Alaska is Beautiful

Item: Norwegian Encore
Rating: 4.5
Author: Applecore

Norwegian Encore Cruise Review

Applecore

Contributor Level: Third Mate

318 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 43

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5

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

Sail date: September 10, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Encore

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 15782

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Overall, it was a great experience. Alaska is beautiful, and cruising is a nice way to travel.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Used NCL's shuttle service from the airport to cruise port. Everything went smoothly. Port of Seattle is very well organized and embarkation was quick and easy.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Garden Cafe

4 out of 5

Always too busy for my liking, but my husband loves the variety. Everything we tried was very good.

Teppanyaki

2 out of 5

We've done this before and had a great time, but the setup here was not good. Very crowded and way too loud. The chefs are following a script, and you hear the same jokes (using the same props) coming from each station. The food was mediocre at best.

Food Republic

5 out of 5

Food was excellent. Very casual dining.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

We didn't participate in too many activities, but did do the Captins Quest escape room, which we did enjoy. Only complaint there is that they gave us hints too quickly.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Choir of Man was a ton of fun - we caught the show twice. Other shows varied. We saw one comic who was quite funny, and a magician who was not very good. We watched the Beatles tribute band in the theater, which was entertaining, but never managed to catch them in the Cavern Club.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Good to excellent service in all venues. Our room steward was the weak link. There were dirty dishes left in our room after cleaning, and he would not refresh the supplies for our coffee maker.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Typical cabin. Comfy bed. This was a spa room, so located at the rear of the ship with good access to the spa. Would have preferred something a little closer to the stairs. Upgraded toiletries were nice.

Ship tip

Three pieces of advice: Consider booking a spa room if you are planning an Alaskan cruise. A balcony is a wonderful way to spot whales and to view the glaciers. If crusing in September, be prepared for rain.

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