Everything... Norwegian ENCORE! Launch Nov 2019

[FreestyleNovice]

[TheDougOut]

[SAmome]

On 12/8/2018 at 8:41 PM, willsears94 said:

 

I am right there with you. With no HATM or Spice H20 (not as big of a deal as we sail Spa Balcony) on Bliss or Encore and the 'carnival' attractions on both ships, I have no interest in sailing on either.

 

Does Encore not have Spice H2O?  Bliss does have it on deck plans.

[FreestyleNovice]

9 hours ago, SAmome said:

 

Does Encore not have Spice H2O?  Bliss does have it on deck plans.

 

Nope, aft top deck will be a laser tag area.

[david_sobe]

12 hours ago, SAmome said:

 

Does Encore not have Spice H2O?  Bliss does have it on deck plans.

I think its too early to know yet.  Some speculate that Spice or another adults only sun area would go in the place of the Laser Tag area on Bliss.  On Encore its possible these venues switched places.  Although its too early to know for sure (yet).

[TheDougOut]

I love what Carnival came up with for their top-deck entertainment option.  The Mardi Gras unveil of “Bolt” makes it clear where NCL got it wrong.

 

Bolt is raised above the decks, so apparently very little prime space is sacrificed.  But more importantly, the entertainment is made more-special because it sits atop a ship (much like the away-class Ropes Courses).  It EXTENDS the at-sea experience, rather than obstruct it.

 

Such a smarter solution.  It makes me wonder if NCL’s days of innovation are wearing thin.  

 

https://m.facebook.com/6067784583/posts/10156551422134584/

[shof515]

3 minutes ago, TheDougOut said:

I love what Carnival came up with for their top-deck entertainment option.  The Mardi Gras unveil of “Bolt” makes it clear where NCL got it wrong.

 

Bolt is raised above the decks, so apparently very little prime space is sacrificed.  But more importantly, the entertainment is made more-special because it sits atop a ship (much like the away-class Ropes Courses).  It EXTENDS the at-sea experience, rather than obstruct it.

 

 

A similar feature called the Skyride, it is like a pedal bike on the raised decks is also on newer Carnival ships. it is on the Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon so far 

Edited December 13, 2018 by shof515

[rtkenmore]

17 minutes ago, TheDougOut said:

I love what Carnival came up with for their top-deck entertainment option.  The Mardi Gras unveil of “Bolt” makes it clear where NCL got it wrong.

 

Bolt is raised above the decks, so apparently very little prime space is sacrificed.  But more importantly, the entertainment is made more-special because it sits atop a ship (much like the away-class Ropes Courses).  It EXTENDS the at-sea experience, rather than obstruct it.

 

Such a smarter solution.  It makes me wonder if NCL’s days of innovation are wearing thin.  

 

https://m.facebook.com/6067784583/posts/10156551422134584/

 

That's exactly what I want to hear while I'm trying to lay out by the pool and relax...  A rollercoaster car zoom by every few seconds.  😕

No thanks...

[TheDougOut]

3 minutes ago, shof515 said:

A similar feature called the Skyride, it is like a pedal bike on the raised decks is also on newer Carnival ships. it is on the Carnival Vista, Carnival Horizon so far 

 

I think they’re good parallels - Skyride & Ropes Courses were the initial “man-power” options, and both took advantage of the spectacular at-sea views.

 

When bigger excitement was sought, Carnival went with a ship-top coaster that extended the at-sea thrills while continuing to sacrifice little deck space.  NCL went with obstructive helmets and augmented-reality googles in vast venues that hide the ocean views for both participants and non-participants.  

 

I don’t mean to be a dougie-downer, I’m just disappointed in what could have been.    I’ll still go (assuming they don’t scrap DBH), and I’ll still have a blast.  But then it’s back to the Escape. 

[TheDougOut]

10 minutes ago, rtkenmore said:

 

That's exactly what I want to hear while I'm trying to lay out by the pool and relax...  A rollercoaster car zoom by every few seconds.  😕

No thanks...

 

There are creative (innovative?) solutions to every problem.  I’m not saying an aerial coaster is the answer, I’m just pointing out what it does and doesn’t do when compared to sacrificing 1/3 of a top deck for entertainment that dismisses the uniqueness of being on a ship.

 

 

[rtkenmore]

14 minutes ago, TheDougOut said:

 

There are creative (innovative?) solutions to every problem.  I’m not saying an aerial coaster is the answer, I’m just pointing out what it does and doesn’t do when compared to sacrificing 1/3 of a top deck for entertainment that dismisses the uniqueness of being on a ship.

 

 

 

But are they sacrificing?  We already know the former area on Bliss where laser tag was located will be sundeck on Encore.  We don't know any details about what will also be located on that area (a water feature, hot tub, bar area, etc.)

 

And people complaining about the wait on race cars...  Can you imagine the wait on the roller coaster?  Only 2 seat cars running and I would guess a max of maybe 4-6 cars on the tracks?...  I'd be interested in knowing the number of guests per hour the could actually be cycled through such a low capacity ride.

[rtkenmore]

Looking back at the deck plans, if you wanted to get technical, they've actually added more square footage to the overall ship on Encore compared to Bliss.  On Bliss, Deck 17 Aft is Spice H2O with nothing above it but blue sky.  On Encore, Deck 17 Aft becomes the Galaxy Pavilion and is enclosed with a roof so that the Laser Tag can now be placed on Deck 18 Aft which does not exist on Bliss.  Deck 19 (the entire plan) is virtually unchanged except Encore gains the Observation Area while Bliss has Mini Golf in that space essentially.  And finally, Deck 20 Mid (approximately) is where we don't know what is to come on Encore but was Laser Tag on Bliss.

 

So while so many people are complaining about losing sun deck space on Encore, in the grand scheme, you really aren't...  You're gaining Deck 20 space replacing Laser Tag and Encore gains an entirely new portion of Deck 18 that didn't exist on Bliss.  That, in a way, is a win because there is more room for people to spread out into overall.

 

I think there is still some surprise to come with the new Deck 20 Sun Deck.

[TheDougOut]

4 minutes ago, rtkenmore said:

So while so many people are complaining about losing sun deck space on Encore, in the grand scheme, you really aren't...  

 

First off, I agree that there’s likely more-to-come with the new sundeck area.

 

Personally, my gripe isn’t about a change in sun deck space.  I simply think it’s stupid that the 3 big activity lineups (Galaxy, Go-Karts, Laser Tag) take zero advantage of the fact that they’re sitting atop a cruise ship.  In fact, it’s the opposite - as they all go out of their way to obstruct it. 

 

All 3 activities can and are done better on land, and the designs appear to do nothing to leverage the uniqueness of them sitting atop a ship.  When you add in the fact that SO MUCH of the deck space is being set aside for these voids of experience, then yeah, it’s a little disappointing.  

[rtkenmore]

6 minutes ago, TheDougOut said:

 

First off, I agree that there’s likely more-to-come with the new sundeck area.

 

Personally, my gripe isn’t about a change in sun deck space.  I simply think it’s stupid that the 3 big activity lineups (Galaxy, Go-Karts, Laser Tag) take zero advantage of the fact that they’re sitting atop a cruise ship.  In fact, it’s the opposite - as they all go out of their way to obstruct it. 

 

All 3 activities can and are done better on land, and the designs appear to do nothing to leverage the uniqueness of them sitting atop a ship.  When you add in the fact that SO MUCH of the deck space is being set aside for these voids of experience, then yeah, it’s a little disappointing.  

 

I would agree with you on laser tag and galaxy pavilion but the race track..  It's on the top deck and hangs out over the each of the ship on both sides...  It will provide an exhilarating view while doing the track and that's one thing I can't wait to do TBH.  Laser tag isn't something I've really ever gotten into but I'll check out the Galaxy Pavilion and see what it's all about probably.

[Bkchero]

1 hour ago, rtkenmore said:

 

But are they sacrificing?  We already know the former area on Bliss where laser tag was located will be sundeck on Encore.  We don't know any details about what will also be located on that area (a water feature, hot tub, bar area, etc.)

 

And people complaining about the wait on race cars...  Can you imagine the wait on the roller coaster?  Only 2 seat cars running and I would guess a max of maybe 4-6 cars on the tracks?...  I'd be interested in knowing the number of guests per hour the could actually be cycled through such a low capacity ride.

 

I did not watch the video and have not read how long the ride actually is, but let's assume the ride time averages 5 minutes for entry, safety check, zip around the track and exit.  So the car can run an average of 12 times in an hour, times two people is 24 people, times 4 cars running at once is 96 people an hour.  if it runs for an average of 10 hours a day that's 960 riders a day, and I think 10 hours a day might be low.  The ship holds 5,200 passengers, if 60% of them want to ride that's a little over 3,000 so in theory everybody should be able to go once in a little over 3 days.  My bigger issue is how they will set up times for riding, will they just have a line like an amusement park or will they give you a ticket to come at a certain time and tell the passengers you will ride within an hour or so of your arrival time, something like that.

Edited December 13, 2018 by Bkchero

[TheDougOut]

13 minutes ago, rtkenmore said:

...but the race track..  It's on the top deck and hangs out over the each of the ship on both sides...  It will provide an exhilarating view while doing the track and that's one thing I can't wait to do TBH. 

 

Could someone please describe this exhilarating view for me? 😃

[rtkenmore]

1 hour ago, Bkchero said:

 

I did not watch the video and have not read how long the ride actually is, but let's assume the ride time averages 5 minutes for entry, safety check, zip around the track and exit.  So the car can run an average of 12 times in an hour, times two people is 24 people, times 4 cars running at once is 96 people an hour.  if it runs for an average of 10 hours a day that's 960 riders a day, and I think 10 hours a day might be low.  The ship holds 5,200 passengers, if 60% of them want to ride that's a little over 3,000 so in theory everybody should be able to go once in a little over 3 days.  My bigger issue is how they will set up times for riding, will they just have a line like an amusement park or will they give you a ticket to come at a certain time and tell the passengers you will ride within an hour or so of your arrival time, something like that.

 

I would doubt they would run it for 10 hours a day...  I guess we'll see.  I don't see it having a capacity of 96/hour.  That would be 48 circuits every 60 minutes or one circuit every 75 seconds.  This isn't going to be a high speed coaster as it's self propelled from within the car itself (not gravity or LIM propelled).

 

It's intriguing but if I had to choose between this and race cars, I'd take race cars every day.

[Steff79]

i’m Not sun bathing. The deck space for sun bathing doesn’t matter me. But when you look at the top deck at encore there is about the half of the premium space you can only use if you pay for. And that for premium prices now. 

The other thing is, I think ncl don’t like family with teens know , or only teens with Rich parents. That I don‘t like.  doesn‘t Matter if I can pay it or not. 

 

This year at the breakaway at a smaller place then the race track 60 people and more had fun at the same time for free. Many teens were there playing together or with their Parents. 

 

I still like Ncl but I don‘ t like the way they go here. One ship with race track ok but not three.

And as a bad weather ship for alaska I wish they did the top deck like a mix of a quantum ship and Aida prima at the bliss. 

 

Will encore have a Q? The Q and the observation lounge are two tings what i like at the bliss ( but didn‘t cruise her yet and not sure 🤔 if I will be ). 

[FreestyleNovice]

The Haven courtyard block

[TheDougOut]

What a perfect way to resurrect the thread from the depths of page 6...

 

 

[kenns]

I think someone else above may have mentioned this, but it looks like the Encore will have 8 hot tubs whereas Bliss has 10. This is due to loosing 2 of them with no Spice H20. I know the lack of/change of Spice is being discussed but I personally just noticed this additional change. 

 

As the ship is due to launch in about a year (Nov/Dec 2019) - when should we expect to hear about dining and complete deck plans?

[rtkenmore]

2 hours ago, kenns said:

I think someone else above may have mentioned this, but it looks like the Encore will have 8 hot tubs whereas Bliss has 10. This is due to loosing 2 of them with no Spice H20. I know the lack of/change of Spice is being discussed but I personally just noticed this additional change. 

 

As the ship is due to launch in about a year (Nov/Dec 2019) - when should we expect to hear about dining and complete deck plans?

 

Yeah, I noticed that a while back when it was revealed that Spice H2O was no longer aft...  2 fewer hot tubs over all it seams and then in addition to that, you have two in the forward Have space and one in vibe.  So it really cuts down on publicly available hot tubs without having to pay more for Haven or Vibe.

 

I'm dying to see the deck plans and see what else may be changing and all too.

 

[FreestyleNovice]

Theatre seating block (in front of the Saga ship, in the other building hall)

[shof515]

49 minutes ago, FreestyleNovice said:

Theatre seating block (in front of the Saga ship, in the other building hall)

 

i travel with someone with disabilities . the theater layout on breakaway, escape and other ships is horrible. i wish there was a small incline like a ramp that other cruise lines have instead of using stairs. as is, sometimes my travel partner is unable to enjoy the show because the handicap section is all the way in the back of the theater

[TheDougOut]

Apparently Meyer Werft has been asked to conceal the new 4-story Brew House.