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

[coka]

I dunno Suitecruiser...no matter what you write about now or ever in the future...or if I ever meet you in real life...I will forever wonder how your arse is doing! OMG...walking in the wrong cabin and the arse story had me laughing out loud...seriously...It is rare I tell hubby about cruise critic reviews...but I did tell him about your bum! He too wants to know how you are doing.:p

 

I enjoy reading your gambling stories too...I do not understand the terminology and I do not understand how CAS works...but I am glad it works for you! The rock and roll thing sounds like fun.

 

Lastly, Thank you for being a trail blazer on a brand new ship...something I could never do again (unless I am christening it, hahaha). One really needs to have a go-with-the-flow attitude and understand there will be kinks to work out. I always look forward to reading about your travels and I look forward to the rest of this trip!

 

Sincerely,

coka:D

[Jeremiah1212]

I dunno Suitecruiser...no matter what you write about now or ever in the future...or if I ever meet you in real life...I will forever wonder how your arse is doing! OMG...walking in the wrong cabin and the arse story had me laughing out loud...seriously...It is rare I tell hubby about cruise critic reviews...but I did tell him about your bum! He too wants to know how you are doing.:p

 

I got a kick out of this because last night over dinner my partner and I, both in the medical field, got into an in-depth conversation trying to figure out exactly why the tub would have given her cheeks such serious issues. So thanks Suitecruiser for sharing your great review and your now-famous bum!

[asubaru]

Thanks for the commentary and laughs; I have enjoyed it all.

 

Curious who the casino manager and hosts are for the Escape. I would appreciate you posting , if you know/remember.

 

Hoping you recover soon!

[Casino Comp Chick]

Welcome Home! Loved the blog!

[LrgPizza]

...

 

 

Harriet, I hope you see this post! I was excited to order the mussels at Le Bistro. But *gasp* the amazing broth is GONE! They are now just in a regular mussel juice broth that really has no flavor. I remember you loving these too, so I thought I'd share the crappy news. (This is unrelated to this post, but I needed to quote you to get your attention. Hope you had a good Pearl cruise.)

 

Hilarious review, SuiteCruiser! Well done.

Edited November 8, 2015 by LrgPizza

[hpecorari]

Harriet, I hope you see this post! I was excited to order the mussels at Le Bistro. But *gasp* the amazing broth is GONE! They are now just in a regular mussel juice broth that really has no flavor. I remember you loving these too, so I thought I'd share the crappy news. (This is unrelated to this post, but I needed to quote you to get your attention. Hope you had a good Pearl cruise.)

 

Hilarious review, SuiteCruiser! Well done.

 

Off topic, Sorry Sally and folks -

 

Really? No S*** !

 

The mussels were good but I always ordered them for their nice milky broth!

 

I'll check it out again on the Escape in January. The broth was still there on my Pearl cruise.

 

Harriet

[SuiteCruiser]

Day 10

 

Vibe was really fun, stayed until 1:00 hanging with Chad and Alessio, Mindi, Judy and Gavin. Sun was really hot, lots of people in the hot tub, the misters run all of the time, so they cooled us off a bit too.

 

Mindi and I decided to go to Margaritaville for lunch and when we got there, we were told it would be an hour wait. No thanks! Sadly we counted 6 empty tables for 2 or 4 and I'm not sure why they weren't seating people in them.

 

Down to O'Sheehan's and I ordered the fish and chips, and also the nachos, mostly just to review them. The nachos were really bad. Cheeze Whiz and a bit of sour cream on chips, no cheddar at all and no real queso either. Fish and chips were good though.

 

Up to change and then down to the casino for a while. Tried some 3 card and Let it Ride, and hit a 3 of a kind, then a full house. I guess my luck is still holding at this point :) Went to Roulette because my dealer from yesterday was the dealer there. I hit about 6 numbers in a row. At one point the entire roulette board had all of my numbers except for 2. Unbelievable!

 

Luck started to change and I began donating, so decided to go play some slots. Hit the Wizard of Oz, got nothing, hit Wheel of Fortune and still nothing. Tried a table again, nothing. Seems to have dried up. Time to go upstairs and pack and get ready for dinner.

 

Headed back to Quick Hits and won $250, so that was great. Planned to cash out at $200 kept going up and down, and then I saw the screen covered in Quick Hits! I counted and there were 8 of them, looked up and the jackpot screen and there it was $1967 Hand Pay!!! I was so shocked and excited! It took a while to process everything. I had a dream that the HD set my machine to win $15K for compensation, but wanted it out of the casino budget, It stuck with me when I awoke, so I grabbed my drivers license so I would have it in case.

 

Since I'm Canadian, all they needed was to see my drivers license so they wouldn't withhold tax. It all went well, they paid me in cash at my seat and I took a couple of pictures of the screen to send home. I went to find Mindi and show her the picture, then I went back to guest services and paid all my money except a hundred down on my bill. What a couple of days I've had!

 

Dinner was at 7:45, and we decided to get together at Sugarcane for pre-dinner drinks. Judy had a mojito and I stuck with a Margarita. Very good. Off to La Cucina and we were seated back inside the restaurant and beside a table for 12 and a table for 6, so we commented on that because sometimes that means loud and it it also could be bad service

 

Weren't we all thrilled a few minutes later when the guys all showed up and took over those tables. Great opportunity for goodbye hugs and kisses. Most will be on Epic next year, so hopefully we'll spend more time together then.

 

Off to the casino, with no luck at all, played my last $100 and said all of my goodbyes, headed to bed around 11:00 to try to get a good night's sleep before the "get the hell off the ship announcements" in the morning.

[SuiteCruiser]

Thank you for your wonderful review! We are sailing the Escape in 30 days. We are super excited. I was considering purchasing a spa pass. Have you had a chance to try out the spa yet?

 

 

Also you mentioned you were writing the previous post while sunbathing in Vibe. How is the internet on the Escape. Are they selling internet packages by the day or by the minute?

 

I never saw the spa, only bad thing I heard is they only have a few lockers, which means you leave your belongings out, or need to walk out to the main area and leave your stuff at the desk.

 

I had purchased the "all you can eat" internet package ahead of time, so don't know for sure, but I believe it's all by the minute. Breakaway had offered one by the MB, which seemed to be more sensible. The internet wasn't working well most of the cruise though. Uploads to here were sometimes 20 minutes. Eek! Hope it somehow improves.

[SuiteCruiser]

Thanks so much for your review I'm really enjoying it (dh and I are both big gamblers). My DH and I will be doing our first NCL cruise on this ship in Jan and can't wait. We were wanting to know cause we have heard different things, is there bowling lanes in O'Sheehans? Thanks in advance.

 

Yes, there are 2 lanes in O'Sheehan's, along with pool tables, dart boards and video games. Thank you for following along :)

[SuiteCruiser]

I am really enjoying your posts. Could you tell me if the casino is non smoking or do they have a non smoking side?

Thanks

 

Thank you! Right now, the entire Escape casino is smoke free. There was word they were going to enclose a part of it and make it smoking.

[SuiteCruiser]

I've enjoyed your review and very much appreciate the time you've taken to give details and information. Hope your medical situation has improved. I'll be on the Breakaway in August and noticed that you ate in the Haven and the menu is different from what is currently being served on other ships. Do you think you can post pictures of the new lunch and dinner menus in the Haven? I know that they posted pictures on the NCL Fbook, but they are very hard to read. I wonder if these new Haven menus will be going fleet wide in January. I'm glad you have enjoyed your trip. Have a safe trip back home.

 

I didn't take any pictures of the Haven dinner menu, but it was really good. Likely will be going fleet wide, as I believe that is the plan. Didn't see the lunch menu at all.

 

I'm feeling much better, thank you! And thanks to you all for your lovely comments, it's very kind :)

[SuiteCruiser]

Cruising is all about the casino for me too. Wondering if you play Video Poker or have noticed what kind of machines they have.

 

Enjoying your fun cruise!

 

I'm sorry, I never even looked at them. There are some in the bar in Skyline though, which would be pretty fun :)

[SuiteCruiser]

I dunno Suitecruiser...no matter what you write about now or ever in the future...or if I ever meet you in real life...I will forever wonder how your arse is doing! OMG...walking in the wrong cabin and the arse story had me laughing out loud...seriously...It is rare I tell hubby about cruise critic reviews...but I did tell him about your bum! He too wants to know how you are doing.:p

 

I enjoy reading your gambling stories too...I do not understand the terminology and I do not understand how CAS works...but I am glad it works for you! The rock and roll thing sounds like fun.

 

Lastly, Thank you for being a trail blazer on a brand new ship...something I could never do again (unless I am christening it, hahaha). One really needs to have a go-with-the-flow attitude and understand there will be kinks to work out. I always look forward to reading about your travels and I look forward to the rest of this trip!

 

Sincerely,

coka:D

 

We sure miss you in these parts, Coka! Love love love your reviews, and thanks so much for reading mine.

 

My arse is getting better and better LOL :) What an adventure that all was. I think I'm with you, in that I don't really want to do another inaugural. There were some annoyances like under provisioning and lots of creaking and settling. I do love this ship though, and hope to sail on her in the near future.

[SuiteCruiser]

Harriet, I hope you see this post! I was excited to order the mussels at Le Bistro. But *gasp* the amazing broth is GONE! They are now just in a regular mussel juice broth that really has no flavor. I remember you loving these too, so I thought I'd share the crappy news. (This is unrelated to this post, but I needed to quote you to get your attention. Hope you had a good Pearl cruise.)

 

Hilarious review, SuiteCruiser! Well done.

 

Thanks! Look forward to yours! Not sure if we ever crossed paths, but it's always interesting to get different perspectives on the same trip.

[mking8288]

Welcome home - must be good to see dry land & foot on the pier, but sad to leave a brand new ship behind, thank you for sharing your adventure with us - and get to your own doctor to followup as appropriate.

 

LrgPizza - how was the mussels, size-wise. Had it twice on the BA in March, first time - it came out, I almost mistaken them for being empty shells only - they were that big. The creamy broth was fine, however. Went to LeBistro 3 days later, the mussels grew in size, still below "average" ... must be an off-season and/or Euro-sizing thing, LOL. :D Just a minor detail. My apology for slightly off-topic food commentary.

Edited November 9, 2015 by mking8288

[aubreyc1988]

I LOVE the wizard of Oz slot machine...this could be bad on my upcoming cruise! I love all those new slots they are coming out with now, so much more exciting to play

[sandpiper35]

Sally, Sally, Sally, we, the cruising fans all over the world, bestow upon you the first, and only, "Most entertaining Escape transatlantic report EVER Award". Thank you for your reports and hope you are all better now from your mishap and can seat comfortably without discomfort. LOL. Duirng the transatlantic cruise, my wife and I checked the CC boards every day wondering: "what did Sally post today", Excellent. Thank you.

 

Hope to catch your future reports.

 

Armando & Maria.

[SuiteCruiser]

Sally, Sally, Sally, we, the cruising fans all over the world, bestow upon you the first, and only, "Most entertaining Escape transatlantic report EVER Award". Thank you for your reports and hope you are all better now from your mishap and can seat comfortably without discomfort. LOL. Duirng the transatlantic cruise, my wife and I checked the CC boards every day wondering: "what did Sally post today", Excellent. Thank you.

 

Hope to catch your future reports.

 

Armando & Maria.

 

Thank you so much, you definitely brightened up my first day at home :) I'm feeling much better, still a bit of peeling, but I was able to comfortably sit (as comfortably as is possible) in a plane for 4.5 hours yesterday to get home. Thanks for following along, we had an amazing time!

[brookie848]

I didn't take any pictures of the Haven dinner menu, but it was really good. Likely will be going fleet wide, as I believe that is the plan. Didn't see the lunch menu at all.

 

If you want pictures of the Haven menus, try this review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2277733

 

There's also pictures of some of the food.

[Ctrinh225]

Thank You sooooo much for your live review! We will be on the Escape in March thru CAS as well. You made me want to book a transatlantic next year on Harmony after my Epic Med cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SuiteCruiser]

Thank You sooooo much for your live review! We will be on the Escape in March thru CAS as well. You made me want to book a transatlantic next year on Harmony after my Epic Med cruise.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

So glad you enjoyed it! I'm finally home and thinking about my next adventure. Loved the Escape, so planning on going back, but booked on Epic for the Transatlantic next year.

 

I highly recommend them!

[sweetpee_1993]

Who's watching on Periscope LIVE???? I am! I wanna spin the wheel!!!

[nemini]

As a couple of Margaritaville side notes....

 

It's definitely open for breakfast, though it was closed for breakfast for the middle half or so of the cruise. (Weather, I assume. Still, it was open for the first couple of days, so dunno.) I loved the breakfast. The Key West omelet (with shrimp and toppoed with a key lime hollandaise) was incredible and probably my favorite breakfast item on the ship. The rest of the breakfast menu was solid, and (unlike prety much everything else for breakfast) was generally unique to Margaritaville.

 

As far as the 1 hour wait for lunch on the last day.... They were having some sort of kitchen troubles. It was a 40-minute wait for breakfast, after being seated and my order taken. It wasn't--or shouldn't've been--that there was a hourlong wait to be seated, but that there would be an hourlong wait on food.

 

I completely agree with you on the buffalo rock shrimp. I'm missing that and the tasty dragon roll from Food Republic already. Okay, and the fish tacos and volcano burger from Margaritaville. :)

[SuiteCruiser]

As a couple of Margaritaville side notes....

 

It's definitely open for breakfast, though it was closed for breakfast for the middle half or so of the cruise. (Weather, I assume. Still, it was open for the first couple of days, so dunno.) I loved the breakfast. The Key West omelet (with shrimp and toppoed with a key lime hollandaise) was incredible and probably my favorite breakfast item on the ship. The rest of the breakfast menu was solid, and (unlike prety much everything else for breakfast) was generally unique to Margaritaville.

 

As far as the 1 hour wait for lunch on the last day.... They were having some sort of kitchen troubles. It was a 40-minute wait for breakfast, after being seated and my order taken. It wasn't--or shouldn't've been--that there was a hourlong wait to be seated, but that there would be an hourlong wait on food.

 

I completely agree with you on the buffalo rock shrimp. I'm missing that and the tasty dragon roll from Food Republic already. Okay, and the fish tacos and volcano burger from Margaritaville. :)

 

Just thinking about those shrimp make my mouth water :) I'm not a breakfast girl, but that sure does sound good!

[SuiteCruiser]

I know I just need to get back up on that horse. I think I'm ready to take a bath...wish me luck! LOL