APDMOM

Ironically, we are at O’Sheehan’s again. 🙂 Current speed: (Keep in mind, I only have the “cheaper” plan - not streaming.

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?

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.

The Freestyle Daily - Day 5 Ocho Rios, Jamaica Click to download PDF Day 5.pdf

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:

PS: If you want an early morning warm breakfast, O'Sheehan's is open for breakfast at 6 am. We just had our first morning coffee there and it was the best coffee we have found so far on the ship. We plan to eat breakfast there tomorrow morning. 🙂

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.

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:

Good morning from a very windy Escape! Glad we booked a more sheltered angled balcony!🙂. More details about that later… It is not looking good for Great Stirrup Cay tomorrow, but maybe the weatherman is wrong. Time will tell - either way, we will enjoy our last 2 days on Escape.

Hi @kittymamma They don’t really close. Sometimes they will open a little before 7 too. Here are the offerings for the early risers:

🤣 I thought I was well prepared with a sailaway drink on our balcony. It was LONG gone by the time the last excursion finally returned.

I will close out day 5 tomorrow... If you have requests, please let me know - tomorrow is a sea day and I will have time to hunt down more answers. Thank you for following along with our adventure!

Views from our Balcony: We loved watching all the port action from our balcony. If I were not returning to a beach vacation in Florida, I would have been on one of those beaches. Since it was cloudy, we enjoyed watching all the activity in the bay. I may have danced the "Macarena" on the balcony with that Cool Cool Runnings crowd on that Catamaran. 😉 Swim with the dolphins, s seen from the ship: We watched this boy work so hard to succeed!

A Little Comic Break - The Weather: 1. What the weatherman says (real time): The reality (real time): Nothing 'mostly sunny' about that... not even 'partly cloudy'. Try Mostly Cloudy 😄

The two areas that are worth exploring on foot, if you don't book an excursion:

Our Recommendations for Ocho Rios: Since this is an area known for bad traffic and incidents, we highly recommend sticking to a ship excursion or walking to one of the nearby beaches. In the past, we walked to the beach when you turn left out of the port. It is a very short walk and easy to access. You have to pay a fee to enter, but it is worth the peace of mind to be close to the ship. Even tonight, some excursions buses were very late and returned after 'all aboard'. If this happens during official excursions, you don't want to be on your own 'excursion' and get left behind. The beach in the background behind this harbor is where we went in the past: This beach to the right may also be a good option - it may be worth a search. It looks like you leave the port, turn right to cross a small bridge, and arrive at this area. All very close walking distance from the port: PS: I Googled and this is Margaritaville.

Our Quick Walk: There are some great spots for tropical views of the ship: Norwegian Epic in port with us - though docked in an industrial area: The pier is beautiful and fenced so it is safer for kids - also a great place to look for sealife: TIP: There is a straw market right outside the port area. The vendors are fairly aggressive to sell their items and everyone has pretty much the same items for sale.

We arrived much earlier than anticipated to Ocho Rios due to a medical emergency. Thankful for our captain who values life. To that family, if you are reading this, we have been praying off and on all day for you. ❤️ Some views of the port area in the early morning:

My View: Day 5 - Ocho Rios, Jamaica

The Freestyle Daily - Day 4 (The Im Promptu Sea Day) Download PDF: Day 4.pdf

We have not had the opportunity to meet him yet. I think he has been very busy with the weather and itinerary changes. I can tell from the announcements that he is a very good leader. He seems to truly care about both passengers and his staff & crew. 🙂

My View: End of Day 4 - At Sea (that cancelled Grand Cayman Day)

Howling at the Moon: Our very first dueling pianos experience was on Escape in 2016. Again, that set the bar so high for THE BEST dueling pianos show, that this one was a bit disappointing. However, it is still fun to see the crowd get involved. We stayed for about 1 hour - it was definitely enjoyable but we missed the back and forth kidding between the two panists, as well as playing the same song while taking turns to 'duel it out' on the piano. Last night was more of a turn taking- "I play a song, you play a song". No real interaction, joking and ad lib like we had experienced in the past. TIP: Show up at least 15-30 minutes early. We got there about 7 minutes before they were scheduled to start and we only found 'back row' seats.

Sunset on the balcony:

Random Drinks Package Statement (before I forget): I love that NCL has the beverage package included in the specials for booking. At first, we thought it would not be worth the price increase, since DH does not drink any sugary drinks. He will occasionally take a sip of mine, but it is never worth buying a whole drinks package. However, the beverage package gratuities came out to less that $43 per day - so 3-4 drinks would basically cover that. That is why I like using this opportunity to try new drinks - if I don't like it, nothing is lost. Something else we love: You don't have to juggle your cutlery in the buffet (or go look for it if you forget to pick it up). It is already wrapped up at the tables: