Everything.. ESCAPE (live 29 Oct 2015!)

[Lily815]

Deck 19 fwd, all the way up. Get your drinks at the Vibe bar (public part) and best views are standing on the sideways hot tub, forward port side. You will see SoBe from there. Enjoy your sailing!

 

Thank you!

[tjt87]

Deck 19 fwd, all the way up. Get your drinks at the Vibe bar (public part) and best views are standing on the sideways hot tub, forward port side. You will see SoBe from there. Enjoy your sailing!

 

Have I got this wrong, I thought SoBe was starboard (Right Side facing forward) at sail away?:confused:

[LrgPizza]

Have I got this wrong, I thought SoBe was starboard (Right Side facing forward) at sail away?:confused:

Yes, you have that wrong. Downtown Miami is starboard, and South Beach is port.

[LMaxwell]

Have I got this wrong, I thought SoBe was starboard (Right Side facing forward) at sail away?:confused:

 

South Beach is port (north) of the inlet.

 

The starboard side will have Fisher Island and Biscayne Bay

 

Here is south beach

 

[Yorkvillain]

You can see it- go to PortFever.com & click on "Nassau" ( at the top), and in 4-5 seconds , you will see all the ships docked at that pier...you can also see many others ( just look at the top for what ports are available) and click...I'm on there almost daily, especially now that it's "the season"...on Sat & Sun, you can see 4-8 cruise ships leave out of Miami, Port Everglades, Port Canaveral, Tampa, etc...they start around 4 pm & go till 6 or 7 PM...great site..BTW, below the screen of the ships, you will find a sort of Google map with colored dots, some are blue- put your cursor on the shape, and you will see what ship is there...midweek you will see many ships on the St. Maarten, Nassau, Aruba, & Key West cams...any questions , let me know..this site is the 3rd best option to being on a cruise ( 1st best, ON the cruise, 2nd best, watching the ships leave in Miami, Port Everglades, etc..3rd best, PORT FEVER..)...I will be watching Thursday....

 

Big Al

 

P.S. Put your speakers on, you sometimes will hear talking between the ships & harbor patrol...also put screen on FULL screen ( at the bottom left of the picture)- much better..

 

Good thinking Al. Thanks! I can't believe I didn't think of that.

 

I agree, port fever is a great website.

[sea wanderer]

The Escape and Breakaway will be together this Thursday Nov. 12th in Nassau. They arrive approximately 1 hour apart from each other. Nassau has a nice webcam to view the rendezvous.

[Zena2005]

I like to read on the balcony at night. It is one of my favorite things to do...really? No lights? Sigh. It is super relaxing, and atmospheric to sit on the balcony and read a mystery, with only the sounds of the ship moving in the darkness...

 

I agree with you on this. My wife tends to do the same thing when we return to our stateroom in the evening. No to mention I like to sit out on the balcony with her and have a night cap. Omitting balcony lights doesn't make much sense.

[klepton]

I agree with you on this. My wife tends to do the same thing when we return to our stateroom in the evening. No to mention I like to sit out on the balcony with her and have a night cap. Omitting balcony lights doesn't make much sense.

 

Amazon must have paid NCL to do it, now everyone needs a backlit Kindle. :D FDR is great at finding those new revenue streams!

 

I do frequently hear complaints about neighbors leaving their lights on all night. It did bother me on my last cruise. I like to keep the curtains open to get the sunlight early in morning, but our neighbor never turned the balcony light off so it made the room too bright at night. I'm not saying NCL should have denied everyone else lights just to accommodate my routine, but feedback may have been a factor.

 

I think more likely when you add up the cost of lights, installation, and electricity to power those lights the decision to omit them was pretty easy. It was just an easy line-item to cut off the build specs.

[LrgPizza]

I agree with you on this. My wife tends to do the same thing when we return to our stateroom in the evening. No to mention I like to sit out on the balcony with her and have a night cap. Omitting balcony lights doesn't make much sense.

It's good for those of us who like to sit outside and watch the stars or the ocean. When others forget to turn off their balcony lights (which happens all the time), it's nearly impossible to see. Personally, I am glad for this change. I can use a book light if I want to read, just like I do in bed.

[DachshundsRule]

I'm thrilled about no balcony lights, was always annoyed by the "light pollution" from neighboring balconies because I love to sit out there in the dark when I can't sleep. I think you will have enough ambient light from your cabin to see what is going on out there - we have similar setup with our Florida balcony. But a clip on nightlight will be necessary for reading.

[LrgPizza]

Another random observation I had about the Escape...

 

For those who have visited Margaritavilles on land, we know that a huge portion of these properties are dedicated to merchandise sales. They all feature a large gift shop with Margaritaville-themed everything. I was extremely surprised that there was absolutely no Margaritaville merchandise to be found anywhere on the Escape. (I was kind of hoping for a Margaritaville at Sea t-shirt.) Couple this with the fact that the entire 10 day cruise, I never saw a single person in the Caroline Herrera store despite walking past it at least 100 times, and it doesn't make much sense to me. I understand that NCL might be trying to be upscale with it's shopping offerings, but I guarantee that if that space was used for a Margaritaville shop, half the tourists sailing the Caribbean itineraries would take home a logo'd item, and NCL would make a lot more money than they will on the very tiny amount of purses, shoes, etc. that might be sold in the Herrera store. Just my 2 cents.

[FreestyleNovice]

I agree with you on this. My wife tends to do the same thing when we return to our stateroom in the evening. No to mention I like to sit out on the balcony with her and have a night cap. Omitting balcony lights doesn't make much sense.

 

See it as freestyle, you can bring your own and even better light now. ;)

 

Just kidding, consider bringing a small LED camping light for on the footstool or hang it on the inside of the railing. Just a few bucks and small in size.

[FreestyleNovice]

LP, but did you get the plastic blender souvenir cup at 5'O Clock? :P

[FreestyleNovice]

But a clip on nightlight will be necessary for reading.

 

Or a backlit e-reader. Saves weight!

[happy cruzin]

Another random observation I had about the Escape...

 

For those who have visited Margaritavilles on land, we know that a huge portion of these properties are dedicated to merchandise sales. They all feature a large gift shop with Margaritaville-themed everything. I was extremely surprised that there was absolutely no Margaritaville merchandise to be found anywhere on the Escape. (I was kind of hoping for a Margaritaville at Sea t-shirt.) Couple this with the fact that the entire 10 day cruise, I never saw a single person in the Caroline Herrera store despite walking past it at least 100 times, and it doesn't make much sense to me. I understand that NCL might be trying to be upscale with it's shopping offerings, but I guarantee that if that space was used for a Margaritaville shop, half the tourists sailing the Caribbean itineraries would take home a logo'd item, and NCL would make a lot more money than they will on the very tiny amount of purses, shoes, etc. that might be sold in the Herrera store. Just my 2 cents.

 

Oh...that would have been great!

[Zena2005]

Amazon must have paid NCL to do it, now everyone needs a backlit Kindle. :D FDR is great at finding those new revenue streams!

 

I do frequently hear complaints about neighbors leaving their lights on all night. It did bother me on my last cruise. I like to keep the curtains open to get the sunlight early in morning, but our neighbor never turned the balcony light off so it made the room too bright at night. I'm not saying NCL should have denied everyone else lights just to accommodate my routine, but feedback may have been a factor.

 

I think more likely when you add up the cost of lights, installation, and electricity to power those lights the decision to omit them was pretty easy. It was just an easy line-item to cut off the build specs.

 

In my profession we call that VE "Value Engineering" so I can totally see that being a driver. I see it all the time as we progress through the design phases (schematic, development and construction documents) as pricing gets updated in each phase and gets closer to a realistic cost, clients ask us what can we cut out to bring the cost back down.

 

I understand how it can annoy the neighbors if they leave their light on but we never had a problem with that. When we tired we sleep through anything. Plus we are also early risers regardless of what we did the night before. That being said we always keep the shades closed because we like it dark. I understand some people like to be awaken by the sun coming up and that great. And to that I can see how and adjacent balcony light may annoy you, but I never recall it being that direct into an adjacent stateroom. Besides every other bed for the most part is either next to the balcony or away from the balcony. It's totally subjective and several variable come into play. Also, in one of these threads there was some discussion that there is a bright night light next to the bed that apparently you cannot turn off, so if someone felt an adjacent balcony light was annoying with the drapes open, I wonder how they will feel about the light next to the bed?

 

First world problems I guess.

 

Personally, I think it is a safety issue from a trip hazard perspective. There should definitely be a light out on a balcony.

[Jenjer]

Another random observation I had about the Escape...

 

For those who have visited Margaritavilles on land, we know that a huge portion of these properties are dedicated to merchandise sales. They all feature a large gift shop with Margaritaville-themed everything. I was extremely surprised that there was absolutely no Margaritaville merchandise to be found anywhere on the Escape. (I was kind of hoping for a Margaritaville at Sea t-shirt.) Couple this with the fact that the entire 10 day cruise, I never saw a single person in the Caroline Herrera store despite walking past it at least 100 times, and it doesn't make much sense to me. I understand that NCL might be trying to be upscale with it's shopping offerings, but I guarantee that if that space was used for a Margaritaville shop, half the tourists sailing the Caribbean itineraries would take home a logo'd item, and NCL would make a lot more money than they will on the very tiny amount of purses, shoes, etc. that might be sold in the Herrera store. Just my 2 cents.

 

I think you are 100% right What a great idea

[Jeremiah1212]

Slightly off topic and I can't find and answer specific to Escape. Were there irons available from your stateroom attendant? Or a price per garment to send something out to have it ironed?

[Cruisercl]

(quote from Zena)... Also, in one of these threads there was some discussion that there is a bright night light next to the bed that apparently you cannot turn off, so if someone felt an adjacent balcony light was annoying with the drapes open, I wonder how they will feel about the light next to the bed? )

 

In our cabin we were able to turn off all of the lights - no bright night light next to the bed. The poster probably did not see or find the on/off switch which is right on the front of the bedside light. ;)

Edited November 10, 2015 by Cruisercl

[motleyfan]

Amazon must have paid NCL to do it, now everyone needs a backlit Kindle. :D FDR is great at finding those new revenue streams!

 

I do frequently hear complaints about neighbors leaving their lights on all night. It did bother me on my last cruise. I like to keep the curtains open to get the sunlight early in morning, but our neighbor never turned the balcony light off so it made the room too bright at night. I'm not saying NCL should have denied everyone else lights just to accommodate my routine, but feedback may have been a factor.

 

I think more likely when you add up the cost of lights, installation, and electricity to power those lights the decision to omit them was pretty easy. It was just an easy line-item to cut off the build specs.

 

Ahhhh i hate when people complain about that. I like to keep the curtains open but my neighbor had his lights on um ok.....THEN DON'T KEEP THE CURTAIN OPEN. I keep my lights on all night.

[sweetpee_1993]

Another random observation I had about the Escape...

 

For those who have visited Margaritavilles on land, we know that a huge portion of these properties are dedicated to merchandise sales. They all feature a large gift shop with Margaritaville-themed everything. I was extremely surprised that there was absolutely no Margaritaville merchandise to be found anywhere on the Escape. (I was kind of hoping for a Margaritaville at Sea t-shirt.) Couple this with the fact that the entire 10 day cruise, I never saw a single person in the Caroline Herrera store despite walking past it at least 100 times, and it doesn't make much sense to me. I understand that NCL might be trying to be upscale with it's shopping offerings, but I guarantee that if that space was used for a Margaritaville shop, half the tourists sailing the Caribbean itineraries would take home a logo'd item, and NCL would make a lot more money than they will on the very tiny amount of purses, shoes, etc. that might be sold in the Herrera store. Just my 2 cents.

 

Oh seriously?! No Margaritaville merch onboard???? Talk about a missed opportunity! We've been to so many Margaritavilles! It's actually the thing that caught my son's eye and made him choose the Escape for his graduation cruise. We usually grab tshirts wherever we go. We have M'ville shirts from all over the place. I was hoping to grab one for "at sea" too. Maybe they'll catch on before next May.

 

Did any of the Guy Harvey items also have a ship reference? That'd be another big opportunity. DH & oldest DS wear plenty of Guy Harvey already. Something referencing the ship would be awesome.

[Zena2005]

Good to know, Thank you Cruisercl.

[sweetpee_1993]

I wonder if they considered maybe a timer on those outside balcony lights. :confused:

 

We typically don't use ours. Try to keep it turned off if we know it's on. Neighbors who leave theirs on aren't a big deal although it's always nicer when everyone leaves the outside for nice, dark, peaceful moments. :p

[FreestyleNovice]

Motley, what time is the everyone-is-invited party in your suite? :)

[kenoqueen]

Sounds like the shows are the only positive reviews so far. I hope the reviews get better once she moves to Miami. I am really leery about NCL since I have never been. I may change to RCCL where I know it will be great on the Oasis or Allure. The Escape looks great, but NCL sounds like the don't know how to run the ship. I sure hope I'm wrong.

We've been on several NCL cruises as well as RCCL. To tell you the truth, we love them both but for the price, we choose NCL. We have yet to have bad service and overall have had very pleasant experiences on both. In our experience, Cruises are what you make of them.

We are booked on the Escape for Jan. 2nd and can't wait!