A busy day at sea

My morning begins at 5:30am in the Observation Lounge on Deck 15. This is the perfect spot to do my blogging and go through my photos and video footage from the previous day. The WiFi service on Norwegian Encore is very good for a cruise ship. I did, however, pay the additional $9.95 per day for the Premium Internet plan which allows for streaming video. The Observation Lounge has a continental breakfast and coffee machines. Actually, the coffee is pretty good for a cruise ship (ships are notorious for having bad coffee).

After my blogging duties, Rickee and I joined a group of other media and social media guests for a guided tour of The Haven, Norwegian Encore’s beautiful upscale private areas. Guests staying in The Haven enjoy a private lounge, private dining room, a private pool, stateroom upgrades and many other special amenities. If you are willing to spend the extra money, The Haven is definitely the way to travel.

After our visit to The Haven, we took a self-guided tour of some of the ship’s many staterooms which were open for media and travel agents to view. I think our favorite was the aft-facing Haven Suite. I also found the Studio staterooms to be quite innovative. At only 99 sq. ft., these are designed for a single traveler and I could see me in one of these when I was in my 20s. A clever monitor mounted next to the bed serves as a virtual window and simulates the view from outside the ship. Very cool.

Next, it was time to visit the Norwegian Encore Speedway, a go cart track located on Deck 18.

Our group of 10 drivers were first brought into the Pit area where we watched a brief safety video. After being seated in our go carts, we were fitted with proper helmets and strapped in with a seat belt. The “ride” only lasted about 5 minutes, or maybe 3 full laps around the course.

Once all of the vehicles are on the track, the electric go-carts are allowed to accelerate. Even though they are electric, they are fitted with a sound system to replicate the sound of a “real” engine. The go-carts actually go pretty fast and the track is full of curves. There is an accelerator and a brake and you have some control over the speed. When you let off the “gas”, the go-cart slows down very quickly. And, if you are fast enough, you can pass and lap other drivers.

I think it is safe to say that the Speedway was probably the most fun activity we have experienced on any cruise ship. The cost is $15 per person, per ride. You can purchase a $199 week-long pass that also gives you VIP access to the Speedway. I suspect the lines will be very long, so the VIP pass might be worth it if you plan to visit here often. I don’t know if our 5-minute/3-lap ride is typical or not. Should we sail on Norwegian Encore in the future, this would be the first activity we would sign up for.

After our invigorating go-cart experience, we visited The Manhattan Dining Room for a special luncheon for media and social media influencers. The Manhattan Dining Room is one of the three main dining rooms on Norwegian Encore. Guests are welcome to dine here for breakfast, lunch and dinner and all meals are included in your cruise fare. The menu at lunch and dinner changes each day. However, our luncheon featured a unique tasting menu of items from some of the ship’s specialty ‘a la carte’ dining venues served “family style”.

The Thai Steak and Noodle Salad along with the Shitake and Water Chestnut Dumplings from Food Republic were my personal favorites of the entire meal.

After lunch, we went back to our mini-suite and enjoyed some time on our balcony. The sun was finally starting to come out, so we did not want to miss it.

We made a quick visit to the casino to make a donation but actually did pretty well. The casino is huge with lots of table games and slot machines. After taking NCL for about $50, we decided to spend some of it at CoCo’s Chocolate Shop. We each ordered one of their signature milkshakes, which were good, but a little pricey at $12 each!

CoCo’s Chocolate Shop also offers a variety of ice cream sundaes, crepes and sweet treats. Rickee ordered the Banana Praline milkshake and I ordered the Cookies and Cream. Both were good, but far from the best milkshakes we have ever had. Honestly, there is more style over substance here. After you get past the fancy straw, mountain of whipped cream and caramel drizzle, it is a basic chocolate milkshake.

After ice cream, we figured there was no way we were going to be able to eat dinner tonight so, instead, we decided to look for a spot to enjoy a cocktail. As luck would have it, we popped into The Social just as a comedy show was about to begin. We found a couple of seats and enjoyed an excellent comedy show by Rob Little.

After the show, Mr. Little greeted guests outside to shake hands and take photos. That is something I don’t recall seeing any other comedians do.

After the show, it was time for a nightcap. We headed up to Deck 15 and to Observation Lounge, which was basically empty. We sat in some very comfortable chairs at the front of the lounge. Rickee ordered a Lemon Drop Martini and I had my signature whiskey, neat.

Today was a busy day and tomorrow Norwegian Encore will be anchored off the coast of their private island. More to come!

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