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

[AlexandNessa]

Oh wow they raised the price. I have villa booked for December and paid $499

 

 

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Oddly, I believe the cruises before and after ours (which were not itinerary changes) were 499$, but the itinerary change cruises were 699$.

 

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[POA1]

Oddly, I believe the cruises before and after ours (which were not itinerary changes) were 499$, but the itinerary change cruises were 699$.

 

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Silly! That's because hurricane season is high season on Fake Belize. It was low season in Roatan and the off-season in real Belize.

[POA1]

As I was wading through my piles of paper, sadly realizing that I missed many chances to buy art, I came across the one-page mini-Freestyle for embarkation day.

 

Here it is:

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFiTtNUhoGBOhqviaHxVDPRK-ZbY6BMpa1I/

[POA1]

DW and I were very glad to have have the villa. (DBIL apparently would not have left the ship without it.) The villas are on a private section of beach and security chases people with villa wrist bands out of area.

 

There did appear to be plenty of chairs on the regular beach, although they are pretty close together. The sand is coarse and the water was murky. (This could have been due to some storms that passed through prior to our arrival.) You'll definitely want to take water shoes if you intend to use the beach. Your feet will need the protection.

 

The pool was rather crowded, although it would seem roomy in comparison with the ship's pool.

[POA1]

As you may be aware, neither food nor beverages are included on Harvest Caye (although we did get 6 bottles of water and a plate of fruit in the Deluxe Beach Villa.) Here's the menu from the restaurant that provided service to the villa area. I'm reasonably sure that the prices are the same across all the restaurants on the island.

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFjhp13CnSRB6ocJBZkAVokCswGhgXuEXz8/

[sjnyc323]

As you may be aware, neither food nor beverages are included on Harvest Caye (although we did get 6 bottles of water and a plate of fruit in the Deluxe Beach Villa.) Here's the menu from the restaurant that provided service to the villa area. I'm reasonably sure that the prices are the same across all the restaurants on the island.

 

 

 

http://www.evernote.com/l/AFjhp13CnSRB6ocJBZkAVokCswGhgXuEXz8/

 

 

 

Hey the bottles of wine much cheaper than on the ship for sure

 

 

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[POA1]

Hey the bottles of wine much cheaper than on the ship for sure

 

 

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We noticed that. The Champagne could even be called a "deal." My wife and my sister-in-law ordered a Bloody Mary to start the day. DW poured about 3/4 of hers away, saying that it wasn't very good. I forgot to ask AlexandNessa what she thought of hers. She left with it to visit the neighbors and I didn't check with her afterwards.

[POA1]

We returned to the ship a little earlier than most of the people in the group - because we are old and need our nap time.

 

Pre-dinner cocktails were at Mixx where DW had a "Mr. Worldwide" cocktail and I my usual. The Mr. Worldwide is made from Voli vodka, Pimms, Strawberry puree, Basil, Fresh lemon juice, and topped with sparkling wine. It needs a good stir, but it's a nice drink.

 

Dinner was in the Private Room at Taste. There were 43 of us total, including eight or nine kids and a handful of teens. The kids were well-behaved and we didn't even realize how many teens there were until they got up to leave. It wound up just being our party in the private room. I must say that service was very good considering the size of the party. Once I knew what my wife was ordering, I placed our wine orders - Standard operating procedure with a wine for the appetizers and a wine for the main course.

 

For starters, my wife had Escargot Cassoulet: Baked With Garlic. Wild Forest Mushrooms And Wine, Puff Pastry Crust, followed by a Classic Caesar Salad: Romame Lettuce. Garlic Croutons, Parmesan Cheese, Caesar Dressing. I started with Smoked Salmon Tartare: A Blend of Smoked ad Fresh Salmon. Capers, Sour Cream, Herbs, Avocado and then had the Potato Leek Soup: with Buttermilk, Chives.

 

For entrées, Huskerchick had the Roast Cornish Hen: Roasted Root Vegetables, Apple And Fig Dressing and I had the Grilled Grouper: Mashed Potatoes, Sautéed Spinach. Fennel, with a Dill Cream Sauce.

 

After the excellent escargot at Le Bistro, tonight's snails made her sad. When asked how the salad was, she said, "It's a salad." My salmon was fine and my soup was okay.

 

DW's Cornish Game hen was a coldish game hen. My fish was fine.

 

For dessert, DW had the NCL version of the melting chocolate cake. She did not finish it. I had the coconut soufflé. I don't have the full descriptions because there were no desserts in the menu packet I received. The soufflé came with a citrus sauce. It wasn't a creme anglaise, but it was along those lines.

 

Dinner finished in very good time given our party size, but they do a second turn in the private room, so they had to get us through.

[POA1]

Some photos: Our cocktails, some dismal photos of the room, and this unintentionally hilarious dessert presentation.

 

I call it "Soufflé with Giblet Gravy." ;)

 

 

 

 

 

[anonmom]

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.

Oh, the questions I have! And comments. I also have comments. Ok, I'm going to try to pare them down:

 

1. Are you implying that the animals on Roatan are not well cared for? I think that the sloth and monkey place, and LFK/BFK, etc. are probably taking advantage of formerly wild animals, right? I mean, I would love to see them up close like this, and I know some people swear up and down that these are legitimate sanctuaries, but...

 

2. What is up with the price of transportation on Roatan? It seems like the bus is very reasonably priced, and I know you can get a reasonably priced taxi from Coxen Hole to West Bay Beach, because I've done it. But why do people pay so much for "private tours" when they could pay a cab driver $30 to drop them off and pick them up a set amount of time later?

 

3. Why are both ports on the South side of the island, when both of the big touristy areas are on the North side of the island? I don't actually expect you to know a reason for this, but I'd like to bxtch about it while pretending to just be asking an innocent question.

 

4. You killed me with the comment about the Haven guest with the unsatisfactory embarkation experience. Killed. Me. (Seriously, I'm dead, I'm a ghost.)

 

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[anonmom]

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.

 

 

I honestly can't wait! How many of the 40 wines by the glass would you estimate were covered by the UBP?

 

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[anonmom]

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!

Oh! I so needed to hear this.

 

I tip $1/drink when I'm on a cruise. I'd love to hear if you had this result while tipping in the same range, or if you were tipping more generously.

 

TIA!

 

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[anonmom]

(We may have overdone the evening dress thing.)

 

Pics or it didn't happen.

 

 

 

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[anonmom]

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...

 

 

Fascinating. I was almost going to switch our Bayamo reservation to Le Bistro, partly to have Veuve Clicquot that was included in the UBP. Good thing I skipped it!

 

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[ncklhaus]

Fascinating. I was almost going to switch our Bayamo reservation to Le Bistro, partly to have Veuve Clicquot that was included in the UBP. Good thing I skipped it!

 

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Sometimes I just don't think the servers understand what is covered under the UBP. Every time we have gone to Le Bistro in the past few years, I ordered the Vueve champagne and it was covered on the plan. We also find the service in there can be hit or miss. We went twice on our last 13 night cruise and the first time was superb. The 2nd time was really slow. I mean glacial slow. After over 2 hours we still hadn't received our main courses and we had the earliest reservations the had! (530?) We almost walked out (we had the UDP) and our mains showed up after 7pm. Our daughter was not happy. She really wanted to be at Splash Academy for the special event and wound up missing it.

[POA1]

After dinner, AlexandNessa and I headed for the 8:30 edition of "Escape The Big Top," NCL's version of an escape room game. Our team of eight players was comprised of 10 people* most of whom were at dinner in the private room at Taste earlier. Dining in the private room is not a requirement for playing the game, but it is helpful since all the nicer circus folk eat there.

 

Each team is given a locked puzzle bag. You could reach into your bag and feel around to get a head start on solving the puzzles contained therein, but we found that we could lose just as effectively by waiting for the command to begin.

 

One of the most important things to remember is that even if the "ringmaster's" helpers tell you that you can order beverages once the game begins, you cannot. (This is one of the red herrings, designed to throw you off.) Plan for this contingency and make sure you have a full supply of puzzle juice and problem solving nectar when you enter the room. Also pack a small mirror and a black light flashlight. You want to be overly equipped.

 

When the game begins, dump out your puzzle bag. Drink. (Now that your puzzle bag is empty, your goal is to get half in the bag.)

 

Distribute your puzzles amongst your group of circus freaks. It is very important - and I cannot emphasize this enough - that someone takes one of the clues and wanders off. For as long as possible. If you can't do that, take one of the clue sheets and flip it over to use as a note pad.

 

If you are working on a particular puzzle and you get stuck, pass it off to a fresh set of eyes. As you solve puzzles, always... No wait... Never... No always, yes always double check your work.

 

You have 50 minutes to solve the series of puzzles. Once you think you have the numeric part of the game solved, appoint someone to go down front and attempt to open the combination lock. (Pick the most intimidating person. If they're wild-eyed, it really helps!)

 

You may notice people from other teams trying to listen in so as to steal your team's work or eavesdrop on your solutions. You are legally allowed to kill these people. Jam the black light flash light down their throat. Put the empty bag over their head. Use the drawstring to tighten the bag until all the air is gone. Display the "lifeless corpse" on your table. This should dissuade other people from attempting to cheat and steal your hard work.

 

Throughout the game, the ringmaster (or possibly the magician. I'm a little unclear) will give you extra clues. Listen carefully, but bear in mind that none of these clues will get you a drink.

 

After 50 minutes is up, staff members will be be around to mark a red L on your forehead. Then, the magician (or ringmaster) will reveal the solution and your team can begin the important work of placing blame.

 

*-Despite the fact that we were told that there was a strict limit of 8 players, they gave us two extras. Probably because we're the sort of people you'd hold out as roll models.

[POA1]

I honestly can't wait! How many of the 40 wines by the glass would you estimate were covered by the UBP?

 

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Everything but the Veuve Clicqout and the Dom Perignon. Waaay up in the review, I posted pictures of the each wine and I think you can make out the names and prices.

[POA1]

Sometimes I just don't think the servers understand what is covered under the UBP. Every time we have gone to Le Bistro in the past few years, I ordered the Vueve champagne and it was covered on the plan.

 

I had read several reviews prior to our cruise that the 3 oz tasting of Champagne was excluded, so I didn't have high hopes. DW and I could have easily sampled a bottle's worth of tastings had it been an option.

 

I'm glad you were able to get the bubbles. Not so for us. The food was fantastic and it's a beautiful room.

[POA1]

Oh, the questions I have! And comments. I also have comments. Ok, I'm going to try to pare them down:

 

1. Are you implying that the animals on Roatan are not well cared for? I think that the sloth and monkey place, and LFK/BFK, etc. are probably taking advantage of formerly wild animals, right? I mean, I would love to see them up close like this, and I know some people swear up and down that these are legitimate sanctuaries, but...

 

The staff at Daniel Johnson's definitely cares for and knows their animals. The "enclosure / cage" thing was played strictly for laughs. Most, if not all of the animals there are rescues or pets that people couldn't keep.

 

2. What is up with the price of transportation on Roatan? It seems like the bus is very reasonably priced, and I know you can get a reasonably priced taxi from Coxen Hole to West Bay Beach, because I've done it. But why do people pay so much for "private tours" when they could pay a cab driver $30 to drop them off and pick them up a set amount of time later?

 

The cost of our excursion was $30 pp. It was $10 for the Monkey and Sloth Hangout, $10 for round trip transportation, and $10 to add the island tour. Our guide would have included a beach stop or a restaurant stop at no additional cost. My father-in-law couldn't do the beach, so we opted for a return to the Escape.

 

On our own, or with a younger group, we always opt for the drop off & pick up if we are planning a beach day. We've done that in Cayman, Acapulco, Bonaire, Aruba, St. Barts, Curaçao... Pretty much anywhere we wanted a drop off & pick up.

 

3. Why are both ports on the South side of the island, when both of the big touristy areas are on the North side of the island? I don't actually expect you to know a reason for this, but I'd like to bxtch about it while pretending to just be asking an innocent question.

 

It's so you can marvel at roads with the potholes filled with dirt. You think to yourself, "Wow! These roads are amazing!" We had a house in Maine for years. With the freeze-thaw, we were treated to some wonderful road hazards.

 

Of course, little do you know that while Roatan fills their chuck holes with dirt, you'll soon be in Costa Maya, which takes road maintenance to a whole new level.

 

I'm not sure, but I'd bet that the owners of the brake shops and suspension repair places have the biggest houses on the islands.

 

4. You killed me with the comment about the Haven guest with the unsatisfactory embarkation experience. Killed. Me. (Seriously, I'm dead, I'm a ghost.)

 

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[POA1]

I tip $1/drink when I'm on a cruise. I'd love to hear if you had this result while tipping in the same range, or if you were tipping more generously.

 

TIA!

 

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I think you'll be fine. You'll need to make sure that you hand the tip discreetly to your server. Folded tight under your room card and passed by hand is probably the best way to go.

 

I was at the bar at O'Sheehans grabbing Bloody Marys for my wife and I when some... What's the word I'm looking for? Old biddies noticed that I tipped. They expressed their displeasure to one another, loud enough for my wife to overhear.

 

Made our morning. :D

 

Just an observation, and only based on this one cruise: Tipping does not seem to be as prevalent as I expected based on reading this board.

 

The Escape had some really great bartenders and beverage servers. I think they'll appreciate if you show some love.

[POA1]

*-Despite the fact that we were told that there was a strict limit of 8 players, they gave us two extras. Probably because we're the sort of people you'd hold out as roll models.

 

Dang it! ROLE models. That's my second homonym error in one day.

[POA1]

After our near total domination of Escape the Big Top, most of our team set out for Headliners and some quiet post game contemplation at Howl at the Moon. Huskerchick and her brother were already there. Within a few minutes, we were able to get enough seats all together. (This is important, because we worked very hard on our harmonies. If you have ever heard The Beach Boys on "Good Vibrations," The Mamas and the Papas singing, "California Dreamin'," or Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," you know exactly how we don't sound. If you ever accidentally stepped on a cat's tail, that would be more our sound. Volume and enthusiasm are our stock in trade)

 

The waitress was bringing two of every drink so as to keep up with demand. There was a lot of demand for vanilla vodka and Pepsi, which I'm told tastes like cream soda. There was also demand for Coors Light from DBIL and DW. In a shocking turn of events, I had bourbon on the rocks.

 

The waitresses got out ahead barrage of orders and we were now sitting on top of enough drinks to fill a small child's wading pool. (I'm fibbing. Definitely a decent sized aquarium though.)

 

About this point, our adopted Luxury Beach Villa mate from earlier in the day decided that shots of Fireball whiskey might improve our overall experience.

[MrsK]

After dinner, AlexandNessa and I headed for the 8:30 edition of "Escape The Big Top," NCL's version of an escape room game. Our team of eight players was comprised of 10 people* most of whom were at dinner in the private room at Taste earlier. Dining in the private room is not a requirement for playing the game, but it is helpful since all the nicer circus folk eat there.

 

Each team is given a locked puzzle bag. You could reach into your bag and feel around to get a head start on solving the puzzles contained therein, but we found that we could lose just as effectively by waiting for the command to begin.

 

One of the most important things to remember is that even if the "ringmaster's" helpers tell you that you can order beverages once the game begins, you cannot. (This is one of the red herrings, designed to throw you off.) Plan for this contingency and make sure you have a full supply of puzzle juice and problem solving nectar when you enter the room. Also pack a small mirror and a black light flashlight. You want to be overly equipped.

 

When the game begins, dump out your puzzle bag. Drink. (Now that your puzzle bag is empty, your goal is to get half in the bag.)

 

Distribute your puzzles amongst your group of circus freaks. It is very important - and I cannot emphasize this enough - that someone takes one of the clues and wanders off. For as long as possible. If you can't do that, take one of the clue sheets and flip it over to use as a note pad.

 

If you are working on a particular puzzle and you get stuck, pass it off to a fresh set of eyes. As you solve puzzles, always... No wait... Never... No always, yes always double check your work.

 

You have 50 minutes to solve the series of puzzles. Once you think you have the numeric part of the game solved, appoint someone to go down front and attempt to open the combination lock. (Pick the most intimidating person. If they're wild-eyed, it really helps!)

 

You may notice people from other teams trying to listen in so as to steal your team's work or eavesdrop on your solutions. You are legally allowed to kill these people. Jam the black light flash light down their throat. Put the empty bag over their head. Use the drawstring to tighten the bag until all the air is gone. Display the "lifeless corpse" on your table. This should dissuade other people from attempting to cheat and steal your hard work.

 

Throughout the game, the ringmaster (or possibly the magician. I'm a little unclear) will give you extra clues. Listen carefully, but bear in mind that none of these clues will get you a drink.

 

After 50 minutes is up, staff members will be be around to mark a red L on your forehead. Then, the magician (or ringmaster) will reveal the solution and your team can begin the important work of placing blame.

 

*-Despite the fact that we were told that there was a strict limit of 8 players, they gave us two extras. Probably because we're the sort of people you'd hold out as roll models.

 

Thanks for the tips.

 

I'm still giggling over them :')

[POA1]

The singing continued at a pace that seems like it was inspired by the Miss Gulch/Wicked Witch of the West theme from the Wizard of Oz.

 

r4kiXh8YOzk

 

Several more rounds of Fireball were ordered. I did my level best to intercept the ones bound for my wife, although one or two did get through. (I was running under the assumption that Fireball cinnamon whisky at 66 proof was actually a lighter, more breath-freshening version of 90 proof Bulleit. bourbon. That's kind of true.)

 

 

I thought I might be able to slow the shot-ordering down by taking my shot and swishing it around in my mouth for a while. This usually induces a gag reflex in the people ordering the shots and dampens their enthusiasm. Not so with this crowd.

 

 

After a rousing rendition of the Barenaked Ladies, "If I Had A Million Dollars," sung in the rousing style of the Beastie Boys, "Fight For Your Right To Party" - complete with the raised fists in the air - DW and I decided to call it a night and head to O'Sheehans for some food to absorb the excess fun. Naturally, the only part of O'Sheehans that was open was the bar... and that wasn't going to solve our problem.

 

 

So back to the room we went.

 

 

Much of the rest of our group stayed at Howl at the Moon. I'm not sure how long they stayed, but based on appearances the next morning, it was probably a little late.

[AlexandNessa]

For the record, you can have 12 people on your team for Escape the Big Top.

 

Concierge told me 8, so a few of us were really upset when the host told us two strangers would be joining us.

 

We had a large group, and could easily have filled out our team of 12 ourselves. We practically had an arm wrestling competition to see who wouldn't make the cut.

 

This was really disappointing, and the host said he would have a word with concierge.

 

I am not exactly hopeful that happened.

 

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