A loooooooong and detailed review of Encore

[junieh]

2 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

We had it happen to us on Joy. 

Same thing at DB. 

My niece said it happened at Sugarcane too on the same sailing. 

Interesting... We didn't have any problems at Sugarcane or Maltings, just DB. Glad to hear it wasn't just us though :)

[vichastwins]

On 1/26/2024 at 6:56 PM, junieh said:

We went to Choir of Man one evening as I'd managed to pre-book it and that was great. I checked but was never able to find availability later on while on board. The Beatles has no pre-booking so first come first seated and it was always really busy when we tried to go so didn't get to catch that

How far ahead before your cruise were you able to book? We are about 3 and a half weeks out and still it is not showing in the app. 

[junieh]

8 minutes ago, vichastwins said:

How far ahead before your cruise were you able to book? We are about 3 and a half weeks out and still it is not showing in the app. 

I can't remember exactly when I booked but it was pretty close to sailing date. I want to say less than 2 weeks but not entirely sure

[rach1fun]

42 minutes ago, vichastwins said:

How far ahead before your cruise were you able to book? We are about 3 and a half weeks out and still it is not showing in the app. 

I read somewhere recently that it's 25 days for Haven, 21 days for general public

[kitkat343]

On 1/26/2024 at 9:23 PM, junieh said:

Thank you. We love travelling and we intend to keep on doing so. Our 12 year old son has been to 25 countries so far and counting 🙂 I guess our expectations for NCL were just too high and maybe land travel is more suited to us for now 🙂

 

We have a 13 year old, 8 year old and 5 year old.  On our last NCL cruise they cancelled one port entirely and replaced it with a sea day and the morning of another and stated it was to help the environment after final payment.  The food on NCL  was much weaker than the other lines we've sailed.  On our previous NCL cruise 13 years ago the free included food was weak, but the specialty restaurants were excellent (they were an entirely separate charge then and not included at all with the booking).  On our last cruise a year ago the specialty restaurants were mostly weaker than the free food  on Cunard last month, and much of the free food on RC last year.  

 

We sailed on Cunard last month, and although that isn't an ideal line for children, they did an excellent job with their kids club, and had delicious included food.  We've also sailed RC postcovid, and they have a lot of amenities for children, a very strong kids club and very good food.  Prior to covid, we were also very happy with Princess and Carnival.  So if you are sailing primarily for itinerary I wouldn't necessarily give up on cruising.  

[detroitlions]

On 1/26/2024 at 9:23 PM, junieh said:

Thank you. We love travelling and we intend to keep on doing so. Our 12 year old son has been to 25 countries so far and counting 🙂 I guess our expectations for NCL were just too high and maybe land travel is more suited to us for now 🙂

I learned allot after my first 3 or 4 cruises some things you just realize you do not want to eat or do on a cruise no matter which line your on. 

The 2 specialty restaurants you chose are my least favorite I would of went with Cagney's, French or the seafood restaurants.

I hardly ever eat in the main dining for dinner on NCL I do not find the quality or taste of the food to be that good. Breakfast and lunch they are fine and so is the Buffett.

I never give up my land vacations. I go to Hawaii every year for 2 weeks I have gone twice a year a couple times. I would never take a cruise to Hawaii it would not come close to the vacation we have. But I do have long time friends that live there so we have a lot of options.

[cruisewisely]

What time were you asked to leave the District?  During the day or later in the evening?  If the latter, the upcoming entertainment may have been adult only, this would be indicated in the daily schedule.  If not, then I really can't understand why - my husband says he's seen younger people present there.

[junieh]

3 hours ago, cruisewisely said:

What time were you asked to leave the District?  During the day or later in the evening?  If the latter, the upcoming entertainment may have been adult only, this would be indicated in the daily schedule.  If not, then I really can't understand why - my husband says he's seen younger people present there.

It was around 4pm. There was no entertainment on and there wasn't anything listed on the daily as 18+.