Some thoughts on my Xmas cruise on the Escape

[KeithJenner]

Barnacle boy - I read the beam numbers right from the book in the room, even double checked them as they looked off to me. The hard cover book was most likely wrong.

 

We had this discussion a month or so back on here.

 

The confusion arises because the quoted beam for the Escape is at the waterline, whereas for the Aways it includes the lifeboats, which hang out over the edge of the ship.

 

If you are comparing like with like then, as barnacle boy says, the Escape is a little wider at the waterline.

[weltek]

Bummer about Howl. But yeah, they are short contracts, so hoping a new crop pops up soon. We were lucky on the Getaway. The first two nights the people were fantastic (other than one bad song rendition that kept repeating each night). At then end, one person left and the new person we picked up in our last port wasn't great.

[Jenjer]

You review is alarming to me about our June cruise. I have been very disappointed to hear so many bad things about Escape. That goes along with all the changes coming down from corporate.

 

 

The info on Tortoga is especially helpful on what to avoid doing. Have you thought about writing a review for your excursion on NCL.com? I really think you should. I know I have been reading the reviews as we figure out what to.

 

How where the water slides?

 

Did your teens enjoy the evening activities?

[Laszlo]

How do you get to Norman Island?

 

By boat, its a small island for neutralist. Don't tell anyone;)

[dans0202]

Jenjer

I know I noted many negatives but the cruise was enjoyable. Its the changes and method of handling them that are the most concerning.

I did recently post a review and repeated my comments on Tortola. The island is simply not ready for the Escape (IMO) especially at high season. If I were recommending to somebody what to do I would say stay on the ship and enjoy the peace and quiet (no lines on the slides).

The water slides were fun, we did see lighter people getting stuck on the drop slide as they did not have the speed to make the final up slope. My kids called it the walk of shame when one of their friend would need to be rescued from the escape hatch.

My kids would go to the teen club but did not participate in any organized activities. I think with so many teens it would be very hard to operate. They were just left to interact with each other.

Don't worry too much about the negatives. Being aware of the issues helps to avoid any negative shocks on board. Just keep in mind that NCL has returned to its nickel and diming ways. Set out before hand what you are comfortable spending and try not to deviate from your plan.

[Vyhanek]

I'm curious why you quoted the entire post, requiring everyone to scroll and scroll in order to get to your response. I mean, you were the first person to reply, so we already know you're replying to the OP, right?

 

This is actually a common internet board practice on many sites.

 

The first to respond cuts and pastes the original post and reposts. It's done so that in the event the original poster deletes or edits the post, the information will still be posted for discussion. There's other reasons too, that I can't remember. It's fairly common practice - but only for the first to repost the entirity.

[Sonoran_cruiser]

I did the Virgin Gorda bath excursion on the first 7 Day Escape Cruise. My biggest complaint is with the lack of "tour guides" for the tour company.

 

Part way down the trail was a woman saying "be back at the pickup point by noon". This didn't give us much time to visit the first beach, creep ridiculously slowly through the bath trail, take a brief stop at Devil's beach, and walk back to the top.

 

As we start to assemble up top, we're then told that "your bus won't be coming for you until 1pm". Needless to say, we're all p*ssed off about having to rush to get back up top, when in fact we had another hour to spend down there. So everyone piles into the nearby restaurant, to spend money they didn't plan on spending (hmm, maybe a ploy between the restaurant and tour operator).

 

How can a tour operator, who does these tours DAILY, be so out of control with sharing info with their customers?

[Shawnino]

Very sorry to read about your excursion, OP... that must have been so stressful. Glad you got through it.

 

+1 to Vyhanek.

[Macadian]

We were considering doing a tour on Tortola in February however given the reviews and short time there (3pm sailing departure time) we will pass.

[snorklinbarb]

I was on the sky this year and one of the MDR's was open in Freeport. Since we also ate in the MDR on embarkation day I do recall that the menu had changed between the two days.

 

It's my recollection as well that there was lunch menu A and B which rotated when the DR was open (sea days).

 

OP, thanks for your review. You and one other person here mention the menu remains the same each day the DR is open.

 

Has something changed? Does anyone have copies of the new lunch menu(s) on Escape? I could swear somewhere here I saw two different menus, just like before.

[disneyg1rl]

"...I also ate at Moderno and thought the meat quality was the worst I have ever experienced."

 

It's funny you said that, on my Jan 2015 Epic cruise I had the same experience. Some beef cuts really were too tough to chew and the rice was under cooked, so it was crunchy. I sent the rice back and the next pot was edible. The runners (with the meat) were frequent & nice, but the main waiter didn't come by often and huffed a lot.

 

I didn't comment when I returned because I thought it was just me and my expectations being a little out of whack; I didn't want to be nit picky (the rest of the cruise was pretty great!). I've decided to go on a limb and try it again on the 17th. Fingers crossed it's better!! Next time I suppose I should tell the F&B manager... <Input?>

Edited January 6, 2016 by disneyg1rl

[Sotermarler]

We were considering doing a tour on Tortola in February however given the reviews and short time there (3pm sailing departure time) we will pass.

 

 

If you like white sand beaches, do the Jost Van Dyke Cat. if not already sold out, it was worth it. Tortola was our favorite port so far.