thedoc29ca

Thanks for posting your review. Brought back memories for us as well. We love the Getaway - four times worth. We just returned from a Breakaway cruise and the loss of the rock wall, climbing structures and especially the mini golf was a big miss for my nephews. I can understand the removal of the rock wall as it needs to be staffed. Mini golf seems pretty low cost. We still had a great cruise but it would have been better with those amenities.

Put us in the group who liked and will miss the large production shows that were featured on NCL’s larger ships. Our first family cruise was on the Carnival Liberty and we enjoyed ourselves but found the entertainment in the evening lacking. Blue Man Group and Cirque on Epic got us hooked on NCL. We do enjoy the smaller musical acts as well but have been disappointed with the cutbacks in entertainment.

I believe Six was recently replaced by Wheel of Fortune. I’d like to piggy back on the question and ask recent Breakaway cruisers which entertainment was ‘pre-bookable’? Thanks

We sail in March. Excitedly following. Appreciate any dailies you can post.

Thanks everyone for the info, tips and tricks. It’s a seven day cruise and we are inspired by the replies to go carry on only.

Looking to just use carryon luggage for our upcoming Breakaway cruise by sending out laundry on board. Wondering how common issues with colour mixing, shrinkage, loss or damage. Any tips to prevent issues would be appreciated.

Thanks for the info and feed back everyone.

Wondering for those who have had successful bids how have done with respect to room location? I’d assume the rooms that are available for bidding within a category would be the ones in less desirable locations, under pool decks,etc. but you know what they say about assuming.

Loving the review. Getting excited for our turn in March. Thanks for posting the dailies.

Following. We are on the Breakaway out of New Orleans in March. Would love it if you are able to post dailies.

When we were last at GSC (July 22) we were told the sculpture garden had been damaged / moved by a storm. The remnants were from the left to the middle of,the top beach, closest to where the tenders come in. Not on the level of Roatan or Dozumel but worth bringing the snorkel gear with you.

Thank-you.

Thanks for sharing. Do you recall how long ago that was? Thx

I’ve been on all three ships but it has been a number of years. I understand that the mini golf and rock wall have been removed from the Breakaway. Will be travelling with my nephews aged 7 and 10 and would like to confirm from more recent cruisers what non kids club amenities are still there on these ships. I’ve got the ropes courses, water slides etc from the NCL Site. Specifically I’m wondering if Epic still has the rock walls and about things like mini golf, trampoline and climbing structures (not sure what it’s called) that my kids would have done when younger? Thanks in advance for any help.

We’ve booked two connecting cabins with one parent and one kid in each cabin several times. Once on board as mentioned previously Quest Services readily made key cards to allow everyone access to both rooms and for us to adjust who was using each cabin.

We did arrive around 4pm. All aboard was quite late. Did a combo tour Mendenhall Glacier and whale watching through the ship.

My pleasure. I enjoyed several of your posts and your shared knowledge. Felt it was the least I could do. There were 3 Park Rangers that boarded in Glacier Bay and their commentary and talks during the day were informative but not intrusive. A nice touch.

The Go Karts were $15 for 10 minutes. We did not do the Laser Tag or Galaxy Pavillon. There are weekly passes for all of these activities individually and as combos. We did the go karts once and it was fun to be doing them on a ship. Not sure I’d do them all week as they were not particularly fast and your speed is governed electronically.

We really enjoyed our cruise on the Encore. It was different than all of our previous Caribbean cruises. We opted for one day pre cruise deviation. We lucked out with NCL Air and had direct flights and great times. We flew out 7am from DTW via Alaska Air and we’re in Seattle by10am. Our return flight left Seattle at 11:35 am. Very fortunate to avoid the red eye. Pre-Cruise We loved our pre-cruise stay in Seattle. We stayed at Kimpton Hotel Vintage Seattle. Approx $300. Walking distance to Pike Place Market and light rail station to Mariners game. If you can catch a Mariners game the garlic fries are a must but be prepared for them to stay with you. We grabbed a light breakfast at Retro Cafe before catching an Uber to Pier 66. Embarkation We had a 9:30-10am boarding group and it lined up early. We are Platinum and started boarding around 11:15am. Boarding was on deck 7. Went down to deck 6 by Taste to check in at our muster station. Proceeded to The Social (Deck 6mid) to book Go Karts but they weren’t able to yet. We did book some of the comedians. Went to the Cruise Next Desk to register for the Behind the Scenes tour for Latitudes members. Grabbed deck chairs, drinks, and ice cream. Wore bathing suits onto the ship and had the main pool to ourselves for about an hour. Interestingly no music on deck. Seems to be a local noise ordinance. The Go Karts were ‘bookable’ via touch screen around 12:30pm. Food Our best food experience on a cruise ever. We had four specialty dining nights, 2 via free at sea and 2 from being platinum. We did prebook specialty dining pre-cruise. Los Lobos on the waterfront was superb. Fresh Quac made table side was a highlight. Cagney’s was great. Onda was surprisingly enjoyable despite us not being big seafood eaters. We did two dinners one each in Taste and Savor and enjoyed them both. We did not have a wait even without reservations. The Garden Cafe had lots of variety. We particularly enjoyed the Asian station port side. For omelettes in the morning using the stations further in had shorter lines. The only gripe with the buffet was the crowds. It did get busy at times. Best milkshakes - American Diner. Worth the upcharge. Entertainment My wife adored Choir of Man. I enjoyed the comedians but there was only one set per show which was surprising. The live music around the ship is always appreciated. Get to the game show in the atrium early if you want to sit. Ship/Stateroom We got a lot of use out of balcony, mid ship deck 14. It was convenient to enjoy the unparalleled scenery. Don’t forget to bring binoculars and keep them handy. We asked our room steward for blankets which came in handy. The balcony was particularly enjoyable during the day in Glacier Bay. We did go down to the bow which they opened up for pictures but spent the majority of time on our balcony. The ship spins 360 at Marjorie glacier so no need to run around. The ship was it great shape. Public areas were clean and modern. We booked Thermal Suite passes for the week and found it well worth it. Not sure we would do it on a warm weather cruise but it was nice to have a comfortable place to spend non port time regardless of weather. Wished we had researched the benefits and preferred order to utilize the various rooms, steam, salt, sauna, loungers etc. This was our first cruise without our kids and I’m glad they weren’t with us as there weren’t a lot of free things for them to do. They would have enjoyed the go karts, laser tag and galaxy pavilion but they aren’t cheap. There was no mini golf, rock wall or even a sports court and I know they would have missed those. The Observation lounge was a comfortable place to read, play cards and enjoy the scenery. They provided light breakfast and snacks in the morning and afternoon A quick note about the Ocean Loop water slide. It is a lot of fun. The surprising thing was being asked to have my bathing suit examined for any metal or plastic. The grommets on my waist band of one suit and the plastic things at the end of my strings were not allowed. I ended up going down in my basketball shorts. Service Everyone was friendly, attentive and hardworking. Ports A completely unique and new experience to our warm weather trips. The scenery, wildlife, and excursions were a lot of fun. We did the Mendenhall/Whale watch combo in Juneau. Glad we booked through the ship as we got back 5min before all aboard. At Mendenhall I’d recommend the hike to Nugget Falls. Whale watching was a favourite of my wife. White Pass rail excursion was our pick for Skagway. We enjoyed the trip up. The wait for the trip to start was a little long. We chose the UTV Excursion in Ketchikan. No time to go into town as a result of docking in Wards Cove and the short port times. One downside of the cruise is the short time in Ketchikan. Not sure why the Sun is there until 5:30 and Encore heads out at 1pm. We just walked around in Victoria. Very scenic. Fisherman’s Wharf was a highlight. Disembarkation A little chaotic due to issues in the port. Got the sense it was a labour issue with port workers. Self disembarkation did not start until shortly after 8am. People were understandably stressed particularly if they had early flights. Sadly some chose to take their frustrations out on fellow guests or employees who were not responsible. A little bit of patience would go a long way. Overall we really enjoyed this trip. Very relaxing and a great way to celebrate our anniversary.

Just retuned and scanned in the dailies… Doc - Jul 8 2023 - 5-52 AM.pdf

Thanks for sharing your review and pictures. We did a four day Sky for our anniversary about a year ago. Stayed at the same Hampton, first time in the new terminal as well. Brought back lots of fond memories. You mentioned you prefer Alaska and we are leaving next week for our 25th anniversary on the Encore.

We stayed at this Hampton almost a year ago pre-anniversary cruise as well. One of our best pre-cruise Miami experiences. We flew in a day early into Miami. Loved the location with convenient light rail from airport downtown, lots of restaurants and bars, Brickell City Centre mall nearby, lots of patios to people watch from.

Really appreciate the time line break down. Might consider a taxi or Uber to be able to head to the airport right after walking off to avoid waiting on the bus. Any downside to this?

Thanks for the replies. We do have NEXUS which gives us TSA Pre-Check. It’s always hit or miss if it shows up on our boarding passes so I’ll be sure to make sure it’s there. Thanks again.

Cruising the Encore round trip from Seattle in July and have air booked through NCL. Have return transfers booked through NCl for the first time. Overall pleased with NCL Air flights. Direct both ways. Early morning arrival the day before will allow us to explore the city. Slight concern with return flight 11:30am Sunday from Sea-Tac. Wondering if our NCL transfer will accommodate our NCl Air booked flight time but would not be surprised and kind of expect that there would not be communication between departments. Some posts recommend no earlier than 12:00 others have had no issue self disembarking and making early flights. Would rather not be waiting for a bus to fill and considering cancelling transfers and making our own arrangements unless NCL transfers are certain to leave and get us there for appropriate times. Thanks in advance for any input and previous experience.