SCMom

We were just on the Escape for it's last 7 day western caribbean and had a spa mini-suite on 15. We did hear noise but nothing too bad. You hear people running above, chairs being moved around and when they wash the deck, but honestly, it never kept us awake. We are always so busy during the day and tired at night we sleep pretty good on the ship, even with the noise. I would only be worried if I had kids that were taking naps and were light sleepers. Even with the noise we heard we loved the location. One deck up to the spa, pool and garden buffet.

You are having a serious streak of luck. Sounds like you need to check out the casino. Enjoy!!

Wow! There are some really cynical or glass half empty people on here. :rolleyes:

Just off the Escape and yes, they are limiting straws. If you order a frozen drink, they are included. If you really want or need one, just ask. They will give you one. WE had absolutely no problem with many of the mixed drinks and not having a straw. Rebellious Fish, Mojito Bar Mojito's, Daydreamers Daiquiri, some really good drink at Tobacco Road with several things in it were all fine without a straw. It really is not worth getting all worked up over, IMO.

Just off the Escape today. Blew the TV with my T3 blowdryer last Sunday. I was told by guest services to only use theirs. Outside blowdryers blow the fuse all the time. We were watching the end of the Masters while we were getting ready. Luckily I was almost done and we hurried down to the District Brewhouse to watch the ending. It took them several hours to reset the fuse. Couldn't use any outlet or the tv until reset. There are no outlets in the Escape bathrooms that we could find. That being said, using theirs dried my hair just fine for the rest of the week and I am looking forward to not hauling mine next time.

I was unaware that they had an appetizer menu there, perhaps it wasn't an option yet when went back in January...or perhaps we overlooked it. Were the apps included or did you have to pay extra? tia

They were extra since the food at Food Republic is extra. If I remember correctly they ran about $8-10 per app.

We loved the District Brewhouse. We started going there for trivia one night midway through the cruise and wished we had started earlier in the week. They usually have trivia in there nightly at 7:30 with a different theme each night. There were five of us, two parents and three mid twenty-somethings and we all enjoyed it. Beers are included on the UDP but a couple of us who don't prefer beer loved some of their mixed drinks. They have a limited appetizer menu from Food Republic and the food was really good. We ordered the apps every time we went because they were so good. I think you will really enjoy it if you go.

We are thinking about our next cruise and are looking at possibly next year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I was wondering if the Ships are decorated for the holidays during this time of year? Also, are the ports decorated in the Caribbean?

Also, trying to decide on two different itineraries: One including Jamaica & Grand Cayman or the one including Belize and Roatan. Both include Mexico. Can anyone tell me about how the beaches are in comparison? We like a beach with waves, good clean sand and clear water. We don't care for rocky beaches (Tortola) or very little waves (Magen's Bay, St. Thomas where the fish kept nibbling my feet). Our favorite beach is Orient in St. Maarten for comparison purposes.

Thanks in advance for any replies!

I can confirm that there is amaretto in it. I am just off the Escape and I watched them make it so I could make them when I got home. I was surprised when he grabbed the amaretto bottle because I had no idea it was in there from the taste. They are so good!

Thank you for making it so entertaining to read. I love the cube idea for storage.

 

I am going to be on the same ship end of this year with my boys and love the cube idea in the closet. Can you tell me how big they are? It will be our first cruise as the family together.

I thought it was a great idea too! I have some in my home closet that are around 10x12. I just stopped by the dollar store and they had 2 sizes, one is long and slim and the other is closer to the size I mentioned above. I decided to check out the dollar store because I didn't want to spend a ton of money on them. I was pleasantly surprised they offered more than one size there. Have a great trip!

Does your husband's boss just hate him, or are these people the boss's family? LMAO! What a sucky situation.

Thanks for the laugh!! I needed that! I won't say anything to the boss. We will just quietly not use the TA again.

At first I thought they were great too! Talked forever. Said they would take good care of us. $25 per room OBC. Sounded great until I started asking more in depth questions. When I asked about what to do on Tortola, should we do the Baths or not, or where to go the answer was: "Oh we just love the beach. Grab a chair somewhere and sit by the ocean. It's all great in the Caribbean."

I'm slowly letting it go and just looking forward to enjoying our vacation.

Thank you everyone for the advice. We are now less than 30 days out and final payment made. I thought when I started using them that it was a storefront TA but after we were in deep I found out it was just a husband and wife running it out of their home. Not saying that there aren't great ones that are done this way but I have no real recourse by asking for a manager when it's a husband and wife team. I guess I have learned my lesson on this one. I have been nothing but nice to them for fear that they would make things even worse if I said anything negative. He even told me on our last call to make sure if I did Cruise Next to make sure they make them the TA on it so that they will get the credit. I'm not thinking so. I think that I will do it all myself next time. I wish we could post who we use on here so that we could know of some really great TA's and also the one's to stay away from.

I really love visiting these boards and learning all I can about the cruises. Everyone has great hints and tricks and advice. I just watched I believe it was JW's post about his cruise on the Escape and loved the idea of taking bins to put on the shelves to hold your stuff!! What an awesome idea!

I am going to have to just trust that no matter what we will have an awesome vacation because we are so fortunate to be cruising on the Escape!! I really am excited about that. We will be with family and that is most important.

Thanks again for all the Anniversary wishes. I can't believe it's been 30 years!

I am really upset with our TA. We used this agency based on a recommendation of my husband's boss. Big Mistake. I am so upset because this cruise is such a big deal for us. We are traveling on the Escape for our 30th Anniversary and are taking our two twenty-something boys and one son's GF. That being said they never told NCL that we were celebrating our Anniversary. Despite repeatedly telling them that's what this cruise was all about. When I called NCL directly to ask something about the cruise and mentioned it they said "Oh, let me add that to your reservation."

A couple of weeks ago I called NCL about an upgrade since we had been booked since last Sept. and prices have dropped and also there was only one "Free at Sea" promo offered at the time of booking. They are now offering two. NCL told me if I contacted my TA before 30 days prior to the cruise they could probably do something for us. I contacted my TA right away and he told me that they will just tell you that to get you off the phone. That they are like the airlines now and what you book at you are stuck with. He did say he had a contact at NCL that he contacted and was on the phone with for 20 minutes and moved us from a mid-ship balcony on 15 (BA) to a family suite on 9 (B4). He told me that it was a much better room and when I asked "how?" he said it has a larger balcony. Well I looked it up and it doesn't. He told me he hoped this was okay because "he made an executive decision" and went ahead and changed the room and the old one was gone by the time he was calling me back to tell me what he had found out. Does anyone know if there is any way I can get rid of this TA and just go through NCL directly? Has anyone else had issues with their TA like this? I am so upset and I thought that using a TA would make me not have to worry about the details of this cruise but all I do is worry they have somehow ruined it for us. I am definitely not paying them for piece of mind. Anyone have any advice? Can anyone ease my mind that moving from a BA to a B4 is better? Thanks!