Jetsterkitty

1 hour ago, TheDougOut said:

 

The “everything” threads have always included analysis, good and bad, of design choices and overall brand direction. 

 

If you don’t like the “everything” concept of these threads, don’t read them.  There are plenty of other threads to read. 

Wow, well that was pretty rude of you!!!!  So it's OK for people to complain on this thread... but not for me to say that if people don't like it they have the option to go elsewhere????  I was following this thread because I am booked on the Encore next year and am interested in the progress... but it suddenly turned into page after page of NCL-bashing and you have the gall to tell me to go elsewhere???  Well thank you, I certainly will.     

On ‎6‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 11:17 AM, newmexicoNita said:

Here we go again: so many all already complaining about this and that on the ship and it is months before she even sails. Would it be better to just play it by ear and wait until after sailing to decide what is better and what is not. Only time will tell how much of the new will work for most cruisers. 

Exactly!  If you don't like the lay out... don't book this ship.  It really IS that simple.  If you don't like the NCL brand... don't book NCL!  Life is short, spend your money on what makes YOU happy!  There are plenty of cruise lines to go around.  ;) 

On ‎5‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 8:51 PM, js said:

 

Thank you. This is fantastic news! I sure hope that Adrian, Chocolate Cowboy and Bong are on Encore July 2020. Last I saw Bong he was the bartender in Haven on Escape and before that he was in Mojito Bar. I grow mint in my yard for the sole purpose of mojitos and he always made mine perfectly and showed me different ways to make. Hope he is in the Haven. 

 

Love seeing the progress of the ship! Thank you for posting the pictures!

We were on the Escape in April and Adrian confirmed he'd be opening the Encore.  We are booked for May of 2020 in the Haven and he counted on his fingers and said he'd still be there in May.  :)

4 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

That's reassuring. Still seemed weird.

I totally agree... it threw me for a loop the first time too.  ;)  My sister saw the confirmation and asked if we were getting a spa treatment on day 1 and that 4:01pm seemed "very specific".  She was super excited when I told her it starts at 4:01 and goes all week.  Oh, not sure if anyone mentioned this, but the spa generally closes early on the last night.  8pm on the big ships hs been the norm in my experience.  Have a GREAT cruise!!

18 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

So I purchased the spa passes online and the process was weird and has me a little concerned. First of all, it made me select a time. The only option was 3:01 PM on embarkation day. Also, it had radio buttons instead of check marks so I could only select one person at a time and had to add us each to the shopping cart individually. Once the transaction went through, I received an updated reservation confirmation. On my eDocs, the "Thermal Suite Pass" shows as a reservation just like my specialty dining reservations with a date of 4/7 and a time of 3:01 PM - 3:02 PM instead of showing up as an "Onboard Amenity" like my drink package, wifi, etc.

 

Is this normal? Seems strange to me.

It's normal... access to the spa starts right after sail-away.  The passes are good from that point forward.  :)

If I do nothing else on a cruise... I buy the Spa passes!  I think my Hubby would literally die if he couldn't go to the steam room every morning.  lol  Seriously though the Escape spa is great.  It's large and QUIET (no kids allowed) and relaxing.  Literally one of my favorite places to go.  :)  I know some people are saying to go tour it before you buy, but bear in mind the price is higher if you purchase on board.  I've seen some posts from people saying they purchased, toured and didn't like it and were given a full refund, but I can't confirm that to be true.

I think you and your sister will LOVE it.  My sister and I are leaving on 4/14 and I splurged and got us both passes, she is going to be so happy to have a quiet place to retreat to... especially considering we are traveling on an April vacation week... YIKES!  Well, we are in Haven anyhow, so hopefully it won't be too hectic. 

Good luck and have a GREAT trip!

On ‎2‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 10:14 AM, Nola26 said:

Ah, McDonald's has been built on fries. Gordon Biersch is known for their garlic fries and in my home town Chicky & Pete's crab fries are legendary. Don't sleep on fries as a way to get customers in the door. 

 

I have been trying to decide between Cagney's and Le Bistro, this thread supports my plan for Le Bistro, thanks.

Le Bistro HANDS DOWN!  ;)  By far my favorite specialty restaurant.  :)

3 hours ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

Jeans are allowed in Le Bistro as long as they aren't "...overly faded, with holes or tears and worn below the hips.."

 

I wasn't citing the "rules"... I was citing my own personal experience and our voicemail said "no jeans".  Get over yourself!!!!

As mentioned previously Le Bistro DOES have a dress code and they even called our room the afternoon of our reservation to "remind" us of it.  No shorts, jeans, tanks, etc.  We were well aware of the dress code... but for anyone that wasn't the reminder would have surely been appreciated as I saw a quite a few people show up dressed inappropriately (hoochie shorts and a crop top on one young lady).  We had a lovely table by a window on the Escape last fall and we could see them turning away a TON of people... many very underdressed... but Le Bistro is also a busy specialty restaurant, so they could have also been people without reservations stopping to see if they could get in.  Hubby wore khakis and golf shirts and I wore capris and a blouse or a sundress with a light sweater  to every specialty restaurant we visited and we were dressed fine.  :) 

I second the profiteroles at Le Bistro, also the crème brulee... and the Napoleon.  ;)  Steer clear of the raspberry crème brulee at Cagney's though - major let down.  If you do Teppanyaki, I thought the fruit was way better than the cake too.  In the MDR, you can never go wrong with the chocolate lava cake!

As princess_mom mentioned above there are all sorts of tables in the venue.  We told them our party size when we arrived (there were 9 of us, 3 of which were kids) and we were seated at a long table by ourselves.  The kids were right next to the stage at the close end of the table and we sat by height accordingly down the length of the table. 

We went in 2017 so I can't necessarily confirm this pricing is still in effect, but when we went there was a small upcharge to use your SDP of $10 for regular seating and $15 for premium seating. 

Based upon our experience there weren't any "terrible" tables in the venue.  It's a pretty intimate space, but we also sailed off season so the show definitely wasn't full, so you might want to get some feedback from others who may have sailed during peak season.  We all enjoyed it.  The food was decent and the show was good.  It's not a super long show, but the kids really enjoyed it and the performers interact during dinner and were great about taking pictures with the kids, etc.

It was $199pp in October pre-purchase if you called in to NCL.  We went every day and varying times and it was never super busy.  The usual thermal lounger hogs, but other than that we had no issues utilizing everything.  I felt it was well worth it.  :)

Ship - Escape

Deck - 17

Stateroom # - 17122

Stateroom Category – H5

Starboard or Port Side - Port

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Very quiet, we didn't hear any noise at all

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No

Balcony View - Port side view, no obstruction

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal size

Was wind a problem? - No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A

Any specific problems with this cabin? - No issues with cabin during our cruise

Any other comments? -

Has anyone been in Haven Spa Suites 15860 through 15864?  Curious what the noise from above is like.  I've read that the Suites on the other side are noisy starting at 6am from the gym above, but the starboard side Spa Suites are located under the beauty salon and barber shop and I can't find any information on whether there is constant noise from above, etc.  Thanks!

We sail out of NYC regularly and there's really no rhyme or reason as to what kind of disembarkation we might get on any given cruise.  I've had the impossible waits and winding all over the ship to literally exiting our stateroom and being in our car 20 minutes later with our longest waits being Customs and waiting for the elevator to the roof parking lot.  I've seen lines for miles in Customs as well as almost walking right up and only waiting for a couple families in front of us.  It doesn't matter the size of ship either... it just seems like some day's you're the windshield... some day's you're the bug.  ;) 

As for the luggage tags... well that's a JOKE!  There are always sooooooooo many people with later tags in line in front of us and they are just allowed to leave with those of us that specifically picked the early self-disembarkation tags.  Personally, if you are in line with a later luggage tag I wish they'd pull those people aside and not let them off the ship until their time.  That would definitely help with some of the problem, but alas the "entitled" ignore the announcements and just do what they want, that's apparently the way the world works now. *insert sarcasm*

For people that really get super worked up about disembarkation I would suggest splurging and staying in the Haven as you get priority disembarkation, which is awesome and fast.  *Disclaimer: we sail a mix of Haven and regular cruises (Haven with Hubby and regular with my Sister on 'girl weeks') and have seen long and short lines in both cases, the only difference is you get to bypass the lines (if there are any) when you sail Haven which makes disembarkation even faster.     

4 minutes ago, noobcruiser said:

My take is that NCL treats the Haven restaurant like other Specialty Restaurants -> No rotating menus.  Only the MDR's and Buffet's menus rotate.

Exactly!!  And the quality of the food in the Haven & Specialty restaurants is superior to that of the MDRs (at least in my experience).  That being said, if you are craving some comfort food - like meatloaf or O'Sheehans fish and chips - you can always have them bring it up to you in the Haven restaurant upon request.  Our last cruise we ate 4 dinners in the Haven and 3 in specialty restaurants and even as a non-seafood eating person I never had the same thing twice. 

What you say is true, we always balance that exact thinking. We enjoy our mimosa, beers in the sun, and wine with and after dinner. Wife and I drink almost nothing at home unless entertaining because life is busy. So when we cruise we like to throw caution into the wind and enjoy. I would say the times we've not used the UBP when not available on other lines we run a 750 to 900 tab for a week. With the ridiculously priced bottles of wine on the ship (seriously, compare them to the grocery store price) it just takes away the hassle.

So true!!! On a cruise several years back my sister and I opted to NOT get the drink package and guess what... at the of the cruise we owed literally more than the cruise itself cost! ;p Our cruise fare was under $1,000pp and our drink bill was over $1,200pp! :evilsmile: We have since always opted for the drink package.

Yeah, it is weird, I just wonder if the people downstairs just aren't on the same page? One time they told us the same thing, we ignored them and just went down the middle like we have in the past. When we got the attendant at the customs counters we told her that the other agent wanted us to go in the general line and she just looked at us and rolled her eyes and said something like it's not her job to correct other workers. She did assure us we used the right line for Haven.

Thanks for the tip!! I thought it was odd too, but with the short line it was ok. But not sure I would have been ‘ok’ if it was a long line. ;p Lol

Enivago - on disembarkation the Haven-sign person at the end of the hallway to the right that goes around the luggage area sent us straight into the Customs line. Of course we got off on the later side so there wasn’t much of a line and we only waited a max of 5 minutes.

On past cruises when the Customs lines were looooong we’ve been routed straight to the front of the Customs lines.

"I've never been on a cruise were the cruise director had to come on the intercom after the Captains announcements and repeat / explain what he just said "

 

 

I was on the cruise too. You are the first person to mention this but I thought the same thing also.

She was so LOUD I think it was almost easier understanding the Captain! ha ha ha ;p

Escape Bars/Lounges

We managed to make appearances at a few of the bars/lounges on the ship during our week and here are few thoughts from our experiences.

Haven Bar and Lounge: Obviously this was the bar we spent the most time at as it was right outside our stateroom. The bartenders where phenomenal – they knew your name and your drink(s)on day 1. They were friendly and engaging and learned your ‘habits’ quickly. One evening we were in the Haven Restaurant having dinner and our waiter showed up with a double Bailey’s on the rocks right before dessert. I hadn’t ordered it and I smiled with what must have been a questioning look on my face and he told me Shah (my absolute favorite Haven bartender) sent it up from downstairs figuring I’d like one after dinner. It was my usual nightcap and while it was a small gesture I really appreciated that he anticipated that I might enjoy one after my dinner and took the initiative to send one up.

Sugarcane Mojito Bar: We stopped here for a couple afternoon drinks one afternoon and it was very good. Several people had advised me to order a raspberry guava mojito and it didn’t disappoint. The bartender was funny and engaging and we got to watch a real-life soap opera unfold across the way between a woman and her 2 male suitors. Lol The highlight of this particular bar was when we left DH apparently dropped $40 out of his pocket. The bartender called up to our room and left a message that we’d dropped the money and he was holding it for us! I was so impressed by this little act of honesty.

O’Sheehan’s Bar: This was DH’s nightly haunt when he was heading out to the casino late at night. He really enjoyed the bartenders there. I never made it to O’Sheehan’s Bar, I am an early bird and was in bed before midnight every night.

Tobacco Road: This is a really nice little bar tucked into Deck8. We went there a couple evenings as DH needed to get his cigars punched and they had the tools for the job. While we were there we’d have a drink as well. It’s small but has a nice atmosphere and the bartenders are very funny. They do tastings during the week and one day we were down there during a tasting and it was fun to watch the presentations, etc.

District Brewhouse: I’m adding this one last as it was my least favorite of the bars we stopped at. It has a great selection of beers and cider on tap, but the atmosphere just isn’t what I thought it would be – plus it was very hot in there. We enjoyed our beverages and sat on one of the couches that juts out over the side of the boat, but it was more of a one-and-done for us. Just wasn’t our vibe for whatever reason (and we are bar people).

GOOD: Haven disembarkation!!! For anyone that has sailed on the megaships in/out of NY in GenPop, you know that if you opt for self-disembarkation it can be a nightmare. It’s difficult to get an elevator to the 7thfloor and when you finally do they snake you around through O’Sheehan’s and through the casino and it takes forever to get off the ship. Then you stand in the lines to get into the customs building and down the escalators and into the customs lines. When you stay in the Haven they take you down the staff elevators and you have a dedicated line to “check out” and a dedicated line within the customs building which bypasses the long GenPop lines. You still have to wait in the customs line, but other than that they’ve streamlined the process quite well. We had a nice sit-down breakfast, headed to the Haven lounge where the Concierge got us right onto a staff elevator and 15minutes later we were walking to our car. 😊

While we didn’t make it to Bermuda and we literally spent almost the entire week on the boat, with the exception of 4-hours at GSC, all in all we had a fantastic vacation! It was a bummer missing Bermuda – I’ve been before but it was going to be DH’s first time and he was looking forward to golfing at the Mid Ocean Club – but being on vacation together was a much needed break from our high-stress jobs. We ate, drank and had a wonderful time. We met some great people and made the absolute most of our vacation. 😊 We are firm believers that life is what you make of it and heading into a week’s vacation with no worries in the world (other than whether or not DH will get lost finding his way back to the room!) is a wonderful feeling.

Moving on to where we ate. We ventured to a few “specialty restaurants” for this cruise and I’ll cover each below along with the Haven Restaurant.

DISCLAIMER: DH is a wine-snob as mentioned earlier, so we did indulge in a few “up charged” wines during our cruise. TIP: You get a 20% discount on all bottles of wine if you are staying in the Haven. Bear in mind they also add a tip/service charge to all wine purchases, so it’s basically a wash – if you are staying in the Haven the price of the bottle of wine on the menu turns out to be pretty much what you pay after tip/service charge. And yes, we did tip on top of that as again, we are big tippers.

Haven Restaurant: We ate most of our lunches and several dinners in the Haven Restaurant. The food is excellent as is the service. The menu doesn't change, but they have plenty of offerings to choose from. Below are the Haven lunch and dinner menus.

Cagney’s Steakhouse: Atmosphere is nice, we had a great table overlooking the Manhattan Room’s dancefloor. Our waiter was very good and we opted to utilize the services of the sommelier and ordered a bottle a Cabernet Sauvignon with dinner – Emblem was the winery and I think it was a 2013. Wine was decent though probably would have been really good if it had been breathing a while, but all in all not bad. The sommelier used a nifty little gadget that aerates the wine a bit before pouring which did help a bit, but DH really likes to let a bottle of wine breath a while.

Dinner was decent. I had the filet cooked medium with a side of asparagus and au gratin potatoes – the filet was done perfectly but it looked funny sitting all by itself on the HUGE plate as the sides come in separate dishes. LOL DH had a porterhouse cooked medium-rare with the same sides. His steak was a bit underdone on one side and VERY underdone on the other. The waiter wanted to take it back but DH declined. The floor Manager then came over and insistent it go back to be cooked more. Nice gesture but he just wasn’t interested in eating it at that point. We both had dessert which was good. We left the waiter an extra tip (he did a great job, no need to penalize him for a cooking error) and we took the rest of the wine with us and headed back up to the Haven. TIP: If you order a bottle of wine they will let you can take it to your stateroom for later. DH enjoyed multiple glasses of ‘leftover’ wine under the stars on Deck 19. 😉

LeBistro: DH and I both really enjoyed this one. TIP: There IS a dress code for LeBistro. They call your stateroom ahead of time to ‘remind’ you, which was not necessary for us but certainly appreciated. DH had on slacks, a polo shirt and boat shoes and I had on a blouse, capris and heeled sandals.

We had a nice table inside by the window – perfect for watching the busy goings on of the atrium on Deck 6. We tried a different bottle of wine this time which turned out to be the DH’s ‘go to’ wine for the rest of the week. It was a Louis Raynald Chateauneuf-Du-Pape, 2014. Another upcharge wine but very good right out of the bottle, and even better after it breathes a little.

Being a French restaurant we (wrongly) assumed the portions would be small. The French onion soup was delicious and came literally in a small pitcher! I had that plus the veal and crème brulee. DH had the mushroom soup (also huge) and an order of escargot for appetizers, the shrimp dish and the chocolate napoleon and a side of vanilla ice cream. Everything was yummy, definitely a thumbs up for Le Bistro!

Tappenyaki: While the food may not be quite as ‘fancy’ as some of the other specialty restaurants, it is delicious and the portions are enormous! You are seated with other people at this one. For us, it was a group of 4couples. We made fast friends with one of the couples (even if they are Eagles fans!), another young gentleman who was there with his girlfriend, but unfortunately she wasn’t feeling 100%. She tried to put on a brave face, but we could all tell she wasn’t feeling great. The 4th couple smiled but kept to themselves, which is totally cool too.

You pick your dinner entre and it comes with an appetizer, soup, salad, rice and dessert. The entre is the only item you have much of a choice on, the rest of the items are pretty standard for this restaurant. This was DH’s first time eating edamame… I had to give him a lesson. 😉 The “show” is the draw for this one and our chef was funny and charming and we laughed and had a great time. There is SO much food!!! They serve in sort of shifts as the chef cooks each protein individually so my chicken came before my filet and DH’s shrimp came before his filet as well. I ended up taking a large portion of food back to our room, but it was way too yummy not to eat.

Dessert was your choice of green tea cake or fruits with dipping sauces – we opted to split the fruit dessert as we were stuffed.

Along with your chef there were 2 waiters serving our table. Our waiter was FANTASTIC! He brought our next drink before we Needed to ask for another one. He was extremely attentive and spoke to us by name. He and the chef each got an extra trip from us.

Margaritaville: On Saturday(our last full day) we decided to hit Margaritaville for lunch. The weather was perfect - closer to home so breezy and cool out vs. the tropical feel earlier in the week. Margaritaville is an open air type of venue at the aft Deck 17. There is an upcharge for this restaurant (I believe it was $14.95) but it’s more than reasonable (in my opinion) for the amount of food they give you.

BAD: The drinks took way too long to make. But our waiter checked in twice ensuring us they would be there soon, so I can’t lay any blame on our waiter.

GOOD: With the first drinks being so slow he literally had our second drink on the table right before our first ones were done. He definitely made an effort to correct the earlier bar issue and I can appreciate his efforts.

The food was decent. Typical bar-fare, but after a week of fancy lunches in the Haven restaurant we wanted some comfort food. We shared an order of pretzel sticks (yum!), each had a burger and fries, and shared a piece of cheesecake for dessert. The atmosphere was great, there was live music in Margaritaville throughout our lunch along with the sound of the ocean and the hustle and bustle of Deck 17.

TO BE CONTINUED... :D

GOOD: Our Butler for the week was Henry. He came by on Sunday night, but I was way too sick to chat him up. He did catch up with us on Monday and we requested that he empty the mini-bar items out of the fridge and to put our bottled water in it (DH is a water-snob so I bought a bottled water package). Henry obliged and he also found some discreet storage for the remaining bottles of water. We are very low maintenance, so we didn’t really have any special requests and the 'bat phone' never left it's docking station, but we saw Henry often and he always stopped us to see if we wanted or needed anything. He also brought daily snacks… and lots of them. On the one day he brought us some “healthy” snacks I just giggled and told him “more sweets”… the rest of the week included plenty of sweets and not so many veggies. 😉 TIP: Pack some ziplock bags! Several times Henry dropped off goodies but we were in between meals and didn’t want to ruin our supper (or waste a perfectly good plate of goodies) so we would bag up the days snacks and toss them in the fridge for later. These bags of snacks were often times gobbled down at 2am if DH had ventured out for a little evening gambling.

GOOD: The Concierge and his staff were excellent as well! They were able to modify a couple of our reservations, get us into specialty restaurants at the times we wanted, let me into our stateroom one day when I accidently left without my keycard, punched our keycards for us (this is usually done at Guest Services on Deck 6), they even let me borrow their scissors one evening when I needed to cut a tag off of a shirt. They were always checking to make sure we were all set and if we needed anything – just very attentive. Patrick led the crew, but the other 2assistants, a lovely young woman and man, were excellent as well!

GOOD: Our Room Steward Harlina was fantastic. She too knew our names day one and made a point of speaking to us daily and of asking how I was feeling (poor girl saw me on night one lol). She and DH had a running joke about the daily animal. She of course left us the usual cast of towel critters each evening at turndown and on Friday night she left us the monkey, which has often been saved until the last night of the cruise. On Saturday night I was a bit surprised when we got back to the room and there was no animal. I figured she just got busy, but about 15 minutes later I went into the bathroom and there was a tiny little hamster-type critter in one of our water glasses! LOL She definitely snuck that one by us. Needless to say she got a good tip from us. 😉

GOOD: I frequented the Haven courtyard and pool area most mornings. They offer pool-side light breakfast items(fresh fruit and pastries, coffee, etc.). After breakfast they have ice water and iced tea and some light snacks and they have staff checking in often to see if you need a drink or something to eat, etc. I saw a lot of people having lunches in the courtyard (burgers, dogs, sandwiches, etc.) though we opted to hit the Haven Restaurant daily for lunch. The Courtyard was never crowded and even though the pool is on the smaller side there were never more than a few people in it at any given time. We did not have any issues with loud or rude children, the kids that were there were all well behaved and polite. The upper deck of the Haven courtyard on 19 was very quiet! If you wanted complete seclusion, that was the place to be. The outside sundeck on 19 was busier each day during the peak sunshine hours, but definitely not overcrowded.

GOOD: Mandara Spa. We opted for spa passes for this cruise as DH loves to hit the steam room then the ice room each morning. He went to the spa every single morning. I went most mornings and enjoyed the salt room the most. I also went into the giant hot tub/pool most days as well. The spa is clean and they provide everything you could need (towels, robes, water, tea, showers, hairdryers, etc.). We also decided to get a couples massage(deep tissue) which was pretty awesome and relaxing. We tend to be big tippers so we tipped our massage therapists over and above the standard tip/service charge.

BAD: I know it’s a business, but the upsell of spa products is kind of nuts, in my opinion. But thankfully DH is firm and said no to all of the ‘extra’ products they try to sell you after a treatment. In good news now that I know the drill I’ll be prepared for the next time we indulge in a spa treatment. 😉

GOOD: The Escape casino was not smoky on this cruise (in my opinion). I’m a non-smoker –always have been and always will be - and I barely noticed the smoke when I was in the casino or passing through. DH used to be a cigarette smoker but quit a few years back and he didn’t find IT to be overly smoky either.

BAD: I didn’t’ care for the shops on the Escape. I certainly don’t go on a cruise to shop the onboard stores, but I had promised our dog-sitter a sweatshirt and was planning on getting her one from the Royal Blue golf course in Nassau, but with that stop cancelled I headed to the onboard shops to see what they had. For such a large ship the store is tiny. I’ve been on smaller NCL ships and the onboard shops had a much larger selection of items. I was unable to find anything I liked for her, so I ordered her a nice sweatshirt when I got home instead.

PORTS – In the end we had port stops at Cape Canaveral and GSC for this trip. DH and I opted to stay on the ship in Cape Canaveral. We’ve both been to Florida plenty of times so we hung out on the ship instead and had a leisurely lunch and some quiet time in the spa. We did get off in GSC and spent about 4 hours enjoying the sun, the ocean, and a couple frozen drinks on the beach. We planned on having lunch on the island but the line was getting pretty long so we instead strolled through the straw market then hopped a tender back to the ship and grabbed a late lunch in the Haven restaurant. We had the place almost to ourselves and our waiter pointed out a group of 3 dolphins playing beside the ship. We spent the rest of our lunch enjoying the ‘show’ they were putting on. 😊

TO BE CONTINUED... :D

We were in Escape H6 stateroom 17122. This is a Courtyard Penthouse room. It’s similar to a standard balcony room but with considerably more square footage (think plenty of room to walk around each other and the bed, a bigger bathroom, more closet space, etc.). The bed and bedding was one of the first things I noticed. Haven beds are true King beds, not 2 beds pushed together to give the illusion of a bigger bed. The bedding itself is far superior to anything you’d find in GenPop. They have huge feather pillows and down comforters. Our bed had a total of 8 pillows on it, but if you are really a pillow-hog your Butler will bring you even more. The bathroom is very roomy and has a nice double sink. NCL adds some really nice little touches to the Haven suites such as individual bathroom poofs, shower caps, Bulgari bath products, Haven slippers and bathrobes to mention a few. There are 2 good-sized closets and plenty of drawer space to store your stuff. The room also has a Nespresso coffee machine and coffee pods/creamers/ etc. There is a cabinet above the coffee area that also has 4 coffee cups, and several different types of glasses (water, wine, etc.). There is a loveseat in the room that converts to a bed for a 3rd guest and the table is all set up when you arrive for room service, complete with cloth napkins and silverware. The balcony was decent size and I loved having pillows on the balcony chairs – I spent a lot of quiet timeout there.

BAD: I didn’t like how high the tub wall is. I’m short and it felt like a big step up and over the side of the tub to get into the shower – thankfully there was a handrail to grab on to. This is purely a personal gripe as a shortie. The DH thought I was nuts when I mentioned it… but he’s also almost 6’ tall. Lol I also have never been a fan of cruise ship showers as the temperature of the water is always varying throughout the shower, but that is the case for everyone as this has been an annoyance of mine since my very first inside stateroom cruise days.

The common areas in the Haven are fantastic. There is a lovely lounge and bar that includes bar stools/chairs for those of you that like to belly-up as well as several couches and chairs with tables. The Concierge Desk is located in the lounge area and is manned by 1-2 Concierge staff a minimum of 8-8 daily, though someone was often there well after 8pm if anyone needed any assistance. The Haven Lounge is also where you meet if you are being escorted to a show, etc. by the Concierge. The bar has almost anything and everything you can imagine (we tried soooooo many crazy concoctions!). The Haven bartenders are FANTASTIC - Shah, Donnamae and Branko for this cruise. There are also a handful of waitstaff that work the courtyard pool and upper Haven deck areas. The rapport of the entire group is amazing and if you spend any amount of time hanging out at the bar you will quickly see them in action teasing each other and having a great time. This group works rotates and works the entire week, so get used to them if you are traveling in the Haven. The same goes for the Haven Restaurant on the18th floor. That crew also works all 3 meals daily. The al fresco team also works in Le Bistro in the evenings, so you will see a few familiar Faces if you visit LeBistro. They too, along with the Maitre d’s, know you by name almost immediately and they really make you feel welcome. TIP: If you are the type that likes to joke and interact, they will oblige. We had some lovely conversations with both our Maitre d’s and our waiters/waitresses during our week.

BAD: I knew we’d be sailing through a large storm system leaving NY, but what I didn’t realize was that once we hit open water it would get VERY rocky. This reality set in right at dinner time on Sunday and I knew I was in trouble. We were in the Haven Restaurant thank goodness, as our room was only a quick trot down the staircase. I couldn’t look down at the menu but I ordered a Caesar salad to see if I could eat something. DH ordered the butternut squash soup, short ribs on polenta, and prime rib. I tried to put on a brave face for the DH, but alas I gave in to the sea sickness and headed back to the room. DH proceeded to eat my salad plus all of his dinner and had dessert as well. Have I mentioned DH doesn’t get seasick? I, however, was down for the count for the remainder of Sunday evening!

DH had a great Sunday evening, he met all sorts of people at the Haven bar and had a grand old time. Oh how I hate that man sometimes! But in good news I awoke Monday a new woman as the ship found calmer seas overnight!

GOOD: Haven Restaurant breakfast. We ate breakfast there every morning, even on disembarkation day – yes, it was that good! They have a lovely buffet set up each morning in addition to your menu order that includes fresh fruit, yogurts and cottage cheese, oatmeal, meats and fish, pastries, etc. I got us a plate of fruit and a pastry or two most mornings. TIP: If you like crispy bacon you need to order it that way, otherwise it’s a little on the chewy side.

BAD: Humidor Cigar Lounge – you literally open the door and the smoke comes rolling out. It’s like something from a movie parody. DH likes the occasional cigar – he went in but even he left quickly as you can check out the cigars from the outside of the room in their glass cases.

GOOD: If you want to purchase cigars you can see the Tobacco Road bar staff or assistance. They will also snip/punch your cigars for you too. DH bought a few cigars and visited Tobacco Road and few evenings to have a drink and get his cigar punched before heading above deck to smoke. TIP: Haven Deck 19 all the way forward has a small designated smoking area. There are loungers, ashtrays, and a “smokers outpost” along with a glass wall that I’m guessing keeps the smoke from blowing directly back to the non-smokers. I never noticed anyone smoking up there during the day and we only went up after 10pm in the evenings and had the deck all to ourselves, which was pretty neat. I even went into the deckside hot tub a couple evenings. TIP: the hot tub on Deck 19 closes at11pm.

TO BE CONTINNUED....

Back from our September 9th cruise on the Escape. This review will include the good, the bad and the Haven. *I’m also posting a fewTIPS just for fun and of course some pictures.

DISCLAIMER: Let me say first and foremost that for us being on a cruise, no matter where they sail you to, is WAY better than being at work! Also, we knew full well that we were booking during peak hurricane season and that we essentially signed our lives away as NCL is very clear up front that they can change itineraries at any time and for any reason. Hurricane season just happens to be the best time of year for DH to travel, but we are the kind of people that can have fun in most situations – life is what you make of it!

Our itinerary was originally scheduled round-trip NYC to Bermuda. We were notified by both call and email on 9/6 that due to Hurricane Florence we were being rescheduled to the FL/GSC/Nassau itinerary. At around the same time (I’ve heard reports of both Thursday and Friday notifications) the Dawn, sailing out ofBoston, was rescheduled to the New England/Canada itinerary. With the path of the storm still up in the air we couldn't help but wonder if we too might get rerouted at the last minute to NE/Canada. We decided to pack a few cool weather items just in case they decided to send out a last minute change notice while we were on the 3+ hour ride from MAto NYC. By the time muster was complete we knew FL/GSC/Nassau was a done deal - warm weather here we come.

On to the elephant in the room… the Wednesday afternoon itinerary change cancelling the Nassau stop. I’ve heard several ‘theories’ as to why the Captain did what he did and all I can say is I’m not the Captain and I can’t speak to whether the last minute change to skip Nassau was planned/unplanned, due to the weather or no available dock,etc. At this point it really doesn’t matter why we got cancelled. As already mentioned: NCL can change any itinerary, at any time, for any reason – it’s as simple as that! Running down to Deck 6 to Guest Services to complain NEVER crossed my mind, especially considering we chose the peak of hurricane season to sail.

We ended up spending Thursday at sea instead of in Nassau taking the “scenic” route home further out in the Atlantic. The Captain found us sun and calm seas as Florence sat spinning over the Carolina coast and would continue to do so for 2 days. I was grateful for the calm seas as riding out another hurricane was not on my list of fun things to do on a cruise. I did that during Hurricane Nicole 2 years ago and it was not fun, especially for someone that gets seasick.

BAD: My problem is that the cancellation came literally as we were getting ready to pull out of GSC. So my BTC cell coverage, which I was planning to have for both Wednesday and Thursday while in the Bahamas, suddenly was going to be dropped in a matter of minutes as we exited the Bahamas coverage area. DH and I had to scramble to make several calls immediately following the Captain’s announcement. That is literally my only gripe at this point. Missing a port didn’t ruin mylife… heck, if that were the case we would have been complaining before even leaving (as sooooooo many were!) when we learned we weren’t going to Bermuda.

GOOD: DH and I were enjoying a drinkin the Haven lounge when the Captain made the announcement so we were making our calls and sending our texts in the lounge area. Our Concierge Patrick made a point of coming over and asking if everything was alright and DH told him that he was trying to call/text a few people before we were out of cell range and Patrick very nicely let us know that if we couldn’t get through to anyone, to come see him at the desk and he’d place any calls we needed through the ship’s phone so we wouldn’t incur any roaming charges on our cell phones. I thought that was very decent of him.

OK, so let’s do this review!

GOOD: The service on the Escape is FAR superior to that of the Breakaway. I was a bit nervous it might be a mega-ship problem as we had several poor experiences on the Breakaway, butI’m happy to report that everything I read about the Escape held true for us. I’m not just talking about the Haven either – the service EVERYWHERE on the ship was so much better! We were out and about daily and hit several different bars, restaurants, the casino, shops, etc. and the staff was always friendly and the service was great. Some people said it was because we were Haven guests, but I disagree. They didn’t know we were Haven guests until we gave them our cards to swipe and they were always pleasant and prompt with their service prior to that. The service alone makes me want to sail the Escape again… and in good news I’m booked for aMay 19 cruise and it’s on the Escape – woohoo! With any luck that cruise will make it to Bermuda.

HAVEN: We stayed in the Haven on this cruise as DH is a foodie/wine-snob. *I’ve sailed several times non-Haven (I’ll call it GenPop) and can attest to the differences in accommodations and service. The Haven was the PERFECT place for him as they cater to your every whim and the DH can be a tad high maintenance. The Haven courtyard, pool and bar areas are literally always peaceful and quiet (think the exact opposite of the main pool area) and the Haven restaurant is fantastic offering inside and al fresco dining for 3 meals per day. You could literally board the ship and never leave the Haven areas and be happy as aclam.

GOOD: Haven embarkation! We arrived at the parking garage just before 12-noon. Being guests of the Haven we had priority embarkation. This meant our longest wait was literally getting through the terminal Security checkpoint. After that we were whisked away down to the far end of the terminal where we entered a small room and were immediately checked in, pictures taken, room cards issued. We even filled out our health forms right at the desk (vs on each other’s back like we’ve all done in GenPop lol). There were beverages, fruit and pastries available while we waited, though we opted to skip those as it was almost lunchtime. A couple minutes later we were escorted aboard with a few other Haven cruisers and taken to the Haven designated elevator straight up to Deck 17. *The entire process from parking our car in the main garage to Deck 17 took a MAX of2 0 minutes. There is no circus like when you are boarding GenPop, no cramped elevators, and no waiting for a number to be called to get on the ship.

Once in the Haven lounge our Concierge Patrick gave a quick introduction and advised us that our rooms would be ready a little after 1pm and that we were free to head up to the Haven Restaurant for lunch or we could go over to Margaritaville for no-charge (Haven embarkation day special). DH and I opted for the Haven Restaurant. They seated us in a nice table for 2 by the window overlooking the Intrepid. The lunch menu is very good and certainly filling – some of the portions are literally dinner sized. TIP: Try the cold soups! I turned my nose up at the idea of cold soup but the ones I tried were pretty awesome.

We attended the mandatory muster drill and took the obligatory sail away pictures of the Statue of Liberty and the Verrazano bridge before heading back to the Haven to unpack and officially start our vacation.

TO BE CONTINUED! :D