I haven't said much about the Norwegian Encore.  Everything is average, but not much worse than a Regent Seven Seas or Seabourn ship.  In fact, the service here is better.  Some details. No great surprise, but this American cruise line was founded in Norway in 1966, as a car ferry between Southhampton, UK and Gibralter.   Headquarters are in Miami. One of the original owners, Israeli Ted Arison ( right ), left in 1972 to form Carnival Cruise Lines.  My posting of a few days ago showed that Carnival is, by far, the biggest cruise company in the world.  The other co-founder, Norwegian Knut Kloster, renamed the company Norwegian Caribbean Lines. Pioneered many firsts in the cruise industry. Its second and third ship, the Starward and Skyward, were the first newly built ships designed for cruising. Their Seaward in 1971 was the first true cruise ship without any car-carrying capacity. Their Norway in 1979 was significantly larger than any other cruise ship, adding various entertainment