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

[Kathie13]

Kathie13, we were two couples about 70 years old. We were on the same cruise as Cookie. We had a great time. There was so much to keep us busy. We personally didn't hit the pool area much but stayed very busy elsewhere on the ship.

 

It was great seeing people our age as well as families enjoying the ship.

 

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Thanks so much for the reply. We are RCCL loyals D+. And we are about to jump cruise lines. Just making sure we will fit in!!

 

 

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[cookie*]

Sooooo did someone win a cruise playing bingo?

 

I hope so! Most of the game shows we witnessed had beer koozies as prizes-although we did watch someone win over $300 at Deal or No Deal!

 

Thanks so much for the reply. We are RCCL loyals D+. And we are about to jump cruise lines. Just making sure we will fit in!!

 

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Yes, you will!!! I have a feeling you will love NCL.

 

 

It was great seeing people our age as well as families enjoying the ship.

 

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I love this!

 

 

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[nancydow]

Cookie,

 

Sorry for my late reply (I'm usually on CC every day), but I'm currently in the Dawn (NOLA to Boston repo).

 

I was so happy to lend an ear when were so in need of one! I send you a virtual hug right back!

 

I am so glad that DD was okay in the end, though I know how worried you were about her!

 

How nice of you to mention me in your AHHHH-MAY-ZING review! I'm still really enjoying it!!!

 

~ Nancy :)

 

 

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[cookie*]

Day 7 Nassau

Original plan for the day: 10AM Escape Room, 12:20 meet on dock for Blue Lagoon Island, 7:45 dinner for 2 at Le Bistro, 10:00 tickets for After Midnight with kids at Late Night Splash

 

We had no idea if we would be able to do anything on our schedule based on the evening before, but we figured we would take things one moment at a time.

 

As it turned out, everyone slept very well last night and both kids woke up cheerful and energetic! AHHH-MAY-ZING!!! Going through a scare and coming out on the other end, plus having a complete turn around? Back to vacation fun?! Yes please!!!! Prayers answered-thank you!!!

We had our coffee on the balcony. I loved those cute little coffee pots! Order for 4 people if you each want a pot. I'm sure you could write on the form "2 pots of coffee please" if you only have two people in your room though [emoji6].

 

I remember when we booked the trip I couldn't get a perspective for what the balcony view would be on the bump, towards aft, with the lifeboats below.

I wondered if the lifeboats would get in the way at all-nope!

You don't even see the lifeboats until you are up to the railing. Great view and very private.

 

How was this trip coming to an end so soon?! Last night had been rough on us, but seeing the kids happy, especially DD5 acting as though nothing had happened, we were SO ready for a fun day ahead!

 

At some point we had to pick up our luggage tags-we decided we would take the last time to get off and try to have a nice family breakfast in Savor or Taste to end our trip in the morning. Even though the kids kept asking for the buffet we knew they would like the restaurant menu too.

 

This morning the kids wanted to go to the buffet for breakfast again so off we went and then they asked for Splash. This worked out great because we didn't think they would be old enough to enjoy the Escape Room. We brought them to Splash then went back to the room so we would be organized for Blue Lagoon Island later, also tried throwing a few things we wouldn't use anymore in our suitcases [emoji31] (but I'm not ready to GO!!!)

 

We arrived to the Supper Club at 10:00 for the Escape the Big Top Escape Room. We had never done one of these before and it was SO MUCH FUN! We didn't know anyone else doing it and we were placed in a large family group that had been split. I'll admit we felt a little awkward at first because the family was speaking in another language even after we sat down (how are we going to solve these puzzles [emoji23]?!) but then they introduced themselves and spoke in English the rest of the time and we had a lot of laughs and had such fun working against the other half of their family.

 

We solved most of the puzzles correctly but were completely stumped by one of them and NOOOObody in the room escaped the room in time. Soooooo, we were all STUCK there until it was time for the next group...just kidding!!! Of course they let you out after the hour is up AND they give you all the answers so you don't go crazy for the next hour wondering where you went wrong. [emoji848]

 

We went back to the room and packed up a few more things, then got the kids around 11:30 to take them to get a snack before getting off the ship. I think were already in port at this point but hadn't cleared customs.

 

As the kids finished up their snack/early lunch I walked around a little to peek at the other ships in port.

There were 4 other ships in port. I think they were MSC Divina, Carnival Liberty, Disney Wonder and Carnival Conquest. We were next to one of the Carnival ships.

 

Since we had the ship excursion we weren't attempting to be one of the first off the ship so when we got up from our snack at 12:10 to head towards the elevators we weren't the only ones with the same idea. When we got to the stairs to the exit we were in a LONG line of people to get off the ship. This was new for us-for the other two ports we had been at the head of the pack, and this time we felt a bit like herded cattle.

We were finally off the ship about 20 minutes later, and had to get in another LONG line for the Blue Lagoon Island excursion. I mean, does that line look crazy or what?!

 

The people in line behind us said "We are paying THEM to wait in this line?!" This was our first experience with a ship excursion and so far we were not impressed. Someone else said the other ship excursions had felt MUCH more organized.

 

We knew this wasn't the USVI or BVI which we love, and we had kept our expectations low, so we weren't really all that bothered by the line, we were glad to have a break from the responsibility of our self guided tours, but I admit to wondering "Is this why some people report staying on the ship in Nassau?"

 

To be continued...

 

 

 

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[NayRN]

I'll be cruising on the Escape in 147 days....a loooong 21 weeks away (but who's counting)!! It will just be me (55) and my sister (63). We've both sailed NCL before - Curious - was there anyone at the Escape room our age...or just families? This is one thing that the other NCL ships we've sailed on doesn't have....and I'm pretty excited to try it out - but I don't want to feel out of place (silly, I know)!!

 

You have a way with words...and made our wait almost more tolerable! BTW....as a critical care RN, and I'm super happy that you had your DD checked out in medical! Although I only have adults in my ICU, a concussion should never NOT be considered! Thankfully your precious DD is OK!!

[cookie*]

Cookie,

 

Sorry for my late reply (I'm usually on CC every day), but I'm currently in the Dawn (NOLA to Boston repo).

 

I was so happy to lend an ear when were so in need of one! I send you a virtual hug right back!

 

I am so glad that DD was okay in the end, though I know how worried you were about her!

 

How nice of you to mention me in your AHHHH-MAY-ZING review! I'm still really enjoying it!!!

 

~ Nancy :)

 

 

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Thanks Nancy!!! You are definitely a cruise expert. I would love to know how different ships compare. DH didn't go on CC at all before our trip because he wanted to experience his first cruise without knowing too much about what to expect (and he knew I was handling all of the details.) Since returning from our trip he has been looking around on CC and reading some reviews for different ships and different lines, but we are both really happy with NCL and LOVED the Freestyle concept. We would like to do a Southern Caribbean itinerary. Do you know of any good trip reports out there with a Southern itinerary?

 

I'll be cruising on the Escape in 147 days....a loooong 21 weeks away (but who's counting)!! It will just be me (55) and my sister (63). We've both sailed NCL before - Curious - was there anyone at the Escape room our age...or just families? This is one thing that the other NCL ships we've sailed on doesn't have....and I'm pretty excited to try it out - but I don't want to feel out of place (silly, I know)!!

 

You have a way with words...and made our wait almost more tolerable! BTW....as a critical care RN, and I'm super happy that you had your DD checked out in medical! Although I only have adults in my ICU, a concussion should never NOT be considered! Thankfully your precious DD is OK!!

 

 

You should definitely sign up for the Escape Room! There were only 4 children in attendance-the groups were primarily made up of adults of various ages. We were put with a large family group but they were adults in their 40s-50s-60s, and we even had the elderly grandma in a wheelchair-she didn't participate, but it was sweet to see them check in with her periodically.

 

 

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[LaPetite69]

We had a similar incident with our daughter being injured on one of those "shooter" slides on the Getaway last year. It was horrible how we were treated after receiving no assistance by the slide personnel, and having to go to guest services, the medical clinic and ultimately security. They made us feel like we were at fault...

 

This tube slide is rather unique in that it has two tubes that go down at the same time, hence the name Aqua Racer. I had done it with my son and it was super fun and was looking forward to going down with DD5. She loves water slides and I was surprised it had taken her until now to ask to ride.

 

The thing is, although DD5 had been on several much larger water slides in the past, it was her first time on THIS slide, and it had been several months since we had been to a water park and I needed assistance to manage two tubes and help get us both in together at the same time. First of all, the attended paid no attention to us whatsoever, in fact he was sitting in a chair with his BACK to the slide. I called to him and asked for help.

 

Our daughter was well above the height requirement for the slide (not that he checked) so she should have been able to sit in the tube properly, but for some reason the slide attendant placed our daughter in the tube incorrectly-he turned the tube so the handles were in the back and not the front and sat her on the edge instead of in the center-before I could say anything about her not being safely positioned in the tube and before I was even IN my OWN adjacent tube, he gave her a HUGE SHOVE down the slide. I was speechless. I saw he had a look of horror on his face and he shouted to DD5 "Get in he middle!" and as I jumped in my tube and pushed off she turned the corner and I heard a LOUD THUD followed by crying screams of terror.

 

I could go into great detail about what happened next as I myself turned the corner and saw her sweet little body out of the tube-this felt like the longest water slide of my life in that moment-but it is just too personal and fraught with emotion to share the details. You will have to use your imagination. All I will say is it was AWFUL to watch.

 

At the bottom of the slide when she was safely in my arms, I told the other attendant at the base "He put her in the tube the wrong way and she fell out of her tube!" And the attendant replied "I know, I heard" and he tried to cheer her up but she was holding her head in pain and cried "I fell backwards and bumped my head." I was furious at the attendant at the top of the slide, but my immediate concern was my daughter and her head and it was clear the base attendant wasn't going to do anything or call for help. I was in shock we were getting zero assistance for a child who was not only traumatized, but had bumped the back of her head and the attendants acted like nothing had happened.

 

I had no faith in the waterslide attendants at this point. All I could do was go into full on Mama Bear mode and find ice for my daughter's head. We left the slide and headed towards the Garden Cafe to get ice. I stopped the first person I saw, who was a bus boy in a pink shirt, and I asked if he knew where I could get an ice pack for her head. He didn't seem to know what I was talking about so I pointed to her head and said "ice, bump head" and he had a look of understanding and hustled off into the cafe and came back with ice wrapped in a cloth napkin. We sat on the nearest chair with the ice on her head. DH and DS found us, went to get our things and and we all sat together on somebody's reserved chairs.

 

She was miserable and shaken at first, but after only a minute or two she was more like herself and then expressed her anger over what happened. I was in full agreement with her anger, but so relieved to hear her talking normally and acting like herself. We felt her head and felt no bump, but kept icing nonetheless. We sat there with the ice for a good 15-20 minutes. Her anger shifted to laughter as her brother did what he could to change her mood and we all started to feel better. I was still surprised nobody approached us during that time to check on her-we were only steps away from the slide stairs.

 

After icing for about 15-20 minutes it was about 1:45 and DD5 jumped up and started dancing and jumping and said her head didn't hurt anymore and could we please please please leave the pool and go to Splash Academy because she won the hula hoop contest and she wants to be in the circus. I didn't know what a hula hoop contest had to do with a circus, I was just so relieved she was feeling better and acting completely like herself. We both felt her head again and still there was no bump and she and DS starting singing the Circus song from the movie Madagascar 3.

 

DH and I looked at each other, stepped to the side to discuss and ultimately decided she seemed to be totally fine, so maybe the fall from

the tube wasn't as bad as it had first seemed and we got the kids ready for Splash.

 

I thought about what JW had said at the meet and greet about making sure to tell someone when something didn't go right. I told the other slide attendant what had happened but that didn't get us anywhere. So we decided to let them know at Splash. For one thing, we wanted someone to keep an eye on her since she had bumped her head, but we also felt like we needed to make it known that the slide attendant hadn't done his job correctly. The Splash Academy staff was excellent. They also could see that DD5 was acting like herself and they said they would keep an eye on her and we were not to worry. They said the circus act would be a good distraction for her. They also said they would share the incident with the appropriate people and see what could be done.

 

At this point we didn't know we would end up filing a full security report-that comes later in the story...

 

We had about 45 minutes before the Splash Academy Splashtacular Extravaganza Circus. Our daughter was not hurt, she had completely bounced back, and we decided we should do the same. We headed to our favorite place to chill out-Spice H2O. The chairs along the water were all taken but we had no trouble getting two chairs together in the center area.

 

DH got us our pina coladas and we sat back and started to breathe again. We talked about our shock over the situation and how grateful we felt towards Splash and the wonderful care they provided for the children. Your kids are in excellent hands with the Splash Academy staff. They are really amazing at what they do.

 

Spice H2O definitely helped take the edge off-we were still in shock over what had happened, but felt relaxed in no time and even used the nearly empty grotto to cool off. After drying off in the sun we got pina coladas to go and headed to the main theater at about 2:45 to see the big circus act!

 

Up next: Step right up, step right up, the greatest show on Earth, The Splashtacular Extravaganza!!!

 

 

 

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[Two_UW_Badgers]

Thank you so much for this review! We will be traveling on this ship in November with an extended family group of six adults and four kids: 6, 5, 3, and 10m.

 

First, I am glad your daughter ended up ok and am sorry that incident happened to her/you all. I hope the new policies prevent anything similar for future travelers.

 

I had two questions after reading the report:

 

- Which nights are port play dinners available for kids? St. Thomas and Nassau only? If we were to do this for the 6,5,3 year olds, do we need to sign up by a certain time?

 

- Are there other restaurants adjacent to Cagney's that would offer the same views/ ability for kids to get up and stretch during a dinner?

 

Thank you! Not only was your review very helpful, but it was also humorous as we have a very similar approach to / tolerance for parenting it appears. :)

[cookie*]

Thank you so much for this review! We will be traveling on this ship in November with an extended family group of six adults and four kids: 6, 5, 3, and 10m.

 

First, I am glad your daughter ended up ok and am sorry that incident happened to her/you all. I hope the new policies prevent anything similar for future travelers.

 

I had two questions after reading the report:

 

- Which nights are port play dinners available for kids? St. Thomas and Nassau only? If we were to do this for the 6,5,3 year olds, do we need to sign up by a certain time?

 

- Are there other restaurants adjacent to Cagney's that would offer the same views/ ability for kids to get up and stretch during a dinner?

 

Thank you! Not only was your review very helpful, but it was also humorous as we have a very similar approach to / tolerance for parenting it appears. :)

 

 

You are going to have a great trip! I think the Escape would be such fun with a big group. Have you started planning your port days?

 

Thanks for your kind comments! Yes, I was really happy to see that this summer they will have certified life guards and trained emergency staff on the pool deck. It never occurred to me they didn't until after the incident took place!

 

On our Splash schedules it only listed St Thomas and Nassau as having Port Play Dinners. They are $6 per child and they must be signed in before 5 PM. They also have port play lunch (also $6,) and must be signed in before noon. On our Tortola day we were told they also had port play dinner even though it wasn't on the sheet. I don't know if they always offer it that day or not?

 

Restaurants with outdoor seating on the waterfront include Cagney's, Moderno, La Cucina and Bayamo (surcharge on dining plan for Bayamo.)

 

 

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[TeamRD]

Following

[Tiggertastic]

Love the review and fabulous to see it with a family perspective. Can you share please what you thought of the excursion to blue lagoon, were on escape in September and Atlantis has out priced itself so considering this instead.

 

 

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[cookie*]

Love the review and fabulous to see it with a family perspective. Can you share please what you thought of the excursion to blue lagoon, were on escape in September and Atlantis has out priced itself so considering this instead.

 

 

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Thank you! The Atlantis is very expensive. We showed our kids the promo video for that and they were surprisingly not even interested! My Blue Lagoon Island report is coming up...

 

 

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[cookie*]

I left off with the crazy long line for the Blue Lagoon Ferry. Eventually the line started moving and we walked along the dock past the other ships to the ferry boat.

 

Once on the ferry boat we felt much better. The ferry boat staff were highly energetic and entertaining and the Caribbean style music was fun. We purchased some snacks and beverages and enjoyed the ride.

 

The whole time we had planned this trip we could not stop watching the Blue Lagoon Island promo video: "when you get to Blue Lagoon Island, people don't know what to expect. When they get off the boat they say 'WOOOOW!'" For whatever reason this line made us all laugh and DH, DS9 and I had been saying "WOOOW" for just about everything exciting for the past month and now we were going to be able to say it right there on Blue Lagoon Island! Even DD5 had the promo video memorized at this point [emoji23].

 

We arrived to the island at about 1:15/1:20 We had a choice of the 4:00 ferry or 5:30 return ferry with guarantee back to ship. All aboard was 6:30.

 

When I was planning our excursions someone on CC thought you would only get 2 hours of beach time, but this must be because the excursion materials aren't clear with the timing. We ended up taking the 5:30 return so we had a full 4 hours of beach time which was lovely. Blue Lagoon Island was surprisingly a very relaxing time.

We had no trouble getting chairs with shade under a little tiki hut-no extra charge and plenty of hammocks available too. They also have groups of plastic Adirondack style chairs which you are allowed to pick up and move to the beach if desired.

 

There was live music near where we sat, a bar close by,

the dolphins playing just on the other side of that fence from where we were swimming, and plenty of beach games and activities. The food at the BBQ buffet was just so/so-we didn't even use all of our food tickets.

 

DS9 wanted to use the inflatable water park area which was an extra charge, but since we didn't head over there until a little later we got it for a discount. After 2:00PM the price drops to $10 per person and includes the life vest. The prices for just about all the rentals drop after 2 PM, which is helpful to know because if you plan on the 5:30 ferry you still have a good 3 1/2 hours to use it.

He had a blast jumping and climbing on the inflatables.

DD5 and I lounged in some inflatable tubes in the Lagoon area by our chairs. From our tubes we could watch the dolphins jumping and doing foot pushes for the people doing a dolphin swim! The inflatable tubes and swim noodles are complimentary and there were plenty to go around.

We also took a few walks over to watch the dolphin swims and encounters.

The dolphin swim is full body in the water and you can really see how massive these beautiful creatures are.

 

Reached my 6 picture limit so more to come! Review to be continued!

 

 

 

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[cookie*]

The dolphin encounters take place under a tented area and the people stand on platforms in the water and everyone has a turn to be face to face with the dolphin.

We also walked over to see the Sea Lions.

 

When you book the swim or encounters through the ship you have different excursion times so you don't have time to also enjoy the beach. The length of time for the Beach Break says "varies" and for the encounters and swims they say "3 1/2 hours." On our boat ride in they told us we could try to book an encounter or swim as an add on if available, which would be a way around the time limitations through the ship. I suppose you would only go this route if you were ok with possibly not getting a time slot. We had thought about looking into adding on an encounter, but we had so much fun using the beach, swimming near the dolphins, and watching the encounters we honestly had no desire to do an encounter ourselves.

 

Many people lined up early for the 4:00 ferry. We could have left at that time, but we were so relaxed and still enjoying ourselves and wanted more time to watch the dolphins so we decided to stay until the 5:30 ferry. We double checked with a Blue Lagoon Island employee who looked at our wristbands and confirmed we could take the 5:30 back.

At this point the island felt practically deserted!

We watched one of the trainers feed a pair of dolphins and he answered questions and we felt like we had our own mini free encounter from this experience!

We floated around some more and played beach bowling. You can sort of see in the picture the path to the other beach which was too rough that day for swimming.

 

DD5 decided to get one more hair braid. Boy, at $5 per braid the price for braids here was more than twice as expensive as in Tortola! Get your braids in Tortola!

 

The lighting at this time of day was gorgeous for pictures-we took a family selfie that will for sure make it on our Christmas card!

 

We saw the 5:30 ferry coming in and we headed over to the dock and unknowingly at first witnessed some dolphins having a little ummm...afternoon delight. "Mommy look they are snuggling!" Oh, uh, yep that's what they are doing alright, uh huh, lets uh move along. [emoji23]

 

Back on the ferry, which left the dock at about 5:40, the music was flowing and the kids were led in a conga line throughout the boat on both levels. Such a fun ride back-everyone super relaxed, in a great mood, dancing, waving to people on yachts, we went past preparations for a wedding on land, the sun casting an orange glow. We made a stop at a different dock for some of the locals (hair braiders) to get off and then we were back to the port. They let us off in a different spot from where we got on so we would have to walk through the little port market place. Very clear when we got off the ferry boat that we were running late to get back to the ship.

 

We were off the ferry at about 6:20 and still needed to walk through the market and to the opposite end of the dock. They said there would be a shuttle to get back but we never saw it. I think it only took the first few people off the boat. There was a huge group of us-at least 100 people I would say, so we weren't worried about the ship leaving without us. Although most people made an effort to walk through the shopping area without stopping there were some who browsed. On the other side of the port fence the streets looked deserted compared to this afternoon. We got to see a pair of police officers, male and female, in their traditional uniform walk down the street. That could have been a cool picture, but we really were focusing on our walk back to the ship. We walked up to the ship right at all aboard time, 6:30 and there were still a lot of people behind us. No drink station or cool wash clothes for us this time-they were all packed up and ready for us to come aboard!

 

Cost Breakdown

Adults 69 each

Children 49 each

1 water inflatable park pass $10

Total $246

 

We really enjoyed our day here. We felt very relaxed, there was plenty to do, and we made some fun family memories. The combination of beach time and getting to watch the dolphins up close was much more fun than expected.

 

 

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[Two_UW_Badgers]

You are going to have a great trip! I think the Escape would be such fun with a big group. Have you started planning your port days?

Forums

 

 

 

We have chartered a catamaran in Tortola but haven't decided on St. Thomas or Nassau yet. (All the adults have been to all ports before and Baths.) I'm sure some of us will go to St. John but I'm not sure I'm ready to take my 3yo on the trek as she's still a bit unpredictable! I may take my 6yo on a kayaking outing and leave DH and DD3 on the ship?

 

In Nassau I think the Blue Lagoon looks pretty nice! Thanks for the report!

 

 

 

 

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[MFScruise]

We were on the same sailing and had a GREAT time. Loved it so much.

 

My kids (6 and 9) are NOT kids club kids so Splash Academy wasn't a hit for us. BUT, this is just my kids. They had an amazing time regardless. I would absolutely take my kids on an NCL cruise again.

[cookie*]

We were on the same sailing and had a GREAT time. Loved it so much.

 

My kids (6 and 9) are NOT kids club kids so Splash Academy wasn't a hit for us. BUT, this is just my kids. They had an amazing time regardless. I would absolutely take my kids on an NCL cruise again.

 

 

 

What activities did you all enjoy as a family? It seemed like there were a lot really fun family activities if your kids didn't want to be in Splash.

 

 

 

 

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[cookie*]

Back to the report for the final moments of our trip!

When we got back on the ship in Nassau we went for our usual Bushwhackers at the Atrium Bar and went up to our balcony for sail away and waved goodbye to Atlantis.

I used to think we might like a trip to Atlantis, but now more than ever I know if we do a Caribbean land vacation it will be to the USVI/BVI. We didn't actually go over to Atlantis, but just based on how much our kids enjoyed the other places we visited I don't see any reason to stay at a Bahamas water park.

 

The kids changed into PJs since Splash was having a pajama party tonight. DH brought them to the buffet for a quick dinner and dropped them off at Splash while I got ready for our 7:45 dinner at Le Bistro.

Le Bistro has a romantic atmosphere for sure. The smoke smell was somewhat apparent on the "outside" tables but not inside the restaurant. We liked the ambiance of this restaurant very much. Le Bistro was quiet and romantic and the tables are decently spaced.

I loved my French Martinis. Too sweet for DH so he opted for red wine. The food was good, but not outstanding. The sauce on my beef tenderloin tasted the same as the port wine reduction at Cagney's, but the beef tenderloin was not in the same category as the Cagney's steak. To me the food here tasted like what I would expect in the main dining room. We only got to eat in the main dining room once for dinner (how did that happen?!) so I can't say that for sure, but I'm sure you catch my drift.

We had the chocolate fondue for two for dessert. YUM!

If you remember, this is also where we found the person we wanted to award as best dressed!

 

Overall lovely dinner. We loved talking about all the memories we had made on the trip. We talked about the various people we had met and how nice everyone was. We noticed someone speaking with the ship's shopping consultant and they didn't look happy. Oh no, it was the sweet casino couple

we had met one of the first days in the hot tub! I hope they didn't have an issue with something they purchased.

 

After dinner we made our last trip to the mojito bar for a couple mojitos. The kids asked to stay for late night so we thought about going to the Atrium game show which was going to be a couples themed show. We decided we weren't in the mood for After Midnight. We also still needed to finish packing and get our suitcases into the hallway.

 

We decided to check on the kids first to make sure they wanted to stay. Nope-DS looked WIPED out. We brought them back to the room and no sooner did we get there when DS got sick. At least he made it to the bathroom! Oh NOOOO! We got him cleaned up but the room had a sickly smell. We decided to leave the windows open while we packed. Both kids fell asleep instantly. We packed the rest of our things and put the suitcases in the hallway.

 

We sat outside on the balcony. Man, poor DS. At least it was the end of the trip. We weren't sure what it could have been? Maybe something he ate? We decided to keep the window open during this last night to hear the ocean waves...

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[LSKC]

Back to the report for the final moments of our trip!

When we got back on the ship in Nassau we went for our usual Bushwhackers at the Atrium Bar and went up to our balcony for sail away and waved goodbye to Atlantis.

I used to think we might like a trip to Atlantis, but now more than ever I know if we do a Caribbean land vacation it will be to the USVI/BVI. We didn't actually go over to Atlantis, but just based on how much our kids enjoyed the other places we visited I don't see any reason to stay at a Bahamas water park.

 

The kids changed into PJs since Splash was having a pajama party tonight. DH brought them to the buffet for a quick dinner and dropped them off at Splash while I got ready for our 7:45 dinner at Le Bistro.

Le Bistro has a romantic atmosphere for sure. The smoke smell was somewhat apparent on the "outside" tables but not inside the restaurant. We liked the ambiance of this restaurant very much. Le Bistro was quiet and romantic and the tables are decently spaced.

I loved my French Martinis. Too sweet for DH so he opted for red wine. The food was good, but not outstanding. The sauce on my beef tenderloin tasted the same as the port wine reduction at Cagney's, but the beef tenderloin was not in the same category as the Cagney's steak. To me the food here tasted like what I would expect in the main dining room. We only got to eat in the main dining room once for dinner (how did that happen?!) so I can't say that for sure, but I'm sure you catch my drift.

We had the chocolate fondue for two for dessert. YUM!

If you remember, this is also where we found the person we wanted to award as best dressed!

 

Overall lovely dinner. We loved talking about all the memories we had made on the trip. We talked about the various people we had met and how nice everyone was. We noticed someone speaking with the ship's shopping consultant and they didn't look happy. Oh no, it was the sweet casino couple

we had met one of the first days in the hot tub! I hope they didn't have an issue with something they purchased.

 

After dinner we made our last trip to the mojito bar for a couple mojitos. The kids asked to stay for late night so we thought about going to the Atrium game show which was going to be a couples themed show. We decided we weren't in the mood for After Midnight. We also still needed to finish packing and get our suitcases into the hallway.

 

We decided to check on the kids first to make sure they wanted to stay. Nope-DS looked WIPED out. We brought them back to the room and no sooner did we get there when DS got sick. At least he made it to the bathroom! Oh NOOOO! We got him cleaned up but the room had a sickly smell. We decided to leave the windows open while we packed. Both kids fell asleep instantly. We packed the rest of our things and put the suitcases in the hallway.

 

We sat outside on the balcony. Man, poor DS. At least it was the end of the trip. We weren't sure what it could have been? Maybe something he ate? We decided to keep the window open during this last night to hear the ocean waves...

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sorry to hear about your DS. Same thing happened to my kiddo (he was 6 at the time) on a past cruise... our final day was a full beach day and turned out he had a bit of sun stroke. I missed our final supper to take him back to the cabin and he was ill all the next day after we got off the ship and went to Disneyworld.

It's a not-so-great way to end a fun week, that is for sure.

 

I've really enjoyed your trip report. Thanks so much for taking the time.

[alreadypacked]

Thanks for the review, Cookie--enjoying very much!

 

Appreciate the detailed review of the Blue Lagoon excursion also...

 

A couple questions:

 

You mentioned the food offering was barbecue (and not that good), but could you be more specific as to the various foods offered please? Unfortunately, I am allergic to crustacean shellfish :(

 

Also, did you use the restroom facilities while there? Were they well maintained and clean?

 

Thanks!

[CardFanDubG]

I just got around to scanning in the Freestyle Dailies from this cruise. Cookie, I hope you don't mind me posting a link to them in your review post. Thought people reading this thread may be interested. There are other pieces of NCL Escape information on that site.

 

https://sites.google.com/view/march-25-escape/freestyle-dailies

[destiny217]

Cookie,

 

Thanks so much for this great review. This will be our first time sailing with children and you have covered everything we had questions about. Hope you and your family are still doing well.

[destiny217]

I just got around to scanning in the Freestyle Dailies from this cruise. Cookie, I hope you don't mind me posting a link to them in your review post. Thought people reading this thread may be interested. There are other pieces of NCL Escape information on that site.

 

https://sites.google.com/view/march-25-escape/freestyle-dailies

 

Thanks for scanning all this great info into one easy to reach location. I know that it is a time consuming task. But greatly appreciated.

[cookie*]

Sorry to hear about your DS. Same thing happened to my kiddo (he was 6 at the time) on a past cruise... our final day was a full beach day and turned out he had a bit of sun stroke. I missed our final supper to take him back to the cabin and he was ill all the next day after we got off the ship and went to Disneyworld.

 

It's a not-so-great way to end a fun week, that is for sure.

 

 

 

I've really enjoyed your trip report. Thanks so much for taking the time.

 

 

Thanks so much for following! Yeah, our last morning did not go as planned [emoji51]. Plus I ended up catching whatever it was the night we flew home. Seriously, it was the most miserable bug I have ever had. Just so thankful I made it all the way home before getting sick.

 

Thanks for the review, Cookie--enjoying very much!

 

 

 

Appreciate the detailed review of the Blue Lagoon excursion also...

 

 

 

A couple questions:

 

 

 

You mentioned the food offering was barbecue (and not that good), but could you be more specific as to the various foods offered please? Unfortunately, I am allergic to crustacean shellfish :(

 

 

 

Also, did you use the restroom facilities while there? Were they well maintained and clean?

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

Burgers and chicken legs, fruit, and some type of rice dish.

 

I just got around to scanning in the Freestyle Dailies from this cruise. Cookie, I hope you don't mind me posting a link to them in your review post. Thought people reading this thread may be interested. There are other pieces of NCL Escape information on that site.

 

 

 

https://sites.google.com/view/march-25-escape/freestyle-dailies

 

 

That is excellent, thanks!!!

 

Cookie,

 

 

 

Thanks so much for this great review. This will be our first time sailing with children and you have covered everything we had questions about. Hope you and your family are still doing well.

 

 

Oh wonderful, I was hoping to give people a good sense of what to expect on a cruise with kids!

 

Yes, we are doing very well thanks for asking! Back in our regular routine of work, family fun, and too many kids activities: baseball DS9, DD6 (she turned 6 a few days after we returned home), soccer DD6 hockey DS9, figure skating DD6, dance DD6 and Violin DS9. WAY too many activities-I don't know what I was thinking. DS9's violin skills were rusty when we got back after being gone for 12 days. We kept joking that we would bring the violin on the cruise and he could play like on the titanic [emoji23] minus the sinking. Then I saw someone asked in a thread about bringing her son's guitar! [emoji38] Thankfully most of these activities wrap up in May and we will take it easy this summer. Someone please hold me to this!!!

 

 

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[cookie*]

Day 8...last morning and time to get off the ship.

 

Well, no breakfast in Taste or Savor for us! When I left off we were sleeping with the windows open and I woke up at about 5 to what sounded like a motor boat outside our room. I stumbled out to see what the fuss was about and saw a little boat up next to our ship and then it went off towards Miami.

What was that about? Coast guard? Does that always happen?

 

DS9 was sick in the night without waking up and we had a big mess on our hands. Oh boy-I felt terrible for our room steward and the people coming to stay in our room next! We called housekeeping and they sent the special clean up crew immediately. They were wonderful and the room was just about good as new in no time. Honestly, I didn't know how they would do it, but they did. They were getting called on the walkie talkie to go help with luggage but they stayed with us until even the bathroom was cleaned up.

 

We were in no position to leave the room however as poor kid was stuck to the bathroom. Oh boy. Then DD started to have tummy trouble. Our room steward told us not to worry about being out of the room by 9-we could take our time. She thought we should get some Pepsi. She told me about her own grown children and how Pepsi always did the trick when they had tummy troubles.

 

When we first met our room steward at the beginning of the trip she looked so tired and worn out I could only imagine what she would look like for the next group of passengers after having to deal with our room. She looked at us with such kindness and sympathy though that morning and her sympathetic eyes, kind words, and mother to mother chat definitely helped me get through that morning.

 

By the time we felt like one of us could leave the room to get some waters and food everything had been cleared away and they were getting ready for lunch for the next group of passengers. I brought some water back to the room and we managed to get down to the Atrium by 9:45. DD started to cry because she didn't want to leave the ship!

 

We miraculously got ourselves off the ship and ended up finding one of the most kind and helpful porters you could imagine. He was absolutely wonderful so finding our luggage, getting through customs, and meeting my brother who picked us up was a breeze. The porter treated us like royalty, moving people and luggage out of the way so we could get through and get into the car.

 

I never even checked with guest services or the phone app to check on our final balance, which made me nervous, but after we got home I checked and everything was fine. A few tax charges from our drinks the first day in Miami, our daily service charges, extra tips we gave here and there throughout the week and that was it! No doctor bill thankfully.

 

What is our final verdict? Even with this less than stellar ending, we would totally do it again. We will still take land vacations, but we absolutely want to take another cruise in the near future. We love NCL and though we are open to other lines we will highly consider NCL for the future!

 

Highlights:

 

 

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