Honest Review of the Norwegian Encore Alaska Cruise

This post focuses on the ship experience: staterooms, dining, activities, spa, and practical tips. For ports, excursions, and logistics, see our Alaska Cruise Review & Port Guide (link). If you’re packing right now, here’s our Alaska Cruise Packing Guide (link).

We sailed in May, so our experience leans cooler weather, but most of this applies to summer and early fall too.

Why We Chose Norwegian

We considered several cruise lines for our Alaska trip, including Holland America, Princess, and Royal Caribbean. We ultimately chose Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) for two main reasons:

The Ship Itself – The Norwegian Encore is a newer ship (2019) with modern design, a beautiful observation lounge, and a thermal spa that was high on our wish list. The spa was a major selling point for us — we used it daily.
Flexible Dining – Norwegian’s “Freestyle Cruising” meant we didn’t have to commit to set dining times or assigned seating. This gave us the flexibility to plan dinner around our excursions and our mood that day.

Overall we were very happy with our choice. However, in retrospect, there were a few downsides worth noting. NCL’s dock locations in some ports aren’t as central as those of Holland America or Princess. In Ketchikan, we docked at Ward Cove — about 15 miles north of town — which meant taking a shuttle or booking an excursion that stopped in town if we wanted to explore it. In Juneau, we docked at the AJ Dock, a 20-minute walk each way into downtown, while some other ships docked right in the heart of the action. Neither was a deal-breaker for us, but if maximizing your time in those towns is important, it’s worth factoring in.

That said, the Encore’s amenities and the overall itinerary were excellent. The observation lounge quickly became one of our favorite spots on board, and the service throughout the ship was great.

Extra Onboard Activities – Encore also offers a go-kart track, a VR pavilion, and water slides. We didn’t try these ourselves — our itinerary was packed — but they could be fun if you have extra sea days or are traveling with kids or teens.

Choosing Your Room

There were moments when a balcony felt magical. Sail-away from Seattle was a highlight, and stepping outside in the mornings in Juneau, Skagway, and Glacier Bay felt special. That said, we didn’t spend long stretches sitting out there in May, and we were in the thermal spa a lot, so we probably would have been fine in an inside room for this itinerary.

We chose Deck 10, midship to stay away from venues and smells. On Encore:

Decks 10–13 are the quiet “hotel” decks — these are the decks we recommend.
Deck 9 is directly above restaurants on Deck 8, so you may notice sound or food smells.
Deck 14 sits below busy public spaces above, like the Observation Lounge.
Deck 15 has the Observation Lounge and some rooms. Beautiful but high traffic and directly below the very busy buffet area.
Deck 16 has the Garden Café buffet, Mandara Spa, and Fitness Center.
Deck 5 has the cheapest inside rooms but can be noisy and is far from many activities. Good only if price is the top priority.
There are a few rooms on Deck 8, near restaurants and the casino, and some on Decks 15–16 mixed with public spaces.

See the Encore deck plans for exact layouts (link).

Embarkation, Online Check-In, and Disembarkation

NCL opened online check-in about three weeks before our sailing. Do it as soon as it opens so you can grab an early embarkation time. It’s quick—you upload a passport photo, take a selfie, and fill in contact details.

We arrived at the terminal around 11 a.m. and had priority boarding, which shortened the wait in the seated holding area before groups are called. Bring a carry-on with meds, swimsuits, a layer, and anything you’ll want before dinner. Checked luggage arrives later to your room — we were able to get into our room about 1:30 p.m. and then our luggage arrived about 3 p.m. Disembarkation was orderly with group numbers.

The NCL App + Freestyle Daily

We both downloaded the NCL app (iPhone and Android). We used it to check in, browse and book shore excursions, reserve shows, and check daily schedules and menus. The printed Freestyle Daily is still nice to flip through each evening, but the app made planning easy.

Dining: What’s Included and What We Tried

Included dining

Manhattan Room, Taste, Savor: main dining rooms with sit-down service.
Garden Café (Deck 16): main buffet. Good variety, okay quality, and a small salad bar. We wished for more healthy options, but it matched our expectations for a big-ship buffet.
The Local Pub: casual comfort food — favorites included the sweet chili wings and the caesar salad (ask to add grilled chicken!).

Specialty restaurants (extra charge)

Tried and liked: Le Bistro (French), Cagney’s (steakhouse), Food Republic (Asian-fusion small plates).
Also onboard: Onda (Italian), Palomar (Mediterranean), Q Texas Smokehouse (BBQ), Teppanyaki (Japanese). We didn’t make it to these, but they were popular. Book early if you have your heart set on one.

Small note: expect frequent small up-charges (Diet Coke, Starbucks). You’ll hand over your cruise card often, which got a bit old, but it’s the system.

Activities, Lounges, and “It’s May, So It’s Cold”

Observation Lounge (Deck 15) became our home base for scenery days. Huge windows, comfy chairs, and a relaxing vibe. We loved the nojitos (non-alcoholic mojitos) here.
Thermal Spa was our happy place: heated loungers, thermal pool, hot tubs, saunas, and steam room with floor-to-ceiling views.
Beauty Spa (Mandara) sits adjacent to the thermal spa. We did a couples massage, a facial, manicure/pedicure, and a haircut. Quality was very good, pricing higher than on land, as expected.
Outdoor hot tubs with views looked amazing, but in May it was simply too cold. We saw a handful of brave souls, yet most tubs went unused. We stuck to the spa hot tubs.
Water slide on deck existed, but we only saw it used on day one leaving Seattle by a few kids. The rest of the week it was too cold outdoors for water play.
Go-kart track and Galaxy Pavilion VR looked fun. We skipped them because our itinerary had few sea days.
Casino is smoky. We didn’t personally spend any time here and we even avoided cutting through when possible by going up or down a floor when needing to cross the ship.
Shops skew luxury (jewelry, designer wallets). There are surprisingly few regular items, so if you forget basics like sunscreen or toiletries, plan to buy them in port rather than onboard.

Entertainment

The entertainment on board was reasonable. We saw and enjoyed both the Choir of Man show and the Icons show. Reserve on the app when you do your preboarding check-in. There was also a Beatles cover band which worked through the Beatles discography chronologically, playing hits from the early years through the late years of the Beatles at the Cavern Club. These were also projected into the Atrium on some evenings. Check your Daily for details and showings.

Excursions

We booked our main excursions through NCL. That gave peace of mind about getting back before sail-away. We met passengers who booked with independent operators and were happy. You’ll often find last-minute options in port, but if there’s a must-do tour, book it in advance. For details on what we did in each port—and what we’d do differently—see our Alaska Cruise Review & Port Guide (link).

Dress Code

Alaska cruises in general tend to be very casual, and we found that to be the case on the NCL Encore. The dress code was very casual across the ship, including main dining rooms. Specialty restaurants feel a touch dressier but still relaxed. For outfit specifics and packing tips, see our Alaska Cruise Packing Guide (link).

Favorite Moments

Watching the Seattle skyline fade and the San Juan Islands appear from our balcony.
Quiet mornings in the Observation Lounge and Thermal Spa while Alaska floated past.
Stepping onto our balcony as we approached Juneau and while cruising Glacier Bay.

Quick “Ship Secrets” Tip

Look down at the hallway carpet. The tiny fish are swimming toward the front of the ship. It’s the easiest way to orient yourself on day one. We often found ourselves looking at the fish to confirm whether we were heading in the correct direction toward the front of the back of the ship!

The Haven

The Haven is Norwegian’s private enclave with suites, its own restaurant, lounge, courtyard and sundeck, plus 24-hour butler and concierge. It’s designed to be serene and tucked away, even though it sits on higher decks. We didn’t stay there, but if you want privacy and pampering, read more here (link). We might try it on a future cruise to Alaska!