My week on the Escape - March 19th - 26th

Although there have already been multiple reviews of our March 19th sailing, I thought I'd add my experiences and thoughts as well. It's always interesting to see how so many people on the same cruise can have different experiences. As I read the other reviews, I found it amazing how one ship can have so much to do. I feel like I need another 2 weeks on board to experience it all! Hopefully I can share some information that will help others. As a teaser, I will say that if you are curious what happens when you get stuck in the drop slide (gulp!), keep reading!!!

I (age 49) sailed with my husband (51) and son (15). Our two older boys were left behind (one in college and one working in the "real world") this time - much to their dismay! This is my 7th cruise (5th with NCL), husband's 6th cruise (4th with NCL) and my son has only been brought on 3 cruises (poor guy).

Son and I flew out of Washington-Dulles on Friday, heading for Miami. My husband was meeting us in Miami, as he was coming from a business trip in Vegas (Business? Well, so he said!) We took the scenic route and flew up to Newark for the first leg. As we were on a tiny propeller plane on a windy day, this was quite a trip. One note of advice, don't order red wine on a propeller plane with turbulence. Not a good mix! It was comical watching everyone try to drink their drinks, and it's the first time I ever heard a flight attendant say "Welcome to Newark, please place your air sick bags in the red bag at the front of the plane". I had never seen so many people sick - luckily nobody right near me or it would have been a very long ride!!

After the quick 45 minute flight north, we had a two hour layover in Newark where we order a $23 cheese/meat plate (yikes on the prices!) and finally boarded our 3 hour flight down to Miami. After a glass of white wine (no more red wine on windy days!!) and a few hours of reading on my kindle, we arrive on time in Miami. Husband had arrived about 30 minutes earlier and met us in baggage claim. I was SO relieved that my luggage made the connection (my biggest fear!) and we called our hotel for pick up. Oh, I was also relieved that husband made it too!!

After learning we'd have to wait 30 minutes for the hotel van, we decided to call Lyft when we saw it would only be $6 to the hotel. As we were staying with Holiday Inn points and our usual Port of Miami hotel was booked, we stayed at the Holiday Inn Express - Miami Springs. My initial thoughts were "oh my" as it seemed a bit small and old. But honestly, it was fine. It was clean, they were nice, breakfast was hot and fresh, and they gave me a razor so son could shave. It was a milestone night as it was his first shave ever! I told him there was no way I would look at his Elvis sideburns and stray hairs all over the place for the whole cruise week.

We walked next door to the sports bar for dinner. It looked a little sketchy from the outside, but the food was good and we were able to watch the March Madness games (including my Oregon Ducks!). Soon we were off to bed and dreaming of our Unlimited Beverage Package.

You are off to a great start.

I will continue to follow.

Keith

We woke up and after a decent breakfast (the cinnamon rolls were hot and delicious - and fattening!!) it was time to head out. We had decided to head to the port at 10 am. On a side note, we had received multiple calls from NCL warning us that a big music festival was that weekend near the port (kudos to NCL for being proactive), and it started at noon. So, we hoped to avoid the traffic congestion and wanted to leave earlier.

The hotel offered a shuttle to the port for $10 per person. We knew we could get there cheaper than $30 so called Uber. After a quick $10 trip we were there!! The Escape looked huge and we were so excited. We were at the port before 10:30. We dropped out bags off (tipped the porter generously, as I didn't have the right change) and went through security. I had both my knees replaced last year, so I set the machines off daily. Each time I set the machine off, I would tell them it is due to my knee replacements. They were always very nice about it, but their reaction would be to pass the hand scanner over my knees, then feel up my armpits. Once they knew my armpits were safe, they let me through.

At 27 days out from sailing, I was able to get us an upsell from our BD forward balcony cabin to a Haven Penthouse for $500 each - no charge for my son. So, for $1,000 extra, I couldn't pass it up. For those curious, even though it was an upsell, I still got priority luggage tags and a pre-concierge letter by mail - arriving about 2 weeks after my upsell. As we have never been in a suite before (we usually always get a balcony), we couldn't wait to be spoiled.

I knew from CC that there was a special place for Haven guests to complete priority check-in. I failed to find out WHERE the check in was, assuming it would be obvious. Well, it was obvious, but somehow we managed to miss it. I guess we were so excited to be there we just beelined it in - and walked right past it. For those of you that don't know - take note..........the Haven check in is on your left as you are walking towards the regular check in lines.

So, having missed the priority check in area, I was unsure where to go. I asked someone working there (he looked like he knew what he was doing - he obviously didn't). I showed him our Haven boarding paperwork and asked him where the priority check-in was. He pointed me towards the right side of the regular lines, and said "the orange line". That seemed weird to me - I thought I had read it was a whole separate area - but the lines were short, I was just happy to be there, and went with the flow. We got into the regular line like we were told, and within about 3 minutes we were at the desk to check in. Our check-in lady was nice. We filled out the normal health screening, gave our credit card, took our photos and she gave us our key cards. This all seemed a bit weird - so far, exactly like a normal check in. But again, they are the experts, we are being treated great, and who cares - we're going on a cruise.

So check in lady hands us our key cards - I expected to see them look different since we are Haven. The cards were an orange-like color - and my thought was "oh, the goldish/orange color must be Haven". Uh, no. Again, dimwit me still hadn't realize anything was wrong. We thank nice lady for our key cards and she points us to behind the desks where we go to wait. I think "oh, the priority waiting area must be this way then". We go down the hallway, up the escalator and someone else hands us a long card marked "Boarding Group 16". Houston, we have a problem!!

How I didn't catch this earlier I have no idea. I'm not a new cruiser, I lived on CC leading up to my trip, and I know that Haven guests have a separate check-in. So, I finally mention to this (nice) man that, "um, we're Haven guests". He looks at my key card and boarding papers (which clearly say Haven on them), apologizes profusely, and escorts us through a back hallway, downstairs, and to the Priority Check-In area that we missed. Within a few minutes he handed us our correct key cards (that do say "Haven" on them) and we sat down to wait with other Haven guests.

At this point, we weren't upset and honestly felt it was our mistake. That said, as I think about this - I still don't understand how the other employees missed that we needed to check-in elsewhere. We clearly asked the first guy "where do Haven guests check in". Then there's our check in lady - how did she not see we were Haven, or not know we needed Haven key cards? Who knows, and it really isn't an issue. We roll with the punches, and now we know for next time. Hopefully this minor fiasco will help others out there to know where to go (although I'm probably the only one who would walk by a big huge "priority check in" sign and miss it completely, LOL).

I can't wait to read about your cruise!

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The priority check in area had coffee and some breakfast type pastries (I didn't go see exactly what type they had) but I made sure not to eat anything - I was saving my stomach for lunch on board!! After waiting about 15 min, a lady showed up with a sign that said "Haven" and she marched us through back hallways and escalators and took us up to the boarding area (omg - I'm so excited, we're finally boarding!!!). At this point, it's about 11:20 or so - maybe 11:30. Once we get up there, it's crazy with people, and there are no seats available. She tells us that the boarding will be delayed a bit, as people are still getting off the ship. She asks us to wait there (we're right in front where they board, with a large group that was there for a wedding). We were able to find a few seats, and sat down waiting for that magical moment we could board.

At the time we didn't know it, but I spoke with an officer at the Haven reception a few days later - and he told me that with 750 people left on the ship waiting to disembark, they had to freeze disembarkation due to high winds. So that was the cause of our boarding delay. Around 30 minutes later we saw more people coming off the ship. Hooray!!! Finally they made an announcement that the wedding parties could board. OMG, it was chaos.......I felt so bad for those families with the wedding trying to get on. We saw people with every boarding number there in line ready to get on. "Uh, no people. It's not your turn. Let this poor lady get on and get married". So, after some chaos there's an announcement that Haven guests can board. Our Haven lady told us to wait there and she'd be back to escort us on. She was nowhere to be seen. I knew she'd be back - she was probably escorting more families to where we were. But, we needed to figure out what to do. Go on board on our own.....or wait for her while everyone else goes on first. Hmmm. I thought about waiting because we had no idea where we were going - but excitement won out, and we boarded. There were multiple Haven guests boarding on their own at this time - maybe we could follow them!!!

So, here we go. This is the best part.......walking on and getting that first glimpse of the ship! Although the whole day had been chaotic up until now, we were fine. I will say though that if I had never sailed NCL or been at a Miami port before I might have been frustrated. But honestly, the chaos of that last hour was more due to the throngs of people clammering to get on when it wasn't their turn. Plus, it's all good......we have the UBP and were ready to use it!! :)

Once on the Escape, we set out to figure out where the Haven was. We purposely wandered during our Haven quest - checking out the bars, restaurants and other public spots I had read so much about. My first thought of the ship was "wow". Pictures really don't do it justice. After having just sailed the Dawn (which we loved!!) this past July, everything seemed to clean, modern and new! Eventually, we (pretty easily) found the Haven, and went in. We were met with a waiter and a trayful of drinks. All for me? Oh, I'm supposed to pick one! We met Adrian, were given a spiel of the Haven and his services, and set off to find our room.

Going back to preboarding for a minute, as I forgot something very important that impacts my first few days of the trip.

After breakfast at the hotel, we went upstairs to collect our luggage and check out. We are good to go and pick up the luggage to walk out of the room. I am wearing my favorite flip flops that are ready for action. I pick up the carry on bag, and then start to grab my suitcase to wheel it out. Somehow I trip over my flip flop (call me Grace) and start to fall.

Now, if you've ever seen the cartoons of someone falling and their legs are running and arms are flying - that was me! I think I tried so hard to catch my balance and not fall that I ended up doing more harm. I probably should add here that I was sober!!

I fell backwards into the corner of the wall. I smacked my spine in that corner so hard I thought "this is the end of my cruise". It hurt bad. As I was falling backwards, I realized I twisted my ankle, but it didn't hurt. At all. Phew. So, after my husband and son stopped laughing (really?? LOL) they asked if I was ok (nice) and I sucked it up (I never did fall to the floor - the corner of the wall stopped me) and we headed down to the lobby to call the Uber.

I ended up having a big bump on my spine and bruise - although my fears of swelling leading to paralysis were luckily a great exaggeration. I went through the whole boarding process fine - by then my back only hurt when that bruised area was touched and my ankle didn't bother me at all.

Once on board, as we were walking around looking for the Haven, we walked up stairs and then down stairs. OMG, I can't walk down stairs!! It hurt my ankle SO bad. It felt like a knife cutting into me each step. I was forced to either go down the steps one by one, leading each time with my good leg - or take the elevator. Oh no. More to come with this injury later!

I will say when I think about that ankle pain, and how it only hurt me going down stairs, I realize how lucky I was. A little more twist and my vacation might have gone Kapoof!!

I can't wait to read about your cruise!

 

 

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Thanks! It's looks like I'm being too wordy.......hope not.

We were in cabin 18128. I had seen photos of the Haven Penthouse Suites but couldn't find anything about our specific cabin. It was so comfortable, and perfect for three people. The bed was the most comfortable bed we've had - and it was all so cozy.

I had contacted the pre-concierge services prior to sailing, and requested they change out any down/feathered comforter/pillows due to my allergies. We did somehow end up with 12 pillows on the bed, LOL - somehow we found a way to squeeze ourselves in there as well. I also asked for the refrigerator to be emptied, and for Gummy Bears and Cookies for my son (ok, it was really for us, but they don't need to know that!). Everything we requested happened and the cabin was ready for us when we got there at 1 pm. My son slept in the chair that opened to a single bed. They put the foam on it each night and he told me it was very comfortable. Our steward Christopher closed it up each morning, so we had use of the chair (it was really more of a half-sofa).

The bathroom had a double sink which was nice, with all the products I had read about - including the shower pouf (yay). One of my favorite things about the room was the area between the bathroom and bedroom. It was just a small little hallway where there were two closets and some drawers/shelves. But what I loved about it was a curtain - so we had a changing area. This was nice as we were traveling with my son. I didn't have to go into the bathroom to put on my bathing suit or change into pj's. I always hated doing that as I couldn't ever figure out where to put my clothes - and the floor was always cold!

My other favorite thing about the room was the balcony. Because we were the last cabin, we had an extended balcony. So, while the depth of the balcony was the same as every other room - the length was much longer. So, we had a great comfy chaise out there that I used everyday. Plus there was still plenty of room for two comfortable chairs and a small table. Loved it!

Now the bad for the room........and honestly this bad was ok. I just want to mention in case others might have an issue with it. Normally we pick our cabins to make sure there are only cabins above and below us. As I got an upsell, I didn't have many choices. We had a public sundeck above us. There was really only two times we had noise wake us up. Once was the second Sea Day in the morning. We were woken up around 8:30 with someone moving chairs around. If you are an early riser, this wouldn't be an issue. The last night of sailing, there were some people up there very late at night (early in the morning) making some thudding noise. Again, not a huge deal. We also heard a noise the whole cruise that sounded like a waterfall, like rushing water. We heard it above us all the time, both day and night. It was a subtle noise and not bothersome at all. Really not a big deal. We just couldn't ever figure out what it was. As this cabin was the closest to an area of Deck 18 where they had some lounge chairs and often people gathered there at sailaways (it jetted out further from our balcony), the balcony itself wasn't all private. But, they couldn't see the end of the balcony where the chaise was. Given we weren't too far from the main pool deck, when on the balcony we could hear the music, etc. But, only when we were outside - never inside. I enjoyed the music and hearing what was going on when I was out there.

Would I sail in the cabin again? Definitely, the cons were minor compared to the pros. That said, I might choose a different one next time just to compare.

While we were checking out our cabin, our Butler Marivic came in to introduce herself and show us around the room. We loved Marivic - she was so friendly, always happy to see us or help us with something, and she was good! She first said "I know you are probably used to a male butler". Uh,no....we've never had a butler - you are it. You will see how we utilized her as the week went on - but just to say she was always there for us, even behind the scenes when we didn't ask for something. That Gummy Bear bowl never went empty - and we never asked once for it to be filled. One afternoon she came by to apologize profusely that she ran out of Gummy Bears so she had to give us Peanut M&M's. Wow, rough life. Yum. By the next day, our Gummy Bear supply had been reinstated.....AND, we got more M&M's too. Score! I asked her for a ship's pin, and in less than an hour, we had three. She also noticed that my son was wearing a non-NCL lanyard with his keycard - and immediately came back with three NCL Escape lanyards from the inaugural sailing. Marivic also asked us at this first meeting what we liked (I told her I hate fish, shrimp, etc. but husband loves it. No problem she says, I'll make sure to bring you goodies with and without seafood). Once I asked for a cheese tray, and I ended up with one each day (yum) in addition to everything else waiting for us. We certainly never lacked food!! She was the best!!!!

After dropping off our carry on bags, exploring our cabin and meeting Marivic, and generally trying to curb our excitement for the upcoming week, we went to the Haven Restaurant for lunch. It was SO good. We met Jacqueline, our server, for the first time. We would have her many days this week and enjoyed getting to know her. Jacqueline is from the Philippines and had only one more week after our cruise left until she had her three month vacation. She was looking forward to going home to see her 9 year old son.

Lunch was delicious. My son and I both had the Brie Burger and I had the peach chilled soup. I love NCL's chilled soup, and was so sad that I couldn't find any on the menu when I was on the Dawn last summer. I can't remember what I had for dessert, other than the memory of, "OMG, this is amazing".

During lunch we had our first UBP drink (no memory of what it was but I'm sure it was good, LOL). This might be a good time to talk about the UBP. We loved it. We made major use of it. And we had NO issues with it at all. Most of the bars and venues we ordered at were Non-Haven, so our success with service was ship-wide. We never had a wait for drinks, always were approached by a server, and whether we ordered at a bar or from our server (including in Manhatten and other dining venues) we never waited for a drink. We didn't need to tip for this great service - in fact, most times I didn't have cash on me. We did tip our favorite servers at the end. But, I wanted to point out that at least for us, we had great service everywhere we went, with the UBP, and without having to pay extra for it. Now this said - we never once spent time on the pool deck during the day (we did make use of Haven then) so for that, YMMV (your miles may vary!).

After lunch we walked to Entourage to sign son up for the week. We then spent more time walking around the ship. Son said several times "why didn't you put my bathing suit in your carry on". Honestly, I thought of it. I usually do. But I didn't feel like lugging more stuff around. I tend to be the pack mule of family vacations, and I put my foot down this time. My answer of course was "why didn't you". We checked out Spice H2O (ow, I forgot my ankle is hurt and when I stepped down towards the grotto I about died), found where all the restaurants were, etc. and then stopped to figure out what to do next.

By this time, we realize it is time for the muster drill (how can you not realize it with all the announcements!!) so we head to the theater to find our spots. Last summer on the Dawn, once you reported to your muster station, you checked in with a staff member who marked your attendance off with a clipboard. On the Escape, they've moved into this century and they scan your key card (each person must have their own - even the little kids) that you were present. I like this so much better. On the Dawn we got a letter stating that we missed the drill and had to attend one the next day. No, we were there! It was easily fixed but this way we knew they had a record of us there! The whole drill (once started) took about 5 minutes. Easy Peasy.

After the drill we returned to the cabin to find our luggage there already. We've never had our luggage so early (by 4). So son put on his bathing suit. We went onto our balcony for sailaway. And waited. And waited. Why aren't we leaving????

On a side note, I had been trying to post a few photos to Facebook - you know the "I'm going on a cruise, yay me" type photo. I have Verizon and I couldn't get data anywhere on the ship. I could send/receive phone calls and texts no problem - but no data. Luckily, husband had a portable wifi from Verizon for work and allowed us to "borrow" some minutes. So after a few photos on the balcony, the captain came on the PA. Due to high winds, our sailing has been delayed until 6 pm. Well, if we're not sailing away yet - we might as well go play.

Son wanted to hit the waterslides. I was worried about my back and ankle on the slides (and in the back of my mind thinking "how am I going to do the rope course this week??") so I decided to just tag along as the official photographer. The drop slide wasn't open so he went on the Aqua Racer. I guess everyone else had the same idea - as there was a line. It wasn't too bad (5 min) once you got your tube - but the line to get the tube took about 15 min. I enjoyed watching other kids (and adults) come down though - so no biggie. After awhile a playing there was an announcement that we would be able to leave earlier than anticipated. So we rushed back to the cabin to our balcony once again. I usually enjoy the sailway parties and being with others, but I fell in love with our balcony and thought that was where I wanted to be this time. Of course, I stopped at the Haven bar on the way back for two Pina Coladas to take back to the room (one for husband - not both for me!! Not that anyone is judging me, right?).

On a side note - my husband and I never had problems ordering drinks for each other. We were never once asked for the other card or told we could only get one drink. And when approached by servers, we always just gave one card. Again.....Easy Peasy.

Once back at our cabin and on our balcony we sailed away. I don't remember exactly what time it was but do remember it was pretty close to the 6 pm estimation. We are on our way!!!

After sailaway we went to the Haven Restaurant for dinner. It had been a few hours since we had eaten, way too long, LOL. I don't remember what appetizer I ordered but I know I had the Prime Rib for dinner and the Chocolate Mousse for dessert (and a few glasses of white wine). The food, service, atmosphere, etc was all perfect!! Son ate with us - which would be the only dinner he had with us all week - and about the last time we saw him on the cruise (other than in bed asleep!!).

This might be a good time to mention the iconcierge app. The last time we cruised with our boys (many years ago) it was all about the walkie-talkies. The iconciege was amazing - it was so nice (and easy) to text with him throughout the day to see where he was or if he wanted to join us for dinner (uh, no thanks mom). We considered asking him to come to dinner each night - and if my older sons were with us we would have required it. But, given it was just him, and it was his vacation too - and of course the fact that hubby and I were having a blast without him - we were fine with him eating his meals with his new friends in the Garden Cafe (which by the way, I never ate in once!! I can't believe I missed those pretzel rolls!!). Son said the food was good - and the most awesome part of the Garden Cafe was that they ALWAYS had fries. Even at breakfast!! Ok, I digress. Iconcierge.......it went down the first night for a few hours. We thought it was just ours so we went to guest services. No, it was down shipwide - they are trying their best to fix it. By later that night, it was up and running. And at least for us, we never had another issue with it. We loved the iconcierge to see what was happening where (no need to carry the Freestyle Dailies around anymore. The only bummer is that you can't see your reservations on it. For the life of me, I couldn't remember the time that I booked for our other comedy club visit - I ended up having to go to the concierge desk to ask later in the week. In addition - we had another reservation that we completely missed (my fault - more on that later!!). Hopefully they will add that feature at some point.

BTW - LOVED the monitors throughout on the walls as well that you could use to see what was happening where, map out routes, etc.), we used it to book the comedy club and to check out accounts. We gave son a $100 limit for the cruise - use as you want. Of course, he used it all at the arcade - and mostly on Guitar Hero. Oh well, again....his vacation. He did great with his budget and making that money last the whole cruise - until the last night. Whoops. He went over by $15.50. Guess who owes mom money!! 20 games of Guitar Hero on the last night of the cruise?? Uh, we have it at home. You couldn't wait two days??

Husband and I had decided that we didn't want to go to the Welcome Aboard Show. We felt too rushed to get there and really, did we need to see it if we were seeing the shows anyways? That was just our thought process........maybe it was more about wanting to explore the ship more. We decided to go see the "Majority Rules" game. I had read that the Atrium gets clogged up during popular times and I knew we needed to get there early if we planned to go to an event. That said, by the time we finished our dinner it was just about time for the game show to begin. We decided to risk it and lucked out finding chairs after all. But, those chairs were off to the side in the back. NO problem, right? Well......there was a very large family group not listening or watching - but talking, standing right in front of us, posing for pictures, laughing, whistling, and whatever else right next to us. The couple next to me looked at me and rolled their eyes, like "oh my". I know, right? If you don't want to listen and watch, then leave. They didn't stop - and honestly, we weren't so sold on this game show that we had to stay - so we decided to leave as well and go visit the District Brewhouse for the first time. Great move on our part!!

The Brewhouse is the best. Beau wasn't there the first night-but they had Juan there singing. We loved his choice of songs, loved the service, husband loved the beer (he's ashamed to say he only finished in 9th place this cruise on the All-Star wall. To his defense, had he known there was a contest - I didn't tell him - he would have been much higher!!) We visited the Brewhouse often during the cruise. Usually for short periods of time while we were waiting for something else to begin - or to watch a March Madness game (they didn't have them on the first weekend - but did starting on Thursday. Not sure if that was due to people complaining or just availability?) but we very much enjoyed it there. Over the week I tried a lot of the mixed drinks on their menu - they were all good!!!

I had reserved the 11 pm comedy show at Headliners for us that night. It was funny and we enjoyed ourselves. We ended up going to two 11 pm shows last week - so we saw two different comedians. Both were very good. The guy who introduces the acts was decent - although about half his standup routine was the same both nights we went, so I can imagine he might get old if you go to multiple shows. After the show we went and grabbed a drink somewhere (I don't remember where!!) then headed back to the cabin to meet up with son. My son seemed to have had a good first night at Entourage, and as I mentioned before, he spent most of his week either there, or with friends he met at the teen club.

We put the "Do Not Disturb" on our door, sat on our beloved balcony for a few minutes, then crawled into our oh so comfortable bed. Day One complete - and we were pleased but exhausted. We didn't have any plans the next morning until our Meet and Greet at 11 - so the plan was to sleep in and recover from our long day.

Absolutely loving your review! We loved the Escape in January and have booked again for October. Hope your ankle held up for the week:confused:

Enjoying

Great report so far. Hope you can include sons thoughts on Entourage as my son will be 15 this fall when we sail

Great stuff - wonder if the waterfall noise you heard could have been related to the hot tubs on 19 recirculating the water. Just trying to think up a reason.

Looking forward to Day 2.

Loving your review... We were on the same cruise... We thought it was such an awesome cruise!!!! I never felt like there were 5000 or so people on it! Had great service and never had a problem getting a drink either! Can't wait to sail on her again!!!!!

Great stuff - wonder if the waterfall noise you heard could have been related to the hot tubs on 19 recirculating the water. Just trying to think up a reason.

 

Looking forward to Day 2.

Wow, I wonder if that could be it. The whole week we kept saying we needed to go up and see what it was - and even see what it looked like up there. We never did. There were a lot of things we planned to do that never happened LOL. Honestly, the noise wasn't bothersome at all. Just weird.

Great report so far. Hope you can include sons thoughts on Entourage as my son will be 15 this fall when we sail

Definitely! I will share what I know throughout the week - but I will also make sure to ask son for his thoughts. I also still have the Entourage schedule - I know it's been posted here before but I could scan it again if needed.

Loving your review... We were on the same cruise... We thought it was such an awesome cruise!!!! I never felt like there were 5000 or so people on it! Had great service and never had a problem getting a drink either! Can't wait to sail on her again!!!!!

So glad you had a great time!!!! What a fun week!

Absolutely loving your review! We loved the Escape in January and have booked again for October. Hope your ankle held up for the week:confused:

Enjoying

Thanks so much!! I'm starting Day Two now. Hoping my memory (and quick chicken scratch notes that I can't read will hold up so I can get through the day.

Although we didn't need to be at the Meet and Greet until 11 am, we set our alarm for around 9 am so we'd have time to relax, enjoy breakfast and make it to Cagney's for our Meet and Greet. Once I was awake, I got a cup of coffee from the Nespresso machine in the cabin. I took it out to my balcony and sat down for a few minutes. It was just too beautiful out there and for some reason I decided I needed a photo of my coffee with the water behind it. Why that shot? Who knows, and it actually didn't turn out well at all. But, it kept me occupied for a little while.

Once we were dressed and ready to go, we headed to the Haven for breakfast. By this point it was around 9:45 am. We were told that there were no tables inside and if we minded sitting outside. I love being outside so I was perfectly find with that. They took us out there - it was about 1/3 full outside. We sat down, looked over the menu and waited for someone to come. We waited, and we waited, and we waited. I honestly don't mind waiting for my food or even to order my food. But, please......come and bring me my coffee.

Finally after about 15 min. we flagged someone down. While we were waiting we had a good view of the pool deck. We were watching an employee putting stickers on the chairs that had been claimed by the chair hogs. Then following after him, an officer was walking around collecting towels off other chairs that already had stickers. I spent some time explaining to husband what a chair hog was, and why the stickers were going on the chairs. I was happy to see they were following up and collecting towels. From other reviews that week, it doesn't sound like they did this often enough - but it was nice to see that at least it was happening. And to see the ship's officer out there helping - and talking to people about what he was doing - was nice. A side note, I heard a few stories from other passengers of some not so pretty incidents with people returning and their towels were gone. They were not happy with that. But hey, follow the rules then!!!

So, back to breakfast. We finally were able to order. I went for the french toast and a side of bacon. Their bacon is the bomb! I don't know if everyone likes crispy bacon - but I do - and this was! Yum! Husband liked to go to the buffet and get some salmon, cream cheese and a bagel so I'm pretty sure he had that, plus who knows what else for breakfast. Son went for the eggs and bacon. Other than the last morning, this turned out to be the only breakfast son had with us. Are you picking up on the trend? I guess the Garden Cafe and morning French Fries were viewed as more exciting.

On a side note (I tend to digress often it seems), last night at dinner, we ran into Lilibeth, the assistant maitre d'. We recognized her from last July on the Dawn so we chatted with her a bit about her move and how she was enjoying the Escape.

As we were walking out, Lilibeth asked if everything was ok. I thought about saying yes, as it really was all ok, but I decided to mention that it took us 15 min and finding someone to flag down before we were acknowledged or asked if we want coffee, etc. It really wasn't a big deal - we were on a cruise ship - how can anything matter when you are on a cruise ship. Lilibeth was very apologetic about the wait, and asked our cabin number. I told her that we were fine and it really wasn't a problem. And, I told her she had amazing bacon!!

We made it out of the restaurant in plenty of time to head to Cagney's for our Meet and Greet. So off we went.

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I began posting on our Roll Call board in Nov 2014. I took over the duties for arranging the Meet and Greet after another roll call member's plans changed to a different ship. Over the last few weeks before the cruise, we got a lot of action on our Roll Call and the last count I gave NCL for our Meet and Greet was 95. Over the last few days before the cruise, those numbers rose even higher to 108. As it was spring break, we had over 45 kids. I knew you never get everyone at your Meet and Greet, but even if we only have half attend, that's still a good size get together. As it turned out, we had nowhere near 108 attending. But, we had a great size group show up - I should have looked at the sign in to see how many but I didn't.

So we walked into Cagney's, signed in, then had a seat and waited for others to arrive. The food was the typical Meet and Greet pastries and coffee until suddenly some servers came out with strawberry smoothies for everyone (with whip cream on top - yum). What a nice surprise! We've never had that at any other event. Soon the ship's officers arrived. Now I don't know about everyone else, but in the 4 other get togethers I attended, the officers came, spoke and left. On the Escape, they came, mingled, went from table to table talking and getting to know people, answering questions, finding out how the cruise is going, etc. I was so impressed. They really spent a good deal of time with us compared to the typical meeting.

Soon Silas came over to talk with me. He thanked me for organizing everything and chatted with us a bit about the ship. He then got all the officers in line and began the introductions. A word about Silas - what everyone posts online is true. He is a wonderful cruise director and such a people person. We really enjoyed meeting him and watching him work this week. After the officers left, many of us stayed around to talk and meet each other. While we didn't have any activities planned, and decided not to do a cabin crawl or slot pull, it was a nice time.

Once the Meet and Greet ended, son was off to Entourage. Husband and I decided to change into our bathing suites and go up to the Haven sun deck. It was SO windy! It was a beautiful day and the sun was shining. It was cold - so who cares about a little wind. We found our chairs and began to relax. There were parts of the sundecks that weren't as windy as others - and those chairs were taken. As a few people left, we moved over and it was much better. However about an hour later, we both decided we were hungry. We didn't really eat anything at the Meet and Greet so we had now gone three hours without food. Oh My!!! Off we went in search of food - not such a hard task on the Escape.

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Thanks!! I'll keep plugging away at it......... :)

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We decided to go to Pincho Tapas for lunch. It was SO good. I would highly recommend it - and in fact, husband kept saying the rest of the week that we had to go back. Husband ordered 4 dishes or so for himself - some Iberico Jamon, Boquerones, Crab Montadito and something else I don't remember. I didn't touch any of his food. I don't like seafood and I had plenty of my own. I ordered Datiles con Almendras (OMG, so good!), Patatas Bravas, and Croquetas de Maiz. I ordered a White Sangria which was delicious!! Our bill for lunch was $20.06. Money well spent!!

After lunch we walked around to the Atrium and around the ship a bit. We ended up looking in the stores and guess what? I finally got my Pandora bracelet!!!!! I've been wanting one for a few years - and this past Christmas husband gave me an IOU for one. I just hadn't bought it yet. So, I decided to buy it since I saw the prices were the same as back home. That way every time I wear it I can think of this trip. I bought my first charm (says family/love) and a few stoppers. Since I made this purchase, I was given 4 tickets for the drawing that would be held about a half hour later. Of course, I knew I was going win. I didn't even know what the drawing was for - or cared - but I was going to win!!! We wandered around until time for the big drawing which was held in the perfume area of the store. We sprayed and smelled perfume until it was time for the drawing. Did you know Pit Bull had a perfume and cologne? I didn't - but the cologne actually smelled kind of nice. I didn't like the perfume at all. So finally it's time for the big drawing. I learned I was about to win a $100 gift credit to the store. Yay, I can buy more Pandora. After drawing about 7 numbers (you have to be there to win!) someone finally won. It wasn't me! Oh well.........They told us to save our tickets for the day we are in St. Thomas at 6:30 for another drawing. I saved our tickets - but we never made it back for the drawing. I bet you I won too. Bummer.

We returned to the cabin to store my new purchase in the room. Since we still had our bathing suits on, we decided to go visit the Haven pool. We peeked in there earlier in the day and there were no loungers available near the pool - but it was now emptier and we grabbed two chairs by the pool.

Now might be a good time to discuss the Haven pool area, getting chairs, service, kids, etc. To begin with, we had a ton of kids on board our sailing. My son being one of thousands. There were a lot of kids in the Haven. Many, like my son, never used the pool area at all. But others spent a lot of time there. Most days there were children playing in the pool. Some days they were playing games. But, I would never complain. This was their vacation too - and they were all having a blast. And, everyone seemed well-behaved. Did they throw a ball around occasionally? Yes. Did it ever get in my way, or even come near me? No. I spent a few days on the loungers on the shallow side of the pool, and even then, the children in the pool didn't bother me. Sure I could hear them playing - but that was the end of it.

If I had to make a complaint - and truly this isn't a complaint - is that on multiple days, the lounge chairs near the pool were taken. There was never a chair hog, there were people in them, enjoying their day. That said, I never had an issue finding a lounger, and somewhere peaceful to relax. I could easily go up to deck 19 and either stay inside (there were a ton of loungers available) or outside to the sun deck. For those curious, I never saw any kids anywhere on deck 19. It was quiet and peaceful, and servers came by regularly. Those that want to get away from kids can do so in the Haven. I peeked through to Vibe (I felt like a Peeping Tom, so I only looked briefly). It looked great in there, but I didn't feel at all like I was missing anything. Even when the Haven was full downstairs.

Haven service....amazing!! Our favorite server was Gene Bee. She works in the Haven from 12-5 and then is in the 5 O'clock Somewhere bar in the evenings. She was always so genuinely happy to see us and would come running over to see what we wanted to drink. She asked our names on the first day, and never forgot them. While I'm sure she's like this with all the Haven guests, she sure knew how to make us feel special. During the week, servers walked around with shrimp, fruit kabobs, cookies, ice cream and I know other things I've forgotten about. They are around non-stop for filling drinks, and on several days we ate out by the Haven pool. It was all amazing!

After spending time reading by the pool, I decided to go into the hot tub. Nobody else was in there at the time, so I climbed in and turned the bubbles on. Oh Hello! There were bubbles coming up from the seat where I was sitting. That was a surprise. The jets only stayed on for a few minutes so after turning them on 2-3 times, I was cooked and ready to get out. I climbed out of the hot tub and stepped down the stairs. Ouch!! My darn ankle. Because it only bothers me when going down stairs, I forget about it. Until I get that horrible cutting pain to remind me just how clumsy I was the day before. After drying off a bit (and probably having another drink! Have I mentioned lately how much I liked my UBP) we headed back to our cabin to shower and get ready for our 5:30 reservation of For The Record. In case anyone is wondering (I'm sure you all are!) my Haven drinks by the pool tended to rotate between mojitos, margaritas and pina coladas. In the evenings, we'd branch out and try everything else, but I stayed more simple during the day. Maybe that helped me rationalize beginning to drink each day around 11 am.

Before I move on, I want to touch on two observations I made throughout the week - both on subjects heavily discussed on CC.

First - movement of the ship:

Of all the ships I've been on, the Escape felt the most stable and moved the least. What I'm talking about is the typical rocking and swaying on the water, the type of movement that makes it hard to walk a straight line, even when you're sober. We commented several times throughout the week how smooth it felt and how most days we didn't even feel like we were sailing.

That said, there were a few times we felt different types of movement. Not often by any means. Twice we felt a weird vibration type movement. Seriously. It felt like the ship was vibrating. Once was during the comedy show at Headlines. And the second time I can't remember where we were. It was only those two times. There was also another type of movement we noticed, particularly while dining in the Haven restaurant - so it makes me think it's more noticeable higher up. It was more of a side-to-side shimmying type movement. Just a bit of shaking back and forth. Definitely noticeable and nothing I ever felt before - but certainly not bothersome.

Second - smoke coming from the casino:

I was SO worried about this. I'm allergic to cigarette smoke and have always hated walking through the casino. I remember last summer on the Dawn I'd walk through the casino and smell smoke on myself the rest of the night. I was so worried this would be the case on the Escape. I read how the casino is in the middle of the ship - would everything smell? I read it even smells down on Deck 6, especially when dining at Le Bistro. Would it be as bad as everyone says?

Well, yes and no. Our experience was the Deck 6 smells bad. You can smell the smoke and for me it's not pleasant. But, it wasn't fresh smoke down there. It's more the stale smell. My clothes didn't pick up the smell, my hair didn't reek after and it didn't make me sick like fresh cigarette smoke does. Would I want to sit outside of Le Bistro for a meal? No. But it was ok to walk through to get from one place to another. Here's the weird thing. As afraid as we were to walk through the casino - it didn't smell bad at all. It was way better than down on the deck below. I don't know if they had heavy duty blowers clearing the air but they didn't work on deck 6, or if everyone just puffed on their cigarette and then blew it all down there, or what. But honestly, the casino had less of a smoke smell than Deck 6. Also, we never saw any active smoke in the casino. We never went in there to gamble, and never walked through there at night. My guess is there were more smoking at night that we didn't see, and we smelled the remnants below the next day. So, coming from someone who is very sensitive to cigarette smoke and would be bothered non-stop if the smell got on me - is this whole smoking thing a deal breaker? Not at all........

Did I like the smell near Headliners and Le Bistro? No. But it wasn't anything more than a stale smell that while not pleasant, didn't bother my allergies or stick to my clothes. It really did smell bad - don't get me wrong. But it was an old cigarette smell as opposed to fresh smoke that was lingering around getting on you. We had no issues with smoke on any other decks, or any other part of deck 6 other than right around Le Bistro/Headliners. I have read other reviews that the smoke was much worse which scared me. I don't know if NCL is doing a better job of clearing the smoke, or if somehow our packed ship had less smokers or what. I still can't understand how Deck 6 smelled so bad though yet we hardly smelled anything while walking directly through the casino.