One of the largest ships on the Ocean is the Norweigan Encore. The Norwegian Encore is one of the newest ships. It is over 1000 feet long, has 20 decks, and can hold approximately 4000 passengers. We booked a Dec 2019 cruise Eastern Caribbean Cruise, a 7-day cruise. This cruise had three ports of call, Puerto Rico, St. Thomas, and the British Virgin Islands. here is a rundown of the restaurants, activities, bars, and entertainment
Restaurants
The Encore features 7 complimentary restaurants and 12 specialty restaurants. The ship's restaurants feature cuisine from all over the world, from Texas Brisket to Ramen or ribeye to tacos. There are two types of restaurants on the boat, complementary restaurants, and specialty restaurants. The complementary restaurants are included in the cost, specialty restaurants are al a carte and can range from $10-40 an entrée, plus a 20% automatic gratuity. Specialty dining packages are available for purchase. But what is a dining package? You can dine at any of the specialty dining restaurants without extra cost. The package lets you choose a couple of appetizers, one entrée, and dessert. If you do choose to have the specialty dining packages we suggest that you make reservations to the restaurants before your board or right when you board because these restaurants fill up fast. FYI the kids meal is the same in all the restaurants, so you won't have to worry about something for the kids to eat.
Garden Café (Complementary)- The buffet restaurant of the boat serves breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks. Breakfast serves made-to-order omelets, breakfast pastries, American & English, and Indian breakfast. Lunch provides hot entrées, pizza, burgers, sandwiches, Asian, and Indian food. Dinner has the same station as lunch but add in made-to-order crepes and ice cream! Late-night snacks are served at 11:30 pm, they have a small set up of pizza, sandwiches, and desserts. FYI my favorite station was the Indian station omg the butter chicken and tiki masala were delicious! Second tip: go towards the back of the boat for more seating.
The Local Bar & Grill (Complementary)- This is the only 24-hour restaurant on the boat and was one of our favorite places to eat. The local bar serves comfort food— big burgers, tasty sandwiches, and delicious nachos. Located in the middle of the ship it’s the perfect meeting spot to grab a beer, some chicken wings, and watch what is going on in the Atrium. FYI best dish— chicken wings.
Manhattan Room/Taste/Savor(Complementary)- There are three main dining rooms on the boat the biggest of the three is the Manhattan Room. All the main dining rooms have a contemporary, modern, yet relaxed décor. These dining rooms serve the same menu but it changes daily. Every meal you have a choice of appetizer, entrée, and dessert. FYI you can order more than one of each course, we usually ordered different appetizers for the table so everyone can try. If you plan to eat during peak hours make reservations on the touch screen around the boat or avoid peak hours by going to dinner around 5 pm or 8 pm.
Onda by Scarpetta (Speciality)- Italian restaurant located on the Deck 8 waterfront is the most expensive specialty restaurant on the boat, it is also one of the newest restaurants, it replaces La Cucina. Menu items are similar to its sister restaurants on land like Spaghetti & Veal chop Milanese. Appetizers range from $10-15, entrée $20-40, dessert $9. A little cheaper than the Scarpetta restaurants on land but still a pricy.
Ocean Blue (Speciality)- Seafood restaurants with beautiful ocean views. Located on Deck 8 on the waterfront, this is one of the most popular restaurants on the boat. The menu ranges from grilled fish to Hong Kong-style snapper. Not a seafood person, the menu has a couple of meat and vegetarian dishes like NY Strip Steak and Roasted Cauliflower Steak. Appetizer range $9-16, Entrees $20-40, and desserts $8-10.
Cagney's Steakhouse- Norwegian signature steakhouse, you’ll find this restaurant on all the NLC ships. Located on Deck 8 on the waterfront Cagney’s offers steakhouse classics like Ribeye and Porterhouse, lamb chops, and pork chops. Not a meat-eater? There is a couple of seafood choices like grilled salmon and tuna steak. Appetizers range $10-16, entrée’s $25-40, and dessert $5-6.
Le Bistro- A cute French Bistro located on Deck 17, this restaurant is more intimate than the other, perfect for a romantic evening or an intimate family dinner. Le Bistro offers all your French food favorites, Escargots, French Onion Soup, Coq Au Vin. We were able to snag reservations for dinner at this place and their desserts are amazing, especially the Tarte Tatin- Warm Apple Tart and the Fondue Au Chocolate. Appetizers range $8-14, entrées $24-36, and desserts $8-14.
Food Republic is Encore’s fusion restaurant onboard. Also located on Deck 8 this restaurant has a variety of food from sushi rolls to Peruvian beef skewers and Pad Thai to Korean Fried Chicken. Dishes range from $5-16. This isn’t a typical appetizer, entrée, dessert restaurant, it’s more small plates to share. Specialty dining packages pick four items from any section.
Teppanyaki located on Deck 6, is dinner and a show. What is teppanyaki? It’s just the way the food is cooked, “teppan” means iron plate and “yaki” means grilled. Diners can watch these talented chefs perform culinary tricks while making their dinner. This restaurant is a flat fee of $39. Diner can choose between chicken, veggie, seafood, or steak or a combination of meats, and it is served with garlic fried rice, grilled veggies, miso soup, and seaweed salad. Don’t forget to save room for dessert Green Tea Cake or Fresh Fruit.
Los Lobos- an upscale Mexican restaurant located on deck 8 on the waterfront. Dishes range from table side guacamole to queso fundido to start and Carne Asada to Veracruz-Snapper for entrees. Tacos and Enchiladas are also available with the Los Lobos modern twist. Appetizers range from $5-9, Entrée $10-25, and desserts $2-4.
Q BBQ- looking for south Homestyle bbq with live music and country line dancing check out deck 6 at Q BBQ. The restaurant is decorated like a roadside Texas BBQ with a dance floor and full bar. We were able to grab a table at this place before the dinner rush. Menu choices from the pit are Brisket, sausages, spares ribs, and short ribs. Can’t decide? Order the Pitmaster Platter, ¼ pound smoked chicken, brisket, sausage, and short ribs. Also, get an order of the loaded fries to start. Appetizer range $5-15, entrees $14-25, desserts $7
American Diner- The casual diner on deck 17 is a specialty restaurant where you can enjoy lunch or dinner. Decorated like a 1950’s dinner you can enjoy a classic cheeseburger, fried chicken, or the blue plate special. Appetizers range $4-12, entrée $8-15, and desserts $4
Coco's- located on deck 8 is Norway’s favorite dessert spot. Enjoy giant milkshakes, crepes, hot chocolate, bonbons, and ice cream. Desserts range from $5-12 dollars depending on what you pick.
Dolce Gelato & Bakeshop- located on deck 8 on the waterfront, this is the perfect place to have an afternoon pick me up with either ice cream or cupcakes, or both. The bakeshop has bonbons, cupcakes, and macaroons for around $2-3 dollars. The gelato shop has all your favorite flavors like chocolate, stracciatella, and salted caramel for about $3 a scoop
Room Service- Available 24 hours a day but there is a $9.95 service fee & a 20% gratuity charge. The Norwegian Room Service menu is actually pretty extensive, hot entrees, desserts, pizza, wings which are complementary and there are some specialty items like chocolate-covered strawberries for an additional fee. FYI ordering a continental breakfast before 10 am, you won’t have a service fee.
Activities
Encore Speedway is the largest racetrack on the sea and boasts 1100 feet of racetrack located on deck 18th. $15 gets you 8 minutes of racing around the track and there is also there is an unlimited option for $199 for the 7-day cruise. Norwegian has two types of race cars the single rider or the double riders. The double rider option is for adults and their kids. Check the screen times to when the track will have double or single go-carts, there. Although this is an extra charge, this is must-do on this boat, where else can you drive around in the middle of the ocean. FYI, making reservations for this activity is popular so make reservations as soon as you can.
Laser tag located on the top deck of the boat you are transported to the lost city of Atlantis where the blue team and the red team battle out. The cost for this activity is $ 9 per person so get together the whole family! FYI make reservations for this activity as soon as you get on the boat, and try for a night reservation, we thought it was really cool playing laser tag at night.
Galaxy Pavilion is a virtual reality gaming arcade on deck 17. This room is filled with VR experience and simulator rides. Walk the plank, hang at Jurassic Park, or go on a roller coaster in a hot rod are just some of the experiences you’ll have at sea. This activity is extra we paid around $8 for a ride.
Aqua Park, there are not one but TWO water slides on the Norwegian Encore. The Aqua Racer is the tube ride either single or double and the second one is the ocean loop waterslide that actually hangs off the boat. The waterslides are open at certain times of the boat so look at the schedule. If water slides aren’t your thing, there is a separate adult pool with TWO bars that you can hang out. FYI read the requirements before falling in line for these slides, there are height and weight requirements.
The kids’ aqua park has its own kids' slide and tube slide! Perfect for any little one! Watch out the kids would want to spend their entire vacation at this aqua park! FYI read the requirements before getting in the water park, children in diapers aren’t allowed in the water and parent supervision is required. Life jackets are also available.
Encore Casino is located on the 7th deck and it’s huge, with lots of table games and slots! Non-smoke and smoking area. Also, the Skyline Bar is a great spot to watch sports and grab a drink.
Pulse Fitness Center- Located on the 16th deck is the fitness center at sea that features RYDE cycling class. The fitness center also has yoga and Pilates classes for an extra fee and plenty of cardio machines and free weights. The gym can get packed in the mornings so try going late at night when the gym isn’t too packed.
Spa- we didn’t get to treat ourselves to the spa but we wished we did. This spa has everything, all for an additional fee, massages, body wraps, acupuncture, facials, you can even get botox on the ocean. If you want to look good for formal night or the glow party make an appointment for hair, nails, and make-up.
Kids Activities – There are three different rooms for kids to hang out in. For ages 6 months to 3, there is the Guppy and River Rose Reading room where toddlers can enjoy books and toys, parent supervision is required. The guppy room also hosts parent and baby classes once or twice a day like music sing-along to reading time. For a fee, there is also guppy babysitting if the parents want a little time to themselves. The splash academy is a drop-off program for children ages 3 – 12 where they have storytime, arts and crafts, video games, etc. The Splash Academy also offers late-night babysitting for a fee from 10:30 pm to 1:30 am. Regular Splash Academy programming is complimentary. Late Night Fun Zone costs $6 per child, per hour; $4 per hour for each additional sibling. The last group is the Entourage is the teen hang-out for 13 -17 years old—no adults allowed. The Entourage room has video games, board games, movies, theme events.
Entertainment
Where else can you watch Broadway productions in the middle of the Ocean? The Encore Theater is home to the award-winning Broadway show Kinky Boots about a boy trying to save his family business is a must-see! The other show you can catch is The Choir Man another musical staged at an English Pub. Both these shows are complementary, just remember to make reservations once you get on the boat because these shows are usually sold out if it’s a full ship. Want something a little more risqué? Watch Happy Hour Prohibition - The Musical set in a New Orleans Speakeasy. This show is not complementary and costs $29.99USD a person. Every night there is a comedy show at the Social Comedy and night club, some family friends and some R-rated, check your schedule and make reservations one night to see a show. Lastly, there is always live music at the Cavern club it is either Beatles Cover Band or Karaoke time, there is always something going on. Usually, during major holidays, a special show is put on by the cast and crew. We went during Christmas so they put on a special Christmas Show— singing all the popular and favorite Christmas songs!
Bars
There are so many bars and lounges on this boat that you can hit a different one each night...
The District Brew House located on Deck 8 this brewery has 22 draft beers, 50 bottled beers, and a full bar. We spent a couple of nights here listening to live music and trying all the different beers! The bar wasn’t too crowded so we always found a seat at the tables or the couch area. Food is also available here but for an extra cost.
The A-List Bar this is the one bar that we didn’t get to drink it but it’s located on Deck 8 in between Cagney’s and Los Lobes so if you have a reservation at one of these restaurants get there a little early to sip on a cocktail at the A-List Bar.
Sugarcane Mojito Bar- The most happening bar on the ship, the Mojito Bar had some of the best cocktails, bartenders, and music! Located on Deck 8, try the classic mojito for your first drink then move to the specialty mojitos, can’t decide? You can always order a flight to try all the different flavors. Some nights a DJ plays all the best Latin dance tunes.
The Cellars Wine Bar- Is a Michael Mondavi Wine bar on Deck 8. It is beautiful inside it looks like a winery tasting room. This bar host wine tastings every day such as wine tasting, chocolate, and wine tasting, and cheese and wine tasting. If you don’t want to do a tasting come here and enjoy a glass of wine or a flight!
Skyline Bar- the Casino Bar where you can meet with friends or watch a game on one of their giant TVs
The Local Bar- The Local Bar is right night to The Local (the 24-hour restaurant onboard) this bar located on deck 7 has a front seat to the Atrium stage so you can have a drink and still be in the cruise activity mix.
Mixx Bar- Located Deck 6 the Mixx bar is right between Taste and Savor Restaurants. Hang out at the bar before having dinner at one of these spots. Want to order another round? Taste and Savor waiters can order from Mixx.
Maltings Whiskey Bar & Cigar Lounge- This is the first whiskey and cigar lounge I have seen on a boat. The whiskey bar offers all your favorite whiskey cocktails as old fashions and bourbon smash. Also can’t decide whiskey flights are available for purchase.
Observation Lounge- located on Deck 15 is the observation lounge. One of our favorite spots on the boat! This lounge offers floor-to-ceiling windows so you can lounge and watch the ocean go by. Not only does the lounge have a full-service bar but it also offers light breakfast, lunch, and snacks.
Atrium Bar- located in the center of the ship the Atrium bar is a great bar to sit at and grab a cocktail before dinner or even lunch. Also, it provides a great view of the cruise activities on the atrium stage
Let' us know what your favorite part of the ship?
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