LincolnLog

I just lol’d. That freakin’ Guy Harvey channel was on non-stop loop because a child in our room was obsessing over it.

Same here! And I can't even blame my kids because I was guilty too. Those time lapse videos of him doing a painting from start to finish hooked me in every time.

Wyland making his mark...

 

So did Wyland just put the finishing touches on the hull? Obviously a lot of it was painted before he got there. I was under the impression that Guy Harvey did the painting on the Escape himself but maybe I was just mesmerized by the 24/7 Guy Harvey channel on that ship while I was on it.

If there is no 5 o'clock somewhere bar on the Bliss, where will the Chocolate Cowboy be?

I don't know by any means of they will do it on this ship, but some ships gather fresh seafood at each port they visit on a cruise. They make deals beforehand and/or shop at well-known local distributors and pick and choose what they like.

Wow, I sure hope they do that on the Bliss. I didn't know that cruise ships did that. I just assumed there would just be a week's worth of seafood stuffed into the freezer.

While I’m a fan of Bayamo, Ocean Blue feels like a better fit for this ship/itinerary. The question remains... will we get a raw bar along with it, which would help fill the Pinchos void.

I'm a little skeptical about a seafood restaurant on a cruise ship. I'm a huge fan of all seafood, but I'm a fan of fresh seafood. I would assume that in order to serve it for a week it would mean everything has to be frozen. Now I know that most fish is flash frozen when it's caught and some things are fine after being frozen. But for something like a raw bar, I would think it needs to be fresh.

I’m traveling light this week. Just my iPhone X.

I thought this meant that you didn't bring any other cameras on this trip. Now I see that you must have just been referring to while you were on St. Thomas.

Rick, those pictures in Old San Juan are amazing. And you're telling me you took those with your iPhone?

Sorry if this is old news...but in the aftermath of my Bliss-booking excitement, I ordered the Norwegian brochure for 2017-2019. It came today with a letter talking about recent news and I was surprised to see this:

"We would also like to inform you that after a successful two-year partnership, we will no longer be working with the Pubbelly Restaurant Group or Jose Garces, effective October 21, 2017. Though the partnerships are not continuing, Norwegian Escape will still offer Food Republic, Bayamo, and Pinchos Tapas Bar dining venues."

I didn't make it to Food Republic on the Escape but always heard good things about it so I thought I would get another chance this time around. Don't the Bliss deck plans show Food Republic being in the same place it is on the Escape?

Thanks!

 

I don't know if the departure city matters as much as the city where guests are from. You probably have more of a concentration of people from within driving distance of New York / New Jersey when compared to South Florida. Miami is the busiest cruise port in the world, followed by Fort Lauderdale. Port Canaveral is third. There are more people who fly in to cruise out of Florida's ports - not that it's a big surprise if you count the number of ships.

 

We did wind up going to the direct hand off because placing our cards on top of the tip on the bar kept resulting in just the card being taken.

 

No problem though, we figured it out.

 

As I said, the ship had some very good bar staff people and we felt like they deserved our appreciation.

 

We normally cruise on ships less than half the size of the Escape, which means fewer bars and lounges. It's not unusual to have a handful of servers you see every day. Some guests take care of their best servers at the end of the cruise. Given the number of venues on the Escape, tipping as you go seemed to make the most sense.

I was on this cruise too. Like you I also was surprised how rarely I saw other people tipping the bartenders, based on what I've read on cruise critic. I usually tipped $1 per drink and there were definitely times when I felt self conscious doing it because no one else at the bar was.

Hey Rick all kidding aside, how many can that room sleep? I don't see any pullmans in the ceiling. Does the sofa convert to a full sized bed?

Are the golf carts intended for elderly and handicapped people, or can anyone use them? If we want to jump on for a quick ride back to the ship to eat lunch and come back, will we get dirty looks?

I am on a cruise that leaves in two weeks and I booked through NCL. I have regretted for months not using a travel agent. Since I booked, I have read numerous reviews from other people talking about the perks they have received from their travel agent. Everything from 100's of dollars in onboard credit to prepaid tips. Well by booking directly, it's been nice too have control over things like booking dining and excursions without a middle man, but I would still trade it for some onboard credit.

Ha, go figure...I just logged on and it's working now. Hopefully it's working for you guys too. I'm on the Oct 7th Escape.

This is frustrating. It's almost a week later and the "Vacation Summary" still hasn't been fixed. I understand that they need time to add shore excursions but I'm not trying to book an excursion, I'd just like to be able to see the things that I already have booked on the ship and what ports we will be in on those days now. I can't even tell which days I have a show or a specialty dining reserved.

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Today was Tyler's last day on Escape as he has left for vacation. We got off the ship today and had an awesome week, but we didn't attend enough events or activities to have a strong reaction either way about him. It was interesting learning about his career up to this point at the Behind the Scenes Q&A on Friday. His mom was on the cruise and asked a lot of questions ;-). He'll be back at the end of October.

Who fills in while Tyler is on vacation?

We drop off our carry on luggage and cases of soda in our room since we get FTTF, then walk around the ship and explore. Might grab a bite to eat.

W.T.F is FTTF?!?

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We are taking our first NCL cruise in October so I haven't experienced any of these people yet. But from what I've read, I feel like I'm going to hate the "washy washy" guy wayyy more than I will hate Tyler the cruise director. I'm surprised that people either love or hate Tyler but everyone seems to love the "washy washy" guy. Every time I see those words on here it makes my skin crawl! :')

I'm guessing from the video that you guys took the ferry to St. John. I can't wait to hear about it, that's what we're planning on doing too.

Great review Mush, really enjoying it.

We sail in 35 days and it was day 42 when Tortola finally appeared on the list.

Have you tried viewing excursions without logging in? That way you can at least see what is usually offered and can game plan what you want to do and determine if an excursion or independent tour is best.

Thanks! These are both helpful tips.

Can anyone please tell me if the DBH has any of these beers? Pliny The Elder, Pliny The younger or Double Arrogant Bas*ard Ale?

Thank you!

I wish! You can barely get Pliny the Younger from the brewery that makes it, let alone on a cruise ship.

Were at 66 days and still nothing for Tortola on ours either.

Thank you, everyone! Until next time...

 

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What a perfect ending to a great report. Awesome job Doug.

jcombs003, your drink is waiting at the Brew House. I thought of you all week.

 

Nice gesture Doug. You're a man of your word.

Well that's a good question. The biggest chunks were the $245 Internet, $75 gratuity for Cam's Beer/Wine package, and $50 for Food Republic. Once you subtract out the OBC, that's still $300 worth of unaccounted "stuff".

 

We add gratuity at specialty dining restaurants... but only $10 or $15 per meal (all other extra tips are in cash). The girls also bought a couple photos this morning. Beyond that... I think we're looking at Starbucks and Ducks.

For your next live report you should set up a Go Fund Me account and all of us on Cruise Critic will gladly pay for your internet package. Hell we would probably cover your whole cruise!