LIVE from the ENCORE- Jan 28-Feb 4th

[BermudaBound2014]

We took the latee sailing on the Rebel Yell. We left at 9:00 am. For us it was perfect to be at the beach during a more heated time of day. 
 

The rebels yell is basically a water taxi. They pick you up at the end of the pier, boat your to Jost VanDyke, drop you off, pick up the morning folks, take them back, then return to bring us back. We got back to the ship at 1:45 for a 2:00 sail away so do your shopping before if you elect the 9:00 am departure. You can do it much cheaper using the Jost Van Dyke ferry but a cruise ship excursion on a day with a very early sail away made sense to us. 
 

We got lovely chairs in the shade of a palm. The beach itself is very Sandy and the ocean lovely for a swim. There is the Jimmy Buffet place he sings about (forget the name I’ll think of it), soggy dollar, and Hindos Hideout. They say if you are using a chair you should buy drinks from the bar the chair is associated with. Drinks weren’t super overpriced. $10 for a painkiller. $6 for an island IPA. 

[BermudaBound2014]

Dinner in Cagney’s. I had prime rib. They had enough horseradish to please this Polish girl (which doesn’t always happen) so I was happy. Hubby had trout. Looked like salmon. Tasted like salmon. Sides came cold but with all that food we didn’t ask for new ones. Our reservations were for 5:30. Dinner took 2 hours start to finish. 

 

We love eating outside on the waterfront. Just LOVE it. I’m such a geek I figure out what time the sun will set and what direction the ship is sailing and make reservations so we can watch the sunset during dinner. It worked out perfect last night. Gentle breeze. Perfect temp. Quiet. For the life of me I will never understand why more people choose to eat outside. 

 

From there we went to catch Royal Flush in the atrium. Thought we were going to finally get a classic rock set but they were actually the back up band to the game show “sing it if you know it”.  Ok fine. I played along. 

 

Their second set was 90s (which isn’t this bands strong suit). Here is where I think the cruise director is lacking in knowing her audience and scheduling accordingly. During the 90s set there were 2-3 people singing along. The crowd was clearly older and not so into the set. Requests came in but Royal Flush said they weren’t allowed to play because it was a 90s set and said classic rock would be today at the pool at 2:30.  We will go there, but just note that the daily planner exaggerates when it states “live music every night” and then lists all 6 entertainers onboard. The reality is there will only be 2-3 music venues in the evening and so far this cruise there has yet to be anything in our preferred genre played after dinner.

 

In fact, I might as well just say this… compared to Celebration the entertainment as a whole has been pretty dismal. Sure we can sit in on Love and Marriage or learn some line dances but on Celebration there  were 3-4 different musicians/groups every night. Here our choices have pretty much been country, disco, piano. There were 2 theatre type shows in the centrum each night. 3 comedy shows with 3 different comedians, etc… The variety just isn’t here on the Encore. We have been in bed before midnight almost every night. That’s fine. I got up this morning by 7 and got loungers in the observation room so we are adjusting, but if you are looking for “fun”, carnival brings it on multiple levels across all age groups. 

 

Now, please don’t get me wrong. It’s a cruise ship. In the middle of the Caribbean. Avoiding winter AND we have the drink package. A bar with 27 tap beers for hubby, Great food. Excellent service!! I am very grateful to be sailing and we are really enjoying our time. I’m simply making some observations which may help others choose their best vacation. Every cruise ship has areas it excels and these are, of course, just my opinions. Remember, I’m the one who has never met a cruise ship she didn’t love. 
 

sunset view during dinner

 

Crab cake (same recipe as Ocean Blue)

 

 

Super jumbo shrimp 

 

Looks like salmon. Tastes like salmon. They said it’s trout….

 

 

Prime- who can eat 16 oz of this?? The middle section was all I could eat and not as fatty as the edges

 

7 layer chocolate cake 

 

Blueberry crisp

Edited February 2 by BermudaBound2014

[vacation44]

3 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

We took the latee sailing on the Rebel Yell. We left at 9:00 am. For us it was perfect to be at the beach during a more heated time of day. 
 

The rebels yell is basically a water taxi. They pick you up at the end of the pier, boat your to Jost VanDyke, drop you off, pick up the morning folks, take them back, then return to bring us back. We got back to the ship at 1:45 for a 2:00 sail away so do your shopping before if you elect the 9:00 am departure. You can do it much cheaper using the Jost Van Dyke ferry but a cruise ship excursion on a day with a very early sail away made sense to us. 
 

We got lovely chairs in the shade of a palm. The beach itself is very Sandy and the ocean lovely for a swim. There is the Jimmy Buffet place he sings about (forget the name I’ll think of it), soggy dollar, and Hindos Hideout. They say if you are using a chair you should buy drinks from the bar the chair is associated with. Drinks weren’t super overpriced. $10 for a painkiller. $6 for an island IPA. 

Thank you for the extra information.   I just looked and we have the 7:00 a.m. excursion which will leave us plenty of time to shop around the dock.

 

Enjoy your sea day today!

[SonuvaBeach]

11 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

 

 

Looks like salmon. Tastes like salmon. They said it’s trout….

 

 

 

Yup..that's salmon, for SURE!

[BermudaBound2014]

1 minute ago, SonuvaBeach said:

Yup..that's salmon, for SURE!

I know. You know. Bob knows. They swore it was trout and that salmon and trout just “look alike” (which is quite wrong). Keep in mind, hubby was a fishing guide in Canada many years ago. We know trout. We didn’t make a fuss or complain. He said it was good. 

[vacation44]

Another vote for salmon!   

[BermudaBound2014]

What makes it even funnier is that salmon isn’t even on the Cagneys menu…

 

 

[CruisnHallelujahs]

2 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

I know. You know. Bob knows. They swore it was trout and that salmon and trout just “look alike” (which is quite wrong). Keep in mind, hubby was a fishing guide in Canada many years ago. We know trout. We didn’t make a fuss or complain. He said it was good. 

This really cracked me up.  Had the exact conversation on Joy with the maitre d.  looked at me like I was nuts thinking it was salmon.  Same on getaway.  It is my favorite “trout” dish on a ship though!  The only thing better is the Salmon in La Cucina (without the ham). 😀 

[TPgal]

2 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

They swore it was trout and that salmon and trout just “look alike” (which is quite wrong)

I'm going to be pedantic, forgive me - I need a vacation.  

 

Belonging to the same family and even the same genus (save the Atlantic salmon), steelhead and salmon species are extraordinarily similar. However, steelhead are considered trout, not salmon at all. This is because steelhead continue to live after spawning; Pacific salmon species do not.

Source:  a-z-animals dot com
 

Salmon has a rich, buttery flavor with a slightly oily taste, while steelhead trout tastes like a combination between trout and salmon, albeit having a more delicate flavor than the latter. Both have a mild, neutral taste that's not overly fishy.
source:  recipes dot net.

 

(I learned something new today, and I grew up in an area where fishing for steelhead was a major industry.  Hello Long Beach, WA peeps!)

Edited February 2 by TPgal

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, CruisnHallelujahs said:

This really cracked me up.  Had the exact conversation on Joy with the maitre d.  looked at me like I was nuts thinking it was salmon.  Same on getaway.  It is my favorite “trout” dish on a ship though!  The only thing better is the Salmon in La Cucina (without the ham). 😀 

Are you a pescatarian by chance? I ask because hubby is and asked for the trout without the bacon. We thought perhaps that is where the mix up came?

 

Perhaps NCL uses some special kind of trout we are unfamiliar with. Based on our experiences, trout tends to be dry, white, and flaky.

 

[SenatorsFan]

We were on Celebration B2B and debarked during the Marathon also. Yikes, it was bad. We enjoyed our 2 weeks onboard a lot. We never got a good seat in Serenity, but sat a few times in the pit near the pool. One day there was an excellent roving waiter named Homer who took good care of us. I especially enjoyed the berry sangria. We also sailed Encore in Nov. '22, so I'm enjoying your comparison. We did both the seafood restaurants and honestly, enjoyed both.

Edited February 2 by SenatorsFan

[scubamargie]

Thanks for the review/postings. If you get a chance could you let me know which nights Choir of Man is showing? Also, Beatles? We're on the Encore first week in March. Thank you!

 

[CruisnHallelujahs]

4 hours ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Are you a pescatarian by chance? I ask because hubby is and asked for the trout without the bacon. We thought perhaps that is where the mix up came?

 

Perhaps NCL uses some special kind of trout we are unfamiliar with. Based on our experiences, trout tends to be dry, white, and flaky.

 

Yes, pescatarian…who also doesn’t eat shellfish, so variety in fish is appreciated.  Was so looking forward to that first trout lol.  That is a funny thought that maybe this is the special fish for those who ask for modifications.  I did enjoy it very much, just not what I was expecting. 

[LatinaInTexas]

Sorry to bother but if you have a free moment would you be able to tell me what all that open space is aft on Deck 10? We are in cabin 10601 and it's bugging me to no end not knowing lol.

[luckyoldsun]

Will be on the Encore later this month Feb 18th-25th.  I do not see this excursion listed Jost Van Dyke (unless sold out)  Can someone let me know the name of this excursion?

Edited February 3 by luckyoldsun

[justhappy]

18 minutes ago, luckyoldsun said:

Will be on the Encore later this month Feb 18th-25th.  I do not see this excursion listed Jost Van Dyke (unless sold out)  Can someone let me know the name of this excursion?

When I booked it it was called Escape to Jost Van Dyke

https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/TOV_50/Escape-to-Jost-Van-Dyke

[luckyoldsun]

Thank you for the link Just Happy.  This doesn't show up on my cruise.  I did just book it through 

shoreexcursionsgroup.com     Four hour tour adults $149.00   Kids 6 and under are free.

[BermudaBound2014]

Choir of men was night 2 and last night. Here are some more dailies which should show all the cavern times…

 

 

[scubamargie]

1 minute ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Choir of men was night 2 and last night. Here are some more dailies which should show all the cavern times…

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

[BermudaBound2014]

Sorry gang- we had an incredible day at great stirrup cay yesterday so I’m behind in posts. I’ll catch up

We are currently sitting in our room at the Hyatt in Fort Lauderdale where we will spend a couple extra nights. There is a tornado warning at the port of Miami. I’m thankful we got out of there early. I can’t imagine what that will do to todays embarkation. 
 

Anyway, Here are my Fridays notes and photos- 

 

We spent Friday morning in the Observation. This is a GReAT venue and a nice addition to the away+ class. I can see this ship being an excellent choice for cold weather sailings. 

 

The pool areas on this class of ship are problematic. NCL added more cabins and reduced the number of pools resulting in super crowding at the lido pool area. The celebration has pools in different areas (lido, aft on 16, aft on 8 and adult only in serenity) and they offer tucked whirlpools in some quiet areas. So, pool access  definitely goes to Celebration.

 

We finally got a classic rock set. Tunes included Pink Floyd, Lenard Skybard, ZZ Top, etc.. This occurred at 2:30 on a sea day at the lido pool. Seems an odd time since most of that crowd was younger with kids and didn’t seem all that into it. Again, an example of the cruise director not scheduling for the audience. Regardless, we enjoyed the band.

 

Dinner was at ocean blue again. I had seafood fettuccini and Hubs had some type of seafood soup (forget the name). We did both types of shrimp for appetizer and each had a calamari. The lime and basil sorbet for dessert was a perfect ending to an amazing dinner.  Timing was also great- 1.75 hours start to finish. 

 

Headed to the atrium to play “sing it if you know it” and listened to the band “full covered”. Very talented. Not exactly our genre, but we can appreciate good musicians and enjoyed the evening. Capped it off in the district brew house for sing along with the piano player. By midnight the ship is pretty much a ghost town so we called it an early night again (by early I mean 12:30 am).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 4 by BermudaBound2014

[kdmbluerzr]

On 2/2/2024 at 9:04 AM, TPgal said:

I'm going to be pedantic, forgive me - I need a vacation.  

 

Belonging to the same family and even the same genus (save the Atlantic salmon), steelhead and salmon species are extraordinarily similar. However, steelhead are considered trout, not salmon at all. This is because steelhead continue to live after spawning; Pacific salmon species do not.

Source:  a-z-animals dot com
 

Salmon has a rich, buttery flavor with a slightly oily taste, while steelhead trout tastes like a combination between trout and salmon, albeit having a more delicate flavor than the latter. Both have a mild, neutral taste that's not overly fishy.
source:  recipes dot net.

 

(I learned something new today, and I grew up in an area where fishing for steelhead was a major industry.  Hello Long Beach, WA peeps!)

Agreed. That is quite likely Steelhead. I live in Salmon, Idaho. Have fished for and caught Steelhead, and eaten some salmon that someone else caught. They are often as big as a salmon as well, especially after these fish have made the very long journey from the Pacific ocean up the Columbia, Snake and Salmon rivers to their native spawning grounds between Salmon and Stanley. A nice Steelhead filet can be very close to the same size a Salmon filet. And every bit as tasty. I love my fish! The wait staff on the ships we sail on probably have no idea what the difference is between a rainbow trout or a brook trout or a steelhead trout. It's a trout. 🙂 

Thourghly enjoyed this 'live reveiw" !!  Thank you! 

[BermudaBound2014]

Saturday brought us to Great stirrup Cay. We had priority tendering and they called us to tell us to met in Q at 9:30. We went for breakfast in the local and noticed people already lined up to get in Q. We ended up in Q about 9:10 am and pretty much walked right onto a tender from there.

 

We were first on the island and got one of the only three papalla huts on the main section.

 

IT WAS A PERFECT DAY and an absolutely perfect way to end 14 days at sea. Only thing  I would add is that the lunch buffet was meh but if you walk down to the cabana areas there is a food truck offering mahi mahi burgers. We were glutinous and ordered two to combine the fish into one sandwich and it was oh so yummy!   

 

Back onboard we skipped dinner, but did go to see Royal Flush to their rock set in the atrium after grabbing a few beers for hubs in the brewhouse and two jalapeño margaritas in mix. They were GREAT about giving two drinks each trip to the bar all week.

 

Got a couple snacks at local (ok I had spinach dip and hubby had not one but FOUR raspberry Sundays). It’s ridiculous. He eats and  I gain weight.

 

The ship was very quiet by 10:30 so off we called it another early night. Packed the suitcases in the morning and walked off about 9:00 am with no waiting. 
 

We ubered to Fort Lauderdale Hyatt for $40 and got early check in with our status. We were relaxing in our room by 10am when the tornado warnings occurred.

 

Hanging here for a couple days to avoid more Michigan winter. I’ll be back for a final comparison between Encore and Celebration. Lots of little differences, but the two main things that stand out for us are Service (significantly better on Encore) and Entertainment (significantly better on Carnival). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 5 by BermudaBound2014

[vacation44]

3 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Saturday brought us to Great stirrup Cay. We had priority tendering and they called us to tell us to met in Q at 9:30. We went for breakfast in the local and noticed people already lined up to get in Q. We ended up in Q about 9:10 am and pretty much walked right onto a tender from there.

 

We were first on the island and got one of the only three papalla huts on the main section.

 

 

Did you have to sign up for priority tendering and did you receive it from your status?    

[BermudaBound2014]

13 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

Did you have to sign up for priority tendering and did you receive it from your status?    

Status. We had a message left on the phone saying where/when to meet.

 

If you don’t have status make the extra effort to get early tickets on Friday. Apparently it took until noon to get everyone on island and by the time the late folks got there all the good chairs were gone.

Edited February 5 by BermudaBound2014

[vacation44]

4 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

Status. We had a message left on the phone saying where/when to meet.

 

If you don’t have status make the extra effort to get early tickets on Friday. Apparently it took until noon to get everyone on island and by the time the late folks got there all the good chairs were gone.

Thank you.  We are platinum so we should get the message. 

 

Enjoy your few days in Fort Lauderdale and thank you again for answering all of my questions.