Norwegian Encore - Transatlantic - Day 2
Norwegian Encore - Day 02 - December 4, 2024 - AT SEA
This morning I had many plans, but decided to prioritize sleep and not set an alarm. I must have needed sleep.
I woke up to an announcement from the Cruise Director. It was 10am. I went back to sleep. In my head, we were supposed to turn the clock back an hour because that’s what generally happens on a Transatlantic. But we were heading from Southampton towards Vigo, Spain, so we actually lost an hour. This messed with my internal clock a bit. It also messed with my photos, as some were taken before I changed the time on my phone and some after, leaving them out of order for a bit.
So, I ended up sleeping for about 12 hours total and enjoyed coffee on my balcony around 12:30 in the afternoon.
Sleeping, for me, is very easy on a cruise. The beds are cozy. The cabins are as dark as you want them to be. The (usually) slight rocking from the ocean is relaxing. It’s generally very quiet. Plus there are no cats.
At home, I usually am up and about on the early side and even get picked on about it by my friends. So sleeping until noon is unexpected, but great!
I’d completely missed breakfast and it was well into lunchtime. I decided to go to the Local Bar & Grill. This is an option included for all cruisers, on top of the buffet and the main dining rooms. It has a lot of bar-type food (nachos, burgers, wings, fish & chips) and is open until the wee hours of the morning. The first time I was on Norwegian, I was very excited about having the wings. Luckily, I suppose, they weren’t that great. Otherwise, I’d have been tempted to eat them daily.
There are tables at the Local, but also some seats that look down over the Atrium, one deck below. It’s a great place to have a snack while also watching trivia or game shows or other happenings below.
I ordered a Cobb salad and some sausage sliders. There was a young woman seated to my left who was on her own. She was knitting while waiting for her food.
One key reason I like to cruise on Norwegian is that it caters to people traveling solo. You can often get cabins without having to pay for double occupancy. There are cabins set aside on most ships specifically for one person, but sometimes you can get the regular cabins for the same price or even cheaper. Not only is it affordable, but there are also many opportunities to get to know fellow solo cruisers. Every night, there is a “solo meetup” before dinner time. Anyone who wants to can go and find people to have dinner with or go to events with.
On my last solo transatlantic cruise two years ago, I did this and met a lot of people. We’d often have groups of 8 or 10 around a dinner table and then could make other plans if we were up for it.
The young woman next to me introduced herself as Sam. She asked if I’d been to the Solo meetup the night before. I hadn’t. She said it had happened in the Cavern Club, which was too small. She said nearly 300 people had shown up.
As we ate, we talked a bit. When she mentioned that her father was 50, I realized she was younger than I thought. But also accomplished. She is a dyer of thread and apparently is (was?) one of the top (THE top?) dyers in North America. I confessed that I was still kinda learning crochet and had my acrylic with me for my sample blanket. When I told her that I like the action of it and don’t mind tearing things out when I make a mistake, she said that most people fit into one of two categories. They either do it for the finished product or they do it for the process. She told me I’m a process person. I’ll buy that.
I was kinda glad I hadn’t gone to the meetup the night before. I started thinking about how I like to meet people. It’s harder for me to go into a room full of people (even a room full of people who want to meet people) than to start up a casual conversation with someone next to me at a place we both want to be at either way.
When I finished my food, I excused myself and went to explore a little bit. One thing I really like about some of the Norwegian ships is that there is a lot of outdoor space. On the 8th deck of the Encore, you can walk around the outside of about ¾ of the ship, including around the aft.
Side note, the back of the ship is the aft. On one of my cruises, a comedian was interacting with the audience and asked innocently “What’s your favorite part of the ship?” A passenger yelled out “AFT!” which still makes me laugh a bit.
Anyway, there is a lot of seating outside, as well as a couple bars, so on a nice day you can have a drink, read, play cards, etc. I got out my crochet to start my second square. It was harder than the first one. I usually have access to video tutorials, but no wifi meant no videos, so I was trying to read the pattern. After a few rows, I wasn’t too confident and gave up for a bit.
Speaking of wifi… There ARE internet packages available. You can get it for the whole cruise or a certain number of days or minutes. And there are two levels. One is more expensive and includes streaming. I’ve never paid for wifi, but get a “more at sea” package that includes 300 minutes over the course of the cruise. I’m not convinced that the wifi would be good enough for me to work from a ship, as I often need to download and upload large files. And one of the things I enjoy about cruises is not being available 24/7. My cell service plan allows me to connect when at port in a lot of countries, so that’s helpful when I’m not at sea. 300 minutes on a 12 day cruise would average 25 minutes of wifi per day. I usually use less at the beginning and more at the end.
When I was on a Princess cruise to Alaska last summer, I had wifi available for the duration. It was nice in some ways, but also a distraction. No judgment towards anyone who opts to disconnect or stay connected!
Around 3pm, I realized there might be treats available somewhere on board. I checked my Freestyle Daily to see what was going on.
Freestyle Daily is a daily list of all the things happening on the ship. A printed version is left in your cabin in the evening for the following day. It’s also available on the app, which can be used on board with or without an internet package. In addition to shows, music, movies, etc. it has all of the hours for the buffet and restaurants, Guest Services, etc.
By the time I looked, the buffet was closed, but there was food available on the Observation Deck. The Observation Deck on the Encore is beautiful! So much comfortable seating and huge windows that let you look out forward and to the sides. Not only that, but I confirmed they had sweets. In the past I’ve been disappointed by the scones on Norwegian, but decided to give it another go. I got a little plate with a scone, jam and clotted cream. I brought it back to my cabin and enjoyed a little tea time on my balcony. It was so much better than the ones I’ve tried on other Norwegian ships (but not as good as tea time on Princess). This is the kind of discovery that can be dangerous.
Because I’d woken up so late and had evening plans, my food intake was within less hours than it usually would be. I opted for an early dinner. I skipped the entree, though, and only had soup, salad and…dessert. I couldn’t help it - it was an After Eight Mint Chocolate Mousse. Things I have a hard time resisting: Mousse. Chocolate & orange combinations. Chocolate & mint combinations. Oops!
With eating out of the way for the day, I moved on to entertainment!
First up, Choir of Man in the Encore Theater. The show takes place in a pub called The Jungle (hence the first tune, Welcome to the Jungle) and it interweaves stories of the characters with music most of us are familiar with. To get things started before showtime, audience members are invited up to the stage to grab a beer, served by cast members, who make a little conversation and will even pose for pictures… The cast also uses these interactions to see who might end up on stage with them for a couple numbers. I do NOT want to end up on stage during the actual show. But it’s really fun watching people up there! (Another time when the hands on knees trick - see previous post - would be useful!) My favorite bit is when a tap dancer does a number to 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover. (An aside… I can’t think of that song without ALSO thinking of one I know from my childhood by a local Vermont musician called 50 Ways to Fool Your Mother.)
The show was great and next to me in the audience was someone who had also seen it before and who was as enthusiastic as I was.
From the theater, I zipped down to The Cavern to see the first of the Beatles shows on board. There was a Cavern Club on the last transatlantic cruise I did as well, but I only saw part of one of the Beatles shows in there, standing room only. I came on this ship determined to see them! My understanding is that there are three separate shows with different set lists in the small venue, Cavern Club. Then they do a theater show which allows the masses to see them. Will I see all three shows in the Cavern Club?!
I found a great seat at a high top in the center, back and waited. Eventually, someone asked if the other seat at the table was available. It was. His name Was Gwyn and he was from Wales. He told me, annoyed, that most Americans tell him that his name is a girls name. For the record, I didn’t tell him that. In fact, one of the only other people from Wales I’ve met was also a man named Gwyn. I replied, “Well, some people would say that Hilary is a man’s name.” He exclaimed “It is!”
The Beatles: Early Years show was a lot of fun! The cutest Encore Beatle is definitely Ringo. I noted the set list as it happened because I’m terrible at being able to keep that info in my head.
They performed:
I Saw Her Standing There
Please Please Me
From Me to You
Please Mr. Postman
All My Loving
A Hard Day’s Night
Can’t Buy Me Love
Do You Want to Know A Secret
Roll Over Beethoven
Boys
I Feel Fine
Eight Days A Week
Long Tall Sally
Twist and Shout
Before hitting the hay, I thought I might get another snack at the Observation Lounge. There was no food when I arrived, but some live music grabbed me and I sat down to listen. The band’s name is In’Sync, which brings something different to mind. But the woman’s voice was so beautiful and I stayed for the rest of the show. Her version of Hallelujah brought tears to my eyes and when I heard a woman behind me saying that it had brought her “to church”, I turned around and nodded. Perfect end to the evening.
A couple other random notes from the day…
I’ve been working with a lot of people for months to organize and unionize at a company I’ve done a lot of work for. To have it officially move forward, we needed to vote, starting on this day! I used some wifi minutes to log on, vote yes, and let the WGAE know that I’d done it. Very exciting!
ALSO, I was walking along one of the decks and there were two women laughing and looking at a vending machine. They saw me notice them and one said “Look!” and grabbed my arm. I realized I knew her from a couple years ago on the last transatlantic cruise I did. She didn’t recognize me. She was pointing at 3 condoms for $10. Was it funny that they were available? Was the cost funny? I took a stab and said “The trouble is knowing whether or not it’s going to be worth it.” They continued laughing and I continued on my way.
Stay safe, people!
