A HAVENly week on Escape - January 16 - 23, 2016

[wibeachbum]

Thank you for the review and pictures. We are really looking forward to our cruise!

[TheDougOut]

I really like this picture taken during our arrival in Tortola. It was taken from our balcony looking down at the Brew House

 

LOVE this photo. I wish I had studied it longer before I read the caption - I was struggling to figure out the scale/perspective of what was pictured.

 

Great photos - thanks for sharing!

[Prada Cowboy]

Jemele999 one question,

 

Are those Spa Haven Suites in a locked down area (access by key only) or was everybody able to go through the Suite corridor?

 

Thank you!

[Cruise a holic]

We had a great week aboard the newest ship in the fleet, NCL Escape, and now we are ready to start a pictorial review of our experience aboard this megaship.

 

Introduction.

 

We are both 40 and typically cruise by ourselves with the exception of last summer when we were joined by family members and friends on our Alaskan adventure. This was our ninth NCL cruise (10th overall) and definitely one of our best cruises ever. This was our first consecutive cruise in the month of January as we enjoy getting away to a tropical destination during the winter.

 

 

Booking and planning

 

We booked this cruise back in April 2014 and made some changes to the reservation when NCL announced the free style promotions back in December 2014. Initially we reserved our Haven spa suite with a $300 OBC, but thanks to a great promotion we ended up having the completely free (gratuities paid by NCL) UBP, UDP, pre-paid daily gratuities as well as $350 OBC. We also joined AARP (No, you don’t have to be 50 to join), and were able to save 5% of the cruise fare. Lastly, we also received 10% cashback from Discover by booking directly with them. Overall, we got a great deal on our spa suite considering all of the perks, discounts/cashback bonus and the unlimited access to the thermal spa suite.

 

Although we were very excited about the Escape, planning for this cruise was put on hold for a long time because it was almost two years away. Additionally, we also had other vacations planned including a trip to China in the Summer of 2014, cruises to the Western Caribbean in January 2015, an Alaskan Cruise in the summer of 2015, and finally a trip to Barcelona in September 2015. Overall, with some much going on it was soon time to depart to Miami to board the beautiful NCL Escape.

 

 

Thanks for sharing- we were on the breakaway-Escape sister last August. The haven was wonderful! We had a forward facing suite with access to the Haven. We loved it. However if we were in a non Haven cabin- the trip would have been horrible- too many people-too little public space.

[CinAndTheCity]

Thanks for sharing- we were on the breakaway-Escape sister last August. The haven was wonderful! We had a forward facing suite with access to the Haven. We loved it. However if we were in a non Haven cabin- the trip would have been horrible- too many people-too little public space.

 

I find it very interesting how people's experiences can vary so wildly. I was on the Breakaway in August 2014 and it was Labor Day week so maybe it was more crowded. Or maybe your cruise was more crowded since school was out. It was a wonderful cruise. The pool area was crowded much of the time, but that doesn't bother me as I don't sit out at the pool all day. I would never think that a cruise would have been horrible because it was too crowded, but again that's just me, and I've never stayed in the Haven.

 

On another note, I am loving the review jmele999 and am very excited about being on the Escape in a few weeks!

[jmele999]

Are any of 'the baths' trails accessible without having to climb? I walk with a cane but love to swim and feel so down about not being able to experience 'the baths' .

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

Yes, there is a part of the baths you can enjoy without having to climb on the rocks. If you follow The Baths trail (see picture below) you will come to a small beach (second picture). It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the parking to the beach. Hope this helps.

 

 

[jmele999]

Hi Johan! It was great to do the excursion with you guys.

Thought I'd share this pic. Those rocks were huge!

 

 

Thanks Misa for the picture.

[jmele999]

Thank you so much for this review! Looks like NCL became better again, especially in The Haven! My husband and I had to cancel and changed our planed cruises and booked The Escape in a The Haven Deluxe Spa Suite!

Now I feel a bit better about going back on NCL after a couple of years of horrible decline of service and food!

November 26th, can not be here quick enough!

 

Also nice to see a review of a "Family" member and not just of a family of 6!:D

 

Glad to hear that you are willing to give NCL a chance. The spa suites are great and the one you have booked is even better because you have a separate living room.

 

The spa suites are located on deck 16 and you need to use your key card for access.

 

NCL holds Friends of Dorothy meetings every night and the location and time are posted on the freestyle daily. They are a great way to meet other cruisers.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[jmele999]

LOVE this photo. I wish I had studied it longer before I read the caption - I was struggling to figure out the scale/perspective of what was pictured.

 

Great photos - thanks for sharing!

 

Thanks for stopping by. I really enjoyed your review.

[Prada Cowboy]

Glad to hear that you are willing to give NCL a chance. The spa suites are great and the one you have booked is even better because you have a separate living room.

 

The spa suites are located on deck 16 and you need to use your key card for access.

 

NCL holds Friends of Dorothy meetings every night and the location and time are posted on the freestyle daily. They are a great way to meet other cruisers.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Excellent! Thank you so much!!!! Was just worried that maybe 4000 of my new best friends wanted to walk by and ring the door bell...LOL!

[Clarea]

Beautiful photos, nice review, thanks!

[Lipz]

Yes, there is a part of the baths you can enjoy without having to climb on the rocks. If you follow The Baths trail (see picture below) you will come to a small beach (second picture). It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the parking to the beach. Hope this helps.

 

 

This is definitely helpful. I would hate to miss it and when I saw activity level 3 on the NCL website I was a little saddened. It looks so beautiful there and some of my group is going so I'd certainly feel left out.

 

 

NCL holds Friends of Dorothy meetings every night and the location and time are posted on the freestyle daily. They are a great way to meet other cruisers.

 

 

We've yet to attend a successful Friend's of Dorothy. I hope this sailing changes that!

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

[Loonbeam]

We have the same cabin (I think) booked in October so if no one has answered questions at that point, find us...

 

Thank you so much for this review! Looks like NCL became better again, especially in The Haven! My husband and I had to cancel and changed our planed cruises and booked The Escape in a The Haven Deluxe Spa Suite!

Now I feel a bit better about going back on NCL after a couple of years of horrible decline of service and food!

November 26th, can not be here quick enough!

 

Also nice to see a review of a "Family" member and not just of a family of 6!:D

[tmcmom]

Oh Johan! The review and pictures are wonderful! Can't wait to cruise with you again in just a few (okay, eleven) short months...

Oh, and will you make me a bar schedule for the Dawn?;)

(Hi Brian!)

[Trobrah]

Great review!! We will be on the Escape in June. At the above post you refer to "David". Is that David Contreras and if so is he the Concierge?

Can't wait to see what you did in Nassau.

Thanks

[jmele999]

Oh Johan! The review and pictures are wonderful! Can't wait to cruise with you again in just a few (okay, eleven) short months...

Oh, and will you make me a bar schedule for the Dawn?;)

(Hi Brian!)

 

Hi Cyndi,

 

Your post put a smile on my face this morning. It is always nice to hear from friends and to look forward to another cruise in the warm Caribbean.

 

Say hello to Mike for us. Looking forward to seeing you guys soon.

 

Johan

[jmele999]

Great review!! We will be on the Escape in June. At the above post you refer to "David". Is that David Contreras and if so is he the Concierge?

Can't wait to see what you did in Nassau.

Thanks

 

Yes, it is David Contreras. No sure how much longer he will be onboard as the other concierge is on vacation right now. David is great. We had him as our concierge a few years back and it was great to see him again.

[jmele999]

Day 5 - Lunch at Margaritaville

 

When planning for this cruise we had decided that we want to try Margaritaville for lunch to see why this place is (or was) so popular.

 

Recent reports by other cruises suggest that the popularity of Margaritaville has significantly decreased since it was changed from a free restaurant to another a-la-carte venue. It is, however, free if you have the UDP or you can use one of your SDP meals. I was happy to see that they have now added a few comfortable chairs at the front of the restaurant so that people can go there for drinks without having to sit at a table.

 

There is also outdoor seating available, and a bar located in the back of the restaurant.

 

 

 

 

 

We started lunch with a couple of margaritas - sorry no pictures as there was nothing special about them (served in plastic cups).

 

Volcano nachos and Conch fritters. The nachos were just a pile of chips with some cheese, guacamole, and pico de gallo (2/5). The conch fritters were just ok. (3/5)

[blueflower1968]

I am so loving this review!!

 

Making me think twice about upgrading to the Haven Suites!!

 

Everything looks amazing!

[jmele999]

For lunch, I had the cheeseburger in paradise and DP had the volcano cheeseburger (pictured below). While both burgers were good, I really don't see a reason to pay for these burgers.

 

 

The one dish that I really enjoyed at Margaritaville was the key lime pie. (4/5)

 

 

Overall, our experience at Margaritaville was very disappointing considering all of the publicity that this venue has received. If you have the UDP, I would suggest going to try it for yourself, but if you have the SDP, I would suggest not wasting one of your meals here.

[jmele999]

By the time we finished lunch it was almost 3:00 pm and time for us to say good-bye to Tortola.

 

The pool deck was busy.

 

 

 

Good-bye Tortola.

 

 

 

[jmele999]

We departed Tortola exactly at 3:00 pm and enjoyed the scenery for a few minutes from the pool deck.

 

 

 

We then decided to head back up to the Heaven to spend the rest of the afternoon. It was a beautiful afternoon and even the Haven sunroof was open.

 

 

At the Haven sundeck I found the perfect spot (away from the sun) to relax and enjoy the scenery.

 

 

[jmele999]

As we got farther away from Tortola we got a chance to truly appreciate the beauty of the Caribbean Islands. The scenery reminded me of an Alaskan cruise (without the snow) or what it would be like to cruise the Napali Coast in Hawaii. I am glad that we left Tortola at 3:00 pm so that we could experience such natural beauty.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jmele999]

 

 

[jmele999]

Day 5 - Wine at the waterfront and another beautiful sunset.

 

After a great day in Tortola and breathtaking scenery, we met up with some friends to enjoy some good wine and the sunset.