I had a chance to go on the Norwegian Encore and WOW, what a ship! This will be the first part of a three part series on the Encore. I’m focusing on games and activities because there is SO MUCH to do! This is a great ship for active families. From high tech to high octane there is something for everyone and everything in between.
Let’s start with the high octane. Like the Joy and the Bliss, Encore has a go kart track on it. It is actually the longest track at sea and it is a blast. We were fortunate enough to be able to race twice on the track. Insider tip, sign up as soon as possible for a time slot as they fill up fast. One of the really cool features of this track that is different from Bliss and Joy is that it has an observation area in the middle where spectators can watch and feel like they are in the middle of the action. You can actually play a game of laser tag by shooting at the lights on top of the cars and compete against others for points.
If racing is not your thing, head over to the Lost World of Atlantis for some laser tag! The boys in blue won in case anyone is keeping score, even though I think we were technically the red team on the board, but who really cares. We had fun and that is the important thing. I have to say that this area of the ship looks amazing at night. Not as hard to get into as the racing but still something you should sign up for early on.
Another extremely cool area is the Galaxy Pavilion. Here you can play multiple virtual reality games and a couple not so virtual. The goalie here is like “World Cup” caliber, plus I think the penalty spot is not regulation. Seriously, I only scored 1 in like 20 and only saw one other person beat her. They should have this at soccer training camps. If soccer is not your thing, there are a variety of different games in here. There are race cars, Jurassic Park jeep tours, zombie games, you name it. I only did one as the video made me a little sick to the stomach.
This ship comes fully equipped with multiple water slides and pools. There is the terrifying slide where the floor drops out from underneath you and you drop 30 feet, then twist around over the edge of the ship. For the less adventurous there is a longer lazy slide you go down on a tube, and for the little sailors there is a kids splash park. Lot’s of fun for everyone!
If you would like to see more on the Norwegian Encore, head over to our Facebook album. If you are in the Columbus Ohio area you can stop by Expedia CruiseShipCenters for a free Virtual Tour of the ship.