Norwegian Encore Entertainment, Scored

Kinky Boots — a six-time Tony Award-winning Broadway musical with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper. It follows a struggling shoe-factory owner and a drag-queen cabaret performer.

It opened in the Encore Theater at the ship's christening in November 2019, and NCL removed it in January 2023.

NCL's Encore entertainment page still lists it. That page is stale, not proof the show runs.

Norwegian has publicly stated it's phasing out most Broadway-style titles fleet-wide in favor of shorter original productions.

Norwegian Prima's own Donna Summer musical closed in 2024 as part of the same shift.

The Choir of Man — a British pub-themed production combining live music, choreography and audience participation. It's staged in the same Encore Theater.

Reviewers specifically praise it as "Broadway-caliber." One review notes guests can join performers onstage before the show, at a recreated pub bar.

Happy Hour Prohibition: The Musical — a 21-and-up-styled (16+ restricted), all-female cast production set in Madam Lulu's, a recreated 1920s New Orleans speakeasy. It blends music, dance and comedy with front-row audience interaction.

The show runs in the Social Comedy & Night Club, which physically transforms for the performance.

Its cover charge has included several classic Prohibition-era cocktails.

It has run here, but this research found no 2025-26 sighting, and NCL's main Encore ship page no longer lists it. It gets no credit in the score.

NCL's own March 2025 press release announced ICONS: The Bands. It's an "immersive concert experience" of tribute-band performances that premiered aboard Encore that spring.

A guest on a February 2026 sailing saw it, so it counts here as current.

The Cavern Club recreates the Liverpool venue where the Beatles got their start, with a resident Beatles cover band and themed cocktails. That's a distinct live-music format none of NCL's newer Prima-family ships carry.

Social Comedy & Night Club runs stand-up comedy sets before converting to a late-night room. District Brew House pours more than 50 bottled and two dozen draft beers and is listed with an evening piano player.

Sugarcane Mojito Bar is listed with a live band and Latin-themed dancing. No 2026 sailing report names either, so treat those two as possible, not promised.

That's breadth across tribute rock, comedy and bar music.

It matches the depth already established on Luna and Prima. That's short of the six-plus-venue counts the deepest live-entertainment ships we've scored have documented.

Trivia, ping-pong tournaments and dance lessons run daily. Paid options add wine tastings and bingo.

NCL also lists a paid Behind the Scenes Tour of normally restricted areas, including the bridge and engine control room. No 2026 sailing report names it.

Guests can use the Sports Complex, Encore Speedway and Galaxy Pavilion as part of the day's activity mix. It's not only an evening lineup.

Caribbean sailings typically include a day at Great Stirrup Cay, NCL's private island in the Bahamas.

Real, competent daytime programming for a 4,000-plus-guest ship. It lacks the confirmed Royal-megaship-level depth we reserve for the very top of the band.

Encore Speedway is a two-level, Ferrari-branded electric go-kart circuit with roughly 10 turns and speeds to 40 mph. Sections extend out over the ship's sides.

Around it, Encore has a combined basketball/volleyball court and open-air mini golf.

This research found no ropes course, zip line or climbing wall on Encore; NCL lists the ropes course on Escape, Breakaway and Getaway. An earlier version of this page credited all three, and Recreation dropped from 8.0 to 7.0 when that was corrected.

Aqua Park adds two waterslides: Ocean Loops (a double-loop drop slide) and Aqua Racer (a tandem tube ride). Galaxy Pavilion is a roughly 930-square-meter VR and simulator complex that includes the paid Bamboozled escape room.

One reviewer called it "a terrific way to spend an hour."

One confirmed loss matters here, and it's real, dated evidence, not a gap. Encore launched in 2019 with an open-air, Atlantis-themed laser tag arena on Deck 18.

It was a genuine Breakaway Plus Class signature attraction, shared with sisters Bliss and Joy.

During a November 18–December 2, 2024 dry dock, Norwegian removed it. In its place came Spice H2O, a complimentary adults-only outdoor lounge with hot tubs, day beds and a bar.

That's confirmed via NCL's own newsroom announcement plus independent trade coverage: Seatrade Cruise, Cruise Hive, CLIA's trade newsroom.

Joy lost hers in a January 2024 drydock, so Bliss is now the only ship in the class still listing laser tag.

Two sourced execution notes from a hands-on 2025 review round out the picture.

The go-kart track's top speed "isn't very fast." The waterslides' swimwear restrictions (no metal or plastic details) reportedly prevented a meaningful share of guests from riding on the sailing reviewed.

That puts her at 7.0, between Joy (6.0, go-karts and slides only) and Bliss (7.5, which still has laser tag).

Social Comedy & Night Club converts to DJ dancing after its comedy sets.

The Cavern Club runs as a live-music room into the evening. Spice H2O — new in the November 2024 refit, and complimentary — adds an adults-only outdoor lounge with hot tubs and a bar.

It extends into the evening on many sailings.

The strongest single piece of evidence here sits above any one ship. Norwegian Cruise Line won Cruise Critic's 2025 Best in Cruise Award for Best Nightlife (Ocean).

That's a dated, named, line-wide recognition.

It's also one of only two lines we've found beating Virgin Voyages for that title — MSC won it in 2023. Virgin Voyages is the industry's own Nightlife leader on ship-specific hardware.

That's line-wide evidence, not an Encore-specific one.

It's why this lands at 8.0, not higher. Real, flagship-tier adult-first energy runs through Encore's venues, distributed across multi-use rooms.

It's not concentrated in one standalone, purpose-built nightclub the way Virgin's Manor is.

The go-kart track and the Aqua Park slides work as together-activities within each attraction's own height and age limits.

NCL's fleet-wide Glow Party deck party is open to all ages, though no 2026 Encore sailing report names it.

What's structurally missing matches the rest of NCL's current fleet. There's no confirmed parade, no standalone multi-day family festival, no family-designed aqua or ice production.

Encore carries neither an AquaTheater nor an ice rink.

What's different here is worth stating plainly rather than folding into the fleet-wide pattern. This is the first NCL ship we've scored where independent reviewers make an explicit, sourced case.

The ship itself, they argue, skews away from young families.

The Points Guy's review states outright that "dining and entertainment skew toward adult preferences." Cruise Critic's own editorial assessment concludes Encore is "suited better to teens than young children." It cites the relocated, windowless Splash Academy space specifically.

That's a sourced negative, not an unconfirmed gap. It's why Family Entertainment lands below both Luna and Prima here.

The underlying complimentary programming is structurally the same across all three ships.

Guppies (6 months–3 years) is parent-accompanied open play, recently refreshed with a new River Rose Reading Room. Splash Academy (3-12) is the primary drop-off club, split into three age bands: Turtles (3-5), Seals (6-9) and Dolphins (10-12).

It runs crafts, sports and theme nights.

Entourage (13-17) gives teens their own London Underground-themed space.

A fee-based Late Night Fun Zone extends supervised hours to 1:30 a.m. on top of standard posted hours.

Two things hold this below the industry's deepest youth programming, one fleet-wide and one specific to Encore. Fleet-wide: Guppies is parent-accompanied, not staffed drop-off care.

That's the same NCL-wide policy already documented on Luna and Prima. No NCL ship offers a drop-off nursery for children under 3.

Specific to this ship: The Points Guy's review describes Splash Academy's current location as "a windowless space in the bowels of the ship." It was relocated during a refit. That's a sourced facility criticism, not an evidence gap.

It's the reason this card sits a half-point below Luna's, even though the underlying age-band structure is identical.

Encore Theater is the ship's main stage for The Choir of Man and ICONS: The Bands. Social Comedy & Night Club handles stand-up comedy and DJ dancing.

The Cavern Club is the dedicated Beatles-tribute room. Galaxy Pavilion occupies its own deck for VR gaming and the Bamboozled escape room.

Outdoors, Spice H2O (new in 2024) and the Sports Complex/Encore Speedway top decks round out the venue set.

No major venue has been reported as undersized for Encore's roughly 4,000-guest capacity.

Reviewers do note the outdoor sun deck footprint is compressed by the premium and adults-only spaces built into it.

Included: The Choir of Man, ICONS: The Bands, and standard Social Comedy & Night Club programming. It also includes The Cavern Club's live sets, District Brew House and Sugarcane Mojito Bar's live music where it runs.

Also included: Glow Party and other deck parties, Spice H2O, trivia and daytime programming, Splash Academy, Entourage and Guppies.

Extra cost: Encore Speedway and Galaxy Pavilion (including the Bamboozled escape room). Also extra cost: the Behind the Scenes Tour, wine tastings and bingo.

Also extra cost: the Late Night Fun Zone's extended childcare hours, Mandara Spa treatments, and specialty dining. See the dining guide for cost and value there.

Pricing varies by sailing and changes without notice. Check the Norwegian Cruise Line app or Cruise Planner for current rates, rather than relying on any figure printed here.

You can't reserve The Choir of Man or ICONS: The Bands before you sail. NCL dropped pre-cruise show bookings on April 1, 2026, so plan on getting to the theater early.

Happy Hour Prohibition: The Musical has run here with a cover charge, but we couldn't confirm it for 2026. Check your sailing's Freestyle Daily.

Encore Speedway, Galaxy Pavilion and the Bamboozled escape room are capacity-limited by design, so book them early.

Splash Academy, Entourage and the Sports Complex are largely walk-up or standing-schedule.

If the paid attractions matter to your trip, book them the day you board. For the shows, arrive early.

Cruisers who want go-karts, VR and waterslides on one ship, with The Choir of Man and ICONS: The Bands in the theater, will find Encore delivering above the industry mid-point.

Anyone chasing a licensed Broadway musical should look elsewhere. Kinky Boots left in January 2023.

Families with young children need a bright, easy-to-find kids' space. They should weigh the sourced reviewer criticism of Splash Academy's current relocated location before booking.

They should also know NCL offers no drop-off nursery on any ship.

Travelers specifically chasing laser tag should look to sister ship Bliss instead — Encore lost hers in a November 2024 refit, and Joy lost hers in early 2024.

The class split, stated plainly. Lumping Norwegian Encore, Bliss, Joy, Escape, Getaway and Breakaway together under one class name is easy to do.

It treats six ships across two different hull sizes as one flat class.

Real-world NCL and cruise-trade naming splits this into two distinct classes.

That's confirmed independently via Cruise Critic's own dedicated Breakaway/Breakaway Plus breakdown, and corroborated by Norwegian's own fleet materials.

Norwegian Breakaway (2013) and Norwegian Getaway (2014) are the true, original 2-ship Breakaway Class. Norwegian Escape (2015), Norwegian Joy (2017), Norwegian Bliss (2018) and Norwegian Encore (2019) are the stretched, larger 4-ship Breakaway Plus Class.

It runs roughly 20,000-25,000 more gross tons than Breakaway and Getaway. Encore herself runs 169,116 GT against Getaway's 145,655 GT, about a 16% increase.

This page uses that industry-standard split throughout.

The Breakaway Plus Class isn't monolithic either, and Escape is the outlier. Escape, the first Breakaway Plus ship, was built without the go-kart track, laser tag arena or Galaxy Pavilion.

Joy and Encore were built with all three; Bliss got the go-karts and laser tag but never a Galaxy Pavilion.

Encore is the newest and, per gross tonnage, the largest ship in the class. She and Joy (January 2024) have both lost their laser tag arenas.

Bliss still carries hers.

Against every other ship we've scored. Encore's 6.8 sits just below Norwegian Prima (6.9) and under Norwegian Luna (7.4), level with Escape, Viva and Breakaway at #40 of 156.

It sits above every Celebrity Cruises ship scored (Celebrity Xcel's 6.7 is the top) and below the best Virgin Voyages ship, Resilient Lady (7.1). Royal Caribbean's Voyager and Freedom Class ships (7.8 to 8.0) sit well above her.

Her Recreation & Attractions score (7.0) ties Prima and Luna and sits under Bliss (7.5). Her Production score (6.5) matches Bliss and Escape, which run the same Choir of Man and ICONS lineup.

Her Family Entertainment score (5.0) is her softest number, below both Prima and Luna. It reflects sourced reviewer criticism specific to this ship, not a thinner version of the fleet-wide pattern.