The experience of going through the Panama Canal is awe inspiring. The Encore was a disappointment as it is too big and the staff hasn't figured out how to manage the number of passengers in a good way. Lots of sickness onboard during the last five days and patients were taken off the ship at every port. Make sure you buy supplemental insurance as the med center considers itself an emergency room and charges accordingly.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Embarked from old terminal not the new NCL terminal, that was a downer.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Manhattan Room was very disappointing as there was no dance floor or live band/singer to dance to. The entire areas was filled with tables. Food was OK in dinning rooms and buffett. Le Bistro was excellent. Would appreciate a dress code in the Manhattan room in addidtion to Cagneys and Le Bistro.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Enjoyed the race track, a fun experience.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
A Choir of Men was a big hit. High energy, great songs and humor. Comedy Club was very nice. Reservations were a must as seating is limited and ship capacity is huge. Most other "entertainment" was OK. No cultural lectures or intellectual offerings regarding countries we stopped at, except shopping info - quite dissappointing. Lots of merchandising and selling.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Service on the Encore was subpar. I think the crew is burnt out with all the passengers and too few crew members. I will never sail on a ship this large again, the saying was, "the line starts here!" Last cruise was on the Sky, smaller ship better attitudes all around!
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
Not enough elevators and too far from rooms. Only two banks of elevators for 19 decks. Over crowded to say the least. Ship was clean.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
All was good. Nice balcony. Good sized bathroom and just enough storage space and hangers. Very quiet but would recommend you take along a white noise machine for sleeping as slamming doors do make quite a sound.
Ship tip
It is too big to be relaxing. The Manhattan Room didn't have a dance floor which was very disappointing.
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