KansasTexan

On the Escape, October '23, I showed up after the music had started and asked if I could be at one of the cocktail tables in the back. If I remember right, I stood at a tall table which I shared with a couple I didn't know. We were able to order drinks. No extra charge.

13 minutes ago, erisajd said:

We don’t play it loud. Just something to listen to while enjoying an adult beverage or late aftn or even on the balcony.  
 

But you’re right.  I’m sure I’ll get harassed.  It’s what cruise critic does 

It's not always a matter of getting harassed - sometimes it's just wondering if you've considered that the people in the balcony next to yours might not want to hear your music. Or any music. It's really just a matter of manners.

5 hours ago, Travelling2Some said:

Coincidentally, I just did the check-in for our Viva cruise an hour ago and I was pleasantly surprised.  I always recall it as being a pain in the butt but this time a lot of the stuff was autofilled.  We saved our pictures from the last ordeal and uploading them went smoothly this time too.  They still ask a few needless questions and try to sell you stuff but, all in all, I'm thinking the process has improved.

When I checked in for my last cruise, I was on a long camping/road trip and did the checkin standing in the parking lot of a laundromat in some small town in Montana. Had good cell phone reception and didn't have to connect to anyone's wifi. Used a selfie with the stripmall in the background. No problem loading it to the site. No makeup, had barely brushed my hair. (Didn't care.) Had my passport with me and completed the whole thing in under 5 minutes. Maybe I was lucky? Don't know. 

Doesn't your passport number change when you renew it?

36 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

What about the kiddos?  The kid’s menu is available in all restaurants. When ordering from the kid’s menu in a specialty restaurant, let your server know right away since the food is prepared in a different galley. 
 

So...if one (an adult) REALLY wanted beef, I guess one could ask for a hamburger? 

The Casino on deck 7 might be a good place to meet. I'm pretty sure it will be closed while in port and there are plenty of chairs there. It's more-or-less midship so your group could proceed to whichever end of the ship is being used for disembarking at the port. 

I sailed on the Escape in October, 2023. A friend of mine is vegan and she received wonderful attention from the manager/waitstaff of the Savor restaurant. From what I understand, she spoke with the manager (Julie) at lunch on embarkation day and ate in Savor for almost all of her meals. I was mega-impressed by the consideration she was given and she said the food was excellent.

3 hours ago, KansasTexan said:

I was on the Escape for a NE/Canada cruise in October of 2023. I sailed as a solo but met up with a group of other solo cruisers and had an excellent time. The ship, itself, was in great shape - clean and well maintained. I can't speak to the pools and hot tubs because I didn't use them. I ate at one Specialty Restaurant (Bayamo) and the food was outstanding although the service was a little spotty. The service and food in Taste and Savor was very good. I would have preferred more live, musical entertainment (not a gameshow fan) but Choir of Man and the one Beatles show I saw were super. My only real complaint was with the debarkation process - both at ports and at final debarkation in Seattle. It felt disorganized and (at times) chaotic. The crew didn't seem to take command of what felt like a very pushy and impatient crowd of passengers and it was much less than pleasant or smooth.

haha. I feel like I must have been asleep when I typed this. No, I didn't see any Beatles show on the Escape. And debarkation was at NYC, not Seattle. I'll do better next time. :)

2 hours ago, hallux said:

I sailed the Escape a year ago - had a GREAT time!  The Choir of Man was excellent, the band in  The Pour House was excellent, Howl at the Moon was excellent.

 

On the Escape?  That ship doesn't have a Beatles band on it, was it one of the other bands doing Beatles songs?

oh! you may be right. I was on the encore a year earlier. Must have been where I saw that. 

I was on the Escape for a NE/Canada cruise in October of 2023. I sailed as a solo but met up with a group of other solo cruisers and had an excellent time. The ship, itself, was in great shape - clean and well maintained. I can't speak to the pools and hot tubs because I didn't use them. I ate at one Specialty Restaurant (Bayamo) and the food was outstanding although the service was a little spotty. The service and food in Taste and Savor was very good. I would have preferred more live, musical entertainment (not a gameshow fan) but Choir of Man and the one Beatles show I saw were super. My only real complaint was with the debarkation process - both at ports and at final debarkation in Seattle. It felt disorganized and (at times) chaotic. The crew didn't seem to take command of what felt like a very pushy and impatient crowd of passengers and it was much less than pleasant or smooth.

8 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Wow.  That is unbelievable.  The art auctioneer?  Really?  I'd rather they just picked random crew members to enjoy a dinner with loyal passengers.  A perk for the crew member and a perk for the passengers.  Seriously, I'd rather have dinner with the guy working in the laundry over the art auctioneer.

I'd LOVE to have dinner with the art auction manager. But I'm an art collector who *might* just ask some pointed questions about the sales tactics and the art available on the ship. I can guarantee it would be an interesting dinner. :)

At 63 years old, I participate in CrossFit classes 4X/week. The classes combine endurance/interval work and weightlifting. Weightlifting is my favorite thing to do and I've never had an issue with my suitcases. (If I pack it, I carry it.) I walk my dog at least 30 minutes daily and try to make walking or hiking part of every vacation. This summer, I drove from Louisiana to Washington state and back to Kansas and hiked in some amazing places. Looking forward to my Alaska cruise in October. I've booked a climbing/rappelling excursion.

On 2/11/2024 at 4:14 PM, ready2cruzagain said:

We sailed on the Epic last month for 3 weeks. We both can't believe the decline in the food on the Epic. We usually gain at least 7 lbs each on a 3 week cruise, we both lost a couple of pounds. I understand that food is subjective but the cuts and types of meats offered was shocking. Below is a few examples:

 

La Bistro - fillet was so tough you could not even chew it, portions seem to be half the size, I have never seen pureed Pasta Fagioli soup but it sure was pureed with 2 macaroni noodles (tasted and looked like white bean soup with 2 macaroni noodles floating in it)!

 

Moderno - meats were tough, hard to get someone to come to the table with meat, lamb chops is now lamb sirloin and it was very fatty and had a really bad wild smell, the sausage was the size of cocktail sausages and burned (no longer the large sausage that you would put on a bun), etc. We had booked Moderno's twice but cancelled the second booking since it was so bad the first time.

 

Shanghai's - portions were about half the size they use to be. 

 

Main Dining Room - I must say the menu's were really bad. I understand the menus repeat each week but out of 7 days, the main items were turkey twice, brats twice and pork several times. The New York Strip on the classic menu had a good taste but too tough to chew. We ordered pasta several times for it to be really dry and not much sauce on it. They use to serve Swordfish, Cod, Grouper, or trout. The fish they offered this time was Coalfish (Pollock), Tilapia, Hake, Flounder. They did have Red Snapper in an Asian Dish but there was one 1 inch square piece of Snapper and no more fish!

 

O'Sheehan's - not a fan of the wings anymore. They were so soggy! We use to eat them all the time, not this time. 

 

Just a question, do all the ships puree every soup? Every soup on the Epic was pureed, corn chowder, bean soup, pasta fagioli, even the French Onion soup had no onion in it, just broth.

 

Cagney's, La Cucina and Teppanyaki's were the best. We don't eat rice and asked for Udon noodles at Teppanyaki's and they were awesome!

 

Don't get me wrong, we didn't starve but was shocked at the decline in the food quality. We have the Jewel booked next, hoping it is better than the Epic. Will probably be going back to MSC after that if the food remains as bad as it was on the Epic.

 

Otherwise had a great 3 weeks!

 

I'm surprised Le Bistro served a classic Italian soup.

Thanks for the detailed review and lovely pics! I was on this cruise September of 2022 and loved it. Loved it so much I'm booked for Sept '24.  My absolute favorite part of the ship is the Waterfront. Spent most of my waking hours there (oh, and at Maltings). Glacier Bay day, there was coffee, hot chocolate, adult add-ins, and chowder. For me, it was a trip of a lifetime. Or at least I thought it was. :)

I’m getting excited now, for sure!!! Doing one last load of laundry before I finish packing tomorrow or Friday. I’ll be at the ICT airport bright and early Saturday morning. See you on board!

I board Sunday. Thanks for this.

3 hours ago, KasperGutman said:

I wasn't on the Escape specifically, but I didn't find the pizza at La Cucina that much better than the buffet. 

 

I will say though thatI really enjoyed the Cannoli (enough that I go to La Cucina after eating my dinner in the buffet just for dessert)

So if we want to get dessert and coffee, we can do only that at a specialty restaurant?

I just cancelled my P+ for the Oct 1 Escape sailing. For me, it's not worth the hassle of finding out which bar sells what brand at any given time. I cruise to (first and foremost) relax. If given the opportunity, I'll likely pay the upcharge for a glass of the Pommery Rosé (so I can see if I like it) but I'm more of a martini or sipping whiskey person, anyway. I think I'll be able to find more than adequate selection on the Free at Sea package.

My favorite drink is a Sazarac. Not sure if there is Absinthe available on board, though. Second to that: Rusty Nail. I tend to not drink much during the day and like darker, sipping drinks after dinner. Looking forward to checking out the whiskey/bourbon offerings on the Escape in October. I enjoyed Maltings very much on the Encore. 

It was close for me to make an 11:35 flight last September. The problem wasn't on NCL's end, it was that SEA-TAC was packed and the lines to get through TSA were so very, very long. If I had it to do again, I'd have pre-check. I didn't at the time and it was stress-inducing. (Getting off the ship and onto the shuttle which left quickly for the airport presented no problems.)

53 minutes ago, ziggyuk said:

 

Seriously the Pommery Brut Rose Champagne is a really decent and highly rated Champagne, it's more of a blush than a rose.

 

I'm looking forward to trying it. :)

23 hours ago, Cruise5life said:

 

i use these that actually keep your water cold for more than 10 minutes.  
 

I also bring an assortment of crystal lite packages with me.     
fill it with ice and it can last all day with out having to add more ice.    
 

and I never use a glass to fill.    I just make sure to never touch anything when filling.    It dirtier just pushing the refill button that hundreds of other people have touched to get water in the buffet.    
 

and I also get ice daily and store it in my cabin cooler to last longer.    This way I have ice all day as well.   Instead of leaving it on the desk to melt in a few hours.     
 

3 cruises.  30 days at sea and 3 different cruise lines.  

um, yuck?!? No matter how careful you claim to be, if I see you filling your water bottle directly from the common spout, I'll find another place to get my own beverage. How difficult is it to just grab a clean glass and do things the way the cruise line asks you to do? 

18 hours ago, cruisekitty22 said:

We are on the Escape next week and booked all 4 Choir of Man shows as this is our favorite show NCL does.  We pre-booked this show  and it still has reservations as of today.  Definitely reserve for this show as soon as you board.  Cant say about the comedy shows. We dont go to those. 

Does pre-booking allow one to reserve more than one showing? I've wondered about this. Are some people able to see a certain show multiple times (or at least fill up the reservations multiple times) and that leaves some people not able to see at all? I get that it's a great show! I saw it on the Encore last September.

I made an 11:35 am flight last September - but just barely. I wonder if it depends on how many ships are debarking on any one given morning. 

Apart from thinking about the convenience of a pill organizer (I use one but not for cruising. For that I take meds in original bottles), consider how long it might take to identify your meds if you're in a medical emergency. Speaking as an experienced healthcare provider, nothing is as frustrating as trying to deal with emergent patient care AND figure out what meds they're on. It can make a huge difference in outcome. Just food for thought.