****Live from the Escape Transatlantic****

[boopsahoy]

What a fun report! I love that you spend as much time as we do in the casino! People always ask where's my tan when I get home lol

[TraJon9]

What in the world is on the bottom of the tub ??!!??

 

I thought I must have read this wrong and read it again.. So bizarre. They need to figure that out! Of course for children, honestly though for everyone, yes you.. This is crazy! I have never.. I went on vacation and all I got was a peeling bum.. Never saw that Tshirt.

 

We have a local restuarant that serves buffalo shrimp with blue cheese crumbles.. Delicious! I agree the speciality dining is really the way to go mixed with the free.. People expect so much for free. I often wonder if they grocery shop for high end meats, vegetables, good ingredients.. Prices have skyrocketed. I love to cook so maybe I get that..

[TraJon9]

What a fun report! I love that you spend as much time as we do in the casino! People always ask where's my tan when I get home lol

 

I blame it on my sunscreen! Ha

[gottogetaway2]

Day 1

We went to have a drink at Tobacco road and wait for Judy's friend Gavin to arrive. He arrived with no issue, Mindi took my carryon to her room and afterwards, we went to check out her balcony cabin and grab my bag. Her suitcase was already in her room, and this was around 2:30. Back down to 5 and my oceanview cabin and keycard worked, and there was the biggest cabin I've ever seen outside of a suite. Probably 40 ft from the door to the window, same width as a balcony cabin, couch area with it's own TV, curtain to separate the areas, desk, huge bathroom with a bathtub :) It's a family oceanview, and right near the kids club, but there are hardly any kids onboard, so that's not an issue. 3 closets, and another TV near the bed. I'm very pleased with it.

 

May I ask which Family Ocean View cabin you are in? We are sailing on Nov. 28th and have 5144. I would love to know if this is one of the larger ones, and if noise is an issue from deck 6.

Love your review, thanks!

[Bobstam]

Silver Cloud, what is the Mitten Cruiser all about? I also live in the mitten and will be on the Escape Feb 6, 20106. Just caught my attention.

[texangal39]

Following! Sorry to hear about your rear, but I love-love-love your style of review. It's like being on the adventure with you! Thank you for sharing your experience in such amusing detail.

[SuiteCruiser]

Sorry to hear about you bum [emoji16]. How was La Cucina?

 

Sorry, I didn't elaborate, too caught up in my butt issues LOL :) La Cucina was lovely, new menu, used to always get chicken parm, but this time had the caprese salad and the bolognese lasagna. Judy and Gavin had the caesar salad and the gorgonzola crusted filets and the noises they made were *almost* x-rated, so I'd say very good. Mindi had the coppino (sp) and it was also good.

[SuiteCruiser]

What in the world is on the bottom of the tub ??!!??

 

I thought I must have read this wrong and read it again.. So bizarre. They need to figure that out! Of course for children, honestly though for everyone, yes you.. This is crazy! I have never.. I went on vacation and all I got was a peeling bum.. Never saw that Tshirt.

 

We have a local restuarant that serves buffalo shrimp with blue cheese crumbles.. Delicious! I agree the speciality dining is really the way to go mixed with the free.. People expect so much for free. I often wonder if they grocery shop for high end meats, vegetables, good ingredients.. Prices have skyrocketed. I love to cook so maybe I get that..

 

A friend of mine thinks that maybe when the etched the bottom of the tub to make it slip resistant, they didn't seal it. Usually when you etch something, you use acid, so that could be why it burned me so quickly and so badly.

 

Those shrimp are amazing, it's 1:35, turning the clocks back for the 4th 25 hour day in the trip (yay!!) and otherwise might head up for a snack of those. Mmmm

[SuiteCruiser]

i blame it on my sunscreen! Ha

 

lol!

[SuiteCruiser]

May I ask which Family Ocean View cabin you are in? We are sailing on Nov. 28th and have 5144. I would love to know if this is one of the larger ones, and if noise is an issue from deck 6.

Love your review, thanks!

 

I'm in 5154, so it will be the same. Crazy roomy, great for families. it's a bit tight between the end of the bed and the wall, but otherwise tons of space.

[SuiteCruiser]

May I ask which Family Ocean View cabin you are in? We are sailing on Nov. 28th and have 5144. I would love to know if this is one of the larger ones, and if noise is an issue from deck 6.

Love your review, thanks!

 

I'm in 5154, so it will be the same. Crazy roomy, great for families. it's a bit tight between the end of the bed and the wall, but otherwise tons of space. No real issues with noise, once and a while there is a sound of an AC unit starting up, or vaccum maybe, but it's all mostly white noise. There are lots of creaks and cracks right now, still swaying a lot, so that's the reason, but nothing to keep me awake and I'm an incredibly light sleeper.

 

You're going to love it :) Epic has always been my favourite ship, but I think I've found my new favourite.

[SuiteCruiser]

So after lunch I came down to my cabin to check my messages, there were none. I called guest services, they said they'd call back in a minute and 15 minutes later, we're still sitting there and decided to go upstairs in person. The first person we spoke to listened to the saga all over again (I'm already getting tired of the story) and said she would talk to her supervisor and see if they would cover the visit to the infirmary. Supervisor came out and said no, they wouldn't. I'm getting very, very annoyed by this time and ask to speak to a manager. It takes at least 20 minutes at the counter back and forth, meanwhile, I'm leaning over the counter trying to keep breathing. Finally the manager comes out and I say I need to sit down before I fall down, so we sit and i recount all over again. He too says they cannot guarantee that the fee would be covered, that the Doctor makes that determination. Mindi tells me her brother is a lawyer who deals with these cases (and is in Florida) and if it's not covered, he'll at least send a strongly worded letter to them and there should be no issue getting the couple of hundred dollars back. I can afford, that's not the issue, but it's the principle of the thing.

 

Manager tells me that he'll call the infirmary and tell them the information will be coming, so I head off to the infirmary. As soon as I stepped into the elevator, the manager came in too and told me it's closed and to return at 5:00. I'm so very tired of all of the run around at this point. I told him in no uncertain terms that I wanted to meet with the HD Sean.

 

We go back to the casino and Judy's at the UTH table with some other friends and she asks what the situation is, and I tell her and in typical Sally fashion, instead of getting mad, I get sad, and my eyes start welling up. My friend Wayne offers tylenol or anything that could help and I said I really just need to stop talking about it right now and have some fun, someone else offered something else, and it pushed me over the edge and I had to leave like an idiot with tears flowing. Into the bathroom to wash my face and Judy came in for a hug and I told her I just feel like I'm wasting all of this time, but I'm desperate for them to acknowledge the real issue that it is and that I want to make sure they follow up and don't let anyone else get hurt, especially little kids. Wash my face, shake it off and back to the casino and all is okay.

 

5:00 comes and Mindi and I head to the infirmary and I have to tell the nurse the story again, she tells me it will be $150 to see the doctor, I say fine. Manager from guest services comes up and asks if 7PM or 9PM work better from my meeting with Sean, I said 7:00 and it's set. I wait a bit more and the doctor calls me in, I go through the full story again and then he examines me, poking and prodding. He said you've got first degree burns, so we need to get that fixed, gave me some ointment to put on 3-4 times a day and he wants to see me in another 2 days. He also suggested that I fill out an "accident report" and notify security so it's all logged. I did that, security met me in the infirmary and we went back down to my cabin where they took pictures of the tub. Before I left, they didn't ask me for my card again, so I'm not sure if they charged me or not.

 

Back to the casino and chatting with one of our dealer friends and supervisor friends and we're kidding about the fact that they will probably send chocolate covered strawberries and how it's all very sad.

 

I recruited Judy as my wing-woman for the meeting because I'm likely to turn into a puddle and she's very strong. I am also very strong when I go to bat for others, but not so much for myself.

 

Sean's ready for us right on time, we chat for a bit and I explain the story once again, adding the medical bits and he is taking it all very seriously. He said they will be checking all of the tubs, and that he agrees with me that the charges should not be my responsibility. Apparently that is not his job either though, the Staff Captain decides that. Since I've fully filed my reports, the Staff Captain is now aware, so the plans to make sure no one else is hurt are set in motion, and I'm very happy with that. I left his office very relieved.

 

I will fill you in on the rest of the day later, but when I came in my cabin I was 100% expecting chocolate covered strawberries and there were none. There was an envelope with my name, I opened it and it was an invitation for myself and my guests to dinner in the Haven one night along with a bottle of wine, which I think is fantastic. I'm excited to see the Haven on this great ship and so thankful there are no strawberries here!

[SuiteCruiser]

Sally this review is too funny. Love the Halloween "parade". My husband Scott and I met Steven on our Breakaway cruise a few years ago and spent many nights int he casino together, if you see him again tell him I said Hi! I can't believe you were able to walk into the wrong cabin, wow, I'm sure that couple didn't sleep too well that night either, LOL.

 

Glad you finally had some luck at the tables. Why did Judy not want you to talk to the supervisor, was she cranky or did she just think she was bad luck?

 

Hoping the weather improves for the second half of the cruise.

 

Can't wait to hear more about your sailing, love all of the details and your writing style.

:):):):)

 

Thanks so very much :)

 

The reason Judy didn't want me talking to the supervisor is because she's the one who is so jealous of her ex and I talking. It's totally ridiculous and she's finally warmed up thankfully!

 

Told Steven that you and Numberguy said hello and he said that was really nice of you guys. This morning I went to check on him at 3 card poker and he'd just gone all in with $25 on 6 card and Pair Plus and was dealt 3 kings, and the dealer had the 4th! It was amazing!

[mking8288]

Following & catching up ... so sorry reading on day 6 about the bath tub & burn. It seemed you are keeping your spirits high & putting the casino thru its paces :D

 

Just wondering - thinking out loud - if that unknown or hazardous chemical might've been something as innocent as bleach cleaning solution or similar products used - but not diluted properly before use and/or not flushed clean & rinsed out. Let's hope the Staff Captain made the good call & take care of the infirmary visits and their team get to trace the source, so that other guests won't be exposed to the substance. (And, you've used the shower/tub for several days prior and incident-free, so ...)

[SuiteCruiser]

Following & catching up ... so sorry reading on day 6 about the bath tub & burn. It seemed you are keeping your spirits high & putting the casino thru its paces :D

 

Just wondering - thinking out loud - if that unknown or hazardous chemical might've been something as innocent as bleach cleaning solution or similar products used - but not diluted properly before use and/or not flushed clean & rinsed out. Let's hope the Staff Captain made the good call & take care of the infirmary visits and their team get to trace the source, so that other guests won't be exposed to the substance. (And, you've used the shower/tub for several days prior and incident-free, so ...)

 

I hope it's really simple too, the one thing is that the non slip surface seems to have been removed from where I sat in the tub, so I really think that is the culprit. The tub was full when I got in, so I would think a cleaning solution would have been diluted by then. I had used the shower before, but this was my first, and definitely last bath.

 

I will keep you posted on the outcome of the fees, but I am sure they will do the right thing. I did expect the CSI team to show up to take swabs of the bathtub and likely pick up bits of my DNA along with it ;)

[Ozzie's Mom]

I did expect the CSI team to show up to take swabs of the bathtub and likely pick up bits of my DNA along with it ;)

 

Now, I'm more interested in solving the mystery of the burnt bum that I am about the ship!

[Loonbeam]

Just to throw a little science in the mix, most of that kind of material (non-slip) is a hydrophobic polymer or epoxy. Basically a plastic that resists water. It would not dilute no matter how much water exposed to, its only removed by friction...

 

If it was some form of binary compound, like an epoxy, and only one component was used, I could easily see something like this happening. Doing thousands of cabins, I can see that kind of mistake being made as well (usually the stuff is in 2 parallel tubes - if you miss an air bubble or misfilled tube...)

 

I hope it's really simple too, the one thing is that the non slip surface seems to have been removed from where I sat in the tub, so I really think that is the culprit. The tub was full when I got in, so I would think a cleaning solution would have been diluted by then. I had used the shower before, but this was my first, and definitely last bath.

 

I will keep you posted on the outcome of the fees, but I am sure they will do the right thing. I did expect the CSI team to show up to take swabs of the bathtub and likely pick up bits of my DNA along with it ;)

[SuiteCruiser]

Just to throw a little science in the mix, most of that kind of material (non-slip) is a hydrophobic polymer or epoxy. Basically a plastic that resists water. It would not dilute no matter how much water exposed to, its only removed by friction...

 

If it was some form of binary compound, like an epoxy, and only one component was used, I could easily see something like this happening. Doing thousands of cabins, I can see that kind of mistake being made as well (usually the stuff is in 2 parallel tubes - if you miss an air bubble or misfilled tube...)

 

This sounds more than reasonable :) Thanks for the insight!

[trfccruiser]

So sorry to hear about your accident.Pleased to hear that they have finally taken your issue seriously but you shouldn't have had to take it that far.Most importantly,hope there is no lasting damage and that you can sit completely comfortably soon!

[SuiteCruiser]

Day 7

 

Lunch was again very yummy. I had the chicken quesadilla which was excellent and Judy stayed with the fish tacos and Mindi had the chips and queso and salsa. This sounds lovely, but add in 120 mph winds and we were snatching chips from the air and trying to save ourselves from being blown overboard. I *may* be exaggerating a bit, but it was crazy windy in there, we should have gone elsewhere. But the food was really great.

 

I filled you in on the rest of my pain in the ass day yesterday, so I skip ahead to dinner which was our group of 16 at Teppanyaki. Jason, Ken and their gang along with Judy, Gavin, Mindi, Linda and Wayne. It was really fun, the other tables in the room had chefs singing and doing great shows and the people around the table were all duds, so we started joining in with singing along with them before ours even arrived :)

 

Show was good at one point our chef caught an egg in his hat and tried again and tipped his head back and the egg fell on the other grill. Hilarious :)

 

Food was really good as always. They have replaced the Shogun with Kamakura which means instead of sirloin, it's filet, which sounds great, but I think filet is too lean for this type of grilling. The steak just wasn't as good as before, but it was all still really great.

 

The gang is always so much fun, and this is our new annual tradition. Last year Jason set it up, but this year with all of the UDPs it's really tough to get reservations, let alone 16 at Teppanyaki. I asked the casino host and she arranged it for us, and it was at 8:15 which was also pleasantly surprising.

 

Back to the casino, up and down, played some slots here and there, only once I didn't break even, so I may be better at those, but love the camaraderie of the tables. I was winning some money at roulette at the far end of the casino from UTH and heard them all chanting Jose, Jose, Jose! I laughed and love that everyone calls him that now.

 

Late night hit the slots again and the music was blaring from the Skyline Bar, great dance tunes, people dancing, so I think they finally figured out the whole night club thing. Very fun.

 

I'm writing this from Vibe on day 8 :) It's finally open and Judy and I got the very first drinks ever from Vibe on Escape! Pisco Punch for two :) It's so very exciting to be outside in the sun finally.

 

Since we're outside, I'm on my iPad and can't see what I'm doing very well, please forgive the typos :)

[aubreyc1988]

a couple of questions

 

what are the hours of the vibe and the vibe bar?

 

what's different about the O Sheehans menu - I've heard no mozzarella sticks or prime rib nights

[gottogetaway2]

I'm in 5154, so it will be the same. Crazy roomy, great for families. it's a bit tight between the end of the bed and the wall, but otherwise tons of space. No real issues with noise, once and a while there is a sound of an AC unit starting up, or vaccum maybe, but it's all mostly white noise. There are lots of creaks and cracks right now, still swaying a lot, so that's the reason, but nothing to keep me awake and I'm an incredibly light sleeper.

 

You're going to love it :) Epic has always been my favourite ship, but I think I've found my new favourite.

 

Thank you so much!! My family loves to cruise, we were on the Getaway last fall and are excited for the Escape. We had a family ocean view on the Getaway but had to switch to two inside connecting after two nights, there was a pillar in the room and for some reason it was making really loud popping/cracking sounds constantly. They had someone come check it out, nobody could figure out what was causing it. The hotel manager said it was too loud and didn't want us to have to endure that for 7 days so they moved us.

I am also happy to hear the noise from deck 6 hasn't been a issue, it is hard to tell what is directly above those cabins, but it looks like public atrium space.

I hope the movement of the ship calms as you get closer to land!

[CasinoCruzGirl]

Sally hate to disturb your blog but we need to talk to you in our chat.

 

Back to regular scheduled blog now

[qnofhrts]

Sally, I love your posts so much that I find myself watching for your updates. It's feels like reading a favorite book. I must confess the fact that I even read of your past adventures. You sound like so much fun and are a fine example of a person that makes the best of a situation so it is always a fun experience. My kind of person. Wish you were on the 4-30-16 cruise so we could meet. I sincerely hope you get to the bottom (no pun intended) of your health situations. Both bum related and breathing related.

 

~Penny~

Edited November 5, 2015 by qnofhrts

[hpecorari]

OMG Sally - I've been a 'silent' reader enjoying up until now but I must open my mouth to remind you of one thing......

 

Photos! Any good lawyer wants photos. Don't forget to have Judy take some!

 

LOL

 

Harriet