NCL Encore - April 28 - May 5, 2024 Freestyle Daily

[ImpressedCruiser]

Juneau - Day 3 below. There is a time difference and we all were sent a reminder to turn our clocks back 1 hour! 

[ImpressedCruiser]

2 hours ago, tokidoki said:

Thx so much, as we sail May 12!  U did say 4600 with the crew, or plus the 1700 crew? The thx, it actually makes a big difference if the ship had 4600?  Have a blast and stay safe!

Sorry - should've clarified! They held a Q/A with the housekeeping staff and they said it was about 4600 cruisers on the Encore + approximately 1700 crew, totalling approximately ~6300. Although I could have misheard. 🙂

[tokidoki]

11 hours ago, ImpressedCruiser said:

Sorry - should've clarified! They held a Q/A with the housekeeping staff and they said it was about 4600 cruisers on the Encore + approximately 1700 crew, totalling approximately ~6300. Although I could have misheard. 🙂

Sounds right! Encores been cruising full!  Thx again for posting the dallies😍

[ImpressedCruiser]

Day 4 - Skagway - Full day; dock time was approximately at 6:45am, and all aboard time will be 7:45pm tonight. Yesterday we shared a port day in Juneau with Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam, and someone said that they had to extend their stay in Juneau as they weren't able to dock at Skagway. Not sure what happened there, but we were able to dock just fine. 

[sjack827]

Again, I'd like to thank you for your posts.  I see on the daily that they are using the Port Valet service.  I signed up for this because my flight from SEA is in the evening and I wanted to explore the city without having to worry about luggage.  Also, the information about shuttles and times are very helpful to me for planning purposes.  I hope you're having a wonderful trip -- you deserve it!!

[pdm68!]

I will be on the ship in 3.5 weeks.  Any idea if crab legs  still exists in the Garden Buffet for the Alaskan theme dinner?  I would expect with all of the cost cutting measures probably not but thought I would ask.

 

Thank you

[zqvol]

3 hours ago, pdm68! said:

I will be on the ship in 3.5 weeks.  Any idea if crab legs  still exists in the Garden Buffet for the Alaskan theme dinner?  I would expect with all of the cost cutting measures probably not but thought I would ask.

 

Thank you

Is there even an Alaskan theme dinner any longer?

[ImpressedCruiser]

22 hours ago, pdm68! said:

I will be on the ship in 3.5 weeks.  Any idea if crab legs  still exists in the Garden Buffet for the Alaskan theme dinner?  I would expect with all of the cost cutting measures probably not but thought I would ask.

 

Thank you

Don't think they have an Alaskan theme dinner anymore, as they are now doing daily specialities (i.e., one day it was salmon, one day it was roast pig, etc.). I will update this post if I see otherwise! 

[ImpressedCruiser]

Day 5 - Glacier Bay! Also attaching the Park Ranger schedule if anyone is interested.

[drumming cruisers]

Enjoying yourselves? Seen any whales? Been on any excursion? How is weather? Any snow on mountains? any pictures?

[pdm68!]

Regarding the Alaskan theme dinner,  it is posted on day 4 Daily that is at the tope of this page.  As a side note, it is also on day 5 as well as a typo.  

[tokidoki]

Hoping u have been able to see whales?  Thx

[candytks]

Thank you so much for sharing the Dailies and other information.  I've been sharing them with the May 19-26 Facebook group and everyone loves getting early info!  🙂

[ImpressedCruiser]

On 5/2/2024 at 12:26 PM, drumming cruisers said:

Enjoying yourselves? Seen any whales? Been on any excursion? How is weather? Any snow on mountains? any pictures?

It's been amazing so far ! Apologies for the delayed posts - been enjoying a really fun trip so far! Sharing a couple photos from our day in Glacier Bay. Saw a few humpback whales, and harbour seals / otters. The park rangers boarded the boat but advised that it's quite early in the season so we wouldn't see too many whales or orcas. 

 

Regarding the weather, it has been absolutely spectacular - in fact, exceptionally breathtaking. Not a rainy day on this trip so far, and clear skies when we cruised through Glacier Bay. The captain took us right up to Margerie Glacier area, did a 360 with the ship, and then turned around. The process took around an hour or so as they manoeuvred very slowly, and everyone managed to get a great view. 

 

[ImpressedCruiser]

Also sharing pictures from the White Pass Railway Excursion from our time in Skagway. Pro tip: Book from the actual website (https://wpyr.com) as it's cheaper and you board a separate train car versus the cruise passengers opting to purchase through NCL. We had access to both sides of the car during the entire ride and it was more than half empty (picture attached). We passed two other trains and those were completely full (with cruise guests), so if you want an optimal experience, I'd recommend booking from their website. 

 

 

[ImpressedCruiser]

On 5/2/2024 at 12:59 PM, pdm68! said:

Regarding the Alaskan theme dinner,  it is posted on day 4 Daily that is at the tope of this page.  As a side note, it is also on day 5 as well as a typo.  

Ah, you're right. So sorry! Confirming that they do have 'Alaskan theme' dinners still in the Garden Cafe. I meant to say that they don't have crab/seafood night anymore.. I think due to cost cutting. 

[ImpressedCruiser]

Uploading Day 6 - Ketchikan! The ship had an estimated arrival time of 7am, but the announcement said we were all cleared by 6:30am 🙂 We were sharing the dock with Regent Seven Seas, pretty cool pictures of both side by side.  

[ImpressedCruiser]

Day 7 - Victoria; also attaching important disembarkation information for those who are interested. 

[AlaskaGoer]

On 5/2/2024 at 3:11 PM, ImpressedCruiser said:

Day 5 - Glacier Bay! Also attaching the Park Ranger schedule if anyone is interested.

)

This is where having a balcony, (even better an aft) handy. 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed the views and even had our family we were traveling with over on the balcony to watch. 

[tokidoki]

Thx again for this wonderful and generous info! Your pictures look like postcards!  One show I didn’t c on the daily is Wheel of Fortune? Did I miss it? Thx  

[Adan12]

Hello! Thank you for such valuable information! I will be on this cruise next Sunday, so all this is so incredibly useful! I saw on one of the dailies that they offer a ladies night where for $39 the thermal suite spa can be used!  I was wondering what your advice would be for the photo package? Years ago we went on a cruise and it offered a much better price for all the pictures taken. 
Also did you use the beverage package and what was your opinion as to selection. I’m still on the fence as to whether upgrading to plus is worth it because of the beverage, internet and the 2 extra meals.

for the train @ Skagway advice- THANK YOU! I was about to purchase through NCL and so glad I didn’t! Since the ship docks early do you recommend reserving for like 9am? Or later? 
Also wondering what excursion you did at Ketchikan? I’m thinking of doing the lumberjack show.thank you! 

[LLBailey]

RETURN SHUTTLE TO WARD COVE:    What was the shuttle situation like in Ketchikan?  I am beginning to get worried about the return shuttle 🙂  I am hoping that as long as we are in the shuttle line before the time for the last shuttle that we will be okay.  I'd like to know what experience you and others have had...

[Faulkh]

11 minutes ago, LLBailey said:

RETURN SHUTTLE TO WARD COVE:    What was the shuttle situation like in Ketchikan?  I am beginning to get worried about the return shuttle 🙂  I am hoping that as long as we are in the shuttle line before the time for the last shuttle that we will be okay.  I'd like to know what experience you and others have had...

Would like this info also. This port in particular has me second guessing sailing with NCL for Alaska.  

[Adan12]

3 hours ago, Faulkh said:

Would like this info also. This port in particular has me second guessing sailing with NCL for Alaska.  

Me too, I read on the daily that the last shuttle is 11am- but the depart time is 12:45. On the online itinerary it says 1:15… I also saw on google that there is like 1 Uber or Lyft driver in town. And walking 7 miles is definitely not doable with kids. 

[Wulfwyn]

So we were also on this cruise.   Thanks for posting the daily. That saves me from trying to do that. 

As to the internet by day 3, Juneau day the unlimited was $49.99 down from $149.99.  So my hubby upgraded that morning.   Price never changed after that.  

As to getting into your cabin earlier on embarkation day was due to the fact most passengers got off from the Panama Canal cruise in LA.  So the ship was half full when it sailed into Seattle. 

 

Food was good.  Ate in the specialty restaurant for 5 of the days.  As Impressed Cruiser stated, make the specialty dinner reservations as soon as you get on.  It was at the social club.

 

Sunrise and sunset times listed on the daily were off.  

Make sure you are back in time for Ketchikan.  The ship might have left a few people in port.  They kept calling for a family of 4 to come to guest services. So don't know what happened.  

Make sure you turn in you Canadian custom form on time.  Guest could not go ashore until 8:20pm in Victoria.  They were calling passengers to guest service. 

 

Transfer from Airport to pier was great.  NCL has a luggage drop off point.   Drop luggage,  catch bus to pier, luggage shows up at cabin.  Get back from ship to pier was fast and easy.  Disembark at 8:13, arrived at SeaTac at 8:45.  That was the 1st shuttle to leave pier 66.  We just carried luggage off.