Before I get into the specifics of my balcony cabin on the Norwegian Encore, a quick word about how I ended up there. I died and went to heaven. Just kidding…about the dying part at least. There are no pearly gates in my vision of heaven, just a cruise ship balcony with a view of the sea.
Anyway, I frequently receive questions about how I can afford to cruise so often and one of the ways I can do that is by always booking the cheapest cabin category, at least to start with. In this case I originally booked an inside guarantee cabin without the “free at sea” perks (except for a $50 shore excursion credit at each port). However, for this cruise I thought it might be fun to have a balcony cabin since it was a special trip in honor of my mom’s birthday.
So I do what I always do when I’m interested in upgrading my cabin. I watched prices as the sail date approached and I submitted a bid for an upgrade from my inside cabin to a balcony cabin. I made sure I bid less than what it would cost to just call and pay retail to upgrade (you’d be surprised at how many people actually end up paying more through the bidding process than they would had they just been watching prices).
This time I bid just above the minimum bid (set at $100 per person). And while it said my chances of winning my bid were “poor,” I won and ended up paying $210 total for an upgrade from an inside to a balcony. Keep in mind that you cannot select your specific cabin if you win a bid for an upgrade.
I was assigned cabin 12708.
Cabin 12708 is a standard balcony cabin located forward on the starboard side of deck 12. This cabin is just about as far forward as you can get (there is a front-facing cabin next door with a starboard-facing balcony, but that’s the only cabin more forward than this one) and is located directly below the bridge. Here’s a complete tour:
Let’s talk first about the things I loved about my balcony cabin on the Encore…
This bedding was so comfortable that mom and I were tempted to wrap it around ourselves in lieu of clothing, creating a likeness of the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man, in order to sneak it off the ship at debarkation.
It was great to have coffee available any time of day to drink on our balcony on sea days or as we were getting ready for breakfast or dinner.
We didn’t use the mini fridge on this sailing, but it’s always nice to have one to keep drinks or room snacks chilled.
If you’re new to Cruising 101 and had to guess who the night owl is between my mom (in her 70’s) and I, you might guess me. You’d be wrong. As my loyal followers know, I’m lame and I wake up at 5:30am to hit the gym. So I go to bed early. And I mean early. I’m typically asleep by 9pm. So mom was thankful for the small, adjustable reading lights located on both sides of the bed. She stayed up reading until she was sure I was asleep, then she snuck out to hit the clubs (true story).
Cruise cabins often have a shortage of electrical outlets. Usually I bring one of these cruise approved gadgets with extra three-pronged and USB outlets. But I left it home this time! There are three outlets located above the desk area and a USB outlet on each side of the bed.
I appreciated having access to so much information via the flat screen television in my cabin (schedule of activities, TV and movies, access to onboard account, reservations, bridge cam, etc) and also loved the two small switches near the door that could be pressed to communicate with my cabin steward (either “do not disturb” or “make up room”).
Some like it hot! The in-room thermostat worked great to either cool or warm my stateroom as necessary.
Although the balcony was fairly small, I loved having chairs that reclined. They made sitting out there much more comfortable (so comfortable that I fell asleep even though it was 40 degrees and raining half the time!).
I was impressed with both the size and design of the shower. It was spacious for a cruise ship shower and featured a glass door that prevented water from leaking out onto the floor.
The bathroom included an adequate amount of storage, including two shelves below the vanity, two smaller shelves (pictured in the first photo above) on the mirror, and a large storage area below the sink (pictured in the second photo).
These are standard for cruise ship showers, but I always appreciate having one. This retractable clothesline can be used to hang swimsuits or other items to dry. In my case, I use it for my gym clothes which I rinse out each day after I saturate them with more pounds of sweat than I gain in fat on a 7-night cruise (read as a LOT). Trust me, anyone who rooms with me REALLY appreciates this gesture and the handy clothesline that facilitates it.
Consistent with the rest of the ship, the cabin’s furnishings were clean, simple, and contemporary.
Here are some things I didn’t love about my balcony cabin on the Encore…
While this wan’t a problem for mom and I (we’re both pint-sized and pretty light packers), the small closet divided in half with shelves on one side and a rod for hanging clothing on the other, will be too small for many passengers. Stay tuned for a secret spot offering some additional storage.
This was not the first time I nearly strangled myself with a cruise ship hair dryer and I’m sure it won’t be the last. Seriously though, what’s with the permanently attached, too-short cords that require some serious limbo skills to get your hairs dry? Design fail.
I refuse to pack more than five toiletry items when I travel. If it’s not a toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, deodorant, or sunscreen I ain’t bringing it. And sometimes I even forget some of those items (usually deodorant – you’ve been warned). So I always use whatever soap and shampoo are provided in hotel rooms or on cruise ships. I’m not picky. And I’m a child of the 90’s – frizz is my love language.
But if you are picky, the quality of the shampoo/conditioner combo, the body wash, and the hand soap is poor. Bring your own products if you care about such things.
We were lucky enough on this Alaska sailing to see a humpback whale up close from our ship. It was so close that the sound of it forcefully expelling moist air through it’s blowhole sounded like all the world’s beach balls were simultaneously and violently deflated.
We were unlucky enough to have a balcony door that made this same sound every time we opened or closed it, causing me to both plunge my fingers in my ears and rush outside to see if another humpback was nearby so I could not get a photo of it (sorry Instagram followers – I tried).
Here are a few tips to enhance your cabin experience on the Encore…
There are two large, hidden drawers located under the sofa. Ours was used to store extra bedding, but it can be removed by your room steward if you need the space for storage.
Another way to save space is to store your luggage and any other large items you don’t use on a daily basis (large coats, etc) under the bed.
Much of the power in your room will not work without a card inserted into this slot near the door:
Bring an old hotel key card or another card you don’t need to use onboard to keep in there to make sure your devices keep charging when you leave the room. Be sure to manually turn off the lights when you leave though, so you don’t waste power.
If you don’t plan on purchasing any of the beverages in your mini fridge, your cabin steward will remove them for you. You can also remove them and store them somewhere else during your cruise (but remember to put them back or mention to your cabin steward that you moved them so you don’t get charged).
As I mentioned before, this cabin is located directly under the bridge, meaning you can see the underside of the bridge when you look up from the balcony. This was nice in that it provided some extra shade and shelter from wind and rain (that last one is important on a cruise to Alaska). However, it did prevent star gazing and made it tricky to get good pictures on our scenic viewing days.
Note that there is also a camera located on the bottom of the bridge aimed directly at your cabin so you’ll want to avoid illicit smoking and uh hum, hanky panky (read that last part in a whisper), out there.
We also had rough seas on our first and last full day of sailing and being so far forward meant that we felt the movement of the ship much more than had we been toward the middle of the ship. If you’re prone to sea sickness, you probably want to avoid this cabin or others located far forward on higher decks. Regardless of your location, be sure to pack some motion sickness medicine just in case. I tried these non-drowsy natural ginger Dramamine caplets for the first time on this sailing and they worked great for me.
The location of this cabin was also very far from elevators. This was good for burning off a small fraction of the six desserts I ate every day, but would be challenging for anyone with limited mobility.
For those wondering if you simply must have a balcony cabin for a cruise to Alaska, I will say this: We did enjoy having a balcony on our scenic cruising day, but on most other days it was too cold, windy, and rainy to use it much and we found ourselves hanging out in indoor public areas like the Observation Lounge where views were equally spectacular, but where we were kept warm and dry.
I have sailed to Alaska numerous times in every cabin category on every non-luxury line and I’ve enjoyed them all. If a balcony isn’t in your budget, don’t worry, you’ll still have a wonderful experience – there are plenty of public areas on every ship to enjoy the views!
Finally, here are a few items that can enhance your cruise cabin experience: over the door mesh organizer for extra storage, rechargeable portable fan for white noise, air circulation, and to keep you cool in the gym, and a travel clock so you can see what time it is at night (cruise ship cabins never have clocks).
And don’t forget these cute thank you cards for your room steward and other crew that made your cruise extra special. I always hand these out on the last day with a personalized note and an extra cash tip inside.
And with that…
Class Dismissed.
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