NCL Encore Review from 2/19-2/26

[susieq76]

A review of our recent cruise on the NCL Encore for those interested

 

Background- we have cruised NCL quite a few times and have been on the Encore’s sister ships- The Getaway and Escape. This was our first NCL ship since Covid. Also, I love fish and seafood and my husband is not a big fan- so I usually eat a LOT of fish on vacation.

 

Debarkation was a breeze. We arrived at the port at 10am for our 1030am time slot and were on the ship by 11am. Miami is always busy but we were staying very close to the port and didn’t hit any crazy traffic.

 

Cabin- We had a balcony on the 13th floor. The cabin and balcony itself were fine with plenty of room for 2 people’s clothes ect. We didn’t even use the storage and drawers under the TV/Vanity. I spent a lot of time on the balcony (I wake up way earlier than husband) and despite the “no smoking” rule- people were somehow smoking all sorts of things- I’m pretty sure I got a contact high in the middle of my book. The bed was not terrible, but we did tend to fall in the “hole” in the middle every night. That is pretty much every ship we have been on (except for in the Haven).

 

Now for the issue with the cabin- it was never really cleaned. My first shower there were small black/brown hairs in it. Once we were in the cabin for a few days- as gross as this is- the toilet was never cleaned. Our room steward was nice but honestly, I feel like he was frazzled with too many cabins. I felt bad for him so I didn’t complain and cleaned it myself (and grabbed towels myself when needed).

 

Vibe- It was a very crowded ship (expected) so we got Vibe passes. This was an amazing choice as the regular pool had no seats by 9am and people were like sardines on the side of the pool sitting. This is not my thing at all- so the Vibe (service and space) was my favorite spot.

 

Entertainment- I was pretty disappointed that Kinky Boots has been removed without replacement. I will say that the Choir of Men and the comedian were great. I saw Choir of Men twice- it was that good. I just feel like on a boat this large there should have been one more option. They had a piano area (not a bar like on the Escape/Getaway) but no fun piano shows. They had country every night (early- like 7-9pm) at the Q (bbq place) which I enjoyed but the other music all over the ship was either super tech or elevator. The 80s party was fun but soooo crowded.

 

The bars were super crowded, so I don’t blame them but the staff (other than the Vibe) never seemed to go above at all. For example, every morning I woke up early and went to Starbucks for 2 coffees and then went to the Atrium bar next door to get a large water. Same girl at Starbucks remembered me every morning. Same bartender every morning at the Atrium bar seemed confused and acted like she never saw me before when I asked for a water. I was pretty much the only one there at the time every morning. Same routine, same staff every morning. That was pretty much everywhere on the ship except the Vibe. I’m not used to that- on the Escape and Getaway we had staff happy to see us or at least remembering that I was getting a water every morning. We tip well so it’s odd to be made feel that way despite it. A smile at least would have been great.

 

Speaking of the bar- we upgraded to the new beverage plus package that includes Starbucks, water and Premium wines. I like wine I like- which is why we upgraded primarily- but we like our starbucks and water too. The Premium Wines listed at the Atrium bar, Mixx bar ect- were NEVER available- they only had the regular stuff. I actually complained to Guest Services and she was going to talk to the beverage manager. If you have them on the menu (probably 10 wines total were on Premium) you should have them- and I am talking from day 1. The restaurants had them except they ran out the last night. Of all the whites. Luckily for me the head bartender at the Vibe went down to the restaurants and got me a few bottles that I like and “hid” them for me so I would have them at the Vibe. I pretty much only drink coffee, water and wine and an occasional Cosmo if I am feeling fancy. Just something for you to be aware of if you are upgrading for the better wines. We still got our money’s worth with coffee, water and the Vibe and restaurants, but you may not.

 

Dining- For lunch we did the Local (was O’Sheenans on other ships)- it is typical bar food and we had no complaints (if you like bar food- the grease gives me a stomach ache if I eat it too much). Other lunches we did were Food Republic ($$- my favorite food on the ship) and the main dining room. Lunch was fine in the main dining- we mostly had a caesar salad with chicken or soup and an appetizer. Nothing there was great but it was edible at lunch.

 

For dinner we had the 3 specialty meal package and we added a 4th. The first night we ate at Taste, one of the 3 main restaurants. Husband had a steak which was edible- I ordered the fish dish of the day, which was brought out and the smell was so strong (think rotten fish). I immediately, before she put it down- said “does that smell right to you?” the server said “no, I thought it smelt off”. Why exactly would she even contemplate bringing that out then? Unfortunately, that was the fish and seafood on the whole ship- including the specialties.

 

Cagneys- this is the Steakhouse on the ship. Appetizers and salad were great. Husband ordered the Porterhouse and it was amazing. He was in heaven. I ordered the grilled seabass (my second favorite fish next to Halibut). It came out and again the smell- but this time I said, let me at least take a bite. It was absolutely not fresh- not even close- it made me gag. They took it back and got me prime rib, which was delicious- but I really wanted fish! The desserts were great. Best is- they charged me an extra $10 for an extra entree.

Le Bistro- the French restaurant. We did this as a birthday celebration with another couple we were with. Everything was wonderful. Zero complaints. We had mushroom soup, french onion soup, snails, lamb and duck and everything was completely on point. And they made our friend who’s birthday it was feel amazing.

Ocean Blue- this is the seafood restaurant on board and I was sooo excited to finally get some seafood on the ship (I had it off the ship). For an appetizer we had scallops with pork belly. The scallops were undercooked, raw in the middle- which doesn’t bother me, but hubby couldn’t eat them. I was happy to have some seafood. For soup I had clam chowder. I’m guessing the fish stock they used is made from the same bad fish in the other restaurants because it was so strong of a fish smell that I couldn’t even keep it in front of me after one taste. The wedge salad was good and we shared it. For main course we order Cioppino and the seafood linguine. Neither was edible. I mean the cioppino was the weirdest looking thing and the seafood inside was gummy??? I don’t even know how you do that. The seafood linguine was a little better but we just picked at the pasta and didn’t eat the seafood. The desserts, however, were fabulous. I had Valrhona Dark Chocolate Mousse Cake and hubby had cheesecake in a jar and we ate the whole thing (probably because we had barely touched dinner).

Onda by Scarpetta- This was a last minute decision to pay out of pocket as we couldn’t imagine eating at the main dining rooms again. Since we were paying out of pocket we shared one appetizer, one pizza and one entree. The pizza was really good- and a lot larger than you would think! For an appetizer we had beef carpaccio- which was presented weirdly but tasted good. Then the main. We decided to share the Lobster Linguine (since we had not had a lobster the whole trip and it was our last night). Guess what? The lobster was mushy to the point of what on earth???? I called the manager and she was shocked at what the lobster looked like. We replaced that with Pappardelle Bolognese which was absolutely fabulous.

Food Republic- we had lunch here twice. The sushi rolls were awesome as were the dumplings and ribs.

American Diner- I had ate lunch already but my husband had been feeling sick (nothing to do with the ship- blood sugar issues since he forgot to take his meds the night before). When he was finally feeling better the only sit down open was American Diner (and The Local- but it was packed as they were playing trivia and people were dawdling). It is what used to be Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville in the sister ships. My husband ordered fried chicken. It came out black. I am not kidding. As the server was putting it down he said- “it’s a little well done”. I said, “if you knew it was burnt, why would you even bring it out?” Of course as soon as the burnt smell hit him, husband had to get up and walk away to not be nauseous. They didn’t charge us and we just actually went to the buffett (I don’t eat buffet food). We got enough food to fill him up.

Casino- I do not really gamble- but my husband loves blackjack.  The table minimums were so high!  The lowest was $15 a hand and there were not many of those.  My husband gets free offers on other lines all the time due to his time at the tables- this ship he spent less than 2 hours total at them!

Ports- we have been to all the ports before but enjoyed them. The new port in DR (Taiono Bay) was great with pools a lazy river and a “beach” area. St Thomas we did an non boat food tour which was the highlight of our trip- history and amazing food, Tortola was just a great beach and Nassau we didn’t get off.

Conclusion- it wasn’t a terrible ship but I definitely am not interested in sailing NCL again soon. I actually canceled our Thanksgiving cruise to Bermuda and we will go to Cancun in May instead (my twins turned 21 last week so Thanksgiving cruise was going to be a "birthday celebration") and have Thanksgiving at home. The best part of this whole trip is that Hubby has finally agreed to try a DCL cruise with me! Up until now he refused because no casino.

[vacation44]

Thank you for taking the time to report your thoughts and experience. 

[cruiseny4life]

I appreciated reading your review. Sounds like the food was a mix - seafood = gross, while the moo moo cow was yummy. I'm glad at least some of it was good. 

 

Also, your candor is helpful in that you stated you actually canceled a cruise due to your experience. If others have the same experience you did, I hope more cancel future cruises (or just don't book). It's the only way to send a message to Frankie boy. 

 

Now, go get your Mickey on!