panthers_4890

Just to double-back on this topic after-the-fact, ESPN did pick up the TNT hockey broadcast on the ship, likely due to the fact that the Lakers got swept two nights prior. Unfortunately, my team followed suit and promptly got swept themselves 😭

1 hour ago, twangster said:

The playoffs are exclusive to TNT in America.  

 

Cruise ships are international and not bound by domestic viewing restrictions.  It all depends if any of the international sources they have available on board have acquired broadcasting rights.   ESPN International and ESPN Caribbean are vastly different than ESPN in the US and they often carry major sporting events like this.  

 

ESPN Caribbean Schedule:

 

https://www.tvpassport.com/tv-listings/stations/espn-caribbean/8135/2023-05-23

 

Indicates NHL Hockey at 8pm on Tuesday.  

 

https://www.tvpassport.com/tv-listings/stations/espn-caribbean/8135/2023-05-25

 

Thursday as well, 8pm.

 

Yeah, unfortunately those are the Western Conference Final games that are already scheduled to be on ESPN. The NBA is scheduled during Games 4 and 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday and Friday (5/24 and 5/26) on ESPN, so wasn't sure if one of those ESPN channels would swap in the NHL game.

I've seen a few older posts about this, but there doesn't seem to be clear follow-ups. We will be on the Liberty of the Seas next week for Games 4 and 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals. However, the series we are interested in is exclusively on TNT, which I'm aware is not one of the channels Royal gets onboard. Seeing as there isn't a Playmakers on LOS, does anyone have experience on if TNT playoff games get syndicated on any of the other sports channels? The NBA will be on ESPN both nights, so I'm unsure if any of the other channels will swap in the hockey game. I understand I can get a streaming plan, but wanted to see if anyone has seen TNT games being shown at all in the past 2 years.

Thanks in advance!

The crux of the matter isn't with the tests. It's the fact that the cruise industry is actively keeping people away from using it as a means to travel. You wonder why they're bleeding money...they literally will go under if they keep testing and vax restrictions in place.

Just think about it -- a family has a choice to travel to a resort without any testing or vaccine requirements for 5 days, or they can take a 5-day cruise in which they can be denied boarding and have their entire vacation ruined by testing positive for a virus that they may not have known they had otherwise because they didn't show symptoms and have been vaccinated already. Cost of doing business? Sounds like one is making an unwise business decision to me. But so long as people...feel...safe, I guess?

13 minutes ago, MrBill923 said:

The industry's costs have gone up for many reasons, not just Covid related. Customers want to sail again and would gladly fill up the ships. But until Covid cases fall off to a "cold type" virus, it's just going to continue to affect everyone's lives and businesses and keep people away. 

Obstinate countries? Countries that have way more problems than Covid, have to keep up stringent rules or they are in even more trouble. 

I think you'd be surprised how many people have colds when boarding a cruise ship. We just don't track the numbers to death like we do with COVID. I understand the cruise industry appearing to approach things in a level-headed manner, but the logical side of justifying the reason for restrictions doesn't seem to make much sense any longer. I really think we're at a point that is opposite what you are thinking. People want to travel on cruises, but the restrictions are keeping them away. Why would I gamble an entire week+ off from work in the off chance that I test positive for a virus that I either show no symptoms for or never do? If someone is truly wanting to enjoy cruising without any risk of contracting an illness, they have chosen the wrong form of travel. You can travel the world in much "safer" ways.

4 minutes ago, MrBill923 said:

The only things that are going to put an end to Covid are:  fully Vax, testing, masks. Until we all do this the cruising industry and so many other businesses are going to continue to struggle. 

With these relaxed rules, we are just going to see cases go way up again and then we start this terrible cycle all over again. 

The cruise industry will cease to exist if that is the supposed solution. They are bleeding money. The rest of society is easing restrictions, and the cruise industry has to do the same to have any hope of surviving. I'm honestly surprised they aren't moving quicker (like NCL) on rolling back the restrictions.

8 hours ago, josephmz said:

A couple of years ago on the Pearl, I hosted the M&G. Asked the Cruise Director about games. She said she didn't know if they would be available, but come Thursday they were available both publicly and in cabins.

She later told me later that due to my question they had gone fleet wide. Don't know if that was true or not, but I was glad to take the credit

 

GO HOKIES!

 

 

GO HOKIES, indeed! We will be cheering hard from the Atlantic (if we win on Friday)! Thanks for the responses, everyone. I’m more optimistic than I was last night!!

2 hours ago, tooleman56 said:

We've watched the games on past cruises, including on the big screen in the atrium. If there's enough interest, and I'm sure there will be, the games might be shown there on the Escape. Otherwise, they'll be shown somewhere else. We're on the March 24 sailing as well. Possible Virginia Tech-Duke matchup in the Sweet 16. Long-time Duke fan here, but I'm not obnoxious about it.

Excellent! We’ve bowed out of the tourney in the first round the last two years, so any basketball played beyond this Friday is great with me! But a Sweet 16 with Duke would be gigantic for Tech. Game would be in DC, a huge alumni center for the Hokies, as I’m sure it is for Duke, too. First things first...

Hope to see you aboard—Go Hokies!

My wife and I are traveling on the Norwegian Escape next week, which will be during the Round of 32 (Sunday), Sweet 16 and Elite 8 rounds, and we are curious if we'll have any luck finding these games shown anywhere on the ship. I know that ships tend to get the international channel lineups, and the NCAAT games are on CBS networks, so I'm not terribly optimistic. Hoping our Hokies can go a long way this year!

Unique Feature

Every ship or class of ship has its unique feature. On the Freedom and Oasis class ships, it's the Royal Promenade or Aqua Theater, while the Quantum class has its 270 lounge. The Breakaway and Breakaway Plus class ships have the Waterfront. Folks, this feature is a game-changer.

I read a review last night that someone did when the ship first sailed from Southampton. The reviewer praised the Waterfront, rightly saying that it's a step in the right direction in getting these mega-cruisers to get people to connect with the sea again. My biggest complaint of most cruise ships now is that you lose the feeling of being on the water. You can get the exact same experience if you just went to a resort somewhere on land and probably save yourself money. I just don't understand why you'd create a ship that routinely sails beautiful Caribbean waters and not give people every opportunity to SEE the water!

Well, NCL has hit a grand slam home run with the Waterfront. In that same review I read last night, the reviewer feared that because the Waterfront is so awesome, it would likely be jam-packed with people in the warmer climates, and it would lose its enjoyability. I can say with absolute certainty that it is the best place to be on the Escape. It was rarely crowded!! Every morning after breakfast, we would make our way to the Waterfront, and we always found a comfortable couch to read and enjoy the view. For how awful the pool area is on the ship, the Waterfront more than makes up for it.

Most of the deck is covered, mercifully. It was a very hot and humid trip, so to be in the shade was a blessing. Also, it poured rain all day in Nassau, but we were still able to enjoy the outdoors on the Waterfront. The Waterfront wraps around the back of the ship, so you can get a nice view of the ship's wake.

Many of you know that the restaurants on Deck 8 have outside seating on the Waterfront. We ate one meal outside, but it was very uncommon for tables to be filled outside. So, if you don't mind the humidity, you can request those tables, even if you didn't make a reservation. Cagney's offered us a table outside, but there was no airflow on that side that night, so we refused.

To make the Waterfront even better, there are a couple of bars in the middle of the deck. The 5 o'Clock Somewhere bar has a nice wraparound bar outside, including a few TVs. The wine bar also opens at night with a bar outside, but we didn't utilize that one.

I can't speak for the smaller ships in the NCL fleet, but the Waterfront alone has made us reconsider our future plans. I also loved Food Republic and the District so much that I would have a very tough time without them on the Breakaway and Getaway.

If I was going to plan a cruise ship, something like the Waterfront would HAVE to be there!

My favorite place to be!

Sailaway from the Waterfront!

A peaceful evening's hangout.

SCORE: 10+ out of 10

Sorry for the mini-break...getting back to the real world again can be tough!

Bars and Lounges

Broad category here, but thought I'd include it separate from the Dining part. I won't necessarily hit every single bar and lounge, but will hit highlights.

We were recently talking to a friend about the "centralized" areas on the ship, and I suppose that would be the Atrium and the Atrium Bar. It is by far the most well-stocked bar on the ship, and the staff is really good there. Jelica was our favorite bartender there...we experienced fun activities while there, including the trivia contests. A great space! It's a bit strange in location to do some of the shows, as Guest Services and all of those desks are right there off to the side. It didn't necessarily feel like an established entertainment space, but rather a space nestled into the deck among other things. What's really nice is that you can observe the goings on from above at O'Sheehan's.

The H2O Spice Bar is really fun...the bartenders joked around the entire trip, and they made sure you had a great time. One of our favorite places on the ship was the Prime Meridien Bar, located right in-between Moderno and Cagney's. It's a cool vibe. We never made it to Skyline, but it looked fun. The Mojito Bar was okay...we had high hopes, but with the UBP, I didn't feel as if it was special enough. I could've really ordered most of those mojitos anywhere (or at least I felt that way).

The Casino area was fun, but there is the smell of smoke running through Deck 7, so keep that in mind.

Overall, I just really enjoyed the layout of the lounges and bars. My biggest complaint of Royal Caribbean's Freedom and Oasis class ships have been that they've been "inward" focused, losing the whole idea of being at sea. The Escape gives you nice ocean views all throughout the three main decks of 6, 7, and 8. Placing the lifeboats off the side helps with that, too.

SCORE: 9.5 out of 10

Stay tuned for our FAVORITE part of the entire ship...The Waterfront!

Not sure if this was already mentioned, but there are a few food options at the District, which I believe are right from Food Republic...

 

 

 

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That makes sense! Wish I realized that before now haha.

Hope you enjoyed your trip!

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ENTERTAINMENT

This category is a pretty broad stroke, so I'll do my best. We tried our best to get to as many shows as we could, but we're only human :)

After Midnight

We had booked this show for Sunday night in advance as a trial run, but the reservation got kicked to Monday night for some reason. Either way, the show itself is very good. The theme of the show, as I'm sure many of you already know, is Brooklyn in the 1920's. I'm not sure if there was a storyline that threaded through the show, for if there was, I wasn't able to follow it. However, the performers are excellent! Tap dance is a lost art, and it was refreshing to be able to experience it up-close. The singers were incredible. Our favorite act was the "Don't Advertise Your Man" piece. Hilarious!

Magic and Comedy with Harry Maurer

I mistakenly said earlier that we never went to the Supper Club, but looking back, I believe this show was in there. We actually double-booked Monday night with shows, so this one was the prequel to After Midnight. The guy puts on a good show. Some jokes are cheesy, but others are very funny. The tricks are pretty spectacular...how the heck does he do that wedding ring trick??

The Brat Pack

Okay, we are very partial to this show. One of our friends from college (Go Hokies!) is in this show as the bass player, so we knew it was going to be good. This show is hands down the best on the ship. We are motivated to watch all of the 80s movies showcased in this one. A word of advice...get there early and get a seat 2 or 3 rows from the mini stage they have built in the audience. Best seats in the house! We were able to chat with a few performers from the show later in the week, and we enjoyed hearing about their lives onboard. Apparently it's not uncommon for guests to give critical feedback after the shows are over....really?! Don't be those people. Truthfully, it's one of the best shows I've ever seen. I remember back in 2011 when I took a cruise on Carnival that the shows were really good. This one beats them all. Do yourself a favor and book this immediately. Also, I recommend the 10pm show...our friend says the actors and musicians are more warmed up for those. Oh, and cheer on our friend! He's on the Escape until October!

Comedians

Honestly, there's no use reviewing the specific comedians because they change so frequently. But Andy had me crying in laughter...it's hard to make me do that these days!

80's Dance Party

Being on a strict sleeping cycle throughout the school year has its advantages, but the biggest disadvantage comes when you try to stay awake later. This dance party, along with the GLOW party the following night, start at 10:30 in the H2O Spice area. We actually made it to the 80s Dance Party at 10:30, but it took so long for the dancing to crank up that we left and went to bed. From what I hear, it was fun! It was a kid-friendly party for sure, unless that changes later on after it gets going.

GLOW Party

I actually planned to make it to this one before the trip even started. Well, it didn't happen. I can't even tell you much about it...no one really talked about it the next day (although the fact that we were in Nassau that day probably didn't help).

Miscellaneous

Tyler, Cruise Director: He's one of the youngest in the fleet, but he is not short on energy. He did a great job keeping people engaged throughout the week. My one complaint (and if you have him, you'll notice it quickly)...he asks people to "Make some noise!" way too often. At the Newlywed Not-So Newlywed Game Show, he asked the audience to "MAKE SOME NOISE!" after every response. Maybe a little much...

Game Shows: We didn't see many in person, but watched a few on the TV throughout the week. They were good, but some of the contestants didn't appear to be totally into it. Also, Tyler seemed to be forcing the energy onto people with the constant requests.

Trivia: Very fun! Most were done in the Atrium for large crowds, but we attended one in the 5 o'Clock Somewhere Bar while in port (which we won!). The best trivia contest is the Harry Potter one. It's very popular and very difficult. We wound up grading the winning team's ticket...a 39/40! Unbelievable. The one they missed was missed by the entire room.

Washy-Washy: The guy loves his job. If you don't know now, you will.

SCORE: 9.5 out of 10

I struggled a bit with this score. Honestly, the entertainment is so outstanding, but there's something holding me back from an outright 10. I never met Tyler personally, but he seemed like he was trying to force things a bit. And when the CD is a little off, the entertainment can seem a bit awry, especially with game shows. But the Brat Pack alone would make this score a 15...

Awesome! I will be turning 28 just two days after the cruise! Really excited for your review. 89 might be hard to beat since my sailing is 6 days. However, 9 on the first afternoon sounds plausible. Thanks to your review I now know I can order from Food Republic which will be wonderful! I am taking the CA Bar Exam this week so I will be ready to drink and forget all about these last 3 years :D:D:D

 

Enjoying the review!

Thanks! Hope you enjoy your much-needed vacation!

Just to make sure I explained it correctly...you can order anything on the District menu from Food Republic, but I don't believe you can order from Food Republic while in the District.

Enjoy the countdown!

We don't sail until October and your review is making me even more excited - it will be our first :) Really looking forward to the food and afternoons of relaxing on our balcony when not lounging in the sun. Thanks for the info :)

Gotcha...I misunderstood! Well, you are in for a great time! The location is really convenient to most things. Deck 8 was our go-to, so 5 decks wasn't bad to walk. Deck 16 and above involve anything you'd want to do on the Sun Decks, so 3 flights isn't bad, either!

October should be a great time of year!

Great review so far. Looking forward to more.

 

Do you know if Alamo will pick you up at the pier and take you back to MIA after the cruise if you have a reservation.

Thanks!

That is a fantastic question...I really don't know. I don't see why they wouldn't be able to, but I also don't remember the shuttle having any distinct characteristics that advertise it's going back to the car rental. It's worth a phone call, though! Leaving the ship was a little bit chaotic.

but after the 90-day countdown hit and prices plummeted, we called NCL for an upgrade. The agent on the phone did a nice little switcharoo and voila, we were mid-ship in a mini-suite! The best part is that our original promotions were unchanged by the upgrade (which was awesome because the promos at the time were not nearly as good!).

 

 

Did you book using a Personal Cruise Consultant?

I believe so...we called NCL to book via phone, but the consultant we wound up using to get us the deal was different than the guy we talked to in January. The phone process is pretty painless!

Enjoying your review! We are fellow Disney lovers who recently cruised the Getaway and will be on the Escape in May. The main pool on the GA is adults only and was exactly the scene you describe...I told DH it looked like Panama City Beach on spring break....thank goodness for the Haven! I did think it was interesting that you said there was an adults only day at the pool...is the Escape pool not adults only like the Getaway?

Thank you!

I don't remember seeing anything about the pool area being adult-only, but after I saw what it was like, I didn't look much into it. I do remember seeing a few kids in the area, which just boggled my mind.

I hope you love the Escape...it's an incredible ship!

I just want to confirm, the Alamo rental is the airport location that you pickup the complimentary shuttle? Do you show the receipt to the front desk? Most of the time, we just drop of the return without checking back in the front desk. Thanks

Yes, the airport location. You take your luggage and receipt to the 4th floor (top level), and there are many shuttles taking people to the pier.

Our cabin is just a few doors down from where yours was so I'm glad to hear it was pretty quiet. How did you find the location as far as getting here and there? I think we're most likely to take the stairs if we can, depending on how many decks we're going.

 

Also, I'm curious of your vantage points in port - we might do Sail Away in our cabin from one.

What are the odds?? Honestly, we had no issues at all with those around us...I was certainly concerned after our experience in Disney, but we loved the clear comaraderie the family next to us had (not sure if you were among them). They seemed to love soaking in the balcony.

The location was great for us. We really didn't mind walking to the stairwells since we ate so much and enjoyed a few calorie-rich drinks ;) . We made a rule that if we were going up 5 decks or less, we walk. Going downstairs was always walk. But going up more than 5 was a bit much at times...Honestly, our elevator experience on the Escape was much better than other cruises we've taken.

We did the sailaway from the Waterfront, which was a fantastic location. I just couldn't come to grips with the large crowd on the pool deck. The vantage we had in Miami was not very good...I don't like looking at the gangway (reminds us of leaving haha!).

For all of the other ports, I didn't mind our view. In fact, I loved our view in Nassau, and I usually don't like much about the port.

How did you feel about the location? We certainly felt the ship moving more on Deck 13 than the ones below. I hope you enjoyed your cruise! Thanks for being great neighbors :) I hope we weren't bad....:p

DINING Part 2 (Specialties)

Our promotion included a 4-meal Specialty Dining Plan, and we were pumped to try out some of the amazing restaurants that NCL is known for having! I will list out the restaurants we went to, in order. You'll notice that we went to Bayamo twice, which I'll explain the reason later on...

Bayamo

We went to Bayamo after our 2nd day at sea for dinner. It honestly wasn't my first choice...I'm a little iffy when it comes to Spanish-style food, but I gave it a chance. The meal starts with a corn fritter for everyone ("compliments of the chef")...it's only a tiny bite, but it's incredible! After that, I ordered the chilled lobster appetizer and the lobster main course. Both were good. My wife had the duck entree, and she RAVES about it, even now. For dessert, I had a chocolate layer of awesomeness. Our first night, we had a waiter who was filling in for a regular, and he didn't know the menu at all...but I appreciated his honesty. He was great! More on Bayamo later!

My wife's duck dish...

Moderno

My wife and I went to Moderno for our anniversary date. Brazilian steakhouses are not common around where we live, so this was a treat for us. When you arrive, they go over the whole process...it starts with a trip to the "appetizer bar". That alone could've been enough for a meal. They have so much there...anything from salad to sushi to seafood to meats...so amazing! Then they bring a bowl of bread....a cheddar infused bread that I could eat every meal all the time! WOW!

Then come the meats. This is where Moderno became one of our favorites. The servers who bring the meats joke around with you and urge you to take as much as you want. The lamb chops were our absolute favorite! But the filet mignon wrapped in bacon was a very close 2nd! I also usually don't prefer cooked pineapple, but they had a brown sugar cooked pineapple for which I had to request seconds! I ate enough for 3 days, but I didn't care! For dessert, I had the papaya cream...perfect choice! It was so light, but really good.

Our waitress, Michele, was also incredible. She wound up being our "Vacation Hero"...she went out of her way to make us feel special. For our anniversary, the staff serenaded us with song and provided a cake that we saved for later. The cake itself was amazing! Overall, I'd want to go back there over and over!

The papaya cream dessert...

La Cucina

Throughout the week, we tried to make reservations for La Cucina and Cagney's, but they were apparently "full", despite open tables all over the place every time we walked by. So we decided to give La Cucina a try one night. Well, it turns out they actually were full that night, and we had to wait until 9:00 to get a table. That was fine with us, and we passed the time with some drinks at the Tobacco Road bar across the way.

La Cucina served a 5-course meal with the dining plan, and that was way too much food. I tried my best to finish it all, but it was impossible. I enjoyed the seafood pasta appetizer, beef carpaccio, caesar salad, and the gorgonzola filet mignon that was simply fantastic. For dessert, I had the ice cream with espresso...very good! Overall, I would eat here again, but I may cut back on how much I order. Oops!

The gorgonzola filet...

Food Republic

We saved Food Republic for lunch on our last day, assuming it would be our last meal in the dining plan. Well, we didn't realize that they can't use the dining plan there! Everything is a la carte, regardless. Well, that was fine with us...we had heard amazing things and were going to eat there anyway. Plus, it opened up another meal somewhere else (which wound up being Bayamo again).

Food Republic had, hands down, the best food on the ship. In fact, my friend and I agreed that the shrimp Pad Thai was the best we had ever eaten. The sushi, steak tacos, pork belly potstickers, and lamb chops were just amazing. I can't say enough how absolutely delicious the food is there! Oh, and their 2 featured desserts....mmmmm! My wife said that the banana dessert with ice cream on top was the best dessert she's ever had. It's a VERY good thing that we didn't go until the last day...our bill may have been much larger with more trips. The chef even came out and asked how our meal was...we raved and raved. We filled out a comment card expressing how amazing our experience was there.

The best pad thai ever! Also, you can order straight from the District, which is just on the other side of the Waterfront.

Both of these desserts were amazing. I'd have them forever!

Bayamo (round 2)

Our group decided to go back to Bayamo that night. Again, I'm not crazy about Spanish food, but I was willing to try it again. Well, round 2 was a huge step up for me. For an app, I tried to spicy watermelon tuna, which was delicious, and for a main course I had the scallops with roasted ox tail. Wow, simply incredible! I ordered the same dessert because it was that good, too.

NCL is known for its dining experience. Well, now I can see why. All of those restaurants were incredible! For a ship this large, they do fine dining quite well. Bravo, NCL!

Note: We tried all week to get into Cagney's, but it was always full. If you want to grab a table there, you HAVE to reserve a spot quickly! If we go back, I'd also love to try Le Bistro.

SCORE for Specialty Dining: 10 out of 10

Loving the review so far. I just have a quick question about how long did it take to drive from Disney World - we are doing the same thing in October and can't wait.

The drive to Miami took about 3 1/2 hours, but it easily pushed over 4 when we missed the Car Rental exit, had to find gas, and couldn't figure out how to get back to the correct intersection. Have I mentioned how much I hate Miami Int'l? I will caution you...there's a Shell station on the corner of the intersection you have to take to return the car...DO NOT buy gas there! It's at least $1.00 more per gallon than the gas stations just a few blocks away. Thieves!

Hope you enjoy your trip!

DINING Part 1(Complimentary)

I decided to break this aspect of the trip into 2 rankings....one for complimentary and one for specialty. I'll break it down by each restaurant we tried. It's nearly impossible to hit all of them in one week, so I will only offer the rankings for those that we tried.

Garden Cafe

This is, of course, the Escape's all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant. Even though we knew better, we went here for our first lunch of the trip, and as expected, it was packed. It didn't take long to find a table for 4 thankfully, but that wasn't the case on other days. I believe we only ate here for another 2 meals (breakfasts) because it was just so stinkin' crowded all the time. One of those breakfasts took us 3 laps to find a table.

The food at the Garden Cafe is quite delicious, and we never had trouble with waiting for refills. My absolute favorite was the waffle with banana compote for breakfast...sooooo good! The wait staff do a great job of clearing tables quickly. I also really like how they keep a stack of wrapped silverware at the table at all times, which makes one less thing for you to carry back to your table. Nice touch.

Breakfast, including my favorite waffle!

The view out the window at the Garden Cafe...we were being followed by 2 Carnival ships.

At the end of the day, though, I can't help but remember how crowded it was at all times of day. They really created a conundrum on this ship when they started charging for Margaritaville. I can imagine that Margaritaville was packed when it was complimentary, but I'm sure it alleviated the crowds in the Garden Cafe. But now that it's a la carte, Margaritaville is almost always empty, while the Garden Cafe gets ALL of the crowds from the pool areas. Tough problem to have when you've probably spent quite a bit to have that restaurant onboard.

Taste/Savor Restaurants

These 2 complimentary dining rooms are on either side of the Mixx Bar on Deck 6. We ate our first dinner here, but had 5 breakfasts in these for the rest of the week.

I'll start with breakfast...

WAY better in these than the Garden Cafe, if just for the lack of crowds. It's peaceful, they sit you by the windows for the views, and you get some personalized attention from the wait staff. Honestly, if you don't have to worry about feeding kids, I'd go here for breakfast every day, hands down. They have Daily Features, which rotate entree options, but they also have regular menu items that never change. The food is slightly better in these restaurants than the Garden Cafe, too.

A great place to enjoy coffee...

Now on to dinner....

We ate our first dinner at either Taste or Savor. The food was...okay. The experience was...less than okay. Honestly, it's really loud in there, which makes it tough to have a conversation. Because of the structure of Freestyle cruising, the wait staff seemed completely overwhelmed. And here's my biggest knock on Savor and Taste...every single time we went there, the food was delivered to the wrong person. It's really not a big deal, but it was a glaring issue to have the food being put down in front of the wrong person every time. I'm not sure why that's happening...just come up with a way to communicate that information. I know it probably has to do with the sheer volume of people at any given time, but I'd really just prefer they ask who had what entree instead of guessing and making us switch them. It's a detail that was tough to overlook. I wasn't too fond of Taste or Savor for any meal beyond breakfast.

Thankfully, we were able to find one complimentary restaurant that was a good experience...

Manhattan Room

This one wins the day for sure. We ate 2 meals in this dining room for dinners. They often have live performers from the big shows come and do some singing and/or dancing, and they welcome people to the dance floor to dance along with the music. It's a neat vibe, and the restaurant faces aft, overlooking the wake of the ship. We saw the sunset both times we were there. The BEST part of the Manhattan Room was that the wait staff got our food placed correctly nearly every time (but not always). I'm not sure if there was a turnover on staff in the others, but it was nice to have that detail taken care of in this one.

A great atmosphere...they had a band playing this night.

And one of my favorite meals at Manhattan Room...anything is better with bacon!

Overall, I would recommend Taste or Savor for brunch (we rarely ate lunch), and the Manhattan Room for dinner if you are strictly looking for the complimentary route. The Garden Cafe is nice if you're looking for a snack in the middle of the afternoon (but even then it was crowded).

In terms of snacks...and let's be honest, we're talking ice cream here...I was a bit disappointed that you could only get soft-serve ice cream in the Garden Cafe while on the Sun Decks. The Oasis of the Seas had them right there on deck, and it was glorious.

(Edit) Also...and I know this sounds random...but the hashbrowns on the Escape are AMAZING! I ordered them as a side every breakfast. Get them...a lot of them.

SCORE for Complimentary Dining: 7 out of 10

Note: The food itself at these places would rank at a 8.5, but the other issues brought this down.

Just a quick FYI, for your next Disney trip :D All of the resorts have printers! Just go to guest services, and any of your flight or other necessary check in items can be printed.

Interesting...we stayed at the French Quarter, and we asked the guy at the front desk if we could somehow print our E-Docs and luggage tags for the cruise. He said we didn't have access to a computer anywhere, but he was very helpful in allowing us to email those documents to him. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get them without logging in to a computer (our phones were being weird). We were able to get the E-Docs printed after about 30 minutes of struggle...which was a little irritating that no one even looked at it at the pier. Oh well!

The guy did mention that if we needed to print boarding passes, or even cruise docs for DCL, they were able to do that easily. Overall, he was very helpful, and we thanked him profusely!

RECREATIONAL AREAS (specifically pool areas, ropes course, mini golf, water slides, etc.)

Probably the first things I notice whenever I look at any of the Breakaway class ships are the ropes course near the funnel and the water slides near midship. I didn't read too much into any of these activities before the trip because I enjoy being surprised. I do appreciate prior knowledge, though, so hopefully you'll find this helpful.

POOL AREAS

Okay, this is probably the biggest glaring problem on the Escape. There are actually 2 pools, but one of them is shoved right in the middle of the kids area and water slide exits, so it's not a great location for any lounging. The main pool is out in the open, where there are 2 bars (one is an overlook bar), a little bit of seating, and a stage with 2 large screens. Honestly, the entire pool scene was a disaster from our perspective. Every time we walked by, it seemed like a frat party was taking place. One of our friends noticed that there was even one "adult only" day at the pool, and there was a marked up-tick in the inappropriate nonsense taking place. My only guess is that the ship is trying to replicate a "downtown Miami nightclub" atmosphere there (Pitbull is their "mascot" celebrity, after all), but it just seemed gross and inappropriate. I really don't recommend it for families. I do appreciate that there is a large number of people comfortable in that atmosphere, but I am not one of them. I really don't like how that became the vibe of the main pool area.

H2O SPICE(adult only area)

Thankfully, there was a chance to escape the mess of the pool area at H2O Spice. The atmosphere here is a total difference...it's relaxing, quiet, and best of all, no kids! There is plenty of seating available here, including loungers and upright chairs. You can choose a wide open sun area, or a shaded umbrella spot. There are 2 hot tubs, which are often full, and there is the waterfall feature. At first I thought it was a little gimmicky, but I came to really appreciate it. There's quite a bit of water flow from the feature, which helps for a nice cool down. There are places to sit and talk, which I appreciated. The bar at this pool is very nice...the staff is quick and attentive. They even walk around with spray bottles ("Misty Misty") to give you a quick cool down if you want it. They could probably improve this area with an actual pool, but I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would.

Not very busy on Sea Days...

The water feature. Wish I had a better picture...I did take some video, but I won't bother with that yet. Also...the floor gets extremely hot. DO NOT go without footwear!

One thing that I really came to appreciate on the Escape was that the glass around the pool area had gaps. I've linked a picture below. It really allowed the breeze to pass through the area nicely. I remember hating that the Solarium on the Oasis didn't have enough air flow...we essentially baked in there.

WATER SLIDES

I am always surprised by the Royal Caribbean faithful who vehemently oppose water slides on their ships. If done well, they can really add a flavor of fun while cooling you off at the same time. I noticed that the Harmony of the Seas just added some to the Oasis class, which is a no-brainer for me. The Escape really does a good job in this category. The main water slide is incredibly fun...despite being enclosed, they've added interesting light features inside as you go, and I'm sure everyone's noticed the part that goes over the ocean that is encased in glass instead of the normal plastic. We rode this one many times.

The "Aqua Loops" are a thrill. We've tried slides similar to this at other water parks and hated them. The floor drops out unexpectedly, which always raises my blood pressure. But the Aqua Loops are done very well. You have to be 99 lbs or higher to ride them, and you can't wear any jewelry (including wedding bands!). I also don't recommend having your room cards anywhere on you, either. My friend lost his on the slide, and they were in velcro pockets! The ride isn't too long, but it feels like it. The first time I rode it, I thought I was at the end and started opening my eyes...until I was slammed with water and my contact flew out of my face! You'll know when you finish! Despite the cautions, the Aqua Loops are VERY fun!

ROPES COURSE

We did this twice, and I wish I could have done it more! They have streamlined this process very well. It's safe, doesn't need much supervision, and you are free to roam all around the course at your leisure. You have to be 48" tall I believe to do it. There are 2 levels...you start at the highest one and wind your way back to the lower one. At the highest point, you are just below the top of the smokestack funnels. The views are INSANE! I've never been on the Quantum of the Seas, but I have to imagine being on the ropes course with the wind in your face is a notch above the crane, even though it doesn't go nearly as high. I could be wrong...

Either way, this is a great feature. There's enough space for probably 30-40 people to be on the course at one time. It constantly rotates through, so your wait time isn't horrible (maybe 20-30 mins max). But you can stay on for easily 45 minutes. Two of the three zipline features weren't operational, which was a huge bummer...I'd love to try the zipline over the water! But the plank that hangs over the edge was definitely open, and it does not disappoint. What a rush! The first time I did it, I couldn't get my knees to stop shaking. They also take your picture...be forewarned.

I wish I had a better picture of the ropes course, but on the left, you can see about how high it goes relative to the funnel. That particular zipline wasn't operational :(

MINI GOLF

A fun 9-hole course. It's pretty industrial in its design. We played it twice, and probably would again. There are some fun contraptions they built, and it was a good challenge (some holes were Par 4). The course on the Oasis had foam balls, which was really a joke...these were solid and felt more like a normal golf ball. A big plus!

Here's an example of one of the holes...

SCORE: 7.5 out of 10 Note: If it weren't for the main pool area, this would probably go as high as a 9.5, but the glaring problem just can't be overlooked for us.