Monica887

We cancelled. One member in our group is over 70, and concerned. I have little kids at home (they weren't coming) and I can't take the heightened risk of not being able to get home to them in a week.

Cruise ship are petri dishes for lots of things in general, and though we have never gotten sick, there are too many additional factors in this. And even if we don't get sick or quarantined, it seems selfish to potentially spread this around our cities and workplaces, until we understand more about how it spreads and affects people.

MDR is fine.  I'm veg, not vegan, but many of the veg options are vegan. At the buffet, for lunch I love the Indian section - it's usually some of the better tasting food on the ship and a good place for beans and veggies. They make a veggie burger too if you ask. I *think* it is vegan. And always plenty of salad.

The specialty restaurants are lacking. The steakhouse will make tofu if you request in advance but I usually just eat the sides. The bistro has one fine veg option but it has cheese. The hibachi cooks everything together, so while they have plenty of veggies, I can't watch it being cooked on the meat covered grill. O'sheahans has nothing o can think of and will usually act annoyed if you request a veggie burger.

48 minutes ago, ggTexasGal said:

You might want to read some Encore reviews.  Yes, the itinerary will be different, but the onboard schedule will be similar.

Reading what others have been doing on THAT ship should help you make decisions when your 120 day opening comes around.

Thanks - I've been following carefully 🙂 which is what made me think I needed to do a little more planning for this one. Even on the smaller ships when we didn't need show reservations I found we would have to skip dessert to make it to a show on time.

I usually like to wing it when it comes to meals on vacation, but I'll be on the Encore in this summer and also really want to see the shows.  How do I find out when the shows are, so I can plan around them? And do I book shows in advance, or only once on board?

What's the best way to get from the dockyard to Hamilton?

We are doing 2 overnights with NCL. I've never done an overnight anywhere and want to use the time wisely. We are a mother and daughter, 40something and 70something both in good shape for walking. Not looking for a wild adventure or sunbathing. Not really into shopping. 

Any good unique experiences? A good beach for just some some scenery without planting ourselves there all day? Nature or wildlife experiences?

Help me create an itinerary!

24 minutes ago, meatball_nyc said:

$19.00 for a scoop of spaghetti? Ummmm ..... no. 

Challenge to anyone who has eaten there.

we are on Encore July 2020. Don’t plan on Onda unless someone can prove me wrong. 

Funny, I was going to ask if anyone tried the spaghetti and if it's comparable to Scarpetta. They're well known for it. 

20 minutes ago, Dar & Bob said:

Ours showed up immediately.  Did you get a confirmation email? 

 

  I would call - tomorrow, the wait on the weekend is crazy. 

A family member booked it, so I don't have the email. I'll check with them, but wondered if it was normal to not be there quickly. 

How long does it take after booking for a trip to appear on your MyNCL? I booked this week and don't see it there. I don't have the reservation number to look it up.

I came across this yesterday when I looked -

https://eatsleepcruise.com/2019/12/norwegian-encore-restaurant-menus-and-dining-guide/

2 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Latest talk is they have 14 menus that rotate.  From past history not all ships synced.

 

Presume you mean MDR?

Yes, MDR. Specialty restaurants would be nice to have too. I know they don't change much. 

I know people sometimes post them here but is there a reliable way of accessing any ship's most current menus?

Also, the private island is tough. No veggie burgers. Usually bad pizza, and premade salads. It's fine, but keep expectations lower there.

Can't speak to the Pearl, but NCL overall.

It is very hit or miss when requesting something like a veggie burger. At O'sheahans I have at times been given a smile and a veggie burger - at other times, I've been given a "hmm, um, maybe, I don't know, I'll check" and a half hour wait to get it. Same at the pool deck/buffet - one guy told me I needed to order 12 hours in advance (um...you wanted a call at midnight with my lunch order?!), another guy told me 10 minutes and then 40 minutes later it was available, and at other times it has indeed been ready 10 minutes later.

Usually I can go to the restaurant desk on day 1 to look at the menus for the week, to decide when it might be best to do a specialty restaurant instead, but last time (on the Dawn) they refused to show them to me. It was bizarre. I explained that I have food restrictions and like to plan ahead. I pulled the "I'm a gold member and have never had a problem previewing menus; is there a manager who can help?" (Which I swear I've never done before), and magically she had menus available. 

1 hour ago, Chigirlcruzin said:

Carnival offers a “free” buffet on their private island. 

This was in roatan. Perhaps it varies?

One more plus for NCL, on the private island you can eat at the buffet ( which isn't great but gets the job done). On carnival I just had to pay to eat at fat Tuesdays on a private beach.

I just cheated on NCL with CCL. Lots of things are ship specific, depending the age and size.

But my biggest annoyance with CCL was the food. The buffet was always crowded and the lay out was frustrating. If I wanted to get fries with a salad, I had to wait in 2 separate very long lines. Things were separated that I would have liked to be together. Also, the app said lunch was open until 3:30, but it closed at 2:30 so twice I missed lunch and was limited to burgers and pizza. 

CCL pizza is much better crust and overall but still bland.

Dinner food in the MDR was much better on CCL. Needed some salt but otherwise tastier with better vegetarian options. 

Our carnival ships library had a bunch of games but very few books, and no kids books. 

Carnival app is better - can look up all the dailies and menus for the whole week.

Staff was mixed, but generally friendlier on NCL. 

Otherwise we make our own fun and can really enjoy ourselves anywhere.

Arrived in Nola around 3:30 am, judging from a the noise. After that first day, the whole thing was practically forgotten. First day at sea was a little chilly, getting a late start, but since then we have had gorgeous weather, and everything was business as usual. 

Took a little extra time to unwind after that, and some other travel glitches we faced, but otherwise had a fantastic week!

Just now, toad455 said:

has the itinerary changed? From what I'm gathering:

 

Wed - Costa Maya

Thur - Roatan

Fri - Cozumel

That's the plan.

Just now, Monica887 said:

Staying. I have 2 kids and no vacation time left. And had to fly here. It would be a bigger hassle to leave than to stay. 

 

If kids were not involved, I would consider just enjoying the week in NOLA.

3 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 Are you staying or going?

Staying. I have 2 kids and no vacation time left. And had to fly here. It would be a bigger hassle to leave than to stay. We are also running out of long pants and long sleeves - I may need that $100 to do laundry!

Still planning on 10am. $100 credit per room. And if you want to disembark for a full refund you can.

New sail time, in theory, is 10am. "No itinerary change"

The lines were horrific going into the main dining rooms. We ended up at the buffet, also with crazy long lines. Over 900 kids on the ship, and the muster drill didn't end until almost 6, so everyone was going up at once. I'm hoping on other nights timing will be more spaced out. 

Other than that, no indication of anything other than business as usual.

Official word is that Glory leaves at midnight tomorrow for Christmas week, with Cozumel moved from Tuesday to Friday.