Norwegian Encore — Go-Karts, Haven, and Everything After
The last Breakaway Plus ship has aged gracefully. Six years in, the Encore is one of Norwegian's most consistent value picks.
Reviewed across a 7-night Eastern Caribbean sailing out of Miami in late 2025, with cabin nights in a standard balcony and a Haven Aft-Facing Penthouse. Six years after launch, the Encore feels neither dated nor strained. Norwegian has continued to invest in venue programming — the Cavern Club Beatles tribute set is still the most fun room on the ship — and the hardware has held up. For travelers comparing Norwegian's current fleet, the Encore is the smarter value pick over the newer Prima class for travelers who prioritize specialty dining variety and Haven inclusions over the new design language.
Aging gracefully
Six years after launch, the Encore feels neither dated nor strained. Norwegian's continued investment in venue refresh and entertainment programming has kept the ship current — the Cavern Club Beatles tribute set is still the most fun room on the ship, the Haven complex received a 2024 soft refresh that brought it visually up to Prima-class standards, and the dining venues have maintained consistent kitchens. The signature go-kart track on the top deck still draws lines on sea days; the laser tag arena is a sleeper family-friendly attraction.
Cabins by tier
Cabin tiers, plainly
Breakaway Plus standard interiors are tight (135 sq ft) and a tougher recommendation for more than two travelers. Mini-suites at 269 sq ft are a meaningful step up and the value pick on this class. The Haven product — three-bedroom villas at the top — remains one of the leading ship-within-a-ship suites in mainstream cruising and is what to book if the budget allows.
The editorial team reviewed two categories: a standard balcony on deck 11 mid-ship and a Haven Aft-Facing Penthouse on deck 17. The standard balcony is functional rather than memorable — 207 sq ft total, an adequately sized bath, and a 40 sq ft balcony with two chairs and a small table. The Haven Aft-Facing Penthouse is genuinely one of the standout cabins in mainstream cruising — a 502 sq ft interior plus a 280 sq ft wraparound aft balcony with side chairs, a full dining table, and unobstructed wake views. The Haven complex on Encore (24-hour lounge, private restaurant, private courtyard pool, butler service) is meaningfully better than the standard ship surrounding it and the headline reason to book this ship over the newer Prima.
Dining program
Specialty dining is the Encore's strength. Cagney's Steakhouse is Norwegian's standout steak across the fleet — the bone-in ribeye is the standout. Le Bistro is a credible French bistro that does the duck confit correctly. Onda by Scarpetta is a polished Italian concept and the ship's most consistent specialty kitchen. Q Texas Smokehouse is a slow-night smart pick and reasonable for the cover charge.
The Local Bar & Grill (a 24-hour pub on deck 7) is the most-used free venue on the ship and a reliable late-night option. The main dining rooms (Manhattan Room, Savor, Taste) are competent without being memorable — the lineup pales next to what the specialty venues offer.
Editorial recommendation: book the Specialty Dining Package with the Free at Sea bundle, use it on Cagney's, Le Bistro, and Onda, and use the Local Bar & Grill plus the Garden Café buffet for the rest.
Entertainment
Kinky Boots is the headline production show and remains the strongest stage musical Norwegian has produced — a full Broadway-licensed staging that holds up against any production at sea. The Cavern Club Beatles tribute set is the cult-favorite room and the most fun late-night venue on the ship. Syd Norman's Pour House runs the rock-and-roll tribute concept five nights a week and is consistently busy.
The go-kart track on the top deck is a $15-per-ride paid attraction, books on the app the morning of, and is genuinely worth doing once. The laser tag arena and Galaxy Pavilion VR room round out the active programming.
Service
Standard-tier service across the Encore is faster and more attentive than on the older Norwegian fleet. Haven service is the headline — butlers learn guest patterns by day two, the Haven concierge handles dining swaps and excursion changes without travelers needing to leave the deck, and the Haven dining room (Haven Restaurant) runs a tighter and more consistent kitchen than the main dining rooms. The gap between standard and Haven service on the Encore is one of the widest in mainstream cruising.
Itinerary and value
Encore sails year-round Caribbean rotations from Miami and seasonal Bermuda from New York. The Bermuda itinerary is the strongest single rotation — three full nights docked in King's Wharf with full island access. Caribbean rotations cover the standard Eastern (St. Thomas, Tortola, Norwegian's Great Stirrup Cay) and Western (Cozumel, Costa Maya, Roatán, Great Stirrup Cay) lineups.
What it costs, honestly
Standard balcony pricing on a 7-night Encore Caribbean run lands around $129-$179 per person per night — among the strongest premium-mainstream value picks in the segment. The all-in price after gratuities (typically $16-$18 per person per night), port taxes (usually 18-25% of the base fare), and a two-device Wi-Fi package adds 35-55% on top of the base fare. Drink packages start at roughly $65-$85 per person per day before service charge — the math works for travelers averaging 5-7 alcoholic drinks per day and not before. Specialty dining covers run $35-$65 per person per restaurant and the better venues book out within the first 48 hours of the booking window — first-night reservations in particular are quiet and easy to land.
Embarkation and disembarkation
Getting to the ship
PortMiami runs three cruise terminals deep, and the line ships from terminal D tend to clear security fastest. Travelers driving in from out of state should target an arrival window between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. — earlier creates a 90-minute wait in the boarding hall, later runs into the lunch peak. The on-site garage runs about $24 per night and books out on Saturdays. Lyft and Uber pickups stage at the curb opposite each terminal.
Norwegian's PortMiami terminal handles the Encore's volume well and is one of the faster Miami embarkations. Plan on 25-40 minutes from curb to ship on a peak Saturday. Haven guests board first via a separate lounge.
Verdict
Who this ship is for
Recommended for: couples, food-focused cruisers, Haven suite travelers, and value-conscious travelers who want a Norwegian week without paying the Prima-class premium. It is a poor pick for travelers who want a quiet, low-density seascape week, who plan to spend afternoons reading uninterrupted on a balcony, or who are sensitive to crowd density on the main pool deck during a sea day. A smaller premium-segment ship — typically a Celebrity Edge-class or a luxury operator — is the better answer in those cases.
How this ship was reviewed
My Cruise Checklist reviews are written by editorial staff who book and sail every reviewed ship at standard public rates. The editorial team does not accept hosted media sailings, comped cabin upgrades, or revenue-share arrangements with cruise lines or travel agencies. Cabin nights are rotated across at least two distinct categories on every reviewed ship — typically a mid-tier balcony plus either a standard interior or a premium-suite category — so the review reflects more than a single price tier. Where a ship offers a meaningful ship-within-a-ship product (Royal Caribbean Suite Neighborhood, Norwegian Haven, MSC Yacht Club, Disney Concierge, Celebrity Retreat), the editorial team books at least one night in that category to allow a credible side-by-side read against the standard-cabin experience.
Numeric scores are assigned across seven dimensions (overall, dining, cabins, entertainment, value, service, itinerary) on a 1.0 to 5.0 scale, with one decimal of precision. A score of 4.0 means the dimension materially exceeds mainstream-segment expectations; a 3.0 is competent and unremarkable; anything below 3.0 is flagged as a concern in the body copy. Scores are anchored to the ship's segment (mainstream, premium, or luxury) rather than the entire industry, so a 4.5 on Carnival is not directly comparable to a 4.5 on Seabourn. Dining and entertainment scores are weighted toward the venues a typical traveler will actually use across a sailing week rather than the single most expensive specialty restaurant or the headline production show in isolation.
Reviews are revisited and republished on a rolling 18-to-24-month cadence, or sooner when a ship goes through a major dry-dock refurbishment, a class-wide menu reset, or a meaningful change in itinerary deployment. Travelers are encouraged to cross-check the published date at the top of every review against the current sailing date before relying on specific pricing or venue references. Reader-submitted corrections are reviewed by the editorial team within a week and, when verified, applied with an updated published date and a short changelog note at the foot of the article.
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