Just Off Norwegian Escape -- I'll Take an Obnoxious Cruise Director for $1000, Alex

[QuickieGlenn]

Nice review

I am looking forward to going on the Escape next year

 

Some of the replies not so much

I find it funny that people need to reply with a cut and paste section of the NCL rules and basically tell people how stupid they are for not knowing everything

Lighten up

[paradiseawaitsme]

No need to bribe the room steward for a robe. They are available for the asking no what cabin you booked.

 

Thanks for that info. This will be our 3rd NCL and I was not aware I could just ask for one when staying in a balcony cabin. I always pack my own, but will save room in my case and ask for one this time.:D

[Aldeya]

Thank you for the review. Can you give more details about your day pass at Westin St.Maartin? How much was pp? Was it easy to get a cab back to the ship? Any details would help. We'll be in St.Maarten on our next cruise and would love to spend a quite leisurely day at the nice beach.

[Two Wheels Only]

Some of the replies not so much

I find it funny that people need to reply with a cut and paste section of the NCL rules and basically tell people how stupid they are for not knowing everything

Did it ever occur to you that the information that is being provided is meant to help people avoid problems or avoid confusion on their next cruise? :confused:

[fridaythe13th]

NCL dailies state that items are to be removed (by NCL staff) after 1 hour...if it matters to anyone.

 

I don't think they do though. If you think about it, you would have to activate a timer on each chair that someone puts something on and walks away. Pool patrol should be out there bright and early, letting people know there is no chair saving when they see one person placing a book, shoe, sandal on more than a couple of chairs.

 

I have also "moved" an item or two when I know a chair has been unused for some time.

[Two Wheels Only]

I don't think they do though. If you think about it, you would have to activate a timer on each chair that someone puts something on and walks away. Pool patrol should be out there bright and early, letting people know there is no chair saving when they see one person placing a book, shoe, sandal on more than a couple of chairs.

I agree that the enforcement by NCL is spotty, at best. The issue is that if guests remove another guest's items, who is right and who is wrong? A person with a chair who walks to the bar for a drink and returns 15 minutes later has done nothing wrong and has not violated any rule. When that person returns and their items are moved by another guest and that other guest is now sitting in that chair, who is wrong?

 

I have also "moved" an item or two when I know a chair has been unused for some time.

But if "some time" was less than 1 hour, the person who left the items has done nothing against NCL policy. It is not NCL policy for guests to remove another guest's items.

[Tutontow]

I have only been on the Epic but I totally agree about O'Sheehan's. I looked forward to it so much and was so disappointed. The specialty restaurants made up for it and dinner in the main dining room was so very good.

 

Thanks for the review.

[QuickieGlenn]

Did it ever occur to you that the information that is being provided is meant to help people avoid problems or avoid confusion on their next cruise? :confused:

Looking back I see you do this a lot

I agree that doing research before you cruise is a good idea, but the OP just gave a review, and people reply about all the things they should have known.

 

You live and learn, but some people all want to be teachers

[Cruisingfor40]

Looking back I see you do this a lot

I agree that doing research before you cruise is a good idea, but the OP just gave a review, and people reply about all the things they should have known.

 

You live and learn, but some people all want to be teachers

 

I wish I could like this a million times! :D

[AndyCapn]

Looking back I see you do this a lot

I agree that doing research before you cruise is a good idea, but the OP just gave a review, and people reply about all the things they should have known.

 

You live and learn, but some people all want to be teachers

 

I wish I could like this a million times! :D

 

Amen and amen.

[Two Wheels Only]

You live and learn, but some people all want to be teachers

One of the best ways to learn is to take advise from those who know.

 

 

Not everyone knows that wine can be checked and the corkage fee paid in a much easier way than putting the wine in a suitcase and being called to retrieve it. Someone giving advise of an easier way is actually doing a good thing.

 

 

Not everyone knows that bottled water (even water purchased on the ship) cannot be brought back onto the ship. Someone stating the policy is actually helping to prevent problems and confusion in the future. Not just for the OP but for everyone reading the thread.

 

 

Not everyone knows that reservations can be made for most restaurants at dinner. Someone stating that reservations can be made, when, and how to make them, etc. is actually trying to help.

 

 

Not everyone knows that the concierge usually has VIBE passes. Haven guests who cannot take advantage of priority boarding might appreciate the information.

 

 

Why some people take that information as some form of insult....I have no idea.

 

 

Nobody is being insulted or talked down to because they don't know something. The people who are unaware (whether the OP or a lurker) should be happy to receive the correct information.

[QuickieGlenn]

One of the best ways to learn is to take advise from those who know.

 

 

Not everyone knows that wine can be checked and the corkage fee paid in a much easier way than putting the wine in a suitcase and being called to retrieve it. Someone giving advise of an easier way is actually doing a good thing.

 

 

Not everyone knows that bottled water (even water purchased on the ship) cannot be brought back onto the ship. Someone stating the policy is actually helping to prevent problems and confusion in the future. Not just for the OP but for everyone reading the thread.

 

 

Not everyone knows that reservations can be made for most restaurants at dinner. Someone stating that reservations can be made, when, and how to make them, etc. is actually trying to help.

 

 

Not everyone knows that the concierge usually has VIBE passes. Haven guests who cannot take advantage of priority boarding might appreciate the information.

 

 

Why some people take that information as some form of insult....I have no idea.

 

 

Nobody is being insulted or talked down to because they don't know something. The people who are unaware (whether the OP or a lurker) should be happy to receive the correct information.

 

 

you just cant stop can you

[Two Wheels Only]

you just cant stop can you

Exactly, what about my post bothers you?

[Cruisingfor40]

you just cant stop can you

 

Muwhahahaha! I'm so glad it's not just me!!! ;p

[firstmickey]

One of the best ways to learn is to take advise from those who know.

 

 

 

 

 

Not everyone knows that wine can be checked and the corkage fee paid in a much easier way than putting the wine in a suitcase and being called to retrieve it. Someone giving advise of an easier way is actually doing a good thing.

 

 

 

 

 

Not everyone knows that bottled water (even water purchased on the ship) cannot be brought back onto the ship. Someone stating the policy is actually helping to prevent problems and confusion in the future. Not just for the OP but for everyone reading the thread.

 

 

 

 

 

Not everyone knows that reservations can be made for most restaurants at dinner. Someone stating that reservations can be made, when, and how to make them, etc. is actually trying to help.

 

 

 

 

 

Not everyone knows that the concierge usually has VIBE passes. Haven guests who cannot take advantage of priority boarding might appreciate the information.

 

 

 

 

 

Why some people take that information as some form of insult....I have no idea.

 

 

 

 

 

Nobody is being insulted or talked down to because they don't know something. The people who are unaware (whether the OP or a lurker) should be happy to receive the correct information.

 

 

 

Two Wheels, your posts helped me tremendously prior to my cruise. I appreciate you taking the time to post correct information to help others!

 

 

OP, thanks for your review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[fonrouge82]

Did it ever occur to you that the information that is being provided is meant to help people avoid problems or avoid confusion on their next cruise? :confused:

 

Did it ever occur to you that information can be provided respectfully and without the snide undertones? :confused:

[QuickieGlenn]

Did it ever occur to you that information can be provided respectfully and without the snide undertones? :confused:

 

exactly:D

[Two Wheels Only]

Did it ever occur to you that information can be provided respectfully and without the snide undertones? :confused:

Whom have I disrespected? Is it somehow disrespectful to give information? Give me an example of a "snide undertone" from one of my posts.

 

Then give an example of how it should have been worded.

 

I don't see how a copy/paste of NCL policy that directly addresses the subject is snide in any way. If anything, it is direct and not indirect.

[LD Silver]

Did it ever occur to you that information can be provided respectfully and without the snide undertones? :confused:

Completely agree

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Forums mobile app

[Jnn61144]

I'm new to cruise critic, but have lurked on these boards for awhile. Op thank you for your review. I also agree that there are certainly really nasty people on the ncl board. Lighten up, it's never that serious.

[AzStyle]

One of the best ways to learn is to take advise from those who.

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

Not everyone knows that the concierge usually has VIBE passes. Haven guests who cannot take advantage of priority boarding might appreciate the information.

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

.

 

Ok I'll probably get yelled at for this and I know it's off topic but can you or anyone give more info on this?

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[cyndepet]

Today was Tyler's last day on Escape as he has left for vacation. We got off the ship today and had an awesome week, but we didn't attend enough events or activities to have a strong reaction either way about him. It was interesting learning about his career up to this point at the Behind the Scenes Q&A on Friday. His mom was on the cruise and asked a lot of questions ;-). He'll be back at the end of October.

[Mandy412]

I'm so sad you didn't love Tyler! What's your age group? He's on of the best and we book around him being there. Wonder if its an age/cultural difference.

 

 

 

quote=mmmmbacon;53927417]So here is my review of our cruise on the Norwegian Escape -- departing Miami on August 19. We were originally scheduled to enjoy a Western Caribbean cruise (Cozumel, Belize, Roatan) but because of Hurricane Harvey, we were rerouted to St. Maarten, St. Thomas, and Nassau. You could hear a collective sigh of disappointment from the Garden Cafe since most people had already traveled to those ports and were looking for something different (including me), but it was an enjoyable cruise -- with perfect weather -- nonetheless.

 

I traveled with my husband and his parents -- it was their first cruise ever and their first time ever seeing the ocean. (They live in Wisconsin and had never traveled to the sea before.)

 

Here's a recap of things we loved and didn't like so much:

 

We loved the food on the ship. We enjoyed a few specialty dinners: La Cucina (awesome food except for the osso bucco), Le Bistro (sooooo much better on the Escape than on other NCCL ships), and Cagney's (phenomenal, but way too much food. No lobster available, but tasty shrimp.) We also enjoyed lunch at Food Republic, which was top-notch and amazingly fresh. We looooooved the atmosphere and the cuisine.

 

The service at each of these restaurants was friendly, professional, and attentive. In fact, the service at every venue, including the bars and Garden Cafe, was impressive. I must say that we didn't really care for the dinner at O'Sheehan's....there really wasn't anything wrong with the food (and the server was super sweet and friendly) but it wasn't as exciting as food in the specialty restaurants. Taste and Savor were very good with plenty of options!

 

We loved our balcony staterooms on the 10th floor. My in-laws had a spacious handicapped suite, which offered plenty of room and many handicap-accessible amenities, including bars on the balcony and the shower. Our stateroom attendants, Yenni and Alma, were friendly, personable, and very attentive.

 

We hated (is that too strong of a word?) the obnoxiousness of some of the passengers. Some people were simply rude and just trashy. I thought it was very nervy of people to "reserve" lounge chairs in Spice H20 around 7:40 am with their towels and then take off for breakfast and who knows what else for the next three hours. Oh, I'm sorry. You were upset that I had removed the towels and placed them on the railing so a couple who actually wanted to lay out in the sun could use chairs instead? We were so amazed by the level of entitlement exhibited by some people!!

 

We hated (I can definitely use the word here) the elevator situation. Elevators are small and a bit claustrophobic....the worse part was that the elevator banks operate independently, so passengers would press buttons on both sides of the elevators (to double their chances of getting one). This would mean elevators would constantly stop at floors where the passengers had already taken the elevator on the other side.

 

We really liked the Meet and Greet organized through Cruise Critic. It was held in the brewhouse, and the staff offered us tasty appetizers and flights of different beers. We were introduced to a few crew members (not the captain) and the organizers (not the cruise ship) gave out a few raffle items they had purchased themselves. I do prefer the Meet and Greets on RCCL since the raffle prizes include specialty dinners, bottles of wine, and cruise paraphernalia. After the Meet and Greet, a group of 29 of us did the Slot Pull. The machine sucked (we each chipped in $15 and walked away with $10) but it was fun.

 

We decided not to partake in any excursion offered by the cruise ship, mostly because my father-in-law would need to use a wheelchair and we would not want to slow down other passengers.

 

--On St. Maarten, we took a taxi to the Westin at Dawn Beach and spent the day at the resort. $7 per person to the beach in an air-conditioned van. The best part was the Westin gave us a beautiful day room, so after spending time at the beach, we were able to take showers and freshen up before returning to the ship. We decided not to go to Philipsburg since the port area had plenty of shops.

 

--In St. Thomas, we simply walked around the port area since it was super hot that day...plenty of shops to explore in the port area.

 

--In Nassau, we took a cab to Atlantis so my in-laws could spend a little time at the casino. $4 per person each way...we were in a van with about 5 other people. Atlantis is definitely looking tired, and there was a lot of construction (and a heck of a lot of people) around, so we didn't stay too long. We walked around downtown Nassau for a bit....we returned to Greek Islands Restaurant for a Kalik and the best conch fritters in town.

 

We loved the Spice H20 area and the Grotto, which was pretty empty for the first few hours every morning. The Grotto was really refreshing after laying out in the sun all morning, but the pool attendants should be a bit more vigilant about not allowing people to go into the area with glass bottles. We wished the Escape would play a movie or something on the wide screen, but the "serenity show" was peaceful and relaxing.

 

We really liked the Broadway-style show After Midnight. (Damn, some of those women have amazingly powerful voices!) We did not go to the Brat Pack show after seeing a preview of it on TV -- the acting seemed pretty terrible, so we passed on that show. The magician was entertaining but nothing spectacular, and the Howl at the Moon dueling banjos was enjoyable.

 

We were appalled by the attitude of the cruise directly, Tyler....he was so obnoxious and inappropriate that we felt so uncomfortable. He is the type of guy who thinks he is being funny, but he's not. We thought he was so rude to the elderly couple at the Love and Marriage game that we felt genuinely sorry for them. He is by far the worst cruise director that we had encountered, and when we saw him start another activity, we decided not to watch and moved on to something else.

 

We found embarkation and debarkation to go very smoothly...we decided to take advantage of transfers to the Fort Lauderdale airport. We left the ship around 8:15 am and we were on the bus and off within a half hour.

 

Here are a few pointers to keep in mind!

 

1. A little extra tip for the stateroom attendant goes a long way. We gave $20 to our stateroom attendant in advance, and she gave us robes and extra special attention.

 

2. We brought a $100 bottle of wine on board to celebrate my in-law's 50th anniversary. It was taken out of our suitcase and we had to pay the $15 corkage fee to have it returned.

 

3. We thought it was rude for the cruise staff to berate us for bringing the bottles of Aquafina water back on board the ship after we had PURCHASED them on board but did not finish them when we went off the ship in St. Maarten. It's water that we paid for!

 

4. We felt the Art Auction was run like a scam. The auctioneer was obnoxious, and if I never see another Peter Max painting in my life, I will be happy. The auctioneer would offer a painting for a very cheap price and THEN say there are four or five other paintings in the series, so the person who wanted one painting could no longer purchase it unless he bought the entire series. There were many angry people, and we were so turned off, we left after 15 minutes.

 

5. We bought a $10 bracelet from the sale in the promenade for my mother-in-law. During dinner, as she was simply sitting at La Cucina, the pin came off and it fell apart. Fortunately, we returned it and our money was refunded.

 

6. The ropes course on the Escape was MUCH more challenging than the one on the Breakaway. We thought my mother-in-law would be able to do it, but she would not be able to get past the first obstacle. We were very glad that we tried it, however!

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise!! Washy washy!

[LincolnLog]

Today was Tyler's last day on Escape as he has left for vacation. We got off the ship today and had an awesome week, but we didn't attend enough events or activities to have a strong reaction either way about him. It was interesting learning about his career up to this point at the Behind the Scenes Q&A on Friday. His mom was on the cruise and asked a lot of questions ;-). He'll be back at the end of October.

 

Who fills in while Tyler is on vacation?

[uneamie]

I agree that the enforcement by NCL is spotty, at best. The issue is that if guests remove another guest's items, who is right and who is wrong? A person with a chair who walks to the bar for a drink and returns 15 minutes later has done nothing wrong and has not violated any rule. When that person returns and their items are moved by another guest and that other guest is now sitting in that chair, who is wrong?

 

 

But if "some time" was less than 1 hour, the person who left the items has done nothing against NCL policy. It is not NCL policy for guests to remove another guest's items.

I would have to say "less than 20 minutes" is a fair allowance of time. It doesn't take an hour to go to the bar or to the rest room.