Cruise Spotlight
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Norwegian Encore vs Norwegian Aqua
The Norwegian Encore was built in 2019. It was renovated in 2024. It's 6 years older than the Aqua, which was built in 2025. The Norwegian Aqua is the 20th ship in the NCL fleet. It's nearly identical to its sister ship which will debut in 2026, the Luna.
Comparison Overview
- Ship Size
- Number of Passengers
- Food and Restaurants
- Bars and Drinks
- Pools and Hot Tubs
- Ship Features and Activities
- Cruise Costs
- Onboard Costs
Ship Size
The Encore is considered a large size ship. Coming in at 1,094 feet long and 136 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3 football fields, as wide as 2.6 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 15-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Aqua, the Encore is 7% larger in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
Norwegian Encore holds 12% more passengers than the Aqua based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the Encore has less space per person compared to the Aqua.
| Norwegian Encore | Norwegian Aqua | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | Breakaway Plus | Prima Plus |
| Gross Tonnage | 167,800 | 156,300 |
| Length | 1,094 | 1,056 |
| Beam/Width | 136 | 133 |
| Passenger Decks | 15 | 15 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 3,998 | 3,571 |
| Crew | 1,735 | 1,388 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 2.3 | 2.6 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 42 | 44 |
Food and Restaurants
Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.
The Encore has fifteen different dining options like American Diner, Teppanyaki, and Q Texas Smokehouse. Of those options, ten are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other thirteen options have an additional fee.
The Aqua has one more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Onda by Scarpetta, Los Lobos, and Nama. six of these restaurants are complementary and the other eleven have an additional fee.
The Norwegian Encore has about the same number of dining options as the Norwegian Aqua.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the Aqua might be a better choice then the Encore. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
Restaurants on Norwegian Encore & Aqua
| Restaurant | Norwegian Encore |
Norwegian Aqua |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Included | |||
| American Diner | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Garden Cafe | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Hudsons | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Indulge Food Hall | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Main Dining Room | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Surfside Cafe | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Surfside Grill | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| The Commodore Room | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| The Local | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| A la carte | |||
| Dolce Gelato | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Starbucks | ✓ | ✓ | |
| The Bake Shop | ✓ | ✗ | |
| Flat fee | |||
| Cagney's Steakhouse | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Food Republic | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Hasuki | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Le Bistro French | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Los Lobos | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Nama | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Onda by Scarpetta | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Palomar | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Q Texas Smokehouse | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Sukhothai | ✗ | ✓ | Learn More |
| Teppanyaki | ✓ | ✗ | Learn More |
| Exclusive (open to select guests only) | |||
| The Haven | ✓ | ✓ | Learn More |
Bars and Drinks
The Norwegian Encore and Norwegian Aqua both have 16 bars to choose from during your sailing.
| Norwegian Encore | Norwegian Aqua | |
|---|---|---|
| A-List Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Atrium Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Belvedere Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Cellars Wine Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| District Brew House | ✓ | ✗ |
| Improv at Sea | ✗ | ✓ |
| Luna Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Maltings Beer & Whiskey Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Metropolitan Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Mixx Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Observation Lounge Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
| Penrose Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Proof Whiskey Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Skyline Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Social Comedy & Night Club | ✓ | ✗ |
| Soleil Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Starbucks | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sugarcane Mojito Bar | ✓ | ✗ |
| Swirl Wine Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Syd Norman's Pourhouse | ✗ | ✓ |
| The Cavern Club | ✓ | ✗ |
| The Haven Bar* | ✓ | ✓ |
| The Local Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
| The Bull's Eye Bar | ✗ | ✓ |
| Vibe Beach Club Bar* | ✓ | ✓ |
| Waves Pool Bar | ✓ | ✓ |
In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-cola family of products. That means Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.
You can check out recent the bar menus for the Encore and the Aqua below.
Pools and Hot Tubs
Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The Norwegian Encore has a total of 3 pools and 9 hot tubs. 1 of the pools and 5 of the hot tubs are exclusive access, which means there's either an extra charge to access them or you need to book a certain class of cabin to have access to them.
Norwegian Aqua has more pools than the Encore and fewer hot tubs. There are fewer exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Aqua. If you like ships without extra charges or exclusive areas, this might be a better choice since everyone will have access to these areas.
Tired of loud kids and splashing? One of the pools are adults only on Encore.| Norwegian Encore | Norwegian Aqua | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 3 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 1 | 3 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 1 | |
| Pools - Exclusive | 1 | 1 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 9 | 6 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 4 | 2 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 0 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 5 | 4 |
Ship Features and Activities
Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. On the Encore, 57% of the activities below are included in the cruise fare. On the Aqua, only 53% of the activities are included, meaning you might spend more money while on board.
| Norwegian Encore | Norwegian Aqua | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✓ | ✓ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (free) | ✓ | ✗ |
| Arcade | ✗ | ✓ |
| Basketball | ✗ | ✓ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cigar Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Comedy Club | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dart Lounge | ✗ | ✓ |
| Escape Room | ✗ | ✓ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Observation Lounge | ✓ | ✗ |
| Race Track | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shows - Broadway play | ✓ | ✗ |
| Shows - musical review | ✓ | ✓ |
| Slidecoaster | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✓ |
| Splash park | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thermal Suites | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thrill Slide | ✗ | ✓ |
| Virtual Arcade | ✓ | ✓ |
| Water slides | ✓ | ✓ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
Norwegian is a mainstream cruise line. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.
Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year. Typically newer ships cost more, so a cruise on Norwegian Encore will likely be cheaper than on Norwegian Aqua.
Onboard Costs
Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.
Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.
The table below will help you understand what you might spend onboard a Norwegian ship.
| Norwegian | |
|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $20.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 20% |
| Soda Price | $3.50 |
| Domestic Beer Price | $7.50 See drink menus |
| Drink Package Price | 106 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $29.99 - $39.99 per cabin per day, with $5 for each extra device |
| *Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates. | |
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a More at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the More at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.
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