Norwegian Encore Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Don’t go to Alaska on NCL. In 2 of 3 Alaskan ports, NCL docks far away. I Juneau, don’t get off ship if you don’t have excursion or just want to do tram for at least 2.5 hours. You’ll have to wait 90 min in line for a shuttle or walk a mile into town. I don’t mind walking… but in this case, you’ll be walking and breathing bus and truck fumes. In Ketchikan, the ship docks 20 min away. Be prepared for long waits for shuttle without booking an excursion. Arrival at 7 am but you must be back on the 11:30 or 11:45 shuttle. What? 2 or 2.5 hours in town? If you already booked this cruise, do yourself a favor and book an NCL or local excursion that leaves from Ward Cover, otherwise, it’s a wasted port day. I wish I had realized where NCL docks before booking. NCL already nickle and dimes its customers. Where it docks is yet another example. The company must dock in out of the way places for financial reasons. Never again, NCL

I enjoyed the cruise. We chose the perfect time because every location we visited, the weather was beautiful, no rain. Even the townspeople would comment how luck we were with the weather on that particular day. The time of year was also perfect because so few tourist. Excursions a bit pricey.

I don't think I would recommend Norwegian as a 1st option for cruising. Just a few things that did not appeal to me but may be right for someone else. We are a couple that choose this sailing because of a group of friends were going to be onboard but I don't think Norwegian is the best Cruise Line for Me. We did not book under the group. Also, on another note, the cruise price dropped and when I requested some money be refunded, an upgrade or onboard credit. We were offered a one-time future Cruise Credit when we returned home. This was an insult especially since the difference would almost pay for one person's sailing for an inside cabin.

Beautiful & clean ship. Overall good service. Time in port of calls wasted on shuttling.

Take a helicopter tour onto a glacier if you can. Highly recommend Coastal tours. Avoid the spa specially on the first day. The therapist try to upsell you feels more like a timeshare presentation versus a spa. Try and book as many excursions as you can. Upgrade your room we had an inside room felt like my bedroom closet. Bring a bathing suit go in the hot tub during glacier Bay the best view on the ship. Unfortunately, I will not be booking with NCL in the future. If I travel to Alaska again I would definitely try Princess.

All in all, the NCL Encore was a nice option for a first visit to Alaska. The ship is in great shape. The staff is friendly and attentative. The entertainment meets or exceeds what I have seen on other cruise ships. The food could use some improvement, but it wasn't horrible. The Prem Plus drink package had some nice options. Balcony cabin is essential for enjoying Glacier Bay. Not enough time in Ketchikan and Victoria to be able to enjoy the area. More shuttles are needed in Ketchikan and Victoria and much more time in port. My chief complaints are with unruly and rude passengers and NCL not policing issues like camping out to reserve chairs. Would I cruise on the Encore again, no. Would I cruise with NCL again, maybe. All in all, mega-ships simply aren't for me. TOO MANY PEOPLE.

After several NCL cruises over the years some of the officers and crewmembers have become friends. On the first day, it was like homecoming to see their friendly faces. They smiled when they saw me, and when they said, "welcome home" I appreciated their greeting.

Trip of a lifetime! Beautiful scenery, great shopping, and Northern Lights (rare at this time of year)

This was my first cruise and from this experience it will not be my last

Overall this cruise was great. Having never cruised before we didn't know what to expect. We both have physical ailments that limited us from fully enjoying everything the cruise had to offer, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves with what we were able to participate in.

Overall, I had a great time with my friends on the cruise but I will NEVER sail on NCL again. After all the years they have been in business they should have figured out how to move large groups of people efficiently.

We thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this cruise. I highly recommend it.

Was a great cruise itinerary. One complaint was that they ran out of regular coffee pods for our machine in our stateroom. We had to drink decaf almost the whole last week. Totally unacceptable! On our previous cruise they ran out of half and half for 3-4 days. Very upsetting as milk just doesn’t suffice! NCL needs to make sure that these kinds of items are in stock. People pay a lot of money for a cruise and these kinds of things are important.

Had a great time. Nice ship with a great crew. Food was better than usual.

A fun, solid, overall cruise experience. Our group included young adults and mid 50's and we all had a lot of fun. Entertainment was a bit lacking on this ship, but the ports of call were fantastic!

Having sailed this ship and itinerary before, we knew what to expect and thoroughly enjoyed our vacation. We would recommend this to others.

My husband was hesitant to be "trapped on a boat" for a week, but he is a convert now. Even our impossible-to-impress children had a great time and are already asking when our next cruise will be.

Having cruised 2 other times with NCL and over 20 cruises on different cruise lines, we were disappointed. It seemed as if everything was "extra". We had the beverage package. My husband doesn't drink alcohol, but a bottle of sparking water was extra. We had to pay extra to get a decent wifi package. It was extra for the "priority" embarkation and disembarkation". We had paid for the gratuities beforehand, yet they continued to bill us $40.00 a day per cabin. They had an exclusive area called The Vibe Beach Club on the ship. You had to snag a pass at the port during embarkation. People still snuck in. The observation reckon 15 forward is beautiful and serene, until kids start running around and screaming. It should be an 16 and older area.

Except for our flight getting to and our return flight home which was booked through Norwegian, we had an excellent time.

Overall had a nice time on our first cruise. Ate, drank and slept too much, but it was super fun!