Is Escape headed to drydock Oct 2020?

[2bc cruisers]

I’ve booked a TA on the Escape leaving Southampton on Oct 26, 2020.  But now I notice that Escape does not show a cruise for the 2 weeks prior.  She is doing a Baltic Cruise Oct 2-11, 2020, then she’s nowhere until the TA.  At least, I didn’t see any cruise listed for her from Oct 11-26.  

 

Questions..

Is there somewhere I can find out if it’s headed to drydock?  

Have you cruised post drydock, and would you do it again?

 

TIA for any insights.

[shof515]

yes the escape is headed for drydock for the first time. it will engine maintenance and other maintenance work

[2bc cruisers]

Thank you.☹️

[PortFees45]

21 minutes ago, shof515 said:

yes the escape is headed for drydock for the first time. it will engine maintenance and other maintenance work

"other maintenance work" like turning a giant chunk of the public sundeck space into a pay-only zone? 

 

Sail the Escape while you can, folks. She's NCL's "last good ship" until this drydock. 

[BirdTravels]

"other maintenance" like removing the ropes course and sports court and installing a for-fee go kart track

Edited August 18, 2019 by BirdTravels

[BirdTravels]

43 minutes ago, 2bc cruisers said:

Have you cruised post drydock, and would you do it again?

Yes. And being on a ship that is fresh and new is a unique experience. BUT,,,, understand that you are post dry dock and there can be schedule and itinerary changes as the final vendor contracts are finalized. 

 

We were on the Epic after she did her 5-year dry dock. They demo'ed and rebuilt all of the public areas from the deck plates. Cut a big hole in the side of the ship so that they could replace a couple of the engines. There were several "interesting" experiences.... one afternoon after leaving dock, we spent about 90 minutes slowly spinning the ship while they re-calibrated the magnetic compass (required because of the extensive metal work and new engines). And one day in very calm waters, we did "mini sea trials" doing full acceleration starts and emergency stops. When the captain threw the propellers in reverse, the whole ship was shaking and rattling.  

[2bc cruisers]

20 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Yes. And being on a ship that is fresh and new is a unique experience. BUT,,,, understand that you are post dry dock and there can be schedule and itinerary changes as the final vendor contracts are finalized. 

 

We were on the Epic after she did her 5-year dry dock. They demo'ed and rebuilt all of the public areas from the deck plates. Cut a big hole in the side of the ship so that they could replace a couple of the engines. There were several "interesting" experiences.... one afternoon after leaving dock, we spent about 90 minutes slowly spinning the ship while they re-calibrated the magnetic compass (required because of the extensive metal work and new engines). And one day in very calm waters, we did "mini sea trials" doing full acceleration starts and emergency stops. When the captain threw the propellers in reverse, the whole ship was shaking and rattling.  

  Changing of the itinerary is of course a concern.  I was also thinking about the spa, thermal suite and gym, suppose no way to know if these areas will be up and running until embarkation.   Sounds like you had an interesting experience.  Thank you.

[PortFees45]

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

"other maintenance" like removing the ropes course and sports court and installing a for-fee go kart track

Is this really in the works? 

[shof515]

20 minutes ago, PortFees45 said:

Is this really in the works? 

for now, NO

 

but in the future in like 10-15 years, i wont be surprised.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, PortFees45 said:

Is this really in the works? 

 

58 minutes ago, shof515 said:

for now, NO. but in the future in like 10-15 years, i wont be surprised.

 

When we were on the Escape in April, we had dinner with one of the senior officers who talked about the the plans to add a go kart track as part of the dry dock project. At the time, the plans were undergoing engineering analysis to determine if they could remove/add the weight at the stern (i.e., ship stability). It was definitely an option that was being considered for the upcoming dry dock. 

[Steff79]

there is now another cruise in Oct 2020 and now is only a gap with 5 days in southampton.

seems like no dry dock in fall 2020.

spring 2021?

[gatorchinsky]

On 8/17/2019 at 11:27 PM, BirdTravels said:

 

 

When we were on the Escape in April, we had dinner with one of the senior officers who talked about the the plans to add a go kart track as part of the dry dock project. At the time, the plans were undergoing engineering analysis to determine if they could remove/add the weight at the stern (i.e., ship stability). It was definitely an option that was being considered for the upcoming dry dock. 

 

I would be so disappointed if they did this to the Escape.  After we came back from our Bliss cruise we cancelled our booked Encore cruise because the go karts and laser tag (which we actually never got to do because of weather) did not impress us enough, especially our teen son, to go on and pay so much in extra added fees.

[RedwingHockeyFan]

19 minutes ago, Steff79 said:

there is now another cruise in Oct 2020 and now is only a gap with 5 days in southampton.

seems like no dry dock in fall 2020.

spring 2021?

NCL website has Escape cruises thru October 2021.

[Steff79]

yes but at april/ may there is a gap of some weeks / ta is still missing too. Escape has to go in dry dock after 5 years that is normal in Fall 2020. but fall 2020 is now not a gap for dry dock. maybe dry dock after 5,5 years is possible? not sure how the requirements are.

[RedwingHockeyFan]

3 minutes ago, Steff79 said:

yes but at april/ may there is a gap of some weeks / ta is still missing too. Escape has to go in dry dock after 5 years that is normal in Fall 2020. but fall 2020 is now not a gap for dry dock. maybe dry dock after 5,5 years is possible? not sure how the requirements are.

Yes

 

April 10, 2021 - May 28, 2021. Just under 6 weeks.

[janotay]

We are booked on the Escape 12 Europe on May 3, 2020. It is still showing...

[Steff79]

we talking about spring 2021, there is tthe gap, before are now cruises. only the 4 days not in oct 2020

[CazV]

2 hours ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

Yes

 

April 10, 2021 - May 28, 2021. Just under 6 weeks.

 

And no Transatlantic sailing?!

[Steff79]

a ta will come, but not announced yet.

[blueslily]

A drydock in April 2021 instead of October 2020 is great. I have never sailed on the Escape and would like to before the projected changes during drydock. 2021 gives me more time to fit it in!  Other than looking at gaps in the sailings, is there any other way to confirm drydock dates?

[HowardK]

My cousin heard they were putting 2 racetracks on the ship and maybe making a pool smaller to accommodate as the pool makes no money anyway. I think they were going to add a grandstand as well so people could pay to watch the people who paid for the racetrack. He thinks he also heard they were going to charge for the buffet. I don't really believe any of this is true though. 

 

[BirdTravels]

On 8/23/2019 at 1:00 PM, gatorchinsky said:

 

I would be so disappointed if they did this to the Escape.  After we came back from our Bliss cruise we cancelled our booked Encore cruise because the go karts and laser tag (which we actually never got to do because of weather) did not impress us enough, especially our teen son, to go on and pay so much in extra added fees.

Help us understand the rationale behind cancelling a cruise because of a go kart. Esp with a Florida-based ship near you. 

[gatorchinsky]

7 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Help us understand the rationale behind cancelling a cruise because of a go kart. Esp with a Florida-based ship near you. 

The rationale is that the go karts and laser tag did not impress us.  Why would we then go on the Encore which has the same for fee activities and even less public deck space?  With both ships out of Miami when we sail we chose to go back on the Escape.  We love the Escape and will have a great time.

Edited August 28, 2019 by gatorchinsky

[timf2001]

On 8/23/2019 at 2:06 PM, Steff79 said:

yes but at april/ may there is a gap of some weeks / ta is still missing too. Escape has to go in dry dock after 5 years that is normal in Fall 2020. but fall 2020 is now not a gap for dry dock. maybe dry dock after 5,5 years is possible? not sure how the requirements are.

 

There's no way they can put the technical dry dock off for more than 5 years.  It's possible that if they are planning a more extensive refurbishment in Spring 2021 that they could take care of just the critical inspection items in October 2020 and do the rest later.  I would be concerned if I had the fall TA booked, because if anything unexpected is found during the inspection, they may have to delay or cancel the sailing to carry out repairs.  In any case, it would not surprise me if there are additional itinerary changes to accommodate the dry dock.

[Steff79]

yes, wonder the same. At the moment there is only a gap of 5 days in oct. in Southampton. the next bigger gap is april/may 2021.

we will see.