This is What Encore is Like with 1,300 Passengers (1/16/22)

[Sand and Seas]

59 minutes ago, ppcox said:

Are you doing the Panama Canal cruise from Miami?

Not this time....it's Tortola & St Thomas

[blueslily]

5 hours ago, CarolinaMamma said:

I think it depends. We all enjoy different things about cruising. I’m kind of a quiet person who doesn’t like having to “compete”  to find a space to sit or wait in lines, so this was a great cruise for me. We still managed to meet people in the bars and have some good conversations. If you are a super extroverted person who likes the crowded, loud parties, then it might feel a little sad. 

 

Thanks so much for sharing your experience. I'm thinking about doing a last minute booking perhaps later this week for the Feb 6 sailing. Your description above sounds ideal for me. I don't need lots of people. I like open spaces and as an introvert, I dont need to connect with other people to have a good time. Plus. Lots of space for social distancing.  If I book the Feb 6 sailing, I would be extending my birthday break from work and cruising solo. Sounds good to me. Plus, checking out what the Encore offers with only few passengers onboard sounds like a win 🤗

 

I'm hoping that someone who is eailing on Encore this week will share about their experiences as well. 

Edited January 24, 2022 by blueslily

[vacation44]

9 hours ago, CarolinaMamma said:

You could always find a lounger on the sun deck. On the sea days, it was popular and you may not get the exact location you want, but there was always room.  (This is 

Thank you.   As we always purchase Vibe passes and are not going to for our upcoming trip because we are in the Haven, I have been concerned about the Haven sundeck crowd due to NCL filing it up with upgrade bids.

[KurtMo]

16 hours ago, CarolinaMamma said:

I have wine list pics.

Thank you!

[The Traveling Man]

On 1/19/2022 at 4:17 PM, ElizaSTN said:

Does it feel *too* empty?  We’re looking forward to low crowds but I’m starting to get nervous it’s going to feel like a ghost town.  

I think it's unlikely that NCL would go ahead with a scheduled cruise if there were so few passengers on board as to make it seem like a ghost town.  They probably would just cancel and refund your fare.  That being said, however, I understand your point of view.  A party in a huge venue where only a handful of people attend is not much fun.  It takes a certain critical mass for things to click.

[CarolinaMamma]

7 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

I think it's unlikely that NCL would go ahead with a scheduled cruise if there were so few passengers on board as to make it seem like a ghost town.  They probably would just cancel and refund your fare.  That being said, however, I understand your point of view.  A party in a huge venue where only a handful of people attend is not much fun.  It takes a certain critical mass for things to click.

Yes. There was one night, for example, where we watched Alexa play for an almost empty observation lounge. That felt kind of sad. On other nights, they moved her to the atrium, which was busier. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

4 hours ago, CarolinaMamma said:

Yes. There was one night, for example, where we watched Alexa play for an almost empty observation lounge. That felt kind of sad. On other nights, they moved her to the atrium, which was busier. 

While there wasn't always a lot of us listening to Alexa in October, we certainly make her feel very appreciated!!  That smallish crowd just meant that we got more of our requests honored.  Nobody was sad at any point.  😎  That said, we developed a trend of the same core assembling each night at 9:00.  By the last night, we had a meaningful "crowd" and we demanded an encore.  She "had" to play well beyond her scheduled 10:00 PM quitting time.  After days of us pounding her with Queen requests, she shocked/surprised/rewarded us with a fine rendition of "We are the champions" as her final encore.  Fun stuff!!!!

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 hours ago, CarolinaMamma said:

On other nights, they moved her to the atrium, which was busier. 

I don't think they "moved" her.  On our cruise, she shuffled between the atrium and observation lounge on a routine basis.

[CarolinaMamma]

7 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

While there wasn't always a lot of us listening to Alexa in October, we certainly make her feel very appreciated!!  That smallish crowd just meant that we got more of our requests honored.  Nobody was sad at any point.  😎  That said, we developed a trend of the same core assembling each night at 9:00.  By the last night, we had a meaningful "crowd" and we demanded an encore.  She "had" to play well beyond her scheduled 10:00 PM quitting time.  After days of us pounding her with Queen requests, she shocked/surprised/rewarded us with a fine rendition of "We are the champions" as her final encore.  Fun stuff!!!!

She is so talented and so versatile, isn’t she? We just loved her! 

[bigrednole]

On 1/20/2022 at 10:10 AM, coffeebean said:

I'm not an accountant or anything like that but something tells me if NCL permanently keeps crowds down to a percentage of their actual capacity, they will not make any money. How can they be a viable company that way?

 

I don't like crowds either but looking at the OP's photos, it is very sad seeing those venues so empty. Sad indeed.

 

 

Some revenue is better than no revenue at the end of the day. This is all about kicking the can down the road until cruising is back to normal. 

[Quincella]

On 1/20/2022 at 9:16 AM, Tiffany18 said:

I am currently onboard Encore as well and completely agree with @CarolinaMamma. I think we are all so use to seeing masks that it hasn’t made the cruise feel restricted. As she said, it feels like you just wear a mask for short spurts of time. There is an overall sense of relief that we all made it on the ship! 🥰 
I am also in Haven, which is full. I’m kinda wondering where all the people are. Haven lounge is empty every time we are in there. Last night was the first time the Haven bar seemed busy but we were still able to get drinks quickly. Haven pool area, ghost town. I figure since the ship is less crowded maybe Haven guests are venturing out more. 
I have been to the Garden cafe once for lunch and it didn’t feel crowded. Comedy shows in the comedy club do fill up so we arrive early. 
I’m very happy we decided to cruise. A very unique experience. 
 

I found the people! They were on the Haven sun deck, which I thought was a gorgeous place.  We didn't have trouble getting loungers or anything, but I think all the people were there instead of in the pool area which, like you said, was remarkably empty the entire time.  I think if they'd kept the roof open more people would have gone there.  And by "more people" I mean me. 🙂

[CarolinaMamma]

17 minutes ago, bigrednole said:

Some revenue is better than no revenue at the end of the day. This is all about kicking the can down the road until cruising is back to normal. 

Interestingly, the cruise director kind of let slip in one of the presentations that they were in a “comfortable” position with 1,300

pax on our cruise, and that some other sailings were cancelled because they didn’t have enough people, and they were hoping to consolidate them on the bigger ships. Someone asked if there was a “break even” point and if they were losing money on this cruise, and this was in response to that question. So there we have it, confirmation of why some of those other sailings, like Joy, were cancelled (not Covid) and that Encore can at least break even with 1,300

people onboard. 

[disneylover89]

Did you go to any Trivia?  Were there a lot of people?  

[jlseymour3]

1 hour ago, bigrednole said:

Some revenue is better than no revenue at the end of the day. This is all about kicking the can down the road until cruising is back to normal. 

As long as you clear marginal operating costs - probably just fuel and food.

[CarolinaMamma]

2 hours ago, disneylover89 said:

Did you go to any Trivia?  Were there a lot of people?  

I didn’t go to the trivia, but every time I walked past it, there seemed to be “enough” people, but plenty of seating still available. 

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, jlseymour3 said:

As long as you clear marginal operating costs - probably just fuel and food.

And booze.....  Or is that part of "fuel?"

[vacation44]

4 hours ago, CarolinaMamma said:

So there we have it, confirmation of why some of those other sailings, like Joy, were cancelled (not Covid) and that Encore can at least break even with 1,300

people onboard. 

Which is what some of us thought when those sailings were cancelled.  

[jlseymour3]

1 hour ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

And booze.....  Or is that part of "fuel?"

I was thinking that booze is probably net in the revenue column.  

[CarolinaMamma]

4 hours ago, vacation44 said:

Which is what some of us thought when those sailings were cancelled.  

Yep. I was one who thought that as well. Interesting to see them publicly admit it when the cancellation letters led with “We are concerned about safety…” implying that it was Covid-related. 

[life is to be happy]

On 1/19/2022 at 10:17 PM, ElizaSTN said:

Does it feel *too* empty?  We’re looking forward to low crowds but I’m starting to get nervous it’s going to feel like a ghost town.  

I fully agree.... yeah not having to queue and being Able to get a lounger at the pool is amazing however when my family and I cruise I love to meet people and "people watch" and by sounds of it that won't be what we want for the time being.... also our teen daughter likes to meet people and hang out with around the ship so probably not too many about for her to enjoy her holiday... the low numbers doesn't excite me at all but will hopefully change soon with more people allowed on board to have the  "Cruise Experience" but for now ill just keep wishing

[ChiefMateJRK]

You people continue to amuse/baffle me.  Do you really need a crowd of strangers to make your cruise fun?  That's............strange.

[life is to be happy]

11 minutes ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

You people continue to amuse/baffle me.  Do you really need a crowd of strangers to make your cruise fun?  That's............strange.

No I don't need strangers to make my cruise... and that is not what people are saying....nothing strange about it. meeting people is only 1 part of the cruise for me.... I have loved all our cruises and we mostly keep ourselves to ourselves however it is nice to talk to people too....so to make our cruise fun we do entertainment show, the pool by day, and relaxing with Norweigans MANGO MELTDOWN COCKTAIL by the pool... with just  my husband and occasionally our daughter as she is usually hanging out with her "Holiday friends" but  she still spends  time and checks in to let us know she is ok.... but anyone on board if you have not tried the mango meltdown try it ... it is delicious

Edited January 26, 2022 by life is to be happy

[bbnmom]

On 1/21/2022 at 12:19 AM, ChiefMateJRK said:

This has now become the most bizarre discussion I've ever witnessed on CC.  So you folks don't want a crowded ship, but you also don't want a less crowded ship.  It really just sounds like you want an excuse to complain regardless of the number of passengers on the ship.  Is that is?  You just aren't happy unless you have something to complain about?  Yeah, I've met your kind.  Hopefully you won't be among the crowd (or non crowd) on my next sailing.

I sincerely hope to run into you someday on a cruise. It would be interesting to see if you are as hateful when not hiding behind the computer screen

[ChiefMateJRK]

11 hours ago, bbnmom said:

I sincerely hope to run into you someday on a cruise. It would be interesting to see if you are as hateful when not hiding behind the computer screen

I guess that makes one of us......

[CarolinaMamma]

18 hours ago, life is to be happy said:

I fully agree.... yeah not having to queue and being Able to get a lounger at the pool is amazing however when my family and I cruise I love to meet people and "people watch" and by sounds of it that won't be what we want for the time being.... also our teen daughter likes to meet people and hang out with around the ship so probably not too many about for her to enjoy her holiday... the low numbers doesn't excite me at all but will hopefully change soon with more people allowed on board to have the  "Cruise Experience" but for now ill just keep wishing

My teens did take a little longer to find their “crew,” because there were fewer teens on board, but they ended up hanging out with three other sibling pairs and had a great time.