Welcome back to Byte Size Cruises! If this is your first time here, we are glad you found us. We are a small travel agency in Philadelphia, PA and we specialize in all things cruising. To check out our YouTube channel, click here. Our goal here is to share the best and most up to date information on cruising with you so you can plan and go on your best cruise vacation! If you enjoy cruising or are brand new and thinking about dipping your toe in the water, jump aboard! In this post we will review the food included in your cruise fare on the NCL Encore. Let's get into it!
The Garden Cafe
This is the massive buffet on the NCL Encore and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Breakfast usually opens between 6:30am and 7am each morning and they only close for short half hour breaks between shifts. Breakfast is standard fare (eggs, waffles, fruit, pancakes, etc.) Breakfast is decent and reliable. Lunch and dinner in the Garden Cafe are going to be a similar set up. In the center you're going to find burgers, chicken, french fries, etc. On the right side there's going to be noodle soups and a Pho station. On the left side of the buffet towards the back you'll find Indian fare. Also for lunch and dinner they will have different specials each day. All of the food we ate in the Garden Cafe was fine; it was tasty and standard. If you enjoy Indian foods, soup and salad combos, burgers, etc. you're absolutely going to find something you'll like. We'd recommend not getting things like steak or big Italian meals here as they're going to be fine but sub par to other options on the ship.
Taste, Savor, and The Manhattan Room
These are the main dining rooms on the NCL Encore that are included in your cruise fare. NCL does dining rooms a bit different than other cruise lines with something called "Freestyle Dining." This means that, while you can make a reservation, you don't have to. You can show up anytime! They will give you a little beeper and when it's your turn you'll be called to sit down. These dining rooms are open every day for breakfast and dinner and lunch on sea days. Taste and Savor are going to have pretty much the same menu in both dining rooms. We really enjoy having breakfast in the main dining rooms as it tends to be a relaxing way to start the day and if you go early it won't be very crowded. For lunch and dinner, the fare is standard and as long as you're not a picky eater you'll find something you enjoy.
On Encore, The Manhattan Room was a bit disappointing to us. On other NCL ships in this class, this restaurant has an open space in it where they do live music or other entertainment. On Encore, the space isn't set up this way so unfortunately they don't do that here. Other than that though, the food here is fine and again, as long as you're not a picky eater you'll definitely find something you'll enjoy.
The Local
The Local Bar and Grille is one of our favorite included food options on any cruise ship. It's located about mid ship on deck 7 right above the Atrium. There's a ton of seating and it is open just about 24 hours. This is standard pub fare and the best place on board for a late night snack. You can get a really good meal here. They have things like wings, sandwiches, burgers, pretzel bites, etc. They do serve breakfast and the menu is pretty standard with things like eggs and pancakes. Usually The Local is not busy for breakfast, with the exception of port days.
On some other NCL ships, The Local is called Oceans and has the same food with different decor. This is also a great place to watch a show, as they have a railing that looks down onto the Atrium stage. Just make sure you plan to arrive early if you want to do this because it will get packed out quickly!
The American Diner
The American Diner used to be a specialty dining option and now is a restaurant that is included in your cruise fare. At the American Diner you'll find similar fare to The Local, such as sandwiches, salads, burgers, etc. and it is located up on the pool deck (deck 17). It is definitely a more laid back and casual atmosphere. They have traditional milkshakes here that are a bit of an extra cost but are delicious! In our opinion, the American Diner is a bit better than Johnny Rockets (Royal Caribbean). They do open for breakfast but are not open for dinner. When we were there it wasn't overly crowded and it was a great place to stop in and grab a quick bite for lunch.
Last, but not least.... Room Service
Room service is technically included in your cruise fare however you do have to pay a $12 service charge to have the food delivered. The service charge does not change based on the amount of food you order. The food is fine from room service. The thing to keep in mind is that during busy times they will have a lot of deliveries and your food will most likely not arrive piping hot or straight out of the oven. It also might take a bit to get the food delivered depending on how much traffic there is in the kitchen.
That is all of the included food on the NCL Encore! Have you been on this ship? What was your favorite dining option? We would love to hear from you! Comment below.