1/23 Encore Quick Recap

[classy_cruiser]

Here’s a quick recap of our Encore cruise last week. In short, we had an awesome time, are very happy we went and we made all but one scheduled port!
 

There was some anxiety and stress beforehand about possibly testing positive and being denied boarding or quarantined. Luckily there were lots of tips here about how to reduce the chances of something bad happening, thank you earlier omicron cruisers! In the end we decided we would rather use up our POM credit sooner than later and make use of our scheduled time off. 
 

Embarkation was quick and fairly painless. We got there at 11am and were onboard by 12. I highly recommend traveling carry on only. You can keep your bags with you throughout the testing. The only real wait and stress we had was the 20 minute wait for the test results. The rest of the time was shuffling around, checking paperwork, etc. There is no cell phone reception in the test waiting area but they came to us right at the scheduled time with our results. There was no line at the check in desk or to get on the ship. We were able to go straight to our room and drop off the suitcases and then to muster station and main dining for lunch. 
 

We had a spa balcony on deck 15. Originally booked balcony, but was able to snag a specific spa balcony cabin after prices dropped for less than the cost of one spa pass. Everything was fine with the cabin. 

The food was excellent in nearly every venue. We went to Onda, Ocean Blue and Teppanyaki. Manhattan Room was also really on point. I enjoyed the same dishes a lot more than the main dining room on our last NCL cruise on the Jade. The Local was probably my least favorite, missed the mark compared to O’Sheehans in my opinion.  The Buffet had a massive variety and so many stations even though we were only at 40% capacity. The observation lounge was also really beautiful but we never ate there, they had cold light snacks all day. 
 

The entertainment was great too. We saw Choir of Man and one Beatles show. Kinky Boots was cancelled. The comedian Mike was amazing. Jakob on Piano in the District brewhouse was a high energy singalong. Alexa on piano is a good choice for a laid back atmosphere. The Sail away, 90s, and Glow parties were lots of fun and plenty of people dancing. It didn’t feel too empty by any means. In fact, I would not want it any more crowded! 
 

Puerto Plata, St. Thomas and Tortola were all beautiful. Puerto Plata new Taino Bay area is brand spanking new and there is a free pool bar. St. Thomas we took a taxi to Magens bay, $8 per person one way. The highlight was the Virgin Gorda excursion in Tortola. Probably the most perfect beach I’ve ever been to.  
 

The last day was rough, cold and windy and we missed GSC. We made good use of the spa. The thermal suite on Encore is top notch. It has two hot saunas, aromatherapy steam bath, salt room, snow room, a large pool and one hot tub. Also a huge area with plenty of loungers including the heated stone ones looking out of floor to ceiling windows along the walls. The main pool is very warm and has lots of jets and water features.the spa was never crowded. 

 

The last night was a little quiet, I guess because everyone who didn’t carry on was in their room packing. 
 

Masks were no issue, we mostly wore them while walking from one place to another and while getting food in the buffet. Also some islands require them in certain areas. 

 

Debarkation was easy, we left at 9am and waited maybe 5 minutes in line to do the facial scanning before exiting the ship. Then we were out of the terminal and on our way. 

Super happy we decided to go and even more happy that I don’t have to worry about if we are going to be able to use our $2500 credit anymore. Total cost of this cruise including free at sea, prepaid gratuity, thermal spa, unlimited Wi-Fi and one shore excursion was approx. $3000 total for 2 people (no airfare,transfers or hotels). I’m not sure if that was a good deal or not though 😆
 

Let me know if you have any questions! I don’t have any freestyle copies, sorry. 

[travelingfools]

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Sounds like a wonderful trip.  We too had our POM trip cancelled for next week.  We have rebooked for December, but still wanted to cruise now and booked the Encore.  We booked a spa balcony on 15 as well, just in case we couldn't get off at the ports we could still relax in the spa.  Did you have reservations for Choir of Men?  I hope you get to cruise on POM soon! We were so disappointed, but the Encore will help hold us over!

[classy_cruiser]

1 hour ago, travelingfools said:

Thanks for sharing your experience.  Sounds like a wonderful trip.  We too had our POM trip cancelled for next week.  We have rebooked for December, but still wanted to cruise now and booked the Encore.  We booked a spa balcony on 15 as well, just in case we couldn't get off at the ports we could still relax in the spa.  Did you have reservations for Choir of Men?  I hope you get to cruise on POM soon! We were so disappointed, but the Encore will help hold us over!

You don’t need a reservation for any show, just walk right in. We did use up our credit with this cruise, it was from a POM cancellation last fall when the delta variant hit. So we are creditless now thank goodness! We really like NCL but will probably try out a different cruise line next time. 

[blueslily]

7 hours ago, classy_cruiser said:

Here’s a quick recap of our Encore cruise last week. In short, we had an awesome time, are very happy we went and we made all but one scheduled port!
 

There was some anxiety and stress beforehand about possibly testing positive and being denied boarding or quarantined. Luckily there were lots of tips here about how to reduce the chances of something bad happening, thank you earlier omicron cruisers! In the end we decided we would rather use up our POM credit sooner than later and make use of our scheduled time off. 
 

Embarkation was quick and fairly painless. We got there at 11am and were onboard by 12. I highly recommend traveling carry on only. You can keep your bags with you throughout the testing. The only real wait and stress we had was the 20 minute wait for the test results. The rest of the time was shuffling around, checking paperwork, etc. There is no cell phone reception in the test waiting area but they came to us right at the scheduled time with our results. There was no line at the check in desk or to get on the ship. We were able to go straight to our room and drop off the suitcases and then to muster station and main dining for lunch. 
 

We had a spa balcony on deck 15. Originally booked balcony, but was able to snag a specific spa balcony cabin after prices dropped for less than the cost of one spa pass. Everything was fine with the cabin. 

The food was excellent in nearly every venue. We went to Onda, Ocean Blue and Teppanyaki. Manhattan Room was also really on point. I enjoyed the same dishes a lot more than the main dining room on our last NCL cruise on the Jade. The Local was probably my least favorite, missed the mark compared to O’Sheehans in my opinion.  The Buffet had a massive variety and so many stations even though we were only at 40% capacity. The observation lounge was also really beautiful but we never ate there, they had cold light snacks all day. 
 

The entertainment was great too. We saw Choir of Man and one Beatles show. Kinky Boots was cancelled. The comedian Mike was amazing. Jakob on Piano in the District brewhouse was a high energy singalong. Alexa on piano is a good choice for a laid back atmosphere. The Sail away, 90s, and Glow parties were lots of fun and plenty of people dancing. It didn’t feel too empty by any means. In fact, I would not want it any more crowded! 
 

Puerto Plata, St. Thomas and Tortola were all beautiful. Puerto Plata new Taino Bay area is brand spanking new and there is a free pool bar. St. Thomas we took a taxi to Magens bay, $8 per person one way. The highlight was the Virgin Gorda excursion in Tortola. Probably the most perfect beach I’ve ever been to.  
 

The last day was rough, cold and windy and we missed GSC. We made good use of the spa. The thermal suite on Encore is top notch. It has two hot saunas, aromatherapy steam bath, salt room, snow room, a large pool and one hot tub. Also a huge area with plenty of loungers including the heated stone ones looking out of floor to ceiling windows along the walls. The main pool is very warm and has lots of jets and water features.the spa was never crowded. 

 

The last night was a little quiet, I guess because everyone who didn’t carry on was in their room packing. 
 

Masks were no issue, we mostly wore them while walking from one place to another and while getting food in the buffet. Also some islands require them in certain areas. 

 

Debarkation was easy, we left at 9am and waited maybe 5 minutes in line to do the facial scanning before exiting the ship. Then we were out of the terminal and on our way. 

Super happy we decided to go and even more happy that I don’t have to worry about if we are going to be able to use our $2500 credit anymore. Total cost of this cruise including free at sea, prepaid gratuity, thermal spa, unlimited Wi-Fi and one shore excursion was approx. $3000 total for 2 people (no airfare,transfers or hotels). I’m not sure if that was a good deal or not though 😆
 

Let me know if you have any questions! I don’t have any freestyle copies, sorry. 

 

Wonderful review. Very helpful as I look forward to my first cruise on Encore  next weekend.

 

One question: You said Kinky Boots was cancelled. It's been cancelled for a few sailings so it doesn't sound like the reason is just about quarantining for COVID because that timeframes should be over by now. So, I'm curious. Was a reason shared, officially or unofficially, for why Kinky Boots is still cancelled. I'm just curious. 

[classy_cruiser]

9 hours ago, blueslily said:

 

Wonderful review. Very helpful as I look forward to my first cruise on Encore  next weekend.

 

One question: You said Kinky Boots was cancelled. It's been cancelled for a few sailings so it doesn't sound like the reason is just about quarantining for COVID because that timeframes should be over by now. So, I'm curious. Was a reason shared, officially or unofficially, for why Kinky Boots is still cancelled. I'm just curious. 

Glad it helps you and hope your trip goes well! I don’t recall any specific reason given for the cancellation. There was just a paper in the room on the first day saying it was cancelled 

[markkw07]

On 1/31/2022 at 3:06 PM, classy_cruiser said:

Here’s a quick recap of our Encore cruise last week. In short, we had an awesome time, are very happy we went and we made all but one scheduled port!
 

There was some anxiety and stress beforehand about possibly testing positive and being denied boarding or quarantined. Luckily there were lots of tips here about how to reduce the chances of something bad happening, thank you earlier omicron cruisers! In the end we decided we would rather use up our POM credit sooner than later and make use of our scheduled time off. 
 

Embarkation was quick and fairly painless. We got there at 11am and were onboard by 12. I highly recommend traveling carry on only. You can keep your bags with you throughout the testing. The only real wait and stress we had was the 20 minute wait for the test results. The rest of the time was shuffling around, checking paperwork, etc. There is no cell phone reception in the test waiting area but they came to us right at the scheduled time with our results. There was no line at the check in desk or to get on the ship. We were able to go straight to our room and drop off the suitcases and then to muster station and main dining for lunch. 
 

We had a spa balcony on deck 15. Originally booked balcony, but was able to snag a specific spa balcony cabin after prices dropped for less than the cost of one spa pass. Everything was fine with the cabin. 

The food was excellent in nearly every venue. We went to Onda, Ocean Blue and Teppanyaki. Manhattan Room was also really on point. I enjoyed the same dishes a lot more than the main dining room on our last NCL cruise on the Jade. The Local was probably my least favorite, missed the mark compared to O’Sheehans in my opinion.  The Buffet had a massive variety and so many stations even though we were only at 40% capacity. The observation lounge was also really beautiful but we never ate there, they had cold light snacks all day. 
 

The entertainment was great too. We saw Choir of Man and one Beatles show. Kinky Boots was cancelled. The comedian Mike was amazing. Jakob on Piano in the District brewhouse was a high energy singalong. Alexa on piano is a good choice for a laid back atmosphere. The Sail away, 90s, and Glow parties were lots of fun and plenty of people dancing. It didn’t feel too empty by any means. In fact, I would not want it any more crowded! 
 

Puerto Plata, St. Thomas and Tortola were all beautiful. Puerto Plata new Taino Bay area is brand spanking new and there is a free pool bar. St. Thomas we took a taxi to Magens bay, $8 per person one way. The highlight was the Virgin Gorda excursion in Tortola. Probably the most perfect beach I’ve ever been to.  
 

The last day was rough, cold and windy and we missed GSC. We made good use of the spa. The thermal suite on Encore is top notch. It has two hot saunas, aromatherapy steam bath, salt room, snow room, a large pool and one hot tub. Also a huge area with plenty of loungers including the heated stone ones looking out of floor to ceiling windows along the walls. The main pool is very warm and has lots of jets and water features.the spa was never crowded. 

 

The last night was a little quiet, I guess because everyone who didn’t carry on was in their room packing. 
 

Masks were no issue, we mostly wore them while walking from one place to another and while getting food in the buffet. Also some islands require them in certain areas. 

 

Debarkation was easy, we left at 9am and waited maybe 5 minutes in line to do the facial scanning before exiting the ship. Then we were out of the terminal and on our way. 

Super happy we decided to go and even more happy that I don’t have to worry about if we are going to be able to use our $2500 credit anymore. Total cost of this cruise including free at sea, prepaid gratuity, thermal spa, unlimited Wi-Fi and one shore excursion was approx. $3000 total for 2 people (no airfare,transfers or hotels). I’m not sure if that was a good deal or not though 😆
 

Let me know if you have any questions! I don’t have any freestyle copies, sorry. 

I was also on this same cruise. We were in the Haven Aft Suite on Deck 15. This was our 1st time in the Haven, and we were all very impressed. TRUE, it's not for everyone, and It's something that requires a splurge $$$ wise, unless you are just that well off(which some people are) and there is nothing wrong with that. I will give a quick review, but it's going to pretty much be the same as "classy_cruiser".

 

Embarkation- Haven was a breeze, separate area so check in was simple, fast, and painless. 

 

Covid Testing- Overall i would say the process is fine. There is always room for improvement, but

they got it down and it works. TIP- Make sure you have your CVS  barcode confirmation pulled up

on your phone or printed out BEFORE you enter the terminal. Some people were having issues getting

cell service inside the terminal, and had to go back out to get the barcode pulled out. It happened in our

party, so that's why I am saying this now. 

 

Food- Always a subjective topic, as everyone has different expectations and likes and dislikes.

 

Buffet- i thought was decent, a wide range of food everyday, def try the Indian food if you enjoy it. As always, some things were good, some so- so and some not so good. Everyone is different, so there is always going to be a gap between critiques on the buffet. 

 

Dining Room- We only did 1 nite, but it was fine. Nothing was overly good or overly bad. 

 

Onda- Very good, and lots of food!

Le Bistro- Also very good

Cagneys- Mixed reviews within our party. Steaks were inconsistent in cooking and flavor.  

Haven Restaurant-We thought had the best consistent food. Menu is the same every day, breakfast, lunch, and dinner so it should be. 

 

Ports- DR we did not get off, but the port looked nice and it was new as Classy said above.

St. Thomas- Megan's Bay, $16 R/T Taxi ride,..always one of the best beaches!

Tortola-Cane Gardens Bay's Beach $16R/T Taxi ride, 1st time there, very nice beach and lots of places to eat/drink. Been to Virgin Gorda last time, def worth something checking out if you havent been before. 

GSC- Missed due to wind/weather. 

 

Crew- All very nice and welcoming, they greeted you wherever you were on the ship. 

 

Masks- worn by 90% of people, depending on where you were. It's just one of those things. 

 

Deck Parties- Def a must attend if your into that sort of thing. 80s 90s and Glow Parties. 

 

Speedway- Def a must do, $15 for 8 laps, it goes fast but it was fun and worth it. 

 

Did not do the VR, just ran out of time, but def on the list for another time. $29 for an hour i think or $49 for all day pass. Looked like fun, just didn't have time to do it. 

 

Shows- Choir of Men, we enjoyed it, no idea what it was about but turned out to be decent. 

Comedians, Mike Jones was good, the other guy, eh not so much lol

 

Embarkation- Super easy with Haven, down to Deck 7 through the crew elevator, out the side door

very easy facial recognition off the ship and 20 steps to the gangway and off the ship. Easy-peasy! 

 

Any questions feel free to ask.....but overall id say 9.9 out of 10 for OUR vacation.