Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Norwegian Encore – The Great Cruise Comeback Live

BirdTravels

By BirdTravels,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

kitty-sail

kitty-sail

Posted
Posted
On 8/9/2021 at 7:22 PM, CrusingwithChew said:

If you look at the photos posted of the menus, the bottles that are included with the premium plus package are designated with an * on the menu and Veuve is not one of them.  If you read the fine print on the flyer it states that the wine by the bottle selection is subject to change from the list provided. 

 

It does however state that all wines by the glass are included, and Veuve is sold by the glass.  I am going to be very curious to see what the interpretation of "wine" is and if the Veuve is included.  In several places NCL often clarifies champagne and sparkling as "wine", but I would imagine that most folks have realized they can easily pay for the Premium Plus package by consuming the Veuve alone haha (at least that was my plan)!

Do you still need to use your room key card to pay for drinks or purchases on board?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

Posted
  • Author
Posted
42 minutes ago, Old & Retired said:

The new gondola in Hoonah explains why your trip canceled Skagway instead of Icy Straight Point.  It appears NCL has a vested interest in Hoonah now.

Yes in part. But there was also consideration of unfavorable weather for docking in Skagway. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites
BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

Posted
  • Author
Posted
38 minutes ago, kitty-sail said:

Do you still need to use your room key card to pay for drinks or purchases on board?

Drinks yes. 
 

Purchases sometimes. The stores are “supposed to” do contactless sales. They are supposed to generate a QR code, have you open it and sign for your purchases on your phone. Your receipt is electronic. Lots of hassle.  It is easy to swipe a room key (on in the case of the Encore, hold the key up to a prox reader) and reuse a contaminated pen to sign for the purchases. 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites
BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

Posted
  • Author
Posted
1 hour ago, Dejlig Ko said:

Hello Bird and another big thank you for your insights and photos. We board Sep 11th. I have quite a few speciality restaurant bookings, but now have friends joining so will need to change the bookings to a party of 4 and maybe adjust the times by 15mins or so. questions for you.

-Can you change reservations onboard on you phone, TV Screen or the touch screens near the elevators. Or can you only make new reservations via those options.

- Do you think going to the dining desk on day one is a better option? 

- Should I call and cancell what I already have and start over onboard?

Appreciate your thoughts in advance. 😍

 

You need to talk to a live person to change reservations. You should try to rebook now. 
 

Embarkation day, the main dining reservations is in Teppanyaki, Deck 6 midship. Other days, there is a desk in the Atrium, Deck 6 midship. 

 

Prime time dining will sell out on embarkation day. So, making entertainment bookings at The Social, Deck 6 Midship, then fixing your dining around that is your priority upon embarkation. Restaurants like Le Bistro have been totally sold out for the cruise for several days. Cagney’s and Ocean Blue have been offering 9 pm reservations. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

Posted
  • Author
Posted
2 hours ago, snorklinbarb said:

Lamb chop/shank dish looked really good to me!  I happen to love shank especially when as tender as you described plus there are still 2 rack of lamb chops.  Does not look like the "downgrade" some here feared and the Bird gave a thumbs up! Before there were 3 chops and usually by the 3rd I was pretty well done.  So I'm actually looking forward to trying it.

 

If you exceeded your Platinum Plus voucher amount (I guess in Cagney's for you), did they charge the difference?  Where did you use the 2nd?

The Bird prefers the old lamb chops. This was good, but we didn’t like all of the sauce smothering the chops. 
 

They are suppose to charge you the difference above $35. We did not test that (but have on prior cruises and been charged). 


The Bird will use the second voucher in Los Lobos. (The Bird does not care for Q). FWIW, on our first Encore cruise, they let the Bird use the second voucher in Onda,,, but I would not count on that now. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites
wacruiselover

wacruiselover

Posted
Posted

@BirdTravels Thank you for the wonderful posts sharing your experience on the cruise! I still have one question you might help with. In Icy Straight Point the new gondola has been causing some concern for both my wife and myself. Turns out that she is also somewhat fearful of heights. Does the gondola travel above or just through the trees? From the pictures, it looks like through - at a height of about 20 to 30'. If so, we should be fine. If not, is it still reasonable to walk to the old dock so we can hike to the town of Hoonah? I understand that it is only about a 1.5 mile trek.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
BirdTravels "Live from...." Rare

BirdTravels

Posted
  • Author
Posted (edited)
36 minutes ago, wacruiselover said:

@BirdTravels Thank you for the wonderful posts sharing your experience on the cruise! I still have one question you might help with. In Icy Straight Point the new gondola has been causing some concern for both my wife and myself. Turns out that she is also somewhat fearful of heights. Does the gondola travel above or just through the trees? From the pictures, it looks like through - at a height of about 20 to 30'. If so, we should be fine. If not, is it still reasonable to walk to the old dock so we can hike to the town of Hoonah? I understand that it is only about a 1.5 mile trek.

It is a hilly walk on uneven ground. It rained yesterday, and it was a bit muddy in spots. I didn’t take a good photo of the trail but you can see a bit below, I was taking pictures of the trees. 

 

Jump in the gondola, close your eyes for 4 minutes and you will be there. As shown, the gondolas run over level ground about 20’ in the air. You’re not going up a mountain like a ski resort or the Mount Roberts tram in Juneau. Just moving from one side of the forest to the other. It is really like a ride at Disneyland. 
 

Trust me, you’ll and the wife will be fine. 
 

60A62C4A-4A38-48C2-9368-19053849555F.jpeg

12EA806D-44A3-4819-8DF9-0F84DC3DC578.jpeg

Edited by BirdTravels
  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites
2FitzCrew

2FitzCrew

Posted
Posted
On 8/7/2021 at 11:08 PM, libtrek said:

Do you think this will be everyday lunch menu? I might cry, they don’t have my all-time favorite pho soup. I carried on about how much I loved it on the Bliss, the chef sent a recipe to our room! Of course it’s metric and feeds dozens. Mary

OMGoodness, we love the pho soup too.  Sue

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bluenose1

bluenose1

Posted
Posted

Hi Mr Bird,

  Really, really, enjoying your reviews. I think I need to figure out the media thing and do a review. We are booked for the Repositioning cruise from Miami back to Seattle in Apr 2022 on the Encore. 

The burning question is when does the Encore go to Miami at the end of 2021? WE can not find any cruise for that. Going without paying passengers? 

Maybe you can milk some info from the staff. 

Great review love the pictures. 

Thank you for your time.

Don 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites
RumRunner2021

RumRunner2021

Posted
Posted
3 hours ago, Old & Retired said:

The new gondola in Hoonah explains why your trip canceled Skagway instead of Icy Straight Point.  It appears NCL has a vested interest in Hoonah now.

This cruise was scheduled to visit Icy Strait Point both before and after the Skagway cancellation.  Have you read the entire thread?

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Catmints

Catmints

Posted
Posted

I have thoroughly enjoyed The Bird’s extensive cataloging of the first NCL Alaskan Cruise! We sail September 11th…. My one question.. where are all the other guests?! Every place looks so empty! Certainly not a complaint 😆 but just an observation from all these amazing photos! 

  • Like 2
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...