starfishee

We will be going in April. I have signed up for an excursion to Rose Island through Sandy Toes. They have snorkeling and private beach area with, what looks like, a fun bar. I will post a review when we get back!!!!

 

Michelle

We were interested in this, but it looks like it is only available if you arrive in Nassau in the morning. We do not arrive until 1pm. Do you know if that is the case? Or do they have different times. Their website is having issues and I can't seem to click on anything to get more information. TIA.

Awesome video! We leave in 2 weeks and you're video got us even more excited! How did you like Jost Van Dyke? We also scheduled the Rebel Yell

St. Thomas - we took a cab to Red Hook and grabbed the first ferry we could over to St. John (two thirds of this island is a US National park, unspoiled perfection!). We then walked to a local dive shop and grabbed some snorkel gear (very clean, professional and friendly!). Then we cabbed it over to Maho Bay (recommended by a friend), which was positively incredible!!! (Doing this again when we cruise the Escape in two months) There were no crowds, it was so serene. I will let you know that there are no restaurants or bars to buy food or drink, so if you plan on going for any length of time, i'd definitely recommend getting something to eat and drink in town and bringing it along, at the very least, a bottle of water. The surf was so calm, it would be great for the kids, the views were incredible, and best of all, we snorkeled with the turtles and didn't have to pay the high price of an excursion to do so! They were right there feeding on the sea grass beds, tons of them!!! After spending a few hours there, we grabbed a cab to head back towards town, we did have to stop off to see Cinnamon Bay, which was equally breathtaking! Then into Cruz Bay to grab a bite to eat, a few drinks and check out the shops. The people of St. John were so pleasant and welcoming, we did not want to leave this island, but had to! Took the ferry back to St. Thomas and a cab back to the ship. St. John was the most beautiful place we'd ever seen in all of the islands we've been to. until .....

Tortola - took the Norwegian excursion "Escape to Jost Van Dyke" and it was perfection, paradise at it's best! It is a 45 minute power catamaran ride (they pick you up right next to the cruise dock) through the Virgin Islands that takes you right up to the water's edge on Jost. There's not a lot to do but swim, go for walks, relax and take in the breathtaking beauty of this unspoiled piece of paradise. Hands down, the epitomy of paradise!! Complete state of relaxation ensued it the time we spent here (the only downside is that since it's such a short time in Tortola, we only got 3 hours on Jost!). However, you still have the 45 minute catamaran ride back! Definitely 4 1/2 hours well spent! (Doing this again when we cruise the Escape in April as well!!!!)

Nassau - After the time we stopped there, we said we wouldn't do it again, buuuut, it was really hot that day on the ship. So we decided that we would go ashore and head over to Junkanoo Beach which we had done several times before. Mistake! Nassau has gone downhill more and more, year by year. We will NOT be getting off of the ship this next cruise!

Enjoy your cruise whatever you decide, she's a great ship! Happy sailing!

We leave in less than 90 days. First time on NCL. Looking forward to hearing your viewpoint and any do not miss restaurants as DH and I are also foodies.

We sailed on the Escape last winter, as well as the Norwegian Epic back in 2013....our favorite restaurant by far was Cagney's!!! With that being said, we all had various different steaks each time, I guess my point is that it's really a place for beef lovers! As I recall, there are both pork & lamb options as well as several seafood entrees. (We NEVER get seafood on a cruise as we are from the northeast and we are spoiled by fresh seafood!) as we were on the dining packages on both cruises, we definitely overindulged. Everything from the starters right through to the dessert was A++! We are actually sailing on the Escape in April and that was the one specialty restaurant we just had to go back to (and we aren't on the dining plan!!). This is just mho, however, I am also a foodie that not only enjoys eating a good meal, but also finds great joy in preparing one as well!! Happy sailing !!

Not when the "real" port is Nassau. What a dump that place is.

AGREED! :mad:

We went on the Escape January 30-February 6 and the only time we were cold was in the restaurants. Nighttime was windy a lot, but not cold. It was great!

When we did this excursion back in February, we took the 9:15. We absolutely loved it, we didn't care about getting chairs as the water was to beautiful to not be enjoying your drink in. We started at Soggy Dollar (of course), walked down to One Love, stopped at Gertrude's on our way back, then over to Ivan's (loved this spot). My one big recommendation is that if you plan to go to Ivan's, bring water shoes! Depending on the tide, the rocks can be wet and slippery. Definitely one of the most beautiful places we've been in the islands, the whitest sand and the bluest water. We are on the Escape this coming April 8th and we are booked again for the Escape to Jost, looking forward to it. I hope those of you that are booked that are first timers fall in love with it the way that we did!

We did this in June with our 12 and 14 YO kids they loved it. We wore shoes, have to have shoes super sharp and climbed over the hill to Ivans( to the right then come to the beach), which never opened (its on island time)but was a mostly private beach day. Then we headed back and got a few drinks kids swam and hung out in hammocks. Yes there are drunk people. One guy I thought was going to drown in front of us. My DD is a water polo player and I almost had her swim him to his boat but he had friends with him.

 

If you don't want to climb the hill head to the left away from soggy dollar lots of other beach vendors and fewer boats in the water.

 

This was my kids 9th cruise and they will tell you it was their favorite excursion. They just wish they wore goggles on the way back. If you sit in the front of the boat you will be soaked to the bone. I sat up in the captains area with the bags. You can always stow your bag up there and ride the waves up front if you want. Another couple on the excursion with us who where also in the Haven said their water proof bag failed and they lost 2 iphones and a kindle.

Excellent, i'll have to share this info with my family & friends traveling with kids! Thanks for sharing.

My only thought would be to walk PAST the Soggy Dollar....and stop at one of the places that charge to rent lounges. It is SO much quieter there....cannot remember the name but there is a restaurant, bar and cute shop with some nice items too. And the Pina Coladas were the best! Freshly grated nutmeg if you want.....just a really wonderful day.

 

Of course if you like the more loud music and party atmosphere...then the Soggy Dollar is for you! We did stop there on our short walk to the Rebel to buy a tee shirt....and were SO glad that we did not choose to spend the day there as it was too crowded and loud for us. I think that watching the younger ones would also be much easier as they swim in the ocean in a spot that is not FULL of other swimmers.

 

I believe the charge was $10 per person.....shade trees if you like......truly our favorite spot out of the 14 days we spent this past trip!

Thank you!

I'm gonna say no to that. It's the most beautiful white sand beach, I don't think there is much to see there. It's great for swimming and running your toes through the sand.

There was not much to see where we were swimming. I don't know if anyone else saw anything.

 

 

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I agree, it's definitely all about swimming, lounging, taking in the incredible view, checking out all of the little bars/restaurants on the beach and certainly a few painkillers. Agreed, definitely the most gorgeous beach, and that water:eek:

It looks wonderful there!! I can't wait.

 

We went ahead and just booked with the ship as we have a few first time cruisers and they are worried about not getting back in time. I am trying to talk them into a non ship excursion in St Thomas. Not holding my breath though....

It really is worth the money, we have never paid for an excursion through the ship as it is such a huge mark up. However, due to the short stay in Tortola and possible risk of missing the ship, i felt it was worth it. Without a doubt, money well spent! And it really is a beautiful ride on the Rebel Yell!

As far as St. Thomas, we took the ferry from Red Hook to Cruz Bay in St. John. Reliable with a lot of options as far as getting to St. John and back. Ferry was a quick ride, about 20 minutes and it was extremely inexpensive. There are cabs everywhere when you arrive in Cruz Bay ready to take you wherever you'd like to go. My only recommendation is to avoid Trunk Bay as i've heard from many people that it is mobbed on port days since that's where a lot of the ship's excursions take their passengers.

We did this excursion last week (sigh...) we were back in plenty of time for sail away. Here is a picture of my youngest on the beach at Jost Van Dyke.

 

 

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We did this excursion back in February when we stopped in Tortola on the Escape. It was just 3 adults, so we didn't really think about the kid-friendliness factor, or lack there of when we were on Jost. We are going on the Escape again in April, there are 12 of us which includes twins age 12 as well as a 14 & 16 y/o. What is your opinion on JVD with kids?

You don't need to be "sloshed"! I can no longer drink like I used to, but let's do the math:

 

B/fast : 2 mimosa's, bloody Mary's , or Bailey's and coffee = $15.00 approx.

Lunch : 2 drinks/beers = 15.00-18.00 approx

Afternoon by pool 3 drinks/beers =22.00-25.00 approx

Pre dinner/dinner 2 drinks = 15.00-18.00

Evening shows/ walking around etc. 3 more 22.00-25-00

 

That's 12 drinks averaging about 1 an hour ( 8am-8pm)

 

89.00 low end a day, I didn't even add in Martini's at dinner instead of mixed drinks.

 

You are not sitting at a bar for 12 hrs.Straight you are moving around, eating while consuming .

 

To many it may seem quite a bit , to others very manageable ! Certainly not "sloshed"!

That sounds like a reasonable calculation to me. Some days more, some days less. A perfect justification of the UBP!

Would you believe it? Day 3 (Sea day) greeted us with a beautiful rainbow, again!

 

 

:eek::eek::eek::eek: You were super lucky!!!

Ugh, disappointing dining reports, hope it was reported on reviews and mentioned to Ncl representatives.

 

 

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We didn't have all bad experiences with the dining, i'd say we had a mixed bag. We thought that the buffet was great, breakfast, lunch and dinner were all good, great variety that changed from day to day. We lunch and dinner in the MDR, good meals, no complaints, will definitely go back. I would definitely get the Steak Frites again...delish. We will try the breakfast in the MDR as i've heard it's quite good. We absolutely LOVED Cagney's, just as much as we did on the Epic a few years ago. The filet is cooked to perfection! We were slightly disappointed with Moderno as we found it to be outstanding on the Epic, and just mediocre on the Escape, wouldn't bother going again. Tried Le Bistro for the first time, not super excited about that, it wasn't bad, it wasn't good, just meh. O'Sheehans for breakfast, less than stellar, it was almost if they went to the buffet and filled your order from there and then let it sit for 15 minutes before serving it. O'Sheehans pub grub was great, went several times, their wings are yummy! Margaritaville you could not pay us to go back to, my friend definitely got food poisoning there, not to mention, the food was just awful....But honestly, think about it, it's Margaritaville, their food is not good on land, I don't know why we thought it would be good at sea. For us, we really found Cagney's as the only specialty restaurant that seemed any better than the complimentary options. Overall, plenty of great meals to be had, just not feeling the need to pay for the specialty when the inclusive meals are just as good...if not better. Just mho.

Those T1 cabins are on decks 10, 11 & 12. I would call NCL directly, their cruise consultants are fantastic!!! They'll get you right where you want to be...provided it's available! Mine told me last week that they only show online a very small percentage of what is actually available for booking, that it's always best to call direct. If you want to give me your email, I can send the name and direct # for the NCL consultant that i've used for my cruises and turned all of my family and friends on to....or perhaps I can post it? Anyone have any idea if that is acceptable on CC??

Thank you for the review. We leave on the Escape Saturday. You confirmed my suspicions about the baths. We opted for Jost Van Dyke instead and after hearing your take on the baths, I'm confident we made the right decision.

 

 

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Yessssssss! Escape to Jost Van Dyke was AWESOME!!!! It was definitely worth every penny, the crew on the Rebel Yell were great, the ride there was absolutely indescribably beautiful and White Bay was absolutely BREATHTAKING!!!!!!!!!!!!! Painkillers are delish! Great decision!

Your best bet is to call NCL directly, I have a cruise consultant that I work with and she told me that online it will only show you a small portion of what is actually available in the cabin category that you choose. I was able to talk to her when I booked last week and she got me EXACTLY where I wanted to be!

Well the short answer is that you most certainly are not paying 18% for everything. The long answer is , well you are not in New Zealand, so you should try following the different customs. But of course you may not tip anybody 1 penny extra because they should live in New Zealand and adhere to your tipping rules.:mad: And it is not expected, simply a nice thing to do , as I stated.

Having just returned from a sailing, I must say that I was shocked to see/hear how many people only rely on this daily service charge/prepaid gratituties fee and do not go out of their way to provide additional cash gratuities to a cabin steward or a restaurant waiter/maitre dmwho was especially helpful.

 

These folks work very hard at tough jobs for a nominal salary - if my few extra dollars to thank them for their hard work and attention can help make somebody's day brighter, Especially when they are on the ship 8 months straigh working 7 days a week, then I am all for doing that and hope others do as well.

We cruise on the Pearl on Sunday (YAY, finally)! We have the "totally" free UBP (booked in March 2015 before they started adding the 18%). Will we be charged 18% for each drink?? I didn't think so, but now I wonder?

I know! There are a few dirty martinis and the like as well as some scotch type things ( not a drinker of them) that are above 15 dollars. But in reading the drink menus WITH the new prices, we will be fine with included drinks. I have a whole list to drink through!

I have family on the Escape this week. I told them in advance of the price increases I read about online, and they assured me NCL would not do that. Then they got onboard and called me to say yes, NCL did, in fact, jack up all the drink prices.

Disappointing, NCL has always been so affordable and reasonable in our experience when compared to other lines.

Apparently you are not in the loop here on NCL's across the board increase on "Super Premium" drinks to $16.95 (not to be confused with the higher end "Ultra Premium") and some mixed drinks such as chocolate martini, Chiroc Vodka Cosmo or Prairie Gin and Tonic for $17.95 each which will be a $3.48 supplement for each. While there are alternative liquors to most drinks, they suggest the mixed drink combinations with the ones requiring supplement and no one has suggested a great alternative to the chocolate martini.

APPARENTLY NOT, so sorry for the error!

I think we got there about 11 or 11:30.

Thanks!;)