Everything.. ESCAPE (live 29 Oct 2015!)

[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!

[BeachRum]

... 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

 

On the Getaway, my neighbor's balcony light wasn't very bright, so that didn't bother me. More of an issue was, as a privacy issue, when he left it on, it suggested that there was someone there and I had to behave much more civilized on my own balcony! :)

[Coastalbreezes]

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.

 

Agree with you about CH store and was surprised as well at the lack of theme related merchandise. Plus the venue itself (as well as the 5 O' Clock Bar) didn't have a real Buffett feel to it. As I said in my review, Margaritaville seemed more like an outdoor extension of the Garden Cafe but with menus and some Buffett stuff hanging around as did the bar. Ditto Tobacco Road -- none of these venues had a "real" feel to them. Just my opinion.

 

Tracy

[steamboats]

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. ;)

 

Yes, there was a switch on the night light but anyway the light didn´t turn completely off. The light was dimmed but not off.

 

steamboats

[darn88]

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.

 

What a great idea...hope NCL is reading this!

[ChrisCJSU]

What a great idea...hope NCL is reading this!

 

 

Ditto here!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FreestyleNovice]

Yes, there was a switch on the night light but anyway the light didn´t turn completely off. The light was dimmed but not off.

 

steamboats

 

Hm didn't had that!

[LrgPizza]

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.

There were some Guy Harvey items that had NCL references. There were very, very few Escape specific items in the gift shop -- like probably less than 10, if I remember right. There was some generic Guy Harvey items, like tote bags and things, that made no reference to NCL whatsoever, so they can be purchased elsewhere for much less. There was very little selection of souvenirs.

 

I purchased an Escape wine glass, and the clerks looked at me like I was from outer space when I asked if they had a box for it, or at least some bubble wrap. I waited about 15 minutes while one clerk went somewhere to another deck to try to locate some bubble wrap.

[CruiseNYR]

I took this the other night when Escape was pulling into the turning basin for the first time. (Its a little dark, I sent my best night time camera on Allure for the 3 day)

 

Ill be heading back to Miami tomorrow to film her leaving at 4pm from South Point

[FreestyleNovice]

*stares*

[DachshundsRule]

I believe that's the demographic everyone's after these days. Ahem.

Edited November 10, 2015 by DachshundsRule

[comet6270]

*stares*

 

Poor girl...she must have to have her slacks custom made. :rolleyes:

[time2cruise1]

Just back from 14 days on the Escape. For those thinking of booking the Haven by all means book deck 17. I was on 18. Thankfully the weather was bad for most of the cruise but when it improved lots of noise from the deck 19 sun deck. Furniture moving very early and elephants walking all day. In fact one night they worked all night sanding the flooring. That aside the Escape is a special treat.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk - Jim

[sjbdtz]

Sounds like Margaritaville is changing on the first 7 day voyage - to having a cover charge!! [emoji15]

 

IF this turns out to be true - that it quite disappointing since its been advertised as "include" from the very beginning. [emoji20]. Will be following this to see what happens....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2278539

 

Yes, it's going to $4.99 now that it's in Miami. I overheard two crewmembers discussing whether it was still free, or $4.99 now...and the response was free until Miami.

 

 

Cross-posting my response from above thread:

 

As others have said, we really don't know if this is true. But...I will be on the Nov. 14th sailing and, when I booked, it was listed as "Complimentary." I just checked again, and it is listed as" Complimentary." In any world-- charging a cover charge is not "complimentary" I have been looking forward to going there and, will do so on my long awaited cruise this Saturday. If they try to charge a cover, I will pleasantly discuss my concerns. If they insist, I will go and dine (afterall, we all know that the poor schmucks working there aren't at fault) then, I plan to dispute the charge once home. Is this a lot of effort over $10 (for 2)...absolutely! Will I do it...absolutely!! It is the principle. It would be a bait and switch and, we shouldn't just accept it. Just as with the food takeout issue....we do have a voice and need to use it.

 

For what it is worth...that is my opinion.....but, let's just hope it is a false rumor.

__________________

 

It's not.

 

 

 

 

 

Also: the H6 at the back definitely has balcony lights. The switch is near the door.

 

 

Stephen

 

 

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