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 has run in the Encore Theater since the ship's christening in November 2019.

That makes it one of the longest-running licensed titles anywhere in NCL's current fleet at the time of this review.

It remains on NCL's own current show listing for Encore — a genuine rarity. 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 includes several classic Prohibition-era cocktails.

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

Whether it remains part of the active rotation as of this review isn't confirmed by NCL's own current show page.

That page lists Kinky Boots, The Choir of Man and Happy Hour Prohibition as Encore's active lineup. That's noted here as a stated evidence gap, not assumed either way.

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 dedicated stand-up comedy most nights before converting to a late-night room. District Brew House pairs piano entertainment with more than 50 bottled and two dozen draft beers.

Sugarcane Mojito Bar runs a live band with Latin-themed dancing.

That's confirmed breadth across different formats — tribute rock, comedy, piano, Latin live 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 in this project have documented.

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

A Behind the Scenes Tour reaches normally restricted areas, including the bridge and engine control room.

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 this project reserves 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's Sports Complex carries a rock climbing wall, a ropes course and a zip line. It also has a combined basketball/volleyball court and open-air mini golf.

That's genuinely deeper hardware than either Prima or Luna. Neither of NCL's newer Prima-family ships has a rock wall, ropes course or zip line at all.

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.

Bliss and Joy still carry laser tag. Encore, as of this review, no longer does.

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.

Social Comedy & Night Club converts to DJ dancing after its comedy sets. It also doubles as the venue for Happy Hour Prohibition: The Musical, a adult-first, reservation-recommended cabaret.

Its own cover charge includes cocktails.

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 this project has 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.

NCL's fleet-wide Glow Party deck party runs on Encore and is open to all ages.

The go-kart track, ropes course and slide complex all work as together-activities within each attraction's own height and age limits.

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 in this project 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 Kinky Boots and The Choir of Man. Social Comedy & Night Club handles stand-up comedy, DJ dancing, and transforms for Happy Hour Prohibition: The Musical.

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: Kinky Boots, The Choir of Man, 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.

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

Extra cost: Happy Hour Prohibition: The Musical (cover charge including cocktails), 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.

Kinky Boots and The Choir of Man both run through the Norwegian Cruise Line app's reservation system. A reservation guarantees theater entry, not a specific seat.

Happy Hour Prohibition: The Musical is reservation-recommended given its cover charge and cabaret-style seating.

Encore Speedway, Galaxy Pavilion and the Bamboozled escape room can all be booked in advance and are capacity-limited by design.

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

If entertainment and the paid attractions matter to your trip, book them the day you board.

Cruisers who specifically want a genuine, currently-running licensed Broadway musical will find Encore delivering well above the industry mid-point. The same goes for the deepest recreation complex NCL currently operates.

That complex means go-karts, a rock wall, a ropes course, a zip line, VR and waterslides, all on one ship.

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 ships Bliss or Joy instead — Encore lost hers in a November 2024 refit.

The class correction, stated plainly. This site's own ship database (ships.csv) currently tags Norwegian Encore, Bliss, Joy, Escape, Getaway and Breakaway all under one shared slug, norwegian-breakaway-plus-class.

That 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 the correct, industry-standard direction throughout. ships.csv itself is left uncorrected here, flagged for a follow-up pass. That's the same treatment this project gave Disney Adventure's and Norwegian Prima's own misclassified class-slugs.

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, Bliss and Encore all share those three. She carries a ropes course and duckpin bowling instead.

Encore is the newest and, per gross tonnage, the largest ship in the class. As of this review, she's the only one of the three go-kart/VR-equipped Breakaway Plus ships to have lost her laser tag arena.

Bliss and Joy still carry theirs.

Against the rest of this project. Encore's 7.1 lands between Norwegian Prima (6.9) and Norwegian Luna (7.4).

It sits above every Celebrity Cruises ship scored (6.2 at the top) and every Virgin Voyages ship (7.1 at the top, tied). It's also in the same range as Royal Caribbean's Voyager and Freedom Class ships.

Her Recreation & Attractions score (8.0) is the highest of any NCL ship scored so far. Her Production score (7.5) is the only one of the three carried by a genuine, currently-running licensed Broadway musical.

Her Family Entertainment score (5.0) is her softest number, and the lowest Family score of any NCL ship in this project. It reflects sourced reviewer criticism specific to this ship, not a thinner version of the fleet-wide pattern.