Sid's solo adventure on the Escape, May 21-28 2016

Before we begin, I'll give you a quick summary of my overall impression of the Escape, and the service provided by NCL in general... The short version, it was AWESOME! Also, there will most likely be no pictures, as my lack of computer skills is only rivaled by my lack of writing skills... What you are about to endure is merely my experience, and will be told from the point of view of a mostly boring, not very outgoing, maybe just a bit odd, solo traveler.

The Escape is a beautiful ship. Easily NCL's greatest to date. Whomever has been perpetrating negative reviews of her deserves to be banned from cruising altogether. From a solo point of view, Norwegian sets the standard for the industry with the advent of the single occupancy cabins and lounge provided. And, as the group leader for this sailings' Cruise Critic Meet and Greet, they literally treated me like royalty... Bvlgari soaps and lotions from the Haven, check. A plush robe and slippers in my cabin upon arrival, check. An invitation to the Captains reception in the Haven, and access to the premier mixologists on the ship at the Haven Bar (More on that later) check. Treats in my cabin every day, often more than once a day, to the point where they started piling up, check. They truly went out of their way to do so much for me that I felt undeserving of the attention at times.

With the preceding introductory bits out of the way, lets get this journey started... After a mostly sleepless night, I was up at 04:45 to make my way to Miami from Atlanta. In a cab by 06:00 to the Marta station to try to catch the first train of the day. The news reports of late led me to believe there would be long lines at the worlds busiest airport. A quick 25 minute subway ride later, the accounts became reality when I exited the station staring down the longest security line I had ever bared witness to. Luckily I had an ace up my sleeve with my newly minted status of TSA Pre-Check. I presented my boarding pass to a representative, and was swiftly whisked past the throngs of plebeians to a short 5 minute wait, whereupon my shoes remained on my feet, and I was not looked upon as a potential threat to national security. I made it to the gate with a full hour and forty five minute wait for boarding, thinking to myself, that was the best $85 I've ever spent in my life for the TSA Pre-Check program.

After a routine, uneventful flight, I was deplaning at the Miami Airport at 10:20. An expeditious cab ride later, I found myself at the port in mere minutes. I was issued boarding group 8, and after a brief wait, I was making my way up the gang plank (or, long, glass enclosed ramp thingy. Not sure of the correct nomenclature.) It was right about noon, and I had finally made my way onto the beautiful decks of the new Norwegian Escape.

Rooms were not yet ready, so I made my way down to Savor; suitcase in tow, for the my first meal of this epic journey. A blackend grouper sandwich and cajun shrimp salad later, and the announcement was made that the cabins were prepared for occupancy. I went directly to cabin 12539 and visited my new home for the week in the Studio Cabin sector. Relieved of my bags, I set out for my first drink of the day at Tobacco Road. First a Grass Clippings, a specialty drink I had not yet experienced. Next, a Mango Meltdown at Spice H2O. Then several others at various bars, and I was well on my way to a foggy afternoon.

My muster station was in the Escape theater on deck 7, and was soon followed by more exploring (and more drinking) I knew that I wanted to attend the solo gathering at 18:00, but needed some food to absorb my indulgence of adult beverages. I showed up at Food Republic at around 17:20 to try to be the first customer and make it out in time for the solo meeting. Ordering here is accomplished via an IPAD system, by the way, they are not on a swivel as I quickly learned as the IPAD loudly crashed to the floor in the quiet restaurant. My embarrassment was concealed by my intoxication, and food soon started to arrive. Buffalo-style rock shrimp followed by brussels sprouts, and duck and pumpkin dumplings.

I made it out with 3 minutes to spare to make my way to Tobacco Road for the solo gathering. Now this is where things started to get a little foggy for me. I remember having a few more drinks, and we made our way back to the solo lounge. Sharon Waugh was the solo travelers' host. Introductions were made, and afterwards everyone went their separate ways. Now, I am a bit of a weird dude, and the solo gatherings have never resulted in any real or imagined companionship for me. This would be my one and only appearance at the solo meet up...

According to my notes, I then made my way up to the Garden Cafe, however everything else that happened on this long travel day were getting to become very blurry at this juncture. Also according to my notes, this was the point when I walked face first into a wall and decided that the UBP had gotten the better of me, and set out to locate my cabin. Thus ending day 1 on the Escape...

Up next: The Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. A monumental Bar Crawl followed by the Captains reception in The Haven...

Great review so far! How was the location of the studio itself- I believe I have 12535 in December. How was the turn out for 1st solo gathering? I am wondering if they should do it a different time as sailway is now at around 7

Can't wait to hear more!

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Great review so far! How was the location of the studio itself- I believe I have 12535 in December. How was the turn out for 1st solo gathering? I am wondering if they should do it a different time as sailway is now at around 7

Thanks... 12535 is at the end of the hall, so it's pretty quiet down there. You will hear the gush of the toilets flushing around you. I wear ear plugs to sleep at night, so the sound doesn't bother me. Around 20 or so showed up for the first solo gathering, and yes the new 19:00 sail away time does get in the way of the first evenings activities and dinner times...

Can't wait to hear more!

 

 

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Thanks for reading. I'm whipping up the next batch for tomorrow...

Great review.

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SID......Nice job with the review... Really enjoyed the Meet and Greet. It was a nice way to start the Cruise Thanks for setting it up. My Grandson was in the studio 10505 it is great set up for Solo Cruisers.

Looking forward to more.:)

Do you know if solo travelers who are not staying in solo studios can participate in solo activities?

Thanks for posting.

Do you know if solo travelers who are not staying in solo studios can participate in solo activities?

 

 

 

Thanks for posting.

My experience with the solo gatherings was that anyone can participate-- however, at other times of the day, access to the solo lounge requires a card key.

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Great Review. Thank you.

We were on the Escape the week before you and totally agree with your assessment. She's a beautiful ship with a great crew.

I wish that every ship in the fleet would reserve some of their smaller cabins for solo cruisers. It is not fair to charge them the single supplement, just because their ship does not have the solo studios.

Before I continue with day 2, I would like to expound on what drives my obsession with cruising and the sea... If you're the type that is easily driven to emotion, you may want to just wait for the next installment...

In 2010, my best friend and love of my life found out she had breast cancer. She so loved the beach and the ocean, but had only ever visited the beaches of Florida and Georgia, where we're from. We had always talked about what it would be like to visit far away, exotic islands and beaches. I brought up the idea of taking a cruise, but with her treatment and work and life, the timing just never worked out.

Everything was seemingly going well following her treatment, but in early 2014, during a routine scan they found that the situation had taken a turn for the worse. The last thing she said to me was "Don't you ever waste even one second of your life worrying about me. Just go out and live every day..." That same day, I booked the cruise that we had talked about.

A few weeks after her funeral, her sister called and said she had something for me. We met for lunch and she handed me a small aluminum capsule. I said "what is this?" She said "It's her... Now she can go with you on the cruise."

Since that day, I've now been on 8 cruises, fulfilling her wishes and visiting nearly every island in the Caribbean. She's been right there with me every step of the way. And though I may now be thousands of dollars in credit card debt, it has all been worth it...

That's a beautiful story. Thanks for sharing it. I was on your cruise and wish we'd met.

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Before I continue, thanks to all who have commented or are following along on my little adventure... If this review falls into obscurity, I may abandon it, but for now I will continue. Thanks, again- jbyrd72, billfish, clarea, ProfDen, denatravels, BirdTravels, Barb Nahoumi, and LrgPizza...

After a decent nights rest, I tried to shake loose the cobwebs of the previous days drinking. I headed up to the Garden Cafe and had an omelette and some orange juice to try and get ready for the day. I did some further exploration of the ship until it was time for the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet at Cagney's... Though I am not really the outgoing type, I had taken on the task of being the "group leader" for the event. At first there were only a few present, but after a while people started filing in by the dozens. Pretty soon the numbers increased to well over 100, and I thought "what in the hell have I gotten myself into?"

Members of the crew, including Sean, the Hotel Director, Tyler, the Cruise Director, and others gave a brief presentation on what it takes to operate a floating city at sea. I knew that soon the microphone would be handed over to me, and I would have to at least attempt to articulate a few comprehensible sequences of words, while hopefully retaining a shred of dignity... My time came, and to be honest, I don't really remember what I said, but from the number of people who took time out of their day to be here, it was already a great success.

Immediately following the meet and greet, about 30 or more people lined up to participate in the slot pull. I didn't take part, as I am not a gambler, but at 14:30 about 30 or so of our group met at Tobacco Road for a bar crawl of legendary proportions... The bartender, Raj and his assistant didn't know what hit them, but handled it with the fortitude of a warrior. Eventually the drink orders were filled and the large group of strangers were intermingling like old friends. Next up was the 5 O'clock Somewhere bar on the waterfront, where Clarence, the "Chocolate Cowboy" was taking care of an already busy bar. Soon, more drinks flowed, and one intelligent participant had the forethought to go to the next bar and try to prepare them for a colossal group of now drunken revelers.

Next was the District Brewpub, where at least most of the drinks only required popping the cap off of a beer bottle. Finally, we descended upon the Sugarcane Mojito Bar, where they had whipped up a large batch of raspberry guava mojitos for easy dispensation. Right about now, everyone was having a pretty good time so far as I could tell...

Earlier in the day, I received an invitation to the Captains Reception in the Haven courtyard. It obviously had something to do with my group leader role, as I have but Silver Latitudes status with NCL. I knew that I would feel extremely out of place at such a formal event, but had heard legends of the mixological skills of the Haven bartenders. Also, being a solo, I would feel just a bit unsettled in a room full of Haven dwellers. So I enlisted the support of one of my fellow (female) "bar crawlers" to accompany me at the event. This situation was made slightly more awkward by the fact that said companion was traveling with her family, and was also much younger than I... Details aside, we retired to our quarters to don appropriate attire for such an event, as swim-trunks and a T shirt would most likely be judged as uncouth.

A few minutes before 19:00 my stunningly attractive acquaintance and I made our way to deck 17 to attempt to gain access to the pinnacle of the Norwegian Escape, The Haven. I figured that there would be a sentry outside checking credentials, however we gained entry by simply following someone else inside. The officers were decked out in their dress blues and fancy canape were brought around on silver trays, but my main goal of this escapade was to sample the bounty of exotic adult beverages available only in the Haven Bar... The bartender Marc McArthur from South Africa expertly assembled several of his signature cocktails using handcrafted infusions and precise measurement. Firstly, my friend was served a concoction made with vodka infused with dragon fruit. I went for the top of the line margarita made with all fresh ingredients. Next up was the most memorable drink of the evening, Smoke and Fire, made from mezcal and jalapeno infused something or other, served with a stainless steel straw. Spicy on the front end, but finishing with a smokey essence.

Our time inside the Haven flew by much too quickly, and soon we would have to depart. I could see myself staying in there one day. If only I made about five times my current income...

After spending nearly the entire day drinking, it was definitely time for a good meal. My drinking companion suggested I join her and her family, but it seemed kind of strange to have a formal sit down meal with near complete strangers. However, I like to keep things weird, so dinner it is! We made our way down to Savor, and were soon grazing on some of NCL's fine cuisine. The situation was less awkward than expected, as we chatted, ate, and laughed our way through the meal.

After dinner we settled into an entertaining performance of Howl at the Moon, the dueling piano duo (or trio in this case.) This was my first time attending a show on a cruise ship, as my usual modus operandi while on vacation revolves around eating and drinking and getting sunburnt and such... This was quite the whirlwind of rapid fire, comedy infused, entertainment that I had been missing out on all these cruises. We stayed all the way till 01:00, which is way past my bedtime, but I was having a ball, even if I don't sing out loud and clap along to every song. Soon, we were making our way back to our respective cabins, and hopefully a good nights sleep for whatever may come tomorrow on the NCL Escape...

Thanks for sharing that wonderful story about your friend.

Your review is great and the story about going on the first cruise very touching. Hope the rest went well (and glad that you can remember it!)

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A few weeks after her funeral, her sister called and said she had something for me. We met for lunch and she handed me a small aluminum capsule. I said "what is this?" She said "It's her... Now she can go with you on the cruise."

 

Since that day, I've now been on 8 cruises, fulfilling her wishes and visiting nearly every island in the Caribbean. She's been right there with me every step of the way. And though I may now be thousands of dollars in credit card debt, it has all been worth it...

 

What a wonderful story.

You're doing a great job, Sid! I had a solo on the Escape booked for next year, but changed to Epic. You're making me regret that decision a little. :p Sounds like you and I have very similar personalities - maybe someday we'll get to drink and be awkward on the same ship. :D

Loving the review. We had a great week on the same cruise and it's really fun to hear about your adventure. Thanks for arranging the meet and greet. We didn't make the bar crawl but the slot pull was a blast.

What a great review. Looking forward to more.

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I was just re-reading my prior posts, and it appears that my "review" is more akin to the ramblings of a gluttonous, habitual alcohol abuser, with tendencies toward perversion... But I digress...

I don't have many notes for day 3, so this chapter will be short... After being up far beyond my normal bedtime, I tried to sleep in a bit. A quick coffee and breakfast was followed by sunning up on deck 19. Lunch time came around quickly this day, and I decided to use one of my SDP dining credits at Pincho Tapas Bar. With the dining plan you can pretty much order as many dishes as you wish, so challenge accepted. I began with boquerones (anchovies), scallops, shrimp, and lamb. The portions here are small, but each dish is artfully plated and oh so good. I also tried one of their specialty drinks, the "tie me up tie me down." (sounded kinky enough) It was okay, but not life altering. Next, I went with the crab montadito (excellent) and the iberico secreto. these turned out to be the superstars of the show for me. I would have had more, but was trying not to wreck my already abandoned diet...

The afternoon on this day was spent mostly drinking and hanging out with a couple of my bar crawling comrades I'd met the day before. Many libations were had, and mirth and merriment was enjoyed by all... Pretty soon it was getting to be time for dinner, and this night we would kick the awkwardness up another notch, adding yet another fellow (female) bar crawler to the family who adopted me for dinner the previous day. The conversation this night (with the help of alcoholic lubrication) drifted from lively to downright salacious...

Afterwards, our now drunken trio made our way to Spice H2O for, you guessed it, shots. Fireball for the ladies and Don Julio tequila for me. The details become foggy at this point, but I seem to recall ruminating on the meaning of life, and some other things best left to your imagination...

Thus concludes day #3. The parts that I can tell you about or remember, anyway...

Great read so far, SID9169!!! Can't wait for the next 4 days of review!!!! Thank you for sharing. Our Escape is coming up in 3 weeks! Can't wait!

Another late night out led to another morning of sleeping in. I had planned on being up and ready as soon as we were docked in St Thomas, however humans require more than just a couple of hours of sleep to function optimally... I slowly regained my composure, and headed out alone at around 10:30. After having been to St Thomas several times before, I wanted to check out the sights and beaches of St John. I eventually found a taxi / safari bus to take me to Red Hook on the East end of the island. I had just missed the hourly ferry, so I ended up having to wait 45 minutes for the next one. I had a beef patty at one of the roadside stands, and soon enough it was time to board the ferry.

Once on St John I found another taxi to shuttle me around the Northern perimeter of the island. Everyone in the taxi ended up getting off at Trunk Bay, which is the most popular beach, however I opted to continue on to Cinnamon Bay a bit further up the road. The beach was absolutely gorgeous and nearly void of people. Just my kind of place. I explored and swam for a bit in the cool clear water. It was quite possibly the most idyllic beach I have ever been to. After I'd had my fill of sun and sand, I went out to find a taxi back to Cruz Bay. I wish that I had spent more time exploring the downtown area, but sunburnt and exhausted I opted for a quick bite at a place right by the ferry dock.

Back on land in St Thomas, I caught a cab back to the port, and soon enough I was heading back on board the Escape. Another shower was in order to wash away the salt and sand, and shortly thereafter I was out at Spice H2O sucking down mango margaritas. (like a mango meltdown, but with tequila instead of rum) My notes claim that I went to the Garden Cafe for dinner this night, but I have no actual recollection of it. During one of my wanderings afterwards, I ran into my adopted cruise family and went to Howl at the Moon again for a bit. I knew that tonight would have to be an early night because I had to meet in the theater early the next morning for my excursion to Jost Van Dyke.

Wow, 4 days down already. I always hate it when I'm past the halfway point in the cruise. Soon enough they'll be throwing me off the ship in favor of a whole new group of passengers...