Earlier this month, the four of us set off on a 7-night Alaska cruise onboard the Norwegian Encore. The entire experience was ah-may-zing! I’ll do a daily port recap, but in this post, I want to share a little about our spectacular floating hotel.
We flew into Seattle the day before, and spent some time sightseeing. {Read about our previous visit here.} The highlight was taking the teens up the Seattle Space Needle, where we had the perfect view of our ship.
When we first began planning this cruise, there were two main considerations:
- We wanted an itinerary that went through Glacier Bay. This narrowed down the list as only certain lines have permission to do this.
- We wanted a ship with sufficient activities to entertain the teens on sea days, which meant a larger ship. Since the ship sails through Glacier Bay, for all intents and purposes, this is a de facto sea day as well.
Ultimately we selected a 7-night roundtrip Seattle cruise onboard the Norwegian Encore. In addition to Entourage (teens club), there is laser tag ($), Encore Speedway (racetrack $), and Galaxy Pavilion (virtual reality center $).
Entourage: chill hang out spot and great space filler while other activities were closed
Laser Tag: themed to Atlantis
Encore Speedway
Galaxy Pavilion
On the first day we registered them for Entourage, and purchased unlimited passes for Galaxy Pavilion which were $200 pp. Without the unlimited pass, attractions are $9 each. Based on the number of hours logged in there, the unlimited passes were a good investment! The teens had charging privileges and were allowed to go to the race track ($15/lap) and laser tag ($10/game) once a day. We didn’t opt for the unlimited add on for these which was an additional $100 pp, because they operate weather dependent. And there were entire days they were closed.
Mr. FamTrav and I enjoyed the evening entertainment, particularly the adults-only comedy shows. Choir of Men, and Beetlemania were interesting, but fun.
And apparently we’ve evolved into couples who attend art auctions at sea and purchase prints. Still waiting on this gem to arrive.
The ship itself is beautiful! At the time of writing, the Encore is the largest ship in Norwegian’s fleet, and can accommodate 4,266 passengers. Our sailing was sold out. But with so many onboard activities, the only time we felt crowded was searching for seats in the atrium for game time, and in the Observation Lounge when we sailed through Glacier Bay.
Yes, the pools and hot tubs are heated and were in use whenever they were open. It’s all fun and games until it’s time to get out in the frigid air!
We stayed in a mid-aft Family Balcony Cabin. Perhaps because we spent such little time in the cabin, it felt spacious for the four of us. It definitely felt bigger than our Family Balcony Cabin on the Norwegian Gem! Here’s the cabin tour. It would mean so much to me if you’d like this and other videos, and subscribe to my YouTube channel, which I’m working diligently to grow.
Everyone was pleased the teens had their own bed. Some lines only offer a double sofa bed. Our two would not tolerate that!
Encore was the perfect base for an epic adventure. I’ll dive into the ports and excursions next.
Our Alaska Adventure: Norwegian Encore
Our Alaska Adventure: Glacier Bay
Our Alaska Adventure: Ketchikan (Ward Cove)
Our Alaska Adventure: Victoria + Alaska Cruise Tips
Shop my winter staples from Amazon that I’ve used and loved for years:
Down Coat With Fur Hood (silver not available at this time) / Satin Lined Beanie with Faux Fur Pom / Waterproof Winter Gloves with Touch Screen / Ankle Boot
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