Great ship, good trip

Item: Norwegian Encore
Rating: 4.4
Author: c5harris

Norwegian Encore Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

c5harris

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 51

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: January 12, 2020

Ship: Norwegian Encore

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 15170

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

New ship, but most of the bugs seem worked out. While heavily populated (4000 guests!) never really seemed over crowded. Elevators are a challenge at peak times, especially in fore (so go to the aft ones and walk a little more). Would take this ship again.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Not much waiting. Hard to hear the zones being called, but overall very good.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

The food was great. Plenty of variety. The 24-hour food place (The Local) is ok and was the only “meh” in our opinion. Cagneys was excellent, and the 3 main dining areas (Manhattan room, Savor, Taste) were very good. The buffet had plenty of choices, including Taste of India and various oriental dishes. We don’t do buffet much, but we’re impressed. Didn’t try the other specialties, but they looked good too.

Cagney's Steakhouse

4 out of 5

Great food, excellent service. Made for a great birthday dinner.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

We don’t use these much if at all. Pool deck was crowded but that’s just how it goes.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Choir of Man— excellent and entertaining! Didn’t see Kinky Boots due to performer illness. Piano player (Antonio?) was great until he lost his voice due to illness (there’s a theme here). Guns n Rojas was entertaining and fun to listen to. Beatles tribute band was great as well. Comedy show that we attended was on the mark. Great picks for entertainment!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Staff was great, ship was clean. Our room was well taken care of.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Cabin was great. First cruise I’ve had a shower that I didn’t feel claustrophobic in, and I like caves! Cabin was clean. We asked for a eggshell topper for my wife, and it was there within the hour! Plenty of room for us.

Ship tip

Observation deck on 15 is a great place to relax (until everyone else finds it). With 4000 folks, must be patient — remember, vacation!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

3 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

4 out of 5

Arrived at 6 pm, so was dark when we disembarked. Didn’t do an excursion, just walked around Old Town some. Found a nice little restaurant (Don Takos), great food and service.

Thumbs Up 0

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

3 out of 5

Went on excursion, Discover St Thomas and Magens Bay. Disappointing. Never stopped for pictures until Mountaintop Gift Shop. Magens Bay is crowded. Then dropped off downtown to shop for an hour or so. Did not enjoy.

Thumbs Up 0

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

4 out of 5

Went on Best of Tortolla — had a great tour guide who stopped several times for pictures and gave history and details of the island. Long Bay beach was really nice.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Smooth, no issues at all. A little confusing with the bus transportation back to airport but worked out well.

Traveler Photos

5 Comments

Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

Thumbs Up 0

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T12345 2 years ago

Cabin 15170 - I'm a little concerned about the noise above. Has anyone stayed in the room had issues with outside or deck noise above? Is there an overhang above the balcony? My only hope as I'm travelling to Alaska in Oct, there might be less noise from the pool deck above? Thank you

Thumbs Up 0

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fele 4 years ago

Thanks for not complaining about other cruisers being on the ship with you. Seems to be a theme.

Thumbs Up 1

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iamkates 4 years ago

I'm happy to read this review!

Thumbs Up 1

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cruisereckoning 4 years ago

So glad you enjoyed.

Thumbs Up 1

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