Norwegian Encore - Transatlantic - Day 6

Norwegian Encore - Day 06 - December 8, 2024 - Ponta Delgada, The Azores

I got up early, though it wasn’t necessary. I had booked an excursion through the ship for our day in the Azores and it didn’t start until 1pm.

Started off with the balcony. Then I went to the buffet for breakfast. I had a veggie omelet and decided to “splurge” on fresh squeezed orange juice - $3.60.

It wasn’t really a splurge, as I had $100 onboard credit. Before going on my first Norwegian cruise, I watched dozens of videos about it because I wanted to understand what I was getting into. During that process, I learned that if you have 100 shares of stock for NCLH (Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings), you get shareholder benefits - onboard credit on cruises. The amount is based on the length of the cruise and ranges from $50 to $250. The cost was low when I bought it, as people were just easing into travel again after the lockdowns from Covid. As of today, I have had a total of $750 in onboard credit AND my stock has gone up 116%. I’d say that’s a win!

SO! The first $100 spent onboard (in shops, specialty dining, excursions, wifi, etc.) didn’t cost me anything. This orange juice was the first thing in 6 days that came out of my onboard credit.

While eating in the buffet, a few crew members went from table to table offering coffee along with song… For instance, they changed “hit me baby one more time” to “coffee coffee one more cup” and they changed “get up and dance with me” to “wake up and more coffee”. They seemed to be having fun and I found it amusing. It reminded me of the summer of 1988, when my friend Andrea and I made every song about chocolate pudding…

After breakfast, I brought my camera out to the Waterfront (outdoor area on Deck 8 ) and enjoyed the scenery of São Miguel Island on our approach to Ponta Delgada.

There’s a lot of weather there in the Azores, which sometimes means the port is skipped altogether by cruises. That happened to me on my previous transatlantic cruise. This made it feel extra special that we made it!

After taking photos for a bit, I noticed that there was a rainbow ahead. I turned to a man who also had a camera and said “I just saw the rainbow!” My intent was to inform him, in case he hadn’t seen it, but quickly realized he was ahead of me when he responded “Yes. I wasn’t taking photos of you, I swear!” Ha! I didn’t even have that thought. After that exchange and when I was on the other side of him, I got a couple shots of him with the rainbow, which I didn’t mention and he didn’t notice.

While on the Waterfront, I met two other cruisers, who didn’t know each other - Laurie and Chris. Laurie had a lot to say about everything, so it wasn’t until she went on her way that Chris and I heard anything from each other. He was there on his own. He had just retired and his husband was still working, so he occasionally does some solo travel They live in Orlando with a couple dogs, who also sometimes make it tough to travel. He was great and I hoped to run into him again at some point.

The ship was ready for people to disembark around 11:30am, but since I had to meet in the theater for my 1pm excursion, I decided to stay on the Encore until then. We wouldn’t be getting lunch on land, so I went to the Local for a blue burger. The burgers aren’t great. They’re…fine. I usually skip them altogether.

At 1pm, I went to the theater and when my group was called, I got on the bus for the excursion. I’d been to the Azores once before and stayed with some of Rod’s family at a house there. I had seen a lot, but this excursion included a visit to a pineapple plantation, which I hadn’t done previously. It also included stops in a town called Ribeira Grande and at Lagoa do Fogo (Fire Lake). The scenery on the island is so beautiful, so I was looking forward to just driving around. Fog and rain came and went throughout the day, but it was dry when we got to the town, which was charming and decorated for the holidays. I considered getting a treat at a chocolate shop, but will do that next time.

When we got to the lake, we could see it from one lookout point, but the rain came in and nothing was visible from the next stop. That being said, I’m always amused by a selfie in front of fog hiding a beautiful place.

Next up was the pineapple plantation. Oranges were once the main crop in São Miguel and they were exported to Europe and America. In the 1860s, though, a plant disease took them out. The island later experimented with pineapples, which they now grow in greenhouses all over the island. At the plantation we were able to walk through a couple of those greenhouses and see the various phases of growth. Then we went to a cafe there and got a sample bite of pineapple, which was juicy and delicious! Sweeter than most pineapple I’ve had, which we were told was because often exported pineapples are given a lot of water at the end to make them bigger, but it affects the taste. I sat with some other folks from the tour. One got a beer (but NOT the pineapple beer offered), another got a pineapple tart, and I got a pineapple caipirinha. The drink sounded delicious in my mind, but it was…not great. I fished out the chunks of pineapple and ate them but left the drink on the table. Worth a shot! Or not, depending how you look at it.

We headed back to Ponta Delgada and there was time to walk around a bit, so I took off on my own to see the Christmas market and walk by a couple places I liked from my previous trip, like a restaurant called Tasca. Unfortunately, it was Sunday and Tasca was closed. As I was wandering, I ran into Hamdy, the gentleman who I’d discussed the waterslides with. He was heading the other direction, but we gave each other a hello. He hadn’t been on a slide yet. He’s so smiley, it was hard not to also be smiling when we each continued in our own directions.

I headed back to the Norwegian Encore to get ready for my early dinner in Cagney’s, one of the specialty restaurants. The package I got included three meals at specialty restaurants and this was the first one I was having. Cagney’s is a steakhouse and has been consistently good in my experience.

I put on my jumpsuit to dress up a little for dinner and went down to enjoy my meal. I got a wedge salad, a ribeye steak with sauteed mushrooms and garlic mashed potatoes, and a raspberry crème brulée. Everything was great (particularly the steak), except for the dessert. I noted to try something else next time. The seven layer chocolate cake is a safe choice!

A man and a woman at the next table had clearly just met on this trip. They talked about 9/11 and their own experiences. Neither was in New York, but he was a pilot at the time. Every time he started to say something that seemed to be heartfelt to the woman, he was interrupted by a waiter for one reason or another. He talked a lot. At one point the woman started to say something and he talked over her. She then interrupted him and said “I’m going to talk for a while now and give you a chance to eat.” I appreciated her tactics.

There wasn’t too much I was interested in entertainment-wise that night, so I decided to head to my cabin, open the balcony door, and call it an early night.

That was the last port before Miami, but before arriving there, we would have six more days at sea. I was looking forward to them.