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Everything... Norwegian ENCORE! Launch Nov 2019

TheDougOut

By TheDougOut,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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smplybcause

smplybcause

Posted
Posted
7 hours ago, coriemarie said:

 

Over-dramatic here. There was smoking on the water front when I sailed the getaway. It was a 20 ft length area by one of the bars.

 

The waterfront stretches all the way around the ship. This is in no way the smokers 'getting YOUR waterfront'.

 

Except smoke doesn't stay put. Not a big deal if you're not sensitive to smoke, but I couldn't be downwind of them and there wasn't that many seats in front of them. It essentially made one side of the waterfront off-access to me. And as Doug said, it's going to have twice as many or more there on Encore with it being the only spot. 

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partman57

partman57

Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, eroller said:

 

 

Having sailed the ESCAPE I hardly agree. Overly crowded and no observation lounges.  The ship left me cold and unimpressed.  I actually preferred GETAWAY over ESCAPE.  BLISS is a step up in so many ways, even the decor.  

 

The track means nothing to me. To each their own.  

I sailed Escape and loved it. Then sailed Bliss loved it more. Will be on Encore in Feb will see how it goes.

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Victorious8

Victorious8

Posted
Posted (edited)
8 hours ago, smplybcause said:

 

Except smoke doesn't stay put. Not a big deal if you're not sensitive to smoke, but I couldn't be downwind of them and there wasn't that many seats in front of them. It essentially made one side of the waterfront off-access to me. And as Doug said, it's going to have twice as many or more there on Encore with it being the only spot. 

 

It was pretty awful on the Bliss if I remember. No clue if the waterfront will be better or worse. My roommate on the Bliss is highly sensitive to smoke and the crowd that would form on Spice was pretty large and made it hard for us to enjoy the bar area (Halloween singles cruise so Spice was also an insane spot). If my memory serves me correctly the smoking section was also right next to the bathroom area which would have sucked for someone who was sensitive and also was just awkward since I felt like huge crowds were always loitering near the bathroom door. 

 

Edited to add I am sometimes a drunken smoker so I prefer it being more of a challenge, less of a chance I will get drunk and accidentally chain smoke because I am being social.

Edited by Victorious8
added stuff
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coriemarie

coriemarie

Posted
Posted
6 hours ago, Victorious8 said:

 

It was pretty awful on the Bliss if I remember. No clue if the waterfront will be better or worse. My roommate on the Bliss is highly sensitive to smoke and the crowd that would form on Spice was pretty large and made it hard for us to enjoy the bar area (Halloween singles cruise so Spice was also an insane spot). If my memory serves me correctly the smoking section was also right next to the bathroom area which would have sucked for someone who was sensitive and also was just awkward since I felt like huge crowds were always loitering near the bathroom door. 

 

Edited to add I am sometimes a drunken smoker so I prefer it being more of a challenge, less of a chance I will get drunk and accidentally chain smoke because I am being social.

this 'crowd' is a result of them only supplying a single smoking area for a potential 600 guests who smoke.

 

The situation is crappy for smokers and non-smokers. I feel like there are many little unused areas on the ship that they could call small smoke areas so we could be more spread out.

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smplybcause

smplybcause

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, Victorious8 said:

 

It was pretty awful on the Bliss if I remember. No clue if the waterfront will be better or worse. My roommate on the Bliss is highly sensitive to smoke and the crowd that would form on Spice was pretty large and made it hard for us to enjoy the bar area (Halloween singles cruise so Spice was also an insane spot). If my memory serves me correctly the smoking section was also right next to the bathroom area which would have sucked for someone who was sensitive and also was just awkward since I felt like huge crowds were always loitering near the bathroom door. 

 

Edited to add I am sometimes a drunken smoker so I prefer it being more of a challenge, less of a chance I will get drunk and accidentally chain smoke because I am being social.

 

There is a bathroom on the smoker side, but there are more bathrooms on the other side. When I was on Bliss it was a lot better than Escape that allowed smoking on all the tables around the bar in Spice in the elevated area (which is a huge chunk of spice) vs just off to the side. And Bliss didn't have any smoking near the pools like Escape.


Granted it was an Alaskan cruise so I didn't spend as much time in Spice, but I was fine on Bliss but Escape sent me home to a week of antibiotics and steroids from the smoke. 

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JamieLogical "Live from...." Rare

JamieLogical

Posted
Posted
On 9/11/2019 at 9:50 AM, coriemarie said:

agreed.

 

non-smokers just look at smokers as a nuisance. I am also paying for my vacation and want to enjoy it, with a cigarette.

 

I don't begrudge you enjoyment of your vacation. This is on NCL for putting the smoking area in a places that has a lot of "through traffic" and is in the middle of a space that is meant for public relaxation and lounging. On the -away class ships, the jogging tracks are a joke and a lot of people use the Waterfront for walking laps. People use the waterfront as a quiet place to sit and read and enjoy the ocean air. I personally love walking along the Waterfront on my way between the front and back of the ship if the weather's nice and I want some fresh air versus taking an indoor route. Dropping a smoking area in the middle of that will have a serious impact on the enjoyment of my vacation. Smoking areas should be restricted to corners of the ship where people can more easily avoid them. I have no issue with those areas having a bar or lounge space as so smokers can enjoy those things. Like the old smoking area in Spice H2O... I could just avoid it. It wasn't on my way two/from anything.

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owsaw

owsaw

Posted
Posted
On 8/29/2019 at 11:51 AM, GA Dave said:

Everyone just needs to "vote" on the new deck layout with their wallet.  If you truly do not like the Encore's layout, don't sail her.

 

I embrace GA Dave's quote here as perhaps the best solution/answer for all the concerns and complaints regarding the smoking issue. I joined Cruise Critic in 2006 and have read many reviews, postings, threads and articles on this topic. I believe there is reason to conclude...there is no appeasement. Imagine all the changes in policy, location, layout, design and plans in thirteen years. Few people with an investment or concern in this matter have been satisfied...Nothing's changed, "where there's smoke, there's..."

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Cruiser Bruiser

Cruiser Bruiser

Posted
Posted
On 9/10/2019 at 12:46 PM, Son of a son of a ... said:

 

She ain't gonna top the "O", tho   https://www.cntraveler.com/story/oprah-will-be-the-godmother-of-a-cruise-ship

 

 

Would it surprise you to learn that many of HAL's, shall we say, "traditional" passengers (at least those that post on CC) despise Oprah and HAL's affiliation with her? It has been the source of many an acrimonious post over on the HAL boards. But, HAL made a smart choice, as Oprah represents where the brand is heading. I imagine that the choice of a godmother is fraught with unintended consequences. I personally love Kelly Clarkson, but maybe not enough to encourage me to sail Encore.

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david_sobe

david_sobe

Posted
Posted (edited)

I don't even think they give updates on the construction of the new Miami port anymore.  If they did give another potential opening date, everyone would be disappointed again and it would flag how slow the construction actually is.

Welcome to Miami.

Edited by david_sobe
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tomservo

tomservo

Posted
Posted

I found this on the Cagney’s page for the Encore. Dry-aged Certified Angus Beef? This would definitely be an improvement to the menu, albeit with some kind of up-charge. At least it’s an option now. When was the last time Cagney’s even had steak like this? Will this start with Encore and then get rolled our fleet-wide?

8D1F2E45-5270-4934-AD27-CE3C6B7EBC78.jpeg

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BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

Posted
Posted (edited)
26 minutes ago, tomservo said:

I found this on the Cagney’s page for the Encore. Dry-aged Certified Angus Beef? This would definitely be an improvement to the menu, albeit with some kind of up-charge. At least it’s an option now. When was the last time Cagney’s even had steak like this? Will this start with Encore and then get rolled our fleet-wide?

Don't get your hopes up. Over the past year, we have almost given up on Cagney's because of very poor service and marginal food. 

Edited by BirdTravels
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tomservo

tomservo

Posted
Posted
2 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

That is the normal beef that they serve

 

The current Cagney’s menu refers to it as “Premium Black Angus Beef”, which isn’t the same as Certified Angus Beef. Also no mention of dry aging. I think Cagney’s used to serve CAB at some point but I don’t think I’ve ever seen dry aged on NCL. 

 

 

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tomservo

tomservo

Posted
Posted

As an aside, there is a lot of mis-marketing in the food world. Think “Kobe” beef burgers in the US years ago (up until a certain point they definitely weren’t) or “super premium” ice cream (not an official grade or type of ice cream). It’s just marketing speak made to appear higher quality than it actually is. “Premium Black Angus” essentially just means beef (it’s the most common type sold for steaks) . This is not an indication of USDA grade (Choice, Prime, etc), however being CAB guarantees a minimum grade, ranging from high choice to prime. 

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GA Dave

GA Dave

Posted
Posted

Just a quick note about the smoking thing.  My DW and I just visited WDW for a day since it was my granddaughter's first trip there.  There are NO smoking areas anywhere within the parks at WDW.  When we were in MK on Thursday, my wife had to walk out of the main gate of the park, outside of the security zone, and then to the edge of the Seven Seas Lagoon in order to have a cigarette (see bottom/right of attached picture).  I do not smoke, but I just thought this was ridiculous.  If they are going to prohibit smoking in the park, then they also need to reject people wearing way too much cologne/perfume, those that have not bathed in days, etc.

After seeing this, walking to the aft end of the ship does not seem as bad.

 

 

Capture.JPG

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