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Norwegian Encore Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 21
7 Night Alaska: Glacier Bay Skagway & Juneau (Seattle Roundtrip)
Sail date: May 21, 2023
Ship: Norwegian Encore
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 14716
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 1 year ago
Review summary
A nice ship with a lot of decent food and activities. There was a lot of sea time. I wish I could have spent more time in ports. This cruise was about the destination and experiencing more of Alaska would have been preferred.Embarkation
We signed up for 9:30-10. Many folks did not follow the schedule and arrived early. We did get in group 3 and were onboard and having lunch by12pm.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food was good everywhere. We ate in Ocean Blue and Cagney's and found the food no better or worse than the MDR. We did not think the additional charge for these restaurants would have been worth it if they were not included in our package. The chicken seemed over cooked in every location we had it. We were glad to see portions were reasonably sized and not ridiculously large. The only place it seemed out of place was at Cagney's, where a 16 ounce rib eye left a lot of waste. A 10 or 12 ounce offering would have been enough. The buffet provided many options, though it was crowded often. The service in the MDR's was excellent and surpassed the specialty restaurants. Cagney's lost our order and avoided our table for long periods of time. We left after 2 hours while waiting for someone to offer dessert. I don't understand why water is so hard to get onboard. It is fine that they are not using plastic bottles, but a water filling station for bottles guests bring themselves would be welcome. They are always willing to serve you a drink from the bar, but water is a challenge. The filling stations are at the buffet and the observation deck, but they are clearly marked to not fill bottles there. Again, understandable, but not having water available around the cabins to get a glass of water left us walking stairs or riding the elevator carrying cups.
Onboard Activities
The go carts were fun, once. Same with a trip to the galaxy. These activities were not targeted to our age group though.
Entertainment
Choir of Man and Ryan North are stand outs on the ship's entertainment. They were both exceptional. Catch Ryan while you can, he is too talented to play cruise ships for long. The Beatles invasion was of good quality as well, with 2 different sets and performance times. The comedians were stereotypical cruise ship expectations. Deal or no Deal was a huge disappointment. Not really knowing what the ship version was about, I bought 3 tickets for $59 only to find out this is just a money grab by the cruise line and the opportunity to play or get something in return was very limited. I felt cheated.
Children's Programs
No children in our party
Service and Staff
Overall service was excellent. The 2 places I was surprised with less than stellar service were Cagney's and at the guest services counter. Guest services never knew the answer and didn't understand why someone would be dropping off a comment card there.
Ship Quality
The Encore is used for multi destinations so some of the outdoor space is not ideal for a rainy, cold weather cruise. We did appreciate it on the one day it was warm enough to enjoy the outside. Overall the interior space is laid out well, it is new and clean. The observation deck is great, but does get overcrowded with most guests wanting to stay inside. The available snacks, drinks and atmosphere on this deck made it feel very welcoming.
Cabin / Stateroom
The cabin was very clean and adequately sized for 2 people. USB ports charged very slowly and the water pressure in the shower was weak. It was not filled with luxury finishes by any means, but it was a comfortable space. The balcony was small but functional (totally expected). We slept with the door open most nights as the ocean sound was wonderful. The cold never really made it into the room (how do they do that?). The bedding was heavy and warm, the mattress was very comfortable and the pillows were a bit small. There was very little noise at night from the deck above and the motion was far less than we expected, being towards the front of the ship.
Ship tip
Make sure you are okay with the itinerary's limited port times. It was always less time available than expected. Think of it more as a sampler on a nice boat. You won't get to do as much as you hoped for, but will get to taste it all.
Thumbs up
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Ports of call
We allowed for extra time before and after the cruise for this port. We just never really got in to this city. The market was overcrowded and not fun to navigate. Everything near the waterfront seemed to be uphill, or downhill, or required many steps to get to. Ivar's fish and chips was not good, but Seatown Rub shack was superb. get the combo and try it all!
We booked whale watching independently. The challenge here was the AJ dock. Requiring guests to wait for shuttles in both directions is disrespectful of guests time. The port time is limited and not docking where the other cruise lines dock is an added burden to get to the center of activity. The whale watching was not what we expected. Although we did see whales, we were far from them and saw just 5 over a 2 hour period. We ate king crab at Tracy's. Although tasty, it was a pricey snack, that seemed a bit touristy and not as authentic as we hoped for.
The town was small enough to get through and the rail trip was excellent. Book direct and save some money. The town is a short walk from the dock and the train station is right there as you enter.
Glaciers were terrific. We we lucky enough to seesome calving. The cold, the mist, the fog, the ice, the silence. All a part of this natural beauty. Make sure you go outside to truly experience it. The bow was open but crowded. We found the side decks were much more enjoyable. The ship spins a few times so you will be able to see it all if you are patient.
We booked a seaplane independently here, and very glad we did. Ward cove is 7 miles out of town, and yes another long line waiting for the shuttles. The Seaplane company picked us up at the dock, so we avoided the shuttle in this direction anyway. The excursion was excellent.They took us 60 miles out of town , flying close to the scenery and landed in a Misty Fjord lake with no other access or people around. We stood out on the floats and enjoyed the natural serenity of Alaska. You have less than 6 hours in this port, but they warn you to be on line for the last return shuttle by 11am, just 4 hours after docking. We were on line at 11 and did not get back to the ship until 1230. Although they were correct in the timing, Ward cove is another waste of guests time. We did not have any time to explore the town after the excursion as we spent too much time shuttling to town and back.
3 hours in a port that you don't arrive at until 8pm. Everything was mostly closed. A horse carriage was about the only option. We did not take it as it does not seem nice for the horses.
Disembarkation
We used Port Valet. It was great not having to worry about our bags at all. We scheduled it before the cruise and NCL picked right up on it and provided the proper documents. A bonus to Port Valet is that there is no such thing as an overweight bag. It made packing a breeze. The lines to get off the ship were long. It took about 40 minutes once we got on line. We could have got on a little earlier if we skipped breakfast.