Cruise Info đŗī¸
This is my first cruise that housed ~4,000 occupants. We booked through Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL), on the Norwegian Encore! This is a 7 days Caribbean cruise that stopped by Dominican Republic, US Virgin Islands - St. Thomas, British Virgin Islands - Tortola, and Bahamas. We paid $1134 which includes: balcony room, alcohol, 3 speciality dining, tip included, and credit towards each excursion through NCL.
Arrival at Miami đŦđąđŊââī¸đ
The Crew đąđŊââī¸đąđŧââī¸đ§ââī¸đŠââī¸đ¨ââī¸
Jacki, Diana, Brian, Joel, Adam, myself, Hidde, Brandon (from left to right)
Us đąđŊââī¸đąđŧââī¸
Gotchas đĄ
- We arrived at the port at 1pm and it was a breeze getting through the line. This Pennsylvanian couple that I ran into said that they boarded at 11:30am and the total time to get through the line was about 30 minutes.
- Inside the cruise can get pretty chilly. I brought lots of warm clothes and I was a tad cold more often.
- There are 3 outlets in our room - I didn't need to bring extra outlets.
- We booked dinner reservations in advance, but found out that on the day of the cruise, there were plenty of reservation options available.
- We made a reservation for The Choir Of Man early on and luckily, it got sold out shortly after.
- There are tour options available through NCL, but can also be purchased on Trip Advisor / Viator. We booked 1 tour through Aviator and 2 tours through NCL due to limited options elsewhere.
- We found about 80's theme party and white/glow party events through Reddit threads.
Excursions đī¸
Amber Cove - Taino Bay
We booked this tour through Viator. This tour was packed with lots of folks from this cruise line and other cruise lines. During the hike, we had 2 slides and 1 dive (10 feet). Given that I'm scared of heights, I got anxious prior to the dive. Knowing that fear grows with hesitation, when my turn came, I jumped immediately with eyes shut tight.
St. John Beach Escape & Snorkel
There wasn't much to see during snorkeling at Trunk Bay. We saw some parrot fishes, blue tangs, and a variety of other small fishes. I read a lot of blogs about how great snorkeling was, but didn't live up to expectations. We booked this excursion through NCL and the great thing about this is that there were a ferry readily available right next to the port. Had we did a DIY trip, we would have to take multiple cabs and ferry in order to get to the snorkeling area.
Treasure Island Sail & Snorkel
We booked this excursion through NCL and it was pretty good. I saw fishes, turtle, and a sting ray.
Cruise Events
Escape Room đĩī¸
We decided to take a selfie photo in the middle of escaping a pirate themed escape room. We still made it out alive with plenty of time!
80's Theme Party 80's đĒŠđĨŗ
80's music was playing with folks dressed with the 80's theme. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to this party đĸ.
Glow Party âĒī¸đĨŗ
Dance music on the rooftop where folks were dressed in white.
The Choir of Manđąđŧââī¸đ¤đš
This show is about several gentlemen acting and singing with a comedy twist. It's the best show available on the cruise and also the only show that requires reservation. This show gets booked up pretty fast and is available on standby. There are plenty of empty seats during the show, so it's pretty safe to hop on standby.
Beatles đĒ˛đ¤
The Fab Four in their early days.
Comedy Stand with Clinton Jackson đđ¤đ§đžââī¸
I usually don't laugh much at comedy stands. He was able to pull some funny jokes that cracked me up.
Piano with Emily đšđđģââī¸
Emily sings and plays music at different events. She has a great voice and was playing music on demand.
J. Alexander: More Tricks Up My Sleeve | Magic Workshop đđģââī¸đĒ
Quirky magician with magic tricks using cards. I enjoyed the show.
Karaoke đ¤
Classic karaoke bar.
Dr. Al @Cavern Bar đ¨ââī¸đˇ
Look for Dr. Al who makes amazing cocktails exclusively per person. In the last half of the week, more and more people know about him and lines up by the bar before it opens.
Specialty Dining
Our package allowed 3 specialty dining of our choice. This is supposed to be better than complimentary dine in experience.
Onda by Scarpetta
The meal was decent but the dessert was very meh.
Food Republic
Food Republic is a restaurant with food all over the world. The group really enjoyed the food while it was very meh for me.
Le Bistro
The best restaurant and greatest meal! The Lamb Chops was the best lamb chops entree I've ever had, the escargots were delicious!, the steak tartare is decent, and the french onion soup is really good. The service was excellent, very professional!
Conclusion
I enjoyed the craft beer, dining experience, and being surrounded by the ocean/sun view.
The cruise is an overall nice vacation for an economical and an effortless-planning trip. Visiting different countries is a big teaser since there was very little time to explore and half the excursion time was commuting. We stopped by an island in the Bahamas that was owned by NCL. They decorated the island like a resort. Therefore, besides the weather and beach front, I didn't get the Bahamas vibe.
Sunset from our balcony room
