LIVE from the ENCORE- Jan 28-Feb 4th

[bkrickles1]

On 2/2/2024 at 8:19 PM, luckyoldsun said:

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.

You'll love the trip, but it is different from NCL's excursion and a little more $$.

We're sailing Getaway in April and booked Escape to Jost Van Dyke for the 2nd time. We were there in January, 2020 and it was so nice my wife insisted we do it again.

BTW we took pics by Soggy Dollar, but we parked ourselves in front of Hendo's and got painkillers and food from there as their setup and lounge chairs were a little nicer.

 

[ellenw]

9 hours ago, bkrickles1 said:

 

We're sailing Getaway in April and booked Escape to Jost Van Dyke for the 2nd time. We were there in January, 2020 and it was so nice my wife insisted we do it again.

BTW we took pics by Soggy Dollar, but we parked ourselves in front of Hendo's and got painkillers and food from there as their setup and lounge chairs were a little nicer.

 

What date? We are on the April 7 sailing on Getaway.

[Sugar Magnolia]

@BermudaBound2014 I was also on this sailing traveling with two cruising newbies and now just catching up here. Wish we could have met. I envy you not having to travel far from the Celebration to the Encore. 😄

 

Marathon morning...it took us over an hour to travel three miles in an Uber. Driver earned his big tip. His next ride kept calling and asking when he would arrive to pick him up at the Port, but it was impossible to tell as the tunnel shut down every so often due to the congestion at the Port.

 

I agree with your observations. Musical variety was lacking and I was not as impressed compared to the bands I have enjoyed on previous sailings. Choir of Man was as good as I remembered it when I first saw them two years ago and wish there were more of the big productions. My travel companions are Beatles fans so we attended some of those shows at the theater and Cavern Club. We attended the comedy show on the first night but did not return.

 

I thought the food and service at the specialty restaurants were good. Thanks to some creative juggling of our Free At Sea dining packages and my Platinum vouchers, we were able to dine at a different specialty restaurant every night. Trick was to share two meals between three people, which was fine for us because I eat like a bird...a very small bird. Favorites were Ocean Blue, Onda and Cagney's.

 

Glad you were able to visit Jost Van Dyke, one of my favorites. 

 

It was a spectacular and perfect day at Great Stirrup Cay. I mentioned to my travel companions how lucky they were to be able to visit GSC on their first try, as it is often canceled due to the high winds and choppy waves.

 

Disembarkation was uneventful as we self-assisted off the ship as soon as it was announced.

 

[bkrickles1]

1 hour ago, ellenw said:

What date? We are on the April 7 sailing on Getaway.

April 19th 

[ellenw]

31 minutes ago, bkrickles1 said:

April 19th 

We will take of her for you!

[willcruiseanythyme]

Greetings!  I know you have already finished your cruise but I am curious about the weather this time of year in each port.  I have family members who are going with us on this cruise but at the END of February next year and they are concerned that it will be too cold to snorkel or go into the ocean.  Granted every year is different but I am wondering what your experience was during your sailing as far as temps go?  Thanks!

[BermudaBound2014]

We are home and while I planned on doing very specific comparisons between the Celebration and Encore, time is getting away from me. I’m currently in laundry hell and getting ready to repack for a 35 night cruise thru Tahiti on Holland America. From there I’ll fly direct to May until mid-may so I’m actually packing for 3 months. OH…. And throwing a Super Bowl party on Sunday!! Somehow that seemed like a good idea last summer. I truly am an idiot 

 

Anyway, here are my final thoughts comparing Carnival Celebration and NCL Encore. 

 

Important Note- I do not believe you can make accurate comparisons between cruise lines in general as there are enormous differences between ship classes on each line. For example, you cant read a review for RCL Grandeur of the Seas and expect to be relevant to the Icon. Those days are long gone. Instead, IMO it’s wise to compare cruise ship to cruise ship.

 

With that, the encore and Celebration are somewhat close in size. They are about the same age (Celebration is newer). Similar price points and demographics. The Celebration has a higher space ratio and it shows (feels more crowded). 

 

IMO- The ships and experiences are more alike than they are different with a few exceptions…..

 

The service on the Encore was infinitely better than Celebration. It’s not that the servers on Celebration were bad, it’s just that the venues were grossly understaffed.

Entertainment choices goes to Celebration by a mile. Probably twice as many things to do in the evening and more thought went into how things were scheduled. 

 

Other than those two very noticeable differences, here are some things we liked better on each line:

 

Encore- waterfront area, observation lounge (w/snacks), better meal scheduling, brew house, the Local dining until 4 am, more complimentary drink offerings, procedure for sharing one internet package. 

 

Celebration- serenity adult only sanctuary (this area rocked!), the food truck concept for eats is revolutionary, better app in terms of content, Pizza!, more complimentary dinner dining options (Chinese, Mexican, and Italian sit down restaurants are all complimentary), cabin layout, much more fun vibe with lots of choices for things to do in the evening,  

 

Ultimately we would sail on either again. Like I said early on, I haven’t met a cruise ship I didn’t like and these last two were no different. They all offer pros and cons. 

 

I’ll start a live Koningsdam thread next week and can add comparisons to both the Encore and Celebration if interested. 

 

I may have missed some questions along the way. Please let me know if there is anything I can answer.

Edited February 10 by BermudaBound2014

[BermudaBound2014]

1 hour ago, willcruiseanythyme said:

Greetings!  I know you have already finished your cruise but I am curious about the weather this time of year in each port.  I have family members who are going with us on this cruise but at the END of February next year and they are concerned that it will be too cold to snorkel or go into the ocean.  Granted every year is different but I am wondering what your experience was during your sailing as far as temps go?  Thanks!

 

Not going to lie, weather this trip was cooler than any cruise I have ever taken in Jan/Feb. Our day in St Thomas and on Stirrup Cay were amazing, but a few of the sea days had me wrapping in towels outside. That said, all of my other cruises have had wonderful weather so who knows.

[canadianbear]

@BermudaBound2014 no wonder I missed your live thread, I’m too used to HAL!   Going to read through it all now.  

[BermudaBound2014]

3 minutes ago, canadianbear said:

@BermudaBound2014 no wonder I missed your live thread, I’m too used to HAL!   Going to read through it all now.  

They were both pretty lame so please keep your expectations low. When I sail with my Husband we are pretty focused on staying present with each other. Plus those were different ships without much down time at all. We stay busy with Ropes courses, zip lines, go kart racing, water slides, and even a roller coaster on board  (that was broke). 

[canadianbear]

33 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

They were both pretty lame so please keep your expectations low. When I sail with my Husband we are pretty focused on staying present with each other. Plus those were different ships without much down time at all. We stay busy with Ropes courses, zip lines, go kart racing, water slides, and even a roller coaster on board  (that was broke). 

Anyone that does a “live” thread are impressive to me.  
Just didn’t realize until you mentioned it so went hunting. lol