said:

You're correct on that regarding cabin hallways as that was the case on Encore. But where I became directionally challenged was really on decks 6/7/8 which didn't have the carpeting but all the action.

Ahh, I get it. Yeah, it would be so easy to put little fish plaques by the elevators or outside venues to point people in the right direction.

[Sim1979]

On 2/21/2023 at 12:18 AM, Linsuesue said:

The fish are always swimming forward towards the front of the ship to help everybody with direction. 

 

Unless you follow the only fish going in the other direction...  😜

Edited February 27, 2023 by Sim1979

[Jmill2826]

I booked this exact room! Question is the sofa a pull out or is there a drop down Pullman? I can’t find the answer anywhere. Thank you in advance!

[wncretired]

Thanks for all the info. Going on Encore in April, 2024, on a 21 day Panama Canal from Miami to Seattle. Deck 14, mid ship, very close to where you were.