bambiying

I was on the Escape last June and there were 4 of us in the cabin.  I ordered the 24 pack of water thinking that since my one son only drinks water, we'd go through a lot of it.  We ended up jamming half of it in our suitcases on the last night because we had so much water left.  This year I ordered the 12 pack instead.  I think 24 is wayyyyy toooo much water for 2 people.

Last year I filled out the form for water months in advance, but called to check on it 2 weeks before the cruise.  They had no record of my request and just told me to ask the cabin steward for it when I saw him.  They said they don't have a lot on hand, so make sure to ask as soon as you can.  I'm cruising again in 3 weeks and of course forgot to request it more than 30 days in advance, so I'm going to have to harass the cabin steward again.  Definitely bring a long cord.  I'm on the Escape and the outlet is on the opposite side of the room from the beds. 

We had fun when we did it last June.  Takeaways from the experience are 1.  Don't be too young.  Little kids cannot help.  It's too hard.  My 13 and 15 year olds did great.  2.  Don't be too old.  My 80 year old mother, who still has all her faculties, found it to be too difficult, although, alcohol may have affected her.  3.  Book early.  We booked on the first day of sailing which was a Sunday, and the earliest they could put us in was Thursday night.  4.  Be okay with working with a group of strangers unless you have a big group of friends/family with you.  We had people from 3 different cabins working together and it was kind of strange.

You may also want to take a look at the Celebrity Summit.  It goes to Bermuda from Bayonne.  I know some people here will argue with me because they say that the Summit is a little past it's prime, but I love it so much more than the Escape.  The Escape is too big, too noisy, and has way too many people.  I find the Summit to be a perfect sized ship and way more enjoyable.

I'm bummed about the Brat Pack.  We saw it last June and loved it.  We are going again this June and hoped to see it again.  Not so thrilled with After Midnight.

Was on the Escape in June and did not see a hot dog cart.

I've sailed on both.  I love the Summit.  If you don't have kids, I'd highly recommend that one.  I'm in my 40's and my mom is 80, and we've been on the Summit 3 times together.  It's the perfect size, we love the back bar to drink in and spend our time.  The food is better, and it all around just seems classier.  

We went on the Escape last year because we took my 2 teenage boys with us.  There was more for them to do on the Escape, but it was so big and crowded all the time.  Food not as good, at least the free food.  The kids didn't do many of the fun activities because they were always so crowded.  We are going back on the Escape this year because the Summit isn't going to Bermuda on the week that we need, but we'd prefer the Summit.

Edited to add:  We like leaving from Bayonne much better as well with the Summit.  I feel comfortable driving and leaving my car in the garage there, and I don't feel comfortable doing that with the Escape in NYC.

When I was on the Escape in June, I was able to book After Midnight and the Brat Pack online before we went. I just checked for our cruise for next June and right now it says that reservations are not offered, so maybe they are changing the show for next year? Not sure. We were not able to book the Big Top until we got on board. I'd do it first thing if I were you because we went to book it on Sunday and the first they had available was on Thursday.

This past June I went on the NCL Escape with my mom and my 2 teenagers. The Escape is okay, but we all think it was too big, too many people, and my kids refused to interact with other kids. The food was just so-so, and they didn't have as much variety that we liked on the free alcohol package. Great entertainment if you could actually get into it, because everything was so crowded.

For the 3 summers before that my mom and I went on the Celebrity Summit. We both love the Summit. Just the right size, better drink package, better food. If it weren't for my kids, we would have done it again this year.

Next year we are going on the Escape again because the Summit isn't doing Bermuda the week that we need to go.

We have done Royal Caribbean to Bermuda, but it was back in 2005, and was so long ago that it didn't dock at the Dockyard. It spent have the time in St. George and half in Hamilton. I wish they still did that.

I use a CPAP and I had to run an extension cord under the bed and across the room to get to the outlet on the other side where the mirrors/refrigerator/shelves are.

3 years ago I had one of those portable cabanas in my suitcase. My suitcase never made it to my cabin. Turns out they had it down in security where they made me remove the cabana and they confiscated it until the cruise was over. They said that the little metal spikes you use to hold it in the sand were a security risk because I could use them as a weapon. This was on the Celebrity Summit.

What is the best bar to get a Martini on the Escape.....more specifically, an Espresso Martini!!;)

 

Don:cool:

I'd try Mixx on deck 6. One thing I didn't like about the Escape was that many of their bars only catered to certain alcohols...like one did mostly tequila drinks, or mostly rum drinks. I was able to get some really yummy cosmopolitans at Mixx.

Spice H2O had huge glass containers filled with cold drinking water and disposable cups. Garden Cafe normally had lemonade, strawberry-kiwi and apple juice. I don't remember seeing free beverages elsewhere.

Tobacco Bay has some nice snorkeling too.

I just got back yesterday, and my family took the first St. George NCL ferry last week when we docked. The ferry was not totally full when it left the dock. They didn't really advertise it on board, so I'm not sure if everyone knew about it. On our return from St. George, we took the 3:00 ferry and that one wasn't full either.

The Bone Fish Bar at the Dockyards has free wifi too. Just ask them for the password.

I've already booked for June 2018. I'm going on the Summit for the 3rd time this summer, but we hesitated to book the Breakaway because I've heard so many horrible things about the pools. I'm glad a different ship is starting next year. We are taking our kids on the Escape next year and they are excited.

So if we walk down, will there be transportation to take us back up when we want to leave?

In the past there are shuttles at the bottom that you can pay to take you up the hill. The last time I used one was 2 years ago, and I think it was $3 a ride.

We always decorate our cabin door. Helps when you are stumbling back there drunk at night.

I've been to Bermuda the last two July's on the Summit. It's a great ship. We keep taking that one instead of the Breakaway because we like the smaller, more intimate ships. It's well run, clean and it makes us very happy. It also made a pigeon very happy last summer who stayed on the ship for several sailings. :)