Norwegian Encore - Transatlantic - Day 1
Norwegian Encore - Day 01 - December 3, 2024 - Southampton, UK
I woke up to my alarm in my pod at St. Christopher’s Village. I dug out my flip flops and hopped into one of the three showers available in the room. I was ready a bit early, but didn’t know what the tube would be like or how many trains I might have to wait out before being able to get on with my backpack and suitcase.
The hostel was less than a ten minute walk from the London Bridge Station. I swiped my phone for my fare and headed towards the Jubilee line. It arrived within a couple minutes and there was plenty of space, so I got on for my two stops to Waterloo Station.
When I arrived at Waterloo, I followed the signs to the main train station. I looked on the board for my South Western Railway train to Southampton (the Weymouth line).
It was early enough that the track wasn’t yet listed, though the area was. “Wait P12-19”, it said. There was enough time for coffee, so I went up an escalator, ordered a flat white, and sat at a small table with a view. Norwegian is not known for their great coffee, so I made sure I appreciated this cup.
When I was done, I headed back down and waited by the board until it let me know to head to Track 12 for the 9:05 train. Easy. I’m on train platforms regularly, but the fact that I was on one in London made me think of Harry Potter. Sadly, wrong station, wrong platform.
I purchased a First Class ticket for the train ahead of time, so already had it available on my phone. I swiped it and found my car. There aren’t reserved seats, but there were plenty to choose from, some with tables. My suitcase fit above the seat, but it didn’t matter much because there were plenty of seats available and no one needed to sit next to me.
The train was nice, though we had to go slowly through an area because of a “defective” bit of track. Should we have been worried? Overall, we arrived 11 minutes behind schedule. By 10:36, I was on my 12 minute walk from the Southampton Station to the Horizon Cruise Terminal, where the Norwegian Encore was waiting. Many people headed towards the taxi cabs to get there, but my luggage was manageable and my legs still work, so I walked. It wasn’t long before I could see the ship in the distance..
Timing was great, as my official check-in time was 11am. Generally speaking, I don’t think it matters too much when you show up, but it helps the check-in process to go smoothly if passengers arrive at certain intervals. There were two lines to go through security. One for Decks 5-11 and one for Decks 12 and up. I got on the first line as I had it in my head that I was on Deck 10. Once inside the building, though, I looked at my papers and saw that I was actually in Cabin 12218 - Deck 12. Someone working there walked me across to the correct line and put me in the same spot I was in on the other side. Meaning I cut in front of some people on that side. This made other people in that line realize they were meant to be where I had started. Even steven. I heard some people complaining that no one was steering people in the right direction and that it feltl chaotic. That wasn’t my experience. There had been someone outside asking every person what deck they were on and pointing them the right way. I’d just been wrong about my own cabin number.
While waiting, I overheard someone talking about the possibility of lost luggage.
Man 1: Can’t get on a two week cruise without any clothes! That’d be a drag!
Man 2: For everyone else, maybe!
I worked my way through security - everything out of pockets, jacket off, laptop out. No problem. When I got through, there was no one in line at the check-in counter, so I went straight up. I was given a sticker with the number 25 on it. I got my room card, which is really the only thing you need to carry around on the ship with you. It gets you into your room and the main dining rooms. If you want to purchase anything (like a drink or a Rolex), you can use it to charge it to your cabin.
There was water, tea and coffee available in the waiting area, so I got some water and sat down to wait for number 25 to be called to board. By 11:40am, I was on board - just over an hour after getting off my train.
The first hour or two on a cruise ship can feel a little hectic or overwhelming if you haven’t done it before. At this point, though, I’ve been on a bunch of cruises and several of them have been on Norwegian. So I have a plan of attack.
Go to my muster station and get my card swiped. Ahead of the cruise, Norwegian sends a link to a safety video, which everyone has to say they watched. And they have to say it to a staff member on board, in person. Your muster station is shown on your key card. Mine was E4. This serves as the same location that you would go to in case of an emergency. It spreads people out and ensures there are enough, say, lifejackets and lifeboats for everyone. My card was swiped within 5 minutes of being on board.
Go to the box office. There are some shows that require reservations. I definitely want to see all of those shows. For this cruise, the only reservations required were for Choir of Man. I saw this show on a previous cruise and it was a lot of fun. Plus they serve you a beer on stage ahead of the show, if you want one. I want one. I got my reservation for the first available show.
Get lunch. Cabins aren’t usually ready until afternoon - maybe 1pm or 2pm. So you need to bide your time. Eating is a good way to do that. On THIS cruise, though, an announcement that cabins were ready was made while I was on my way to Taste (one of the main dining rooms). Hurrah! I went there first to drop off most of my things, and THEN headed to lunch. I’ve heard that most people head to the buffet and it gets very crowded. I head to a dining room mainly because my favorite dessert on Norwegian is only guaranteed to be served on Day 1 at lunch. It’s a chocolate orange mousse. I love it very much.
This time at lunch I met a lovely woman named Jean from Scotland. She doesn’t like to fly, so is taking this ship to Miami and then going from there to North Carolina, where she lived for a while, to visit friends. Then, in January, she will return to Southampton on the Norwegian Bliss.
After lunch, I went back to my cabin and unpacked. One nice thing about being on a cruise is the ability to fully unpack. I hung most of my clothes and put some more on shelves. Ordinarily I’d put a bunch of my cables and electronic devices into a drawer, but this cabin had no drawers. Instead, I dedicated a couple shelves to miscellaneous items.
I called guest services and requested a coffee maker and a bathrobe for the cabin, which are only provided upon request.
Although it’s not something I always do, I decided to head to the Sail Away Party on the pool deck. Here I learned that our Cruise Director was Tiara and realized I’ve never been on a ship with a female cruise director. I wonder whether it’s common or not across cruise lines? She was getting the crowd to dance and putting people in the spotlight who were definitely not looking for the spotlight.
I remembered my recent trip to Las Vegas where I went to a show with male dancers. Before the show, they announced that there would be some audience participation, but that if you didn’t want to participate, all you had to do was put your hands on your knees and they would know not to put you on the spot. I loved that - it made me feel so much more comfortable at the show. I love watching OTHER people get up on stage, but have no interest in doing it myself. And I can enjoy a show a lot more if I don’t have to worry about it.
From here, I decided to go back to my balcony and watch as we got further from land. From this point on, you can assume that in between every activity, there is a good chance I took an opportunity to recharge in my room. It’s not always a priority for me to have a balcony on my cruises, but on a transatlantic, I especially enjoy it for several reasons. I’m likely to spend more time in my cabin when there aren’t daily ports to visit. There are a lot of sea days and I love just watching the ocean. And it’s nice to have the balcony door open and get fresh sea air and the sound of the waves.
Later, I had dinner in the Manhattan Room. There are three main dining rooms (MDRs) on most Norwegian ships, The three on the Encore are Savor, Taste and the Manhattan Room. You can get the same choices in each of them, but the Manhattan Room feels a little fancier. It also seems (to me) to be a bigger time commitment. Generally speaking, if you want to have everything from appetizers to dessert, you should expect it to take up to 90 minutes or you might get frustrated.
On this night, I decided to go off menu for dessert and request a cheese plate. I’ve done this before with no issue and I’ve heard that it is an acceptable request. (It’s something on the room service menu that is available 24/7, for instance.) After I’d ordered it and before it arrived, I heard someone else make the same request. Unfortunately, it took a very long time to get to me. It made me wonder… Is that actually an acceptable request? Did I cause unnecessary stress? The plate, when it arrived, made me laugh a little. It had some regular sliced cheese you’d get at the buffet, as well as a very stinky soft cheese that was probably fancy. The crackers were Saltines. There were also some pecans and dried cranberries. I ate all of it. And I liked it.
After dinner, I went to the Atrium to watch a liltle bit of a game show called Last Man Standing. A large group of people stand at the front of the room. A host asks a question and two possible answers are put up on a screen. People decide whether to go with Choice A or Choice B and stand on the side that corresponds. Anyone who gets it wrong is eliminated until there is one final person standing, the winner. It’s silly, but amusing to watch.
From there I went to the District Brewhouse to check out one of the musicians, Tito. I was alone, drinking a water, and there specifically to check him out. Most people were drinking alcohol and having conversations. So it didn’t take long for Tito to notice me and to sing in my direction. That was too much pressure, so I didn’t stay very long.
After that I got some green tea ice cream from the buffet and sat to crochet for a bit. I brought enough yarn to try to make 12 squares for a sampler blanket. 12 day cruise. 12 squares. Seemed reasonable. I did manage to finish the first square before going to bed.
Also before going to bed, I went to the main theater - the Encore Theater - to see the two comedians on board, Travis Nelson and Buddy Fitzpatrick. Comedians mostly do smaller shows at a venue called The Social Club. They’ll do family friendly sets earlier in the evening or 18+ sets later. Then, occasionally, there will be a theater show. I liked Travis (a 6’9”, 35 year-old from Washington State) more than Buddy (an older, balder, more sour divorced guy), but decided I’d give them both at least one more shot at some point.
Before calling it a night, I went back to the atrium and listened to some more music from ADDA Band. Familiar songs and an impressive voice.
Not bad for a first day!
