Utas2

Thank you for the kind words. I will look for the list as we were provided with the names of the chief positions. Until that: the Captain and the Chief Engineer are Croatians, the GM is from Turkey, deputised by a South-African officer (with whom we were able to refresh our Dutch a little bit), the Chef is from India, and Alvin, the Cruise Director I already mentioned.

Hi, thanks for the feedback! The debarkation day the Haven Restaurant is open for breakfast from 0600 to 0800. (That basically means that they accept you to arrive before 0800 latest - they will still serve you.) We enjoyed our last breakfast there very much, and the place was not crowded. I think we were there from around 06:45, and then we just picked up the luggage from the cabin and disembarked. The main difference between the two sundecks is that the Vibe has more vibe (:-))), and the Haven is much more a quiet place, and indeed, much less occupancy. Have I known that I would be upgraded I would not purchased the Vibe, as basically the drink service is more or less the same, only the food options differ.

Thank you. Note though, that the upgrade FAQ has nothing about Latitudes. (Unless we consider that part of promotions, which so far I did not.)

Good advice, indeed. Since my last post I got the response, basically saying that Latitudes has nothing to do with the upgrade scheme. Which, IMHO, is still unfair. But OK.

Ok, although I do not have high hopes that anyone in NCL reads this “struggle for correct Latitudes points” spin-off, upon receiving the negative answer from NCL, I sent the following reaction: ” Thank you for your response. I would like to ask that if I follow the logic you presented below, why did I pay the service fee for a Haven Suite cabin (20 USD pp/pd) if I am only counted for the Latitudes programme for the “cabin I paid full fare” (disregarding the amount that I paid for the upgrade). Would not then it be correct to calculate the service fee based on the same principle? Grateful for your considerations. Regards,” keep you posted….

1 point per night per person. Usually in Haven suites you get 2.

Another thing - important for upgraders (or maybe it is something new for me): Despite I claimed I did not receive the Latitides points for spending my cruise in a Haven Spa Suite (in fact we did). According to the response I received, I am to receive Latitudes points based on the “full fare” I booked in a “mini-suite,” and the extras I spent for the upgrade do not matter….. nickle and dime, NCL…. Ehh. Would have been a nice guesture, after all…..

Sorry, I know this is one of the questions I have not responded so far. Not being a smoker, nor that much interested in buying booze in bottles (as an EU national, no benefits from tax free shopping within the EU), honestly I cannot give a 100% answer, but as far as I remember they were not on sale.

In our cabin there were 2 masks placed by the cabin steward. So you could use them, but in fact in all convenience stores at all ports you could buy FFP2 masks. According to current health safety advisory, you are to use those in all public transports in Italy and Greece, plus in some closed places.

Greetings to all fellow CC users from ashore. I hope you took away some useful insights, tips and the overall feeling of this subjective review. First of all the debarkation day: After a really short night you got that “familiar” little shaking of the ship when it arrives to port and gently tells you that it is time to go. So even without the alarm clock I was awake right when we docked in the cloudy Civitavecchia port. we had our final breakfast in the Haven restaurant, saying goodbye to its wonderful staff and to Dilip, the concierge who probably worked all night to make sure that all leaving guests are properly taken care of while already learning about the incoming ones. Disembarkation was a breeze: excellently organised, no queuing, waving staff wishing you to return one day, and the lugagges were already waiting for us ready to be picked up. Of course, there are taxi drivers waiting outside to offer a direct ride to Fiumicino airport, but we bought a train ticket, so we took the free shuttle to the bus terminal, from where we got to the train station by our means very quickly. Note that for 3 euros pp there is a direct bus from the cruise terminal to the train station of Chivitavecchia, too. Leaving around 7am meant that both on the bus and then on the trains to FCO there were no crowds at all. Finally, as a summary of our first cruise after COVID-19 hit the high seas, a conclusion: This was an awesome, relaxing and fun cruising experience with the beautiful and modern Norwegian Escape. We thank all the staff who made it so enjoyable and especially grateful for those who did the extra mile to provide us with yet another unforgettable memory. We will be back, ‘cause we like to “cruise like a Norwegian.” 🙂

Most likely, the last post from the Escape. We had dinner in the Haven restaurant, but I must say the service was this time unusually slow…. The food was really nice though. Then we headed to Malevo, one of the highlight shows of the cruise, by the winners of America’s Got Talent. As anticipated, this is a very energetic, dynamic and both visually and sound wise strong performance by the 11 or so dancers on stage. Very professionally composed and also the design of the 45 mins show is high standard. At the end there was a standing ovation by the full theater audience of the Escape. However, I must make a negative comment here that I was also considering when writing about the other show we saw (by Attraction). The organisational arrangements for these shows are sub-standard. The Escape staff allows purchasing beverages even a minute before the start of the show, resulting in waiters wondering in the dark - while the show is already on - to deliver drinks. That is despite the announcement that orders are to be closed. What is even more annoying that Escape staff does not enforce a closed door policy, leading to 20-40 late comers (even 20 mins after the show has started!!!) trying to see empty seats in the dark - blocking others’ view and destroying the experience to enjoy the show. That was really disappointing. Dear Alvin, maybe you should consider rescheduling this show to another day, when crowds of people are not busy to finish packing and placing the luggage outside their cabin - just to miss the start of the show at 2100, and ruining the overall experience. Especially considering an attraction that involves dancers starting from behind the audience, using the stairs where late comers are still allowed to wonder around… The third point I shall make is the unclarity of the copy-rights policy of NCL. During the Attraction show guests were frequently approached if staff noticed that they record the performance. There was nothing similar during Malevo - there were a couple of visible recordings by phone, an noone either announced or enforced a thing. So you can do better, NCL. Otherwise, I strongly recommend to see (and hopefully enjoy) this excellent performance of Malevo. After which we went to the cabin, quickly packed and placed our luggages outside. A last drink in the Haven lounge bar, and now I am writing these final words at the balcony. Thanks for bearing with me, see you ashore with the final experiences.

Daily for the last day of the cruise:

Some photos on the bathroom - well maintained by Charlie, our cabin steward. Plenty of space and storage, double wash basin, large shower. Bathropes are handy when visiting the Spa a few meters away, nice treat.

Some smart solutions in the ship include touchscreens on every floor where you can find, map or even book your events, locations. You can do the same using the NCL app or your TV in the cabin. Also in the cabins to indicate your presence and wishes. informative tables make it really easy to navigate through the compact areas of Escape.

Daily for day 9