NCL Escape NOV 4-11/2017: UltraViolet & The Captain

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Nov. 7th, 2017

Georgetown, Grand Cayman

 

After another sound night of sleep, we awakened just outside of Georgetown, Grand Cayman. The banking capital of the Caribbean! Another delish breakfast in the Garden Café, and we met the other Haven passengers in the Escape Theater for priority tendering. It should suffice to say, we had (say it with me) Eggs Benedict and a Bananas Foster waffle. I mean, if you’re going to eat to a detriment, be consistent.

The view from our bedroom porthole...

The tendering was very smooth and easy, and I found it interesting to go ashore with the ship’s Landing Party. A short ride later, and we were on solid ground. We took a few shots (pictures) with a scurvy pirate who was very good at Pirating. We walked around, “pre-shopping” places we’d go this afternoon after the beach, and generally getting a lay of the land... The immediate downtown area near the pier is pretty upscale for the islands, and there are a lot of nice shops to be seen. It was shaping up to be a beautiful, sunny, high-80s day.

Toot toot! First ones off of the ship!

MSC Divina....Just park 'er there! Or, Shape of Things To Come?

After maybe 2 hours of exploring, we went back to the pier and got in line for a taxi to Seven Mile Beach. Fun Fact: It’s 6.3 miles. No matter, it’s beautiful, and when 5 ships are in port, very crowded. The taxi, which is really a very crowded, air-conditioned van, was $4.00pp. A fair deal. We were dropped off at Calico Jack’s Bar & Grill, which had a nice stretch of beach, long with food and drinks. For $20, we rented 2 loungers and an umbrella. The sun was shifting in the skies, and I tried to move the umbrella to compensate, when, out of nowhere, the lady who is apparently the Beach Police appeared. She was fairly upset that I dared this offense against humanity, and told me they “had everything the way it was supposed to be!” Which, upon reflection, is jammed up against everybody else, to maximize space and more importantly, revenue. I get it. But, I also paid for some shade. So, after leaving the umbrella in it’s permanent, non-functional position, and creatively rearranging the loungers within the allotted 10cm, and propping myself up on my side like Burt Reynolds’ 1976 Playgirl layout, I was half-covered in shade. This is a lot like work!

The Beach Police lady is also who you go to for the WiFi password. She needed proof that I was a paying customer, 5 minutes after the umbrella incident (Remember me??) Oh, ok. Here’s the password. Ultraviolet enjoyed the WiFi for our 3-hour duration, but I never could get it to work. I believe there were just so many people there, that the bandwidth was toast. Also, the Universe favors UV in many ways that I simply don’t rate.Which is fine. Anyways, it was a lovely beach afternoon, and the swimming was great. We didn’t avail ourselves of Calico Jack’s, as it was just to far to walk back to for a drink and some food.

That parking lot in the background though..

This guy....was fun to watch!

What it all boils down to...A $5 Coconut Water on a tropical beach (It was a little gamey).

 

We piled into another sardine van, and for $4.00pp were back in the thick of things. We went into the little Tortuga Rumcake building for some “free samples”. This was a large Tupperware lid full of crumbs, that every unwashed hand from 5 Cruise Ships had been in. Ummm….no. PRO-TIP: You can buy the EXACT same Rumcakes at Miami International Airport. They’re the nicest rum-free poundcakes you’ll ever taste. Really. Also, the place was shoulder to shoulder packed. Ugh.

So, we did some more walking around sight-seeing, got a few shirts at the Harley-Davidson apparel store, and had a delish lunch at the Hard Rock Café. The HD Apparel store was one of the biggest, nicest ones we’ve been to. Large selection, frigid A/C, and nice staff. Fair prices, too, which I cannot say about our next port. So, yeah, we had lunch at the Hard Rock. We got there at just the right time, as we walked in and were seated right away during a busy lunch rush. When we left, the line of people waiting for tables was down the stairs and nearly out the door (The restaurant is upstairs). I had a Jerk Chicken sandwich and UltraViolet had a Mahi-Mahi sandwhich. We both agreed that it was a really, really good lunch. Yes, we were hungry, so maybe that factored into it. However, we’ve visited Hard Rock Cafes around the world, and this was the best, least-greasy meal we’ve ever had. I think it was a combination of hunger, air-conditioning, and good food, but yeah, 2 thumbs up!

Back to Escape, and a quick respite. Dinner this night was in the Haven, and I had the Colossal Shrimp Cocktail & Surf N’ Turf (Very Good) and UV had the Roasted Beets and Arugula Salad and Grilled Sea Bass. Service, as always, was impeccable. After dinner, we made our rounds of Tobbaco Road, the Atrium Bar, and the Prime Meridian Bar. As we do, a few glass of wine headed back to the balcony with us, and we called it a night. Another fantastic day aboard NCL Escape..!

Edited November 28, 2017 by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Stock Photo....but we enjoyed lunch here!

 

Just loafing on a bench in the morning...

 

What do you MEAN my Swiss accounts won't transfer here???

 

At the Guy Harvey museum (The Guy whose artwork is on NCLs' bows). Pretty sure he lives here, too.

 

A wild Cock appears!!

 

Farewell, Georgetown....on the tender back to Escape.

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Nov. 8th, 2017

Cozumel, Mexico

 

Good morning, Cozumel! The sun was rising to be a perfect day… We had planned this day months in advance. When we were on Adventure of the Seas a year and a half ago, we rented motorcycle trikes from Trikes Aruba. They’ve since expanded to St. Maartin, and Cozumel. We booked as soon as we could. Apparently, another couple booked, but no-showed. We had the excursion to ourselves. More on that later. We were up by 0530, and watched the majestic sunrise by balcony fruit and coffee. We had plenty of time to have a leisurely second breakfast, shower, and wander around in the port area. We didn’t actually dock till 11:00 and our excursion was meeting us outside the gate at 1300.

 

After a lazy morning, we wandered up to the Garden Café. The usual, please! Except, UltraViolet had an egg white and spinach omelet. Before her normal waffle du jour! Super healthy, babe! I love you…. Eventually, we cleared Customs and could go ashore. Some nice shipmates offered to take our photos, which we obliged.

We spent maybe 2 hours wandering around the circuitous port area of Cozumel, looking at the same plastic crap from stall to stall. We found, later, on our motorcycle tour that this garbage pervades all of Cozumel. We haggled with a leather maker over a handbag that might have been a git, and he was reasonable, but it wasn't her style. We walked. We had enough of this, and ventured outside the port. The area immediately surrounding the pier is typical for a cruise port, and we hit up some shops, as we had 2 hours to meet the Trikes guys. The Harley-Davidson shop is small, the ladies are rude, and the prices are exorbitant. Like, 3x retail. No, thank you. We're out. We walked around a little bit, saw some Dia de los Muertos displays, and basically killed time till 1300 hours.

 

To their credit the Trikes Cozumel guys showed up a little early, we boarded, and were driven back to their shop. Payment was completed ($190.00) and we were given a quick skills assessment by each of us driving down a 2 lane road and back by the shop. Discarded mattresses, toilets, and whatever you can imagine littered the sides of the street. Once we were “checked out”, we were instructed to follow the VW Bug..

Here’s the thing…Trikes Aruba started this company, and was amazing. Then, they expanded to St. Maartin (hurricane) and Cozumel. I get the socioeconomics of each place…I really do. But, I felt like Trikes Cozumel was doing their level best to exploit the American dollar. I didn’t rent a motorcycle to learn about Mayan Culture (more, soon), I didn’t rent a motorcycle to stop at 2 or 3 roadside souvenir joints to look at the same plastic crap in the port. I didn’t want to have a beer at some sh!ttyty roadside Tiki hut (I did).

Our “Tour Guide” was very nice. His name was “Milton”. He followed his boss’s orders (Ernesto) and we followed him along a very specific, timed path. Not cool. I paid to ride a motorcycle, and Ernesto had him take us around to stops we weren’t interested in. Most of all, a side trip to a private, gated village to learn about “Mayan Culture”, which resulted in an awkward encounter with a guy they’d contracted with literally one week before. I have several problems with Trikes Cozumel, and the easiest way for me to lay them out is this:

 

1. While I understand there is a specific route around the peninsula, it does not have to include all of the roadside, same-as in-port souvenir crap.

2. The detour to the private village of El Cidral. There’s literally a cold-war checkpoint, and suspicious, shady locals manning it. Milton talked us through only to provide us with a staged, phony, Dia de los Muertos presentation by “Ricardo”, the guy who apparently owns the property. After respectfully and reverently listening to his presentation, we were finished off with his wife (?) making us some “traditional food” (who knows) and then pointing to the Tip Jar where a crisp, US $5 bill was. Here’s the thing…I paid to ride a f***ing motorcycle…Your culture is interesting, but not that much. I NEVER asked to stop here…and I don’t carry cash. Especially here. Peace Out

3. Must've half of that. Did I mention that these newer Trikes had turbocharged Nissan engines as opposed to the old VW motors on Aruba? No? Well, they did. We just weren’t allowed to use them. There were at least a million times UV and I decided to pass Milton and get him to follow us, but we’re not sure how Mexican law works. (PRO -TIP: Mexican Law doesn’t work.

4. The last stop was supposed to be some sh!tty Tequila distillery, where the staff was standing outside, practically drooling at our prospects. We decided this was cutting into our dinner reservations plus it was a roadside dump, so we bailed and made them take us back to the pier.

 

I would avoid Trikes Cozumel like the Plague:

 

Trikes Cozumel

 

7. I would NEVER, EVER, again book Trikes Cozumel. 25 mph is a f***ing joke.

There’s a ton of stray dogs in Cozumel, and I wanted to adopt and take home every one of them. Apparently, Mexican culture does not value dog’s lives the way that American culture does. I’m not preaching, so some of you can save your sh!tty, cultural comments. I’m just saying, I wish I could have brought home the 20 or so dogs I saw in one day.

 

Anyways, as is usual, I drive the first half, and UltraViolet drives the second half…meaning I ride bitch. I’m OK with that, because we know who we are and she’s a good motorcyclist. As she finished off the second half of our slow-speed tour, we saw some interesting cliffs.

As we came back into the port area, and I saw some ships from the back seat, I thought it was Escape. It was not, it was, once again, Divina.

 

As Ultraviolet brought us closer to the downtown areas, and as the sun set, we saw that there were 2 docs, and that Escape was at the farthest most.

 

After we finally relinquished the Trikes back to the proper authorities, we headed back aboard. Dinner tonight was in Le Bistro, our first Specialty meal.

 

UltraViolet enjoyed then FEUILLETÉ D’ASPERGES VERTES AUX FRUITS DE MER, and I, personally, enjoyed the FILET DE BŒUF AUX CINQ POIVRES.

 

Word 2016 is preventing me from formatting things the way I’d like, so here it Is now. The food at Le Bistro was just OK. Not terrible, not fantastic, I’m glad we didn’t pay extra for it. It was very average.

 

After dinner, we had drinks and went off to bed! No shows for us, no Comedy Jugglers….we know what we like.

Edited November 29, 2017 by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

"Ricardo's House" where we learned about .Día de los Muertos

 

On our way out of the compound....

More Magic....

Big-Ass Shark

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Out of order, but yummy breakfast!

Egg White & Spinach Omelet

BAM!!

Haven Lounge prior to disembarkation..

"You can have anything you want, as long as you don't take it for free.....:

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

This thing.....

Riding Bitch ain't so bad....

This poor dog...dragging his ass in the street.

Downtown Cozumel

Downtown Cozumel....

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

More of Downtown...

As we came back to the port we thought we saw our ship! NO! MSC Divina, son of a bitch!

We drove further...until we were back at Escape.

 

Just enough time to get aboard, and clean up for Le Bistro.

I found the greens more than bitter, but UltraViolet liked it very much...

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

The petite Filet and potato were just passable. Not terrible, but certainly not exceptionable.

Seafood Medley for UV was very good. Again, not fantastic....

Shrimps in a heavy cream sauce...UltraViolet found the sauce to be too heavy, overwhelming the shrimps.

Despite the underwhelming dinner that Le Bistro provided, the end game was a lovely touch. They brought us a very special Anniversary cake (Rasberrry and Coconut) along with 2 servers singing "Let Me Call You Sweetheart:"

 

A lovely end to a wonderful day......

[CostaFortune]

So Cozumel not so good to choose as a stop. I agree with Le Bistro’s meals. I just looked at the menu - same old, same old. I hope you scrubbed up well as advised to wear dinner jackets etc. We did, others didn’t, a few Polo shirts and jeans spotted 🧐.

Loving your review, SOH and pics. Keep ‘em coming! [emoji6]

 

 

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[LuCruise]

Subscribing. Great review.

 

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[Plum Crazy 99]

Awesome review. They keep getting better.

Great writing style.

I feel like I know you and Ultra Violet.

Can’t wait for the next review.

I wonder where you to will end up next?

[Beagleluv6107]

Great Review! Great Pics. Thanks for taking the time!!!

 

 

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[#55worktoplay]

This is a great review.

 

Sounds like you had a great time, I only dream of Haven cruising because I’m cheap but if I ever go on NCL will certainly price it out.

 

I am proud to say that I have one of Cozumel’s dogs. I love her to bits but she is very timid and afraid of lots, so I hate to think of how she was treated in the first few months of her life. She hates wind and rain, hides in the basement, We wonder if she was in a storm down there as a baby. She was born in Oct and came to Canada in January. Her name is Lexi from Mexi (goes by Lexi). So sad there are so many, poor things. I too would want to bring them all home.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[polyhex]

Fantastic review! Thank you so much for posting it.

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Nov. 9th

At Sea

Zulu Station

 

After all the 40km/hr fun and sun of Cozumel, we awoke to another relaxing day at sea. Of course, we had a “continental” fruit and coffee breakfast on the balcony. We were very fortunate on this cruise to have excellent weather every day, and to day was no exception. We slept in a little later than usual, so we missed the sunrise.

 

 

After the fruit platter, we decided to have Second Breakfast in the Haven restaurant. Nowhere to be today, so we enjoyed the relaxed pace of service. The best part was the 2 girls who went to every table, singing….

 

 

“Good Mooooorning, special chocolate brownie today!

Special today, different tomorroooooooow!

Would you liiiiiike one?

(If you say no) Maybe tomorrooooow!”

 

 

 

We did not say “No”. The Special Chocolate Brownie was seriously delish. The girls were totes adorbs, and literally did their thing at every single table. Very entertaining and cool. And, that was just the start. Yes, desert before the meal, it’s a vacation!!

 

 

I ordered the steak and eggs, and UltraViolet ordered the Tahitian Vanilla Challa French Toast. My breakfast was one of the best meals I had aboard Escape, right behind Food Republic. The filet I had was very definitely the best steak I had aboard all week. Better than Le Bistro, better than Cagney’s by 1000x. It was cooked to perfection, and melted in my mouth. UV’s French Toast looked like two slices of cake, it was so thick. It was reported to me that it was amazing. What a way to start the day!

 

 

 

 

In addition to the sit-down service, there was an extensive pastry/meats/cheese buffet thing along the far wall of the restaurant. It was very, very impressive.

 

 

 

Louie (best server ever) brought us French Press coffee, in the form of the actual French Press. It was very, very good coffee. His service was impeccable, and added to the entire dining experience. This was only breakfast!! Can it get any better? Unfortunately, no. No, it cannot.

 

 

 

After wandering around the ship for a few hours, we found ourselves on the Haven’s private sundeck. Hardly anyone was there, and we snagged a covered daybed. The weather at sea this day was a tad spotty, with sporadic weather systems being sailed through. Sunny and hot, then clouds and spitting rain showers. It was funny to watch the Haven staff run out to secure the umbrellas, close the Haven Pool roof, only to have to them come out 10 minutes later and reset everything. Wow. I just re-read that. I didn’t mean to sound like an a$$hole, it’s not funny. That crew worked SO HARD to make sure everything was right for the guests. I think, maybe, I’m trying to call attention to the fact that the Haven staff is all over everything, attention to detail, etc., and they pulled it off. After maybe 45 minutes, the weather systems were behind us, and it was all sunshine and Unicorns from then on. We had the waitstaff bring us a few drinks, and another plate of fruit. It was a good as would be expected, which means excellent.

 

 

 

Anyways, after a few hours on the sundeck, we decided it was time for lunch. I’d been really wanting to try O’Sheahans, based on what I’d read. UV is not a fan of Irish Pubs, but she went along. I ordered a half-dozen Medium wings and a half-dozen Jerk wings. She ordered the Chicken Quesadilla. It was pretty terrible. What I liked about the wings, was, they were very meaty. But the sauces were bland and unexciting. The Jerk chicken tasted nothing like Jerk chicken. UltraViolet’s Quesadilla were dry, overcooked, and barely edible. We left hungry. I’ll also mention that the service here was uninterested and distracted. We felt like we were an afterthought. Cannot recommend.

 

 

We had a few drinks, then headed back to the stateroom for a nap. After waking up, we got dressed for dinner, and headed to Cruise Critic’s favorite NCL restaurant for dinner, Cagney’s. We had high expectations. Wanna know a secret? People that love Cagney’s have never had a good steak. We had reservations, and were seated immediately. The ambience was fantastic, the service incredible. The food, not so much. Ultraviolet ordered the Grilled Jumbo Shrimp Skewer, and I ordered the Surf & Turf (Basically a filet with the shrimp skewer). My filet, which I ordered Medium, was at least well-done. Both of us felt like the butter for the shrimp tasted like preconceived, movie theater popcorn butter which is highly unexpected in an “upscale” steakhouse. After a few bites of the filet, and 2 or 3 shrimpseses, I’d had enough.

 

 

 

The waiter came by, and asked how was everything? I told him. Within minutes, the Head Chef and Restaurant Manager were at our table side, asking the same thing. I told him the same thing. The Manager kind of turned up his nose at me, like I ate the whole filet and was trying to beat him up for another cut, but that wasn’t the case. The food sucked, and I just wanted to leave (UV was onboard with this). The Head Chef seemed to take it seriously, but the Manager really seemed like I was just being difficult. I was made to feel that I was out of line for complaining, because, “How dare I question the Chefs of Cagney’s?” This made me feel very poorly, and I was sorry we ever booked a meal at this place. For him to feel above reproach, when his kitchen staff can’t even cook a simple filet, was, to me, reprehensible.

 

 

 

We stood up, and walked out. If I ever sail aboard NCL again, I will NEVER set foot inside a Cagney’s. Look…. I can go to Costco or Sam’s Club, pick up some nicely marbled cuts of meat, and cook them just fine on my $80.00 Weber grill. If I can do it, then so can the so-called “Chef’s” of Norwegian Cruise Line. There was no excuse for this poor food, or the way we were treated. Yes, they offered to “make it right”, but the Restaurant Manager’s eye-rolling was to much for me to handle. Do you know what that tells me? It tells me that he sees this all the time, and that Escape’s Cagney’s has serious issues he’s not willing to address.

 

 

After dinner, we went to see Some Snacks in the Tobacco Road bar, had a few drinks, and went back to the stateroom. Lots of good stuff awaited us, courtesy of our Butler Jefferson, and we enjoyed what he’d brought us. Which was OK, since we were still hungry. A couple glasses of wine on the balcony as the seas parted, and it was off to Dreamland….

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Best. Breakfast. Ever.

 

Haven Restaurant Pastry/Meats/Cheese buffet in addition to sit-down service:

 

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Terrible, dried out Quesadillas from O' Shehan's.

 

 

 

Meaty, tasteless wings from O' Shehan's.

 

 

Gagney's Menu:

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Gagney's Shrimp Skewer with Cinemark Butter:

 

 

The Official Worst Cut Of Meat I've Ever Bitten Into:

 

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Thank You, Jefferson, wherever you are.....

 

 

The Butler will not let you starve..I felt like BatMan!!!

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

This is a great review.

 

Sounds like you had a great time, I only dream of Haven cruising because I’m cheap but if I ever go on NCL will certainly price it out.

 

I am proud to say that I have one of Cozumel’s dogs. I love her to bits but she is very timid and afraid of lots, so I hate to think of how she was treated in the first few months of her life. She hates wind and rain, hides in the basement, We wonder if she was in a storm down there as a baby. She was born in Oct and came to Canada in January. Her name is Lexi from Mexi (goes by Lexi). So sad there are so many, poor things. I too would want to bring them all home.

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

I'm so happy you adopted one of Cozumel's dogs....I'd like to bring them all home. I can't even imagine the Customs **** you went through. Good on you...You did a Grand thing for that dog!!!!

[#55worktoplay]

I'm so happy you adopted one of Cozumel's dogs....I'd like to bring them all home. I can't even imagine the Customs **** you went through. Good on you...You did a Grand thing for that dog!!!!

 

I actually got her through a rescue club in Ontario, but I do know that WestJet flies them here.

 

We love her like our own baby (she is). Sadly we are nursing her right now as she was near death a couple of weeks ago and after a MRI and spinal tap we found out she got bacterial meningitis so after allot of $$$$ and heavy duty meds she is slowly recovering but shows signs of setbacks but hopefully she is on the mend.

 

Our friends joke that she left the streets of Mexico to a palace on her throne😀. She is so worth it.

[MacCruising2018]

Loving your review and pics....the haven looks and sounds amazing!! I'm such a detail person and would love that. Alas we will not be in the haven for our cruise in January...we will be just a commoner in our balcony room.

 

I also have a friend that has adopted 2 pot cake dogs from Cozumel here in Ontario. So cute!

 

 

 

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[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Nov. 10th

Great Stirrup Cay

 

So...where was I? (2 1/2 months ago?)

 

The last day of our magnificent cruise was spent at NCL's "private" island, Great Stirrup Cay. A day fraught with excitement and expectations, a day in the sun, and, sadly, a day before returning to the cold reality of the Northeast.

We arose early again, and took in the sunset. Our sleep in the comfortable King bed was without dreams or restlessness, and we were refreshed and ready to take on the world. As usual, we took first breakfast on the balcony, and then retreated to the Garden Cafe. This was our last day aboard Escape, and we wanted to enjoy our favorite breakfast one last time. It did not disappoint.

 

After all of the morning rituals, we headed, one last time, to the Escape's theater for Priority tender boarding. Of all the Haven privileges, this has to be at the top of the list. I can't even tell you.... about 20 of us were led down the back passageways by our Concierge, and we boarded the Tender. After shoving off, approaching GSC is a bit of a conundrum....cement seawalls, a mix of construction supplies, where are you taking us?? However, after the pilot navigated the circuitous seaway in, the island paradise unfolded.

A nice gangway awaited us, and we were soon off of the boat. Mind you, I had pre-paid $36.00 (or was it $39.00, I can't remember now) for a "clamshell" on the beach. There are several areas of GSC with different amenities...it's not divided by class, it's just where stuff is. Except for the cabanas. You pay premium for them, and from what we witnessed, totally not worth it. After we talked to a lifeguard who told us how to get there, we walked for 5-10 minutes to a sea of clamshells and loungers. Since we were on the first tender to the island, we had our pick. So, we picked a nice clamshell in the back, set up shop, and I went swimming in the bay. As the morning progressed, so did the entertainment. Several groups took over the clamshells, only to be confronted by NCL's beach patrol. No ticket? No clamshell. Get out. The group of 8 or so in front of us were visibly, and quite verbally, upset. "We thought this was all-inclusive!!!! This is bullsh!t!!!!" Yeah, no.....pay up, bucko. I have to admit, I was very satisfied seeing these louts removed.

After awhile, I went to get Ultraviolet and myself some drinks. It was 0900, and we wanted some water. Guess what? Nothing on GSC opens till 1000 hours. The guys in line before me were all like, "this is bullsh!t, we want water!! W T F is going on here?!?!?!" Yep, they were the louts. Sorry not sorry, I'm with them on this one. NCL, if you send tenders to the island at 0800, you really need to have services like selling water bottles open at 0800. Returning empty-handed to UV, I described our plight...and swore to hydrate us at all costs, life or death. Then I went swimming again till 1000.

 

By then, she and I were ready for a walk, so we went over to the "beach bar" nearest us. There was now a line of people wrapping around the place, and the 2 or 3 bartenders were jumping through their respective buttholes to serve us all. We were in line for about 5 minutes, when we noticed all of the umbrella tables were empty. We got out of line, and sat at one...in minutes, a server came to us, we ordered some water bottles and a couple of sugary Rum drinks, and were back on our way to the clamshell.

 

We took a walk over to the straw market, which was a complete waste of time. There was nothing of interest, and most of the vendors were lethargic and uninterested. OK, we saw it, and went back to our spot. One final dip in the bay....

 

After some more swimming and chicanery, we got dressed and headed back to the tender. Surprisingly, there was no Haven line. Rather, everyone just piled into an area. Granted, it wasn't real late in the day, maybe that occurs then, but still, I expected it. Anyways, we boarded the tender boat, and after waiting for it to fill up, we shoved off.

 

Back aboard Escape, we cleaned up and took a nap. Tonight was dinner at La Cuccina, rescheduled from Night 1, in lieu of the Hard Sell Captain's Reception. *eyeroll* That's OK, because as you've read so far, NCL's specialty restaurants are exceedingly underwhelming. To recap: Le Bistro, just OK. Gagney's Steakhouse: Pure and utter bullsh!t.

 

I will say, La Cucina was our favorite specialty meal. Everything was great. The service was excellent. The food was very, very good. The ambiance, perfect. I laugh when I read on CC that Gagney's is so good....these folks wouldn't know a good steak if it bit them on the a$$. The same people say that La Cucina is Olive Garden at sea....Yes, food is very, very, subjective. I get it. Here's the thing. I grew up in Pittsburgh, home of some of the best Italian food on the East Coast (New York, right here!). I lived in Europe. I visit Europe frequently. I've had Neopolitan pizza in someones's living room in Naples. La Cucina is solid, Italian Fare.

 

We both started with the Mozzarella di Bufalac Caprese, which we found to be excellent. For the second course, Ultraviolet had the Tortelloni di Ricottae Spinaci al Burro Fuso,Salviae Cuoredi Pomodoro....she loved it! I had the Scampi alla Griglia which was also delish. The breads and oil were a welcome appetizer touch.

 

After dinner, we made way to Tobacco Road to visit SomeSnacks one more time, and tip him out for his excellent service all week long. A bittersweet ending to our weeklong adventure, but reality calls. A few glasses of wine to the suite, and it was off to dreamland one last time.

 

NOV 11th

Disembarkation

Not much to say here, other than our vacation was, sadly, over. We gathered in the Haven Lounge (our bags were taken away the night before.) We were escorted off by the Concierge before everyone else, and we found our bags quickly in the designated area. A quick Lyft ride to the airport, and we were settled into our 5 hour wait for the flight home. I really need to get better at coordinating that.

 

All in all, this was an amazing cruise. I really think that if we'd have been in a balcony cabin, we'd have had as much fun. Being in the Haven was just so much more. I think Norwegian does a great job...the crew was very happy and the service all the way around was incredible. I think the upsell is a bit much, but, apparently, that is now the industry norm.

 

I'd happily cruise Norwegian again, even if not in the Haven. but, let's be real....it'll be in the Haven.

Edited January 24, 2018 by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

[WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot]

Vulcano di Capelli d’Angelo alla Sorrentina: Angel Hair Pasta, Fresh Mozzarella, Herb-Infused Pomodoro Sauce

Scampi alla Griglia: Grilled Garlic Shrimp, Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables, Sweet Red Pepper Pesto

 

SEAGULLS! STOP IT NOW!

 

Side note: If you rent a clamshell, make sure you get one with the mesh panels. The solid panel ones will roast you. The ones with mesh panels will allow air to circulate, and keeps out the sun.