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

[POA1]

It Does sound cool. And you're an early riser so you get the sunrises too.

PS Yankees just won game 5 ALCS.

Our balcony faces due south. We see the sunset, but not the sunrise directly.

[ncklhaus]

Hey JoAnn how are you doing??

 

 

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I'm great Suzanne. Breakaway December 15th. Come join us!!

[dogboy]

Our balcony faces due south. We see the sunset, but not the sunrise directly.

Even better. Good for you. Glad you had a good time. Thanks for The review.

I love the Escape but listening to your DSIL saying she prefers Jewel class, thinking I might like to try smaller ship.

[POA1]

Even better. Good for you. Glad you had a good time. Thanks for The review.

I love the Escape but listening to your DSIL saying she prefers Jewel class, thinking I might like to try smaller ship.

She and DBIL seem to prefer the more midsized ships.

 

Other than the elevators, which were noticeably busy, the Escape wasn't that cramped. Our room steward was great. Other than once when we went to breakfast, he had our room made up every time we left. He was the pinnacle of efficiency.

 

Other than the fact that I kept getting the decks wrong when we set out, the ship is relatively easy to navigate.

[sjnyc323]

I'm great Suzanne. Breakaway December 15th. Come join us!!

 

 

 

My brother and his wife sailing with you. I’m sailing on the Pearl 12/5/17 through 12/14/17

 

 

 

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[POA1]

West End/West Bay Roatan

 

[cruisingcasinos]

P.S. If you order this while there is a line up at the bar, you're pretty much a jerk. :)

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Agree- The pictures of the process are amazing- was this covered by the UBP?

[POA1]

Agree- The pictures of the process are amazing- was this covered by the UBP?

I'm pretty sure that it is unless you wanted an upcharge bourbon. Even then, it's well worth it for both the show and the taste. DBIL has a video (or possibly DSIL) of the process. Very impressive. (The process, not the fact that there is a video.)

[POA1]

OK... Where was I?

 

We did about 75% of our island tour before we headed to the Monkey and Sloth Hangout. You'll have to excuse me if I repeat some things. I've had a bad cold and fever for the last few days and I'm a little off my game.

 

(Like you ever have game. - Ed)

 

We checked in at Daniel Johnson's and waited for a guide to become available. They only allow a certain number of people to go through at a time so that the birds and animals do not get overwhelmed. We had about a 15 minute wait for our guide.

 

This wait bothers some people, and we recognized some from the Escape. If you were to go out on a limb and guess that it's a CC poster who had a suboptimal Haven embarkation experience, there a pretty good chance you'd be correct. ;)

 

There were just three of us in our immediate group: Huskerchick, her dad, and me. The men, being chivalrous, ceded their time so that my wife could have TRIPLE SLOTH ACTION FUN TIME!!!

 

The sloth was super cute and now has a place of honor on her TweetySpaceBook page.

[POA1]

The sloth's only form of self defense is its natural camouflage.

 

[POA1]

My wife does not provide any camouflage, owing to the fact that she does not have any gray hair. I have been reminded, on occasion, that the sloths would blend in well with my hair. (Although it's been said that the sloth's fur is very, very soft. Similar praise has not been heaped on my hair.)

 

[POA1]

The capuchin monkeys were not enamored with Huskerchick. They seemed to flock to another woman who was in the "wildlife enclosure" at the same time.

 

 

 

 

I'm not saying that this woman had bugs in her hair. I'm just saying that the monkeys seemed to think so. She was a great sport. I don't think I'd do well with the capuchin pat down.

 

 

 

[POA1]

We did not make it into the parrot cages (oops. "wildlife habitats.") The people in front of us managed to stir the parrots in a frenzy. If you have ever been to the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disney, imagine the part where the gods are angry and the birds go into a frenzy. Only it's not audio animatronic. There's no happy singing finale. Oh, and the birdies have developed a taste for human flesh.

 

It was a crazed whirlwind of canary yellow, toucan green, and shrieking. In short, it was great.

[ashpam]

We did not make it into the parrot cages (oops. "wildlife habitats.") The people in front of us managed to stir the parrots in a frenzy. If you have ever been to the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disney, imagine the part where the gods are angry and the birds go into a frenzy. Only it's not audio animatronic. There's no happy singing finale. Oh, and the birdies have developed a taste for human flesh.

 

It was a crazed whirlwind of canary yellow, toucan green, and shrieking. In short, it was great.

 

 

 

I wish cruise critic had likes and upvotes just for these kind of posts!!

 

Thanks for the laugh.

 

 

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[POA1]

We ended our Roatan island tour on the trip back to the ship. We learned that the mayor of Roatan lives in a fairly palatial estate. Four years ago, before he was mayor, he had more modest accommodations. We also learned that they fill potholes - I sh1t you not - with dirt, hand packed by government employees wielding shovels.

 

We also saw rag tag bands of citizens doing their own road maintenance. Also with dirt. Not government dirt, mind you, but the people's clay.

[POA1]

I wish cruise critic had likes and upvotes just for these kind of posts!!

 

Thanks for the laugh.

 

 

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You're welcome! I'm always happy to provide a chuckle.

[POA1]

There's a mayoral election coming up in November and our tour guide was absolutely willing to backtrack, make a second pass, or do whatever it takes to let us get photos of the mayor's estate. There was an "egging" a few weeks before we were there and I'm told that the mayor's house still gets ripe on a hot day.

 

This is some P. J. O'Rourke level stuff. I don't want to go back to Roatan, but on a scale of 1-10, it's a solid twelve.

[POA1]

We passed the entrance to Mahogany Bay on our way back to Coxen Hole. Mahogany Bay is CCL's Roatan port stop. If you are on Princess, Carnival, Holland America, or Costa, etc., this will be your stop. Our tour guide said that it's a nicer spot. Near as I could gather, it's probably like Grand Turk.

 

He said that they fill the potholes with black top in Mahogany Bay. (We've come to a long way from streets "paved with gold" to "potholes not filled with dirt.")

 

All in all, we're very happy with our island tour. The people were lovely; our guide was great.

 

[POA1]

If you are choosing a port stop based on name alone, you'd be hard-pressed to top Coxen Hole. (Coxen where?)

 

If you are considering relocating to Roatan, try to gain a foothold in the automotive suspension business. The mayor's house could probably fit in the "shocks & struts" people's garage.

[POA1]

After our return to the Escape, we showered and hit the Cellars Wine Bar by Robert Mondavi. This was a venue that should be mobbed, but for some reason was mostly empty during our trip. (Scroll way up for photos of the wines by the glass.) The Cellars would be a great wine bar no matter where you were. I want to say that you have 40 choices by the glass... which is outstanding for a cruise ship.

 

(Is there something better than "outstanding"? - Me)

 

(What about "Far Outstanding," or "Outstandingingerer?" - Ed)

[POA1]

Both the servers and the venue manager are very knowledgeable about their list. I didn't do them justice. I have to learn to shut up.

 

If you are on the Escape, please visit this bar. It would be a shame to lose it.

 

 

[brookie848]

We loved the wine bar when we were on the Escape. We were there every day and sat at the same table the farthest away from the bar so we could people-watch and chandelier-watch.

 

Although this was back in 2016, I agree that the staff was excellent. They got to know us, saved corks for us (our friend collects them) and would pour us wines that weren't actually available by the glass. It just goes to show that tips, being friendly and getting to know the people serving you can really be a benefit.

 

I can't wait to visit the wine bar next month on the Dawn to try it out and when we are on the Escape again in February.

 

I'm really enjoying your review!

[POA1]

After leaving the wine bar, we headed back to the room to change for dinner. (We may have overdone the evening dress thing.)

 

Dinner was in Le Bistro, the French restaurant on the ship.

[POA1]

There's a Jeroboam of Veuve Clicqout on display outside the restaurant. There's also a Jeroboam of the widow's wine in the wine bar.

 

A 3 oz tasting of this Champagne is on the dinner menu at Le Bistro. It's $13 on the dinner menu.

 

See attached:

 

https://www.evernote.com/shard/s88/sh/c9e5e278-65cd-4b7f-8883-f64a7c719e93/c28110f57be26e518a38388d421b0315

 

Obviously, $13 exceeds the $15 per drink limit, so it's not available. (The video of our servers explaining how $13 is greater than $15, is priceless.)

 

We found the food at Le Bistro to be excellent. We rank it in the top two restaurants, food wise, on the ship.

 

More on the food to follow...

 

 

[cxc362]

When you are studiously poring over the alcohol menu, you'll notice that some of the spirits do not carry a price. They simply say "Ask your server."

 

So I did.

 

The vast majority of the liquors labeled "Ask" carry a $3 - $5 supplement, putting them in the $17.95 to $19.95 range. You'll have to account for the additional 18% service charge on top of the supplement. The two notable exceptions are Johnnie Walker Blue and Don Julio 1942. Those two carry a $17 supplement, before service charge. Apparently, when the UBP first came out, anything not covered by the package carried a $3 up charge. According to my senior research associate, it wasn't unusual for people to reserve a bottle of Johnnie Blue at the bar and come back to visit their bottle throughout the voyage. These particular guests were said to be "very generous" to the staff.

 

...

 

There are quite a few liquors that do not show up on any of the printed lists. They are however, stocked. If you see something on the bar back and want a splurge, you can safely figure on $3-$5 in add on cost, plus 18%.

 

Thank you very much for this information! It will help me out greatly on the Gem in January.