Take 2: Our Norwegian Escape Experience - June 24th Western Caribbean

[tripleboom]

I started reading your review last night in anticipation of our upcoming Escape cruise and quickly backed out once I realized most of the photos were not loading. Thanks for taking the time and effort to start your review over- all the photos look great and I can't wait to read more!

 

Thanks for taking the time to rewrite your review! I wasn't able to see the pictures on your first post, so it's great to "cruise" with you thru your pictures today! This is getting me more excited for my upcoming Escape adventure!!

 

Glad to have you both following along! I'm going to start posting on our first day at sea here shortly. Gotta get the boys to bed first. Parental responsibilities again. Vacation is officially over. ;p

[LeesaB]

GREAT start to a (second) review! And thanks so much for restarting the review. I love the pics as much as your storytelling.

 

Gorgeous sunset too.

[tripleboom]

After a pretty exhausting travel day and the always hectic first day aboard, Stacy and I played it pretty cool the next morning. No alarms were set, and with the curtain drawn the room was wonderfully dark. We were awoken not by the sound of bickering brothers but just the gentle sway of the ship. We finally drug our bodies out of bed, got ourselves presentable, and got ready to head out for the day.

 

 

We headed up to the buffet for a quick bite of breakfast, and then headed to the the area of O'Sheehan's that overlooks the atrium below to watch the How to Run a Floating Hotel presentation. Spoilers: they launder a LOT of towels, a lot of food is eaten, a lot of alcohol is consumed, and Tyler Gray is a big Hello Kitty fan.

 

Not long after breakfast it was time to head back to the District Brewhouse for the Cruise Critic Meet & Greet. Thanks to the wonderful Escape crew we had a great time enjoying samples of beer from the Brewhouse as well as some finger foods to snack on as we mingled with both our fellow CC'ers as well as a handful of members of the senior officers who attended as well. Among the senior officers that attended were Hotel Director Deepak Punia, Assistant Hotel Director Errol Nelson, Food & Beverage Director Kivanc Ucar, Executive Housekeeper Ronney Dsouza, Beverage Manager Dejan "Mustard" Silavski, Cruise Director Tyler Gray, and a handful of others. I finally got to meet Deepak in person and thank him for the very warm welcome we had received. He introduced me to his assistant, Pam, and let me know that if there's anything we needed assistance with while on the Escape, to just give Pam a call. Apparently I was still being mistaken for a VIP?? You'll know why soon enough, but let me just say: PAM IS A ROCKSTAR. More on her amazingness (it's my review. I can make up words if I want to) later.

 

A few months before we were to set sail, the CC'er who had organized our sailing's meet & greet had to back out of this cruise, so I volunteered to coordinate the meet & greet. To all those that came, thank you!! It was so great to meet you all and to get to continue to bump into some friendly faces throughout the week! We had some fun thanks to Cruise Critic by giving away a handful of door prizes to attendees and managed to snag a few extra participants for the slot pull later in the week.

 

 

 

After the Meet & Greet was over, we headed back over to O'Sheehan's for a late lunch. Knowing that we had 5:30 reservation for Cagney's we knew we didn't want to overdo it. Guest what.. We overdid it.

 

"We'll order the nachos but just munch on them." Nope. Devoured.

"Maybe I'll just order the wings. That'll tide me over." Oh, there's a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger on the menu? Sorry wings!

"We can just skip dessert this time around." HAHAHAHAHAHA! We'll take two Brownie Cheesecakes with Caramel drizzle, please.

 

The nachos were great, my burger was delicious, Stacy enjoyed her sandwich, and that brownie cheesecake may have been top 3 among favorite desserts we had on the ship. I have no regrets. We also brought along a couple of the boys' toys for the trip so we could take some photos of Leonardo and Donatello enjoying the NCL Freestyle life as well.

 

 

So with a "quick snack at O'Sheehan's" going horribly awry, we knew we'd be nowhere near ready to enjoy dinner three hours later. So with Pam's card burning a hole in my pocket, I decided we'd try this special treatment on for size. We headed back to the room for a bit, made a call to Pam, and about 15 minutes later she calls back to let us know that she was able to move our reservation to 8:30 without any issue. WOW! The monitors on the ship at which you can book reservations showed Cagney's booked solid, so I was so very pleased and impressed with Pam's care for us.

 

With that taken care of, we headed down to Deck 8, grabbed a couple of drinks from 5 o'clock Somewhere on the Waterfront, and settled into a couch to get some reading done. We just happened to settle in next to a fellow CC'er who we'd just met earlier in the day, and who just so happened to be staying in the Haven Aft Balcony right next to us (Hi IamAlyce!) After chit chatting for a bit about her cruise thus far and her prior exploits on NCL, we settled in to read for a bit. Let me tell you... The Waterfront is a great place to get some reading done, but it's also a great place to get easily distracted by the sound of the waves and the slow moving horizon in front of you. Simply beautiful. Even a pair of ninjas could find this to be relaxing.

 

[tripleboom]

After a wonderful time spent lounging on The Waterfront, I nudged Stacy, we exchanged a knowing look, and we headed back toward our stateroom. It was a sea day, there were no children around to interrupt us, no schedules to keep, so we did exactly what a couple celebrating 10 years of marriage should do. We went back to the room, and we napped.

 

Not "napped." We napped, y'all. What were you thinking?? I can't remember the last time I could, let alone did, take a mid-afternoon nap like this. It was perfect.

 

A couple of hours later we got up, I got us a couple drinks from the bar a deck down, and we just spent that late afternoon and early evening watching the wake trailing behind the ship and reading books we'd never have time for back home. My kinda day.

 

As evening approached we finally convinced ourselves that we should begin to get ready for tonight's VIP Cocktail Party up in The Haven. My wife can rock a pair of yoga pants and a tank top with the best of them, but when she puts on a dress like this one, I fall in love all over again.

 

 

 

Hoping I wasn't going to be thrown out for showing up without black tie garb let alone a suit, we headed up to the front of the ship, invitation in hand. A Haven staffer was outside the entrance doors to the gated community, and after a quick check of our invite the door was opened and we were let in.

 

 

 

While we were there, the Haven bar was open for all attendees to use, but waitstaff also came around with trays full of sparkling and red wine as well as a mixed drink option of some sort. Hors d'oeuvres were also served as passengers mingled with the ship's senior officers. We again ran into Errol and Deepak who both still recognized us from earlier in the day. That's one thing that's quite remarkable about the Escape's crew. From stewards to senior officers, everyone that's had an encounter with you seems to remember you and your name the next time they see you! We only have two boys and I have to sometimes try three times before getting the right name out!

 

Captain Giovanni Cutugno was attending, so we were able to snag a photo with he and a handful of other officers, including Deepak (my hero!!) at far right.

 

 

There's not really a better spot to host a Haven/VIP get together, so the Haven pool area is basically the best option for this event. That being said, the roof was closed, the sun was still coming through the glass up top creating a greenhouse-like environment, there were a ton of people crammed in there, and IT WAS HOT. We ducked out a side door, returned to steerage class, and headed toward the aft of the ship to get to our rescheduled dinner reservation.

 

A quick detour down Doug's sobriety check stairs for a photo op, and then we were on our way to Cagney's.

 

[johnrich]

Great review so far! I was enjoying the other one but the pictures make it SO much better. That's for rewriting it!

 

Isn't it great what the do for the M&G organizers? I organized it on our last Getaway cruise and it was awesome!

 

We only have 68 more days until we're on the Escape. And we booked an Aft Balcony too!

 

 

 

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[tripleboom]

We arrived about 10 minutes early for our reservation at Cagney's, and the maitre d' led us to our table. I suspect Pam did more for us than simply arrange a reservation. We were led to the very back of the restaurant where we had a lovely table for 2 against the back glass of the ship looking out on the wake. Gentleman that I am, I did let Stacy have the seat looking out the windows.

 

 

Our waiter, Garfield, was quickly at our table to take our drink order and provide us with some bread for the table. A quick study of the menu and we each knew what to order.

 

Stacy went with the petite filet mignon. Awwwww.. It's so widdle and cute!

 

I opted for the slightly larger porterhouse.

 

 

I know people LOOOOVE Cagney's, but if there's one thing we're spoiled by here in Omaha, it's good steakhouses. If you're ever in Omaha, head to The Drover and thank me later. This porterhouse was good, but couldn't crack the Top 10 of steaks I've had. Stacy was very complimentary of her filet though.

 

Seeing our last bastion of beef disappear, Garfield soon returned with our dessert menus. I ordered an Irish Coffee because I'm into mixing my uppers and downers, and Stacy opted for this adorable cappuccino.

 

 

Desserts arrived soon after. Stacy went for the Raspberry Creme Brulee

 

 

And I went for death by chocolat... errr... the Seven Layer Cake

 

 

Completely satisfied, we then waddled off to the Escape Theater for some late evening entertainment.

[tripleboom]

Great review so far! I was enjoying the other one but the pictures make it SO much better. That's for rewriting it!

 

Isn't it great what the do for the M&G organizers? I organized it on our last Getaway cruise and it was awesome!

 

We only have 68 more days until we're on the Escape. And we booked an Aft Balcony too!

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My wife regularly accused me of having slipped someone a $100 bill when she wasn't looking, but I assured her that hosting the meet & greet must have been the reason for the favorable treatment we received. It was more than generous for doing something that I really rather enjoyed!

 

Enjoy your time on the Escape!! Time on that aft balcony will be time well spent!

[easyboy]

Definitely worth the re-post. Very nice photos.

Will be following along.

[tripleboom]

Thanks to the afternoon nap we were able to work up enough gumption to head to the Escape Theater to watch After Midnight, a musical revue of the 1920's Harlem Cotton Club scene. The performers were exceptional, singing great, and the choreography was so much fun to watch. The only critique is not of the performers but strictly the structure of the revue. There's a spot about 2/3 of the way through it that has a couple of ballads in a row. Again, while the singers deliver on the music, my eyes did get a little droopy through that span.

 

With a big four days ahead of us, we headed back to the room to call it a night. Leonardo and his battle elephant awaited our arrival. And so day #2 came to a close.

 

[johnrich]

My wife regularly accused me of having slipped someone a $100 bill when she wasn't looking, but I assured her that hosting the meet & greet must have been the reason for the favorable treatment we received. It was more than generous for doing something that I really rather enjoyed!

 

 

 

Enjoy your time on the Escape!! Time on that aft balcony will be time well spent!

 

 

 

I agree! I wasn't expecting anything for organizing it and really enjoyed doing it.

 

 

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[Cafedumonde]

Great review so far. Can't wait to read the rest. Thank you.

[SquishTheWhale]

Really enjoying your review and especially the food pictures! Please continue. Also I think it's very sweet the way you speak about your wife- I got married three weeks ago and I hope we are still much in love by our 10th anniversary :)

[buchman67]

Love that the ninja turtles joined you! Your boys will always remember the vacation that mom and dad took them but left us at home :) It will be great memories for all of you.

 

Enjoying your review!

 

Sent from my SM-G920P using Tapatalk

[tripleboom]

Really enjoying your review and especially the food pictures! Please continue. Also I think it's very sweet the way you speak about your wife- I got married three weeks ago and I hope we are still much in love by our 10th anniversary :)

 

I did ok taking food pictures, but not as good as I could have. Oftentimes the food looked just too good to wait long enough to snap a picture! Thanks for the kind words! She's my best friend in life, and I always try to treat my friends well. :D

 

Love that the ninja turtles joined you! Your boys will always remember the vacation that mom and dad took them but left us at home :) It will be great memories for all of you.

 

That was all Mom's idea. She was looking out for the boys :D

[tripleboom]

I get it. Very cool. I will have to have my picture taken with that sign in a couple of months when I'm Escape. Thanks for going through the trouble of starting your review over again. I can see all of your photos and they're wonderful!

 

Yay!! I'm not the only nerd! ;p Glad to have you along for the ride!

 

Following (again:cool:) Love your pictures!

Glad you gave it another shot! Thanks for following along :D

[tripleboom]

After a good night's rest, we were actually up early enough, given the 10 AM arrival in port, to watch our approach to Coxen Hole. Such beautiful scenery!

 

 

 

 

With plans to visit Little French Key (LFK) on the other end of the island, I had made arrangements with Pam (PAM IS A ROCKSTAR) to meet about 15 minutes prior to the scheduled arrival in port in order to get off as early as possible. Stacy and I headed to O'Sheehan's in order to grab some breakfast before we headed off to LFK. We were sat quickly, and without our having said so, the staff indicated they knew we'd be in a hurry this morning and the food started coming out quickly. As I was scarfing down my french toast, I heard someone say "Hello again, Mr. Heino," and whirled my head around to see Garfield, our waiter from Cagney's the night before, working hard at O'Sheehan's this morning. Hard working guy and he remembered (and pronounced correctly) my name!

 

We were finishing up breakfast and getting ready to go meet Pam when Tyler's voice came booming over the PA. Customs is cleared and we were clear to disembark. I checked my watch and saw it was only about 9:40. Kudos for the early arrival! This meant we'd have to miss out on Pam's personal escort off the ship, but better to be early in port than late! A quick walk along The Waterfront to check out Coxen Hole from up high, and then we headed off toward the gangway.

 

 

As some other reviewers mentioned, the drivers for LFK now have port passes, so one need not leave the port area to catch your ride to LFK. I had taken note of this revised policy from a couple of Little French Key's Facebook videos that they had posted a couple of weeks prior to our sailing. We stepped off the gangway and quickly spotted the bright green polo and sign of the LFK staff. Once there was a group of about 30 of us gathered there on the dock, we were sent to another green polo'd LFK staffer about 50 yards away over a small bridge to an area behind the red roofed buildings pictured on the right in the picture above. This is where the buses and taxis are all gathered for cruise passenger transportation.

 

We hung around this area for a bit while the LFK staff worked to coordinate the transportation for the guests, so I did get the chance to take a couple photos of the Escape while we waited. Better shots to come later in the review, but this does perhaps communicate the massiveness of this vessel. Could have used a fisheye for the first shot but I'm not sure my little Sony could support the weight of the lens!

 

 

 

We narrowly missed making the first bus out of the port, but instead were placed a a good sized van that was pleasantly air conditioned. But before we took off, a good chunk of us in the van were pulled back out without explanation and instead herded off to yet another bus. Cue the circus music!! The bus we were on held about 40 or so passengers, and I took the last seat in the passenger area while Stacy rode shotgun with the driver. She doesn't get motion sick on the ship, but is susceptible to it when traveling in land vehicles, especially hot ones where she can't see out very easily. Shotgun was really about the best place for her to sit, so this worked out nicely.

 

The bus weaved its way out of the port area, through the town of Coxen Hole, and out into the Honduran countryside. We had a very nice young man serving as a tour guide as we hummed along and learned a lot about the Roatan and Honduran culture, education, tourism, and island life in general. It made the 30 minute or so trek across the island a little more palatable.

 

Finally the bus pulled in to Frency's 44 to catch our short ferry ride over the Little French Key.

[bam1957]

Thanks for reposting. I was one of the people who could not see the pictures on your original posts. Great review!

 

Same here and I'm definitely enjoying your review with the pictures, yes thank you for taking the time to repost.

 

I'm on the ship in December which seems like a lifetime away. Your review is helping me to patiently count down the days.

[tripleboom]

After waiting in line to pay for our day's activities (we opted for the Full Island Package Plus which included a guided snorkel on top of the standard full Island Package), we then headed on to the ferry which would take us on the 5 minute trip across the bay and onto Little French Key itself.

 

Leaving Frenchy's 44:

 

And heading toward LFK:

 

And finally pulling into the dock:

 

We were greeted ride off the ferry and taken on a quick tour of the animal preserve on the grounds. Monkeys, tropical birds, ducks, and a host of species are kept in the preserve on the grounds and all appeared to be well provided for and taken care of.

 

We were then led toward one of the several beach areas at LFK and left to settle in!

 

 

 

**CAUTION AHEAD**

Please avert your eyes if you are sensitive to near-lethal doses of farmer's tan. You have been warned.

 

[tropical83]

I'm enjoying your review! Reading it is making me even more excited for my sailing in a few weeks!

[clskinsfan]

Great Review so far! Thanks so much for posting pictures of your Aft Balcony on deck 9! We are in 9922, the room right next to yours, in October. I have been having a really hard time finding pictures of the deck 9 balconies. Now that I have seen them I KNOW we are going to love it!

[tripleboom]

Our group of guests was dropped off near the bay pictured above and we were left to use the cabana here as a home base for the day's activities. And what a base it was! Ample lounge chairs and even beds if you so chose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sgmamabear]

Loving this review! We are doing this same itinerary later this year as part of our honeymoon!

 

 

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[Tminish]

Thanks so much taking time to do this review...I sure am enjoying it! I just keep hitting refresh in hopes you've uploaded another segment. LOL!

[tripleboom]

Loving this review! We are doing this same itinerary later this year as part of our honeymoon!

You're going to love it! I know we sure did.

 

Thanks so much taking time to do this review...I sure am enjoying it! I just keep hitting refresh in hopes you've uploaded another segment. LOL!

For some reason I'm letting my work put a damper on my pace. Really doesn't seem very fair does it?? ;p Glad you're enjoying the review!

[tripleboom]

Great Review so far! Thanks so much for posting pictures of your Aft Balcony on deck 9! We are in 9922, the room right next to yours, in October. I have been having a really hard time finding pictures of the deck 9 balconies. Now that I have seen them I KNOW we are going to love it!

 

You are in for such a treat. I liked Deck 9 not only for the size of the aft balconies, but the immediate access to The Waterfront down one deck and really all the action of Deck 6, 7, and 8 all just down a handful of stairs. Even when we needed to go up to the top decks for the buffet, pool, slides, ropes course, etc., being on Deck 9 meant that we would typically be able to find an elevator without too much trouble. From what I understand that's not so easy to accomplish when in the other decks above us.

 

Enjoy your cruise in October! Let me know if there's room in your suitcase for a stowaway! :cool: