(In 2020, those cost $15 for about six laps or $199 for reservations over your whole cruise.) Not all passengers who want to enjoy this much-publicized perk will have the chance. There are safety warnings aplenty, you have to wear a claustrophobic full-head helmet, and reservations are snapped up within hours of embarkation day. The track also has an observation area so you can snap photos of your loved ones zooming by. The kart route, which is the longest on any Norwegian ship, juts briefly over the water, although you don't notice that as you're driving. This track for electric go-karts coils a course more than three football fields long into a curvy knot positioned near the back of the top deck. Some passengers have uncharitably called it "the Spirit Airlines of the seas." The Encore is a throughly contemporary ship, but it would be wrong to call it all-inclusive. This area sells out early because repeat passengers know how intolerably overcrowded the main pool deck gets on at-sea days. Vibe, an adults-only zone, takes up some of the best real estate for sunbathing, but to access it, you have to pay ($99 a day in 2020, with passes available for your whole cruise). To find peace or adequate elbow room, you have to shell out for either the private pool in the upper-class Haven area or for access to a space called Vibe Beach Club (Decks 19 and 20). How could a cruise line allow this to happen? The answer is the key to a nagging reality on the Encore: It constantly pressures you to pay more for upgrades. Norwegian has packed so much on the top deck (laser tag, go-karts, a splash area for little kids, a couple of thrilling water slides that are now passé on cruise ships, and so on) that it forgot to leave room for a good pool. But the bigger sin is that it's simply not large enough for everyone (this photo was taken on a day when most passengers were on shore). Yes, it seethes with relentlessly loud music-as do the pools on lots of other lines. In our estimation, the pool area is a problem. You can also order room service, but even that is upcharged now (in 2020, $8 per order). Finally, The Local, abutting a crowded indoor walkway as if you're eating in a mall (pictured), is heavy on fried and comfort foods. At those three table-service restaurants, some dishes are available at every meal service, but there's also a changing daily menu. The main waiter-service alternative, the Manhattan Room (larger, noisier, less casual), sits low at Deck 7 aft, while the two remaining complimentary upscale rooms, Savor and Taste, are midship and more intimate but not quite distinguished from each other. Unfortunately, if you're not quick to make reservations at the other restaurants, you may end up here as a default a little more than you'd like to. That's the indoor Garden Café, which wraps around the front end of Deck 16, a few steps from the main pool. Like almost all ships, the Encore has a huge multistation buffet that goes from hamburgers to pasta to shrimp cocktail to curries to ice cream-often piled onto the same plate. When passengers get tired of paying surcharges for the most interesting food, there are still some options left, but in fewer locales. Keep scrolling to see the ship’s highlights-and to learn about its biggest drawbacks. At the invitation of the cruise line, Frommer’s spent a few days taking in what Encore has to offer. Tweaks and additions can be spotted throughout the ship, particularly when it’s time for dinner and a show. Like Norwegian’s Escape, Joy, and Bliss, Encore is huge (see stats below) and stuffed with entertainment, bars, dining venues, and activities, including laser tag and an on-deck racetrack for go-karts (something Joy and Bliss have as well).īut despite the similarities, this is the Norwegian Encore, not the Norwegian Rerun. After all, this is a vessel that repeats the layout and most of the onboard thrills of its siblings in Norwegian Cruise Line’s Breakaway Plus class. The Norwegian Encore cruise ship has a fitting name.
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