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Other amenities that might be important to you are Wi-Fi, spa services, babysitting, fitness classes, and upgraded dining experiences. You can usually get a decent discount if you sign up for an amenities package before you sail, so keep an eye out for promotions in the months leading up to your sailing. At night, these three-deck complexes become bustling places. Some of the extra-charge restaurants come with a flat fee (the teppanyaki outlets are $59 per person, not including the cost of drinks). However, most are a la carte, with sometimes hefty pricing. One thing you need to know upfront about going on a Norwegian cruise is that there are a lot of extra charges — and sometimes quite high extra charges — on the line's ships, particularly for things like restaurants.
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Have dinner in Le Bistro on Deck 6, and then catch an improv comedy show across the way at Headliners, before finishing the night at Sugarcane Mojito Bar on Deck 8 without missing a beat. These two ships are so similar that it’s hard to pick one over the other – unless you’re a serious foodie and want to shell out some extra cash for Onda by Scarpetta. Hands down the best restaurant on Norwegian Encore, Onda is a huge draw and what ultimately tips the scale for many cruisers when trying to decide between Encore and Bliss. Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Encore are virtually carbon copies of each other. They’re both part of Norwegian’s Breakaway Plus class, offer very similar itineraries in Alaska and the Caribbean, and were built one year apart (2018 and 2019, respectively).
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Additionally, this two night sailing on Norwegian Sun didn’t totally provide a holistic view of the cruise line. Since we boarded at the tail-end of a long sailing, the vibes onboard were very subdued. This certainly wasn’t a traditional cruise and felt more like we came super late to the party, like when a party is almost over and everyone’s getting ready to go home. My two experiences with Norwegian Cruise Line have been very positive; however, the two itineraries I’ve sailed on are more unique compared to a standard sailing with the cruise line.
What is the best Norwegian cruise ship?
I enjoyed everything that I sampled during our short cruise. Regardless, it’s tough not to compare Norwegian Sun to newer cruise ships that have more amenities and onboard offerings. For example, the theatre was quite small onboard; in fact, the first night onboard did not even feature any shows.
When you choose to apply (and are approved) for a new credit card through our site, we may receive compensation from our partners, and this may impact how or where these products appear. Please view our advertising policy and product review methodology for more information. Pricing changes over time, but the fastest "premium" service on Norwegian vessels recently was priced at $39.99 per person per day, if you bought it in advance. Norwegian also offers a less expensive plan that doesn't allow video streaming for $29.99 per person per day if purchased in advance. Also, every ship has a least four and often many more extra-charge eateries.
Overall, Norwegian Encore is a sophisticated ship, there's tons of things to do, and you'll be wowed by the quality -- and quantity -- of the dining and entertainment. Yet because of this, a vacation here can cost more than on other "small-town" ships, and even if you do pony up for the fun, you simply won't have enough time to do everything. Make sure you budget accordingly, and be prepared to book another cruise to experience everything you missed.
Called Guppies, the program offers parents a place to play with their youngest children, with occasional youth staff-led activities and games. As is typical for big-ship cruise lines, Norwegian has an extensive children's program, with programs and activities for children as young as 6 months through the age of 17. The top decks of a few Norwegian ships — mostly the bigger ones — also have a ropes course, a climbing wall or both.
I gathered rather quickly that these employees were working long hard hours. I started asking questions and researching and found that the majority of employees work 12 plus hours a day, 7 days a week, with no days off for 8 months straight! The reason the cruise line hires crew from poor countires is to avoid labor laws so they can work the crew like animals and pay them very little. I will no longer be supporting a franchise that exploits people. Notably, the public areas that include these restaurants feel more spacious than many of the other ships in the Norwegian fleet. Norwegian Prima and Norwegian Viva were built with a higher ratio of space to passengers than earlier Norwegian vessels, which itself is an upscale touch.
DONT BOOK WITH NORWEGIAN! …
Norwegian Cruise Line ships are also known for their colorful hull art that makes them stand out in ports around the world. The Norwegian Getaway ship was built for socializing, and its deck plans make it easy. Most of the action takes place around 678 Ocean Place, the three-deck open space around which many of Getaway's bars are located.
NCL spans the globe with sailings to every continent (even Antarctica) on a wide range of ships. They leave from both U.S. coasts as well as from Hawaii — where NCL has operated inter-island Hawaiian sailing for almost two decades. Its loyalty program, onboard amenities and variety of cabin types offer something for every type of traveler. The company dates back to 1966 when it got its start as a Norwegian shipping company. Today, it has become one of the more popular mainstream cruise brands and is part of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, which also includes the Regent Seven Seas and Oceania brands. This may influence which products we review and write about (and where those products appear on the site), but it in no way affects our recommendations or advice, which are grounded in thousands of hours of research.
In collaboration with the Port of Dover, Fred Olsen Cruise Lines enhances its 2024 cruise packages with free parking and onboard credit. Norwegian Cruise Line has announced new culinary experiences that include their first Thai restaurant that will debut on their next new ship, Norwegian Aqua. We also weren't overly impressed with the online booking experience and the NCL website overall. When we went to get more information on the Freestyle vs. Free at Sea vs. Free at Sea Plus differences, every result link we got when we searched gave us a 404 Not Found error.
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With the upgrade, I also ended up with two more meals in specialty dining restaurants. In addition, Norwegian Cruise Line is the only mainstream cruise line to have round-trip sailings from Hawaii. Back in 2012, I sailed on Pride of America with my family when I was in high school exploring the Hawaiian Islands. This was my first and only experience with the cruise line, but it left a lasting, positive impression.
She said newer Norwegian ships normally have a large buffet with multiple stations for getting food and plenty of seating. However, I had only sailed on Pride of America, which is only four years newer than Norwegian Sun. The two ships are nearly identical in size, weighing right around 80,000 gross tons.
At around 143,000 to nearly 170,000 tons, all eight currently rank among the 50 biggest cruise ships in the world (although their rankings will shift downward as more big ships debut). Norwegian Cruise Line isn’t totally all-inclusive, but it’s close. Each ship will have numerous restaurants to eat at that are included in your fare.
You'll find everything from music halls with Beatles cover bands and dueling piano bars to theaters with some of the most elaborate shows at sea — including some big-name Broadway productions. For this 12-night cruise, the Free at Sea package included three meals at specialty dining venues. Additional meals were available as an upgrade — $99 for two more, $139 for three more, and $30 more for each additional meal you wanted after that. The upgrades are per person, so you cannot buy a two-meal package and share it with another person, giving each of you one additional meal.
Two found across the entire fleet are Cagney's, the line's signature steakhouse, and Le Bistro, a fine French restaurant. Every ship also has an Italian restaurant, called Onda by Scarpetta or La Cucina. There also are churrascaria restaurants called Moderno on most Norwegian vessels. One notable outlier among the smaller ships is the 2,186-passenger Pride of America. Sporting a patriotic U.S. theme (you'll find venues named after Thomas Jefferson and John Adams), and a distinct array of lounges and entertainment, it's the only big cruise vessel based year-round in Hawaii. Its largest vessels are among the biggest cruise ships at sea (they must be, to accommodate everything mentioned above).
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