We just got back from a fabulous cruise to Alaska on the Norwegian Encore. This was our 19th cruise - 4th on Norwegian - and 3rd cruise to Alaska. Yes, there were a few hiccups, but for their first official cruise after Covid, they provided an awesome cruise.

On the 2nd day, there was a medical emergency and a passenger was picked up by helicopter and flown to a hospital. In order to meet up with the helicopter, the ship had to backtrack quite a few miles, which meant that we lost enough time, that we did not get to go to Skagway, and that was disappointing. But, the Captain had no other choice.

Lets start at the beginning: This was a 100% vaccinated cruise (no kiddos under 12 ... which I personally enjoyed), and sailing at 70% capacity. Norwegian required that all embarking passengers have an antigen covid test, that NCL paid for, and administered at the cruise port (actually the Marriott Hotel across from the cruise port). Our time to embark was 11:00 am. We arrived by NCl transfer and got in line for the covid test. From the moment we got in line until actually getting our ship cards and boarding the ship, was two and 1/2 hours. Luckily, it was not a hot or a rainy day, because you stood in line for two blocks before entering the Marriott where the testing was being done, after which, you sit in a big room and wait for your test number to come up on a screen. I didn't notice anyone upset that they didn't pass the test. Prior to going into the test room, we had to provide our original proof of vaccination. Read more