Live on board the Escape - random thoughts

[iaswam]

This is awesome that you are doing a day by day review while on the ship! We leave in 3 1/2 weeks for our first cruise ever and we're super excited to see the Escape!!!

 

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[cookie*]

Following along. Great review. Thanks for taking the time to post while on your trip. I am curious about the exercise class shedules and times if you get a chance, thanks!

[MidTexHorn]

I'll try to catch up a little bit here after a busy few days. I'll continue with my random thoughts mode:

 

1) Sweet Pea Catamaran http://www.daysailsweetpea.com was awesome. Rave reviews from our group. My wife is a bit of a worrier and doesn't really groove on small boats, but she loved the captain and we all felt very safe and well taken care of. The captain is a salty old guy who likes to tell jokes and old sailing stories. He loves to sail, not just turn on the engine and go, so we got to see him, his wife and their helper in action and they were really good at it. We snorkeled off of some immaculate beaches on St John and saw around 8-10 turtles, a stingray, conch, eels, held lots of starfish and for the ultimate - saw a 4 foot nurse shark! Never knew my wife could walk on water until she saw that shark. The shark was even more scared of her though. It was an absolutely immaculate day of snorkeling, our best ever. The captain snorkeled with you and helps point out everything. Boat had an open bar and they'd make whatever you wanted to drink. The captain's wife is a French trained chef and made a wonderful Thai grilled chicken salad with shrimp and peanut sauce plus dessert. There's a stand up paddle board to use and lots of noodles to help the weaker swimmers float. Can't rave about these folks enough. They had us back to the ship with plenty of time to spare.

 

2) my wife and I ate at La Cucina that evening and I timed our reservation to coincide with sail away and sunset. The lighting and view were magical and we sat outside on The Waterfront. The service was great, as it is everywhere on this ship. Food was good, but not really much better than the main dining room fare (bread was better). We spent about $75 which includes tax and tip (we have the UBP so didn't have to pay for drinks). For the atmosphere outside at sunset during sail away it was worth it, otherwise I'd just as soon eat in one of the main dining rooms.

 

3) This ship definitely moves around a lot more than the Reflection. It's a minor irritant, but it's there. My wife thinks it's just too damn tall.

 

4) The Haven sure does occupy a lot of the upper decks. That's what leads to the pool crowding. Not a big impact for us as we're not big pool/sunning people, but I can see why it would bug some.

 

5) Sail away from Tortola is not to be missed. You are surrounded by beautiful islands for about two hours, going quite close to some. Spectacular when viewed from the Waterfront with a glass of wine or margarita in hand and a lot of folks we're doing just that. Seriously, don't miss this. It was a highlight that we'll long remember.

 

6) The Baths in Virgin Gorda were really cool. Something everyone should see at least once. Not for the mobility impaired as there is lots of climbing of stairs, scrambling over rocks, and some moderately strenuous hiking to and from the beach. We enjoyed the hike and wandering through the rocks, spent an hour or so lounging on the beach and then had a nice lunch at the restaurant up top.

 

7) Speaking of the Baths, don't waste your money on the ship's excursion here. It's way too easy to do yourself. Here's the step by step - walk off ship at 7:00. Go to main drag at end of dock and turn left. Walk a quarter mile or so to the ferry dock and go to the Speedy's window. Tell the guy you're going to the Baths. Pay him $40/person and he'll give you a ferry pass to/from and a wristband for the taxi once you get there. The taxis are lined up and waiting for you once you get to VG. Ask the taxi driver what time to meet up for the ride back. For us, it was 12:00 for the 12:45 ferry. Pay the lady $3/person for entrance to the Baths and go hike around, lay on beach, drink, eat, whatever. Meet up with the taxi (it'll likely be a different driver as there are just a bunch of them that work for Speedys) and catch your ferry back. You'll have about an hour left for some shopping. Easy trip. Really no need to pay double for the ship excursion as they're all doing the same thing you are just on a different boat that looks quite a bit like your ferry.

 

8) bring a bunch of $1 bills and tip your waiters/bartenders. They don't expect it, but from the looks on their faces and their thank yous, you can really tell they appreciate it.

 

9) Casino is quite busy at night. No luck for me at the BJ table, as usual. Smoke is worse than the big swanky casinos in Vegas, maybe similar to some of the downtown casinos.

 

10) 80's night dance party at Spice H2O last night was fun. Lots of crew dressed up for it and they did a Thriller dance that was fun. Lots of silliness, and the cruise director is a bit over the top in trying to get everyone fired up, but it was fun. Gonna hit the GLOW party tonight.

 

11) for the person who asked about the bartender outside at The Cellar, I think his name is YEO or something similar. I'll try to look again. Very nice guy. He's our favorite so far. Not chatty, just nice and does his job well.

 

 

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[MidTexHorn]

Now for some pics

 

Exercise class schedule

Snorkeling

Jeep, the resident dog on the Sweet Pea

Dinner view at La Cucina

Our ship, the NCL Escape, views from the Tortola/VG ferry

The Baths

 

 

 

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[MidTexHorn]

View from the restaurant at The Baths

Sail away view from 5 O'clock Somewhere

Another Tortola sail away pic of the Virgin Islands. Don't miss this!

Wednesday night sunset from our port balcony as we head for Nassau

80s Dance Party

KISS made an appearance

 

 

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[MidTexHorn]

And a few more random thoughts while waiting for my massage appointment:

 

1) my wife wanted me to make sure to mention her favorite spin instructor so I will again. He is a good looking guy, must admit, and man is he full of energy. We just saw him giving a well attended lecture at La Cucina on increasing your metabolism and if anyone could give that talk it's him. Wears me out just looking at him. Not sure about his name, will try to get it later.

 

2) we've had multiple mixups at the spa on appointment times. First time, I blamed myself and/or alcohol, now I'm not so sure. I'd call an hour ahead for your appointments just to make sure they're happening when you think they're happening.

 

3) really enjoyed Food Republic last night. Nice change of pace with Asian Fusion small plates. Not at the level of our favorite Uchi in Austin, but nicely done for a massive cruise ship.

 

 

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[Coreysgrl06]

Amazing pictures. Thanks for posting fitness schedule. That's so helpful

[FamilyBoatTrip]

Thank you! Love all the photos, the gym schedule, and the baths tip! You are a great photographer.

 

 

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[drneal]

Nice review.

Were you able to get a daily spa pass?

[Steff79]

thank you for your thoughts and pics, love the escape.

Wish i could have seen the super bowl at the escape.

 

Howl at the moon is great, if you didn´t saw it give it a try.

[Yorkvillain]

Loving the review. Thank you. I've been itching to book this ship again and I think you may have just pushed me over the top.

[MidTexHorn]

Thanks all for the comments. We've been so busy and have still not tried so many things on this ship. It's a pretty amazing place. Here's a literally live pic from the Atrium

 

 

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[easyboy]

7) Speaking of the Baths, don't waste your money on the ship's excursion here. It's way too easy to do yourself. Here's the step by step - walk off ship at 7:00. Go to main drag at end of dock and turn left. Walk a quarter mile or so to the ferry dock and go to the Speedy's window. Tell the guy you're going to the Baths. Pay him $40/person and he'll give you a ferry pass to/from and a wristband for the taxi once you get there. The taxis are lined up and waiting for you once you get to VG. Ask the taxi driver what time to meet up for the ride back. For us, it was 12:00 for the 12:45 ferry. Pay the lady $3/person for entrance to the Baths and go hike around, lay on beach, drink, eat, whatever. Meet up with the taxi (it'll likely be a different driver as there are just a bunch of them that work for Speedys) and catch your ferry back. You'll have about an hour left for some shopping. Easy trip. Really no need to pay double for the ship excursion as they're all doing the same thing you are just on a different boat that looks quite a bit like your ferry.

 

8) bring a bunch of $1 bills and tip your waiters/bartenders. They don't expect it, but from the looks on their faces and their thank yous, you can really tell they appreciate it.

These are helpful! Thanks.

[MidTexHorn]

Nice review.

Were you able to get a daily spa pass?

 

We decided not to as we didn't think we'd spend enough time there to make it worthwhile. It was offered to us on the first day when we visited the spa to set up our appointments.

[davidwar]

Assuming he's still there, go see "The Chocolate Cowboy" the bartender on the outside of the 5 O'Clock Somewhere Bar. He's the best.

[CruisinHarvey]

Assuming he's still there, go see "The Chocolate Cowboy" the bartender on the outside of the 5 O'Clock Somewhere Bar. He's the best.

 

Unfortunately, he's on vacation.He'll be back in March.

[MidTexHorn]

I haven't seen him at 5 O'clock Somewhere, so vacation sounds right.

 

 

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[RichL]

Thanks for the comparison. We sailed Escape in December and recently booked Reflection for March 2018.

We enjoyed Escape and based on your review, are looking forward to sailing reflection.

[MidTexHorn]

A few final thoughts:

 

1) on the whole, our group preferred the Reflection to the Escape, but it's a close call. The noisy pool scene on the Escape was the biggest downside. We're not opposed to music and getting rowdy at times, but the crowds and constant noise was just a big turnoff. We heard other folks on board remark similarly. If there had been a quiet pool other than the Haven, it might've been a draw between the two ships. That said, we really enjoyed both and would be happy to sail either again.

 

2) worst food on board - pizza at buffet. Wow was that bad. Soggy, chewy and flavorless.

 

3) Two of our group loved O'Sheehans, the rest thought it was the worst food on board (other than the pizza). That said, the prime rib was pretty decent.

 

4) The Waterfront is a great concept and more cruise lines should work something similar into their new ships.

 

5) we loved the variety of bars on the ship.

 

6) Teppanyaki was a big hit with everyone. We have similar restaurants at home, but the chefs were much more skilled here, and the food was at least equal in quality. It's loud and rowdy with lots of singing and banging of utensils, so if that bothers you it may not be your ideal restaurant.

 

7) we picked the 9:00 disembark time and walked off the ship at 8:55. It took about an hour to get our bags and get through customs. Jiffy Jeff got us to FLL by 10:30.

 

8) since we had a late flight out of FLL, we dropped our bags at the baggage storage service near the baggage claim area ($7/bag for the day, cash only). Caught an Uber to Shooters Waterfront and had an unbelievable brunch on the water watching the yachts sailing the intracoastal waterway. $20 bottomless mimosas made for a very festive last day of our vacation.

 

9) we all enjoyed the Brat Pack show. At lot would probably be lost on folks who didn't grow up with 1980s John Hughes movies, bit that was our teen age years so we really had fun. All agreed the cast was very talented.

 

10) never made it to a magic show, never saw a comedy show, missed all the other shows, never hit the Skyline bar in the casino, never saw the dueling piano show. Never ran out of things to do though.

 

All in all, a great vacation. Cruising is really an ideal group vacation in my mind as there is truly something for just about everyone of all ages and interests to enjoy. We had a great time on the Escape and really appreciated all of the staff's hard work. Would be happy to sail NCL again.

 

 

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[mgfiest]

thanks for your review... it was really nice to see positive and negative thoughts. We will be going in 2018 and never been on NCL big boats... we like the smaller ones so it was a leap of faith for us to try the Escape. So our comparison will be small vs large.

[SailLaVie]

Thanks for taking the time to post! We sail the Escape in 2 weeks and can't wait! You're adding to our excitement! :D

 

 

Looks like you're the week before us! Don't see many Albertans on here. :)

[Cruiser Bruiser]

A few final thoughts:

 

1) on the whole, our group preferred the Reflection to the Escape, but it's a close call. The noisy pool scene on the Escape was the biggest downside. We're not opposed to music and getting rowdy at times, but the crowds and constant noise was just a big turnoff. We heard other folks on board remark similarly. If there had been a quiet pool other than the Haven, it might've been a draw between the two ships. That said, we really enjoyed both and would be happy to sail either again.

 

8) since we had a late flight out of FLL, we dropped our bags at the baggage storage service near the baggage claim area ($7/bag for the day, cash only). Caught an Uber to Shooters Waterfront and had an unbelievable brunch on the water watching the yachts sailing the intracoastal waterway. $20 bottomless mimosas made for a very festive last day of our vacation.

 

All in all, a great vacation. Cruising is really an ideal group vacation in my mind as there is truly something for just about everyone of all ages and interests to enjoy. We had a great time on the Escape and really appreciated all of the staff's hard work. Would be happy to sail NCL again.

 

Thanks for sharing your impressions of Escape. Your observations were meaningful to me as I find myself increasingly at odds with the energy level on NCL, and increasingly I'm sailing elsewhere. If it wasn't for Spice H2O, the thermal suite, specialty dining and the other means of isolating one's self from the noise, I don't think I would sail them. But damn, the studios are cost effective. (I mostly sail solo anymore.)

 

And thanks for the tip about luggage storage at FLL. I did not know that existed, and I will almost certainly use it in the future.

 

Finally I'm glad you and your group managed to have an excellent time in spite of the challenges at the main pool. Cheers!

[Blondie008]

Thanks for your review!

We cruise X too - and love both NCL and Celebrity for totally different reasons.

We wont however do Transatlantics any more on Celebrity - booked those with NCL. (right through to November 18) Celebrity was just tooooooooo zzzzzzzzzzzzz sleeeeeeeeepy - NCL albeit we know TA attracts an older crowd, has a bit more life to the party.

But for short trips such as the Med, or special routes,(we did Alaska last year on Solstice) we would choose Celebrity.

Aquaclass on Celebrity for example is fab for one reason only = BLU - the SPA on Celebrity is not a patch on NCL - that is a major flaw for us. Much prefer NCL's spa and thermal suites. Celebrity's thermal suites - what a major let down...

Good points in both - nice to hear your thoughts and opinions - very helpful review!

[tinkr2]

Glad you had a nice trip. It sounds like you do all the same stuff we do, from the spin classes to the catamaran trip and even the sail away at La Cucina. We have also been married 30 years!

I also am always shocked by the positive reviews of OSheehans as I thought it was by far the worst food ever. But its open 24 hours ,which is nice.

We went to St. John this last trip and did a sailing trip with Kuralu in Tortola but we are going again and I like the sound of your catamaran trip... especially lunch! How much was it? I quickly looked but did not see price and do not have a day to book yet.

We are trying Celebrity in September, I hope it has enough to do for hubby.

[BruinsFan08]

Great review/observations! We are hopping onboard Thanksgiving.