NCL Escape 3/25-4/1 Family Trip Report

[Big E Dawg]

Keens10. If you would like a day sail on a beautiful sailboat with drinks and lunch, take a look at the Nightwind. This is a top notch private charter. It also includes snorkeling. It is berthed in St.Thomas and sails to both St.Thomas and St. John's destinations based on the captain's preference. Check out stjohnsdaysail.com. We chose this last year on our Escape cruise in May and it was better than advertised and did not cost much considering what you get. Check it out! You will love it.

[StlGal]

Excellent review! Thank you so much for sharing!

[cookie*]

There she is!

The plus side of taking the earlier ferry is that we had a lovely lunch with the very best Painkillers at Pussers, stopped at Sunny Caribbe for amazing spices (I wish I had bought more)

and stopped at the little open air market and our daughter had her hair braided by an amazingly kind and thoughtful woman who called herself "Grandma."

 

We told her how much we liked the island and she told us next time to fly in and tell the taxi driver what we wanted to spend and we would be set up with a nice house with a kitchen and save a lot of money compared to a hotel. Not sure with my love of planning if I could fly in without a place pre-booked, but nice to know it is possible!

 

We were back to the Escape at 2:10.

 

DH and I were ready to relax and the kids said "What's next?" We were just one floor away from Splash Academy so we said "Want to come to the room with us and relax or go to Splash?" In chorus we head a thrilled "Splash!!!" Up one flight and dropped them off and then got our Bushwhackers and headed to the room to watch sail away from our balcony.

Goodbye BVI! Thanks for a wonderful day!

 

 

 

 

 

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[cookie*]

Ok I have to go back to Pussers and Spice Caribbe-first of all big thanks to JW for telling us about them in our roll call. We cannot say enough wonderful things about both of these places.

 

When we got to Pussers we were HUNGRY people and we ordered a huge chip tree covered in blue cheese sauce-why don't I have a picture? Probably because we inhaled it in two seconds flat. DH and DS don't even like blue cheese and they loved this. Plus we had the best conch fritters-they were even better than the ones from Caneel Bay. We also ordered 2 orders of fish and chips to share-ended up being way too much food, but oh so good!

 

And OH....those painkillers! DH ordered a rum punch, but the painkillers won hands down. We ordered them with the souvenir cups which come with a recipe for the painkiller on the back. We went into the shop in the back after lunch and picked up two bottles of Pussers Rum to bring home.

We have been making the recipe at home (good thing we bought two bottles!) using Simply Orange with Pineapple instead of buying OJ and pineapple juice separate and it takes just like the ones we had there in Tortola! SOOOOOOOO yummy.

 

Now, Sunny Caribbe-this place was also AHH-MAY-ZING. Such a cute shop and the shop lady was delightful. I mostly bought gifts for other people, but did get a Mojo Magic for myself. I tested out the Dill seasoning I got for my sister in law back at her house on a piece of salmon and ooooooh it was gooooood! I gave my mom Paradise Pizzaz and I might have to sneak it back for myself next time I'm over there. Actually, I keep joking to DH that I'm going to get a plane ticket to go to Tortola to buy more spices. It is possible to do an online order though, which I will be doing soon because I am already half way through my mojo magic, is it that good!

 

Ok, just had to emphasize how very much we enjoyed these two places.

 

Also, we discovered we had the option to sign the kids up for a "port play dinner" if we wanted. We had booked Cagney's for tonight at 5:30 so port play dinner was not going to work for us, because they were looking forward to this meal as much as we were. Had I realized this was an option I probably would have booked Cagney's for a different night, because this was the only port play dinner that took place while the ship was not actually in port.

 

Next up Cagney's, and Spice H2O for a family movie night.

 

 

 

 

 

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[helpmecruise16]

Great review! I have a few questions on the ports as I am planning a cruise on the Escape. It'll be me and the girlfriend, we are both 30 and no kids!

 

 

 

St. Thomas: I am thinking of doing St. John's on our own as well but I can't decide which beach to pick! Trunk Bay/Cinnamon Bay/Other, etc. I definitely want a beach that has a snack bar, place to rent a chair, bathrooms, etc. Do you think the 4pm ferry back would be doable? I'd like to grab a drink at one of the bars (e.g. Woodys) after the beach and before leaving the island

 

 

 

Tortola: was planning on doing what you did and do the Baths on our own, but given all the confusion I think I may want to rent a tour guide/catamaran or head to Jost Van Dyke instead. Or, are the Baths a must-do?

 

 

 

Nassau: I've been here several times and done Atlantis. What did you guys do?

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

We did the Escape to YVD and loved it!!! The painkillers are amazing - it's like stepping into paradise!

 

 

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[quaker77]

Can't stop reading you're post Lol

 

It reminds me last week on the Escape. We had so fun and looking to go back again

[cookie*]

Can't stop reading you're post Lol

 

It reminds me last week on the Escape. We had so fun and looking to go back again

 

 

Thanks [emoji4]

 

What was your favorite part of the ship? Favorite port?

 

 

 

 

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[quaker77]

Tough to choose just one. They all have the own personalities and purposes. And with the mood and the activities wanted this ship offers so many opportunities. But to choose 2

We loved the Spice H2o to relax facing the aft enjoying the view while working on our Canadian suntan [emoji23]

And the outdoor activities area with the rope course and the slides. Wow thoses slides rocks and the ropes challenges you mentally.

 

We did beach days at the 3 stops. In 2008 we did Turtles coves and enjoyed it. We did Magen's, Cane garden and at Atlantis complex beach the waves were huges that day [emoji106]

 

French is our main language here in Montreal, but wished my 2 kids could talk and understand English like us. They are too young and they are at their beginning of the basics at school. Sadly not enough to enjoy the Splash.

Was this expensive? Or included that I doubt a lot.

 

They are 4 and 7 and they saw Escape videos on YouTube and they are jealous and want to go [emoji6]

 

I shared you're posts to my wife and was unable stop laughing when you talked about the sound machine in ur room. I was living it with you and seeing us in a near future with the kids.

 

That part made my day [emoji23]

Thanks again [emoji106]

[cookie*]

Actually Splash Academy is included for free for ages 3 and up! The hours are 9-12, 2-5 and 7-10:30. After 10:30 is called "Late Night" and there is a charge of $6 per hour for the first child and $4 per hour for siblings. I think it is open until 1AM? Our kids were never awake enough for Late Night even though every morning they asked for it [emoji6]

 

The only other potential charge is for meals on port days if you choose to have them stay.

 

Our top favorite parts of the ship were also Spice and the ropes!

 

 

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[cookie*]

Loving your review (and sense of humor)! We're on the 4/22 sailing [emoji3]

 

 

Your cruise date is almost here!!!! So exciting!

 

 

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[cookie*]

Great review so far! We took our kids on their first cruise also on the Escape last April. They loved it and are begging to cruise again! They were 6 & 9 at the time and they loved the slides and the pool, but by far our 6 year old son said his favorite part was the ice cream (I swear, he had a cone every time I turned around!). How did you like the Baths with your kids? We were on the same itinerary as you and we thought about doing the Baths but were alittle concerned about doing it on our own (I would prefer to do it that way) with the kids. Also thought about going to Spring Bay, I think it was called, which was a more accessible yet similar bay with a nice beach and beautiful setting but in the end, we went to swim with dolphins at Discovery Cove instead. ;) Maybe we will get to the Baths next time. Can't wait to hear more!

 

 

I would definitely do the Baths on your own vs with the ship tour. It seems like there are endless amazing options in both USVI and BVI so it is really hard to choose what to do! There seem to be a lot of dolphin

swim options as well-I was surprised by how many places have this as an option.

 

 

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[rehm]

What an amazing review. We are sailing on the escape 4/29. Me, my wife and our almost 4 year old.

 

Going to sign him up for splash for sure. Any other tips for our first cruise with a toddler??

 

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[easyboy]

Thanks for the great review.

 

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[cookie*]

What an amazing review. We are sailing on the escape 4/29. Me, my wife and our almost 4 year old.

 

Going to sign him up for splash for sure. Any other tips for our first cruise with a toddler??

 

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So excited for you! You will love your trip. The Escape is wonderful for families.

 

Things to bring and consider:

 

*a highlighter for your dailies and take note of all the family activities. There were a lot of things going on like balloon making, making tee shirts, etc.

 

*familiar packaged snacks from home for your room-goldfish crackers, granola bars, that type of thing just in case. We only needed our snacks on the airplane because our kids liked the food on the ship but I liked knowing they were there.

 

*favorite blanket or lovie (stuffed animal)

 

*sound machine if used to one at home

 

*extra bathing suits. I think 3 swimsuits is ideal. You wear them more than you think.

 

*extra cover ups-you wear them a lot and the kids are often eating (spilling) in their suits/coverups

 

*small package of baby wipes for sticky fingers and faces. DD5 still managed to get quite sticky and I was so glad to have wipes!

 

*small novel toys and familiar toys. I always had something in my evening bag to occupy the kids. "Thinking Putty" was a big hit.

 

*have your wife bring some kind of small day bag and small evening bag to hold wipes and small toys

 

*DOWNLOAD familiar shows and movies!!!! I wish we had done this. The TV has very little entertainment for kids.

 

*Sun on the islands is very hot-easy to burn.

 

*Don't overdo it on your port days. You might want to consider a port play dinner so you and your wife can have dinner alone and your little one can still go to bed at a normal hour. The 7PM evening Splash Hours might be late for your little guy?

 

*Don't be afraid to ask for something. We needed bananas and I asked someone in the buffet and the chef when to the kitchen and brought me back an entire bunch. If you need something just ask! Everyone is very helpful and they want you to have an amazing trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[rehm]

So excited for you! You will love your trip. The Escape is wonderful for families.

 

Things to bring and consider:

 

*a highlighter for your dailies and take note of all the family activities. There were a lot of things going on like balloon making, making tee shirts, etc.

 

*familiar packaged snacks from home for your room-goldfish crackers, granola bars, that type of thing just in case. We only needed our snacks on the airplane because our kids liked the food on the ship but I liked knowing they were there.

 

*favorite blanket or lovie (stuffed animal)

 

*sound machine if used to one at home

 

*extra bathing suits. I think 3 swimsuits is ideal. You wear them more than you think.

 

*extra cover ups-you wear them a lot and the kids are often eating (spilling) in their suits/coverups

 

*small package of baby wipes for sticky fingers and faces. DD5 still managed to get quite sticky and I was so glad to have wipes!

 

*small novel toys and familiar toys. I always had something in my evening bag to occupy the kids. "Thinking Putty" was a big hit.

 

*have your wife bring some kind of small day bag and small evening bag to hold wipes and small toys

 

*DOWNLOAD familiar shows and movies!!!! I wish we had done this. The TV has very little entertainment for kids.

 

*Sun on the islands is very hot-easy to burn.

 

*Don't overdo it on your port days. You might want to consider a port play dinner so you and your wife can have dinner alone and your little one can still go to bed at a normal hour. The 7PM evening Splash Hours might be late for your little guy?

 

*Don't be afraid to ask for something. We needed bananas and I asked someone in the buffet and the chef when to the kitchen and brought me back an entire bunch. If you need something just ask! Everyone is very helpful and they want you to have an amazing trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This is amazing.

 

Thanks so much. I would have definitely forgot half of those things.

 

Woo hoo can't wait.

 

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[cookie*]

I left off at Tortola sail away from our balcony. I moved inside and arranged my pillow so I could gaze out at the view and then dozed off. We had had two busy port days with high heat and I was wiped out. Thank goodness the kids went to Splash because they would have been bouncing off the walls in the room. DH left to get them at 4:45 and I started getting ready for dinner.

 

We arrived to Cagney's at 5:40 for our 5:30 reservation and asked to be seated outside. We were the first people there so we had our choice of seats. The sun was still strong, but we knew it would start to go down soon. We loved sitting out here. Music, just like what we hear at Chicago steakhouses at home, was piped outside and with the sun starting its descent this was a lovely setting. I imagine this would be a great place to sit for St Thomas sail away.

 

We were told with the dining plan the two of us could each order 1 appetizer, 1 entree, and 2-3 sides. We thought about ordering DS his own entree, but we figured the portions would be large enough that he could share. DD5 ordered mac and cheese from the kids menu. DH and I both ordered oysters Rockefeller as our appetizers because typically this is one of our favorites-the kids too. I started eating them when I was a kid on a trip to New Orleans and we order them whenever offered on a menu. Boy, this turned out to be a huge disappointment. They were awful and we sent them back. For one thing the oysters were raw-when were these pulled from the ocean? Didn't want to think about that. They also were covered in sauce that in no way tasted like hollandaise. We were not offered to substitute another appetizer but I'm sure if we asked they would have obliged. We decided to leave room for our steak.

 

The rest of the meal was outstanding! I think my Ribeye was the best. DH ordered prime rib. Personally, I think it is really hard to get prime rib right so I never order it unless at Lawry's. They do a decent job on the ship but I thought it tasted the same as in the Manhattan Room.

DS shared from both our plates and he had plenty to eat-I mean, did you see the size of that prime rib?!

 

We also shared our sides with the kids (we each ordered 3). We had Negronis as our cocktails and followed with a Cab. Dessert was outstanding.

We ordered the brownie and the 7 layer chocolate cake.

 

Aside from the comfortable seating and beautiful view we loved that the kids could get up and walk along the waterfront when they needed a break from the table. This was a lovely meal that we all enjoyed very much.

 

It was about 7:15 when we finished dinner. The kids wanted to check out Spice H2O to see the grotto so we walked along an empty waterfront

and went back to the room and changed into our suits-ooooh another towel animal! We got a new one every night.

and headed to Spice and the hot tub. It felt so good to soak after climbing all those rocks!

Field of Dreams was the movie playing-I forgot how good that movie is! The kids went from the grotto to the hot tub and they loved it all.

 

Once again we were tired from another big day and a heavy meal so we reluctantly made it an early night.

 

This another reason why I would do a chartered boat excursion out of Tortola-the hustling to get to the 7:45 ferry, the walks and rock climbing and squeezing it all in in a short day and was just too tiring and didn't allow us to enjoy the fun activities on the ship tonight because unless we propped our eyelids with toothpicks we weren't going to make it.

 

Tomorrow was our last Sea day and we intended to make the most of it! Part of our plan was to finally sleep in after two early mornings! Sweet dreams!

 

 

 

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[Kenns10]

thanks, Cookie! and everyone else for the suggestions!

 

 

Just saw that the Bliss (new ship coming next year) will have the Jersey Boys and other new venues - maybe we should swap our Escape trip for that? :)

[LSKC]

What do you think a good time to book Cagney's is for to enjoy sail away time from St. Thomas? That is a good idea and i'm hoping we will do it waterfront with your family too. Are there tables for more than 4 out there? (we are 5).

 

thx. :)

[cookie*]

What do you think a good time to book Cagney's is for to enjoy sail away time from St. Thomas? That is a good idea and i'm hoping we will do it waterfront with your family too. Are there tables for more than 4 out there? (we are 5).

 

thx. :)

 

 

You would for sure need to book the first seating at 5:30. We were told to arrive early if we wanted to sit outside which we didn't and had no trouble, but my guess is in St Thomas the outdoor seating is probably even more popular? I think they would be able to accommodate 5 people outside but you may want to ask when you book.

 

 

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[cookie*]

We were told to arrive early if we wanted to sit outside which we didn't and had no trouble...

 

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This part sounds confusing. We did sit outside, but we didn't arrive early, we were there at 5:40. I just think St Thomas will be a popular night for outdoor seating so maybe you would need to arrive early.

 

 

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[cruisingbajan]

Nice review and pics. (y)

[Still Dreaming]

thanks, Cookie! and everyone else for the suggestions!

 

 

Just saw that the Bliss (new ship coming next year) will have the Jersey Boys and other new venues - maybe we should swap our Escape trip for that? :)

 

No!!! Just add it as the next vacation! We have escape this fall and bliss next fall!!! Excited for the Jersey boys and I am loving this review!

[quaker77]

Thanks again for sharing

[CardFanDubG]

Cookie, I have enjoyed following your review. It was so nice meeting your family at the Meet & Greet. Definitely great viewing the same cruise we were on from a family point of view. Like JW said it is hard to understand how anyone can have a bad review about the Escape when the staff are so anxious to please. Thank you for sharing.

[cookie*]

Cookie, I have enjoyed following your review. It was so nice meeting your family at the Meet & Greet. Definitely great viewing the same cruise we were on from a family point of view. Like JW said it is hard to understand how anyone can have a bad review about the Escape when the staff are so anxious to please. Thank you for sharing.

 

 

Thanks for following :). It was great to meet you as well and thanks again so much for organizing the meet and greet, which exceeded our expectations!

 

 

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