Embarking On My FIRST Norwegian Cruise: NCL Encore To Alaska!

hello everyone my name is Zach and I Am The Traveling Man and today is a very exciting day here in Seattle Washington for a number of reasons but most importantly it's because it's Cruise day I'm here with the Norwegian Encore this is going to be a cruise of first my very first cruise with Norwegian my first time sailing to Alaska my first time selling out of Seattle the list goes on and on so why don't you go down below hit that subscribe button because I have so much content to bring you here on the channel from here on board the Norwegian Encore in Alaska so come on if you're ready let's get this adventure started I'm here on this platform actually just up above Pier 66. Pier 66 is the Norwegian Pier here in Seattle and you can see it's right downtown uh but look how huge this ship is I've never been on Norwegian before never really seen any of their ships up close but this is a big ship this is actually the largest ship in norwegian's Fleet uh so it's going to be a great week exploring the ship I am so excited to get on board it is currently 9 11. uh my check-in time's at 9 30 but you can see there folks are still disembarking the crews that that just got returned they got here about 5 a.m this morning and they're still getting off the ship they've actually been sitting there for a few minutes I don't know what's going on uh so it might be a wait this morning to get actually boarded on the ship but I'm really excited to embark on this adventure a lot of you who watch my channel have told me now for a year or so at least that I need to sell Norwegian that I need to sell in Alaska so I'm doing that and I have so much planned for this cruise I can't even wait to show you all of the things that I'm going to be doing on this Cruise it's going to be amazing so uh I'm gonna go get checked in now like I said I'm a little bit early but uh let me see what the check-in process is like get in line for check-in and uh yeah I'll get through check-in and everything and talk to you when we're ready to board the ship thank you we're now officially on board the Norwegian Encore a beautiful ship so far it looks at only the second newest ship in norwegian's Fleet and it actually debuted at a very odd time because it debuted at the end of 2019 right before the pandemic started so it was only out for a month or two before everything shut down so it's a fairly new ship and it's beautiful so far uh interesting how Norwegian does the embarkation process once you get on board the ship they immediately direct you to your muster station so you have to do muster station as soon as you step on board the ship so that's all done I'm staying here on Deck 12 and one of the studio rooms and we'll look at that in just a bit but you do notice they do have the sign up saying that the room is not quite ready they do want you to come back later they actually have these fire doors shut so they're pretty serious about it so I'm not going to open it try to go to my room um I do have my carry-on back here that I've been rolling around it's not too bad but just keep in mind that if you are bringing a carry-on bag on Norwegian they do stand by the you can't go right to your room I know celebrity in some Cruise Lines will let you go at least drop your bags off and then come back later but here they have the door shut and there is no action success I really have no idea where I'm going since this is all brand new to me so I came to deck 15 one of the places I was most excited to see on the ship this is the observation Lounge it's all the way forward on Deck 15. so let's take a look at it first here's a model of the Encore look at that it's very detailed maybe I can just look at this and figure out where I should be going oh and one of the things I'm excited to see is that golf cart track up on the back of the ship they also have a laser tag course too let's just do a quick walk around I will say first of all that I love the aesthetic it's a beautiful everything just looks so modern and uh and well done so so so far it's a beautiful ship from like the two decks I've seen of it so far but this is the observation lounge and you see they have juices set up here say if they have coffees they have a lot of different sandwiches and stuff yeah a lot of fruit a lot of different snacks that you can get and uh no one's here yet because I guess everyone's going to the buffet and some of the other dining venues around the ship and since we're selling in Alaska I think this will be an especially cool place to come and hang out I mean look at some of the chairs that they have in here it's being nice place just to bring a book just to sit and read be able to look out these big windows so in addition to the snacks and things you can get back there you can also get drinks up here as well so this is the observation lounge and like I said it's all the way forward here on Deck 15. a beautiful place they're very large good morning hi good how are you yep [Music] so yeah this is a very cool space I'm interested to see you know they have a piano there so I'm sure they'll be like entertainment here in the evenings but beautiful places to sit I just can't wait to sit out here and uh you know enjoy all the scenery and see Alaska but today we have the sights of Seattle you can see the Space Needle there and then just ahead you can see some ships there in the distance you can see I think that's the discovery princess and also a Holland America ship very popular crew season here in Seattle of course everyone's going to Alaska so here on Deck 16 Ford is the Garden Cafe this is the main Buffet on board the ship there are some restrooms here just to your right before you enter [Music] [Music] [Music] now just after the Garden Cafe this is the main pool area on board and I don't know that it's going to be so popular this Cruise because yeah we're selling to Alaska and while it is the end of May 1st of June it's going to be very chilly so we'll see we also have the Water Park of course the big slides they have the slide over here to the left over here on starboard side which actually goes out over the edge of the ship so a lot of offerings here a lot of offerings for families but a very big main pool area of course there's a place over there for them to set up some music there's a bar over there of course the main pool right here a lot of beach chairs I've seen some videos on YouTube of people getting stuck and I don't know if it's on this ship or other I think it is a Norwegian ship but they get stuck in one of these parts of the slide and they have to be helped out and I think that's what this you can see this door here I think that's actually what that's for they can open up that slide when people get stuck here in this lower portion and uh fish them out so another reason I'm not doing the water slide so right now I'm kind of just trying to get an idea of maybe what's open for lunch they have a lot of different offerings I know that they have the local Grill which is like an Eatery that's open 24 hours a day but I don't know if it's open right now you would think it would if it's open 24 hours a day I was trying to get on their app to figure this out but uh the Wi-Fi doesn't seem to be registering or connecting I even tried to log into my unlimited streaming internet package that I purchased before the cruise and that's not even working so I got to get that figured out um because that's worrisome that stay one and the internet's not working or not letting me log on rather and it's not letting me access the app so gotta figure that out gonna find some launch and continue exploring their ship but I gotta say first impressions I like the Norwegian Encore so we've just come up the stairs up alone now we're on Deck 17. this is the jogging track so if you're someone who likes to jog or walk or run or anything like that during the cruise here you go and then this is the American Diner here I think this is a specialty additional cost restaurant right here but it does look like they are open for embarkation day lunch and then just here we just come inside from the American Diner this is La Bistro Le Bistro is another specialty dining venue this is the French themed restaurant here on board the ship and I'll actually be dining here tonight for my first dinner so I'm really excited about that and I'll let you know all about how the bistro is and all of the restaurants here on board Norwegian our car is uh in my food review video which I will put out very soon I'm here on Deck six now because I had some restaurant reservations that I needed to take care of so it's right here in the main Atrium level here on Deck six and you will come it's right by the art gallery come right here they'll have a sign up and there's already a line in here and this is where you can get all of your restaurant reservations taken care of and I recommend you doing this as soon as you can on embarkation day this is also the location of the Teppanyaki restaurant on board so if you're looking to change your reservations on embarkation day this is the place to do it and again I highly recommend you do it as soon as possible because I know uh online it said all the recommendations were completely full before I got on the ship so I'm just hoping that some things might be available now that I'm on board all right so similar to the restaurant reservations which were over there across the way here at the social comedy and Nightclub this is where you actually want to go for your show and attraction reservations so any of the comedy that they have they have nightly comedy any of the shows like that that require reservations you need to come here ASAP upon boarding the ship and be able to do that and I say that because this is kind of where we hit our first snag of the cruise here with Norwegian Norwegian doesn't allow you to pre-book a lot of stuff on board any other entertainment other than choir of man which is one of the main shows I guess it's very popular they did open that up a couple or a few weeks before so that you could book that however for all the comedy shows they don't allow you to book anything like that any reservations until you get on board the ship and I thought that you had to come here to this location in order to make those reservations however you can also use the app as soon as you get on board and connect to ship's Wi-Fi you will be able to make those reservations so that has to be the first thing you do when you get on board the ship now unfortunately I was having issues with my internet with my Wi-Fi it wasn't even recognizing me as a passenger on this cruise and then finally seemed after about 12 o'clock or so it finally caught up the app I was able to log out of and refresh and it finally updated for me but by the time I got on there unfortunately none of the comedy shows were left and I just went in here and stood in line for about 20 minutes none of the comedy shows were left so unfortunately even though comedy is one of my favorite parts of a cruise when cruise ships have comedy clubs and things like that it doesn't look like I'm going to be able to partake here onward Norwegian because I just wasn't quick enough to it and I my app wasn't working so I wasn't able to get on there and enough time to get those reservations made so that was kind of a bummer I'm not gonna let it ruin my day though but I just wanted to use that as a word of caution to you that if you do like to go to Comedy or any of the main shows in the theater that require reservations and it really just depends not all the shows do so I will be able to see some shows but if the comedy here on the social nightclub it's not a very big venue so you do have to have reservations for that so just keep that in mind to make sure that's the first thing you do when you board the show speaking of the ship this is part of the atrium here uh again on Deck seven I think we're still on Deck seven or maybe this is deck six I don't even remember what deck we're on anymore uh but this is a beautiful um Atrium here you see the stairs you can go up a level or two uh you also have Cocos over here Cocos is like ice cream and desserts and things like that and then of course like I said you have the social comedy and Nightclub which is right here and also mind you it's just 12 30. so a lot of people didn't even check in yet there's still a lot of people out there waiting just to check in haven't even ordered the ship yet so you need to make sure you get the earliest sporting time that you can get and on the ship as soon as possible if you want to be able to get those entertainment options and get those reservations because you know by 12 o'clock 12 30 they were all gone keep that in mind so this is the main Atrium here on board the Encore this is guest services there's also an onboard credit desk right there in the middle and then short excursions right over here of course there's a big seating area there in the Middle where it's open and then look at this this is a fully functional Starbucks my friends and I love Starbucks how fitting too that we're leaving from Seattle and there's a fully functional Starbucks on board this ship so I'm sure I'm gonna be in here quite a bit right next to that is the cruise next desk so if you are someone who likes to book your next Cruise while on board that's where you would come to do that and then there is a bar here the atrium bar here in the middle and I just wanted to walk out here to the seating area and show you how this opens up that we're on Deck six now and then up there deck seven that's the local Grill and we'll go up there very shortly I think that's where I'm going to get lunch uh because I'm getting kind of hungry now but you can enjoy lunch and look out over the atrium and I think they have different shows and maybe game shows and trivia and things right like that right here and the main Atrium except inside the Starbucks now notice that the menu are pretty much the same process as what you would pay on land and I know they fluctuate from location to location but very similarly price but it seems like they have a lot of the or all of the options that you can get at a typical Starbucks I will say if you have the unlimited drink package I think one of the you know top tier drink packages all the Starbucks drinks are included in that drink package so it's no additional cost to you even though it is Starbucks a fully functional Starbucks no additional cost if you have the drink package they also have a Starbucks only package if you just want to buy that it's sort of like the soda package that a lot of the cruise lines offer but if you just want to buy that I think it's like 13 a day that you can sort of enjoy all the Starbucks that you want and go crazy so now here at the local bar and grill and you have to check in over there uh and be seated they will actually show you where to sit you don't just walk up and take a seat anywhere but this is open 24 7. and it's sit down service but it's complimentary it's absolutely included it's just like the buffet or anywhere else that you might eat on board with included food and the server just gave me my menu and he said he'd be back in a minute to take my orders so this is pretty cool and like I said 24 7 you can come here and get a bite to eat this is always open so I think this is going to be really cool and it was one of the things I was most excited to experience on board the Encore okay so just inside the cabin just to note you do have to have the key card inserted in the lights in order for the lights to work but this is one of the studio cabins here on board the Encore this will be my home for the week and I will do a more in-depth tour of the room that I just wanted to show you what it looks like in these solo Studio rooms are for solo Cruisers and I am frequently most of the time a solo Cruiser and I know many of my viewers are as well so I picked this room specifically with you and mine I wanted to show this experience because I have on other cruise lines and I thought it only fair this is actually one of the reasons why I wanted to try Norwegian to try out this solo Studio experience but this is it this is the room it's about 100 square foot you got a full-size bed right here you have a TV of course you have a telephone and some USB plugs here you also have some storage down here and a seat so you can use this as like a bedside table closet and a safe of course and the same thing on the other side as well this right here is your sink and then the shower is here just in your room because it is of course a studio room and then on the other side here is the toilet sort of in this little closet so yeah this is it I'm going to stand in this four corner here so you can get a good idea it's not as small as I thought it would be I thought it would be a little bit smaller but it's actually a pretty good size space especially for one person so um you have plenty more about this room as we go throughout the week but I just wanted to show you and I'll tell you much more about the room and what I thought about it when I do the full room tour so make sure you look out for that video coming to the channel very soon oh one of the cool things actually now about the room is this little shade this is actually a lot of you from outside so you are inside but you don't have to feel like it but if you want to cut this off and get you know at night or something you just do that and it actually shuts the TV that's behind it powering everything it shuts it off so see whenever I raise it you'll see it's just a little bit slow to start back up because it does completely shut down the TV but pretty cool you have a live look you can see that's outside provide us right now just out in Seattle so pretty cool um I can't wait to stand here I'm really excited about this room and about this week it's just one of three floors that has the studio solo rooms on board the Encore dex12 deck 11 and I think deck 10 and included with this studio is also the studio lounge and this Lounge is exclusive to those guests staying in the studio one of the studio rooms one of the solo rooms so let's go down now and take a look at the studio Lounge which is actually located on Deck 11 and I'm here on Deck 12. so you just have to take this little staircase down you can see there's another level to take you down to the solo rooms down on Deck 10. this is the studio lounge and it is exclusive to those guests staying in a Solo room and it's a very nice Lounge it's very pretty in here in addition to seating and stuff they also have a wine dispenser over here you do have to pay for this this wine in here as I understand is not included in any of the drink packages so just know if you're pouring some wine in here in the studio alone you will have to pay additional for it but they also have snacks and um you know there's some cookies there and some cake some iced tea and water and then an espresso machine here is understand it also a selection of tea there as well it doesn't understand that this is available 24 7. it's a nice place to come and hang out if you are staying in a studio room one other thing to mention about the studios is that they are behind a locked door so only folks staying in a studio room can access uh all 86 in studio rooms and the studio Lounge room board so you do have to have a key card for one of those rooms in order to access this so it's sort of exclusive feeling it's sort of like a private lounge and sort of hallway and stateroom like the Haven or the retreat or something like that but only for those solo guests staying in the studio it's one of the other cool things about this ship is as you're walking down the hall see the fish down there watch what direction they're going if you're going with them the same direction they're swimming that means you're going toward the front of the ship and you know the opposite is true if they're swimming backwards of you you're going toward the half but so see right now we're going toward the forward of the ship and then when you get to this green level of carpet here that indicates that you are near and access the elevator so anytime you see the Green carpet that means you can turn there and get back to the main elevator Bank either in the forward or the after the ship there on that floor so it's now 15 minutes until two o'clock and you still see the crush of people coming on board this is deck seven where everyone's coming on board but still a lot of people coming on board okay now we're here on Deck eight this brings us to food Republic food Republic another specialty dining venue it's like the sushi restaurant here on board the ship now we're gonna go up to the waterfront the waterfront is a wraparound deck it wraps around the sides of the ship maybe the back oh this is as far as you can go in the front but it's uh sort of overhangs over the side of the ship it's a nice place to come outside which I'm gonna need because you guys just saw in my stateroom being inside I'm gonna need a place to come outside and hang out and relax talk about taking the stairs I always try to take the stairs on at least the first day of the cruise and there's a lot of stairs on this ship there's like 18 decks to this monster but a beautiful day here in Seattle it's so cool out it's 62 degrees such a beautiful place to set sail from I'm so excited to head to Alaska on The Encore in addition to this being a nice place to come in there's chairs out here you can have a seat you can just stand and you know have a look at wherever you're at look at the scenery which would be very important especially when we're in Alaska selling up among the glaciers and we can stand here and have a look off but uh this also serves as sort of some outdoor dining from some of the specialty restaurants this is ocean blue and ocean blue is the specialty seafood restaurant on board so you could request if you wanted to a table to sit outside at Ocean Blue and this is where you would be suited I don't know how popular that'll be on this sailing since well we're going to Alaska it's going to be chilly but that's always an option and I think a lot of the specialty restaurants have this option this is ocean blue I know that Cagney's which is the main Steakhouse has that option and several other restaurants as well so I did sort of want to talk about the reservations because that's sort of been a sore topic for me and I've heard other people now talking about it as well uh before the cruise like I mentioned you could not book any entertainment options on the app or on the website and actually just booking dining in general was quite difficult it was very clunky on the website I actually had to call Norwegian a couple times because it just screwed up my reservation I heard stories of people getting the reservations canceled they had made like Steakhouse reservations which are pretty hard to get sometimes but they have these reservations and ultimately they ended up getting canceled for whatever reason and they had to try to read books so my understanding is on embarkation day everyone flocks both to the dining reservation and also to the entertainment reservation which I showed you both of those they take those all up in the first hour or two of boarding then they're gone pretty much for the rest of the cruise now the folks in the entertainment uh area they were trying to encourage me and be like oh they might be more open throughout the cruise just go on the app and check but because my app wasn't working when I voted the ship and I tried for like 20 or 30 minutes while I was in line for my dining reservations and to get that straightened out could not get the internet to work I even asked the host there at the dining reservations table who I should talk to about the internet she told me where to go and then thankfully I finally got my app working but by then all the reservations were gone so just keep in mind it is a pretty clunky process to try to get reservations for pretty much anything it seems like at least on this cruise on the Encore because it's sort of been you know sort of fumbled dining reservations and now also seemingly impossible to get comedy reservations so that's been the only snag I've noticed so far I wish the technology was a little bit better I know with a lot of the other Cruise Lines you know Royal Caribbean group is coming to mind they let you book entertainment options on the app right on the app and a lot of times before the cruise even starts I wish Norwegian was more like that so I just wish their digital presence was a little bit better uh you know it's 2023 this is a beautiful cruise ship that's my first impression of beautiful cruise ship I just wish the technology and the reservations and things like that were matching the experience a little bit better if that makes sense um let me know down in the comments you have experience with Norwegian and booking what's your what's the best tips let us know down in the comments I'm a first timer I've heard a lot of other folks talking sort of discouraged that they didn't get reservations let us know what's your tips how do we get those reservations because they're so coveted but yet I don't know how they're gone by noon on boarding day when most of the cruising population on this cruise is still not even onboard the ship yet make it make sense hey so this is Zach from later on in the cruise so you can see we're in Alaska already uh I have so much footage for my embarkation day so I'm actually going to cut this one here and this is not going to be a two-parter embarkation day video and the next one will follow in just a few days I promise so make sure you come back and say that thank you so much for watching this video I hope you enjoyed it if you did please go down below give me a thumbs up also make sure you subscribe to the channel if you're not already because we have so much content to come from the Norwegian Encore I'll give you a hint I'm having a great time and I want you to see all about this ship so thank you again for watching and I'll see you on the next adventure which will be part two of this one thank you [Music]

Channel: Zach the Traveling Man

Views: 25,523

Keywords: norwegian cruise line, ncl encore, norwegian encore, norwegian encore food, cruise to alaska, norwegian encore cruise vlog, cruise vlogs, travel vlog, norwegian encore vlog, alaska cruise, alaska vlog, cruise tips, norwegian bliss, norwegian encore 2023, ncl encore alaska, ncl encore tour, zach the traveling man, norwegian encore cruise ship, solo cruise, solo travel, norwegian cruise line alaska, travel tips, ncl encore alaska 2023, ncl encore 2023

Id: y7TK7gjlMoE

Length: 24min 5sec (1445 seconds)

Published: Sun Jun 04 2023