Disappointing
Norwegian Encore Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage
7 Night Alaska: Glacier Bay Skagway & Juneau (Seattle Roundtrip)
Sail date: May 21, 2023
Ship: Norwegian Encore
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: 8724
Traveled as: Family (older children)
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
Chose this on a recommendation from a friend that is a avid cruiser. We were first time cruisers that consisted of 6 family members, all of us are adults. The embarkation process worked very well. Very organized and efficient. The process for disembarkation at the ports was chaotic and inefficient. At Juneau we had a whale watching excursion booked thru the cruise line, it was scheduled to start 30 minutes after our arrival. Before booking I talked to the cruise excursion people concerning the arrival and start time. I was told people with close times would receive priority disembarkment, that was false, also a accounting would be taken to ensure everyone who booked would make it. Also false, they left without checking and left people off the trip. The excursion left a hour late which shortened the first stage of the excursion. The other real problem concerns dining in any place other than specialty dining or the buffet dining. As a party of 6, it was extremely difficult to get seated, they would not take reservations for 6 or less. The hostess would take your info, then not follow thru with seating. Once seated, meals took approximately 2 hours. During that time there was possibly one time they would refill your drinks/water. At one dinner, they started refilling water glasses and ran out with 2 glasses left, he left and never returned to finish filling the last two. After the main course, the wait was indefinite for the desert menu. At 3 different sittings after waiting for over 30 minutes for that, we gave up and left. Not sure if this is exclusive to this ship, NCL or cruises in general. They were either unorganized or understaffed or both. I cannot recommend this line or ship at this time.Embarkation
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