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

[MacCruising2018]

Awesome review! Loving the pictures and commentary. Making me reconsider our balcony room with all that space on your balcony!

 

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[NayRN]

It seems odd for a kid from Iowa to be a Detroit sports fan, but my dad grew up a fan so I did too. Heading to the Tigers v. Twins game up in Minneapolis in a couple of weeks. And as every foolish Lions fan says annually: "Maybe this is the year!"

 

Born and raised just north of the infamous 8 Mile! Love my Tigers - even though they are not playing very well lately. But as for the Lions, even though we all say it, in our hearts we really know it won't happen. Detroit sports fans are the best fans ever!!

[purpleally]

It seems odd for a kid from Iowa to be a Detroit sports fan, but my dad grew up a fan so I did too. Heading to the Tigers v. Twins game up in Minneapolis in a couple of weeks. And as every foolish Lions fan says annually: "Maybe this is the year!"

Absolutely!!!!! Love it!

[johnrich]

Awesome review! Did you take pics of the current menus? I would especially love to see the MDR dinner menus, since CruiseLifeRick didn't post those on his review. Going on the Escape in December for our honeymoon and can't wait!!

 

 

 

If he didn't, I saw that shadowmeboy was just on Escape and he posted menus as well as the Dailies. Here is the link:

 

Shadowmeboy's Escape to the Western Caribbean!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2516206

 

 

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[tripleboom]

Awesome review! Did you take pics of the current menus? I would especially love to see the MDR dinner menus, since CruiseLifeRick didn't post those on his review. Going on the Escape in December for our honeymoon and can't wait!!

 

Unfortunately I did not take any photos of the MDR menus. We scoped out the menus on a couple of different nights, but on those nights we looked, nothing looked particularly appetizing! I'm kinda disappointed we never got around to eating in the MDR, particularly The Manhattan Room.

 

What a great review! Congrats on your 10th anniversary. Been on Escape twice in the last year. Before you know it, those boys will be older teens and you'll be singing to Howl and dancing to 80's night with them!! Cruising is one of they few things we've found that keeps the older teens having fun while with us! Enjoy it all.

 

This cruise really did get me excited to take them on a cruise somewhere down the line! Airfare is the most difficult part. Each of our previous three cruises we've used an airline credit card program to fly for free. That's doable when you're flying two people down, but tougher when trying to make it four. Time to start saving!!

[tripleboom]

Awesome review! Loving the pictures and commentary. Making me reconsider our balcony room with all that space on your balcony!

 

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You wouldn't regret it! The only drawbacks on our cruise were a) the cruise being so port intensive that we didn't spend as much time out there as we would have liked, and b) the reduced air movement at the very aft of the ship did make it pretty toasty back there during the day. Small complaints though. Wouldn't change it for anything.

[tripleboom]

Sorry to have taken the day off from the review! Busy day at work and some fun family time back at home. Should be able to resume with our day in Costa Maya tomorrow!

[tripleboom]

We were up and at 'em the next morning before the 8 AM port arrival at Costa Maya. I actually awoke to the sound of rain outside. Normally that would cause some concern for the day's activities, but with an ATV excursion booked, the rainier and muddier the better!

 

We got dressed in clothes that we knew would wash up well in the ocean if needed, and chose footwear that would stand up to the mud if need be. We grabbed a quick bite to eat at the buffet and awaited the clear to disembark. It hadn't come quite yet so we decided to just head toward where the gangway was located. We hit Deck 4 just as they came over the PA to announce that we were clear to disembark.

 

With excursion tickets in hand, we took the long walk down the dock toward the port of Costa Maya. As many may know, this really is a tourist port exclusively. There's only a couple of thousand people that live in the area, and seemingly all are employed in the tourist trade. We quickly found the covered pavilion where we located the sign for our excursion and hopped in line. Because we were one of the first ones off the ship, we were also one of the first ones in line in the pavilion. Yay! Or so I thought. Instead, one of the locals dressed in traditional Mayan garb grabbed me out of the line and paraded me in front of everyone to dance with him. Folks, I don't have two left feet. I have about a baker's dozen left feet. After thoroughly embarrassing myself I slunk back into line to wait for our transportation to our excursion. I'm happy to report that there was NOOOOOO video of this incident. Thanks to the well air conditioned, zero humidity stateroom, our camera lens completely fogged over once we tried to get it out of the bag on this muggy morning. Whew!!

 

Soon afterward we were rounded up by our excursion leader and led to a military style, open bed truck with benches along the exterior rail and on the interior of the truck. Once we were at capacity, the truck took off, drove through the little town, and headed out into the countryside.

 

The lens still hadn't quite adjusted to the humidity for this shot.

 

 

After about a twenty minute drive, and a handful of rain clouds along the way, we arrived at the location for the ATV ride. After dumping our excess bags and gear and getting carpet bombed by bug spray, we were given a quick tutorial on how to use these automatic transmission ATVs, covered the hand signals used to communicate while out on the trail, and then we were broken into groups of inexperienced riders and experienced ones. The experienced riders would lead the pack, with the inexperienced at the back.

 

My wife's parents owned a power sports store for years, so she virtually grew up on the back of an ATV, dirt bike, or snowmobile. While her parents sold the business years ago, they still have a lot of their toys, so over the past dozen years of our relationship I've gotten pretty good as well. So off in the experienced group we went! And I'm soooo glad we did. Be mindful of the signs on the trail. They are to be taken very seriously!

 

 

The morning's rain did some good things for the trails! SPLASH!

 

 

Clearly some people were a little overzealous with the throttle!

 

 

It really was a great experience overall. The experienced group of riders was allowed to hit the throttle and ride the trail hard. They took breaks about every 8 minutes or so to allow the inexperienced rider group to catch up. During the second break they allowed some of the riders in the back pack to come up behind our pack of experienced riders. The woman I spoke with said it was painfully slow in the back pack as folks took their time going through every little bump in the trail. That's perfectly fine for a brand new rider! Nothing wrong with it! But I'm glad we labeled ourselves experienced riders. Made it that much more fun.

 

 

 

After working our way through wet trails, dry trails, and rocky trails, we finally worked our way back to the main road. Once everyone was gathered up, we were allowed to run the road all the way back to the camp where we had taken off from. Fun to go that fast for sure!!

 

I put together a YouTube video of the highlights of our ride. Definitely not for those susceptible to motion sickness by proxy! I smoothed it out as best as I could, which is to say it's still not very smooth!

 

uf9qFPqHlz4

[sgmamabear]

Wow! Was any explanation given as to how the atv ended up in the tree??? Reminds me of an old comedy, "The Gods Must Be Crazy"!

 

 

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[tripleboom]

Wow! Was any explanation given as to how the atv ended up in the tree??? Reminds me of an old comedy, "The Gods Must Be Crazy"!

 

We drove past it pretty quickly, but it appeared to me that it was an ATV that was stripped of all of its mechanical components and stuck up there by the tour operator. Still not sure how they got it up there even knowing that!

 

I missed it on the GoPro as luck would have it, but we did have a guy ahead of us in the "experienced" group who may have been better suited in the "inexperienced but crazy" group. Our line of ATVs came to a halt as we rounded the corner as he was about 10 yards off the trail, buried in the jungle! No worse for wear except for a few dozen extra mosquito bites, but clearly someone who tried taking the corner just a wee bit too fast. :D

[tripleboom]

Upon our return to the camp, we were each given a cold bottle of water. Much needed on this hot day! After that we were told we could either go to the beach club with an open bar or take one of the open air trucks back to the port. To my surprise there were a few people who headed back to the port while the rest of us loaded up in a very nice coach bus and made the trip to the private beach club included with the excursion cost. I felt a little bad climbing up into this nice bus without having had the means let alone opportunity to clean up a bit! The mud kicked up from the ATV ride was all over the lower half of my body!

 

 

After about another 20 minutes in this bus we arrived at the Jungle Beach Club for our beach half of the excursion.

 

 

Upon arrival each group of people were met by their own waiter who led them to a set of beach chairs. We were led off by Pedro who is THE MAN! I knew it was an open bar, so I fully expected watered down drinks, but Pedro delivered! Even though I was hungry from the morning's activity I ordered a Margarita confident that it'd be nothing much more than lime flavored water with a salt rim. NOPE!

 

So let's recap: Tasty margaritas, half-empty stomach, and a waiter that magically appears every time I take the last sip of my drink. What's the worst that could happen??

 

Thanks to being the first ATV group of the day, we were the first people to arrive at this beach. We basically had the run of it! Snorkeling gear, paddleboards, etc. were also available and free of charge, but Stacy and I just relaxed in the chairs enjoyed our drinks for a while.

 

 

 

[tripleboom]

 

After ten years of marriage you start to learn all the little nonverbal cues from your spouse. Here, Stacy is suggesting that we stop taking selfies and go get in the water.

 

 

Beautiful day at the beach!

 

 

 

 

Did I mention Pedro is the man? Somehow he could see we finished off our drinks clear out in the water, and suddenly he appeared at the shore with two more drinks in hand. This scene repeated itself a couple of times while we were here!

 

[ashpam]

Love the review! Thank you for taking the time to tell your vacation story to all of us on Cruise critic. [emoji2]

 

 

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[tripleboom]

After the margarita count had gotten up to "I dunno? More than 6?", the buzz was going strong. With an empty stomach, an early dinner reservation, and an admittedly questionable looking for-fee buffet, we decided it was time to head back to the port. When we left, there was only one more bus to the port after ours, so I felt like this was the best possible time to head back. We had left the ship a bit before 8 and it was not 1:00, so it was definitely a good time to go.

 

We boarded the very nice coach bus that would take us back to port once again. On the way back I got chatted up for a bit. I spoke with a father and his son who were on the Escape, having come from Illinois. I learned that his teen aged daughter, who was at a beach day with her mom, had been diagnosed with and battling a rare form of cancer. Make-A-Wish had sent the family on this vacation. Here we were celebrating our ten years of marriage while another family was trying to find some joy in the midst of a valley. The father's positivity was incredible though. Once the bus got back to port we parted ways, but it made me thankful for organizations like Make-A-Wish that help families have some sense of normal in an overtly abnormal time of their life.

 

Anyway.. Back to port...

 

 

When we got back, my dancing Mayan friends spotted me and invited me over for a picture or three.

 

 

 

 

The coastline here at Costa Maya is really something!

 

 

The Carnival Fantasy was also in port with us at the far left of this picture.

 

[tripleboom]

This ship is just the best. I really can't heap enough praise on the Escape and her crew!! As we walked back up the pier I overheard a couple of friends walking back toward the Carnival Fantasy say, "Let's go take our picture by that one (pointing to the Escape) and tell everyone that's the ship we were on." Made me grin like an idiot!

 

 

Because we're everywhere, a Wings fan spotted my hat and shorts and offered to take our picture. No selfie stick in the shot! Yay!!

 

 

 

 

See ya later, Fantasy! We're headed to Cozumel!

 

[tripleboom]

After returning to the ship and getting cleaned up we made it to our 5:30 reservation at Teppanyaki. The chefs there are fantastic! Not only entertaining but he also prepared some delicious food. We were fortunate to also have some great people sat at the table/grill with us. I opted for the jumbo shrimp and steak. Stacy went for the steak and chicken. We were given enough fried rice to feed a nation. We also had the good fortune of having Rowen (of Washy Washy fame) as our waiter! He took such great care of us! Our wine glasses (love the Lindeman's Bin 90 Moscato they have on board) were never empty. We left so very satisfied and well taken care of. Also, while I was skeptical, the green tea ice cream for dessert was quite good!

 

 

 

After we finished our meal we tried to track down a photographer for a formal shot, and lucked out on Deck 8 in front of the LED chandelier.

 

 

Made the mistake of tucking my camera into my back pocket for the picture. Oops!! #ootd #mybuttsnotreallyTHATbig

 

 

Then we were off to The Brat Pack! Gotta tell ya, we enjoyed the heck out of it! Great music performed by some seriously talented musicians. I've seen others on here complain about the vulgarity and raciness of the show, but it is rated PG-16 in the dailies, and the Escape crew emphasized that over and over again. Yet I saw more than a handful of kids the age of my oldest (7) in there with their families. It was somewhere between amusing and horrifying watching the kids' and the parents' faces as a string of f-bombs came flying. But as anyone who's seen the movie know, there's a fair amount of cursing to be expected!

 

Anyway, we had fun and really would recommend it to anyone in that 16 or maybe 18+ range. It's definitely worth attending just for Tyler's cameo. :-) We actually arrived early enough to get great seats in the center of the theater and right on the area of the audience where the actors would come out into the theater. Fun! Only draw back I noted was the pair of ladies sitting to my left. They were most definitely cast members from the other show on board, and were really whooping, hollering, and what had to be over-laughing for their friends on stage. I get supporting your friends by attending, but don't be so over-the-top with your support that it affects the experience for those around you. Minor annoyance and nothing that ruined the show by any stretch of the imagination.

 

 

Edited July 14, 2017 by tripleboom

[tripleboom]

After checking out our photos in the gallery,, purchasing some knick knacks and souvenirs at the gift shop, debating the merits of purchasing a $6 can on Pringles, we headed up to the buffet for some late night snack, then headed to bed. Our towel animal tonight left room for debate. Help me out, Cruise Critic. What is this? And please be right (aka agree with me).

 

[johnrich]

After checking out our photos in the gallery,, purchasing some knick knacks and souvenirs at the gift shop, debating the merits of purchasing a $6 can on Pringles, we headed up to the buffet for some late night snack, then headed to bed. Our towel animal tonight left room for debate. Help me out, Cruise Critic. What is this? And please be right (aka agree with me).

 

 

 

 

We've had something like that little guy as well and my wife and I have had the same "disagreement." We came to the conclusion that when you look at it from the side it looks like a dinosaur (brontosaurus) but when looking at it from the front it looked like a cobra.

 

 

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[SquishTheWhale]

I was going to go with a brontosauras or diplodocus as well. He's cute!

[Bellyflopchamp]

After checking out our photos in the gallery,, purchasing some knick knacks and souvenirs at the gift shop, debating the merits of purchasing a $6 can on Pringles, we headed up to the buffet for some late night snack, then headed to bed. Our towel animal tonight left room for debate. Help me out, Cruise Critic. What is this? And please be right (aka agree with me).

 

 

I'm going to go with anteater. Loving your review!!!

[tripleboom]

I wish I had gotten a definitive answer from our steward! I went with brontosaurus, whereas Stacy thought it was a large tortoise, the type with really long necks. Maybe her contacts were bothering her that day ;p

[islesdave]

I'm gonna say it's a swan or long necked duck.

[C-Hawk]

Completely off topic, but mind absolutely blown… I'm reading this because my wife and I are going on the Escape in two weeks, when I realize Stacy and I actually went to high school together. She was a few years ahead of me, but her sister was in my class and we often ran in the same circles. I remember seeing your wedding photos when she posted them on Facebook… Glad to see you're doing well.

[tripleboom]

Completely off topic, but mind absolutely blown… I'm reading this because my wife and I are going on the Escape in two weeks, when I realize Stacy and I actually went to high school together. She was a few years ahead of me, but her sister was in my class and we often ran in the same circles. I remember seeing your wedding photos when she posted them on Facebook… Glad to see you're doing well.

 

Well if that's not the craziest case of "small world" I've ever seen! It's one thing for you to know my wife and sister-in-law. Quite another to know them AND sail on the same ship as us less than a month apart! Incredible! I'll mention the chance encounter to Amanda next time we chat!

[detroitlions]

Born and raised just north of the infamous 8 Mile! Love my Tigers - even though they are not playing very well lately. But as for the Lions, even though we all say it, in our hearts we really know it won't happen. Detroit sports fans are the best fans ever!!

 

Funny you say this I grew up between 10 mile and Stephens Used to be East Detroit . I used to go to all the Kid Rock shows at the RITZ. lol and hang out at Harpos.