NCL Encore Daily Review "LIVE" With Freestyle Dailies

[mdchachi]

Regarding Glow party, I noticed in pictures elsewhere people were waving around glow sticks or lights of some sort. Were they passing them out or selling them?  If the latter, wondering if I should buy some in advance.

[adam3313]

Thanks for posting your review! Ill be boarding the Encore in 3 weeks!

 

I read in your daily that it seems the casino tables aren’t open on the night of San Juan? Do you recall if that’s true?

 

Thanks!

[CazV]

Thanks for taking us along. Safe travels home. 😊

[tx121]

6 hours ago, mdchachi said:

Regarding Glow party, I noticed in pictures elsewhere people were waving around glow sticks or lights of some sort. Were they passing them out or selling them?  If the latter, wondering if I should buy some in advance.

Yes they are given out for free. Some people bring their own glow type stuff as well since this is a popular event. They also do face painting. 

[tx121]

6 hours ago, adam3313 said:

Thanks for posting your review! Ill be boarding the Encore in 3 weeks!

 

I read in your daily that it seems the casino tables aren’t open on the night of San Juan? Do you recall if that’s true?

 

Thanks!

 

I don't recall if the tables were open. We departed San Juan at midnight, so the earliest they could of opened back up would be around 12:30am. 

The slot machines are open all night every day until we got to a port. I think the casino gives their dealer staff a night off in San Juan.

[Wannacruise81]

Thanks for all the information! Safe travels,!

[toothy26]

So if I have the 2 restaurant dining perk for my 5 night cruise can my husband and I split the restaurants as you did or is that a specific dining plan that you chose?

[marktwothousand]

CAN WE BOOK TENDERS VIA NCL APP BEFORE CRUISE OR ONLY ONCE CRUISE STARTS?

IF SO, AT WHAT POINT DOES BOOKING TENDERS BECOME AVAILABLE TO US DURING CRUISE?

[tx121]

1 hour ago, toothy26 said:

So if I have the 2 restaurant dining perk for my 5 night cruise can my husband and I split the restaurants as you did or is that a specific dining plan that you chose?

As long as you have a dining plan, you can choose to use it however you like. So if you really want to stretch out your 2 credits per person, you can technically do 4 specialty restaurants by using 1 credit per restaurant.  Again, it depends how hungry you are and if the portions are big. For instance,  I think Le Bistro is a restaurant where you would use 1 credit each per person because portions are on the smaller side. But, say your travel companion doesnt like French Food but you want to try the restaurant, you can use the dining credit and he/she can order something a la carte or have a dessert. Or they can just pick at what you ordered and have wine/drink. 

[tx121]

55 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

CAN WE BOOK TENDERS VIA NCL APP BEFORE CRUISE OR ONLY ONCE CRUISE STARTS?

IF SO, AT WHAT POINT DOES BOOKING TENDERS BECOME AVAILABLE TO US DURING CRUISE?

It was mentioned on Day 3 on the Freestyle Daily. Now it could of been available to reserve on day 1 of the cruise as well. I didnt check the app if it could of been done on their. It was available on the tv and the touchscreens around the ship

[ldgiff]

You didn't run across any hidden sun deck spots? Sometimes there is just that place that no one knows about...Surely not on the side of the walking track like your pic showed!! Crazy.

[tx121]

3 hours ago, ldgiff said:

You didn't run across any hidden sun deck spots? Sometimes there is just that place that no one knows about...Surely not on the side of the walking track like your pic showed!! Crazy.

Lol. Sun deck space was hard to come by. Besides the waterfront area where people were sunbathing, some people actually did drag some loungers and put them by the outside of the laser tag area.

Also, I heard some people bought one VIBE pass and snuck in the rest of their party. Not sure what the procedure is in Vibe so I dont know if they scan cards when you go in. I know you have to scan the room cards to get in to the area.

So as far as a hidden sun deck spot, I did not find or hear about one. If you count the laser tag entrance area,then that may be? 🤣

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2020 by tx121

[SunnyTahitianDaze]

2 hours ago, tx121 said:

 

Also, I heard some people bought one VIBE pass and snuck in the rest of their party. Not sure what the procedure is in Vibe so I dont know if they scan cards when you go in. I know you have to scan the room cards to get in to the area.

 

 

 

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat.  This sounds like some stuff my best friend and I used to do at festivals back in the day (we hid in port a potties one time between sound check and gate opening so we didn't have to pay...ahhh my 20s hahahaha)

[tx121]

6 hours ago, SunnyTahitianDaze said:

 

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaat.  This sounds like some stuff my best friend and I used to do at festivals back in the day (we hid in port a potties one time between sound check and gate opening so we didn't have to pay...ahhh my 20s hahahaha)

🤣 Same! Well not to the extreme of  port a potties! Haha! 

 

 

[Wannacruise81]

Great review! Thanks for the dailies. I have a few questions. (Anyone can answer with their answers or opinion as well)

 

Do they scan your card to take out towels at the pool deck?

I saw there was a specialty dessert place called Cocos. Did you try? If so, is it worth it?

Is an ice bucket provided in the room?

Is there a weight limit for the slides?

How early do you arrive to get good seats in the theater?

How many charging outlets are there in the room?

Would you sail on The Encore again? 

 

Thanks again!

[CruisingSince1982]

On 2/6/2020 at 9:33 PM, tx121 said:

Day 5- St Thomas

 

 

 

It has become a tradition in St Thomas for me to stop by and get a slice of pizza from Pizza Amore. It is located right across the street from the Havensight Mall entrance where the cruise ship docks. So we got off the ship for an hour to look around the shops in the Havensight mall and get pizza. 

This pizza is just Yum! 

 

 

 

This is too funny. We are from north jersey - best pizza in the country, IMO. And we always stop at this place for a slice!! 

[tx121]

14 hours ago, Wannacruise81 said:

Great review! Thanks for the dailies. I have a few questions. (Anyone can answer with their answers or opinion as well)

 

Do they scan your card to take out towels at the pool deck?

I saw there was a specialty dessert place called Cocos. Did you try? If so, is it worth it?

Is an ice bucket provided in the room?

Is there a weight limit for the slides?

How early do you arrive to get good seats in the theater?

How many charging outlets are there in the room?

Would you sail on The Encore again? 

 

Thanks again!

 

1- They don't scan your card to get towels. You write your name and room number and then sign. It's weird because the sign out towel is on one sheet and the return is on another. I doubt anyone is really keeping track of this because that would be way too much paperwork to go through. I think it is just so people return thr towels and just dont leave them on the loungers. There is also a warning sign that says if the towel isnt returned, there is a $25 fee per towel. 

 

2- We were very tempted to goto Cocos but we didnt get a chance to try it. The shakes looked delicious!

 

3- Ice buckets are available on request. Just let your room steward know and he/she will bring it to you.

 

4- We arrived to the theater 30 min before the show. We didnt have any trouble finding good seats.

 

5- There are 3 charging outlets by the desk and 2 USB outlets by the lights above the bed.

 

6- I would sail on the Encore again if the price is right and if it had a better itinerary.

 

Hope this helps!

 

[tx121]

9 hours ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

 

This is too funny. We are from north jersey - best pizza in the country, IMO. And we always stop at this place for a slice!! 

 

The pizza is so good! I talked to the owner the first time I went there and apparently they are from Queens,NY....so they know about Pizza. Lol! 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who goes to St Thomas for the pizza 🤣

[debenson0723]

8 minutes ago, tx121 said:

 

The pizza is so good! I talked to the owner the first time I went there and apparently they are from Queens,NY....so they know about Pizza. Lol! 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who goes to St Thomas for the pizza 🤣

Alright, you have convinced me that I am going to have to go there next week.  Is it outside the port area on the main road to town?

[tx121]

57 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

Alright, you have convinced me that I am going to have to go there next week.  Is it outside the port area on the main road to town?

Yes it is outside the port area. It is directly across the street from the Havensight Mall Port entrance. The restaurant is tucked away in the corner of a row of stores. Look for the pizza Amore sign. Enjoy! 

[Lagigi56]

Would you say it’s dress as you go on Encore at night, or ladies still dress-up ? Your pots are just sublime ! So great to read on your journey ! 👍

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, Lagigi56 said:

Would you say it’s dress as you go on Encore at night, or ladies still dress-up ? Your pots are just sublime ! So great to read on your journey ! 👍

I am packing for my cruise next week and it is pretty casual.  I do have a couple of nice sundresses for LeBistro and Cagney's.  Monday is "Dress Up or Not" night and you will see everything but maybe only one or two tuxes and gowns.  I always try to look pulled together but I am really trying not to over pack this cruise (accessories go a long ways).

[debenson0723]

2 hours ago, tx121 said:

Yes it is outside the port area. It is directly across the street from the Havensight Mall Port entrance. The restaurant is tucked away in the corner of a row of stores. Look for the pizza Amore sign. Enjoy! 

Thanks.  I'll say TX sent me! 🙂

[HandC4Me]

Thanks so much for your amazing review! We are booked on the Encore for June 22, and this has helped with many of my questions. One thing I'm still wondering about, however, that maybe you (or some other knowledgeable member here) can answer: by June, the itinerary will have changed to Bermuda -- do you think this will greatly affect the Dailies? I mean, I know that obviously Port Days, excursions, tendering, etc will all be different, but do you think "other" activities will also be affected? We're trying to do some reservations planning, and get an idea of activities/shows/times, and I'm just wondering about that. Does NCL have a "template" for daily activities, and just change the pertinent port info? 

Many thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts on this!

[megansdad1]

On 2/22/2020 at 2:28 PM, HandC4Me said:

Thanks so much for your amazing review! We are booked on the Encore for June 22, and this has helped with many of my questions. One thing I'm still wondering about, however, that maybe you (or some other knowledgeable member here) can answer: by June, the itinerary will have changed to Bermuda -- do you think this will greatly affect the Dailies? I mean, I know that obviously Port Days, excursions, tendering, etc will all be different, but do you think "other" activities will also be affected? We're trying to do some reservations planning, and get an idea of activities/shows/times, and I'm just wondering about that. Does NCL have a "template" for daily activities, and just change the pertinent port info? 

Many thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts on this!

Activities may be different based on the port.  I can tell you that for my April Encore cruise, Choir of man is running on nights 2 and 3, and Kinky boots is running on Nights 6 and 7