We chose to go on the new Encore ship and while the ship was beautiful and the staff were amazing, the lack of smoking areas left much to be desired. I am a polite smoker and will smoke in designated areas, will not deface property and will also not throw butts down; however the treatment of smokers on this ship was almost in-humane. 20 decks and over 1,000 feet long and we were only given a closed room in the casino and a small 10' x 30' enclosed room on one other deck. There were hundreds of us trying to fit in this 2 small areas and the ventilation was poor. There was a "Cigar Lounge" but you could only smoke cigars in it. The "Cigar Lounge" also had a bartender that waited on them. I don't understand why we didn't have a small portion on the back of one of the decks, so we could at least feel the ocean breeze while we smoked. I understand that non-smokers don't like to be around us but we are trained well. We will go where you tell us too. My husband and I love NCL but will never go aboard another new ship and we will be sure and check about the smoking areas for all future cruises. This is the worst experience we have ever had regarding smoking.

Besides the above, everything else about the cruise was great. The staff were friendly and helpful, food was great and the ship is immaculate. Food was good as well. We saw Choir of Man and it was fantastic! Our Kinky Boots show was cancelled twice so that was a bit disappointing, but some of the cast was sick so now hard feelings. We rode the go-karts and they were really fun.

As far as the ports we visited; San Juan was lack luster. We were only there from 6:30 pm until 11:30 pm. It was dark and rainy, most of the stores were closed and the streets were a little sketchy. Read more