NCL ESCAPE - FEBRUARY 11-18 - LIVE REVIEW

[devinelaw]

9 minutes ago, devinelaw said:

It’s in Supper Club which you sign up for at the Super Club location

 

[TSUmom]

Enjoying your live review!!  Looking forward to more.

[Lionesss]

Great pictures and love your account of all your adventures.

 

 

The pool.

Is that the only pool?

 

And your pictures of all the loungers, they are close.

Is there anywhere you have more space when sun worshiping?

 

The food.

Looks awesome.

 

Take care

Eagerly following.

[Stealthdog]

Thanks for the review and pictures!  We are on the Escape in December for a B2B.  Look forward to reading your reviews on the restaurants!  Happy Anniversary!!!!

[sns1009]

Happy Anniversary 🎉Hope it's a wonderful day!

[Zignewt]

On 2/5/2023 at 2:43 PM, devinelaw said:

Cabin/Deck items: small usb fan, plug adapters, multi plug strip, magnetic hooks, towel bands, iPads (movies downloaded), iPod, Bluetooth speaker, kindle, travel games, post it notes, pens, plug and cords in organizer, quick charger for cell phones, first aid kit (Covid based items included (tests, thermometer & masks)), suntan lotions, after sun lotion, Clorox wipes, Lysol spray, pop up clothes hamper, in room snacks, flavor packets for water bottles.

Travel and Excursion items: AirTags, backpack, waterproof bag, lanyards, plastic cruise luggage tag holders, go pro and accessories, waterproof phone case

Personal items: boarding documents, passports, cash, credit cards, Covid-19 vaccination cards, prescription medications, Tylenol, Advil, contacts, glasses, glass cleaning wipes, hand wipes, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, mouthwash, deodorant, q-tips, makeup, volumizer hair dryer brush, shampoo and conditioner, hand sanitizer, hand lotion, body lotion, eye drops, razor, shaving cream, after shave balm, fingernail clippers, tide stick, wrinkle release spray, eucalyptus shower beads, silicone wedding bands, apple watch, cellphones, AirPods, sunglasses, reading glasses.

Thank you for this list - I printed it out to get ready for our upcoming cruise.

[Laszlo]

14 hours ago, devinelaw said:

 

Sunday, Sea Day, Day Two:

 

Miscellaneous:  Finally fell asleep at 2am only to wake up at 4am and couldn’t go back to sleep 🤷🏻‍♂️ So checked email and posts at 5am, went to Guest Services at 5:30am (No Line😂) as there was a $119 charge for the wine at Savor the night before on our account and shouldn’t have been as we have FAS Plus.  Tip, the waiter said the wine listed on a menu that are by bottle and glass are included in FAS Premium drink package, those that are only listed by bottle, not by glass, are not, but you get 40% discount.  Anyway, the Guest Services Rep couldn’t get anyone from the Beverage Department night shift so said she’d take care of it when day shift came in at 7:30am and would get our account corrected.  

 

Then went to the Fitness area of the Spa and walked a few miles on the treadmill. 

 

At 10am went down to the Theater and picked up Port information and at 12:30pm back to the Theater to pick up Port Shopping information.

 

Vibe Beach Club: ***A bit of an issue first thing this morning with the VBC.  First they had the upper deck roped off with a sign stating closed due to inclement weather.  We went to Guest Services to see if the VBC was closed but they had no information and said it should be open for access.   Once in it was windy but no more so than Deck 18 or most of Deck 17.  Bar staff started showing up so thinking maybe Deck 19 was roped off overnight and they merely hadn’t reopened it yet.  The ship is moving at a healthy clip too so that affects wind too, so as it was 8:30am maybe the Captain would slow down later so it is not so windy.  The hot tub was also dirty, filled with what looked like black ash and also the button to turn on the jets didn’t work.  Nevertheless, VBC beats not having a crowded area, but starting out to not be like our prior two experiences.  They did come and clean the hot tub but at 11am they closed the deck including the VBC because of wind, so we and the other three couples had to leave.  We walked Deck 18 and 17 just below and they were just as windy but didn’t close them.  Wondering if it has more to do with the low numbers in VBC this morning and deploying staff elsewhere on a full ship.  Frustrating to pay for this area to avoid crowds then they shut it down.  This resulted in our Sun day being cut short because the other decks were packed.  We will see how they handle VBC rest of week, but each of the three NCL cruises we’ve gotten VBC passes and each time the ship has been packed so glad we did.  We’ve said each time if we didn’t have the VBC, NCL wouldn’t be worth sailing due to the crowd.  If we have another day with VBC closed we will likely not sail NCL again anytime soon.***

 

Thermal Suite:  Once we were told to vacate the VBC we headed over to the thermal suite.  It was interesting.  The show room was nice and cold, tried the sauna and sanarium.  The heated stone loungers were nice as was the therapy pool and whirlpool.  We’re glad we tried it this cruise and we’ll use it throughout the week, but both agreed it’s not something we’d do again for $600.  Nice but not quite worth that in our opinion.

 

 

Breakfast:  After my workout, went back to the cabin at 6:45am and woke my sweetheart up and convinced her to go get breakfast with me.  We headed up to the Garden Café one floor up had breakfast with a back of ship view then went back to the cabin and got ready for a day at the VBC.

 

Lunch:  Stopped by the Garden Café and had a quick bite.  Then headed to the American Diner and had a milkshake.  Very milky, in that it was almost regular milk,  not really frozen and definitely not worth the $7 each.  

 

Dinner:  As it’s Super Bowl Sunday we decided to forgo the dining room and ate dinner at O’Sheehans.  Had wings (very good), nachos (average), chili (good), cheeseburger (good) and Rueben (no sauerkraut and American cheese, not really a Rueben).  This was a location playing the game, waitstaff seemed off kilter that people were talking their time and not turning over tables as normal.  They don’t seem to comprehend the the hype over the Super Bowl.

 

Starbucks:  Stopped by to grab our SB and headed back to cabin to finish the game.  Go Chiefs!!

 

VIP Reception in Haven:  Were invited to a cocktail party in the Haven Courtyard with the Captain and Ship General Manager but it’s at 7pm and there’s a Super Bowl, so as much as it would be interesting to see the Haven area not going to miss the game for it.

 
TOMORROW’S PREVIEW:  Amber Cove and Anniversary Day (35 years ago tomorrow, at the ages of 20 & 21, proposed to my sweetheart  (we will celebrate 34 years of marriage in June)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looks like they crammed in so more loungers in Vibe. Never seen that many there

[NyYankees2k3]

On 2/12/2023 at 12:15 AM, devinelaw said:

CAPTAINS LOG, STAR DATE 2/11/2023 😂. It’s late.  

NCL ESCAPE LIVE REVIEW…..

 

Saturday Evening, Day One:

 

Dinner:  Dinner was in Savor’s at 8:45pm.  It was very good!!  See pics!

 

Guest Services:  Had to stop by, had $410 in onboard credit’s but only info on $270 dropped by room but got it resolved.  Also didn’t have our Thermal Spa passes dropped in room but learned you get those taken care of in Spa, checked that box off.  We’re supposed to have 12 bottled waters with FAS Plus, still working on that.

 

Shows: We attended the Dazzling Deceptions Magic Show with Brian Ledbetter from Seattle in the Theater at 9pm.  Great show!!  He starts in Branson Missouri in March through December.

At 11pm we watched the Comedy Night with Vince Acevedo at Headliners.  Very very funny, was an equal opportunity offender.  

 

Vibe Beach Club:  We have sailed NCL three times and got passes for the Vibe BC each time.  It’s one of our favorite places.  One piece of advice for NCL.  In the past we had to purchase passes online and got the entrance card or band once you purchased allowing access on the day we boarded.  This time they we purchased online and were put in our cabins which were not ready until late so this kept us from going to the Vibe BC to hangout on Saturday.  We found other things to do but would’ve been nice to have access since we paid a premium for it.

 

Starbucks:  Stopped by SB and got my Hot Venti White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream & 5x shots ☕️, maybe that’ll keep me awake.  Wife got same but iced w/o shots and whipped cream.

 

Luggage & Misc.:  Some had asked specifically about usb fan we packed being confiscated, it made it to room and case of mini cokes and sprites we packed they made it to room too as well as all our room snacks!  Actually everything we packed was there.  Did use TSA approved locks, not sure if that made a difference or not.  Also with cokes, they have Coke Zero and just about every time we order a Coke they give us a can.

 

Editors Note 😂:  Excuse any typos in the posts, spell correct and fast typing may happen from time to time.  My sweetheart 🥰 is monitoring my posts and lovingly pointed them out.  She’s an accountant, very particular, I’m an attorney and go for accuracy but also move fast, I’ve usually got people for catching things in review, but she wouldn’t volunteer for that on the cruise 😜😂

 

It’s midnight and we’re tired and going to bed 😴😴😴😴

It looks like you are enjoying your cruise, do you know where to buy Vibe on the ship.  I didn't realize they were selling it in advance.  I have priority boarding with platinum status.  So hoping to get it when we get on the ship, thank you in advance.  Enjoy!

[NyYankees2k3]

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

Looks like they crammed in so more loungers in Vibe. Never seen that many there

Have you bought Vibe in past? Do you know where do purchase once you get on board? Thanks.

[devinelaw]

Monday, Amber Cove, DR, Day Three

 

Miscellaneous:  Got up at 7am this morning and we walked the Waterfront area on Deck 8 a few laps around the ship then went to Guest Services to inquire again about the wine that was charged Saturday evening that still hadn’t been corrected.  Guest Services said they’d inquire again and it should be resolved by this evening.  

 

Breakfast:  We had breakfast in Taste this morning while we were sailing into AC.  I had the bagel and smoked salmon, my wife had scrambled eggs, bacon and oatmeal.  It was very good and the service was fantastic.

 

Amber Cove:  AC is a nice cruise ship docking location.  We arrived at 9am and we were off the ship in no time very easily and toured the port area, did a little shopping.

 

Back on Board:  We were back onboard by 10:30am and up to the Vibe Beach Club for some sun.  There were probably 6-7 other couples there.  The waitstaff brought around water, sandwiches and fresh fruit.  In addition they come around from time to time and ask what drinks you want.  The sun is shining and is very warm today.  It was nice enjoying the VBC.

After several hours in the sun we decided to head down to the Thermal Spa and spent some time in the therapy pool, sauna and snow room then relaxed in the loungers watching the Caribbean Sea.

 

We then had a late lunch in the Garden Café and headed back to the cabin to sit on the balcony and get ready for the evening and dinner at Cagney’s Steakhouse.

 

We also had a surprise when we got back to our cabin, tapas and a few treats to enjoy, courtesy of the ships General Manager. 

 

We also started hiding our cruising ducks that we started doing several cruises back after stumbling on the cruising duck FB page.

 

Cabin Steward Services:  Our cabin steward is Erwin he is a rockstar.  He keeps the room refreshed and the number of towels and wash rags we’ve requested, also keeps our ice filled and brought us our extra pillows the first evening.  Every time he sees us he addresses us by name and asks how our day is going!

 

Will post later about dinner and the comedy show we have scheduled later this evening……

[coscab]

Love the kitty cat pic!!!

[devinelaw]

Here are the dailies for Day 3……

[devinelaw]

4 hours ago, NyYankees2k3 said:

Have you bought Vibe in past? Do you know where do purchase once you get on board? Thanks.

Yes every NCL cruise we’ve taken.  Used to have to get to port early and on ship early to purchase before they sold out.  This time they were sold online through the NCL App, much much easier process!

[devinelaw]

4 hours ago, NyYankees2k3 said:

It looks like you are enjoying your cruise, do you know where to buy Vibe on the ship.  I didn't realize they were selling it in advance.  I have priority boarding with platinum status.  So hoping to get it when we get on the ship, thank you in advance.  Enjoy!

They used to sell on ship in Headliners and we’d get onboard early to purchase.  This time they were sold online.  When we were in Headliners making dining changes once onboard I didn’t see a place where they were selling them, so not sure if they do outside of online anymore.

[devinelaw]

5 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Looks like they crammed in so more loungers in Vibe. Never seen that many there

Each day we’ve been there so far not over 8 couples

[devinelaw]

6 hours ago, sns1009 said:

Happy Anniversary 🎉Hope it's a wonderful day!

Thank you!

[devinelaw]

6 hours ago, Lionesss said:

Great pictures and love your account of all your adventures.

 

 

The pool.

Is that the only pool?

 

And your pictures of all the loungers, they are close.

Is there anywhere you have more space when sun worshiping?

 

The food.

Looks awesome.

 

Take care

Eagerly following.

Loungers are close, but in the Vibe so far most crowded has been 8 couples.  There is a kids pool, but yes this is the only pool.

[cheersforbeers]

Starbucks:  Stopped by SB and got my Hot Venti White Chocolate Mocha with whipped cream & 5x shots ☕️, maybe that’ll keep me awake.  Wife got same but iced w/o shots and whipped cream.
 

6 hours ago, sns1009 said:

Happy Anniversary 🎉Hope it's a wonderful day!

My bride will be happy to see the Starbucks, thanks for showing it.

Do they still have mini golf? 
We will be on the Escape for a 14day Eastern Western Caribbean in an aft balcony, yours looked roomy.  
Excellent live update. 
Enjoy y’all’s cruise. 

[lilalila]

Has the Escape transitioned to the new "fixed" main dining menus?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[www3traveler]

When you can, could you please post a list of the Senior Officers both Hotel and Bridge?

 

Thank You

 

I hope the rest of your cruise goes well.

[Hmmcminn]

Thanks for your recaps.

 

Just curious if you were given an explanation about why you stopped in Amber Cove today instead of Taino Bay?  I thought the Escape and Encore were back to stopping at Taino Bay over the last few weeks.

[coscab]

Enjoy your anniversary dinner and Happy almost Valentines day!

Do you remember if you boarded on the deck with the guest services desk in Port Canaveral on Saturday?  Thanks for the review, looking forward to our March cruise on the Escape.

[devinelaw]

1 hour ago, lilalila said:

Has the Escape transitioned to the new "fixed" main dining menus?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were things that they have fixed every night and then menu items that are night specific.

[devinelaw]

54 minutes ago, Hmmcminn said:

Thanks for your recaps.

 

Just curious if you were given an explanation about why you stopped in Amber Cove today instead of Taino Bay?  I thought the Escape and Encore were back to stopping at Taino Bay over the last few weeks.

No there was no explanation.  Everything in the ship, shopping info, next port of call on the tv showed Amber Cove so we kind of figured that’s where we were going even though earlier posts had mentioned Taino Bay.  I will say that Amber Cove was really awesome though.  The pool area looked great although we wanted to get back in ship and enjoy the Vibe Beach Club we’ve always enjoyed.  The shopping was great too, a lot of different shops and selections.  It was also interesting seeing the Carnival Ship in port too, I know it’s there port, but the NCL Escape was so much larger and NCL had out tents with towels, water, sitting areas and Carnival really didn’t have anything much out on the walkway.  I told my wife that NCL should have a tent for Cruise Next and try to pick up defectors.  You really could tell a stark difference between the two set ups of the two cruise lines.  

[devinelaw]

19 minutes ago, coscab said:

Enjoy your anniversary dinner and Happy almost Valentines day!

Do you remember if you boarded on the deck with the guest services desk in Port Canaveral on Saturday?  Thanks for the review, looking forward to our March cruise on the Escape.

Thank you.   We were right on Deck 6, able to go straight down to Headliners then to the Box Office.