Fantastic first Alaskan Cruise!

Norwegian Encore Cruise Review

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 10

Overall rating:

3.9 out of 5
Norwegian Encore

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

Sail date: May 05, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Encore

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 10507

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 1 month ago

Review summary

Great views, amazing stops, Northern Lights Shows!

Embarkation

5 out of 5
From joining the line to taking a seat to board to all of 12 minutes. The staff in Seattle were quick, efficient, and respectful.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Specialty: Le Bistro, the tartare was amazing. Buffet: more variety day to day would have been nice.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Good variety of things to do.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Saw many staff throughout the cruise that looked angry/annoyed. My room attendant did a great job, however, as a private person I alerted him day one that I would only need my room serviced once or twice and he would pester me daily. As someone in the service industry, specifically the sanitation service industry, I respect his work, however, I prefer to clean up after myself and was rather annoyed that I was hounded daily to clean my solo cabin.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
I love a solo cabin since for the remote feel of it. I chose my room specifically as it was not adjoining and 3 of the walls did not touch other rooms. It was also just around the corner of the stairwell to the studio lounge. The lounge was good but lacked variety. I would say the highlight was the coffee maker. Iced water and tea were great.

Ship tip

Don’t bother with an umbrella if you are going to Alaska! Far too windy. Get to the observation lounge early for good seats.

Ports of call

Victoria, British Columbia

1 out of 5
We arrived at 7:45pm and had to be back onboard by 11:30pm so time was extremely limited. I can only speak for the gift shops right in the parking lot but the prices were good and it was convenient!

Skagway, Alaska

5 out of 5
Again, the scenery was amazing. Many shops were not open when we docked. If you have time, check out Back Alley Rock Shop! Great crystals/gems/minerals but if that is not your thing they also have gold panning!

Juneau, Alaska

5 out of 5
An amazing trip. Temps were in the mid to high 30s with some rain (which I love) so bring a rain jacket! Beautiful scenery and the shopping was fantastic. I am a metaphysical person so they had 4 shops with tons of crystals and other items that were great. Trove has an amazing selection of everything you could want in a cruise port shop. Wolf wellness boutique is a great metaphysical shop!

Seattle, Washington

4 out of 5
Was fine. Didn’t really do anything. Flew into Sea-Tac, stayed at Country Inn & Suites by Radisson that shuttled me from the airport for free. Prepaid and pre tipped Seattle express shuttle from the hotel to the port and then upon return from the port to the airport.

Cruise Glacier Bay

4 out of 5
Very beautiful but not really my thing! My family loved it!

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
The line to self disembark was ridiculously long and took longer than other ports I have been to.
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