Embarkation Day
November 17, 2017 - This afternoon we boarded NCL’s newest and largest ship to date, the brand new Norwegian Encore. Our Uber driver drove us from Miami International to the pier without incident and as soon as we pull up next to Encore, we can see just how huge this ship really is. The embarkation process is surprisingly quick and smooth, even though the ship is fully booked.
We had our stateroom keys and were getting our embarkation photos taken within 10 minutes of being dropped off at the pier. We boarded the ship on Deck 7 and immediately headed down one flight of stairs and made our way to the Library where we found the Media Check-In desk. We were given our media packets and a schedule for the next three days.
After obtaining our media packet, we decided to drop our carry-on luggage in the stateroom then grab some lunch. Our first attempt at lunch was to visit The Local, a pub/restaurant on Deck 7. There are a couple of different entrances to The Local, and where we entered, we did not see any hostess station, so we found an open table and sat down. After waiting several minutes with no waiter showing up with menus, I decided to walk around the restaurant and soon discovered that if you enter from the other direction, there is a hostess station and that you have to be seated by a host/hostess.
I could see there were several people in line waiting to be seated, so we decided not to wait and just find another place to dine. We headed up to Deck 17 aft to try out American Diner. By now, it was 2pm and when we arrived, there was another large crowd of guests waiting to be seated, and we were told that they close at 2:30pm. Finally, we walked forward to Garden Cafe, the ship’s massive buffet restaurant.
We found a station serving Asian cuisine and both tried the fried rice and Ginger Beef, both of which were good, but only lukewarm. A return to the station found the winning dish, a bowl of Udon Noodle Soup with pork broth (also offered with vegetable broth). This was made to order and super hot and very good.
Udon Noodle Soup with Pork Broth
After lunch, we went back to our stateroom to shoot a video of the stateroom (posted soon to our YouTube channel). By the time we finished our stateroom video, it was time for the mandatory muster drill. The drill took about 30 minutes and guests are not required to take life vests to the drill. In fact, we never found any life vests in our stateroom.
After the muster drill, we tried to find a lounge to have a cocktail, but all of the bars and lounges were packed. We finally landed at the Skyline Bar, which is located in the Casino. It was not quite as busy there. Rickee had a mojito and I had a glass of sparkling wine, which was quite good. We also obtained two bottles of water from the bartender.
The NCL PR department hosted a cocktail reception for the media and social media influencers at Vibe Beach Club at 6pm.
At the reception, we had an opportunity to meet with NCL’s new CEO for some informal discussion. It was unusually cold on the outer decks. In fact, I don’t ever recall it being in the 50s in Miami. So, after about 30 minutes, we said goodbye to our hosts and headed back indoors to have our evening meal at Q Texas Smokehouse. The atmosphere at Q definitely resembles a Texas BBQ joint, with which we are quite familiar. The menu includes a wide variety of smoked meats and side dishes.
I ordered the Pitmaster Platter, which included brisket, pork ribs, jalapeno/cheese sausage and smoked chicken. I found the meats to all be good. In fact, I will say it is probably the best BBQ I have had on any cruise ship. The side dishes, however, were hit and miss. The pinto beans had a chili powder flavor that made them more like ranch-style beans. The coleslaw was good, but I thought the potato salad needed smaller chunks of potato. The jalapeno cornbread was good.
We tried two different desserts. The banana pudding comes in a jar and is piled high with baked meringue, which is the proper way to top off banana pudding (not with whipped cream). However, the pudding itself had an unusual taste that Rickee nor I could identify. At one point, I thought it tasted a little like bubble gum. Weird, huh? The peach cobbler was a real dud. Sorry. Our table mates (who also happen to be our next door neighbors onboard) had the chocolate brownie with ice cream, which is served in a small skillet. They loved it.
Dining at Q is not cheap. The Pitmaster Platter was $25, possibly more than you would pay for a similar platter at a Texas BBQ restaurant. Our favorite BBQ restaurant in Dallas has All You Can Eat for $21.95 and that includes dessert and side dishes!
Nevertheless, dining here is an experience and one that BBQ lovers should definitely try when sailing aboard Norwegian Encore.
pitmaster platter at q texas smokehouse
Our final activity of the evening was a visit to Galaxy Pavillion, the ship’s Virtual Reality game room. Here you will find a variety of virtual reality “rides”. This was our first time to try virtual reality and it was really cool. Our first ride was a roller coaster. We are each given virtual reality goggles to wear which display the 3D video. As the video plays, the vehicle you sit in will move on all axis’ giving you the “reality” sensation. It was real enough that after a couple of roller coaster rides, I was feeling a little queasy.
Rickee tried the hang glider VR ride and said it was very realistic, and scary. We tried about six rides in all and can see how this will be a very popular venue on Norwegian Encore. If you cruise with your kids, you can bet they will spend many hours in this place.
rickee tries out the hand glider vr ride
Well, that about sums up our first day aboard Norwegian Encore. Check our YouTube channel for our cruise vlogs which we hope to be posting soon. More to come tomorrow!
