CalLuvsCrusingToo

IF there was a Non-smoking area on Escape? I never found it.

Seemed Very smokey Everywhere. Its a shame.

And since the Opening to the other floors is in the middle of the Casino.....

If you are dining Floor below casino, like LeBistro.... (we ate there twice on their sidewalk area) You smell smoke there too....

And you get lots of smokers that aren't playing....just standing, watching and smoking inside. That happens alot. I had a steady stream of smokers standing behind me, smoking, not playing, every night. Or they sit at a machine, Not playing, just smoking.....

That casino is NOT setup for smoking inside. The smell just permeates 2-3 floors. Its too bad. You'll see.....

We ate there for Thanksgiving dinner. lol

The chef was very nice & actually tracked down some Turkey (I think they got it from LeBistro next door) and threw it on the barbie for those of us craving alittle Tradition on Thanksgiving. Very nice.

Tepp Reminds me of our Benihana. Yes, group tables. Make your Rezzies right away for groups.

Being seated with other groups, went Fine.

If you are a two-some like we were? You get in much easier.

chengkp- I enjoy reading your insight & obvious knowledge on the subject.

Us lay people who experienced this cruise & ship, can only tell you what we actually experienced. Seemed they were hell bent on getting us to Nassau.

I can see where some people might NOT want to experience a trip like that ever again.

I'm an experienced cruiser, and this was over the top, for me.

I've been on a couple other cruises where itineraries were changed for weather, technical difficulty, Whatever.

Itineraries are Not set in stone.

So this seemed Unnecessary to put us thru.

Plus the fact we left port 90 mins Late.

Under the circumstances, we would have preferred the Captain chose a different route, or SKIP Nassau, or do many OTHER alternatives to hauling ass thru the STORM, which was Bad!

Seemed a LOUSY decision at the time, and I'm glad we survived it.

I already mentioned this on the Thanksgiving Roll call thread.....

Thurs nite was worst rocking & rolling thru that storm I have ever felt on a cruise.

I did ALOT of praying that night. We had on balcony Deck 9 Midship.

I usually choose mid-ship for less motion.

Didn't matter Thurs. night.:mad:

I couldn't sleep because it was scary!!! VERY Annoyed that it seemed

the Captain was more interested in getting us to Nassau on time....

than giving a crap about what we were going thru.

Even when I tried to lay down, felt like I was going to roll out of bed.

There was so much STRONG Gale force wind, howling, motion and more thunder and lightening than I've ever seen on a cruise. Ever!

YES, the ship was Creaking alot and I also was scared we were going to

tip over, or it was going to fall apart.

Thank god we lived. Frankly, I could care less if we saw Nassau.

Been there, done that.

I would have Rather gone Another route, or go Slower, or go AROUND the storm..... than haul ass to get to Nassau. Was NOT happy Thurs. night.:mad:

Other than that.............. good times.:cool:

We just ate there Fri. afternoon. Fish tacos & Volcano nachos.

Freeeeee in the nick of time I guess.

Most folks were in Nassau. We been there, done that, so hit Mville early lunch.

Spouse NOT a big fan of this place. And lines were usually 45-90 min waits.

Me thinks this will go way down now.

There are so many Free options on Escape.

Garden Cafe, OSheeans etc, as free options for a burger or fish & chips, etc.

If I'm gonna Pay for MargaritaVille? I will visit the one in Vegas.

Just got off NCL Escape yesterday.

I played Most of the VP machines in the casino. Kept jumping around.

Mostly played Ult.X dimes. 3/5/10 play.

Seems the Only VP that was hitting the whole trip, was single line dollars.

So if you can't beat em, join em.

Friday night I switched to single line TDBP and got 4's with kicker

for 2k. That was a welcome hit after a poor casino payout trip.

Escape is a brand new ship, and the casino IS Huge.

Bigger than any other NCL ship casino I've been in.

But its too bad about the heavy smoke smell.

For a new ship, the heavy smoke smells like an Old casino. Its really too bad.

Can I inquire what the high roller types play to get $1,000 FP etc? I'm guessing Slots, Not tables?

I'm mostly quarter & $ VP, and get CET NCL & CAS comp offers, but always for Inside cabin & never any FP.

Sailed on a CAS offer last year for Tourney,

but my CAS offers haven't been anything special over what I get thru CET.

Just wondering.....

Also, HOW do you get Carnival awards? Pay for cruise, and then get comp offers thru casino afterward??

We sailed Carnival years ago, (too many Mexico trips, we don't go there anymore), but since we get so many NCL perks thru CE, kinda gave up on Carnival.

Sounds like its gotten better though....... Thanks for input.....

And that is a huge problem with NCL, not just since FDR took over. We have had situations, 3 I can think of where we had to write letters to NCL. All 3 were way before FDR. In 2 of the cases we wrote the letters after retuning from our cruise;neither time did we even get a response. I will say, whenever we have had a problem while still on the ship and asked to speak to someone the problem has been addressed and settled if possible. As loyal as I am to NCL this is one dept that annoys the heck out of me.

Agree with these statements as well. I'm an NCL faithful customer. Issues rarely happen to us. But when they do? I think letters, emails, comments, to NCL, go into a black hole......or the round filing cabinet.

Customers deserve responses.

Since I've yet to get a response, Ever, in the past....I try to get things corrected onboard. Cuz once you get off? good luck buddy boy....

We stayed at the Intercontinental before a cruise last year & also recommend it.

This Friday we fly in so LATE (midnight) that were staying closer to FLL, and shuttling to Miami in the morning.

But if we flew in earlier, I wouldn't hesitate to stay at I again.

I like to get off da boat, every couple days so a Transatlantic is not in our future anytime soon. But really enjoyed reading your stories as we will be on Escape this Saturday! Can't wait

I took some notes as what you had to say......and Don't plan on taking any baths......the shower will be just Fine! Glad they reimbursed you! They definately Should have.

I was also wondering about changes to the casino, and how big is it in comparison to other ships? Weve been on most of the NCL fleet.....

Anybody try the Ropes course or was it too cold? Scary?

Thanks for all your wonderful reporting!

We are on Same cruise also! lol

Sorry you have fear of flying.....I USED to be fearful, but I've been a

frequent flyer for years, so it goes away.

Wow, Thats an awfully long drive.

I don't even drive to Vegas, unless I have to.

We live in Calif. but were Flying to Seattle that morning, and flying

out that evening on return.

We went on similar Alaska itinerary in May this year, and liked it so

much were going back. (Weather was WARM, didn't need a jacket!)

However, I do believe Pearl has Gotta be a better ship than what we went on NCL Sun in May. (long story short, its the Only NCL ship I regret getting on) See ya on Pearl, May 2016!

I gotta call Princess.......AGAIN.

The site still shows same mistakes, and nothing has changed

Feel like cancelling res. and starting over, or just saying Screw it,

and stay with NCL. :mad::mad::mad:

Sand&Sea..... I think we will be fighting over the same machines! LOL

I also LUV Ult.X. Play dimes mostly.

Think best I did was playing 5 play & hit a Royal on one line with Multiplier,

must have been 4X

$1,600

Last ship, I did well just playing regular triple play & got a Royal

playing deuces.

I seem to hit royals on deuces, more than anything. Go figure. lol

I was on the Breakaway couple years ago, sorry can't give you more

current info.....

We don't play Tables.

We did well in casino playing Ult.X video poker, and my friend played

the dollar Wheel of Fortune.

They had some wheels that took $3 max, and I noticed the one

next to her was only $2 Max.

So I said, Why don't you play that one, its only $2.

She did.......

and on her First SPIN, got $1,000.

Boy, didn't I feel dumb for Not playing it myself? LOL

Seem to recall people camping out at machines, so when the ship

got in range and the machines came ON? They were Right there to play!

Seems you had to get there early.

But that seems to be the case at most ship casinos. Good luck.

Sand&Sea-- This will be my First princess cruise, in March.

I gotta say, its been Much easier booking on NCL, than Princess.

Cruise vouchers were very similar. Both kinds are Inside for me.

But NCL now gives us Alaska.

And this current Princess voucher were booking is Calif. Coastal.

I would recommend Reading Ship reviews before booking

your Princess ship.

I made the mistake of leaping, before I looked.....

So now I'm in the process of Changing ships, to get the better of the two.

As a whole, Princess seem to be Older ships, and their refurbish averages 5 years ago!

Thats a LONG time ago for refurbish, IMO.

Where on NCL, I prefer ships refurb within the past couple years.

AND their Princ. employee gave me the Wrong info. when I booked, so that was a pain in the rear.

Long story short.......they (princess) have some PROVING to Do,

to make a believer out of me.

Otherwise, will continue to book NCL, and KNOW what I'm getting.

I'm in the Same boat.......so to speak. lol

Been cruise certificates up the wazoo for NCL and now, Princess.

I have NCL Escape booked thru CE next month.

Just booked Princess for Calif. Coast in Mar. 2016

This will be my First Princess sailing, since I've been so busy with NCL.

Then were going Alaska again on NCL in May.

Recently went to Harr. Tahoe where Spouse and I both got NCL cruise

certificates......so the good news we can bring another couple next year.

I book myself to one cabin, spouse in other, and we give keys to

our grown kids or family.......whoever else we decide to bring along.

Yes, just pay Port charges, taxes. I usually upgrade from Inside to

Oceanview or Balcony, depending on Itinerary and cost.

Some cruises its $100 each. Some $300 each. In that case, it depends on Itinerary. Like Alaska, we were happy with Ocean view instead of costly Balcony.

But yeah, its a Great deal getting the "free" cruises thru casinos!

The Godfather.......... Pitbull. :) Why not.

Gunner22a..........you have wisdom, but I doubt I could have kept my mouth shut. Told my spouse to Always, ALWAYS play MAX bet.

Whatever game you are playing....If the Max is too much for your budget?

Then play a lesser value game, or quit early, but Always Max bet!

As for me, I've been lucky on most cruises hitting a quarter royal.

Usually in the $1,000-$1,600 range.

FYI- Thats 5 quarters for Max bet.:D

I've only won on VP/Slots, in the ships casino, and if its over $1,200- you get a W2G, just like on Land.

I "thought" we were exempt at sea? But we ain't. lol

Usually the 1099 is for Contest winning, like if you won a major jackpot in a tourney.

This has happened to me in a Slot tourney. I got a 1099, instead of W2G.

Like others have mentioned......get a good "Gambling" CPA/Tax person.

Some who don't gamble, don't know what their talking about.

I agree with you Sand&Seas.......... I DO get occ free cruises per CAS.

Usually for select dates, VS. more dates to choose from thru CE.

And I get many more free Cruise voucher offers thru CE (Caesars Ent./Harrahs props).

My last 6-7 cruises have been with CE comp vouchers. As Diamond level they are offered often, and I usually make a trek to pick up. Usually Tahoe or Vegas.

So basically I pay for Port charges & upgrade to balcony or Oceanview. (my vouchers are usually Inside cabin, and I Don't DO inside cabins lol)

But makes for a cheap cruise, if you like to cruise. And if my spouse can't go? I bring one of our sons or a friend.....whose spouse gets seasick and can't cruise. Works out great. I haven't technically paid for a cruise in YEARS!

Recently, Princess is getting into the act, and I'm getting free voucher offer pickups for Non-Caesars properties, to pick up Princess vouchers.

So if timing is right, we might do one of those next year too.

Thanks for mentioning.

Sure enough I checked my Latitudes acct. and I was missing a 7 day from earlier this year.

I should be Gold by now, and still listed as Silver.....:(

However they DID have a cruise credited from 1992 and ship "UNKNOWN". lol

Good advice from minnesota mama.

They are close enough in age, can't they be in the same group?

My parents used to stick Me solo in groups & expect me to blend.

"make new friends"

It was usually a bad experience. Especially if kids are shy to begin with.

Bring a friend?

Or keep them together if poss, unless they BOTH want to be seperate.

Hope it all works out fun for all.:o

Hillary? tee hee

I'm still trying to figure out Why they named the ship after my car?

Were on our third Ford Escape. Great car btw. :D

I'm confused. We received the UDP as a promo given when we booked for our upcoming cruise in Nov. (we could have gotten UBP or Mins or tours etc)

We chose the UDP.

But now I'm trying to figure out Which restaurants are actually Free, with the UDP?

Think I would still expect to pay something extra with the "Chef" restaurants, although not famililar which one, or two, are on Escape......