The Merrill

Regarding the partition in the casino on the ESCAPE. No sign of that happening as recent as two weeks ago. There is not any up-graded ventilation in either the casino or the cigar lounge. I heard that the casino workers were going to "throw out" those that just sit at a machine to smoke but I also did not see that happening. You can certainly smell the smoke near Le Bistro and of course outside of the lounge near Tobbaco Row. Although NCL is quick to advise that smoking is not allowed on the balcony other passengers were doing that as well and not just cigarettes. Just my two cents worth ...

Off the Escape recently and there are no outside smoking areas on the Waterfront.

When you return from doing The Bliss on the Panama Canal please post. I am so wanting to do that cruise and need some information to show my better half.

Thank you and happy cruising!:D

Just off Escape. The main dining rooms and O'Sheehan's opens at noon for lunch.

Bravo to NCL for stepping up and using their resources to help.

We enjoyed The Waterfront Deck 8. Lots of shade, comfy seating and close to a bar if the need arises. And this is free. :) Enjoy whatever option you make.

175 days on the Escape 2nd time!! woot woot no no I'm not excited at all .. nope not me!! :)

The best advice I could give is to not sweat the small stuff and enjoy your vacation. We were on The Escape last September and she was fantastic. So much so we booked her again this year. As some have mentioned the buffet can be crazy busy especially on embarkation day so we took other's advice and ate lunch at one of the main dining rooms. Not busy at all! Also be sure to make reservations 90 days out for speciality dining. Enjoy your vacation!!

We sailed in hurricane season too but we were lucky and no storms were about. I don't understand how people can be angry with the cruise line for choosing to not head straight into a hurricane. Yes I would be disappointed but I would also be safe and not stuck on a ship that was bouncing around in high seas. Remember RCL and what happened there not once but twice? Cut the cruise line some slack and be grateful they did not put anyone's lives at risk. JMHO :D

We loved the free style concept of NCL. We did notice some people make the choice to dress up for dinner but it's totally up to them. I found that most wore casual clothes to dinner and some did wear shorts to the speciality restaurants.

Enjoy!!

Thanks for sharing!!! Made me happy too!! :D

I would like to have the UBP to include bottled water, speciality coffee, etc. Now that would be awesome. :)

We were in bed early too by 10 pm. I think it was the slow sway of the ship that made me sleepy! LOL I look forward to reading more about your review and see if we agree on anything! LOL :D

I talked to a few people when I was aboard last week The internet is sketchy at best. NCL has not up-graded the internet yet.

I had an arrival time of 11:30 am and my BF was 1:00 pm. We arrived at 11:00 am and terminal B was not as busy as I would have thought. It was easy to go through security and to get our pictures and ship cards. Only time we waited was when we got up-stairs. We had boarding group 7 I believe but we were still on board around noon!

I was wondering what it would cost for us to up-sell. I called NCL and was told I needed to call my TA. The reservation was made through the TA and NCL said they couldn't assist me. We did get a free up-grade from balcony to mini-suite so it's all good :). Nice deal on the Haven though .. enjoy that!

Finally ... we leave on THE ESCAPE Saturday. I don't know if you can tell but I'm super excited!! :D I would like to thank all of the numerous posters who have shared their words of wisdom about cruising. I have learned a lot over the past 6 months but I've also learned to take some of what I learned with a tad of salt. We are both looking forward to setting foot on this huge ship, attending the M&G and basically kicking back and having a great time!!!

Thanks to CC and to everyone who has shared their cruising wisdom!

Happy Cruising Folks,

Cheryl The Merrill

Your suitcase is almost packed, the eDocs are printed and sitting with all of the other documentation required and you have pre-booked a taxi for the trip to the airport!

Tick Tock Hurry Up and Let's Rock! :)

I would agree that using the cabin phone is more reliable than cell service. Waiting until you reach a land line might not work for the school board and since they are holding the keys to your future you might need to just use what is available and worry about the cost later. If you manage to snag a full time position it would all be worth it. I know that cell service outside of Canada is royally expensive ( bought a package from Bell and it was still overly costly .. ). Good luck and I hope that you end up with a full time teaching job!!

Cheryl

Yes Poutine is everywhere these days. The BF needs to branch out and give it a whirl. I will need to check it out on ESCAPE and see if they do serve it. Pictures to follow!! LOL

First cruise ships caved in and started to make Bloody Caesars and now they have poutine? I knew that someday, we Canadians would take over the world (insert diabolical laugh here).

Eh? LMAO :D

Oh I know, I actually love poutine, I was just being flippant. It's also wildly popular in Minnesota, which is where I first tried it. Strangely, it's becoming a thing here in Kansas City, too. Can't wait to see if they have it on either the Sky or the Epic, my next two NCL bookings. I doubt it for the former, but holding out hope.

When I first told my BF about the whole gravy and cheese curds thing he almost choked. He just can't imagine combining not only gravy on french fries but adding cheese to the mix. I have yet to get him over to the "dark" side but soon especially if poutine is available on ESCAPE.

Poutine is very popular not only in Quebec but also Ontario and other Canadian provinces. Although it may sound scary it's very good if made correctly!! :) If they have it at O'Sheehan's on ESCAPE I'm all over it!! LOL

I don't remember what magnificent human posted this earlier in the year, but I plan to see how many of these I can knock out on our next cruise.

Would like to thank the original author- THANK YOU!

Thank you for posting this!!! Good thing we have the UBP. :D I wonder how many of these I can try in 7 days? LOL

as indicated below ... :D