The Encore is an awesome ship, with great public spaces, excellent service, outstanding entertainment, and very good food at a variety of restaurants. With nearly 4,000 passengers aboard, however, the observation deck and the buffet dining at the Garden Cafe were very busy and crowded, except when most passengers were off board for excursions. If you like vacationing among a horde of people, it is fine. If you prefer less hustle and bustle around you, you might be disappointed. But the ship accommodates and offers something for about every taste in entertainment and dining. It is an experience in itself worth doing at least once in your life.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Getting nearly 4,000 passengers and their luggage aboard and to the proper cabins is a monumental a task, and the NCL was organized to do it as efficiently and expeditiously as probably is possible.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The food was very good and well prepared. The buffet was usually very busy, but organized to accommodate diners very quickly. We had omelets cooked to order for breakfast every morning, with virtually no standing in line. Seating was readily available at the other restaurants. The service everywhere was consistently friendly and excellent. The only specialty dining we did was at the French restaurant, and the service and the food were excellent.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
If you couldn't find some activity to keep you entertained or occupied, you might as well stay home. The Encore has something for every taste or interest. Bars, shows, casino gambling, pool, waterslide, and more things than I can even recall.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The shipboard entertainers were consistently outstanding.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
You couldn't ask for friendlier, more gracious and cheerful, and more accommodating service from any of the ship personnel we encountered. This was the most outstanding feature of the cruise. I cannot even imagine the effort and stress it takes to provide the consistent level of cheerful, gracious service to nearly 4,000 demanding passengers, but NCL and its passengers benefit greatly from the staff's dedication and efforts.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
The public spaces are very impressive. Given the size of the ship and the number of passengers it can carry, I am not qualified to second-guess its layout and design.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The cabin was kept very clean and was air-conditioned comfortably, but it was very cramped compared with what we are accustomed to at home. The bed, however, was very comfortable. The absence of a window, balcony, or porthole was surprisingly insignificant, but next time I would choose a larger cabin.
We had scheduled an excursion, but were unable to go because I was not feeling well. We had, however, visited Juneau previously and found the town itself unimpressive, although we cannot judge the merits of the excursion we had to skip. The ship, however, was a quite pleasant place to be with most of the passengers ashore.
We had no excursion scheduled in Skagway and did not leave the ship. We had visited Skagway previously and done the train excursion and know it to be spectacular.
We had visited Glacier Bay 20 years previously, when the glaciers loomed high above the ships that were able to approach them closely, and we were shocked by how much they had melted and receded.
We had to skip another scheduled excursion, but we had visited Ketchikan previously. This time the ship was moored too far from the town even to glimpse it. But, again, the ship was a very pleasant place to be with most of the passengers ashore.
Finally, we had recovered enough to do the scheduled excursion. Unfortunately, it was at night, though what we saw of the city impressed us. We would like to have arrived in daylight and to have spent more time here.
The Encore's excellent courtesy port valet service, which we signed up for while on the cruise, expedited the experience and freed us from the hassle of reclaiming our luggage and checking it in again at the airport. We were given our flight boarding passes before we left the ship and did not have to deal with the checked-in luggage again until we reclaimed it at our final destination. This was a great service.
Thanks for your detailed review. If you go back to Juneau, whale watching can be fun. Sorry you had to miss your excursions. After our excursions, we just didn’t have the time or energy to do more. I understand why folks go back to Alaska multiple times to check all the boxes.
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