coach jim

One added benefit of going to the M&G is to meet some of the officers and get their contact info.  We had a few issues dealt with immediately because we were able to go right to the top, beveridge manager in one case.  Even if shy, great to be able to meet and later recognize a few friendly faces during your cruise.  As has been stated, you can always leave, but stay to get the officers info!

Just a few thoughts, I have done 5 of these.  Just to involve more people I do cocktail/beer and music trivia to get cards and give a king/queen of trivia prize at the end.  We have tried to make arrangements with the bar manager but did not get any help.  15 to 25 is ideal, bigger than that gets a little unwieldy.  Stay about 20 min. at each bar, you should leave a few minutes early to "warn" the next bar.  Keep it to two floors, one early trip on the stairs or elevator.  Keep a tight schedule the first three bars, train tends to go a little off the rails after that.  Most do these first day at sea, I always ran mine right after sail away, personal preference and the fact that the M & G, slot pull and cabin crawl were scheduled first day at sea.  If possible be on the waterfront for sunset!  Have fun and let me know if you need any other info.  I have attached a simple schedule I am using on the Escape, one bar on 7 the rest on 8.

Escape2020CC.docx

I have organized a few of these, last one on the Bliss.  You can add either poker, everyone gets a card at each stop, we did cocktail trivia.  Since we cruised in Feb. I brought Mardi Gras crowns and beads from party city for the winners.  We did ours right after sail away, most do it first day at sea.  Stay tight to the schedule first two bars then the wheels start to come off.  We also went to the waterfront for sunset pictures.  Here was our schedule:

4:45-5:00   Margaritaville on 17 (organized)                                               

5:00-5:20 The Local 7                        

5:25-5:45 DBH on 8                             

5:45-6:05 Maltings on 8                          

6:15-6:30 Sugarcane on 8                  

6:30-???  Observation Lounge on 15

My wife and I have been on both.  A few differences, Escape has the ropes course and sports complex, bigger thermal spa at the front of the ship and Howl at the Moon.  Bliss has the observation lounge, enclosed smoking area of the casino, Cavern Club, go karts and laser tag.  Our favorite is the Escape, we spend a lot of time in the thermal spa, Escape has more tile loungers and a bigger area.  Our favorite night time activity was Howl at the Moon.  For us, go karts and laser tag are a waste of space but the observation lounge was a great area and we enjoyed the Beatles show at the Cavern Club.  Escape has Bayamo while Bliss has Ocean blue though they now have similar menus.  For us we enjoyed both but the thermal spa and Howl at the moon gave the edge to the Escape.

We were on the same cruise and have to agree with everything "Itseaya" said.  I would just add the comedy show was good and Prohibition was great fun and not surprisingly a bit "naughty".  It does take place in a New Orleans brothel. Closed the DBH just about every night and loved Jim Badger and yes was a target of his barbs the first night so come with a sense of humor!  We did miss not having Howl at the Moon, but Jim was great fun.  As stated, the staff was really friendly.  Loved Jersey Boys, a few people complained about the language so be aware if easily offended. I live and work in North Jersey, the language was authentic!

Great video!  We were on the same cruise, had a great time.  Congratulations on your anniversary!

Thank you!  This was a helpful overview.  We travel on the Bliss on 2/16 and cannot wait.  Separate from the long wait which was unfortunate, how was the food at la Cuccina?  Any clear reason for the long wait?

I have led a few on the Getaway, Escape, and this year it will be on the Bliss.  As stated, these ships make "travel" a little easier as most bars are on 6, 7, 8.  The one twist I do is cocktail/beer/drinking songs trivia.  Same concept with the poker run except cards are handed out for correct answers.  We have almost 100 people signed up for our Bliss cruise so I am setting up three groups.  Great way to meet people and get the layout of the ship.  Enjoy!

It looks like they have switched out some of the Pacific NW beers for Florida based beers.  Very similar to list from the Escape.  We board the Bliss in 44 more days!

Fantastic review of your voyage.  Loved the photos and your inclusion of the dailies. We travel on the Bliss in Feb. so this was a big help.  Thank you for taking the time to do this and Happy New Year!

Great review, I look forward to the rest.  We travel on the Bliss in Feb., can't wait!

Thank you for taking the time to do this.  Love the photos.  We sail on the Bliss in Feb.

Thanks so much for taking us along.  We sail on the Bliss in Feb.

There is a group of us that were on the Escape last Feb.  We had such a great time we all booked the Bliss for this year.  Really need to get out of the North during Feb..  Thanks again for your review and the photos!

Thanks so much for your review!  We board in Feb. and cannot wait.

Thank you so much for posting these!

As always, another great trip "review", Thanks for taking us along.

Coach Jim

Great article, I think very accurate. Thanks for sharing.

Coach Jim

Doug,

Thanks so much for the awesome live "review" Well done!

Safe travels

Looking forward to the review. Have a great cruise!

That sounds amazinly fun! We need you to join the Gem 10/20 cruise and organize the m/g and a pub crawl. :) :D;);)

Would love to but already booked for the Bliss Feb, 2019! We have a big part of our Escape crawl booked for the Bliss.;)

I have organized a pub crawl the last two years, first on the Getaway then on the Escape this past Feb. With both we decided to do it right after sail way. This way everyone could get a feel for the ship. We hung out with people we met on the pub-crawl the rest of the week. The other reason we did it the first day was because of the the activities planned for the first sea day, M & G, gift exchange, cabin crawl and slot pull. Doing it after sail away means it will run into dinner but that was not a problem. Key is to hold to a "schedule" at least the first three bars, 15-20 minutes at each bar. After that things start to take on a life of their own! We started at Margaretaville at 4:45, then Waves bar, down to seven for O'Sheehan's, then up to eight for Sugarcane, Sunset/5 O'Clock bar on the waterfront and the District Brew House. Key with timing was hitting the sunset bar/5 O'Clock Somewhere on the water front at sunset! The crew that made it to the DBH were the people we hung out with the rest of the week. With the Getaway, Sunset bar was the last stop. I put together cocktail and beer trivia and attempted to connect it to the bar. We gave out poker cards for correct answers, best hand won and were crowned king/queen of trivia. This past Feb we had two outstanding trivia masters so we crowned a Queen and King! First time the group was about 20, this year we started with over 30. It is a great way to meet people and get the layout of the ship. We asked that everyone wear Mardi Gras beads to identify they were part of the group, I brought extras.

Just been informed by a friend currently on escape that they only allow 10 people to sign up for the district brew house competition is this true ? Thought you would be the best person to ask 🤣

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I am just off the Escape and yes it is limited to 10.

Coach Jim

Hey, I am organizing a pub crawl for our 2/17 cruise. Question, how did you arrange the tray of drinks at the various stops?

Thanks,

Coach Jim

Thanks for the detailed well balanced report. What were the slide rules you did not like?

Sent from my iPhone using Forums