Norwegian Encore Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Disappointed that we skipped Skagway two years in a row. No compensation offered. Should have given everyone free wifi for the day since we had to endure another sea day.

Would definitely do it again, great cruise. Had a great time, can’t wait to do it again.

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

The excursions we did were all excellent but Norwegian has the worse dock spaces in all the ports. This was our first Norwegian cruise and we were not impressed. Much prefer RC.

I would recommend the Haven if you desire first class service and amenities. NCL is a great cruise

Alaska was a bucket list trip. We did not enjoy all the unruly and entitled kids running around. It was disappointing that kids ruled a trip planned for 2 years!! Many people had the same concerns, maybe this should be looked into.

Overall a great time experiencing the scenery of Alaska. Staff were attentive and courteous. Never had any significant issues on the trip and would definitely sail NCL again.

This was a bucket list trip for us. We are new to Norwegian, but cruised Celebrity prior. Had we known what we know now, we would've booked with another cruise line or upgraded to a Haven room (with access to private areas). Our cruise promotion was misleading, "free" airfare (flying all night), NCL customer service was rude and condescending when we called to change. The buffet was almost unmanageable it was so busy. There were no seats to sit down. People were rude to each other and jammed packed elevators. We ended up with COVID. The scenery made it worthwhile, but doubt we'll cruise with Norwegian again.

It was okay, ports were good! Scenery amazing . NCL is a last option going forward though.

Overall a good cruise. A little crowded due to the fact most people were inside.

Amazing experience! Service was amazing, food was great, the crew was friendly, and there's a lot of activities and shows! I highly recommend the Norwegian Encore to Alaska! The Encore does tend to get crowded, including the Observation Lounge, and you need to walk or take shuttles to the towns at the ports, but in general we had a great experience!

Everything was great.

For such a new ship, we were not exactly blown away. It was a comfortable liner, but nearly all on board activities were full by the time we boarded the ship the day of our cruise (about 1pm). The tours offered were really expensive or sold out although one or two were worth it. Wifi is very limited (doesn't always work) and expensive - and we were forced to pay for more minutes we couldn't use. I eventually got part of this refunded but it was super difficult. I saw other passengers looking around for a lot of help in this area but staff is really lagging behind to help with this. Entertainment was really limited and kinda boring aside from the one main show (which was basically 3 stars). There was very little nightlife except the Beatles bar which we didn't really do because it wasn't matching our personal vibe for this cruise. I saw one other nightclub on ship across from that, if you want to try it. Food overall was not bad, but didn't like there was only 1 casual restaurant open after 8-9pm and everyone goes there for the same basic stuff, and it's always loud and crowded since it's part of the main entertainment stage. Cafeteria on the top floors was the only other option most hours but not enough elevators on this ship made it tough. Best to use the back elevators and walk the rest of the way. Other restaurants were really good if you can make the reservations before they're all gone. Plan this really carefully ahead of time if possible. We were also able to slide in at the last minute for one restaurant with another group we were traveling with. Lounge floor was always a mess and people squatting things for day at sea with no availability. Top deck to see the main glacier (Glacier Bay) was fun. We booked for June and weather was mostly good , but top deck usually too cold or windy to swim. Hot tubs (only a few on the ship) were usually busy/full except the first couple days. Ketchikan / Wards Cove so short it only gave us a chance to do 1 thing and then leave. Not even shop or take photos except for 20 minutes to buy two small gifts as soon as we got near the village shops. Victoria was an even greater waste of time. You have about 3 hours after disembark (at night), which gives time to do nothing really except take a stroll or dinner. Also note "Free 2nd flight" was a pain because the flight options they booked us were a joke. Attempted to work with Norwegian on this several times which was unworkable since you're stuck with whatever time they give you. We would've arrived in Seattle 2 hours before our cruise and no time to relax or see anything, just shuttle from the airport and board the ship. Ended up booking our own flight there at our own cost, with the initial leg being a total loss to us. Cabin was typical interior, not bad layout but nothing amazing. Onboard I was able to do the go kart racing which is one of my favorite activities typically and it was disappointing. Skip it and find save a few bucks, or leave it to the kids who might enjoy it more. There are two arcades and a library onboard also but a lot of the interactive games were out of service. Would probably not use Norwegian again due to underwhelming experience for the cost, unless we got a super deal. I noticed this itinerary is cheap if you book it a few months before traveling ,but if you book it for next year it's expensive.

Was a trip of a lifetime. We enjoyed it. We wish that the ports would’ve stayed open longer for the downtown shopping after excursions. Lots of the excursions were full before we boarded the ship and then we noticed that some had been re-open and I had taken more slots for people.

I have never had bed bug bites in my entire 52 years of life until I went on a cruise on Norwegian Encore. I found all these nasty looking bug bites on my body on the third day of cruise and when I went to the Guest Service Desk, they sent a Pest Control Director to my room. He found a male bug after conducting some search. Please see attached photos so you know what they look like. I was disgusted to hear from one of the staff that they now have to find a female bug so they don't lay hundreds of eggs! I am still dealing with these marks long after the cruise and probably will for many years. Half of my cruise was wasted because I was dealing with mental anguish, physical suffering and pain. And this is the part where I felt like I was insulted. They offered me a $100 credit on onboard expenses. After I elevated the issue, they offered me $400 credit towards future cruise which I will never take. Not with them again. This is hardly any compensation. Beware, these bed bug bites are a serious matter. They are like cancer, once found in a room, there is no telling how wide or deep they have spread or migrated to other rooms, you can only hope. I never thought I would be this unlucky one. Getting bitten is one thing but the lack of any real compensation from Norwegian is pretty shameful. I am sharing my experience to raise awareness and hopefully help others avoid this traumatic experience.

We had a wonderful time on our Alaskan Cruise. The excursions were very nice. The ship was very beautiful and clean. All of the crew was very helpful and friendly. We would highly recommend NCL!

Ship was beautiful and very clean. Alaska was one of our bucket list trips and it did not disappoint. There was always something to do on ship and staff was very helpful.

Chose this on a recommendation from a friend that is a avid cruiser. We were first time cruisers that consisted of 6 family members, all of us are adults. The embarkation process worked very well. Very organized and efficient. The process for disembarkation at the ports was chaotic and inefficient. At Juneau we had a whale watching excursion booked thru the cruise line, it was scheduled to start 30 minutes after our arrival. Before booking I talked to the cruise excursion people concerning the arrival and start time. I was told people with close times would receive priority disembarkment, that was false, also a accounting would be taken to ensure everyone who booked would make it. Also false, they left without checking and left people off the trip. The excursion left a hour late which shortened the first stage of the excursion. The other real problem concerns dining in any place other than specialty dining or the buffet dining. As a party of 6, it was extremely difficult to get seated, they would not take reservations for 6 or less. The hostess would take your info, then not follow thru with seating. Once seated, meals took approximately 2 hours. During that time there was possibly one time they would refill your drinks/water. At one dinner, they started refilling water glasses and ran out with 2 glasses left, he left and never returned to finish filling the last two. After the main course, the wait was indefinite for the desert menu. At 3 different sittings after waiting for over 30 minutes for that, we gave up and left. Not sure if this is exclusive to this ship, NCL or cruises in general. They were either unorganized or understaffed or both. I cannot recommend this line or ship at this time.

I loved this cruise more than I thought possible. NCL invited us to a private function at the District Brewhouse that was the cherry on top.

A very brief summary … Norwegian requires every single person on the ship, minor or adult, to carry a room key card at all times. However, what they failed to tell us was that these “room” key cards are also linked to my credit card. This means my children can use these “room” key cards to buy anything they want on the ship. We found this out the hard way. My 13 year old , autistic son, was able to charge over $300.00 in arcade charges in one day to our account without our permission. If we had not checked our cruise account on the tv the first night who knows how much he would have racked up. When we went to management they said it is their policy to link all cards to the our credit card so they can each be used as such, regardless of the age of the person or our consent apparently. They stated if we did not want my children to have this privilege then we would have had to call them and put a block on the account. I expressed that this was unacceptable and to allow my child to use my credit card without my permission is fraud. Their policy should be the other way around , as I repeatedly explained to management. All key cards given to minor children should automatically be blocked from using their card as a credit card. Then IF , and only if, the parents would like to give access to their children then the parent can unblock it. We spent hours with several managers on the ship who all swore they could not rectify the situation and reverse the arcade charges. They insisted we had to fight this on land. So, here we are fighting this on land only to receive the same lack of accountability for their fraudulent policy and inexcusable lack of customer service. I have taken this complaint to the BBB, 3 on your side, and just filed a complaint with the attorney generals office. The company has only responded once and refused to refund my money. No parent , in their right mind would allow their children to run around the ship with their credit card (they call a "room key"). This is fraud and they are 100% responsible for any charges my minor child was able to charge without our consent. Not to mention, their lack of customer service ruined our entire cruise. I would steer clear of this cruise line.