My week on the Escape - March 19th - 26th

[ljrfrm]

Thanks for your report.

 

Your welcome :)

[Clarea]

Great start, I look forward to following.:)

[Cruzinbabe06]

Enjoying your review.:)

 

Thanks for taking the time to post.

[Trumpster]

Haven reviews are so different from regular reviews.

 

Sounds like the way to go.

 

Thanks for the review, so far, so good.

[ljrfrm]

Great start, I look forward to following.:)

 

Enjoying your review.:)

 

Thanks for taking the time to post.

 

Thanks to both of you! Once I get home this morning from the gym (I haven't yet spoken of the 10 pounds I gained!!!) I will continue with my review.

[ljrfrm]

Haven reviews are so different from regular reviews.

 

Sounds like the way to go.

 

Thanks for the review, so far, so good.

 

I know, right? I never in a million years thought I'd ever get to do a "Haven review". I can't begin to say how thankful we were for this opportunity. As I knew I would feel, I have no idea how I can go back to my little old balcony cabin now.

 

I do feel we spent quite a bit of time during the afternoon/evenings away from the Haven and ate elsewhere many nights. I do wonder though where I would have spent my Sea Days if I didn't have the Haven. I'm thinking I need to take another Escape cruise soon to find out! :)

Edited April 3, 2016 by ljrfrm

[iceman2a]

Outstanding review so far! I am loving this!

Thank you, I am looking forward to more!

[TenForward]

Enjoying your review - stayed up late last night to read it! Thanks for taking the time to post.

[LaLaReed]

I'm hanging on every word. We are in the Haven in 2 weeks and I can't wait!! Thanks for taking the time to do this.

[ljrfrm]

Enjoying your review - stayed up late last night to read it! Thanks for taking the time to post.

 

Outstanding review so far! I am loving this!

Thank you, I am looking forward to more!

 

Thanks so much. I've never tried a review like this so I'm winging it - so glad people like it!!!!

[ljrfrm]

I'm hanging on every word. We are in the Haven in 2 weeks and I can't wait!! Thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

Oh, I'm SO jealous!!! You will love it!!! I'm sorry I haven't posted more today so far. Life took over and I spent the day finishing up reports for work and taking my son to his soccer game.

 

I'm just about ready to sit down and finish Day 2 - and hopefully move some into Day 3.

[amydandrea]

I love this! I'm thinking about Escape in Dec. this is so helpful !

[ljrfrm]

Once we were back in our cabin, we enjoyed our afternoon goodies that Maravic had delivered. After enjoying some canapes and chocolate covered strawberries, we showered and dressed for the evening. We texted with son to see what he was up to, and to see what his dinner plans were. Son had no desire to see For The Record, and I honestly don't think he would have enjoyed it at all. It was a win/win as we saved money and he didn't have to sit through the show. Son was at Entourage and planned to hit up the Garden Cafe (I wonder if he had his own personal table by that point?) and then hang out at Entourage for the evening activities. I'm sure there was a visit to the arcade somewhere in there as well. I did ask son at some point in the evening what he did at Entourage. His answer was "Mom, what happens at Entourage, stays at Entourage". Really??

 

Once ready, we headed down to the Haven lounge. Our cabin was on Deck 18, and the Haven lounge is Deck 17. I had been having issues going down the flight of stairs all day due to my ankle but tonight I made a big discovery. If I pointed my foot out towards the wall as I stepped down the stairs, it didn't hurt!! I looked like a penguin but it worked. So, I waddled my way down the stairs to the Haven lounge. When I got there I eyed the Haven bar in front of me and contemplated a drink. I decided to pass......that didn't happen often on this trip!

 

As Haven guests, we were told that Adrian would escort us to our shows. Earlier in the day, we asked at the concierge desk about what time we should plan to meet for the show. We were told to meet Adrian in the Haven lounge at 4:45 for our 5:30 show. That seemed kind of early to us, but we do as we're told. We arrived at our meeting spot at 4:45 on the dot.

 

We were the only ones there, and although two other Haven couples had reservations for the show, they hadn't showed up yet. Adrian asked us immediately if we were ready to go down. I asked about the other couples and he told us not to worry, we shouldn't have to wait because they were late. He will bring them down in the few minutes. So, off we went through the back elevator and hallways and into the Supper Club. Adrian escorted us to the table for two front and center of everything. I felt like we were practically on the stage. I wondered if this was a good seat, as I know I read that the actors move around and often are towards the back of the room. I ended up loving our front row table. Husband didn't like having to turn his head (I think I had a better angle to see what was behind us) but I enjoyed having the actors right in front of us a lot of the time.

 

As I looked around I realize we are the ONLY people there. Hello? Anyone here? I don't see any other passengers, servers, or anyone at all. It's now 4:50 and the show doesn't start until 5:30. What are we supposed to do?? We sit and talk for a few minutes and then finally I see Adrian escorting the other Haven guests to their seats. Slowly people start trickling in after that - but I would say the show ended up being not even half full. I expected it to be packed, as we were a full boat and I had read that this show was very popular. I know that the 5:30 show probably wasn't a popular time though. We chose it primarily because we didn't want it to cut into our nightlife. I had read the food wasn't all that great - so I figured we could even have another late night dinner somewhere if needed.

 

The servers started coming around (I didn't look at my watch - it was shortly after 5:00 maybe?) and asking for drink orders (I ordered a Cosmo) and to see if we had any food allergies. I told him that I don't do Seafood - so if it swims, I don't want it on my plate. He told me no worries, and promised me a seafood free meal. A few minutes later our server returned with a white napkin. He put the napkin on the table in front of me, and told me to not move it and keep it there the whole show. That is the only way the servers will know to bring me a special meal.

 

Prior to the show beginning, our appetizers were served. True to their word, there was nothing fishy on my plate. I had two servings of tomatoes and mozzarella and the middle of the plate had avocados (which were really good - they had some seasonings on them that made them yummy). Soon after our appetizers were served the show began.

 

I'm not going to go into great details on the show, as there have already been many reviews on it. I will say that I really liked it. I thought the actors were extremely talented and I loved their energy. At one point during the show I looked over at husband and he didn't seem to be enjoying it as much. He almost looked bored. What? How can you not like it? He whispered to me "too much talking". Huh? I will say as it progressed I think it grew on him and overall he did like it. There was a family next to us with young children - two boys, probably around 7 and 10 maybe. They were very well behaved during the show, but clearly became bored. I enjoyed looking at the mom and dad's embarrassed looks at each other during some of the more provocative dialog. They probably were rethinking their decision to ignore the warnings in the Freestyle Dailies.

 

The main course was served during the show. I got a double portion of the meat. It was ok. I can't say it was the best meal I had on the ship, but it was fine. I ate it all - and never should have. A double order of beef is so filling, and all my hopes and dreams of late night wings and cheesecake were wasted - as I was stuffed all night.

 

Another of my sidenotes.........I was SO full this whole cruise. The day after our cruise ended, I actually experienced hunger for the first time in a week. It was almost refreshing. Eating (and drinking) excessively until you feel like you will burst is a tough job......but someone's gotta do it, right?

 

Soon the dessert was brought out. Something chocolatey and some kind of strawberry something or other. Eh, I ate it. It was probably my least favorite dessert of the week. But, a so-so dessert on a cruise is better than no dessert in my home, right? At some point during the show I ordered another Cosmo. It came out a really weird dark red color but it tasted fine so no biggie.

 

After the dessert came out they got to a part in the show where they bring out cake. The actors are singing, dancing, and running around delivering birthday cake (think 16 Candles). The actor who plays Duckie put a piece of cake on our front and center table (why thank you - too bad I'm too full to eat it) and then grabbed my hand to get on stage to dance with him. Oh my! I have two semi-newly replaced knees and a twisted ankle that makes me move like a penguin. And you want me to get on stage and dance? Uh, no thanks. I told him no (poor Duckie) so he moved on to the next table and tried to pull that lady on stage. She also told him no. Duckie shrugged and ran backstage. Sorry Duckie.

 

The show ended and we headed out to find a monitor on the wall to see what else was going on. We saw that the Not So Newlywed game was coming up in the Atrium. That's always a fun time - and it looked like we had enough time to get there before it started. So off we go.............

[ljrfrm]

I love this! I'm thinking about Escape in Dec. this is so helpful !

 

I'm so glad it's helpful. I loved reading all the "live" threads and reviews before my cruise.

[CdnArtyWife]

Keep going Lisa, I'm loving the review. I still need to write mine.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[ljrfrm]

We left Supper Club and headed to the Atrium for the game show. As you already read, we tried to attend the game show in the Atrium the night before, and it didn't work out. We had to sit far away off to the side, and if you remember, we had that large noisy family ruining it for us. This night we were please to see employees setting out folding chairs. Lots of them. This allowed us to sit closer to be able to see and hear. We stopped at the Atrium bar quickly (yes, it was quick - even with the crowd) for a gin and tonic (I thought tonic would be good with my stuffed tummy!!) and grabbed two folding chairs (they were the padded type, pretty comfortable) for the show.

 

For those of you that are NCL regulars, you know about the Not So Newlywed game. It's always a fun time - usually full of a lot of laughs. Some of the questions get old sometimes, but because there's always a new set of contestants, it's always a new show. Silas ran the show but Andre the assistant CD introduced him. We immediately recognized Andre from this past summer on the Dawn. He MC'd the Not So Newlywed game then, and was hilarious. It was such a funny show. We were happy to see him here on the Escape. Silas did a nice job with the game show, and as usual it was good for lots of laughs.

 

Once the show ended we walked around a bit and tried to decide where to go. The Norwegian's Night Out Dance Party was tonight but we decided not to go. We ended up at Howl at the Moon and had a blast. I was worried it would be packed and I didn't want to stand. Yes, there were a lot of people - but like I read, people come and go all the time so we never had an issue finding a chair there. Now, I love to sing. I know the words to every song they sang. But I can't carry a tune AT ALL. So, Howl at the Moon is perfect for me. I can sing my heart out - and nobody can hear me. (at least I hope they can't, LOL). It was honestly such a good time - a great mix of young and old - and probably quite a few people who had a few too many drinks. I've only been to one other dueling piano bar near my home, so I don't have a lot to compare with. But, I thought the piano players were fine. I'm sure there might be better - but they were good at getting the crowd going, were funny, were raunchy after 11 pm, and helped everyone have a good time. So, in my opinion they did their job. Despite the crowd, the servers were always around asking if we needed another drink (why yes, I think I will!! Another gin and tonic please) and clearing tables.

 

We stayed until around midnight then decided to head back to the cabin and catch up with son. He had a curfew of 1 am (the time Entourage closes) but was back in the cabin each night by midnight. Most nights, he beat us back by about 10 minutes or so. Back at the cabin, we talked to son a bit and called it a night. We planned to sleep in the next day as we didn't have any plans.

[ljrfrm]

Keep going Lisa, I'm loving the review. I still need to write mine.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

Thanks!!! I look forward to reading yours also. Although some of these reviews I get jealous because it's something I totally forgot to do or ran out of time, LOL.

 

It was nice meeting you!!!

[paharfme]

Getting lots of great tips, can't wait for the next installment! Thank you for taking the time to do this! :)

[ljrfrm]

Getting lots of great tips, can't wait for the next installment! Thank you for taking the time to do this! :)

 

Thanks - there will be more tonight, I promise!! Just got home from work (I'm not able to log onto CC from work - probably a good thing!!) and have to head to a soccer game. I will definitely get some more written though once I'm home! I still have one or two more epic fails to write about! :)

[natefish95]

I am loving your review! I booked the Escape for next March just yesterday! I'll be traveling solo for the first time, but it seems like there is no shortage of fun or people to meet!

[ljrfrm]

I am loving your review! I booked the Escape for next March just yesterday! I'll be traveling solo for the first time, but it seems like there is no shortage of fun or people to meet!

 

It's always easy to meet people on a cruise. But for some reason, this ship seemed even easier. With 5,000 on board, we also still kept running into the same people! I think with so many bars and different venues, there was always the chance to socialize.

[Sandcastle11]

Enjoying your review. Booked in the Haven next year...

[ljrfrm]

We planned to sleep late today. At home, husband usually wakes up earlier than me and he can usually slip out of the room downstairs to watch TV. Since that's not a possibility on a cruise, he tended to play on his phone when he woke up each morning. We both decided we didn't want to get any Internet and wanted to go "unplugged". I especially wanted son to go a week away from wifi. Husband cheated though - as he had some data minutes he could use. He cheated too much, and I caught him multiple times during the week on his phone reading emails and checking NCAA or other sport scores. Cheater! So, although we planned to sleep in, I had a feeling I'd wake up to him on his phone.

 

This morning we were actually both woken up around 8:30 am. I mentioned earlier that our cabin was below the public sun deck. We were woken up by banging noises that sounded like people were moving the chairs around. I considered being irritated but really it wasn't that early, and I decided it would just make for a longer fun Sea Day. The noise lasted just a minute or two and didn't continue. I got up, made my morning cup of caffeine (BTW, they do an amazing job of refilling the coffee, cream and sugar/sugar substitute. I swear when I used a pod, they swooped in and added another one when I wasn't looking). I took my coffee out to the balcony again and sat in the chair still in my pj's. Yikes. To my left is the sundeck and there are people there. Again, I'm in my pj's. So what's a girl to do? I go back into the cabin and put on my comfy NCL bathrobe and go back out again. Why not! Any other time during the week that anyone was on the Deck 18 sundeck, I just went to the other side of the balcony with the lounger - then I was hidden away in my own little private world.

 

We went to the Haven Restaurant for breakfast. We sat inside today and the service was great!! Son didn't join us - he was in a hurry to get to the teen club. Today he put his bathing suit on in the morning so I had a feeling he wouldn't be staying at Entourage for too long. My biggest fear of the cruise (ok, well not my biggest but I was worried) was that he was going to jump into the pool or go down a slide with his phone in his pocket. I warned him that if he ruined his phone and I couldn't contact him, he'd have to hang with me. Well, that was enough to scare him I guess so around 11 or so I got a text from him saying he was going to hit the waterslides with his friends. Before I had a chance to hound him about his phone, he texted again to say he was going by the room to leave his phone. Good boy!! Breakfast was delicious as always. I ordered two fried eggs, potatoes and of course bomb diggity bacon. The server asked if I wanted toast too - well why not. Bring it on! My educated guess is the husband got his bagel, salmon and cream cheese again from the buffet. I know he ordered the three egg omelette one day (but with two eggs - hey, that's cheating!) and another day he ordered Seafood Benedict. He liked both.

 

We spent a good part of the day on the sundeck. We did walk by the Haven pool but there weren't any loungers available. It was nice and quiet on the sundeck, and while it was still a little windy, it wasn't as bad as the day before (even when it was very windy, it was never cold - the sun was shining bright!). We had lunch again in the Haven restaurant around 2 pm. I was worried they wouldn't take us (the restaurant closes at 2) but we got there just in time. I had chilled soup once again and it was delicious as always. I also ordered something (I forgot what it was called) with goat cheese surrounded in a pastry puff. It was really good, but so big. I washed it down with a nice glass of wine. I ate too much and had no room for dessert. I hate it when that happens!!

 

After lunch at we went to the Haven pool which had loungers available. The roof was open and the sun was shining. I spent some time reading on the lounger in the pool, ordered a yummy mojito from Gene Bee, and managed to eat several bowls (I promise the paper bowls they have there are small!!) of gummy bears. As you walk into the Haven pool area on your left is a station with infused water (very good!), unsweetened ice tea, a plate with pound cake/banana bread and a container of gummy bears that is always full! We had a relaxing afternoon and decided to head back to the cabin sometime after 4 pm.

 

Once back in the room, we found our goodies for the day that Marivic delivered. Today we had our cheese platter, a fruit tray and a tray of sandwiches. From Day One, we had a fruit bowl in our room that was always full. While I never touched it, son constantly ate the grapes up every time Marivic put more in. She did a great job of keeping up with him and we were never grapeless! And like each day, our cookie platter and gummy bear bowl had both been refilled. I was going through such Marivic withdrawals at one point last week my coworker brought me gummy bears. They're that addicting......don't do it!

 

We took our treats onto the balcony and devoured everything. It had been two hours since we'd eaten so it was time! I stayed on the balcony reading for awhile and husband found a movie to watch on TV. The movies are "on demand" and although there weren't that many that we wanted to see, we could always find something to put on. Husband had a bit of trouble with the TV and thought it was broken, but it turned out that the remote was just sensitive and you had to point it and one specific spot. No biggie, we figured it out. We spent about an hour or so relaxing that then got ready for our evening plans.

[ljrfrm]

Enjoying your review. Booked in the Haven next year...

 

Lucky you - you will be spoiled!! My goal is to get back there someday! If I can get middle son through his last year of college, I might have to celebrate with another cruise. Of course, if I book the Haven I won't be able to afford to take him, LOL!!

[ljrfrm]

Once dressed we went to the Haven pool area for the VIP Captain's Party. They had a nice variety of hors d'oeuvres with wine and champagne. We stayed and mingled for about 20 minutes and had the opportunity to talk with several of the top officers, Silas and the Captain. As with the Meet and Greet, I was very impressed with the mingling and meaningful conversations between officers and passengers. They continued to appear like they wanted to be there and had such good social skills. While we were having a nice time, we weren't in the mood to stay any longer so we took our obligatory (well, for me it was obligatory - couldn't pass that up!) photo with Captain Giovanni and headed out.

 

We decided to go hang out in the Atrium for awhile to work up our appetite. We listened to "Popular Music with Darren". For some reason I thought it was going to be singing like Juan or Beau, but Darren just plays the piano. He's very good but the few times we saw him he did way too much talking. We had a drink and relaxed until we realized that we needed to get going to dinner if we were to finish in time to come back to the Atrium for the game show.

 

At 90 days out from our cruise (exactly 90 day - like I did this at midnight the second it became 90 days) I booked restaurant reservations. Why? Because I could. I was so excited for the cruise I wanted to make every reservation possible. We decided not to eat in any specialty restaurants. We had just eaten in Moderno, Cagney's and Le Bistro on the Dawn this past July, and since then they became a la carte I wasn't sure I needed to eat there again. I came very close to buying a SDP but since I was most interested in Food Republic which wasn't included, I decided to skip it. I knew that we like to eat often around 6:30 as that time fits in with us for shows, etc. as we then have the night free to have fun. I also knew that the 6:30 tends to fill up fast so why not book them. So I made reservations each night for either Taste, Savor or Manhatten. This night we had reservations for Savor but I realized we missed them. So, we decided to go back to the Haven restaurant again. I think we could have eaten at Savor without too much of a wait - but there were a few things on the Haven menu that looked good to us so we decided to go back up there again.

 

I ordered the short rib on polenta (yum!) and the Beef Tenderloin. It was all very good. Husband ordered the Surf and Turf. He was surprised with how big the lobster tail was. He had the Triple Chocolate Cake for dessert, and I had something with strawberries - I don't remember what it was but it was so good. We both had some wine. The service was great, as always. How everyone knows our name is beyond me. Lilibeth is always there walking around and making sure everyone is ok and ensuring that we gain the appropriate weight on this trip (no problem there!).

 

We finished dinner and rushed down to the Atrium to grab a seat for the game show. We scored a comfortable seat in the front and in less than 5 minutes we had a server taking our drink order. With our drinks in hand (Gin and Tonic) the game show could begin!! The show was "Sing it if you know it". If you remember, I know every word to every song - so husband was trying to get me to participate. Uh, no thanks. I'll stay here and sing from my seat and only bother you with it!! It was a fun show, and we enjoyed it. Not that I'm bragging, but our team (the whole right side of the Atrium) won!!

 

Following the game show, we moved on to the District Brewhouse so hubby could get another draft. There wasn't any music happening so we stayed for drinks (I got a great signature drink - I'll have to look up the menu to remember the name) and watched soccer on TV for awhile. Seriously, since the ship sailed, it's only been soccer. That said, good thing husband is a huge soccer fan. After while we decided to leave, it was too quiet there. Which was nice at first but now I wanted action.

 

So the first night of the cruise we went to the 11 pm comedy show with Flip Schultz. He was really funny - and I'm sure part of it was because it was the 11 pm show! We had another reservation for the 9 pm show on Thursday with Mark Klein. I made that reservation so son could come with us. Knowing that he's basically a one-man show now and that he might not want to join us, I started thinking I'd rather go to Mark's 11 pm show instead. Looking at the time, it was 10:50 and Mark's show was starting in 10 minutes. I didn't have a reservation but figured why not, let's go. We walked across Deck 8 and went down the stairs to Headliners. Ugh, the smoke smell. Again, not fresh smoke that gets on your clothes, but not pleasant at all.

 

They were letting people into the show but we didn't have a reservation so we jumped into the Standby line. There was only one other person in that line. We didn't see anyone else going in, and about 2 minutes later they started letting us go in. As I handed her the key card, she told me that I shouldn't have gone to the Standby line because I was Haven, and that next time come right to her to get in. Sounds good to me! I was worried it would be packed in there and we wouldn't get a seat - or be able to see very well. But, it wasn't bad at all. There was a pillar there that almost blocked our view - and then a tall guy sat in front of me (hey, down in front!), but considering we had only decided to go to the comedy show 10 minutes earlier, I was happy. Mark Schulz was fantastic and really funny. I'm glad we went. The tall guy in front was a bit of a heckler and at one point I wanted to tell him to shut it. But, I stayed quiet, sipped my drink and behaved.

 

After the show we went back to the cabin to meet up with son and hear about his day. I didn't get much......again! Kind of like back home when I ask him how his school day was. "Fine". What did you do? "Stuff". LOL. I did hear earlier in the day they had a great time on the slides. Since the drop slides were closed on the first day when he was there, he finally was able to go down them today. He said the lines weren't bad at all. He also hit the arcades (I had already used my iconcierge to track his every arcade movement - love it!). He had a good dinner at the Garden Cafe and then spent all evening at Entourage with their activities. As they have video games there, I asked him if he was really doing activities or was he just glued to the consoles. He told me that the consoles are only open certain hours and not during the activities. Yay for that!

 

We had already told Marivic earlier in the day that we wanted to eat breakfast in the cabin the next morning, since we needed to wake up early for our St. Thomas excursion. She asked us to put the order in the night before so earlier that night I called the night butler and placed the order for breakfast to be delivered at 7:15 am. We set our alarm for 7 am and fell asleep in my comfortable bed. Sometime around 2 am I woke up and noticed the son was awake in his bed playing on his phone under the covers. "Get to bed!!!! And don't complain to me if you're tired tomorrow!"