williecruz
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Posts posted by williecruz
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On 11/26/2021 at 3:41 PM, CarolinaMamma said:
Thank you!
Do you have teens on the cruise, and if so, how are they liking it? This will be our first time cruising not during a school holiday. With that, plus reduced capacity, I’m hoping my teens will still enjoy it.
Yes we had our son (15). There were enough other teens to keep him busy. He loved the ship being so empty. Virtually no lines for slides, racetrack, buffet, elevators etc. Good times for all!
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On 11/23/2021 at 8:40 PM, CarolinaMamma said:
Thank you, thank you, thank you! We will be in Encore in January and I’m eager to see these!
if you can get ahold of the weekly schedule for the Entourage teen club, I would love to see that as well.
Have a FABULOUS cruise!
We're on now too...Here's the entourage schedule...
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Great live review... following both you and Doug... all such a wealth of information on this TA. Booked on Bliss Thanksgiving and now curious about Encore TA...
Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app
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We've been waiting for your TA for months.. looking forward to your review/ pictures... we're on the Thanksgiving sailing of Bliss.
Sent from my SM-N950U using Forums mobile app
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If one wants to keep up on progress in one Eastern port: Tortola, I highly recommended the Windtraveler blog written by the family that owned Aristocrat charters. They are Americans that just got back to Tortola and do a good job of giving a picture of what's happening as they rebuild ther lives. They certainly want to rebuild their Island and excursion business. It's clear that it's going to take awhile and makes me wonder why the cancellation decisions weren't made sooner.
Hoping this change does not extend into November as we are booked on Bliss/Eastern AND on Aristocat in Tortola--love that excursion--will be our third time sailing with them! They have a great business model and I was hoping the ships would start to go back soon so they could rebuild.
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We actually used Stingray Sailing for our tour over Thanksgiving week ( the 9 am slot). His meeting location was a short little walk from where our tender arrived. He drives the group to the marina where you board his catamaran. I think we only had about 20 people on board. He's really good about securing a good anchor spot once out at the sandbar area. There are tons of boats out there and our captain seemed to attract a good number of stingrays. I loathe being on boats with massive amounts of people so we enjoyed his tour. He stops at a nearby snorkeling location and then throws up the sails for the ride back. Once back at the marina his wife drove us back in the van to the port.
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Hope you have a wonderful holiday cruise!! We'll be on next week!
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Wondering why so many consider these ports as "armpits of Caribbean"??? We stopped at Falmouth on our first Celebrity Cruise three years ago. We went to a small beach club and it was amazing!! Grand Cayman is one of my favorite places as well. I have enjoyed Cozumel both times we went, and Costa Maya was enjoyable too! I never felt I was in danger in any of these ports. Have things changed that much in three years for Jamaica?
Hi Chrisfromco! Do you remember the name of the beach club you went to in Jamaica? Also, what did you do in Grand Cayman? We're going to make the most of this changed itinerary!
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Works for us. We like the ship and will go wherever it wants to take us. :)
Agree! Us too...:p
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Loving your review! We've sailed Escape 3 times in the past year--all Eastern--so I look forward to hearing about the Western side!
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I'll take this view over being at work...
Sun setting over St. Thomas for sail away
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Captain Mike met us outside the restaurant to sign papers and pay our balance for the sailing. ($75pp if paid in cash) We sailed out of the harbor and towards Buck Island (approx. 45-60min). He anchors with a few other boats but tries to keep off to the side for more privacy and room to swim.
The Fury
Home of the turtles...
More legs than turtles at the start...
There's one... eating
Another one swimming up for air
Ok, there wasn't an abundant amount of turtles and they weren't the largest I've seen but it was still good to see some in their natural habitat. We probably saw about 5-7 turtles in total. We also saw a few interesting fish and a sting ray. The snorkeling lasted about an hour with a few minutes of rinsing off, gear off and partaking of a few granola bars provided by Mike and his first mate Jessica. Mike was strict with his rules (which he had to be with the amount of kids on the boat) and Jessica was such a pleasure! She got in the water and swam with everyone.. guiding them to see the best parts. We took off back toward the harbor for a lovely sail as the sun was making it's descent. The sail back was the best part.
Sails up
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Day Four
St. Thomas
View from our balcony as we woke up
Beautiful sunrise as we were arriving into St. Thomas.
Watched the Pilot boat--hitching a ride on Escape!
We didn't have scheduled plans until the afternoon so we enjoyed Vibe a little in the morning after breakfast.
Typically in St. Thomas we catch a cab to Sapphire Beach for a few hours. This trip we decided to book a sailboat excursion (not through the ship). After much research on TripAdvisor I landed on The Fury. The Fury schedules a morning and an afternoon sailing to Buck Island for swimming with sea turtles/snorkeling/etc. It's a quick walk from the ship to the dock (Yacht Haven Grande). You meet at the Fat Turtle (bar/restaurant) for the captain. We got a quick drink while waiting--super nice staff.
Fat Turtle
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I had such a great time meeting you guys and hanging out in Vibe all week! I'm still in post-cruise depression and have been researching nonstop for my next one. Loving the review so far and can't wait to read the rest.
Nate!!! We enjoyed sailing with you!! It was fun running into you all week! It took us about 2.5 days to book another cruise (for Thanksgiving this year).. the depression was too much to handle! ;) Let's keep in touch!
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Correct, no clam shells on Escape Vibe but they do have some adjustable double bed type loungers and umbrellas (in back behind regular loungers). They are nice in that you can still feel some breeze and have coverage of an umbrella (unless it's too windy for the umbrellas)
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Day Three
Sea Day
Woke to more beautiful weather! We spent a good bit in Vibe while our son was at Splash Academy.
On the way to Vibe we witnessed the main pool area.
Gearing up for the Ms. Norwegian Escape contest:
We didn't spend time at the main pool--super crowded is not our bag and with Spring Break it was exceptionally populated. My husband went one morning for a quick swim in the pool before the crowds arrived.
Vibe: Our home away from home..
These pictures were actually taken while docked at St Thomas to show the area without people. The crew in Vibe (Rommel, Vincent and Michael) really took care of everyone the entire week. They make the best drinks.. with Toasted Almond being my new favorite. Every time I walked in they say, "Toasted Almond?!?!" They knew everyone's names, favorite drinks, your favorite seats, etc.
Later that night..... we went to Teppanyaki for dinner. We've been here on every cruise and it's one of our favorites. The chefs are quite entertaining and the amount of food is enormous! We typically order two adult meals (set price) and share with our son. It's more than enough with food left on the plate. Service was great that night!
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Following the Meet and Greet we walked across to Food Republic. We've been before and enjoyed it--our son loves sushi!
It was last call so we quickly ordered from the iPad. We ordered a sushi roll, sliders and pork belly. You can order drinks from The District Brew House.
Funky Buddha Floridian
Not your everyday lunch item: Pork Belly!
Day Two Night:
Went to the Captain's Cockail Reception in the Haven Courtyard. We had the pleasure of meeting our Captain, Master Giovanni Cutugno. We thoroughly enjoyed his daily announcements throughout the week!
After the reception we were off to Cagney's Steakhouse. Sadly no pictures here this time around but the food was amazing. We all ordered the filet and were not disappointed. If you love steak you should for sure make a point to eat here!
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Day 2:
Sea Day
Woke up to amazing weather. We were worried a little since the night before while leaving Miami proved to be quite windy and super chilly.
Spice H2O: early start to the day!
Note: many reminders throughout the cruise that chairs could not be held for more than 60 minutes. If no activity, personal belongings would be taken to Guest Services.
Next up: Meet and Greet. We organized our Roll Call's Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. We've organized them before which were always held in Cagney's. This time it was moved to The District Brew House. I have to say this location was a lot better for many reasons. The view is stunning at District! The crew continuously passed out flights of craft beer and hors d'oeuvres. Live music for our entertainment!
Visit from the Officers!
We had a great turn out! We took more pictures but I won't post out of respect of other's privacy. It was great to finally meet everyone from the roll call. It's fun to see familiar faces throughout the cruise!
I can't say enough great things about the officers and crew. They made a point to introduce themselves to all the members who attended.
It was Andre's first time as Cruise Director (far left in picture) as Tyler just left for vacation. We had met Andre on our previous cruises since he was Assistant Cruise Director. He did a fabulous job!
Third from left: Man on the Mic: Jovo, Hotel Director.
I highly recommend attending your Cruise Critic Roll Call Meet and Greet!!
View of the District Bar:
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After our lunch we were off to get a picture of the current officers:
We were glad to see that Jovo was back as Hotel Director! One thing that is great about the Escape is that you'll see the officers out and about on the ship the entire week. They are very present and approachable.
With an early sail away time we hit the muster drill then up to deck 19 for the best view.
Miami: Later Alligator!
With waking so early and that drive to the port we were a bit wiped out. Decided to hit up Garden Buffet. Turned out to be quite the view. Sat all the way in the back (the quietest spot) and had a lovely aft view of the sun setting over Miami.
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The calm before the storm....
They allowed us to board at approx. 11:16am. This is the first time I witnessed actual running. Got our numbered tickets at approx. 11:17am. Phew!
We also made a few restaurant reservations in Headliners before the lines grew too large. This process is so easy so don’t worry if you don’t have what you want prior to your cruise.
Since we have a child, we went down to Splash Academy on deck 5 to register him into the program. We were probably the first down there so this was quick and easy as well. On the first two cruises he was in a different age group (6-9). When he was 9 he felt a bit old with a bunch of 6 year olds so he wasn’t super excited going to SA before. Now that he’s 10 and in the dolphins (10-12) he liked it. More on that later….
Next, we did our traditional lunch at Taste (or maybe it was Savor). We pick the side with the better view (however the ship is docked). There has always been a crew member right outside trying to talk you into going up to the Garden Buffet for lunch. This time the crew member was a little pushy and was really trying to talk us into eating at the Buffet. I stuck to my guns and said we would eat in Taste.
My first drink of the day: Moscow Mule with a view..
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Check in around 9:42am
Check in was a breeze—first ones to the counter but about 3rd up the escalator to obtain our Boarding Group Number
We were nervous about the new boarding procedure we had read about here on CC. Luckily the boarding was like our previous two times. Of course Haven, special needs then it was Group 1. We never heard anything about the different Latitudes levels, etc. The line starts building before 11 and you could feel the nervous energy of those secretly hoping for Vibe.
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We walked right across the street to Terminal Cwhere we found only three people waiting in line in front of the door ofsecurity. The first waiting stop is just inside before security opens up.
8:43am - First point of waiting - outside security.
Once they open the doors you'll want to be seated in one of the chairs along the walls. They will let the seated passengers go through security first. After the seats fill then they will direct you to wait in the center while standing. It fills up quick!
Patiently waiting....
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One week after our Spring Break cruise and thought we'd share a few bits from our trip. Still suffering post-holiday depression!
We are a family of three (10yr/old son) and this was our third sailing on Escape in about 10 months. On our first two trips we were lucky enough to obtain Vibe passes and we followed the same recipe for arrival in hopes of receiving them again. We live on the west coast of Florida so we always leave around 4:30am to drive to Miami.
Uh-oh...not a great way to start the trip...
The first two times we parked at Safe Cruise parking (off site parking with a shuttle to port). This time we drove straight to the port and parked onsite. We priced up Safe Cruise online prior and even with a coupon code the pricing was not a huge savings. On our second cruise we experienced a super long wait time for the shuttle so the wait time/price savings ratio lead us to port parking. We arrived at the port at approx 8:20am. Drove right in and found a space in about 2-3 minutes. Similar to your typical airport parking deck but with tighter spaces.
Covered parking for the hot Florida sun!
More to come.........................
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Just returned from the March 18-25 sailing of Escape:
Jovo Sekulovic - Hotel Director
Errol Nelson - Assistant Hotel Director
Deepak Punia - F&B Director
Ronney Dsouza - Executive Housekeeper
Andre Paul Gaffney - Cruise Director
Nomita Rambhunjan - Guest Service Manager
Charles Fernandez - Executive Chef
Gilbert Derecho - Restaurant Manager
Wade Cleophas - Beverage Manager
***A wonderful group of officers... saw many of them throughout the week. Always so approachable and provided top notch service. ***
Encore Nov 22 wrinkly Daily 😬
in Norwegian Cruise Line
Posted
Here are a few:
Deepak - GM
Jocel - Assistant GM
Charles - F&B
Kiran - Beverage Manager
Rashida - First Services Manager
Yanique - Cruise Director