Relaxing Panama Canal cruise

Norwegian Encore Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 28

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Norwegian Encore

18 Night Panama Canal Mexico & Costa Rica (Miami To San Francisco)

Sail date: April 17, 2022

Ship: Norwegian Encore

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 11196

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Ship was only at half capacity so there was plenty of opportunities to attend the shows and make dinner reservations. Very clean!

Embarkation

4 out of 5
Very slow embarkation. Signed up for a check in time and had to wait in a Disneyland type line for over 2 hours.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
We had very good experiences with the specialty restaurants. Cagney, Los Lobos, and the Q were all exceptional. We ate a lot at the Local Bar which is an included venue and food was good.

The Local

5 out of 5

Very good and nice location

Q Texas Smokehouse

5 out of 5

Very good food and nice atmosphere. The Chattanooga band was great.

Cagney's Steakhouse

5 out of 5

Excellent

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Of course we hung out at the pool and had plenty of space. We drove the race cars $15./pp but we’ll worth the fun. We paid for 1 hour in the galaxy pavilion and all the virtual reality experiences were so real. All areas were cleaned regularly and we enjoyed our experiences.

Observation Lounge

5 out of 5

Fantastic views and comfortable seating.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Encore Speedway

5 out of 5

So much fun!

Children's Programs

No children, just 2 adults

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Our room steward was Moh. I can’t say enough great things about him. When he asked me what I needed I told him a towel animal. From day 2 thru day 17 I had a surprise every evening. He folded the clothing items my husband left scattered about. All our wait staff learned our drink orders and food favorites. Very friendly and attentive.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Very clean and elevators were ideally located.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
It was called a club balcony suite. Double sinks in the bathroom and large shower were nice.

Ship tip

Volunteer or sign up for everything! Pool games, trivia, dance lessons, and ship games put on by the staff.

Ports of call

Miami, Florida Did not visit port

Just flew in and went straight to the ship

Cartagena, Colombia

5 out of 5
Party Bus! Was so fun and a great start to our vacation.

Panama Canal Transit

5 out of 5

Panama City, Panama

5 out of 5
We went on a ferry boat excursion through one set of locks and it was well worth the time and money.

Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica

5 out of 5
Went to Pura Vida botanical gardens and it was beautiful. David and Cindy have done a beautiful job with the grounds.

Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala

5 out of 5
Went local beer tasting excursion and had fun with the group on our bus. Paired the beer with tasty snacks.

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

5 out of 5
Tequila tasting excursion was nice. The shopping part was a stop at a local jewelry shop for twenty minutes that I can’t get back. I was thinking more of locals selling their wears, not high priced jewelry.

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

5 out of 5
Been to Cabo several times so we just walked the pier and little shops. Purchased a few trinkets.

San Pedro (Los Angeles), California

5 out of 5
Grew up in LA so we stayed on the ship

San Francisco, California

5 out of 5
We live approximately 2 hours away. We thought about the Alcatraz trip but it was full so we stayed on board.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
United airlines canceled our original flight we booked through NCL was canceled and changed to 10pm. The transfer we paid for through NCL would take us at 8:30am and we’d be there all day. We chose to forgo the airfare and transfer and found another way home. It just wasn’t safe for us or our family member picking us up after midnight. No compensation nor refund.

Traveler Photos

Observation lounge view of the locks 11196 Party bus! View from ship Towel animal Pura Vida botanical gardens View from ship
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