devinelaw

You can book the tastings on the ship. The priority disembarkation was provided to us by the GM and GM Secretary whom we got to know onboard.

You’re welcome! Cropped them in my iPhone 14 Pro Max I got in January. Used it for all my photos too! Happy Anniversary to you as well!!

Saturday, Debarkation Day, Day Eight: Port Arrival: We arrived in port just a little before 6am. We utilized our aft balcony view to watch the sunrise over the Atlantic and dolphins frolicking in the water following ships and boats on a brisk 60 degree morning in Port Canaveral. Looking at the upcoming week of weather back home it’s calling for sunny skies and temps in the 80s and 90s all week! Love living in South Florida!! Breakfast: Didn’t plan on eating, but was strolling past Taste & Savor and decided why not. So went in Taste and had breakfast with a port view. We also saw dolphins frolicking in the water and watched a carnival ship dock up out our window view in Taste. Debarkation Process/Leaving the Port: OMG this was this most AWESOME disembarkation we’ve ever experienced! Friday evening before 11pm we set our luggage outside the cabin to be collected with our Priority Disembarkation Tags. At a little before 8am we headed down to the Pour House on Deck 8 for priority disembarkation and met Rechaleen, the General Manager Secretary, who took us down to the priority disembarkation line to exit the ship. Once in line we were off the ship and at the luggage area within 10-15 minutes top. Immediately found our luggage. There was quite a long line for US Customs with those who were exiting with their own luggage they carried off the ship. An NCL representative told us Porters could take our luggage and they go through a different line. We flagged a Porter who loaded up our luggage and in 5 minutes we were through US Customs, bypassing the long line, and out by the parking garage. Parking at the port cost $145.52 for the week. Within literally 30 minutes we had arrived at the Pour House on Deck 8, exited the ship, gotten our luggage, loaded the SUV, paid for parking and had exited the Port on route to I-95 South. We made it home within 1.5 hours, unpacked, started laundry and now relaxing at home reminiscing about the great time we had on the Cruise with my parents who came down from up North and house sat our pets at our home. I hope everyone enjoyed reading through the week long review, the photos and was able to use the information to have a wonderful time on the NCL Escape! Until next time, smooth sailing and keep the good cruising vibes going……🛳️🏝️☀️

Friday Night, Day Seven……. Dinner: Tonight we’re at La Cucina on the Waterfront. Dinner was perfect as was the view as the sun was setting. After dinner we stopped by the shops and picked up some souvenirs then headed down to Starbucks for an evening coffee fix. Prep for Disembarkation: We had a small refundable onboard credit left on the account so headed down to Guest Services to take care of that and get our Starbucks. This was a very quick process and easily taken care of. We had began packing our luggage on Thursday and finished up last minute items upon return to the cabin tonight. We have priority disembarkation in the morning and then a 1.5 hour drive home. Final Cruise Thoughts: We had a wonderful time on the Escape and while there was a hiccup at the beginning the Cruise turned out to be one of the best we’ve ever had and the best NCL experience we’ve had thus far. This was our third NCL cruise and second time on the Escape and we’d sail her again. We’ve now been on both the Eastern and Western itinerary and learned tonight the Escape will also have a European itinerary so that may be in our future, we’ve never been to Europe. We also want to give a shout out to several NCL staff that made the Cruise a memorable experience. We had a rockstar cabin steward, Erwin was fantastic!! He kept our room stocked with bathroom towels and wash cloths, ice filled in the ice bucket and made sure we had the extra pillows requested on day one. More than that he was a friendly face greeting us by name and asking how our day was going every single time we saw him. Another standout was the exceptional service we received from the wine steward in Cagney’s Steakhouse, Mqinisi. He was very attentive and helped us make excellent wine selection choices that we enjoyed so much we continued having throughout the week. Finally, we had the opportunity and pleasure to meet the General Manager, Kivanc and the General Manager’s Secretary, Rechaleen, who went above and beyond making sure we were enjoying the cruise and being taken care of. We appreciated the daily snacks delivered to the room, the priority tendering and disembarkation and the attention to make sure if there was anything we needed that we knew we could ask for their assistance. Top 10 Favs of this Cruise & the Escape…… 1. The attention we experienced by not only the staff mentioned above, but the other unnamed individuals we came in contact with that were always friendly, courteous and made for a great experience. 2. The Aft Balcony Cabin, you can’t beat the view! 3. The Vibe Beach Club! You always feel like your on your own private ship up there and the service and atmosphere is great. 4. The Escape to Jost Van Dyke excursion, it was so much fun!! 5. Free at Sea Plus, it was definitely worth the upgrade, and nice being able to experience upgraded beverage choices. 6. Starbucks!!!! The drinks were always Perfect and HOT, some of the best baristas I’ve experienced. 7. The Thermal Suite at the Spa, at first we were a little unsure, but as the week went on it was a nice retreat after a day in the sun. Love the therapy pool, snow room and loungers with that view. 8. The specialty dining venues! The food and service was excellent at all four we visited, Cagney’s Steakhouse, Le Bistro, Moderno & La Cucina 9. The Waterfront, it was so relaxing dining with the view, sitting and relaxing in this area from time to time & using the deck for a pre-dawn power walk with almost no one present but me, the view and my AirPods playing my christian music track. 10. The Comedy and Magic shows, really fun and enjoy them. For those who have been following and booked on the Escape or NCL hope these posts have helped, been fun to read and have FUN on your Cruise! For those looking and thinking of cruising NCL, all I can say is you won’t regret it, we’ve been on NCL the last three cruises we’ve taken out of the twelve we’ve been on and as we start thinking about what to book next, it’ll definitely be another NCL cruise! I’ll post another update on the disembarkation process and experience tomorrow. If you have any questions I’ll try my best to answer. It’s been fun doing this Live Review!

Day Seven Dailies attached…… Midday Update….. The tender back to the ship was just as easy. We headed back at roughly 11:30am. It took all of 5 minutes to get into the tender and 10 minutes to get back on the boat after we left GSC. Lunch: Had a quick bite to eat in the Garden Café and headed to the VBC. Vibe Beach Club: We were two of approximately 8 people in the VBC this afternoon. Spent time getting some additional sun, trying several cocktails and sitting in the hot tub. Thermal Suite: After a few hours in the sun at the VBC we continued what has become our normal routine and hit the Thermal Suite in the Spa. Therapy pool, snow room and loungers!

Friday, Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas, Day Seven: Morning walk: Up at 5:15am for a power walk around the Waterfront on Deck 8. Then time for our Starbucks and watching the sunrise from our aft balcony. Breakfast: up to Garden Café for my everything omelette and a few other items and then back to cabin to get ready for GSC and tendering. Tender: They called tender 1 and 2 at about 8:30am, shortly thereafter 3 and 4. We headed to Deck 6 for priority tendering and was in the tender in 5 minutes. It took off from the ship a few minutes later and in no time we were on GSC. Being one of the first groups in the island it was easy getting a great location on the beach. Nice proximity to the water and some palms for partial shade. Plans are to relax on the beach, tour the island, check out the straw market, grab a bite to eat and then head back to the ship.

More pics…..

Thursday, Sea Day, Day Six, part three: Dinner: We had dinner in The Manhattan Room, one of the MDR’s and the largest. We did not have reservations as we wanted to try and experience the freestyle dining that NCL advertises. As we want to do other activities this evening we decided to go try dinner at 5pm when they opened and see what happens. At 5pm TMR opened and when we got up to the check in desk we were immediately seated with a very nice ocean view table. We were at TMR for approximately 1 hour 45 minutes. The food was good, the view fantastic. The service and overall atmosphere we noticed was a little off and hectic. We dined at TMR on our last Escape cruise February 2020. We recall sitting near the dance floor, music playing, a relaxed atmosphere. This time, while it was relaxing where we were seated ocean view, around us into the room felt hectic as it was crowded and staff seemed somewhat hurried. We ordered the bottled water, but once we ran out it took the wait staff awhile to come over so we could request more and then they brought water in a pitcher rather than the bottled requested. At this point with the main course having been delivered we didn’t say anything as we figured we’d be done with dinner before the bottle arrived. My wife also noticed that other tables she could see were getting shredded Parmesan cheese on their ravioli, we were not offered any by our waiter, nor was coffee offered at dessert time. The wine steward also at first was confused that bottles of wine at dinner was included in the premium package and once wine was delivered he didn’t come back by until dessert time to ask if we wanted anything more. Savor another MDR didn’t feel this hectic Saturday night, likely due to size of crowd, Taste or Savor likely a better MDR atmosphere and experience because of that. That being said, the food was great and the view fantastic! Fun Activities: After dinner we played mini-golf up on the sports deck with an ocean view, lost $20 in the casino (always our limit and tradition on all our cruises, except the one where our first .25 cents won $750), did some shopping in the shops, competed against each other in Mario Kart, Space Invaders and Skee-ball (my sweetheart won all 3). Skee-ball gives you tickets to exchange in the arcade, so we found two boys playing games and gave them the tickets we won. Back in the room chocolate covered pineapple slices had been delivered! Tomorrow tendering to GSC and checking out the island before heading back for VBC and Thermal Suite at the Spa. Next dinner up…..La Cucina on the Waterfront!

Midday update!! This afternoon at VBC has been so relaxing!! Grabbed a quick lunch at the Garden Cafe. After time in the sun went down to the Thermal Suite to relax in the therapy pool, steam room, snow room and loungers. I must say we were unsure of the value of the Thermal Spa, first time we did this, but our routine of time in the sun then relaxing in the spa is really growing on us. Back in the cabin, we were surprised to see priority tender info for GSC and priority disembarkation info left for us! We’re excited to try these and see how they work!! This afternoon and evening planning on some mini golf, maybe bowling, some casino time, dinner in the MDR, our Starbucks fix and some shopping.

Wednesday Evening: Cellars: Our dinner reservation wasn’t until 8:45 so after checking out Decks 6, 7 and 8 and seeing what all was going on we decided to stop by Cellars and do some wine exploration. We really aren’t wine connoisseurs or drink all that much normally so the upgraded premium beverage was done to explore and have fun tasting and learning about the different wines. It has more than paid for itself and it’s nice having access to pretty much anything with the constant costs as it’s included in the package. With wine, champagne, mixed drinks, cokes and Starbucks, we’ve had fun. The staff at Cellars taught us a lot in our time there and I think had fun picking various wines for us to sample and seeing what we liked. We learned my wife favors the more bold wines and I’m more inclined for the subtle ones. Dinner: Le Bistro was an awesome specialty dining selection. We both had the Petoncles Dubarry, Huile de Truffe, or scallops with cauliflower and truffle oil, Soupe à l’Oignon Gratinée or French onion soup, the Salade d’Endive and Filet de Boeuf Rossini, the beef tenderloin with foie gras and for dessert the Marquise au Chocolat, 70% Dark Chocolate Cremeux, Rice Crunch, Chambord Raspberry Sauce and the Île Flottante Airy, a Meringue Pillow Floating in Vanilla Crème Anglaise, Raspberry Coulis. We enjoyed this with bottled water, Veuve Clicquot BRUT “Yellow Label”. Thursday, after breakfast in the Garden Cafe and picking up our luggage tags for Saturday 😢, we are up at the VBC enjoying our sea day.

It has not. We usually go after our time up at the Vibe Beach Club. I have to admit at first we were unsure it was worth the $600, but it is starting to grow on us. It’s really nice after a day in the sun or out on an excursion coming back and relaxing with the therapy pool, snow room and loungers with that view!

The Champagne cruise was nice. Wasn’t sailing during all of the sunset but posted pics today. I’ll watch for info on spa at GSC

Dailies for Day Five posted…. Day Four follow up……. St. Thomas: Arrived a little earlier than planned, and the ship was cleared to let passengers off around 11:30am. We spent some time doing some shopping at Havensight Mall at the dock buying up souvenirs for family and friends. Once done we got back onboard and spent time back up at the VBC until our allotted time for the Champagne Harbor Cruise. Champagne Sunset Harbor Cruise: The catamaran was running a little behind schedule due to other tires from the day. We left the dock about 15ish minutes later than advertised. Once on the catamaran we sailed out the Harbor and around the island next to the harbor slowly circling then back into the harbor by the ship. We’ve docked back up approximately 6pm our a few minutes before. The sun was going down but hadn’t fully set, so it’s technically not a sunset cruise watching the sun set as much as a catamaran cruise right before sunset. Nevertheless it was fun and got some great photos. Champagne was served as well as rum punch. Dinner: We had Valentine’s dinner at Moderno, great food and great service by our waiter George. He was extremely attentive and made sure our every need was taken care of. Starbucks: By the time dinner was over and before the comedy show it was getting more difficult to stay awake, so we stopped for our evening SB fix. The Baristas at SB are fantastic and very enthusiastic. Honestly, my order of my SB drink has always been perfect and HOT every single time. They actually have been better than our local SB back home!! Comedy Show: Went to the comedy show in the theater. It was really funny. Both comedians did an excellent job making us laugh. Wi-Fi: Just a comment, the Wi-Fi on the ship has been fantastic. Very little issues in posting and connecting. In addition my international call and data with T-Mobile on the islands have been fantastic, 5G almost everywhere. Day Five Tortola, B.V.I. Tortola: Up at 6am for a 6:30am meet to take the Rebel Yell Catamaran over to Jost Van Dyke. Excellent excursion we had a blast. Got two Adirondack chairs at Soggy Dollar Beach Bar and enjoyed the sun, sand & water until our cruise back to the ship. Lunch in Garden Café and then up to VBC for more sun…… Tonight LeBistro dinner and relaxing.

Usually around 45 minutes

Tuesday, St. Thomas, U.S.V.I., Day Four: Happy Valentine’s Day Just got up and enjoying the view from the aft balcony after a late night last night. Plans for today….VBC this morning, shopping in St. Thomas, Champagne Harbor Cruise, dinner at Moderno and catch the Comedy show in the Theater. Breakfast: skipping out on breakfast this morning. We are both still full from Cagney’s Steakhouse dinner last night. Follow up from Last Night: Comedy Show at Headliners: Took in the comedy show with Andy Beningo. He was funny at times, other times it was a little slow with the laughs, overall we liked him. Note sure about some others as several left during the show, which didn’t happen on the show Saturday night. Anxious to see tonight’s show with both comedians. Met NCL Officers: We also had a visit to our table last night at dinner by the General Manager Secretary Rechaleen who stopped by to say hello and let us know the General Manager was coming to meet us since we weren’t able to make it by the VIP reception Sunday evening. She was a very nice young lady. Shortly thereafter Kivanc Ucar, the GM stopped at the table and asked how our cruise was going and let us know if we needed anything to let him know. I did mention the difficulty of getting the wine charge from Saturday removed from our account as we have the premium package and he said he’d have it taken care of. Looked a bit later and it was corrected. Vibe Beach Club: VBC has a nice breeze this morning, sun shining. Not going to feel as hot as it was yesterday sitting in port. Update too, had earlier thought the hot tub might be broken because the jet button didn’t work. It’s set up that way. See pic. We’re just passing Puerto Rico off in the distance. Dailies for today attached……. Tune in later for more

No, that has not been our experience in the past. There was nothing said as to why taking so long, hopefully it was just a one off. Our experience in all of our 11 prior cruises, including two prior NCL cruises was staterooms are usually ready close to 1-1:30ish. As to the VBC access, we had always purchased in person, this is the first time we booked that online was allowed. It is coded into your card and you get a bracelet to identify you. Someone posted that we could’ve gained access Saturday just with the card. That may have been the case but we weren’t aware. Good to know for you and us going forward. As to purchasing onboard I’m not sure, I’ve seen the same you’ve seen. May want to reach out to NCL corporate and see what they say. I just know the VBC was available online then it wasn’t and we didn’t come across anywhere onboard that we saw selling them. Doesn’t mean they don’t but we didn’t see it. You get your key cards at check in in the port. You can purchase drinks once onboard.

Dinner: Had our Anniversary (of my proposal 35 years ago) dinner at Cagney’s Steakhouse. The meal was AMAZING!! Very good meal, great attention by the waitstaff and the Wine Steward, Mqinisi was beyond fantastic!! He started us off with Champagne, then a Cabernet Sauvignon and finished up with a nice dessert wine. We dined outside at the waterfront seating and enjoyed the view and gentle Caribbean breeze! It was truly perfect!

Thank you. We were right on Deck 6, able to go straight down to Headliners then to the Box Office.

No there was no explanation. Everything in the ship, shopping info, next port of call on the tv showed Amber Cove so we kind of figured that’s where we were going even though earlier posts had mentioned Taino Bay. I will say that Amber Cove was really awesome though. The pool area looked great although we wanted to get back in ship and enjoy the Vibe Beach Club we’ve always enjoyed. The shopping was great too, a lot of different shops and selections. It was also interesting seeing the Carnival Ship in port too, I know it’s there port, but the NCL Escape was so much larger and NCL had out tents with towels, water, sitting areas and Carnival really didn’t have anything much out on the walkway. I told my wife that NCL should have a tent for Cruise Next and try to pick up defectors. You really could tell a stark difference between the two set ups of the two cruise lines.

There were things that they have fixed every night and then menu items that are night specific.

Loungers are close, but in the Vibe so far most crowded has been 8 couples. There is a kids pool, but yes this is the only pool.

Thank you!

Each day we’ve been there so far not over 8 couples

They used to sell on ship in Headliners and we’d get onboard early to purchase. This time they were sold online. When we were in Headliners making dining changes once onboard I didn’t see a place where they were selling them, so not sure if they do outside of online anymore.

Yes every NCL cruise we’ve taken. Used to have to get to port early and on ship early to purchase before they sold out. This time they were sold online through the NCL App, much much easier process!