My View: Escape 'The Storm' with us! (Semi-Live)

[APDMOM]

Sailaway Time from Ocho Rios:

We went to our balcony, sailaway drink in hand, at about 4:25 to see if there are any pier runners (All aboard was 4:30).

 

This is why we say - book a ship excursion in Jamaica: Several excursion buses were late returning.  Traffic in this area can be really bad.  The ship will wait if you are on a ship sponsored excursion, but not necessarily if you are on a private tour.  

 

They finally released the ropes as 5:21 - almost an hour after the all aboard.  Needless to say, the sailaway drink was LONG gone 🤣

 

I tried to upload a video of the releasing of the ropes, but it just takes too long with my basic internet (no stream).  So, these to screenshots will have to do.  Maybe I will upload a few videos when we get home...

 

 

 

Until next time, Ocho Rios:

 

[APDMOM]

Evening Entertainment: "The Other Guys" and their 4 Sea Sons show:

Bad news for those boarding soon - they are leaving the ship with us.  Apparently, they were only on the ship for 4 weeks.  They are very entertaining, so if you ever run into them on a future cruise, don't miss them.

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

My View: End of Day 5 - Ocho Rios, Jamaica

Starting to feel a little blue with the end of our cruise coming up way too fast:

[APDMOM]

The Freestyle Daily - Day 5 Ocho Rios, Jamaica

 

Click to download PDF

Day 5.pdf

 

[APDMOM]

Internet is terrible here around O'Sheehan's.  I have tried to post the start of day three times now, but it keeps kicking me off the internet.  😬  Will be back later.

[schwartzy]

Thank you for your wonderful posts! They have been very helpful. Since you asked for questions, here's one: Do you have any tips for avoiding long lines? We will be sailing Feb 10th with my kids aged 5 and 7.  They are super well behaved, but hate lines. (One of the reasons we are skipping Disney!) If we could avoid long lines for shows, embarkation, water slides, etc that would be ideal! Thank you again!!! 

[CruisingSince1982]

How was your internet speed on the Escape?

[CruisingSince1982]

Another question regarding the internet. Did you notice how much they were charging for the unlimited internet once onboard? I think recall someone saying not to pre-purchase that because it was cheaper once you were onboard? 

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, APDMOM said:

Internet is terrible here around O'Sheehan's.  😬  Will be back later.

Hmmm, maybe too many users logged into the system with the ship out to sea and folks starting to get "reconnected" to use up their remaining "free" airtime minutes while still onboard.  Shall I assume that Escape is still on EMC and hasn't switched over to Starlink (apologize if I missed that from your post and from SD or others lately ... need a "cheat-sheet" to keep track of the rolling transitional "upgrade" to Starlink fleetwide.   

 

Interesting enough, I benchmarked Escape's EMC upload & download WiFi inTERnet speed just 3 months ago, it was "faster" speedwise vs. Prima's Starlink WiFi speed (both times over WiFi 6/ .ac and/or .ax hardware on my end) 5 to 7 Mbps d/l on EMC vs. 3 to 4 Mbps d/l on SL ... of course, latency and ping time was a lot higher on older EMC's satellite servers.  Escape was using only the free FAS 300 airtime minutes vs. Prima's upgraded $$ - unlimited basic WiFi with 6 full sea days crossing the pond.  

 

To be fair, Starlink's speed was more consistent, no matter what hours of the day (and, late night - where data traffic usually isn't as "heavy" with the bandwidth allocated to passenger usage) - Escape's data speed did vary at times, sometimes very sluggish - usable but annoying when we're onboard.  

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by mking8288

[www3traveler]

mking8288:  Happy Holidays to you and your family.

                     Prayers that all is as well as possible in your world.

[APDMOM]

When I opened our app to look at our bookings, I noticed a posted change of itinerary.  I don’t know if anything was announced while we napped…. Nassau to replace Great Stirrup Cay? 

 

[APDMOM]

4 hours ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

How was your internet speed on the Escape?

Ironically, we are at O’Sheehan’s again. 🙂

 

Current speed: (Keep in mind, I only have the “cheaper” plan - not streaming. 

[APDMOM]

4 hours ago, CruisingSince1982 said:

Another question regarding the internet. Did you notice how much they were charging for the unlimited internet once onboard? I think recall someone saying not to pre-purchase that because it was cheaper once you were onboard? 

 

The price was the same on the ship for this cruise, as well as last week, per post from another review. 🙂 (basic internet)

[APDMOM]

4 hours ago, schwartzy said:

Thank you for your wonderful posts! They have been very helpful. Since you asked for questions, here's one: Do you have any tips for avoiding long lines? We will be sailing Feb 10th with my kids aged 5 and 7.  They are super well behaved, but hate lines. (One of the reasons we are skipping Disney!) If we could avoid long lines for shows, embarkation, water slides, etc that would be ideal! Thank you again!!! 

 

I will try, based upon our own experiences.  Maybe others can chime in.  🙂

 

- Arrive around 10:30 at the port for embarkation - it can be hit or miss, but we had no lines. 

 

-We had no lines for shows in the main theater.  Be sure to make a reservation for Choir of Man if you plan on going. Show up about 15 minutes before the show starts.

 

- Don’t try to leave the ship as soon as it is cleared in port.  Rather wait about 1 hour. 

 

- We have only seen a line outside Syd’s Pourhouse.  We were not interested in going there since it gets packed, so I don’t think there is any way to avoid that line.

 

- Make dinner reservations before 6 - we only ate at Savor for sit down restaurants and never had a long line.

 

- Try to use the slides, etc. on a port day. Lines are almost non existent or very short while the ship is in port. 

 

Hope this helps!  Let me know if you have other questions. Enjoy your cruise! 

[Stealthdog]

On 12/20/2023 at 10:36 AM, mking8288 said:

Thanks for sharing those pictures, I see one of our favorite HD is back from his Fall vacation ... if you get a chance & have time, please kindly see if you can take pictures of the HDTV display **** of the ship's senior officers, bridge & operations, usually on one of the monitors near Guest Services/Main Theater ... post here,  Mandy loves to compile them & post on the "Where Are They" running thread, a new one to start soon for 2024.  TIA.  The team onboard has earned a good reputation for being one of the best, if not the best, ship within the fleet for services. 

Not sure if you got this, but after 12 days, I finally found the officer board.  They had one in the crew section I saw in the behind the scenes tour, but no photos were allowed.

 

I finally have some time to catch up on these other reviews!

[Stealthdog]

On 12/19/2023 at 10:32 PM, APDMOM said:

O'Sheehan's lunch:

 

Pretzel bites, sweet chili wings, the Wrangler Burger and the Coney Island Hot Dog.  The Wrangler Burger was our favorite.  I also enjoyed the Passion Fruite Lime Cooler - refreshing and not too strong.

 

TIP: Ask for extra BBQ sauce on the side for the Wrangler Burger.  The BBQ sauce on this cruise has been really good.

 

 

 

 

What are your thoughts on the wings?  I liked them much better on previous NCL sailings, but am begrudgingly eating them.  I already have next Tuesday circled on my calendar to go to Miller’s Ale House for a wing night. 😂

[APDMOM]

1 hour ago, Stealthdog said:

What are your thoughts on the wings?  I liked them much better on previous NCL sailings, but am begrudgingly eating them.  I already have next Tuesday circled on my calendar to go to Miller’s Ale House for a wing night. 😂

 

Our son loves them.  We don't usually eat out (family cruise budget rules 😆), so his opinion is probably not very reliable.  Also, DH buys low sugar BBQ sauce, so this is a FEAST for our DS.  

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 6 - At Sea

I've got sunshine on a cloudy day!  (Being on a ship makes me feel that way 🎶)

 

[APDMOM]

Garden Cafe Breakfast:

We like eating in the Garden Cafe - I like to try different kinds of food and control how much food is on my plate.  We are always up by 7 AM, so it is usually very quiet when we eat breakfast.  The food in the Garden Cafe has been consistently good.  I can't think of anything we would not eat again.

 

I went very early this morning to take pictures of the 'early risers' selection (Usually avaiable about 1 hour before the rest of the buffet opens):

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

This is hopefully the ONLY negative post for the cruise - It is minor when compared with all the fun we are having, but two things that bother me (and I know I am not alone in this). 😄

 

Balcony Smoking 😡

 

If there is one thing that REALLY gets me on a cruise, it is people smoking on their balcony.  After breakfast, I wanted to enjoy some fresh air on the balcony, just to be assaulted by the smell of marijuana.  I wish there were an easy fix for this problem.  It was impossible to see where the smoke came from, or I would have reported it.  I think the best solution is to use drug sniffing dogs, but it is an extra expense that I know the cruiselines are not necessarily ready to fork out.  

 

A Smokey Ship:

Unfortunately, Escape is also a very smokey ship.  I don't know what they were thinking when they put the casino in the center of 678... The smoke goes everywhere in the public spaces, and it is especially bad on sea days.  It makes my eyes tear up and my nose run, and I REALLY have nothing to cry about. 😝

[APDMOM]

Deck and Engine Q & A:

We attended this event, with Captain Mattias and the Chief Engineer.  I REALLY like Captain Mattias!  He is truly a caring human being.  He shared some interesting facts about LNG, based upon a question from a passenger.  I will share some of those details in a separate post.  

 

Jack (CD) shared some general ship facts first, then the passengers had an opportunity to ask questions.   

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

A Crowded Ship:

Today was pretty bad as far as crowds on the ship.  The top deck (19) where we usually like to lay out in the sun was closed due to windy conditions.  So was the sundeck (20).  Therefore, we only found one lounger in the sun.  The rest were taken.  There were even people spreading out their towels on the ground to catch a few rays.  I have never seen it so crowded.  Nevertheless, I got my 20 minutes of vitamin D, saw a dark cloud with a rain shower heading my way, and hightailed it to lunch in the garden cafe.

 

Sample of Garden Cafe Offerings today:

I taste and savor food on a cruise, so I like to get a couple of bites of different dishes I want to try.  This is what my plate usually looks like.

 

TIP:  If you eat in the buffet, take small scoops of different foods you want to try, find your favorite, and get that as a 'main course' or seconds. 😉

 

[APDMOM]

NCL = Best Desserts!

We have officially decided NCL has the best desserts.  Between the nightly crêpe station and consistently moist cake offerings, the Garden Café is our favorite buffet.  This year, we have also been on Celebrity, MSC X2, & Royal Caribbean, but NCL takes the cake (see what I did there?)! 

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by APDMOM
typo

[APDMOM]

Afternoon Snack in O’Sheehan’s

Love the Irish coffee with a shared slice of Brownie Cheesecake with DS.

[APDMOM]

Love that aft view:

 

TIP: The waterfront is on deck 8. Although it doesn’t go all the way around the front, you can get around the back for an amazing wake view.  It is also a great deck for walking exercise because the jogging track on this ship is pitiful. 

 

 

Edited December 22, 2023 by APDMOM
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