This was my first voyage with NCL and I chose Encore due to it being a new vessel and even though I have cruised several times before I had yet to sail on a brand new ship and was excited at the prospect. The ship is indeed beautiful but with most things new there were some glitches that need to be worked out and in my opinion, policies that need some fine tuning. For starters too many things had an extra up charge attached to it, whether it was an activity, an amusement, a location such as the Vibe Beach Club ($209.00 for the week) and some food items such as crab cakes or a lobster tail for example. This was bothersome and by far was a common complaint among many of the other passengers I had spoken with during the voyage. Three standouts include what would be considered "selling points" such as the Go Kart track, Laser tag which offered a week long pass and Galaxy Pavilion which offered a tiered pricing option to experience the VR attractions (I chose the $29 for one hour option) but if you wanted to try the full size SR8 race car, for instance, there was an additional charge of $15 on top of the charges previously mentioned, so basically you pay an up charge on top of an up charge area and there simply is no need of it. Another policy that was frustrating was that reservations had to be made for the chance to experience many things on this ship but what seemed to be equally frustrating was that while some could be made ahead of time online or thru NCL, others had to be done onboard and it was a mad dash on Day 1 to get these or be shut out before the ship ever leaves the dock. If you are a first time passenger you may not even know of this policy and run the risk of a ruined vacation.

Cabin: I traveled as a solo and wanted to try the solo studio area and this experience was quite simply a home run. The cabins are perfectly laid out for one with ample closet space and shelving, a roomy stand up shower and private enclosed toilet. The sink is adequate but the traditional desk is not very wide so a lap top wouldn't fit on it. There is a safe available for items such as a wallet or other such small items. The other thing of not is that there is no mini fridge in the room but overall it was a perfect cabin for the solo traveler. The area is exclusive in that a key card is required to enter the area and contains a private and spacious lounge with it's own coffee machine and a daily assortment of fruits, cookies or cakes, orange juice and ice water.

My dining experiences pretty much follow other reviews here just beware of up charges for certain menu items as mentioned earlier. Read more