We recently took an Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Norwegian Encore. One of Norwegian Cruise Line's tagline states "Nobody Does Dining Like Norwegian". And, without a doubt, Dalton and I completely agree with this statement! We might even say that one of Norwegian's newest ships, the Norwegian Encore who made her debut in 2019, has the BEST food on any cruise ship we've ever sailed on.
What is Freestyle Dining? -
Before we get into the details on the food we enjoyed most on board, let's talk about how dining on Norwegian Encore may be different from other cruises you've sailed on. Unlike other cruise lines that you may have sailed on, Norwegian Cruise Line's dining is considered "Freestyle Dining". Rather than having a set time every night you have dinner in the main dining room, you are on your own when it comes to scheduling your dinner times. We were skeptical of this at first as we were very used to the set dinner schedules from prior cruises. Freestyle Dining definitely gives you more flexibility.
You can use the Norwegian Cruise Line App while on board to schedule your dining times for specialty dining or the Main Dining Room. There may be a variety of reasons why you may not want to eat dinner at set time every day - maybe your port day has a late departure time and you want to take advantage of more time in port - or - you may want to schedule an extra couple laps at the Encore Racetrack after finding a last minute opening! We LOVE Norwegian Cruise Line's approach at freestyle dining and the flexibility it gives travelers.
Specialty Dining Options -
If you are currently looking at booking a cruise on the Norwegian Encore, you may be looking at cruise package options which includes specialty dining for a set number of nights. We were lucky enough to receive 6 nights of specialty dining on our 7 night Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Encore. This may seem like A LOT, which it certainly is, however, with 6 nights at specialty dining there were still restaurants we did not eat at! That's how many specialty dining options are available -- actually, 9 to be exact.
Looking for more on Norwegian Encore? Check out the Club Balcony Suite tour on our Youtube Channel!
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