Norwegian Encore Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Cruise was great!! Cabin was spacious. Ship was huge, but a little more rocky than other cruises I've taken.

The ship was beautiful, lots of fun things to do. The ports were amazing. The staff & food were both mediocre. Perhaps because I have previously sailed Royal Caribbean & Princess where the service, staff & food was amazing.

We will give NCL Encore an Encore! Something for everyone.

I would not cruise on the Encore again. If you like Norwegian, try the Breakaway or Getaway instead. Overall, the food in the main dining rooms and buffet was good. We were a party of 8 and never had to wait more than 10 minutes for a table at dinner without a reservation (we only made a reservation the first night on the ship) We didn't go to any of the specialty restaurants, however many people on the cruise said that Cagney's was the best. We primarily went to Taste and Savor for dinner and never had an issue finding something we would eat (many times we ordered multiple appetizers, entrees or desserts). We did have dinner one night in the Manhattan Room and found it to be a little more formal. It was also dark and the service was slow. For breakfast and lunch, we split the time between the dining rooms and the buffet. The buffet had a variety of options, including a station for Indian and Asian selections which were great. At breakfast, there was an omelet station to get made to order omelets and eggs. The kids loved the soft server ice cream stations, pizza, and mac-n-cheese. My only negative is that there wasn't a formal night with a more fancier menu (surf and turf, crab legs etc...) The Go-Carts, Laser Tag, and Galaxy Pavilion are all additional charges. $15 for each Go-Cart Ride, $9.95 for each Laser Tag, and $8 for each virtual ride in the Galaxy Pavilion. We paid for 2 Go-Cart Rides, 2 Laser Tags, and 1 day session for the Galaxy Pavilion which was $49 for the day for our 15 year old. They do have unlimited packages for each or all, however they were expensive and not worth the extra money. Also, making reservations for the Go-Carts and Laser Tag didn't matter, because you still had to wait at least a half hour after your scheduled time slot. As for the Pools, both the adult and kids pool were small (and closed the first 2 days at sea) and there wasn't enough open deck space or chairs for the amount of people on this ship. If you didn't get to the pool area by 8:00 AM, forget about finding 2 chairs together. Choir of Man is definitely the star show on this cruise. Kinky Boots was just OK. The musicians were average at best and the DJ's should just stick to playing top 40 and Reggae. I'm an avid music listener and found that I only knew 1 out of every 5 songs they played the entire week on the pool deck. The MC's at the nightly parties were annoying and it would have been better if they just had the DJ. My 15 year old son and his friends joined the Entourage Club but found that there wasn't much to do there other than a single air hockey table, foosball table, and a few game consoles. And the daily teen activities (other than 1 game of dodgeball) were not very fun or interesting. How about planning a scavenger hunt, a tour of the non-public parts of the ship, more competitions etc... Service for the most part was good, but nothing to rave about. Never had to wait long at any of the bars to get a drink. The waiters were nice, but not very personable. I would much rather of had the same table and waitstaff each night at dinner to get to know them and for them to get to know us (know what drink we wanted each night, any dessert we particularly liked etc..). The room stewards did a great job of making sure our beds were made and turn-down service done each night when we got to our rooms. My wife was disappointed they didn't make any animals with the towels like they had on other cruises. All other personnel on the ship were friendly and accommodating. I would give 5 stars to the ship's cleanliness, however the design of the ship is poor. Too much space allocated to Vibe, Go-Carts, and Laser Tag and too little space allocated to pool and sundecks. Also, a sports court would have been a better use of the space that the laser tag takes up.

New Encore was the reason for our trip, last minute. Pool area downsizing was a big disappointment and loss of H20 was generally the big negative. Observation lounge was a huge homerun! New specialty restaurants were a surprise, Cagneys disappointed (!) Overall really enjoyed the ship and the crew.

I would not cruise on this ship again given the extra fees, lack of pool chairs/space, and cabin noise.

Worst NCL ship i have been on. I feel like they took everything good from the escape and removed it. Need spice H20 or a non-pay adult only area.

Great ship, Good ports, And fair value for your money. Aside from a handful of issues, many of them avoidable if you are paying attention as a guest, it was a good time. It was my 1st cruise, and I'm definitely not opposed to doing another one.

Loved the cruise and would probably go on it again. Since the ship is only 4 months old, I'm willing to give the crew a pass on my complaints. Norwegian is always a great experience and have always a perfect experience. I'm sure the crew and especially the kitchen staff will improve as it becomes more routine. I would still recommend it since an almost perfect cruise is still amazing.

Best trip thus far (5 so far). Can't wait for future cruises!

Overall, a super relaxing cruise. Exactly what we needed!

Overall I would do it again! There is always good points and bad points about anything we do, I just have learned to stay calm and enjoy life!

Nice ship and cruise, excellent food and drinks - a bit too many people - we liked the Hawaii cruise better!

Weather was great. Shows were not good. Except choir of man. Service on deck 7 terrible. People just not friendly. Not enough activity. And same shows all the time. No broadway shows.

Would do it again. Considering another cruise on Norwegian Jade May 2021 starting from Amsterdam through Scotland to Amsterdam

Weather was great. Shows were not good. Except choir of man. Service on deck 7 terrible. People just not friendly. Not enough activity. And same shows all the time. No broadway shows.

It was a really nice cruise. We did have a good time. If you are a smoker beware, there are only 2 smoking areas on the ship. One is a long box type room on deck 8 outside. The other is in the closed in smoking area of the casino. If the casino is closed, then you are stuck to the area on deck 8.

Family and friends vacation with multiple rooms booked. Communicating was critical for us with such a large party. We purchased the 9.95 package for texting and calls onboard. The service worked intermittently. Some could receive texts, but not respond, some could receive calls and others couldn't, some texts were delivered hours later. It was a real pain setting up the service initially. Definitely should be done before arriving on the ship. The beauty of cruising is that most of the entertainment and food was included with the price. This ship seems to limit the included items and emphasizes the fee related activities/food. I among others that I spoke with on the ship would prefer not to sail on this ship again.

The Norwegian Encore is a fantastic ship for families! I highly recommend booking your cruise on Norwegians newest ship.

Overall, had an OK experience. I have never sailed with NCL before, and I will most likely stick with Royal Caribbean after this experience.