My week on the Escape (Chapter 2) Dec 3-10 (Somewhat Live)

[cruisegal40]

Thanks for the heads up about dinner. We have a few later shows booked and I was wondering about the turn around time. How has the internet service been?

[ljrfrm]

Best day ever! I'm writing this from Vibe. Curly just brought me a BBC. I told him to surprise me. After some mudslides, Mojitos, Pina Coladas and something else I don't rememeber, I definitely got my money's worth on my free (plus 18%) UBP. We stayed on board today and had Vibe to ourselves for a few hours. We are now joined by others waiting for sailaway.

 

Our day started around 8 am when we woke up. I spent some time on the balcony then threw on my swimsuit and went to Savor for breakfast. We had a great view this time! After my Muesli (how can mushy cereal be yummy?), I had Poached Eggs on Waffle. We hung out in the room for a bit then headed up to Vibe. It was hot today-so hot, but between the cold towels and mist, I survived. Oh the drinks helped. We are now up here waiting for sailaway. The horn just blew, no idea if we are waiting on people or not. We skipped lunch in an effort to try to be hungry for dinner. Hunger. What does that feel like? I have had a few fruit skewers and I think the drinks have filled me up. Still waiting on hunger. It's not as hot now and sitting under the umbrella is comfortable. Soon we will be on our way.

[ljrfrm]

Thanks for the heads up about dinner. We have a few later shows booked and I was wondering about the turn around time. How has the internet service been?

 

Surprisingly consistent-I expected worse. It seems not always as fast as home but not bad at all. It seems to be faster in port but we haven't really had too many complaints.

Edited December 7, 2016 by ljrfrm

[cruisegal40]

Thanks for the reply and enjoy the rest of your cruise. Love the review and your sense of humor.

[ljrfrm]

Thanks for the reply and enjoy the rest of your cruise. Love the review and your sense of humor.

 

Thanks so much! I might be writing less than I normally would because of this crazy Tablet that has a mind of its own when posting. I swear the autocorrect is off and it still changes half my words. And no, it's not the alcohol, LOL.

Edited December 7, 2016 by ljrfrm

[ljrfrm]

We left Tortola right on time. I had my BBC in hand and Curly came by with chocolate chip cookies. I may never find hunger again. The wind picked up once we left which felt great but meant the umbrellas must come down. Husband wanted to go down to the District to watch the Real Madrid soccer match but it didn't open until 4. The game started at 3:45 so we went over to the bar at O'Sheehans. I ordered a mojito which I'm still contemplating drinking......I may be near my limit. For now at least. I decided to head back to the cabin and I'm sitting on my balcony with my mojito watching the world go by. A power boat just went by and made me wonder who is on it. You know, I think I could live here. I've discovered I think I could do rich and get away with it-and this no work thing as well. Or at least pretend.

 

Random thought: my phone has a mind of its own. I actually finally figured out at port it jumps to ship time and while sailing it reverts back to East Coast time. So it's a guess at all times whether it is accurate or not. Keep that in mind if you use your phone instead of a watch. Otherwise you might be swimming to catch up with the ship.

[ljrfrm]

One last thought to leave everyone with. For those of you who read Chapter 1 -my first Escape review....you will get this. The big question on this cruise is to slide or not to slide. That is the question! Following my last attempt which was less than successful, I continue to suffer from PTSD (Post Traumatic Slide Disorder). Getting stuck in the drop slide was not my finest moment, I am dressed in the same ill-advised tankini that slowed me down the last time. Do I dare try it again? Just something I've been pondering.

[TheDougOut]

Do I dare try it again? Just something I've been pondering.

 

 

Don't they still offer those backboard thingys when clothing is high-resistance? If so, strap it on and fly on by!

 

 

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[ljrfrm]

Don't they still offer those backboard thingys when clothing is high-resistance? If so, strap it on and fly on by!

 

 

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Never heard of it! Mmmmmm. A few more Mojitos may help too!

[helpmecruise16]

Loving your review! We sail in February and this has me never excited!

 

 

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[cruisegal40]

You are better than me. I have never even contemplated doing the slides. Although I am bringing a one piece on this next cruise so this could be interesting.

 

Still loving the humor

[joytravels]

Your review has lots of great info (I've snapped pictures of some of your posts for our trip next week), but also you have the best sense of humor and keeps everyone coming back to see if you are going to do the slide...go for it! You should be a travel writer!

 

 

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[ljrfrm]

We showered and headed to Modernos for our 6:15 reservation. We hadn't tried this restaurant on the Escape before but did eat at one on the Dawn. Despite my valiant efforts to feel hunger today it didn't happen and I don't know if I did it justice but I tried. I had some Caesar Salad and a few other things from the salad bar and of course had to have the yummy cheese bread. I tried the flank steak, filet mignon, whatever the other beef was and the bacon wrapped chicken. Oh and of course the delicious pineapple. I think the food quality was better on the Dawn but we had a nice dinner and I was stuffed. I ordered the Rice Pudding for dessert. The hostess came over and told me she was sending me a Tres Leches to try too. Oh my. I didn't eat all her dessert but I had to eat some of it. I couldn't hurt her feelings right? I also managed to finish all my rice pudding. I was stuffed and told the waitress I wasn't going to eat for three days. She laughed and said "See you tomorrow for breakfast". Who am I kidding? She's right.

[ljrfrm]

After dinner we scored some seats in the Atrium and watched Bandaoke-karaoke with the band. Boy, there are some talented passengers. I sure wish I can sing. A few more Gin and Tonics and maybe I can!! Once finished, we stayed to hear a band do a classic rock tribute then went over to The District for some singing. Once that finished, we hit the Escape Theater for the 11 PM comedy show. We debated about heading over to the end of Howl at the Moon but went back to the cabin and watched Big Bang Theory instead.

[ljrfrm]

You are better than me. I have never even contemplated doing the slides. Although I am bringing a one piece on this next cruise so this could be interesting.

 

Still loving the humor

 

I was all for trying it last trip with my son. Now, not so much. We'll see. I don't know if I can face that walk of shame again!

[ljrfrm]

Your review has lots of great info (I've snapped pictures of some of your posts for our trip next week), but also you have the best sense of humor and keeps everyone coming back to see if you are going to do the slide...go for it! You should be a travel writer!

 

 

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Thanks! Glad I can help. Still on the fence with the whole slide thing.

[Adam185]

We hung out in the cabin a bit and watched a movie. Once showered we went to Manhatten for dinner. It was definitely our best dinner so far. We didn't have a reservation but we're seated right away at the best table we've had. Ask for table 79. It's the best! All the way aft along the window with a beautiful aft wake view. It's private, not a lot of tables in the area, you can hear the band but it's not too loud and we had great service. And did I mention the view? I had a yummy salad and the NY Strip which was all delicious. I had the Coconut Souffle for dessert- I figured it was time to venture away from the Chocolate Lava Cake. It was very good. We left very satisfied customers.

 

Really enjoying your review. Is Table 79 for two or four? We are traveling with another couple. Thanks

[TonyFred]

Great reviews. I got off the Escape in November and immediately booked again for next October, right down to the same cabin. We had a fantastic time and your reviews are bringing a lot of it back to me. I sprang for the Spa pass (first time) and absolutely loved it. Used a LOT more than I ever thought I would. Such great views!!!

I know you are going to hate walking off of her Saturday.

I love the Escape!

[ljrfrm]

Really enjoying your review. Is Table 79 for two or four? We are traveling with another couple. Thanks

 

It's a table for 2

[ljrfrm]

Great reviews. I got off the Escape in November and immediately booked again for next October, right down to the same cabin. We had a fantastic time and your reviews are bringing a lot of it back to me. I sprang for the Spa pass (first time) and absolutely loved it. Used a LOT more than I ever thought I would. Such great views!!!

I know you are going to hate walking off of her Saturday.

I love the Escape!

 

Today we got the dreaded "It's almost time to leave" paper. Boo. Would love to try the spa someday!

[ljrfrm]

Today we decided to go small with breakfast and just ordered room service. Our continental breakfast consisted of fresh fruit, pastries, OJ and coffee. It arrived at our 9am requested time on the dot and it hit the spot, other than the coffee. Yuck. But it was coffee and it is on a cruise ship so I drank it up and I was no worse for the wear. We hung out for a bit with the TV on. For those that have kids, they had a series of cartoons playing. For those without kids, there was a movie.

 

We had an appointment at 10:30am for a Vacationality presentation. I'm not one to normally do timeshare presentations but they were giving us $50 on board credit so why not. It wasn't very smoothly run and really was a bunch of activities and no talking and I still really have no idea what it is. We got to use the virtual reality goggles which I've never done before and it was pretty cool. We have one more "15 min" meeting tomorrow. For $50 it was worth it to us. Pretty painless.

 

We went to Savor for lunch and I had the spinach Caesar salad, meatloaf and peanut butter cheesecake. We saw our waitress from Modernos who giggled and told us she knew we'd find a way to eat again soon.

 

We put on our bathing suits and headed up to Vibe. It's a great day up here today. Warm but breezy, but not too much wind. A Miami Vice and Margarita later, I also managed to stuff in a chocolate chip cookie. Somehow I managed it! It's a tough job being a Vibe cruiser, but someone's gotta do it.

[TSUmom]

Today we got the dreaded "It's almost time to leave" paper. Boo. Would love to try the spa someday!

 

That is always the worst part of my cruise:(

[ljrfrm]

After showering we headed to the Atrium for some Beatles. Of course I had to sing along loud and proud. Sorry to those poor souls sitting next to me. Once finished we hit Manhatten again for dinner. We were seated right away in the section in front of the dance floor. FYI, if you are interested in table 79, you can also ask for table 124- the same but on the other side. I looked at my watch and saw we were seated at 6:50.

 

Our waiter was Thomas and he was fantastic. Such a funny guy and I think he was on a mission to get us drunk. Everytime our wine glass became about half full, he showed up with a refill. Without us even asking. I had the Melon and Prosciutto and the Risotto for appetizers. Yes I had them both. I'm not ashamed. I had the Beef Wellington and Honey Creme Brule. We finished dinner at 8:20. Longer thaneed usual but given our 50 million courses and massive glasses of wine, it makes sense it took longer.

[ljrfrm]

Leaving the restaurant we saw that somebody had gotten sick all over the carpet. They came swooping in quickly and cleaned it all up, even an officer was called over to supervise and it was impressive (ok, not what was on the carpet, but the cleaning) how efficiently they took care of it.

 

We went back to the Atrium and scored front row seats to see Tezz sing (he was great) And then watch the Perfect Couple game. It's the same game each time we sail but still a hoot to watch. We stayed and listened to the band Port Royal sing until it was time to head to Headliners to see the11 pm show of comedian Clinton Jackson. He was pretty good.

[cincicruisers]

Really enjoying your review. Thanks for taking time to share with us.