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

[ilovetotravel1977]

 

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.

 

So you can make reservations for 2 comedy shows, not just 1?

[LrgPizza]

So you can make reservations for 2 comedy shows, not just 1?

 

There will be multiple comedians on the ship, so yes, you are allowed to see more than one of them.

[ilovetotravel1977]

There will be multiple comedians on the ship, so yes, you are allowed to see more than one of them.

 

Oh right. I was trying to remember last year how that worked.

[Snootbull]

Other than lunch ending at 2pm, do you remember the Haven restaurant times for breakfast start and stop, lunch start and dinner start stop? I am a planner and would love to add these times to my schedule. thanks

[ljrfrm]

So you can make reservations for 2 comedy shows, not just 1?

 

Yes, just like LrgPizza responded, we had no problem making both reservations. I did it on iconcierge as soon as I boarded.

 

Other than lunch ending at 2pm, do you remember the Haven restaurant times for breakfast start and stop, lunch start and dinner start stop? I am a planner and would love to add these times to my schedule. thanks

 

Ok, don't quote me on these but from what I remember:

Breakfast finished at 10:30 am

Lunch finished at 2:00 pm

Dinner finished at 10:00 pm

 

I don't remember the start times for any of them - I guess I only worried about the end times. I'll go through all the papers I brought home and see if I can find the paper with the times. Hopefully I saved it.

[newcastlemam]

Great review so far we are sailing escape in November can't wait we loved getaway

[ljrfrm]

My alarm went off at 7:00 am. Morning came way too early!! I made my coffee and went out to the balcony. Guess what? Land ho!! We weren't docked yet, but I could see land. Pretty land!! At 7:10, our cabin phone rang. For those that don't know, there are two phones in the Penthouse Suite. One is a regular phone and the other is a portable one you can carry around if you want. We never took it anywhere, as we didn't think we'd have any butler or concierge needs when we weren't in the room. So, it was Marivic on the phone. She's on her way. She rang our doorbell (yes, there's a doorbell, cool right?) at exactly 7:15. She is certainly punctual!

 

I was a little worried about about how our food was all going to fit onto the little round table, but she made it work. She first put down the white tablecloth, arranged all the food and put the pot of coffee on the shelf next to the table. The table was crowded but it was fine. I asked son last night what he wanted for breakfast. He said "surprise me". Oooh, the pressure. I wasn't sure so I ordered both pancakes and french toast, and figured he could pick and I'd take the other. We also ordered.......wait for it........bacon! Son chose the french toast, but decided he didn't want the strawberry syrup on it. So he used his nice white linen napkin to wipe it off (embarrassed mom hides her head in shame). Breakfast was delicious as always.

 

We packed up our giant tote bag for the day, grabbed our NCL beach towels and headed down to the Haven lounge for our priority disembarkation at 8:00 am. We were set to meet Alvin with Islander Taxi right outside the security gate at 8:20. Alvin was going to drive us to Sapphire Marina for our sailing trip we booked with Yacht Nightwind. Here's the confirmation email I got from them that explains our trip:

 

"Nightwind is a 57’ custom built yawl, built in Sweden in 1955 from African Teak.Nightwind is a US Coast Guard inspected vessel and licensed for up to 15 guests plus crew. Nightwind is berthed at Sapphire Marina in Slip S 33, with ease of dockside boarding. You will taxi from the cruise ship dock to Sapphire Marina.

 

Your day sail aboard Nightwind includes a continental breakfast, snacks, lunch, dessert and an all day open bar to include something for everyone, sodas, juices, bottled or seltzer water, champagne, beer and a fully stocked premium bar. Some of your choices are Mimosa, Hibiscus and Captain Rick’s Famous Rum Punch you can only enjoy aboard Nightwind.

 

You board Nightwind at 9 am and enjoy your continental breakfast and beverages. We then set sail, across the beautiful waters of Pillsbury Sound over to St. John. Where we sail depends on the wind and the sea. Captain Rick chooses your snorkel stop that is calm and clear for your snorkeling and swimming pleasure. Once we are moored and you have been outfitted with your snorkel gear and are in the water enjoying the beauty of the islands and water, we do put up an additional shade awning for those wishing to be out of the sun a bit while leaving the foredeck open to the sun for all the sun lovers.

 

After an hour or so you will return to Nightwind where you will be served our delicious Caribbean roasted chicken lunch. After lunch we sail to our second snorkel stop of the day. You will snorkel and swim for another hour or so then come back on board for your afternoon sail back to the Marina. Before sailing back you are treated to a special triple chocolate cake for dessert. Then we sail back into Sapphire about 3:30 pm. Snorkel gear (masks and fins) are provided as well as ski belts, snorkel vests, noodles and floats."

 

When we got to the Haven Lounge we were met by the assistant concierge. I thought that they would escort a large group of us out at once, but once we got there, she immediately took us to the back elevator, pushed 4, and told us Adrian would meet us down there. Once the elevators door opened, there was Adrian to wish us a fun day. We were off the ship a minute later. Easy peesy lemon squeezy.

Edited April 6, 2016 by ljrfrm

[ljrfrm]

Great review so far we are sailing escape in November can't wait we loved getaway

 

Thanks!!!

 

If we can find the money and time, we are considering trying the Getaway next January.

[newcastlemam]

Thanks!!!

 

 

 

If we can find the money and time, we are considering trying the Getaway next January.

 

 

We done the 12 night southern sailing in October loved the whole experience having only ever sailed with Royal before. Now I struggle even more picking a holiday more ships to choose from [emoji33].

[Jenjer]

Your review/ trip report is fantastic I love it. Thank You for taking the time to do it. We are in the Haven in about 70 days. Yeah!!!

 

We did the Nightwind a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

[tiggrbaby]

Subbing in! Glad to hear that you were having a fun trip. We are heading out on 4/16, although we will be in an inside cabin with no freebies...

[ljrfrm]

Your review/ trip report is fantastic I love it. Thank You for taking the time to do it. We are in the Haven in about 70 days. Yeah!!!

 

We did the Nightwind a few years ago and really enjoyed it.

 

Thanks!! These 70 days will go quick, and soon you will be soaking up the sun!

 

Subbing in! Glad to hear that you were having a fun trip. We are heading out on 4/16, although we will be in an inside cabin with no freebies...

 

Have a great trip. An inside cabin is better than no cabin! This whole Haven thing is new to us.....one could get used to it!! :)

 

I will be back after soccer to finish up our day in St. Thomas. This is definitely more time consuming than I thought (I have a whole new appreciation for these trip reports now!!) but will keep chugging along!

[ljrfrm]

Once off the ship we turned right and headed to what looked like the right direction. After about a 3 min walk we were outside the security gate. True to his word, Alvin was just outside the gate with a sign with our name on it. We walked up to him, introduced ourselves, and he told us we were just waiting for one other family to join us. We waited awhile, and then waited some more. By this time, it was past 8:20 so Alvin gave son the sign with the other family's name to hold while he tried to call them. I tried to get a photo of son holding the sign - I thought it was a great shot - but he didn't seem to agree. I snuck the photo anyways. Don't mess with mom's photos.

 

Alvin tried several times to call the other family but the phone kept going to voicemail. He then called Rick over with Nightwind, who said that they had confirmed the day before so he knew they were coming. So we waited some more. We didn't mind waiting - as Rick knew we were coming and I knew they wouldn't leave without us. We waited a little more and Alvin said he'd give them 5 more minutes. After they still hadn't arrived, he decided they must have taken another taxi there so we left. We walked over to his large passenger van, got in and drove off.

 

About 5 minutes into the drive Alvin got a phone call from another taxi driver. The other family was there outside of security and were looking for him. We circled around and went back to the pier to pick them up. Once we got to the pier, it was still very crowded. Alvin was honking repeatedly to get people out of his way. He was a man on a mission, and those passengers were in his way. The security on the pier had him stop, roll down his window, and they told him to calm down. Of course, once he drove off, he began honking again. We found the family, and they piled in.

 

When we got off the ship we turned right and walked to where we immediately met Alvin. This family on the other hand were told by someone on the ship to turn left when they got off. They went to another exit and had been spending all this time looking for him. Unfortunately, their phone wasn't working in St. Thomas so they couldn't call him. So - for anyone reading this who are expecting Alvin to pick them up, turn right when you get off the ship!

 

We had a great chat with this family on the way to the dock and had a fun day with them. I know they are on CC at times, so if you read this......Hi, it was great meeting all of you!!! We ended up getting to the Nightwind about 30 minutes late but not worries for us, Rick just extended our sail. The other passengers on board (I think there were around 14 of us) were sitting around eating their continental breakfast and waiting for us. We boarded, sat down and set sail for a fun day!!!

[ljrfrm]

Today we were the guests of Captain Rick and his one crew member Deb. True to their word, we sailed over to St. Johns and made two snorkeling stops. Husband and son had never been out on a sailboat before, and we had perfect wind. Son enjoyed the tacking and really seemed to have a fun day. Be prepared to be splashed and get wet! It felt great though as we had a nice sunny day! Deb did a great job of narrating where we were and naming all the islands as we sail by. I was surprised as she pointed to Tortola. Wait? What? Aren't we going there tomorrow? How can it be that close? It was all so beautiful.

 

We stopped for the first snorkel. Husband is not really a swimmer and I wasn't sure if he'd go in. It's not that he can't swim - he can (I think). He just gets so tense and it doesn't seem to go well. Rick and Deb handed out the snorkeling equipment, showed us how to defog the masks and we put on our flippers. They had vests (blow up) and waist floats to choose from. We all chose the waist float and put them on. Son jumped in first for our family. Uh-oh. Where's his mask? He's in the water but his mask isn't on his head. Seems that Rick forgot to mention to us to hold our masks as we jump in. Silly son jumped in and his mask went flying off his head, and sunk down. Rick ended up finding it later luckily and dove down to get it. Before that, he handed son another mask, I put my flippers and mask on, held on tight to my mask, and down I went into the water. Next it's husband's turn. Rick gave him a noodle in addition to his floatie. Husband was a trooper, and he did his best to enjoy his time in the water.

 

We are not regular snorkelers so we kind of winged it. It was a little hard for me to kick with the fins on my feet, as it hurt my tweaked ankle. I did it though and off we went. We saw a few rays and a lot of seaweed. We saw some fish - but not nearly what I expected to see. We did have a great time though. We snorkeled around for about an hour than got back onto the sailboat.

 

Once back on board, Deb had made an amazing lunch. There was delicious chicken, salads, deviled eggs, pickles, and fresh fruit. They had a gorgeous flower centerpiece that once finished with lunch, they threw into the water and it was great watching the fish come scurrying over. Throughout the day, we had Rick's delicious rum punch and son had as much Sprite as he could drink. Lunch was definitely an A+, as we had worked up our appetite snorkeling around. That, plus it had been over 4 hours since we had eaten. I'm surprised we made it!

 

After lunch we sailed over to Christmas Cove in search of Sea Turtles. This time when we stopped and son jumped in, he held on tight to his mask. Husband decided to stay on the boat relaxing. Everyone else went one way but son wanted to swim towards a small island. We went over there, and saw fish but nothing too exciting. So we turned around and headed towards where Rick said the turtles like to hang out. We saw a baby turtle and then saw the grandfather turtle. He was huge and we loved it when he swam right up to us. Before we left on the trip, I bought a cheap underwater digital camera. So cheap that even though it had a screen, I couldn't see a thing on it. I took tons of pictures, and still have no idea if any of them turned out. I guess I should follow up on that soon!

 

Once back in the boat, Deb served delicious chocolate cake and we sailed back to the dock. Once again, the winds were perfect and we joked that we felt like we were in the Americas Cup. Our original itinerary had us returning at 3:30 but I think we got back around 4:00. We waited for 10 minutes or so and Alvin showed up to take us back to the port. In case anyone is interested in this trip, the taxi is not included in the price. We paid Alvin $10 per person, each direction. So we paid him $60 all together, payable on the return trip. Alvin had initially asked for $70 total, but when I told him I had read online he did it for $60, he easily lowered his price.

 

Once Alvin dropped us off, we debated looking around a few stores but we decided to just go back to our cabin to change and relax. Before you board, NCL hands out cold towels (they felt SO good), hands out fruit punch and water and has a station set up to exchange your dirty, wet towels for clean ones. After walking past that, they had several people there welcoming everyone back. We saw our Asst CD Andre and another member of his activity staff that we also recognized from the Dawn. We went up to them and had a nice conversation for a few minutes. Andre told us he has been on the Escape just three weeks. We talked about some funny moments from the Not So Newlywed Game that we both remembered. Andre is very personable and funny. He sent us some chocolate covered strawberries the next day after we spoke - nice touch!! After talking with Andre, we soon were back on board and relaxing in our cabin.

[ljrfrm]

After we were showered and changed (and ate our goodies from Marivic) we headed over to see Bong at the Sugarcane Mojito Bar. We ordered Mojitos and sat at the bar chatting with other passengers. We ran into our new friends from the Nightwind and spent time talking. Bong was fun to watch - he really enjoys putting on a show. He cracked us up as he used the same jokes on each passenger that walked up. "Did you know I'm from Philly?" and the passenger says "Really" or something along those lines. Then Bong answers, "Yeah, Philly Philippines". LOL, he cracks himself up. Have you all seen Bong pour a glass of wine? He balances the glass on his forehead, bending backwards, and then pours. How he pours all the wine into the glass and not into his eyes is beyond me. The Sugarcane Mojito Bar is definitely a fun place to hang out. It was never too crowded, we always found a chair at the bar, and every night we enjoyed meeting and talking to new people. FYI - lots of people would walk up and ask for other types of drinks. More often than not, Bong would send them away to another bar, stating "We make mojitos". So, if you want a specialty drink or another foo foo type drink, go somewhere else. Once in awhile he would make something different as a favor for someone, but not often and definitely not anything blended.

 

It was starting to get late and we hadn't eaten yet. We were full from our Marivic goodies so we didn't go to dinner before we hit the bar. We wanted to go to Howl at the Moon soon so we decided to go to Food Republic for a quick bite first. OMG, it was SO good. It was fairly crowded when we got there but we got right in. We sat at the bar since we knew we weren't going to stay for very long. The service was excellent. Within two minutes of sitting they were filling our water glasses and showing us how to order. They also took our drink order, instead of having us put it into the IPad. I ordered a Toro Toro, and it was very good! I ordered Bulgogi Tacos, Pastrami and Sauerkraut dumplings and Dates with Chorizo. As I don't eat seafood, I wasn't sure how well I would eat at this restaurant. I have to tell you, it was one of the best meals I had all week. They were all amazing. Husband loved his food as well - he ordered four things. I don't remember what - but we both loved it. The food came out fast and we were in and out quickly. I don't want it to sound like we were rushed out - we weren't - and we could have stayed longer. I really wanted to order dessert but I just didn't have any room in me. I can't believe I went a night without dessert!! Sinful. Our bill came to $43.07. Not bad and totally worth it!

 

Once finished, we went to Howl at the Moon. It wasn't too crowded at all and we found chairs in the second row. We stayed and sang for a few hours, and of course had a few drinks. Once again, the drink service was great. Throughout this time, we texted off and on with son. He hung out with us for a bit once back on board, but headed to the Garden Cafe for dinner when we weren't hungry yet. He then spent the evening (like usual) at Entourage. Son went back to the cabin around 11 pm and was in bed when we got there. St. Thomas had tuckered him out!

 

We headed back to the cabin around midnight. We would be in Tortola in 7 hours - we needed to get to bed! I realized that we hadn't ordered breakfast yet, so I quickly called the Night Butler to place our order. He probably was thrilled when he found out I was just placing an order, and he didn't have to come out to my room to deliver anything. We never did order any other food to our room other than breakfast. I had so many hopes and dreams of nighttime food comas, with either cheesecake or wings being delivered on a whim. But my stomach just never seemed to go along with that plan. We set our alarms and went off to bed. I had that somewhat typical post sailing feeling when I got into bed. You know, like you are still on the water. It was a bit weird, since I was still on the water. But the Escape was so smooth most nights when I got into bed, I knew it had to do with the sailing adventure we had just had.

[Mistizoom]

Great review! Can't wait to hear more.

[ljrfrm]

Great review! Can't wait to hear more.

 

Thanks! I hope to complete all of Day 5 after work tonight!! Have a great day!

[MemeCruise]

This must be one of the most elaborate reviews on the Escape, such a witty writing style and a joy to read! We can't wait to read the rest of it, especially about your adventures in Tortola and Nassau. Thank you for putting so much time into this!

[ljrfrm]

This must be one of the most elaborate reviews on the Escape, such a witty writing style and a joy to read! We can't wait to read the rest of it, especially about your adventures in Tortola and Nassau. Thank you for putting so much time into this!

 

Wow, thanks so much! That was so nice to read on this crazy, stressful day I had!! :)

 

I'm going to do my best to get through Tortola tonight. I am flying out unexpectedly tomorrow for a funeral so I probably won't be able to continue until I return on Sunday. I will keep chugging along though!!!

[ljrfrm]

I'm usually not an indecisive person but I struggled with Tortola. I originally just planned for us to go to the beach (side note: I am the planner of these trips. I pour over CC, Tripadvisor, and anything else I can find to figure out who, what, where and when) but husband is not really a beach person (I think it's the sand the turns him off) so I nixed that idea. I really fell in love with the photos that I saw of The Baths. The water color, rock formations, the idea of climbing through them, and everything about it looked great. Until I read about the crowds and read about how little time you really have there. I also worried about my somewhat newly replaced knees. But then I read some positive reviews. I decided with the short period of time that we had in Tortola, I felt more comfortable booking the trip through NCL. I often will plan excursions on our own, but this time I just wasn't feeling it. I went ahead about 4 months ago and booked all three of us for the 9:30 excursion. We hate waking up early, so this would be perfect. Until I read that you should go early, because of the crowds. So now what? Should I change it earlier?

 

Then I started reading about the Jost Van Dyke excursion and the Soggy Dollar Bar. Now that sounds just up my alley. But wait. It's a beach! Would it be worth it to pay that money for husband? Now don't get me wrong - we go to the beach sometimes. And he's ok there. But, wouldn't he enjoy something else better? Hmmmmmm. Then, after all of this back and forth, I started reading about the Aristocat Charters. I didn't see on single negative review. And it sounded perfect for us! A few days later I was on our Roll Call and I remembered there was someone on the Roll Call that was looking for people to join them on this trip. I sent an email to Aristocat and liked their response. However, the company had just been sold the week before, and it was under a new owner, with all new crew. Would they be able to keep up with the expectations and satisfied customers I read about? I went ahead and made a reservation for the three of us.

 

For those of you that are good at math, you've realized I now have two different excursions booked for us. It stayed this way for almost three months - until one month out from our trip. Remember, I had the Nightwind booked for sailing/snorkeling the day before. Would the two excursions be too similar? Do I want to go to The Baths? What to do, what to do. I watched all the new reviews with the new owner and they were spectacular. So around 30 days out from our trip, I made the decision to go with the Aristocat trip. I called NCL and cancelled our reservations for The Baths. As I already had paid for the excursion for all three of us, they refunded the money to my credit card no problem. It was so nice to finally have the decision made. It was probably a good decision too, given my bum ankle.

 

Here's the information I received from them regarding our day trip:

 

With your ship arriving at 7a and departing at 3p, please plan on arriving at Lionheart at Dock C, Village Cay Marina in Road Town, at 8am. Lionheart is just a few minutes walk from the cruise ship dock. During the day, we will stop in three beautiful anchorages to swim and snorkel in the clearest water in the Caribbean. We will also keep you well refreshed with unlimited drinks and an extensive buffet lunch, freshly prepared and served on board. We will return at 2pm in plenty of time for you to rejoin your ship for it's scheduled departure.

[ljrfrm]

We woke up at 6:45 and got my daily morning coffee and went out to the balcony until Marivic called that she was on her way. She delivered our breakfast at 7! I ordered the pancakes - they were really good!! Yes, and bacon!! I ate outside on our balcony while enjoying the perfect weather. The Lionheart (Aristocat Charters has two catamarans - the Aristocat and the Lionheart. We were on the Lionheart) was leaving at 8 on the dot, so I wanted to leave the ship at 7:30. Although it is reportedly only a 10 minute walk to the dock, I read a few reviews that said it was a bit confusing to find so I wanted to allow time in case we had to play the lost tourist for a bit.

 

I packed up the big beach bag with the towels, suntan lotion, camera, etc. and we all got ready. We went down to the Haven Lounge around 7:30 and were off the ship very quickly after - thanks to our secret back door and elevator. Scott (the new owner of Aristocat) had emailed us walking directions which we easily followed. There was one moment where we were a bit unsure if we were going the right way (we should have trusted ourselves) so we asked directions from a local. We were correct and in about 4 more minutes we were there. Scott met us at the beginning of the dock and pointed us down to his catamaran.

 

There were about 20 people on our trip - both children and adults. Our fearless crew were Scott (owner) and Luke. I can't say enough about both of them. They were personable, great sailors, good cooks, funny, and clearly loving their job. Both took amazing care of us, offering us drinks throughout the day, talking to us about everything we saw, and taking us to the perfect snorkeling spots.

 

The first place we stopped was at Norman Island. Scott and Luke gave us some instructions of what we would be seeing, where the best place to swim would be, and what to look out for (sea urchins - they were prepared with vinegar in case - which wasn't needed as we all knew what to look out for). The snorkeling equipment was handed out (all in great shape) and into the water we went. Of course, son and I felt we were experts now that we already snorkeled the day before. Husband stayed on board today - but he seemed fine just relaxing and talking while we were off on our adventure. I didn't use flippers today - thinking that might feel better on my ankle (it did). Once in the water, we were in awe. It was so different than the day before - fish were everywhere! Such bright vivid colors and so much to see! We swam over to the cave which we anchored near, and went through it. There were actually three caves I think, but we only went into one. It was the perfect stop and we had a blast.

[ljrfrm]

So who knows the movie Open Water? It's about some scuba divers that got left behind. "Wouldn't that be the worst?" I say to son. He laughed, then we both looked at each other, and decided it was time to kick our way back to the boat. Now, I doubt they would ever leave anyone behind - but, if they did - hey, land wasn't that far away!! And I guess the cave could provide shelter??

 

So once everyone was back in the boat (we didn't leave anyone behind - as least I don't think we did) we sailed off to our second spot, Pirate's Bight. Pirate's Bight was a gorgeous cove and there were multiple sailboats and catamarans anchored here. It wasn't too far of a swim to shore where they had a restaurant and bar. Scott and Luke told us they were famous for their Bushwacker drinks there, and they take soggy dollars. Several people swam to shore and said they were amazing. I wanted to go too, but I was eyeing the paddle boards. The Lionheart had two paddle boards and this cove was the perfect place to use them. I've always wanted to paddle board, so here was my chance.

 

We let a few others go out first and once they were back, it was our turn. How hard can it be? right? So, Luke told me it's easiest to start with kneeling - but I can't kneel very well due to my replacements, so I went right to standing up. Uh. Mistake. I actually was doing ok until son got on, rocked the paddle board and I fell HARD on my butt. It was not graceful at all, but we laughed, and decided to start with sitting and paddling. I paddled son around first, then it was his turn. He paddled me around and did great - until he lost his balance and fell in. Somehow he tried to blame me, but we all know that it was his fault. I was just sitting there - what could I have done. The wind picked up a bit and we drifted further away than I would have liked. I grabbed the paddle from son and got us back on course (my kayaking days at summer camp as a teen finally paid off) and we made it back to the boat. How fun!!

 

Once everyone was back on board, Luke had lunch ready for us. There was pasta salad, potato salad, hot dogs, deviled eggs and cold cuts. Everything was amazingly delicious. Luke makes a mean Dark and Stormy, which we enjoyed throughout the day.

 

Our final stop was at the Indians. I was physically tired at that point from two days of snorkeling and considered not going in - but I'm SO glad I did. Don't miss this opportunity. I've never seen anything so amazing! Luke threw in bread to get the fish moving and coming to us- and I swear it felt like I was swimming in the middle of an aquarium. I don't know if my pictures will do it justice or not - but it was simply spectacular. Scott explained to us that the reason this area is called the Indians is because the rocks (land) look like an Indian's headdress. After about a 45 minutes stop, we were ready to head back. The Escape was leaving at 3 pm - with or without us, and I think we all preferred that it was "with".

 

The wind was great on the way back and we sailed without the motor. While sailing, there were small islands and islets everywhere. At one point, we passed a small, tiny island and a man was sitting on the shore. Just a little teeny tiny island so we saw all the way around. There wasn't a boat there - so how did this man get there? Should we worry? Is he shipwrecked? Is it a Castaway? "Wilson........". He didn't seem too concerned or flag us down so we kept going. I guess his ride will be coming to get him later??

 

Scott and Luke pointed out the Aristocat that was returning from a day trip as well. It was far off in front of us but we were quickly catching up. I could tell that both Scott and Luke were on a mission to pass them. While we never did pass them until we docked, we made up a great deal of time and clearly were going faster than they were (we won, we won!!). On the way back, many of us were relaxing on the trampolines up front - and several of the kids took turns perching in the seats at the very front of the boat. Everyone was having a nice time. I was worried that our trip was going to be too short. Aristocat day trips usually last longer, but they cut ours shorter to match our port times. In reality, I thought that this was the perfect amount of time. We didn't feel like our trip was cut short or that we missed out on anything.

 

We made it back to the dock and collected our shoes (Luke collected all the shoes when we boarded in the morning and placed them all together in a laundry basket during our trip) that were neatly lined up on the dock. I handed Luke a wad of bills to pay for our trip, including a nice tip for our amazing day, and we walked back to the ship.

 

On our way out from the dock, we walked passed numerous chickens and roosters roaming around. One started following us so I asked son if he wanted a pet. We weren't sure if Christopher, our room steward, would appreciate it so we left Charlie (yes, we named him) behind.

 

I really wanted to buy my two older children t-shirts and I forgot to get them the day before in St. Thomas. I was going to look at the stores before we got back on board. I had read a lot about the port still being developed and everyone was right. That said, once finished, it's going to be nice. They definitely had some stores open but I didn't see any gift shops with t-shirts. There might have been, I didn't look too carefully, but we just decided to get back on board. We can always get them something in Nassau.

 

Once again, NCL provided cold towels, drinks and a towel exchange before boarding. Once again, they have staff out front welcoming us back in style. We went through security (yes, I beeped like I did everyday due to my bionic knees) and they felt up my armpits again. Then we went back up to our cabin. I went onto our balcony and enjoyed my last bit of time in Tortola.

[ljrfrm]

So, one thing about the Escape is it is tall. It's really tall. That means we're bigger than everyone else. So, when your balcony is on Deck 18, you have a birdseye view of everything. Maybe even things you're not supposed to see.

 

Yesterday in St. Thomas we were docked so that I couldn't see the pier - but instead I looked out into the beautiful harbor. I loved it. Once we were back on board and sitting on our balcony (with a drink we grabbed from the Haven Lounge) we were able enjoy the view. For those of you that have been there, you know that in addition to cruise ships, St. Thomas has tons of yachts. Big ones, and even bigger ones. I sat there on the balcony thinking what a great rich person I'd be - and how I really think I need to buy a yacht. While lost in my thoughts, I saw on the yacht docked next to us that someone was about to have a feast. I saw food being brought from the galley on one end of a boat to the other, then brought inside to what looked like the dining room. These two workerbee guys must have made like 5 trips with huge platters of food. Now, I have my share of food here on the ship, but I was still jealous. About a half hour later, I saw a young lady go onto the top deck on the yacht and begin a workout. I guess she had to work off her food!! I couldn't tell if she was 18, 22 or what. But she was young. What a life!! Yes, I was green with envy. And no, it didn't inspire me to workout. I did sit there eating all my Marivic goodies thinking I probably should though.

 

So, back to Tortola. 3:00 pm came and went and we were still docked. I didn't here them making any announcements that we were missing anyone - and this time we were docked facing the pier, and I didn't see any pier runners. So why were we still there?? We were facing another cruise ship - the Aida Vita - a German cruise ship. Being that I was on Deck 18 (and remember, we're big) we were looking down on the Vita's top deck. I could see their pool deck, and a sun deck that was directly in front of me. I took a photo of the ship and sat back. Soon I saw more passengers coming onto their sun deck. They were all wearing bathrobes. I'm thinking, "how cute, they cover up with their bathrobes and not a bathing suit cover up". I even said to husband, "look, they're all wearing bathrobes". All of a sudden, the bathrobes came off and they were nude. Yikes, it's not a sun deck, it's a nudie deck. I then looked around and realized everyone that was laying out was nude. And I took a picture of it - time to delete that photo! How did I not notice they were all naked? Whoops. As I'm typing this up, I just googled the Aida Vita out of curiosity - and found this: "A few other uniquely German features on the ship include on Deck 12 the FKK area (Freikorperkultur, a German naturism movement). Passengers use this area for nude sunbathing".

 

So, it's almost 4 pm and we are still docked. There were a bunch of officers on the dock and at first I couldn't tell if they were from the Escape or the Aida. But something was up. But, they all were just hanging out and socializing - what's up? All of a sudden a huge ferry came by full of Aida passengers. They were screaming, yelling, and waving their towels around in circles like they were at a soccer match. It must be a late excursion that the Aida was waiting for. About 15 minutes later they were all on board and the Aida was setting sail. The officers were still all down on the dock - waving goodbye to everyone on the Aida. Shouldn't they have been on the ship? I still have no idea who they were or why they were there. As the Aida set sail, the passengers waved their towels, cheered and generally partied. NCL may know how to welcome passengers back but the Germans win for sailaways!

 

The moment that the Aida Vita left, and ambulance drove up to the Escape. Now it was clear why we were still there. We had a medical evacuation and they were waiting for the Aida to sail away before the ambulance pulled up. We saw someone walk of the ship with two suitcases. That just broke my heart. Nobody wants to end their trip of a lifetime in this way. A few minutes later the passenger was brought off the ship on the stretcher and the ambulance drove off. Once that happened, we were free to sail. We left Tortola at 4:30. What a fun day!!!

[LrgPizza]

I love the way you write. Great review.

[ljrfrm]

One thing I forgot to talk about was another "fail" moment that I had. Now, I try to be organized on trips. I have an envelope for each port, where I put a Word document with any directions or information we need, cash, or anything else I might have. Then I also have a computer Word document with our reservations, including both dining and entertainment.

 

We were very much looking forward to seeing Million Dollar Quartet. I was bummed when they cancelled it and held out hope it was all a mistake. Actually, for quite sometime our reservations weren't cancelled. All along, we held onto our Tuesday (St. Thomas - Day 5) 10:30 pm reservations to see the show. Even after all the April cruisers got their emails discussing the changes, we didn't hear anything. And our reservations were still there. So maybe there was a mistake and we would get to see it? No such luck. Finally about 2 weeks before we sailed our reservations were cancelled and we finally got the dreaded email. On a side note (yes, another side note), I was SO excited to see that Million Dollar Quartet was coming to town, AND I could get cheap discount tickets. Unfortunately, it was while we were on vacation. Bad timing. Back to the entertainment dilemma, do we want to see Vocal Overdrive? It certainly isn't a Million Dollar Quartet but why not. So, we booked Vocal Overdrive for that Tuesday, 10:30 pm slot.

 

I mention all this because after we sailed away from Tortola I started to think about our evening plans. We have a 6:30 reservation at Manhattan and the 80's party was tonight. But we also have Vocal Overdrive. Wait!! Vocal Overdrive was Tuesday! Today is Wednesday!! Ooops. I guess when you have a Word document with all your reservations on it, you probably should look at it each day. Oh well, from what I've read, maybe it's not such a big loss.

 

We showered, dressed and got ready for dinner. Son had fallen asleep on our bed (he and husband were watching a movie) while I was spying on the nudies (well, in my defense - I didn't know they were nude!!). He had been sleeping for almost 2 hours now so I decided to wake him up. That took some time, but soon he was up and showered and off to Entourage. Husband and I headed to Manhattan for dinner.

 

I loved it!! I had Prime Rib (again!!) but was a bit confused. I thought I had read that the Prime Rib had a charge and it was only free at O'Sheehan's (and the Haven Restaurant). It was listed under the daily specials so I ordered it. I have to say our service was stupendous. They immediately took our drink order (Riesling) and came by quickly for our order. I can't remember what I got for dessert but it was good. I have seen this posted lately, but just to clarify in case there are still questions, shorts are allowed in Manhattan. The Freestyle Dailies state that "resort casual and shorts are allowed in all dining venues except Bayamo and Le Bistro after 5 pm. Shoes and shirts must be worn". It was such a nice atmosphere in there. Juan was singing this night, and we really like the variety of songs that he sings. It wasn't too loud like I've heard, but i did notice that the next night we were there with the band was a bit louder. I loved watching the dancing, especially the little kids. We definitely planned to come back again - we had a great meal!