Live from the Encore July 24-31

[sarlin]

I am loving your review!  Your Dad sounds like mine did-Fun Times!

I wanted to let you know that I am a retired teacher with a Masters in Language and Literacy!.  I love your book recs.  I always download a few books to read during each cruise.  The last Andy Weir book I read was project Hail Mary=I enjoyed it.  

[ChiefMateJRK]

45 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Wait….what?

Yes.  Shocking but true!!  Some of us literally enjoy every minute on the cruise ship. 😎

[cruiseinfoseeker]

On 7/27/2022 at 4:46 AM, YVRteacher said:

 

...Tonight just before my dad went to sleep I knocked on his door and asked how he felt about the day.

He said “it was pretty good.”

Then he paused and asked, “what did we do today?”

 

 

 

My heart just shattered into 2000 pieces

[YVRteacher]

Day 7

Cruise Day 7 Part 1

Woke up to sunshine and a glistening Pacific Ocean today.  I waited as long as I could then went to check in on my dad.  He was still in bed with the sheets pulled up to his nose.  I was like “what are you doing?”  He said “it’s 7:00am and way too early.”  I burst out laughing and said no, it’s 9:00am.  You put your watch back an hour last night instead of setting it one hour forward!

We were still pretty full from last night’s spectacular dinner so we skipped breakfast.  On our whale watching tour in Juneau the captain told us that baby whales are drinking mama’s milk which is 50% milk fat and they gain 3-4 pounds an hour.  Based on the quality and amount of food on the Encore this is likely applicable to cruise ship passengers as well!

 

We did some morning trivia (4 Pics One Word) and tied for the win.  We both enjoyed this game.

 

For some reason we were invited to a VIP event in the District.  All the senior officers and management team were there as well as Paquito and they connected with each group of cruisers.  We were served all kind of appies, mimosas (for me) and flights of beer (for dad.). We have no idea why we were invited.  It wasn’t latitudes and it wasn’t Haven.  It was, however, fun.  

 

We always go to the Q and A session with the ship’s officers and today it was held in the Encore Theatre.  The chief engineer started by saying this is Captain Holmqvist’s very last Q and A as he is retiring tomorrow.  I am wondering if he going to take a retirement cruise!

One of the interesting facts we learned is that mostly we have been cruising at 20 knots per hour but when the captain has slowed it’s because there have been so many whales and whales swim at 12-14 kph so by going at the same speed as the whales it gives the whales a chance to move away thus avoiding harm to the whales.

 

We are both pretty over the Haven restaurant so we decided to enjoy lunch in the Garden Cafe.  My dad is obsessed with soup (he has all his teeth so it’s not like he needs to gum his food) and he selected pasta fagiole soup and I had Indian food.  I love NCL’s Indian food!  

 

The weather shifted from sunny to foggy to sunny with patches of fog.  The pool deck was the place to be.  We had a relaxing afternoon and spent some time with our bartender friend.  Sadly he couldn’t dine with us because so many bartenders have Covid that they needed him to work.  

 

As we walked through the Atrium there was a bit of a line up at Guest Services (likely checking onboard accounts or getting coloured luggage tags) and my dad said, “look at all those people lined up to make complaints.”  I said they are not complaining.

He said “how do you know?”

I replied, “because you have done enough complaining for everybody on the whole ship!”

That said, he went to the Cruise Next desk today and bought 8 more future cruise deposits.

 

[YVRteacher]

5 hours ago, sarlin said:

I am loving your review!  Your Dad sounds like mine did-Fun Times!

I wanted to let you know that I am a retired teacher with a Masters in Language and Literacy!.  I love your book recs.  I always download a few books to read during each cruise.  The last Andy Weir book I read was project Hail Mary=I enjoyed it.  

Thank you! I have a masters degree in language and literacy too!

[YVRteacher]

4 hours ago, cruiseinfoseeker said:

My heart just shattered into 2000 pieces

Same!

 

Two weeks before the cruise we had an appointment with a gerontologist.  My dad is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer’s.  I cried when I found out and just typing this makes me cry too.

There are no medications that can help at this early stage.

One of the questions the doctor asked was what happens when he is alone in an unfamiliar place.  Does he get lost? I responded by saying I would never do that.  I would never take him somewhere new and leave his alone.  On the cruise I walked him to the men’s room and waited outside every time he needed to use the bathroom.  On day 5 we were in the Atrium and he stood up and said, “I’ll be right back” and off he went.  When he came back I said “you’re doing such a great job finding your way around now.”  He said, “I know!”

[YVRteacher]

I call this one “Portrait of a Giant Cookie in the Fog.”

[YVRteacher]

Getting a smoked Old Fashioned in the Haven bar.

The drink was amazing but the best part was it shut up the three extremely loud cackling ladies at the end of the bar for about 3 minutes so we had 3 minutes of non-cackling.

[YVRteacher]

Ogden Point, Victoria at 7:45pm

Edited August 1, 2022 by YVRteacher

[YVRteacher]

[YVRteacher]

Last supper at Los Lobos.

I wrote comment cards for the hostess, waiter, maître d and chef.  We experienced top-notch service and food here.

[YVRteacher]

We had a long day of travel yesterday.  It is a 26 minute flight from Seattle to Vancouver and from leaving the Encore to arriving home the journey took almost 12 hours.

We were originally planning on disembarking then going to the aquarium with the hopes of storing our luggage there.  We were so tired on Sunday morning that we both were hoping we could get to the airport and switch to the earlier flight.  We hadn’t booked any transport from Pier 66 to SeaTac but NCL had shuttles available.

The disembarking process was extremely organized and smooth both from the Encore and through the terminal.  Major kudos to NCL for their Seattle port operations.

 

When we arrived at the airport there was nobody at the Air Canada counter.  There was a glitch in their system and, like us, many passengers could not receive boarding passes electronically and couldn’t print them at the kiosk.  We had to stand and wait for two hours before a staff member arrived.  We have Nexus so security was speedy.  Once at the terminal I kept getting notifications that our flight was delayed further and further and further.  There was a staffing shortage and a security issue where the incoming plane had to return to YVR.  Once we boarded we taxied out to the runway then stopped.  The flight attendant made an announcement that Vancouver was limiting landings so we would be sitting on the tarmac for an hour.  There was a heat wave in Seattle yesterday and we were out on the cement in the sunshine in a metal tube.  That was one thing, but then a whole bunch of passengers took off their shoes and socks.  So it was like being inside a stinky feet scented sauna.

Just as I fell asleep my dad woke me up to tell me we had been there for two hours.

 

Our flight eventually took off and when we landed at YVR there was a plane in front of us that didn’t have a grounds crew so we couldn’t get to a gate and deplane.

 

I had talked with my dad in the morning explaining that there could be travel delays due to staffing shortages and reminded him that it would be an opportunity to practice patience and that getting frustrated or annoyed wouldn’t help anyone.  Although the whole day was slightly difficult, he did great!

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, YVRteacher said:

Getting a smoked Old Fashioned in the Haven bar.

The drink was amazing but the best part was it shut up the three extremely loud cackling ladies at the end of the bar for about 3 minutes so we had 3 minutes of non-cackling.

So Jelly!!!!! 😉

[YVRteacher]

On 7/27/2022 at 8:11 AM, weltek said:

Thanks for the Wines Around the World pics and notes. Looks like they are all between $13-22 retail wines. Won't be overly sad if I miss it, but if I have nothing else going on, I'll do it. I think those that got the $50 credit while it was suspended got the best end of the deal.

Agree 100%

[YVRteacher]

We were in cabin 10106.  This is a forward facing penthouse with Haven access and perks.  I ended up loving the cabin.  My dad slept in the main bedroom and I slept in the living room as the couch converts to a single bed.  This may sound odd, but it is the most comfortable bed I’ve ever had on NCL.  My photos were taken quickly so if you are thinking of booking a cabin like this there is an excellent video on You Tube by Harr Travel (I’ll edit this port if I’m not allowed to mention that company-please let me know in a kind way.)

 

The bathroom is huge!  It has a bathtub, a separate large shower with a seat, lovely L’Occitane products and a separate shelf for your gummy bears or cocktail.  It also had two sinks and a makeup mirror with a seat.  There is room in the bathroom to twirl if you are the type of person to twirl in a bathroom.  In terms of layout this room was perfect for us.  My dad didn’t like the long walk to the stair case or elevator but I like long walks to the cabin to burn off a few more calories and move a little more.  We probably would have used the pools and lukewarm tubs more if we were closer.  On other ships there are lots of people going to the pool deck or the spa in their robes or coverups or swimsuits but we felt a little awkward doing so on the Encore.

 

If you enjoy sitting on your cabin balcony this is not the right cabin for you.

 

My dad felt the cabin was too modern and said they should have consulted him before designing the whole ship.

[spotfish]

Loved your review wish  we would have ran into each other on the ship, having cruised 3 times to Alaska on the jewel it also holds a special place in me. We were in an aft balcony this trip and you mentioned the fore and aft movement of the ship on the first night it was also very noticeable in the aft and woke me up around 3am.

[YVRteacher]

11 minutes ago, spotfish said:

Loved your review wish  we would have ran into each other on the ship, having cruised 3 times to Alaska on the jewel it also holds a special place in me. We were in an aft balcony this trip and you mentioned the fore and aft movement of the ship on the first night it was also very noticeable in the aft and woke me up around 3am.

I really missed having a Cruise Critic meet and greet and connecting with people from CC on the ship.  What was your overall impression of the cruise?  What were the pros and cons for you?

Edited August 2, 2022 by YVRteacher

[Newfun4me]

This has been the best review!!!  I loved reading about your cruise and your dad.  🙂  Mine sounds REALLY similar - hilarious without trying.  And mine is also in the early stages of Alzheimer's.  It's tough.

 

So...  I think everyone wants to know when you are cruising next so we can either be ready to read your reviews or make sure we are on the same sailing.  

 

Thanks for taking us with you!

[KansasTexan]

Enjoyed your review and it has me even more excited for my September cruise on the Encore. Thanks for taking the time to give so many details. 

[disneylover89]

Loved your review!  We were on the same cruise and had a great time.  My only complaint was all the down time.  The Ketchikan port was way to short and made no sense that the last shuttle was at 11:00am when all aboard was 12:45. There was no way you could do an excursion and see the town.  Last time we went to Ketchikan we chartered a boat to go fishing so we wanted to see the town this time and it was a waste of time, we really regretted not booking and excursion there. So, between Ketchikan's early day and Victoria's late day it felt like there was 5 sea days.  I really think NCL needs to up their onboard activities on their Alaska cruises, there was really not much to do.  We also were not a fan of their food in the non-pay restaurants but other than that, we did have a wonderful time.  

 

Unfortunately, my daughter came home with covid and based on our Facebook page, she was not the only one.  People were coughing and sneezing everywhere.

[spotfish]

10 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

I really missed having a Cruise Critic meet and greet and connecting with people from CC on the ship.  What was your overall impression of the cruise?  What were the pros and cons for you?

This was my first cruise where I was in a standard room the others were once in a mini suite and a forward and aft penthouse suite and I have to say the bed in this room was terrible! (I won't be trading in my Sleep Number) other than that the staff on board were always friendly with great service as were the unbelievable shows. 

 

As for the ports Ketchikan is now very disappointing stop as you need to be off the boat when the ship doors open to have any real time in town and the last shuttle is almost 2 hours before the ship pulls out of port, the walk into Skagway isn't to bad but is really helped by the fact the ship is in port for 13 hours.

Edited August 2, 2022 by spotfish
added picture

[gobluegal2002]

6 hours ago, disneylover89 said:

Loved your review!  We were on the same cruise and had a great time.  My only complaint was all the down time.  The Ketchikan port was way to short and made no sense that the last shuttle was at 11:00am when all aboard was 12:45. There was no way you could do an excursion and see the town.  Last time we went to Ketchikan we chartered a boat to go fishing so we wanted to see the town this time and it was a waste of time, we really regretted not booking and excursion there. So, between Ketchikan's early day and Victoria's late day it felt like there was 5 sea days.  I really think NCL needs to up their onboard activities on their Alaska cruises, there was really not much to do.  We also were not a fan of their food in the non-pay restaurants but other than that, we did have a wonderful time.  

 

Unfortunately, my daughter came home with covid and based on our Facebook page, she was not the only one.  People were coughing and sneezing everywhere.

Could you share a link to the Facebook page?  I also think COVID was RAMPANT on the ship.

[cruiseny4life]

15 hours ago, gobluegal2002 said:

Could you share a link to the Facebook page?  I also think COVID was RAMPANT on the ship.

The poster can't share a Facebook link due to Cruise Critic's rules. You could probably go to Facebook, search for the listed cruise and find it though. 

 

For what it's worth - the same situation occurred on my April 19th sailing out of NYC - lots of reported COVID when everyone returned. We didn't get it, still haven't...maybe someday. Anyway, we're booked for another cruise in just a few short weeks - at this point my philosophy is "hakuna matata."

[YVRteacher]

NCL has new straws.  They are neither plastic nor paper.  They are made from agave!  I always pack my own metal straws but now I won’t need them.

[PeeDeeEX]

Thanks for review!

 

I will be on the Encore with my family in two weeks and was wondering how choppy (or calm) the seas were during your sea day and how bad the movement of the ship was during this time. 

 

I live in the PNW so I understand that weather and the accompanying sea conditions can change in an instant but I just wanted to get an idea on what to expect.

 

Thanks!