LilRhody

Great review! We sail on Saturday for our honeymoon and I can't wait. :)

 

Was the upgrade $200 total or $200pp? How did you get the chance to upgrade into a spa mini-suite? When I go into upgrade advantage, I only get the options to bid $25+ for a random minisuite or $400+ for Haven suites.

The spa mini-suite was on our upgrade advantage list. Our bid was $200 total.

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does the cellars have a more extensive wine list that you can use on the udp . the current list i found does not have very many choices as when i last cruised ncl a couple years ago

Yes, they do! They have 45-46 wines by the glass, most under the magic $15 mark.

Excellent review! Thanks for sharing with us!

Can you expand upon the "Black Glass Tasting?" I love wine and this sounds intriguing. I am assuming you have to guess the varietal on sight/smell but it is in a black glass?

Yes, it is guess the colour, varietal and origin on wine in 3 black glasses. This follows a brief review of wine tasting principles and the characteristics of certain wines.

No. There is only a limit on the entree. No other limits.

That’s not what they told us in there last week.

You get 1 appetizer, 1 soup/salad, 1 entree, 2 sides and 1 dessert.

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It's 16.95/per person plus the 18% - works out to $40 for 2.

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Just home from our first trip on the Escape and thought I would share some thoughts.

We were travelling with 3 other couples (all Canadians ranging in age from early 40s to late 50s). This was our second NCL trip - we sailed one of the smaller ships about 10 years ago (out of New Orleans) and swore we wouldn't come back to NCL after lousy food and service, but this trip was chosen by the other couples (none of whom had cruised with NCL before) so we decided to give it another go. Our friends are not big shore excursion people - so we did not book any on this trip.

Overall, we all had a fabulous trip and would come back to NCL and the Escape. As with any trip, there were a few bumps in the road - but a day at sea is better than any day in the office.

Miami arrival:

One of the couples chose to stay at the Pullman Miami Airport hotel the night before the cruise, so 4 more of us also stayed there. The price was decent (@$100 for the night) and the rooms were clean, but I wouldn't rush back. First, the free shuttle from the airport never arrived; so we wound up paying $22 to take a cab. Second, they couldn't find our prepaid reservation (booked through Priceline). Interestingly, the person checking in before me had booked through Hotwire and they couldn't find his reservation either. After about 20 minutes, someone "manually re-entered" my reservation in their system. Third, the beds were hard as rocks. None of us got a good night's sleep. The shuttle to the port was $15 per person, so about the same as taking a cab.

Embarkation and Day 1:

Everyone else was on deck 12 (aft), so they were sent to one terminal. Hubby and I were on deck 15 mind-ship (a spa mini-suite upgrade that cost us CAD$200), so were sent to a different terminal. We agreed to meet in O'Sheehan's.

Our friends were in boarding group 3 and were on board before 11:30. (Except for one friend, who has mobility issues and had reserved a scooter - it took him about an hour to get that sorted out, since it wasn't waiting in his embarkation terminal, but someone at Guest Services went out and found it for him). Hubby and I were in group 6 in our terminal and got on board a bit after 11:30.

Our friends were told that the only place open was the Garden Cafe, so went there. Hubby and I went to O'Sheehan's, which was very clearly open. Second round of misdirection by cruise staff. Thankfully, two of us had cell phones with US plans, so a quick text message solved that issue and we all met up in the Garden Cafe.

As I had predicted, everyone (except our friend with the scooter issue) had a drink in hand by 11:45 and the celebrations had begun. Rooms were ready around 1, everyone scattered to check out their rooms and explore the ship for a while, then we all met up in Spice H2O for the afternoon and sail away. Our waiter there - Nathaniel - was fabulous and took excellent care of us for the duration of the cruise. He made sure that we always had a full drink, had his water spray bottle in hand to cool us down, and was just a pleasure.

Dinner that night was a drunken affair in O'Sheehan's (thanks to Nathaniel). The portions were a bit small, but the food was tasty and helped absorb all of the Rebellious Fish that had been consumed that afternoon/evening.

We went to the show in the theatre giving a taste of all the different shows on board. It's a great way to figure out what you might want to attend.

We need the evening with karaoke in 5 O'Clock Somewhere - the talent level was good, but not intimidating, and it was lots of fun.

Staterooms:

Our friends had aft balcony cabins, the rooms were nice and the extra balcony space was great. Their only issues were that the crew would not open the balcony dividers for them (citing fire risk) and there was not enough space in the room for our friend to park his scooter, which also could not be left in the hallway (safety issue) which resulted in the crew taking it away each night, to be returned when he called in the morning. If he had been advised of this, he likely would have booked an accessible room.

Our spa mini-suite was lovely, the large shower with the jets was great, and the bed was really comfy. We rarely saw our stateroom attendant, but the room was always clean and we had the requisite cute towel animals. The only down-side of being on 15 is that you hear deck chairs being moved around and people running/walking around on 16 pretty much all day and night. This did not interfere with our sleep, but YMMV.

Day 2 - at sea:

I expected the ship to be incredibly crowded based on reviews. It seems that the ship was sailing fairly empty (I have read varying reports of passenger counts as low as 1400, which I think has to be way off, but one of our friends had no one in the cabins on either side of them). The pool area was busy, and our group of 8 never would have found lounge chairs together in the sun if we had tried, but we didn't even try. We always were able to find enough chairs up in Spice H20, so spent much of our outdoor time up there.

Different groups of us went to play different games in the Atrium (and enjoyed them all). I spent hours reading a book in a lounger in the sun by the pool and watching people, got use of our thermal spa pass (more on that later), and everyone had a fun and relaxing day at sea.

I had a facial in the spa - no high pressure sales tactics here, just good pampering. Hubby had acupuncture to help relieve a foot injury - it was expensive (what on a cruise ship isn't) but it did relieve his pain.

Dinner that night was our first group speciality dinner at Teppanyaki. We loved it - the food was quite good and our chef was a lot of fun. The filet mignon really does melt in your mouth!! However, I could see that other groups (including the one right across from us) were not enjoying the schtick that comes with dining there. If you aren't up for cheesy humour and sing-alongs, this place is not for you.

After dinner, we went back up to Spice H2O to enjoy the night air, then ended the night singing karaoke at 5 O'Clock somewhere. The Fireball shots were flowing, which likely helped!

Day 3 - Falmouth, Jamaica:

We got off the ship, walked around the port area, then hubby and I decided to venture out into town a bit for a walk around. We're both pretty well traveled internationally, so were prepared for the high pressure "sales" tactics in the street - but after about 30 minutes we both had enough. It was worse than being in Turkey, where I experienced the most harassment of anywhere I had traveled. We even were called racist a few times because we didn't want to take a tour or hire a cab to drive us around.

Back on the ship, I had another of what would become a daily round in the thermal spa. The thalassotherapy pool was so good for relieving stressed out muscle knots - and never was crowded. The salt room was interesting - although I am not sure it actually did anything. I couldn't handle whatever aroma they were using in the steam room, so didn't last in there, but the sauna and the snow room both were relaxing and refreshing. The heated stone loungers were surprisingly comfortable!

I also finally acquainted myself with The Cellars. As a big wine drinker, this became one of my favourite places on the ship. For the rest of the cruise, I had pre-dinner drinks here every night, always brought a "proper" glass of wine from here with me to dinner each night, then stopped back after dinner for a glass or two. I also attended the black glass tasting, which was quite fun (and educational since my table didn't get a single wine right!)

This was another night of specialty dining for us. Some hit Le Bistro, some hit La Cucina - they all raved about their meals. The rest of us hit Moderno, which was disappointing. The service was rushed, the salad bar was partially empty, and our friend who only eats meat medium to well done had to wait so long for his food that the rest of us were stuffed before he ever got to eat. We've been to traditional rodizio/churrascaria elsewhere, so probably should not have expected a true replication on ship.

After dinner, we had agreed to meet up at Howl at the Moon, but couldn't get seats - so we went to The District Brewhouse expecting (based on the Daily) to hear Jumari and his guitar. Instead, it was James Morris and his piano - not the same. We lasted a few songs, then wandered on, hitting Skyline, Tobacco Road, and the casino.

Day 4 - Grand Cayman:

Tendering was incredibly fast for this port. We were in group 15, which was scheduled for 11AM, but was called about 10AM. We were still having breakfast in Savor when the call came. Breakfast was OK there, but really slow.

Our gang wandered around town a bit, but with 5 ships in town, it was very crowded and hectic. We then took the public bus out to Hell (since some had never been there). The bus was a good, inexpensive way to see a bit of the island. I wish we would have hit the beach instead - or in addition - but with the last tender scheduled at 3 and all aboard at 3:30, this port stop was simply too short.

Back on board, it was time for another trip to the thermal spa. This was followed with a bit of reading and relaxation on the Waterfront (those deep chairs are an awesome place to enjoy a book, a drink, a nap, or just the sound of the water). The Waterfront also became a daily stop for me.

We all met up at Spice again for sail away, listening to all the calls for passengers to report to guest services - and watching a late tender race up to the ship.

Tonight was our first dinner visit to a main dining room. We went to the Manhattan Room and loved it. We really enjoyed the live music and dancing. Our server, Marco, and bartender Heide, were awesome. The food was a big hit with almost everyone in our group (only one person found it too fancy, but he's a burger and fries kind of guy).

We finally made it to Howl at the Moon and had a great time. We were celebrating my 50th birthday on this trip, and I was called up to "conduct" Bohemian Rhapsody. We also went to the late comedy show in the theatre. The comics were all pretty good, but after a rather boozy day, the 11 PM start was a bit late.

Day 5 - Cozumel:

Another repeat port for hubby and me, and our friends weren't interested in an excursion, so we all took off for a bit of shopping, followed by the required liquid lunch at Senior Frog's.

The pool and Spice H2O both were hopping when we got back on board, so I think a lot of other people also were repeat visitors to this port.

Tonight was night 2 of dinner in the Manhattan dining room. Great service again from Marco and Heidegger and another very tasty meal all around. Unfortunately, the music tonight was really loud! Some of the cast from After Midnight were performing and, while they have great voices, the sound techs had their mics up way too high. You could not carry on a conversation at your table while they were performing.

Tonight also was the 80s party up in Spice. We loved the music - and the videos shown on the big screen. Much dancing and drinking was done by all, until the rain came in around 1AM.

Day 6 - at Sea:

We all were grateful for a sea day after the 80s party, since we all apparently drank and danced like we were in our 20s again. Unfortunately, we don't bounce back like we did in our 20s.

Hubby and I ordered room service for breakfast and enjoyed our balcony for a bit. He and one of our friends hit the casino and a few of the games in the Atrium. I hit the spa, the pool, and the Waterfront, eventually catching back up with the group up at Spice. This day, there were a handful of teens hiding out in the waterfall and kids in the hot tubs - and no one seemed inclined to chase them out; somewhat frustrating when this was billed as an adult only area.

We lunched at Margaritaville. I'm torn on the cover charge vs a la carte pricing. It seemed that people were ordering more food than they would have if the charge had been a la carte, then wasting it since the portions are so big. That being said, my conch fritters and fish tacos were very good.

Dinner tonight was our last group specialty reservation at Cagney's. I've read several reviews saying that people were disappointed with their steaks and that the filet in Teppanyaki was better. None of us found that to be the case - we all found our steaks (and the rest of the meal) to be on par with what we'd get at a Ruth's Chris or similar place.

After dinner, we had reservations for For The Record - The Brat Pack. It was hit or miss for our group. Hubby hated it and left after about 30 minutes, but he's not much of a musical theatre guy. A few of us thought that they tried to make each person play too many characters and it was hard to keep straight which movie pair was which in a particular scene. I've read a few reviews where people were offended by some of the humour given the recent spate of sexual harassment issues. On the whole, I don't rate it a must see.

Tonight was the Glow party, but the winds were whipping so much that none of us ventured up to Spice to see if it actually went on.

Day 7 - was supposed to be Great Stirrup Cay, turned into a sea day:

Given the wind and the seas on Thursday night, there was lots of speculation on the ship about whether we'd actually make GSC or whether we'd wind up in Nassau or with another sea day.

Around 7:30AM, the announcements started - swells and winds were expected to increase throughout the day such that the "local authorities" had shut down tender service; we'd be having another sea day. I heard people grumbling all over the ship. Conspiracy theories abound - with the ship well below capacity, they needed people to stay on board and spending money; there were too few excursions booked to offset tender costs; etc. While I was looking forward to a beach day, since the original itinerary had 3 sea days I wasn't overly fussed. It was another day to use the thermal spa, hang out on the Waterfront, finish my book, and just relax.

All day - and all over the ship - all I heard were complaints about missing GSC. The ship was crawling toward Miami on calm seas with calm winds. Conspiracy theories continued to build. The pool and Spice were the most crowded I had seen them all week.

Dinner for our last night on ship was again in the Manhattan Room with the lovely Marco and Heide. Unfortunately, the food tonight was simply awful. Out of 8 of us, only one enjoyed his meal, and that's because he was brought a cheeseburger and fries from O'Sheehan's (the only way he'd come to dinner with the rest of us). The seared scallops were almost raw; the seafood pasta was bland and very short on seafood; and the chicken was dry. This was the food I remembered from our first NCL cruise - and certainly was not the way any of us wanted to remember our trip.

We spent our last evening at Tobacco Road (with me popping back and forth to The Cellars for Cava), listening to the fabulous Jamari.

Disembarkation:

We took our own bags off, so were off the ship and in a cab by 7:45. It was easy and painless. The cab to MIA was $28. Our friends all signed up for an NCL bus transfer - which cost them $15 each. I think we got the better deal.

Summary:

There are a few things that I loved about the Escape and a few things I didn't.

The things I didn't:

⁃It was hard to get seats in the Atrium for the games and game shows (Newlywed/Not So Newlywed, etc.). These things would be better done in the theatre.

⁃Venues were too open to each other, so the noise levels were high. I would hate to be stuck seated at one of the tables in Le Bistro or La Cucina right on the main walkway through the ship.

⁃The pool is too small - or there should be more than one.

⁃The casino in the middle of the ship. As others have mentioned, it is a smokey place and the smell permeates deck 7 midship.

⁃The internet service stinks.

- Specialty coffees are not covered by the UBP, like they are on other lines. Hubby, who doesn't drink alcohol, ran up quite the bill just on coffees.

The things I loved:

⁃The Waterfront: such a lovely and relaxing space.

⁃The Cellars: I love a good wine bar.

⁃The thermal spa: it was pure relaxation.

⁃The idea of the Manhattan Room: so nice to go back to the days where dinner and dancing went together (just fix the volume issues on the performers - and the lousy last night food)

⁃Spice H2O: I loved the (usually) adult only space, the bar staff, and the parties up there.

As I said at the start, after our New Orleans cruise, hubby and I had said we'd never choose to cruise NCL again. After this trip, I would give them - and the Escape or another large ship - another go. I'd likely try to avoid a really popular travel week - since if the ship was at a really low capacity this past week, I wouldn't want to be on board when it was full. I'd also skip the main dining room on the last night!

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Thank you!! One less thing to pack.

What is the hairdryer situation on the Escape? Are they the crappy ones bolted to the wall?

I hate packing more than I really need - but have long, thick hair that those wall dryers simply can’t handle.

Congratulations! Were your bids listed per person or the total for 2 people? Have a great time! I'm on that cruise too and can't wait for Saturday.

Total for 2.

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As per the title: What was your offer and what did you bid? Ship and date?

Sorry - the thread had veered so far off course I forgot the question.

Escape 11/25 - we were in a balcony and were offered a host of upgrades on the site (including a Haven spa room, for which our bid of $1200 Canadian was not accepted).

Bid $200 Canadian on a spa mini suite and got it.

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Just got my bid for a spa mini suite accepted - paid less than the spa passes would have cost us, so am very happy.

I’m on the same cruise and because of your post I checked my status for a balcony and I’m “processing”!!!! Woohoo!!!

Congrats to both of you!! I'm on that same cruise - no joy on my upgrade bids yet, but they both are pending.

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Jealous of all you winning your bids. Still "patiently" waiting to see what happens to us for 11/25 sailing on Escape.

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I am waiting to hear about my bid on Nov 25th Escape. Is there a specific time of day that the emails are sent out notifying the winners? So I can stop checking every 30 minutes. lol

I'm in the exact same boat.

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Does a bear....?

 

 

 

Um, yes, I believe so.

 

 

 

Over at "The Academy of the Finer Things in Life" I've compiled notes of first-hand scientific experiments conducted on other cruise line venues of a similar nature, mostly involving wines by the bottle. That would equate to four glasses of a good pour or five glasses when The Beverage Control Police are watching.

 

 

 

Setting calculus, algebra and trig aside, the simple math works out to 6 glasses a day allowing for two repeats of your favorites.

 

 

 

Even if Cellars limits their hours to 5:30 pm onward, that's a clean two visits daily.

 

 

 

Start with a glass or two prior to dinner. Carry your next with you to dinner. As you hand "more than just your card" to the waiter, he most likely will get that next glass of wine from Cellars for you to enjoy with your entree... and eager to replenish it with another to finish your entree when he saw that Mr. Lincoln was standing in for Mr. Washington. In April 2017, the waiter in Cagney's was happy to retrieve a second glass of a $30 Cab [$15 upcharge] even prior to learning that Mr. Washington accompanied my card. [Cagney's is a short distance from Cellars. I'd suggest Mr. Lincoln accompany treks from restaurants more distant.]

 

 

 

Dropping by Cellars pre-show, then after-show... and heck, you may realize you're ahead of the game!

 

 

 

While The Academy's chief researcher will be embarking 10/28/17, regretfully other scientific experiements have been previously planned which could otherwise be in conflict with a research project dedicated to a Cellars Winelist Challenge.

 

 

 

Prior to endevouring such a project, I would advise ample time for planning. As you've read in reports published by the fine staff at The Institute, there really is a science to pairing wines with food. And pre-dinner it may be advisable to stick with red or white if you plan to have a few in succession, as suggested, working towards the fuller bodied and dry wines.

 

 

 

Lastly, if you decide to persue this challenge, I noted that you are staying in The Haven. I've never enjoyed that priveledge, though I do understand that Haven guests are well looked after service-wise. Perhaps a butler could collect you, should your research overwhelm your senses of walk and crawl.

Can I intern at the Academy? This sounds like an experiment right up my wine loving alley.

My husband and I wondered if the Wine Cellar bar is only open in the evenings? Is it possible to try all 40 wines by the glass on a 7 day cruise? (Is there a leader board for this)?.

Now this is an awesome idea - and there should be a leader board!!

Ports for the Nov 25 sailing were announced a few weeks ago: Falmouth,Jamaica; Grand Cayman; Cozumel; and Great Stirrup Key. They’ve also been updated on the NCL website.

Hubby and I rented a Jeep a few years ago. We had a great day, stopped at several beaches, had a lovely lunch at one, saw the sites. It was one of the best days of our cruise.

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Go to pretend book a room and it will give you a room number with option to pick another room you can then see how many there are available

Thanks. Looks like our chances of the H9 upgrade are slim to none - looks like only 1 room left.

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Where are you all seeing how many rooms in each category are left?

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Item 21 on that list seems to ban all hair styling devices. Guess they want people to spend $ at the hair salon.

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We did it a few years ago - walked up to the rental place (on the main drag) and had a jeep for the day.

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The search function isn't turning up anything. We've got 4 husbands looking for a fishing excursion.

Does anyone have a recommendation?

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Thanks for posting. It's exciting to get the upgrade. Happy you were successful!

Congrats!!! We're still waiting on news on our bid for the Nov 25 trip on the Escape.

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