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Not sure if this is the correct thread to ask but figured I would start here since the title fit. I just added the free air to my February Encore reservation thanks to a very helpful CAS rep. This is my first time using this and was wondering if anyone could answer a couple questions:

1. Will NCL reserve 2 seats together for us or will it be random, we are flying out of Portland, Maine with a stop in New York it appears (no tickets yet though)?

2. Where I already had hotel reservations for the day before the cruise I paid $50 deviation fee ($25 pp) but was wondering if they will still try to get us to Miami at a decent hour and not red eye time?

Question 1. is the most important as DW doesn't like to fly so having a stranger next to her may be a bit much.

Thanks in advance for any information

From the MW harbor cam. Looks like they've pulled the protective sheeting off the glass in most areas! Another sign of progress!

Thanks for the updated photos Doug!! I was beginning to have withdrawls!! Still looks like a lot of work to be completed before the end of the month if they are still on schedule for the conveyance.

We need an MW spy on the inside!!

It's been a quiet week for new photos of a ship that is supposed to be on a conveyance at the end of this month, I believe that is the schedule anyway. Getting anxious to see some interior shots!!

I found something interesting while reviewing my Feb 9, 2020 reservation and looking through the activities list, Laser Tag is not anywhere to be found !! Maybe, just maybe, (please, please) they are reading these posts and Spice will make an "encore"!! (couldn't resist that). Could I have missed it in the list??

Anyone else check their reservation and find something different?

Great info Steff79, can't wait to watch the whole process. Thanks to you, Doug, and Freestyle for keeping us all informed!! Enjoy the live performance!

Public deck space will be limited for sure, disappointing, but I still can't wait for 2/9/20!!! Just have to find another great spot to enjoy a cold brew!!

Thanks again to theDougout, Freestyle, Steph, and others for keeping us all informed as she progressed. It's been great following it for a newbie like me! Hooked forever now!!

I'm sure theDougout and others have seen this but I just found this photo on the Meyer Werft facebook page, it's a tight squeeze. No more room to add to the Iona for sure!!

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to comment on this or not but I do know from reading several posts that the expanded Vibe area is concerning a lot of folks. So that said, I just found a very recent youtube review of the Joy from Northern Viking Explorer (at 1:27 minutes) that shows the area on deck 19 that has the hot tub and section of bar adjacent to Vibe has now been walled off so it is all Vibe, no longer genreal access. Seems to be a change that is not exclusive to Encore and will most likely happen to more ships unless guests do a lot of complaining about reduced public deck space. Oh well still looking forward to February 2020 on Encore!!

Very disappointing to say the least when the typical expectation is for new to be better or at least an improvement based on the short comings of past vessels, i.e. consistent complaints of over crowded public pool/outdoor deck areas. Appears this one is going backwards but it all comes down to dollars that can be sucked out of cruisers.

Wow, I can't imagine this will be a very popular design for those of us that don't have the "extra" cash or Latitudes level to be able to get a chance at the Vibe passes. We sailed the Bliss in February and the pool deck, hot tubs, and Spice were packed on sea days. With this plan it is going to be CRAZY full of people fighting for space. At least with Bliss we had the bar and one hot tub adjacent to Vibe that was public, plus a small area outside the laser tag area that overlooked the pool deck that had a bench to catch some sun. It's a good thing I have until October to finalize my booking as it may not happen seeing this layout. Terrible for us "less than affluent" cruisers.

She's taking shape nicely! Anxiously waiting for some close ups of the center section to see if it will be the future Spice area. Looks like railings are in place on top where the laser tag is on Bliss so maybe this area as some have speculated? Great post and thanks for all the photos and information, we're booked for the Feb 9, 2020 sailing!

There are 2 ping pong tables on the starboard (right side facing forward) side on the level above the pool deck, I think it would be deck 17, adjacent the big LED screen that overlooks the pool.