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We just got off the Escape with the same 6am to 1pm stop. All-aboard time was 12:30pm and we're not cut-it-close people. We were looking for a hike and found a company called Hike BVI. Our guide was Sef and he was fantastic. We met him at 8:00am (there was no way our teenage kids would have been up any earlier) and he drove us to the hike starting point. Sef was very knowledgable about the island history, the flora and fauna, etc. so we learned a lot as we went. The hike he chose for us (Bat Cave) offered stunning views of the island. After the hike he took the long way back to the port so we could see more of the island. He dropped us off around 11:45am giving us plenty of time to get back onboard.

Thought I would share some thoughts/feedback from our Dec 24, 2022 sailing on the Escape in case they may be helpful. Overall we had a great cruise and never ran out of thing to do onboard. There are always lots of activities going on. Food Was generally very good although portions in the main dining rooms (Taste, Savor, and Manhattan Room) were a bit smaller than I would have expected. This is not to say that any of us went hungry. Service speed varied for us. Some meals were quick (entree served at the same time the appetizers were being cleared) others were very slow with long waits (~30 minutes) between courses. In some cases we had asked for customizations (i.e no onions) which could have been the reason behind the slower service, but we don't have a large enough sample size to be sure. As we were on a Christmas cruise, the ship was very full and this meant the buffet was packed at peak times. There were some instances where we had trouble finding an available table. However, the food choices were plentiful and there was something for everyone. We also ate in two speciality dining spots. One was La Cucina. We had read some pretty mixed reviews about La Cucina on these boards, but decided to give it a try given that our kids love Italian food. We hoped that some of the not so positive reviews might have been left by people with significantly higher standards than us. Unfortunately, this was not the case. Our dinner at La Cucina was easily the worst meal we had on board. The service was good, but the food choices were limited (especially for vegetarians) and we found the food was bland, overly creamy, and uninspiring. On the other end of the spectrum was our dinner at Bayamo. This was our best meal on board. Our fish was cooked perfectly, was flavourful, and absolutely delicious. Entertainment Booking reservations is highly recommended so you don't have to wait in the stand-by line and then scramble to find seats together. Malevo was good, but not great. While the performers are incredibly talented, we found the show to be somewhat repetitive. Also, the screens behind the performers were quite distracting. Despite this, the show is definitely worth seeing. Choir of Man was superb. Not much of a plot, but entertaining and uplifting. It is basically a group of guys singing and dancing in their local pub. The performances were exceptional with bits of humour dispersed throughout. Tip one: arrive at least 15 minutes early as the performers will invite some people in the audience onto the stage and they hand out free beers. Tip two: If you're a woman sitting near the front or on an aisle, you might be selected to join the performers on stage for some of the songs. Those that were picked seemed to have a great time. Other tips/thoughts Passing through the cabin hallways when the stewards' carts are out can be a bit of a tight squeeze. Our ship docked at Amber Cove (not Taino Bay) in Puerto Plata, DR. (I had seen some questions about this on other threads) They are about a 15 minute drive apart. Under the ropes course is a well-maintained mini-golf course and bocce ball. There is also ping pong available at the front of deck 16 on each side of the ship. There is also a shuffleboard court on Deck 6. All are offered at no charge. If you're looking for a quiet comfortable spot, head to the Waterfront on Deck 8. It is an outdoor seating area that wraps around the sides and aft of the ship. Some of the seating is speciality restaurant seating, but there were lots of couches and seats just for relaxing. This area is generally very quiet and it was very sparsely used until the last few days of the cruise (I guess when more people learned of its existence). We had booked our airfare through NCL and the return flight included a transfer from the ship to the Orlando (MCO) airport. This transfer is by bus and the lines to get on the buses were not too long. However, no one ever checked our tickets for the transfer. It seems to me that anyone disembarking and looking for a ride to MCO could have boarded the buses. I'm sure there is more I could share, but this what comes to mind for now. If you're sailing on the Escape soon, have a wonderful cruise!