We booked this cruise because we canceled our AbD adventure to Montana and we were looking for something occurring the same week. It had been a long time since we’d been to Alaska, so we chose the NCL Bliss via Marriott Vacation Club. In early June, though, they changed the ship and the itinerary a little, undoubtedly because of Covid and all the restrictions surrounding it. We booked a Thermal Suite room, which we weren’t 100% sure what that meant. We also booked a number of excursions, some of which got canceled ahead of time and some that we had to cancel because of Madeline’s recent knee issues. Still, it was fun starting another vacation, and the weather was perfect in Seattle.

NCL Encore to Alaska

08/27/21—09/04/21

We flew through Dallas and on to Seattle, where we checked into our hotel and then walked over for our first meal of the trip. With Madeline’s allergies, we were cautious and a little concerned about food. After our sushi, though, we continued over to the Space Needle and checked out its park.

The next morning, we head over to the pier. It was time for our adventure to begin. Even though we and the entire crew & other passengers had to prove vaccination ahead of time, we all took a rapid Covid test. Once we passed, we waited a little while before we boarded the Encore.

Our cabin was nice, on the 15th floor just below the spa. We had a wonderful view of Seattle from its balcony.

We began exploring the ship. The Encore had a go-kart track and laser tag field on it. It also had a couple of water slides and a few pools and hot tubs. Since it was an Alaskan cruise, though, we didn’t really have a chance to enjoy any of those things. It had a virtual reality room, too, which we never utilized.

It was time to set sail, and we said goodbye to Seattle and to Mt. Rainier, which was so nice to see.

Our dress-up day portrait

At the front of the ship on our floor, there was the Observation Lounge, which was great for whale watching during the trip. We saw a number of them in the distance.

Stairs

Madeline was nervous about the food, considering her allergies towards milk and eggs. We found a food manager, Jessica, shortly after we got onboard, however, and she helped us with ordering every day for the following day. It turned out working perfectly, and she even got a dessert surprise every single night. We also seemed to make friends with other restaurant personnel, like Cyclus below.

Another incentive was that all of our drinks were included. We found Sugarcane, the Mojito bar, so I had to have one of every single drink that they had on the menu.

One of the incentives to cruise with NCL, we got two free signature dinners. Jessica was in charge of Ocean Blue, which we just happened to have booked for the second night. She took very good care of us there and the food was all fantastic.

On our last night, we ate at the steak house, Cagney’s. Although we didn’t think it was as good as Ocean Blue, we liked it nonetheless.

Another incentive was that all of our drinks were included. We found Sugarcane, the Mojito bar, so I had to have one of every single drink that they had on the menu.

Our cabin choice came with free access to the Thermal Suite. We tried it out on the first sea day. There were lounge chairs looking out the back of the ship, a huge thermal pool, a jet pool, waterfall, hot tub, a snow room, saunas, steam room, salt bath, and more. We went there several more times and found it very relaxing and soothing after lots of hiking.

The entertainment was really good on the Encore. The casino had a smoking room, so most of it had fresh air. There were chef demonstrations and games to play. The Theater had three Broadway-quality shows, including the Beatles, Kinky Boots, and The Choir of Men.

Seattle

Encore

Food

Main Dining

Ocean Blue

Cagney’s

Drink

Thermal Suite

Entertainment