Norwegian Escape June 4-11 2016 Review

[JMsquared]

This is my first time posting a review. I'll try to upload the review then follow up with some pictures. I'm not sure how to control the formatting but will try to make it work.

 

Cruise Review: Sailing June 4-11 2016

 

We just got off the Escape this past Saturday. Fortunately, I jotted down notes along the way which helped me write this review. BTW, my intention was a short sweet review, but somehow this grew a lot longer. Not Gambee length, but I wanted to share my family’s insight and experience without chopping things off. Here goes….

 

As a note, I was traveling with my wife and 3 kids and my mom tagged along with us. Well, the whole cruise was actually to celebrate her 75th birthday! Also along for the cruise were my 3 brothers, wives/girlfriends and kids. I think we covered almost all the age and gender demographics! I tried to include their viewpoints in the review too!

 

Pre-Cruise

Airport Transportation:

We used Southwest Airlines points so had to fly into FLL. Arranged transportation with MJS Transportation. Half my family was on this flight so booked a reservation for 8. Didn’t realize that they always run a full van and finding them for the pickup was a challenge even though they called and texted us--but they were picking up other people and traffic at the airport caused us to wait an extra 25 minutes. It was a Mercedes 15 person van and was in like new condition--the driver was nice and the price was right--so all-in-all it worked out fine. Price was about $13pp plus tip.

 

Hotel:

Chose the Hampton Inn Brickell as it was the only nicer hotel nearby that would guarantee us 2 rooms next to each other AND would accommodate 6 people in total. Wanted to stay at the Intercontinental but they wouldn’t guarantee--so Hampton Inn it was. Actually, it was very nice and gave free drinks upon arrival. The rooms were clean and the stay was super easy plus it included breakfast which helps foster an easier morning. If you’re looking for a nearby hotel, this was probably the nicest Hampton Inn that I've seen -- not that I've seen many. Lots of building going on in the Brickell area but one of my brother’s said he preferred the location of the Intercontinental--I didn’t find the Brickell area lacking though and it felt pretty lively with locals at the nearby restaurants and bars.

 

Transportation to Cruise:

The hotel offers a shuttle at $8pp roughly at 11am, but we like to be in charge of our own transportation. Got a Lyft XL for $13 at 11am. My Uber app didn’t work and I think they are the same price. Waited 2 minutes for Lyft to arrive--very impressed!

 

Embarkation:

Very easy. Arrived at 11:15am, porters took our suitcases at the curb and we whisked through without any lines. We were assigned Group 15 and waited only about 15 minutes upstairs before walking onto the ship. Rooms were not immediately ready so we had lunch at Taste/Savor and got the iConcierge app working and added the shows we wanted before the rest of the passengers figured this out. In fact, about an hour later, several of the show times were starting to disappear (I guess they were sold out). After walking around the boat for a few minutes we checked our room and it was ready (around 1pm).

 

Rooms:

We had 4 mid-ship mini-suite rooms next to each other deck 13, plus another room on deck 9. My wife called to ask them to open balcony and they said it was a hazard and could not do it. I think it was early on day 2 when I knew the cabin steward was cleaning and personally asked him to open the balcony dividers and it was no problem at all. Gave him a tip for doing it and everyone was happy. Having these opened up really added value to our cruise as our kids would run around room to room and we could keep an eye on them without having to open/close the main doors. Plus it was fun to watch together as the ship arrived/departed the different ports. The pro’s for the mini-suite include the extra large bathroom as already described by many prior reviews. My sister-in-law mentioned that the rooms were more narrow than Royal Caribbean and Carnival but not enough to ruin the experience. The lack of regular network TV stations is a really bad decision by Norwegian. Give us ESPN, TNT, News stations, Weather, ABC/NBC/FOX/CBS and some others for heaven’s sake.

The technology for notifying the room stewards to clean the room or for privacy was great. There are USB charging ports in the lights next to the bed, but my experience is that half of them are already broken/loose and won’t work. Be sure to bring your charging plug too, not just the cable.

My brother mentioned he really loved our room location mid-ship and that there weren't any inside cabins across from us. He told me that on other boats you’d get whacked just walking down the hallway as doors would open up from both sides of the hallway.

 

The Staff:

The staff does go out of their way to help the passengers. We all agreed that everyone working for Norwegian generally seems happy and has a positive attitude. An example was when the Moderno maitre d called a family that was late for their reservation to see if they were going to cancel. She could’ve simply had us wait an extra 20 minutes to allow them to no-show but she was proactive. Experiences like this abound and was refreshing. Overall, everything seemed very organized and there seemed to be enough staff to keep things running smoothly. Guest services was always helpful. How Norwegian’s handle the passengers in/out of port and greeting the was amazing. Eucalyptus towels, music, drinks and popsicles before getting back onboard was a really nice touch. The washy/washy singers at the entry to the buffet were hilarious and dealt with serious issue of cleanliness with humor and fun. I don’t know how those guys can sing that song everyday--I would probably jump off the ship if I drew that straw.

 

Activities:

Lots of activities for everyone young to old. My brother said it was A.D.D. for adults and he was right. The iConcierge app is innovative and works well to see what’s going on and to communicate with others from our party. We used it all the time to text or call each other. So many activities to choose from such as ropes course, slides, mini-golf etc. The video arcade was nice, but families will end up spending a ton of money there as it racks up fast--especially if you have 3 kids like I do! The night-time dance parties at H20 were fun, but as others stated, it’s extremely loud. We typically popped in to see what was going on, but didn’t stay late. They showed the Stanley Cup, French Open and NBA Championship on the pool huge TV’s and that was always fun to watch.

As for the pool, yes they are pretty small for 4000+ passengers. This boat doesn’t have a flowrider or climbing wall. It does has 2 x Aqualoop slides but the weight minimum is 100 pounds as anyone weighing less will not have enough speed to get through the loop. This is definitely a poor decision--maybe have one Aqualoop for 100+ pounds and the other for 48 inches and 50 pounds. My kids were all bummed that they couldn’t use half of the slides (that’s how they viewed it at least). With that said, the Aqualoop slides are super fun for those that can ride them! Scary, exhilarating and fun! The yellow slide was slow for anyone wearing a swim shirt, but I did see some people who mastered how to get some decent speed on it.

Dancing With The Stars: my mom attended this one and she said it was super funny and entertaining. Most of the activities in the Atrium were engaging (and all were free). One of my brothers mentioned that they really wanted to see a passenger talent show like they do on Carnival.

 

Pool Notes:

If you desire to be right next to the pool, then wake up early. Otherwise, there are ample chairs all over the place throughout the day. We would grab some chairs near the kids areas on most days for a couple hours and never had a problem. Our favorite spot was 1 level up from the pools just overlooking the adult pool and stage. They had live bands playing and waiters coming around spritzing you with water and bringing drinks.

 

Shows:

Seemed to always have room at shows even if just standing room only. The reservation system was smart to help control the flow. We didn’t see all the shows, so I can only report on the ones that we did see.

The Comedy Juggler was corny but a lot of fun. First, that guy is extremely talented and can juggle like nobody’s business. His humor is smart and often will throw a joke at you, then add another sentence at the end which just cracks you up! For instance, he’ll show a seriously large sword and pull it out of the sheath, stating he will throw this up and catch it in his mouth. Then he’ll do just that but uses the sheath instead. It was stupid funny humor--and the kids were also entertained. He’d end up juggling the swords, but had crafty jokes along the way.

Cat’s Pajama’s: this was a free show in the supper club and they serve dinner as well. Fastest dinner service on the boat guaranteed. Actually, pretty good chicken dish! A capella group that is talented and engaging. The problem is that 3 out of the 5 sweat like crazy and you can’t help but watch the sweat drip off and pray it doesn’t hit anyone or fall into anyone’s dinner. They really need to make the room 20 degrees cooler or get one of those Cool Zones pointed at them (the ones they use on the NFL sidelines). One of the guys dripped sweat on my mom and that was pretty funny to me, but disgusting at the same time.

Brat Pack: If you’re in the 40-60 age range you’ll for sure love this show. It’s almost Broadway quality and the acting/singing is superb (especially for a cruise ship). They say it’s PG-16 and it certainly is--no nudity, but adult content and sexual things going on. My kids sat through it and were a bit quesie. I would suggest having any kids younger than 14 skip this show, as they’ll have just as much fun at the arcade or elsewhere.

Comedy Club: Saw all the comedians and they are funny! The kids shows are similar but slightly different than the adult show. They always had extra seats for those waiting without a reservation, but typically went to standing room only by the time the show started.

 

Garden Buffet:

There really aren’t many healthy options at the buffet and their salad bar was pretty weak. A few people in my family said the shrimp patty burger was their favorite from the buffet. Sounds pretty nasty to me, but they said it was great! Everyone on-board loved the soft-serve ice cream cones in the buffet. Comments from my family is that the buffet was organized really well and was easy to get to the food without a pileup of people. I would strongly suggest taking a lap around the entire buffet each time because even though it looks like it’s the same thing repeating itself it isn’t! You’ll find sticky buns, crepes, Indian food, or something different that shows up in just one place along the buffet. If you have a large group on the cruise, try to sit generally in the same spot in the buffet and when everyone makes their lap they’ll be able to easily find you!

Overall, the desserts were really quite bland at the buffet. They looked really tantalizing, but just didn’t live up to their looks. My 7-year old said they forgot the sweetener!

 

Other Free Restaurants:

Slow service at every free restaurant we attended, especially Manhattan room. Ambiance was great though! Even if you tell them you only have 90-minutes it would not guarantee that you’d get through the meal on-time. The exception is if you are eating close to their close time or later in the evening, they got the food out exceptionally fast--probably wanted to clear the room. For instance, show up to Taste/Savor at 1:20pm (they close at 1:30pm) and you too can get through lunch by 1:50! BTW, we had the 5:30pm reservation two nights at Manhattan room, and although we were there first, service was still slow--so much that my family didn’t want to eat there the rest of the cruise.

The waterfront is great, whether you’re eating/drinking at one of the bars/restaurants or just out there for a walk or taking in the sights.

Loved the grouper sandwich in Taste/Savor...had it at lunch the first day and came back later in the week to have it again!

 

Specialty Restaurants:

Excellent! I highly recommend going to as many as possible--especially the a la carte ones.

Bayamo/Pinchas and Food Republic are excellent. If you like small plates and enjoy your food instead of mass quantities, then these are the places for you. In fact, Bayamo on the Waterfront was our favorite meal of the trip. I guess nobody wants to pay the additional $15 + tip if you have a dining plan, so the place was almost empty (I counted 2 other tables being used inside and/or out) during our meal. We only had appetizers, and they allow you to order from both places, so I can’t comment on the main courses. I’ll tell you, after eating so much at the buffet, you’ll be pleased that you escaped to eat less and enjoy more--and have a semi-private upscale dinner. BTW--our dinner included 4 or 5 items and only cost around $22 (we had drinks on the UBP too).

Cagney’s was great and your typical upscale steakhouse. I found their filet to be cooked perfectly and tasted excellent. Could’ve been one of my top filet’s! The servers were attentive and worked through one of my brother’s food allergies.

Moderno was a similar experience to Fogo de Chao but maybe a little inferior as the food doesn't come around as quickly and I thought wasn't as good. However, the lamb chops were excellent and so was the salad bar. The lobster bisque was perhaps the best I've ever had and their banana cream meringue dessert was the best of the cruise. The fact that it’s a flat fee to dine there and not a la carte was nice as well.

Le Bistro was the single best meal on board. They serve French cuisine and we ate the escargot, lobster tail and profiteroles. If you’re not dressed up, they’ll seat you in “outside” next to Teppanyaki across from Headliners. Great for people watching too!

Teppanyaki is your typical chop-em-up-place like Benihana. But, they give you so much more food -- too much in fact. If you haven’t been to a place like that for a while, you’ll love it. If you’ve been to a Benihana place recently, it’s good food but not anything you can’t get so would be lower on my list than the other restaurants.

The Manhattan room is classy and music is a nice touch but the service is very slow.

 

 

Bars:

Lots of bars everywhere never took long to get drinks. Bartenders were very friendly, helpful and generous. Many times they would give my kids a soda without asking for their drink cards. Always seemed to have a drink of the day, but the BBC (bananas, Bailey’s and pina colada) was the best. Was like a milkshake for adults. I lost man points, but the drink was worth it.

I’ll also add O'Sheehan's to this section and the food there was average bar food, but a good change of pace from the other dining venues if you're looking for sketching different. Prime rib special was okay, nothing special.

 

Shops onboard:

I steer clear of shopping on ships or hotels, but my mom said the ship’s boutiques need more items. She loves to buy that crap, so the more crap to her the better. To me, it was plenty and I breezed past it without stopping for more than a few minutes the whole cruise.

 

Spa:

My sister-in-law and mom used the spa for some services and I couldn’t believe that they don’t allow you to use the facility before/after the treatments. I’ve never heard of that before and if you’re spending $200 on some massage, you would think you’d be allowed to hang out. Also, wanted to share that they have some spa specials later in the week so keep your eyes peeled for that if this is your thing. I believe my mom grabbed a facial plus massage on Friday for $149.

 

Excursions:

I had at least 2 family members scuba dive on the ship’s excursion at all 3 ports. Sounded like the dive in Nassau was the best, Tortola ship dive a close second and St. Thomas a distant third. Strong recommendation to wear a dive skin even if the water is warm--many divers got all bit up.

Before going on this cruise I debated the excursion to the Virgin Gorda Bath’s on my own versus through the cruise. UItimately, I chose to go with the cruise just to make it easier. I’d like to report, for others considering this same choice, that the excursion boat does NOT use Speedy’s but charters their own boat. This charter is located right at the same pier as the Escape and was super easy and worth the additional cost. We were on the first excursion at 7am and the ferry left at 7:20am (Speedy’s was scheduled to leave at 7:45am so that put us in a good 25 minutes earlier). We were the very first ones to enter the Baths and enjoyed it immensely. One area that I tried to tackle ahead of time was what shoes to wear--the answer is that I would strongly recommend wearing your normal flip flops to/from the ferry and wear some water/pool shoes for the hike to/from the Baths. You’ll want to have some water shoes to provide a little traction. You don’t need the tennis shoe type of water shoes, just those flimsy ones that cost $20 so you don’t slip on the trail or the rocks.

 

Cruise Director:

We had Tyler and he is fine. Based on prior reviews, it sounded like Silas was simply awesome and although Tyler did a good job he didn’t live up to the Silas hype. To his credit, he was infinitely more involved than the cruise director on our Celebrity Alaska cruise LOL.

 

Note: Disembarkation was smooth. One of our bag tags got ripped off and our bag was missing. There is a separate room where bags without tags go so be sure to check there before panicking. We had 6 bags for the rooms and I put all tags on the bags exactly the same, so somehow it was ripped off by a handler--so it could happen to you. Regarding early disembarkation, I saw the boat pull into Miami at 5:45am and dock around 6:15am. The very first person walking off with bags was at 7:25am even though they announced over the PA at 7:45am. Exit from deck 7 and they loop you through a queue starting from O'Sheehan’s which goes very fast even if a long line.

 

Note: Do not use Hertz from/to the ship and Port of Miami 2nd street location. The worst ever car renting experience! Their van never comes around, the location is under-staffed, and doesn’t hold your reserved vehicle for you. For instance, they didn't have the minivan that I reserved months ago or any larger sized vehicles to fit 6 people plus bags and after getting the runaround we were forced to go to the Miami airport and re-reserve a vehicle. This ordeal took over 3 hours and I had to inconvenience my entire family. Hertz should close this site down! I will be contacting a higher up this week. I strongly suggest that you use a car service if you’re going to FLL, or simply use Uber/Lyft to the airport or even if you’re going to a different rental car location (the buses didn’t come around too much and would be simpler than waiting in the heat for the pickup).

 

Suggestion: buy a few sets of those magnetic hooks as almost all the walls in the cabin are metal. You’ll be able to hang your clothes, lanyards, hats, or whatever. Bring some metal hangers too for the closet.

 

Atlantis Tip: We did the Atlantis Aquaventure on our own and reserved our spots through their site directly. Cost was $120pp adult, and $79pp child saving about $70pp!!! We definitely got to Atlantis first, well before the cruise ship excursion, and it paid dividends. You can also book the other Atlantis activities online directly from Atlantis which will save a lot of money if you have many people attending like we did! If the ship doesn’t stop for some unforeseen reason and you have insurance I believe you can get reimbursed.

 

Secret Tip: (If you’ve read this far, you deserve something)

Connect to the cruise WiFi, and setup iConcierge. Without paying for any additional internet or services, you should be able to fire up a browser and use Google search. Okay, you can only see Google search results and can’t click the results/links. I was able to see live sports scores, weather, headline news and other results that kept my Internet addiction in check (I vowed to not spend for Internet on the cruise). My son's texts were coming in for free and wife's emails would sporadically show up too. I heard that they are changing the Internet service in the next month, so this could affect this sweet trick.

BTW, for those of you looking for high speed internet at the first stop in St. Thomas, find a local cafe as the people I asked said most have Internet. I stopped into a small bar/restaurant called Delly’s which is located in the small shopping area next to the dock. Very friendly and Internet was fast.

 

My Opinion About the Freebies from Norwegian

We booked over a year ago when they gave the pick 1 out of 4 items. 2 rooms chose the excursion $75 per port option, we chose the UBP, and my mom+12-year old got the dining (my other brother didn’t get any as he did the balcony guarantee to save money). If you’re a big drinker, then go for the drink package as you’ll easily drink more than 4 drinks per day. If you’re not a big drinker, like me, then I’d emphatically recommend that you go with the dining package (our was the unlimited one) and pay for your drinks separately. Trying the specialty restaurants will make your trip! I think now they offer a pick 2 so you can cover your bases. FYI--when you choose the UBP, they charge you like $80pp fee--so that’s like 8 drinks at $10 per drink right there--you need to drink a lot to catch up to that.

 

In Summary

My least favorites: terrible tv stations, not enough hangers, worst toilet paper EVER, illegal use of scooters, kids pool too deep, arcade games should be free or lower cost, desserts at buffet, they misplaced one of our bags on debarkation (but found it 20 minutes later), splash academy didn’t work well for us. These are nit-picky, as nothing was really too bad.

 

My favorites: Easy on/off the boat at all stops, their welcome back to the boat after excursions, the washy/washy guy(s)--especially the main guy, lobster bisque at Moderno, Lobster at Le Bistro, appetizers at Bayamo, banana cream meringue dessert, BBC alcoholic drink, Frank the comedian, grouper sandwich, Virgin Gorda Baths, aqualoop slide, opening up the balcony dividers, waterfront in the early mornings and late afternoon, chocolate croissant, and all the NCL employees being so happy and helpful. All the employees really do go out of their way and many told me that NCL treats them extremely well.

 

This was a fun cruise and I would recommend it to anyone. I wouldn’t rush off to cruise this ship again since we already experienced it, but would rather try others such as Oasis or Allure or Disney to get a comparison. I’m happy to answer any questions so please don’t hesitate to ask.

[eatdrinkfly]

sounds like a fun trip! thanks for your feedback :)

[cincicruisers]

Great review! Thanks for posting.

[kackles]

Thanks for the review!

[JMsquared]

Here are some pics from our cruise:

 

A couple of the comedians onboard with the kids:

 

The Pullman bed:

 

The Pool area around 7am:

 

Spice/H20 early in the morning:

 

Family circus:

 

Chef Jose Garces onboard!

[JMsquared]

Food Republic for lunch:

 

Wii Baseball in Atrium:

 

Headliners:

 

Opened Balcony / Arrival in St. Thomas:

 

View of the ship next to Carnival:

 

Bayama welcome (corn chowder thing--was the best):

[JMsquared]

Bayamo for sunset appetizers:

 

Cupcake from Bake Shop:

 

The location of NCL ferry for Virgin Gorda Baths (it's close):

 

First at the Virgin Gorda Baths:

 

Dinner at Supper Club (Cat's Pajama's):

 

Coffee and bites in morning at the waterfront: (they have these set out on both sides)--the coffee cups are small though!

[Barney Gallagher]

Thanks! One of the most well written (and best formatted!) reviews I have read. We ar on The Escape in 3 weeks. We never heard of the Cat's Pajamas in the Supper Club. Can you tell us a little more about it? Thanks.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Juvesgirl]

 

Excursions:

Before going on this cruise I debated the excursion to the Virgin Gorda Bath’s on my own versus through the cruise. UItimately, I chose to go with the cruise just to make it easier. I’d like to report, for others considering this same choice, that the excursion boat does NOT use Speedy’s but charters their own boat. This charter is located right at the same pier as the Escape and was super easy and worth the additional cost. We were on the first excursion at 7am and the ferry left at 7:20am (Speedy’s was scheduled to leave at 7:45am so that put us in a good 25 minutes earlier). We were the very first ones to enter the Baths and enjoyed it immensely. One area that I tried to tackle ahead of time was what shoes to wear--the answer is that I would strongly recommend wearing your normal flip flops to/from the ferry and wear some water/pool shoes for the hike to/from the Baths. You’ll want to have some water shoes to provide a little traction. You don’t need the tennis shoe type of water shoes, just those flimsy ones that cost $20 so you don’t slip on the trail or the rocks.

 

 

Great review! Thanks so much for the advice about the Virgin Gorda excursion-I am struggling with the exact same decision and your input provides a lot of clarity. Thank you!

[Nator72]

Thank you so much for your honest, well-written, entertaining review. I'm glad you had a wonderful vacation

[jimbri]

Great review!

[Jenjer]

Any info about the current Comedians? Did you like them both is one better than the other?

 

What is Cats Pajamas?

[outtabux]

I just want to clarify. You had a mini suite and they have Pullman beds? We were on the Jade in a mini suite and the sofa slept 2 and they did not have Pullman beds.

[JMsquared]

@Barney Gallagher: Thanks for the compliment. My goal was to give insight into the little things that I didn't know prior to the cruise and glad the formatting came across well.

Regarding the Cat's Pajama's, they are a 5-person a capella group that now has a free show in the supper club. They sing mostly current songs like from Michael Buble, Lady Gaga etc.

The show is approx 50 minutes in length and is entertaining. I would try to see them if you could, but wouldn't sweat it (pun intended) if you didn't. Here is their website: VocalMeow.com

 

@Juvesgirl: I researched and researched regarding the Virgin Gorda Baths and was extremely happy to spend the extra money to be on the early excursion before the crowds and even before Speedy's gets there. The short walk and having no stress really was worth it. I think it was only an extra $30pp more, so compared to some other excursions, the cost difference didn't hurt too much. Below, I try to paste in a picture of the hordes of people showing up when we were finished.

 

@Jenjer: There were 3 comedians onboard: Heath Harmison who is the opener/MC, Frank Townsend, and Vince Acevedo...plus Scotty Cavanaugh the comedy juggler. Heath opened every show and had a few hilarious segments, one was where he does some voices of moms/grandma's/kids--he kinda has a delivery like Bobcat Goldthwait at times. Frank is really funny, but I think he's at his best in the 11pm show where he simply can manhandle any audience hecklers. Vince is quick witted and funny too. I think we saw 5 or 6 shows, between the adult and kids shows plus the big Wednesday show, and overall I rated Frank the best--my brother liked Vince.

Heath was good too. Each will make you laugh and all the shows are about 45 minutes long in total--so well worth it to stop in and laugh, even if you have to stand. BTW--the bartender is from one of the Islands (Maybe St Lucia) and made a mean mudslide drink.

 

@Outtabux: Yes, we had 4 mini-suite rooms in a row, 2 of which stated availability for 4 and the other 2 said can hold 3. The rooms that indicated 4 people (13188/13184) has the Pullman beds. I didn't know this until we got into the room, but had them make up the bed for us and it really helped as the couch was now useful during the entire cruise. My son loved it too! In the other rooms without the Pullman, they simply made up the sofa into a bed with linens and none of the kids complained.

 

One more suggestions: if you want spectacular pictures, go to the 8th floor aft (Waterfront) during sailaway at St. Thomas or Tortola--as the scenery is special. Other people can take your pics and it's free. We did this too late at Nassau sail away, and the pics were good but not as picturesque as the others. Plus it's FREE!

 

If you look closely, there are about 200 people streaming into the Baths around 10:30am. I have another pic somewhere of the snorkler's taking over at the beach after the Baths around 9:45am.

[MandyMommyof2]

Great review!!! Sounds like you and your family had a wonderful week. Thanks for writing such a great review!

[deladypilot]

Thank you for your great review. Do you happen to know what time they put the coffee and bites out on the waterfront? I wake up so darn early and dont want to wake hubby having coffee delivered. This would be perfect

[JMsquared]

@deladypilot: I was out there several times between 6:30am-7:30am and always saw the coffee and pastries. So, my guess is they put it out around 6am. However, to me, the coffee tasted just like the coffee in the buffet and the pastries were also the same (but seemed not so fresh). The coffee cups are extra small too.

So, the idea of getting something special isn't really the case, it's just convenient if you're out there. Regarding coffee, they have plenty around the boat and the coffee shop in the Atrium is really nice with coffee options like Starbucks if you want better java. I think others brewed their own in the room, but I'm not into doing that while on vacation.

[Clarea]

Nicely written review, thanks.

[Barney Gallagher]

Thanks for the follow up!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Duff Man]

Thanks!

 

Do you recall which night was the Brat Pack show?

[Jenjer]

Wonderful thank you for the information

[APDMOM]

Thanks for your review! [emoji846] I found a few helpful tips to add to my planning for next month.

[JMsquared]

@Duff Man: They jockeyed the shows around last minute for our cruise so it's hard to remember exactly. I think the Brat Pack was showing on Monday and Thursday--maybe one more night too. I'm guessing someone else will post a Daily for a recent cruise. The key is to schedule the big shows online prior to your cruise, and the minute you get on-board you can add (I think 2) others like the comedy shows via the free iConcierge app. Oh yeah, be sure to download that app prior to the cruise as the Internet stinks on-board at the Port of Miami.

[Mom2labs]

Nice review! Can't wait for May!

[atlantaskip]

Great review jeremysm1, we think a lot alike! It was a great cruise, glad your family enjoyed!