Questions for Alaska Cruise on NCL Encore Early June

[NewToCruising-102023]

My family just booked our very first cruise.  We're going to Alaska on NCL's Encore the first week of June.  I have some questions.

 

We have onboard credit from our travel agent.  I know this can be used for specialty dining, drinks, spa and on-ship shopping, but can it be used for the go karts, arcade and galaxy pavilion?  Can it be used on the room service delivery charge?

 

I imagine our only possible swimming day will be embarkation day.  Knowing that the luggage and room won't be available until later in the day, I'm thinking I'll have swimsuits for our kids in a backpack that stays with us when we board.  Is there a changing area or large enough bathroom near the pool we can use for changing in and out of suits?  Are towels available poolside?  Do you have to rent them or check them out?

 

I'd take any advice for a smooth embarkation experience with as little stress as possible with kids!

 

Thank you!

[www3traveler]

6 hours ago, NewToCruising-102023 said:

My family just booked our very first cruise.  We're going to Alaska on NCL's Encore the first week of June.  I have some questions.

 

We have onboard credit from our travel agent.  I know this can be used for specialty dining, drinks, spa and on-ship shopping, but can it be used for the go karts, arcade and galaxy pavilion?  Can it be used on the room service delivery charge?

 

I imagine our only possible swimming day will be embarkation day.  Knowing that the luggage and room won't be available until later in the day, I'm thinking I'll have swimsuits for our kids in a backpack that stays with us when we board.  Is there a changing area or large enough bathroom near the pool we can use for changing in and out of suits?  Are towels available poolside?  Do you have to rent them or check them out?

 

I'd take any advice for a smooth embarkation experience with as little stress as possible with kids!

 

Thank you!

I would doubt that it will be warm enough to swim sailing out of Seattle.

 

Depending on your choice of hotel for the night before, I would use the morning to explore the Waterfront area of Seattle and board a little later but by 2 P.M.

The Seattle Aquarium is on Pier 59, The Seattle Ferris Wheel is on Pier 57 and the Washington State Ferry Terminal is on Pier 52.  It is about a 30 minute ferry ride to Bainbridge Island (one way) and about an hour to Bremerton and the Navy Shipyard (one way).

 

Enjoy your cruise and your time in Seattle.

 

[vacation44]

8 hours ago, NewToCruising-102023 said:

My family just booked our very first cruise.  We're going to Alaska on NCL's Encore the first week of June.  I have some questions.

 

We have onboard credit from our travel agent.  I know this can be used for specialty dining, drinks, spa and on-ship shopping, but can it be used for the go karts, arcade and galaxy pavilion?  Can it be used on the room service delivery charge?

 

 

Yes, you can use your OBC for everything you noted.

[BirdTravels]

9 hours ago, NewToCruising-102023 said:

My family just booked our very first cruise.  We're going to Alaska on NCL's Encore the first week of June.  I have some questions.

 

We have onboard credit from our travel agent.  I know this can be used for specialty dining, drinks, spa and on-ship shopping, but can it be used for the go karts, arcade and galaxy pavilion?  Can it be used on the room service delivery charge?

 

I imagine our only possible swimming day will be embarkation day.  Knowing that the luggage and room won't be available until later in the day, I'm thinking I'll have swimsuits for our kids in a backpack that stays with us when we board.  Is there a changing area or large enough bathroom near the pool we can use for changing in and out of suits?  Are towels available poolside?  Do you have to rent them or check them out?

 

I'd take any advice for a smooth embarkation experience with as little stress as possible with kids!

 

Thank you!

Welcome to Cruise Critic!  

 

Alaska is one of our favorite cruise destinations and we go there every year. 

 

Yes. OBC can be used for go karts, arcade and the Galaxy Pavilion.

 

Room service breakfast has a $4.95 flat fee delivery charge and the rest of the day $9.95 (unless you are in a Haven suite where it is complimentary). Order as much as you want for one delivery charge. 

 

Seriously, for kids, every day is a swimming day 🙂. The pools, kids splash zone, and water slides, are heated (heated = pool temperatures not a bathtub). We sailed in the first week of June last year and the temps were 67, 75, and 70 in our Alaskan ports which is pool weather. If you're sailing later in June, it will be shorts and t-shirt weather in the ports. 

 

There are public restrooms on the pool deck. It is a public restroom like at home (not a locker room), but everyone will be changing clothes if they are going swimming. You are correct, your bags will not be at your room until 2:30ish, so carry your swimwear in your backpack or wear it under your clothes.

 

There is a towel station on the pool deck. You sign out (give them your room number) towels and return it to the towel station when you're done. 

 

Watch for changes in check-in dates. Right now, check in is exactly 21 days prior to departure, 12 midnight eastern time (9:00 pm Pacific Time) when your MyNCL countdown clock hits 21. Sign up for an early check-in time (9:30 am) and arrive at the port early (I assume that you'll be driving). Get through security and check in before it gets too crowded. 

 

Embarkation Day:

1) Security, Check-in, Waiting Room (you want to go all the way to the back of the waiting area beyond the bathrooms and sit near the entrance door (which is where boarding will start).

2) Once on the ship, you can make entertainment reservations The Social (Deck 6 mid-ship) and dining reservations in Teppanyaki (Deck 6 mid-ship). 

3) Now you have a choice for lunch, Taste or Savor Main Dining Room (Deck 6 aft) for a sit down, served lunch. Or the buffet (Deck 16 forward). I would do the buffet, but go soon after boarding to avoid crowds. Finish lunch with a soft serve ice cream cone (that's what us big kids do)

4) After lunch, head down to the Splash Academy (Deck 5 midship) and enroll the kiddos in the kids club. Have the kids attend the club on embarkation night so that they will make friends with the other kids on the cruise. After that, no matter how shy, they will want to go to the club for a few hours a day, giving the parents some time on their own to enjoy and relax. 

5) Then it is off to the pool and water slides. 

 

For a peak at the Encore and this year's trip (which I think is identical to next year's itinerary), check out my live post on the link below. Post #37 has some information on the Splash Academy kids club. 

 

 

Consolidated Freestyle Daily 

 

Edited October 22, 2023 by BirdTravels

[BirdTravels]

Example Room Service Menus from the Encore. 

 

Breakfast $4.95 + 20% gratuity (per delivery, as much as you want)

All Day $9.95 + 20% gratuity (per delivery, as much as you want)

 

 

 

[NewToCruising-102023]

Wow!  Thank you so much!  This is so much more info than I expected and so much appreciated!!  Bird's recommended timeline for embarkation sounds perfect!  

 

If we snag a 9:30 check-in, what time does the ship actually start to board?  Just trying to gauge how much kid entertainment I need to have if we end up waiting a few hours between check in and boarding.

 

At check in, I see in Bird's post that there is a sign about no beverages.  Can you have a water bottle with you?  My kids and I always bring our reusable water bottles with us, everywhere we go.  It would be hard to forgo it. 

[BirdTravels]

30 minutes ago, NewToCruising-102023 said:

Wow!  Thank you so much!  This is so much more info than I expected and so much appreciated!!  Bird's recommended timeline for embarkation sounds perfect!  

 

If we snag a 9:30 check-in, what time does the ship actually start to board?  Just trying to gauge how much kid entertainment I need to have if we end up waiting a few hours between check in and boarding.

 

At check in, I see in Bird's post that there is a sign about no beverages.  Can you have a water bottle with you?  My kids and I always bring our reusable water bottles with us, everywhere we go.  It would be hard to forgo it. 

Haven/suites boarding usually starts around 11:00. Priority boarding (top tier latitudes and people who purchase priority boarding) 11:15. General boarding by group number around 11:30. 
 

It takes a bit to get through security and the on site checking. So the wait is usually not too long. When we sailed last month, we showed up around 9:45 (Uber’ed from our hotel). 
 

No drinks beyond security. You can have empty bottles if you want. You can ask a bartender to fill them or use a clean cup to get water from the buffet dispensers and pour it into your water bottles (do not stick your water bottles directly on the dispenser). 

Edited October 22, 2023 by BirdTravels

[libtrek]

You can have an EMPTY water bottle. Just make sure they can see it’s obviously empty. You will love Alaska. If I were you, I would start thinking about what you want to do in the ports. Some of the excursions are pricey but bucket list type items. Check previous reviews for ideas. Other tips? Bring magnets (pinch clips or hook) for the metal walls, bring OTC meds like pepto, bandaids, aspirin (generally N/A on the ship). I like those lightweight string back bags for shore excursions, you can get a bunch of them for cheap on Amazon. In fact, put in “cruise accessories” on Amazon for more ideas. Those shrinky gloves are good for glacier days and fit in a pocket. We’re not the experts like the Birds, but feel free to ask anything. Mary

[ChiefMateJRK]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

3) Now you have a choice for lunch, Taste or Savor Main Dining Room (Deck 6 aft) for a sit down, served lunch. Or the buffet (Deck 16 forward). I would do the buffet, but go soon after boarding to avoid crowds. Finish lunch with a soft serve ice cream cone (that's what us big kids do)

Add the Local into that mix.  That's generally our choice, as it opens before Taste or Savor.

[skittl1321]

How does the weather in early June compare to early October?  I honestly don't know, but having been on the Encore the week of 10/8- there were people in the pool every day they were open (closed our first sea day due to very rough seas, and glacier bay due to freezing rain.)

I did the water slides after Ketchikan, it was a very very windy, but warm 50 degrees out. (I think that was our warmest day).  The water in the slides have heated water, though they were not open every day, they were open many of them. 

 

Towels were available poolside, you wrote your cabin number on a clipboard when taking them, but it was not attended when I checked mine out.

Edited October 23, 2023 by skittl1321

[Traveller1212]

I recommend heading up to the GoKarts ASAP to book your times, especially if you want the double karts (they only run a few times during the cruise)

Also recommend the Laser Tag area for great viewing/photos in Glacier Bay, was much less crowded than other areas - and was a great place to let kids run around, play hide & seek, etc - we went there many times and never saw anyone actually doing Laser Tag 🤷🏻‍♀️ 

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by Traveller1212

[BirdTravels]

23 hours ago, libtrek said:

You can have an EMPTY water bottle. Just make sure they can see it’s obviously empty. You will love Alaska. If I were you, I would start thinking about what you want to do in the ports. Some of the excursions are pricey but bucket list type items. Check previous reviews for ideas. Other tips? Bring magnets (pinch clips or hook) for the metal walls, bring OTC meds like pepto, bandaids, aspirin (generally N/A on the ship). I like those lightweight string back bags for shore excursions, you can get a bunch of them for cheap on Amazon. In fact, put in “cruise accessories” on Amazon for more ideas. Those shrinky gloves are good for glacier days and fit in a pocket. We’re not the experts like the Birds, but feel free to ask anything. Mary

This is the kind of things available on the Joy last week

[cruiseny4life]

47 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

This is the kind of things available on the Joy last week

Wow! Maybe I'm crazy, but those prices don't actually seem terrible. I would have expected a lot more. A tiny bottle of cough syrup in Vegas cost us $20 a few weeks ago when I decided to get sick on the strip.

[laudergayle]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

when I decided to get sick on the strip.

And….the “plot” thickens.  Can’t wait to start reading your LIVE from the PR1MA TA, Barcelona to NYC.  And why exactly, Haven cruising is now favored over roughing it with a backpack in summer heat in the belly of the Grand Canyon.  🤔

 

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by laudergayle

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Wow! Maybe I'm crazy, but those prices don't actually seem terrible. I would have expected a lot more. A tiny bottle of cough syrup in Vegas cost us $20 a few weeks ago when I decided to get sick on the strip.

Of course, there is a CVS on the strip.  They don't have those on NCL ships.  I'm not even sure that they have those in Alaska. 😀

[libtrek]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

This is the kind of things available on the Joy last week

Well, color me surprised. That’s quite an assortment. I use a kids pencil pouch and put as much as I can in snack size bags. I just refill after trips.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, libtrek said:

Well, color me surprised. That’s quite an assortment. I use a kids pencil pouch and put as much as I can in snack size bags. I just refill after trips.

We carry a makeup bag with assorted OTC meds. Never know when you'll get a headache, bug bite, or eat something that just doesn't agree with you. (Actually, those happen on most cruises).  

Edited October 24, 2023 by BirdTravels

[cruiseny4life]

On 10/23/2023 at 6:46 PM, laudergayle said:

And….the “plot” thickens.  Can’t wait to start reading your LIVE from the PR1MA TA, Barcelona to NYC.  And why exactly, Haven cruising is now favored over roughing it with a backpack in summer heat in the belly of the Grand Canyon.  🤔

 

 

24 days until we cruise...trying to hold out until at least check-in day!! It's so hard to contain my excitement! Who would have thought. Fifth cruise. Still as excited as the first!! Maybe more because now I know I love cruising. Also, only eight days until your cruise? I'm excited for you too!!!

[laudergayle]

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

24 days until we cruise...trying to hold out until at least check-in day!! It's so hard to contain my excitement! Who would have thought. Fifth cruise. Still as excited as the first!! Maybe more because now I know I love cruising. Also, only eight days until your cruise? I'm excited for you too!!!

YES…we fly to LA in 8 days and I am just as excited as if this was the first.  I’m tempted to do a LIVE so you can join me on our adventure.  

[mexicobob]

Much more exciting things to do on the ship soon after boarding than the swimming pool. MUCH more exciting things to do in Seattle before boarding. 
Do not be expecting a large pool by any stretch of the imagination. On some ships I would classify them as a large bathtub. Never been on The Encore so not sure.

 

If you board early there will be crowds, lines, chaos and stress. Been there, done that, and do not do that anymore. I will never fight for a table at embarkation lunch again on a mass market ship.

If you have a nice lunch at one of the excellent restaurants in Seattle and then board about 2 there will be no lines, chaos or stress. Highly recommend it. 

 

Will also recommend doing any kind of aerial tour at some point in Alaska. Helicopter, float plane, etc. Very expensive and you need to make reservations now. Landing on a glacier with five other people several hundred miles from the nearest human is something you remember on your deathbed. Can not recommend this high enough.