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

Just visited once again the Spa. A lovely place to chill, relax, detox, enjoy. It is basically over the Bridge, enjoying the very same view across the horizon.

Daily for Day 8

Daily for Day 7

Daily for day 6

And here is one thing that I wanted to share with the CC community as I find that important to think about maybe just for a minute ot two. As I am writing this the Escape starts to gain speed from leaving behind Napoli, and cruising along the Italian shore in the Med. I am having an iced drink, sitting by the poolbar, enjoying the casual music and the sounds and sights around as the ship is gently moving, looking at the guests enjoying the pool, the activities, the music and the view. I am thinking how important is to recognise these moments. And with that also the importance to be humble towards the hundreds of people who made these moments possible. And in exchange the ability to respond to them by saying “please” and “thank you.” After (hopefully it is after) COVID nothing is to be granted. Maybe some thinks we will return to what was before - well, the world and the business of hospitality have changed. And I am grateful for the staff of NCL Escape who took me on this journey, leaving behind all my thoughts and concerns at work and daily business issues, and made me feel like I am a special addition to our common spending time on this ship. I very well know that it is an industry, fuelled by financial interest, purchase buy and costs, interests, service charges, etc. But let us remember: it is the staff that filled in the empty vessels back, the bars, the corridors, the galley, the laundry, the restaurants, the kitchens, the maintenance rooms, the bridge, the bars, the theatre and every spot on the ship that made this experience to return to our “normal life” possible. They are the ones who put back their trust into this industry and the hospitality services that they provide every day, with a smile in their eyes (as it is difficult to see their faces through the protective masks), working without a single day off for 6-7-8 months. And all the time wearing those FFP2 masks, to keep everyone safe, even when there is 30 degrees and already worked 10 hours (and a few more to go). Let’s sink that in for a moment. Not many of us are willing to do that, far away from our families, but still remembering the favourite drinks of the guests, and offering a smile every time when we just sit in for another drink or plate of food, or welcoming us at the corridor, asking how our days were. Or make you dance away during the parties. Or silently take care about your health, safety, cleanliness and comfy environment. From galley to cabin, beverage to entertainment, maintenance, officers, supervisors, waiters, everyone who put their belief that this could work again and we can have fun in cruising again. To me the staff of the Escape are the heroes who made and will make my vacation as enjoyable as possible, because they believe that what they do is not just for money, or career. They believe that what they do every day makes our life better, we feel better and we appreciate what we are able to do, the places we are able to visit, the time we are able to spend. Of course, not all of them are capable to make the famous extra mile, to become “vacation heroes” that you can cast your card for the extra money they can receive, but you know what? The overall experience is already humbling to me. I am thankful for the staff, and again: I understand the rules of any business relations. But we should also understand that when we no longer can take anything granted as usual, the people are the ones who make the difference, their hospitality, their recognition for the extra efforts to make you feel “at home”. So I have just one request: whenever you cruise and meet these wonderful, diligent, hard working but still smiling people, just do not forget to say the words of “please” and “thank you”. Because they really mean a lot. To them and to all of us, who can have that drink by the pool or anywhere on the beautiful NCL vessels. Thank you.

Tonight we are booked (thank you, Dilip) to see one of the highlight, award-winning shows in the theatre of the Escape, the Malevo. Reading and expecting a lot from this high-end performance. However, (at least) half of our hearts has already been stolen (and much of the European audience, too, who know this group also well) by the Attraction group’s Light and Shadow show which enjoyed a standing ovation by the Escape guests. The performance was breath-taking, driving you into a world of unimaginable fantastic visions and moves, using lights and shadow. The group has won the Britain’s Got Talent, and you can search for them in the net to grasp what you can expect. Sorry for this promo, but of course, being a Hungarian, the appearance of this world-class team on the Escape was really special for us, too.

Getting close to being really Live from the Escape now…. As we are now in the port of Livorno, which is one of the two main ports of entry towards the sights of Tuscany (the other one is La Spezia). The vessel arrived at 09:30, by that time we enjoyed our breakfast in the extremely busy Haven restaurant (and observing some behaviours of “full of themselves” guests who did not seem to realise that the staff was working their @ss off to change the tables quickly, but still made comments that they had to wait for 3-5 minutes to get their napkins laid and iced water poured…..ehhhh) I guess the overall majority of the guests took either a shore excursion directly from the ship to Pisa/Florence/Cinque Terra or did the same using private tours/taxis - or using the port service buses from the ship to Livorno city centre and catch a tour to one of those destinations from there. Sorry guys, but again, as it was not the first time for us in this region, this time we decided to look around in Livorno, (you might wish to check some of my previous cruise reports from Pisa and Firenze, I guess they could be retreived). So we headed for the local bus option. Tickets cost 5 euros pp, for return only, and payment is only in cash, be aware. The ride takes about 15 mins. Although noone enforced the rule of wearing an FFP2 mask in all public transport in Italy on the bus, we highly recommend to consider that. The bus stops in the city centre, which is well maintained, full of shops, cafees, restaurants. It is definitely worth a visit, the place clearly is a showcase of North-Italy richness over the less financially advantaged Sicily or Naples. There is a market place and a new fortress just to mention a few, if you have already seen enough churches and museums;-) The buses come and leave without a schedule, so after a short, 2,5 hours walking (and shopping, as the prices are really advantageous) we caught one back to the ship.

Leaving Naples were again a treat watching the passing by of the port then the Amalfi coast, the Vezuv and the island of Capri in a distance from the cabin balcony. Video is on my insta, here are a few photos, including the cruise terminal building so you find it next time, the view of the city across the port.

After visiting Messina the next port was Naples. Sorry, folks, but as I had been to Naples already 3 times, and took the most usual excursions to Pompei, Sorrento, Amalfi coast, this time we just visited the cruise terminal building to do a casual shopping of some Naplese sweets and souveniers for home. The place of course caters for tourists, but in some of the shops you can have a chance to bargain a discount price. The port was very busy with 4 large cruise ships docked (next to the Escape we had a Viking, the Regal Princess and the MSC Bellavista). So after walking to and back from the terminal we stayed on-board, enjoying the calm port day by the sundeck and the poolbar. I also promised earlier to share with you some thoughts that you might wish to consider. Before doing so, in all honesty, I have to also mention that one of the very few disappointments during our cruise was during the dinner in Cagney’s - usually we consider visiting Cagney’s as one of the highlights. Well, this time it was not. I made a booking well in advance to secure a place, and upon arrival the place was busy but not extremely busy. After being seated we awaited for 20 mins to have someone come and ask for our drink orders… and kudos for the sup who realised that and tried to relax the situation, but to us (one of us has a 15 years hospitality background) the place was not of the highest standard. To start with the speed and quality of service, the soup arrived before the drinks did, some staff was a bit lacking attention and did not make even the extra mile for living up to the expectations of Cagney’s. I was wondering if that is due to the current struggle to attract quality staff back to business. The butter for the bread was almost fully melted, and the biggest surprise was when we both ordered the filet mignon, with very same style/temperature, still, what we got on the table were two very differently done filet mignon….. Hm, so we ended up a bit earlier, no big damage, just the service was sub-par compared to the expectations and previous experiences of Cagney’s. Usually we appreciate that with some tipping, this was not the case. We closed the evening in the Haven lounge, where we had some really nice chats with the bar staff and the concierge (kudos to Dilip, BTW, he came to see us in the Cagney’s as he remembered our reservation there).

Yes, that is my observation, too, as the events across the ship’s various places mostly offer musical or visual entertainments, plus game shows. I guess that is due to the fact that the audience in mainly international, lot of European (if not more than half) guests, so for them an English language comedy would not be attractive. BTW, I also noted (besides the regular “suspects” of UK, Spain, and some other European nations, like Germans, Italians, Dutch, Irish, and let alone even a few Hungarians like us:-), there is a sizeable Maltese guest group on board, benefiting from the ship’s stop at Valetta, where they embark/debark. But of course, the US and Canada are well represented amongst the quests. This is my personal observation, wondering around the ship.