Escape From Miami - Kinda, Sorta "Live From" - October 7-14, 2017

[txhomeschoolmom]

Poll: 45 is mid 40s or late 40s.

 

Discuss.

 

Definitely mid 40's ;)

[txhomeschoolmom]

OMG... I can't stop laughing :')

"Rarified air of the Haven, a pony named Kevin, twaddle" :D

Loving your review...

Have an Amazing cruise...

Can't wait to read all about it!! :cool:

[bogeydi]

Following! We're on the 14th next week too. Can't wait to hear your review - thinking it "vil be vary interesting";)

[TeresaJ]

Mid!

 

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[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

My take on age is the same as njmomof2.

Looking forward to your review as I'll be waiting to get on Escape the day you disembark.

Hope you enjoy NCL, it's my favourite & so good for solo travelers.

Bon voyage!

 

~ Jo ~

[Huskerchick]

Poohby Joe is definitely tagging along. He’s a little upset he won’t have a cabana this time around but is excited about the prospect of a “Glow Party”

 

 

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[Maya1234]

I usually don't like /skip pre-embarcation reports but this is the best one I have ever read. Can't wait for more!

[whogo]

I never knew there was so much confusion.

 

Mid forties is 39.

Late forties is 39.

44, 45, 46 is 39.

47, 48, 49 is 39.

[POA1]

Requesting a picture of Kevin, please.

 

Also wondering if Poohby-Joe will be taking the trip with you?

 

I'd offer the use of my liver, but will be putting it in "strenuous mode" on our 25 day Med / trans-Atlantic in a few short days.

 

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

 

We have our first reader question of the thread! CruiseCritic member Gerry from Saskatoon, Canada writes: Would it be possible to have a picture of Kevin the Pony?

 

Excellent question, Gerry!

 

We don't have a photograph, per se, but we do have the amenity page from the (absolutely not made up) "The Haven" brochure:

 

[POA1]

OMG... I can't stop laughing :')

"Rarified air of the Haven, a pony named Kevin, twaddle" :D

Loving your review...

Have an Amazing cruise...

Can't wait to read all about it!! :cool:

 

Thank you for the kind words. I can only hope that our vacation lives up to your expectations. We think that it will because we normally travel in a bubble of awesome. We test-inflated it earlier today. No leaks so far.

[Still Dreaming]

Funny! Welcome to NCL!

[txhomeschoolmom]

We don't have a photograph, per se, but we do have the amenity page from the (absolutely not made up) "The Haven" brochure:

 

 

This cracked me up to the point of having to grab my back plus a Xanax!! You are too funny [emoji23]

 

 

 

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[POA1]

We have our first reader question of the thread! CruiseCritic member Gerry from Saskatoon, Canada

 

The Institute's Department of Corrections, which is in no way affiliated with the prison system, would like to apologize for the incorrect syntax of Gerry's home town. It should have read, "Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada." The province was inadvertently omitted.

 

The offending employee has been sentenced to mandatory Canada appreciation training. He will be force fed Saskatoon berry pie until he can properly pronounce "about."

 

We regret any inconvenience this may have caused to our friends north of the 49th Parallel.

[MacCruising2018]

That's Great grandma's Saskatoon berry Pie, eh. Unfortunately you will not find that aboard the Escape.

Please do let me know if you come across a decent poutine while on board though. Will need my fix if I'm going to sail a whole week on this ship.

 

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[POA1]

That's Great grandma's Saskatoon berry Pie, eh. Unfortunately you will not find that aboard the Escape.

Please do let me know if you come across a decent poutine while on board though. Will need my fix if I'm going to sail a whole week on this ship.

 

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Rumor has it that O'Sheehans has it. I'll definitely keep an eye out for it. For those of you unfamiliar with it, poutine is Quebec's contribution to the science of the hangover prevention. It's French fries topped with cheese curds and brown gravy. As my wife would say, Yum!

[OUgal]

POA1-- I'm submitting my application to your fan club. Can't wait to read more!

 

Safe travels and hope you and your family have a great trip.

 

 

Nicole

 

 

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[POA1]

I think that just about wraps up the day-before material. It's time to pack up the computer and call it a night. We had originally arranged for an early pick up so that we could try to score Vibe passes. However, that was when we were doing the Eastern Caribbean itinerary with 3 sea days - 4 if you count the fact that we were going to stay in the ship in Nassau. *

 

 

With far fewer sea days, Vibe doesn't make as much sense. In addition, my father-in-law, when asked about Vibe, texted "I'm not interested in the Vibe."

 

 

The downside to this is that we really hoped to include Vibe (a.k.a. "The Vibe") in our report.*(That's right, we wanted to be Vibe-Raters[emoji768].) *The upside is that we get to leave an hour later and we don't have to get into the cattle stampede that is the Vibe line. While there will be no Vibe-Rating[emoji769], I think we'll all be in a more pleasant mood after boarding. Rumor has it that the Grotto is a magical wonderland, so we might not miss Vibe at all.

 

 

Everyone else is all packed up and ready for an on-time departure, including our principal research*administrator, Poohby Joe. *Pleasant dreams and I'll see you in the morning.*

[4Suzyq]

Cruising with you all. Will be checking your posts so I don't miss the fun.

[kazu]

Always fun to follow along with you POA1.

 

Bon Voyage!!! Have a GREAT cruise :D

 

Fortunately, I knew from experience to put my cup of coffee down when I started reading. Would have been a mess with me laughing so hard ;)

[anonmom]

Whenever possible, we’ll try to provide copies of menus, Freestyle Dailies and any other pieces of paper that might be helpful. We have an entire Department of Scanning Things that handles this function. We’ll definitely get the specialty restaurant menus for places we dine, and cocktail menus for any bars we go to. (That’s likely to be all of them, because bars are sort of our research specialization.)

 

If you are looking for something in particular, please feel free to ask. We may not get to everything because this is a really big ship and we only have one week. We also have the UBP (Ultimate Beverage Package), and that may impeed our performance – especially since some of our crucial research projects revolve around it. Whenever possible, we’ll try to answer any questions you may have.

 

I'm so excited to see updated menus! Please, please get MDR menus as well as specialty menus. We have the SDP on our December Escape cruise, but we're going to skip lunch most days and have two dinners instead so that we can experience as many menus as possible. I'm sure that won't cause any weight gain...

 

Also, I'd love to see pictures of as many of the drinks as possible. So excited to be reunited with my beloved UBP soon!

 

Thanks for undertaking this important research.

 

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[CazV]

Before we begin, I would like to ask a favor of you. If you are going to do a “quote & reply,” please try to edit the quote down so that you’re not quoting a huge block of text and photos. Try to keep only the relevant parts if you can. It will keep the thread a little more compact for people who are reading on their phones. Thanks!

 

 

Love this request! :D

 

Looking forward to following along... and can I just say that you are so lucky to live where you do! :hearteyes:

[POA1]

I'm so excited to see updated menus! Please, please get MDR menus as well as specialty menus. We have the SDP on our December Escape cruise, but we're going to skip lunch most days and have two dinners instead so that we can experience as many menus as possible. I'm sure that won't cause any weight gain...

 

Also, I'd love to see pictures of as many of the drinks as possible. So excited to be reunited with my beloved UBP soon!

 

Thanks for undertaking this important research.

 

Sent from my Nexus 5X using Forums mobile app

 

A sound strategy! ;) Skipping lunch usually results in significant weight loss.

 

 

We'll try to get as many menus as we can.

[POA1]

Love this request! :D

 

Looking forward to following along... and can I just say that you are so lucky to live where you do! :hearteyes:

 

Thanks! Got to watch the Harmony of the Seas come in at around 5:00 AM this morning. And, thanks to exquisite timing on the part of my bladder, got to witness Royal Princess at around quarter past three.

[POA1]

 

We arranged for a 9:00 AM pickup at our condo. We booked through Larry's Limo of Fort Lauderdale. They're highly ranked on Angie's List. You'll notice that I am sparing you photos of the limousine and our drive to Port Miami. You're welcome!

 

My father-in-law drove down to our condo and stayed with us Friday night. The three of us will be taking the car to the port. DSIL and DBIL flew in from Newark on Friday and overnighted in a hotel near the port. We board at Terminal C because we're on deck 14, an even numbered deck. DSIL & DBIL are on 17, so they board at Terminal B. We'll probably text one another once we board to figure out a rendezvous location.

 

We have about a 45 minute drive from where we live to the port of Miami. If we're sailing out of Port Everglades, it's only a 10 minute cab ride. So, while 45 minutes seems short to most people, it's 450% longer than our usual cruise commute. (I'm sure that sounds whiny, because it is.)

 

Aside from our arrival at the port and boarding the Escape, our big concern is how are we going to keep track of the Nebraska vs. Wisconsin game tonight. (And by "our concern," I mean Huskerchick's. Her screen name comes from the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. To say she's a fan is putting it lightly. Nebraska's season did not start out well, and they have two tough games this week and next: Wisconsin and Ohio State. In case you were wondering, yes, she has a corn head. No, she's not taking it on the cruise - although it would make an excellent flotation device. I have no doubt that one of her roughly 280 Husker's shirts will make an appearance. Poohby Joe is wearing his already.)

 

 

 

Corn Head Hat:

 

[POA1]

Always fun to follow along with you POA1.

 

Bon Voyage!!! Have a GREAT cruise :D

 

Fortunately, I knew from experience to put my cup of coffee down when I started reading. Would have been a mess with me laughing so hard ;)

 

Thanks! It''s always a pleasure to welcome back one of the charter subscribers to our scientific journals.