Eastern Caribbean from Miami, 12 January 2025 (7 nights)

Quite a disappointing 1st cruise. Following 2 weeks in Canada and a short stop in Seattle we boarded the Encore and settled in for our 1st cruise. The stateroom (midship lvl 12) was comfortable and roomy, the ship looked clean and well-presented but quite busy. The package was a trip to Juneau, Skagway & Ketchikan with a day in Glacier Bay. We got off at Juneau for a whale watching trip which was ok but not worth the £200 each that we paid as we had been on far better trips in the past. Also Juneau itself was disappointing as they seemed to be full of jewellery shops or poor-quality gift shops. This seemed a very poor destination stop and not what the company seemed to be selling as a great location. This was to be the only trip we had as poor weather meant that in Skagway our kayak trip was cancelled and in Ketchikan our float plane trip was also cancelled. The day in Glacier Bay was cancelled due to 'a medical emergency' which seemed to start the previous night in Skagway with us leaving 30 mins late. We docked at about 3 am back in Juneau and sat there till 09:30-10:00 before setting off to what we believed to be Glacier Bay; however, we were then told over the speaker system that due to 'a medical emergency' we were not going to Glacier Bay but going to Dawes glacier instead!! The feeling amongst the passengers wasn't very good many appear to go to guest services to complain. The trip cancellation in Ketchikan was particularly annoying as we called guest services at around 07:15 to see if they had had any cancellation notices and they said that was they had not and that the trip was probably still going ahead. So off to breakfast we went then off the ship to go to the large 'hanger' style gift shop/ waiting area for our trip. We found the appropriate waiting area, saw the sign for our trip and was informed that the rep would be with us at 09:15. So we waited almost an hour in the waiting area watching all the other trips queue and go, and at 09:20 i went to a rep and asked if anyone was coming for the float plane trip to be told that 'they had just been informed that it was cancelled'. To say we were disappointed is an understatement but ok they can't help the weather. We boarded the transfer bus from the port to the town and was very surprised as to how run down the area was where we had docked and not really what we expected. However, due to the weather getting progressively worse we changed our minds and returned to the ship to dry out. On returning to our cabin, we saw a message on our phone at approx. 07:30 saying that our trip had been cancelled so someone had lied to us about it 'just being cancelled at 09:15' when we were at the waiting area. This was extremely frustrating as had we been told when we arrived in the waiting area at around 08:15 we could have booked an alternative trip before they had all gone, but this wasn't the case. Another disappointment was the lack of dairy free options on your menus; my wife has a cream intolerance and requested several times what the dairy free or vegan options were. There was usually some kind of option with the stater and main but when it came to desserts the only options seemed to be a bowl of fruit or sorbet. This became very frustrating very quickly. On one of the meals booked at the main dining room (Manhattan) she was told that the main meal was dairy free however that night she suffered with severe stomach cramping and diarrhoea for over 12 hours. Had she actually been allergic, this could have been extremely dangerous. We reported this to the restaurant manager at out earliest convenience. She was also told in the main restaurant, when asking for the vegan or dairy free options that gluten free and sugar free were available!!!!!!!!

Superb. Ship and staff great. NCL as good as always. Would recommend highly.

The ship itself was beautiful. On the whole the food was good although i did find the buffet very crowded and overwhelming at times. The service by some of the dining staff could have been better and our party had to send a couple of meals back due to coldness and getting orders wrong. One of the excursions we booked was rushed due to lateness of another NCL ship not leaving the port which meant the Glacier was rushed and we couldn’t do what we had planned to do and in fact the driver of the bus informed us if we were late back he would leave without us. In fact he set off but then stopped for people who said they couldn’t find the bus which wasn’t clearly marked. I was under the impression that if you booked a shore excursion with the cruise ship, you would not be left behind however this does not seem to be the case. Although the Choir of Man and Beatles were excellent. The other entertainment I felt was below par compared to other ships i had been on. I also felt that that there was not enough to do in the day when we were at sea apart from spend money on deal or no deal or bingo. However, the beautiful sites of Alaska made up for it. With regards to the ports, I would have preferred more time in them. especially Ketchikan. We were told we had to be on the last shuttle back to ship for for 11 o’clock which meant we couldn’t do the lumberjack show as we didn’t have time. This was a disappointment. However, my husband and brother went on a fishing excursion with the ship and did not arrive back till 12. 45 pm and informed us that there were people on his shuttle bus that had not booked any excursions they had just got on his bus and no one checked, so this was a bit annoying. However we did have a great time on the whole and i felt that what we received for the price was very good value for money and i would cruise with NCL again

Fantastic 28 night cruise. Great ports of call and excursions. Beautiful ship. Superb cleanliness. Comfortable cabin. The food was very good, as was the range and quality of drinks. The ship was crowded at times. The service was outstanding, even if it was rather frenetic. The disembarkation process for shore excursions was badly organised and included one and a half hours queuing in line at Los Angeles for immigration. Unacceptable. Some of the entertainment in the theatre, the cavern club and bars was first class. Overall a wonderful experience, leaving many great memories. Highly recommended. I travelled on to Alaska which was an amazing experience.