Ports were great but the cruise ship was a disappointment

Item: Norwegian Encore
Rating: 3.1
Author: jkjoyner3

Norwegian Encore Cruise Review to Alaska - Inside Passage

jkjoyner3

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 25

Overall rating:

3.1 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Alaska: Glacier Bay Skagway & Juneau (Seattle Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 04, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Encore

Cabin number: 10278

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

The cruise ship overall was clean. Lacked in entertainment and didn't have much to do if the weather was bad. The app on the phone was terrible. Kept having to sign in multiple times and couldn't book anything but dining through the app. You had to book everything 1st day otherwise everything was booked. The dining room staff seemed very inexperienced and took forever. The ports of call were great but seemed very commercialized. If you go on this cruise, get away from the downtown portions and do excursions. Weather is a major factor both on and off the ship. We had a major excursion get cancelled because of weather. Overall it was great to see Alaska but the ship experience wasn't the best I've been on.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Getting on the ship wasn't bad

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

The main dining room food was terrible. Specialty restaurants were pretty good overall

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

Was only able to ride the go carts once because everything was booked. Booking system was terrible

Entertainment

2 out of 5

The Choir of Men was excellent but the comedy shows were terrible. The ship lacked in onboard shows.

Children's Programs

2 out of 5

The teen club was always closed and had the weird hours.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

room steward was good but not the same experience as previous cruises

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

This was probably the highlight of this ship. Very clean

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ship tip

The weather will affect your onboard experience. The track and lasor tag will close if it rains

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Seattle, Washington

4 out of 5

Juneau, Alaska

4 out of 5

Skagway, Alaska

4 out of 5

Cruise Glacier Bay

4 out of 5

KETCHIKAN (WARD COVE), ALASKA

4 out of 5

Victoria, British Columbia

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

This part of the cruise was terrible. Took an hour plus waiting in line. They had no idea what they were doing.

8 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 4 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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gfetters 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

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Itspeace4me 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing.

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AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Appreciate your feedback. Glad you enjoyed your ports of call. Sorry the ship was disappointing.

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Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

Thumbs Up 1

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cruising2004 1 year ago

Thank you for sharing your cruising experience.

Thumbs Up 1

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javawoody 1 year ago

Can not believe glacier bay received only 4 stars. Don’t understand complaints about the weather when in a rain forest.

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woody20 1 year ago

Booking excursions, dining and shows can be booked before your cruise as I did on Encore this year. If you wait and try to book onboard they will probably be all booked. Since you waited and tried to book once onboard, that is pretty much your fault, not the ship.

Thumbs Up 2

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Other reviews of this sailing

Alaska is gorgeous and ship has a lot to offer, but could improve.

Breathtaking and amazing

Great time