My husband and I sailed on the Encore in Sept to Alaska. This was the best cruise ship we sailed on, and previously we have traveled on Disney and Princess and NCL. The ship is modern and sleek, guestrooms are nice and clean, shows are amazing and the staff is outstanding! There are multiple dining options. We went to several of the specialty restaurants which were very good. Surprisingly, the buffet was fantastic, and we must say we really enjoyed the Indian food and the Asian offerings on the buffet. Hands down the best food we have ever had on a cruise or all-inclusive! We really enjoyed seeing two broadway level productions of Choir of Man and Kinky Boots, and watched every Beatles Show because they were so good! We purchased the 7-day spa pass and it was the best deal on the cruise. Floor to ceiling windows with great views while we enjoyed the hot tub, therapy pool, steam room, saunas, salt room and thermal beds. This is particularly enjoyable on the Alaskan itinerary where port times are limited and the weather is cool. The gym was never crowded and had all the basic equipment you would want with great views! They need a water dispenser in the gym though. The observation lounge is beautiful but there are lots of passengers playing the "save your seats" game for the window-side loungers, so if you want them, you must go there early. There is bar service, coffee/tea and light snacks there all the time. I loved the scones.

The one thing we did NOT like on the cruise was the port times. We did not disembark in Juneau until 3 pm and got back on at 8 pm. We had enough time in Sitka (noon - 8 pm) but it rained heavily. Glacier Bay National Park was breathtaking and we had the park ranger on board providing commentary which was great. We were in the park from 8 am to 1 pm. Ketchikan is very beautiful but we were only there from 7 am to 12:45 pm and we really would've appreciated a few more hours there, particularly because the last shuttle leaves town at 11 am. Keep in mind that NCL never docks in town but provides free shuttles to all the towns. The ride is 5-15 min but you do have to wait in line once you get off the ship to board the shuttle bus. Victoria is as stop that many did not get off the ship for, as we get there at 8 pm at night. It is really just to satisfy the requirement for NCL to cruise outside of the US but I wish they would stop there at a time when passengers could truly experience the beauty of Victoria. Plus Canadian authorities will only allow one bar to open on each deck while the ship is in Victoria. Also, NCL needs to have a better way to disembark passengers systematically at the ports. It was like a stampede getting off the ship in Juneau and this seemed dangerous to those using wheelchairs and walkers, not to mention having thousands of passengers trying to cram out through the atrium lobby and down two flights of stairs at once.

The staff is outstanding on this ship. Our room steward Daniel was fantastic- he was in and out twice a day and the room was spotless. We asked for bath robes and he had them in our room right after boarding. We had great service in restaurants (Rakesh in Savor, Arjun in Onda and Christine in Ocean Blue) and I cannot say enough about the head chef Frances and GM Deepak, who rounded the ship daily and spoke with passengers like friends. Chef sent chocolate covered strawberries to our room when he learned we were celebrating our anniversary! There are not enough good words to express our appreciation to the hardworking staff on the NCL Encore!