Cruise Review: Escape From New York, Sept. 2-9, 2018

Allow me to pause here and tell you a spooky story, and why we believe our cabin was haunted. The first night onboard, we’d asked our cabin steward to fill our ice bucket in order to cool our complimentary bottle of Champagne. We ended up not wanting to open the Champagne the first night, and the steward dutifully kept it cold for us each day until we wanted to enjoy it.

 

 

 

However, every single night, in the wee hours of the morning, the ice bucket would make a very loud clang noise, as if someone forcefully put the lid on the bucket. This happened seriously every night, though I didn’t have the foresight to check whether it happened at exactly the same time each night.

 

 

 

After the fourth night of this happening, I jokingly mentioned to my wife that maybe it meant our cabin was haunted. And here’s where things get interesting: This particular afternoon, while my wife was showering, she was startled to see writing on the shower wall. According to her, the writing said FY DIE, which to me either means F-you, die, or we had a ghost with some particularly ominous thoughts about the upcoming fiscal year. She also said it kind of looked like the word DEVIL. Needless to say, she was weirded out, especially when she tried washing it off and it just reappeared. We had no additional ghostly encounters after that, but it was definitely spooky!

 

If I tell my hubby this, guaranteed he’ll want to sail in your cabin! It would make his day. Me, I’d be weirded out like your wife [emoji317]

BTW, you’re a good story teller, even if you’re winging it without notes [emoji1360]

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We had a haunted cabin once too, don't remember the ship, but every night the balcony door would open. I would wake up with wind howling in room and the curtains blowing around. Would wake up my husband and he would get up and lock it again. If it happened during the day when ship was moving would have thought the lock was defective, but only happened very late at night. Was kind of spooky

Thanks for the great review!

Thanks Paul!

You're very welcome, and thanks for reading!

Cheers.

Thank you Very much Paul!!! I’m a Pittsburgh girl myself, married to a Jersey boy, now in Central PA. We leave on Sunday for Bermuda on the Escape, and your review was very enjoyable and enlightening :D Thanks again!!!

I'm glad you enjoyed it. I'm sure you'll have an awesome time on the Escape. Watch out for the ghost!

Cheers.

Such a great review! Did you write about your trip to Europe? I’d love to read it if you did.

 

 

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Thank you. Yes, I did write a review of our Europe trip. The link is in my signature.

Unfortunately, I got a bit overwhelmed with that one, and I lost steam about three-quarters of the way through. That's one of the reasons I made sure I wrote this entire review before posting it, as I didn't want to leave it unfinished again.

But writing this review has inspired me to go back and finish writing about that trip. That vacation was too fun not to completely memorialize. So if you see a review from September of 2017 suddenly show up at the top of the message board, you'll know it's me.

Cheers.

Cheers.

Thank you so much (y)

Thank you for the awesome review! Although we've been on a lot of NCL cruises, our upcoming sailing on the Escape will be a first for us. It was interesting hearing about your experiences at the various places to eat on the ship, but it seems that you had some trouble booking your specialty restaurant dinners on board. Was specialty dining mostly booked already by the time you got to Headliners to make reservations? We booked our cruise long after the booking window for specialty dining opened, so there's really nothing available to pre-book online....getting a little worried that we won't be able to get reservations for two anywhere!

Kathy

This was a great read. Thank you for taking the time to post.

Would you happen to know approximately what time the Escape passes by the Statue of Liberty?

So, that concludes my vacation recap. Thanks to all who read, and I hope it was useful and entertaining. If you have any questions/thoughts/want to chat about anything in particular feel free to drop a comment.

 

Until the next cruise,

Paul

A great fun read. Thank you Paul!

Norris

Thank you for the awesome review! Although we've been on a lot of NCL cruises, our upcoming sailing on the Escape will be a first for us. It was interesting hearing about your experiences at the various places to eat on the ship, but it seems that you had some trouble booking your specialty restaurant dinners on board. Was specialty dining mostly booked already by the time you got to Headliners to make reservations? We booked our cruise long after the booking window for specialty dining opened, so there's really nothing available to pre-book online....getting a little worried that we won't be able to get reservations for two anywhere!

 

 

 

Kathy

I was a bit concerned about this myself, because we saw the same thing when we went to book restaurants (probably tried booking about 2 months prior to sailing). Other than Moderno, which was available, all the other restaurants were showing no availability for parties of two. I called NCL and was told they only make a certain number of tables available for pre-booking, and that we should have no problem booking once onboard.

That turned out to be true; we were able to make reservations without any problems on the first day of the cruise. You may need to be a little flexible with your dining times, but you should be able to reserve the places you want without a problem. Even when we missed our initial reservation at Le Bistro, they were able to get us in the following night with no problem with same-day notice. Things do seem to fill up though, so if you know what nights you'd like to eat where, and can book it all as soon as you get onboard, that is certainly preferable.

P.S. No reservation required for the fantastic Pinchos! Just sayin'.

Cheers.

I was a bit concerned about this myself, because we saw the same thing when we went to book restaurants (probably tried booking about 2 months prior to sailing). Other than Moderno, which was available, all the other restaurants were showing no availability for parties of two. I called NCL and was told they only make a certain number of tables available for pre-booking, and that we should have no problem booking once onboard.

 

 

 

That turned out to be true; we were able to make reservations without any problems on the first day of the cruise. You may need to be a little flexible with your dining times, but you should be able to reserve the places you want without a problem. Even when we missed our initial reservation at Le Bistro, they were able to get us in the following night with no problem with same-day notice. Things do seem to fill up though, so if you know what nights you'd like to eat where, and can book it all as soon as you get onboard, that is certainly preferable.

 

 

 

P.S. No reservation required for the fantastic Pinchos! Just sayin'.

 

 

 

Cheers.

Thanks so much, Paul!

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Thanks Paul! We really appreciate all the time you put into writing this very thorough and fun review. Really love your writing style, sense of humor and all those awesome photos!

 

Hope you are booking your next cruise soon :cool:

Thanks so much; I'll also give my wife your regards, as she's the one responsible for the photos.

We did have another cruise booked--a fantastic-looking 11 night Med cruise from Rome next September. Unfortunately, family obligations combined with my wife changing jobs have led to a lack of available vacation time, so that one's on the shelf, for now. But knowing us, we'll find a way to work a cruise in somewhere in 2019.

Cheers.

Paul, thanks so much for your detailed review, can't wait to enjoy the Escape starting Sunday!

I noticed you visited the cellar quite a bit. As we also have the unlimited beverage package while being a fan of wine, how many varieties (red or white) did you find to fall under $15 a glass?

We're considering bringing some of our own wine but would like to avoid that silly (un)corking free.

Also, where would you recommend going on the boat the first day to reserve dining and shows?

Much obliged :)

If I tell my hubby this, guaranteed he’ll want to sail in your cabin! It would make his day. Me, I’d be weirded out like your wife [emoji317]

 

BTW, you’re a good story teller, even if you’re winging it without notes [emoji1360]

 

 

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Thank you. My wife actually took the notes for our Europe trip, and I wish I could just post them here on CC unedited because they're so funny. Unfortunately, they contain way too much profanity.

Cheers.

We had a haunted cabin once too, don't remember the ship, but every night the balcony door would open. I would wake up with wind howling in room and the curtains blowing around. Would wake up my husband and he would get up and lock it again. If it happened during the day when ship was moving would have thought the lock was defective, but only happened very late at night. Was kind of spooky

Now that would scare the crap out of me. I told my wife your story and she agreed that it's spookier!

This was a great read. Thank you for taking the time to post.

 

Would you happen to know approximately what time the Escape passes by the Statue of Liberty?

I'm sorry, but I don't know. I was six or so drinks in by that point and completely lost track of the outside world by about 4:00. Maybe someone else who has taken this cruise can share their thoughts.

Cheers.

you will pass the statue of liberty about 5 minutes after the ship leaves the dock and points out of harbor

Paul, thanks so much for your detailed review, can't wait to enjoy the Escape starting Sunday!

 

I noticed you visited the cellar quite a bit. As we also have the unlimited beverage package while being a fan of wine, how many varieties (red or white) did you find to fall under $15 a glass?

 

We're considering bringing some of our own wine but would like to avoid that silly (un)corking free.

 

Also, where would you recommend going on the boat the first day to reserve dining and shows?

 

Much obliged :)

Truthfully, I was a bit careless with our spending on this trip, particularly in terms of wine. I didn't pay much thought to the price of the glasses, other than to avoid the couple insanely priced glasses (you'll see what I mean when you visit). I'd say a good number of glasses were either at $15 or just above, like $17.50. Maybe a third of their offerings were at this level (very rough estimate). There was a good number of glasses at $22.50 (so $7.50 with the UBP), and this was the price point where I found myself drinking most evenings. Sorry I can't be more specific; but I'm confident you'll find something you like at all price points.

For reservations once onboard on day one, head to deck 6, in the small atrium area aft near Le Bistro/Headliners. There was a woman at a computer helping make reservations for all the specialty restaurants. You are supposed to be able to book from your TV in your cabin, but we've honestly never tried this. I'm sure it works fine, but I still prefer the 20th century way of doing things, at least when it comes to food. Enjoy your cruise!

Cheers.

Paul, did you save/do you have your dailies from this sailing? We are going on Oct. 14 and I am trying to get an idea of scheduling for entertainment and activities that are defined on My NCL.

you will pass the statue of liberty about 5 minutes after the ship leaves the dock and points out of harbor

Thank you. (Funny, I was able to answer your question on another thread, and here you are answering mine.) :D

Thank you. (Funny, I was able to answer your question on another thread, and here you are answering mine.) :D

That's what we are here for. BTW- it comes up real quick, so don't miss it. I've also had it with the fireboats in harbor spraying red/blue water but that's not a guarantee, something just as impressive is to get up to the highest open deck you can(after Liberty, you gotta hustle) and watch as the ship passes under Verrazano bridge, lotsa ohhs and ahhs and everyone wondering if the ship will make it!!!

How can anything beat NY harbor?? Liberty, Verrazano, Fireboats and that skyline.

Paul, What happened to your review in "Our Epic European Adventure: A Review"?

It abruptly ends on page 8 leaving us hanging.

Great review up to this point along with your review on Escape.

Paul, did you save/do you have your dailies from this sailing? We are going on Oct. 14 and I am trying to get an idea of scheduling for entertainment and activities that are defined on My NCL.

I'm sorry, but I don't have them. For some reason, I never remember to do this, I think at least in part because our Dailies take quite the beating as we carry them around all day. If you're wondering about something in particular I can see what the old memory can do, or someone who is better prepared than myself can weigh in.

Cheers.

Paul, What happened to your review in "Our Epic European Adventure: A Review"?

It abruptly ends on page 8 leaving us hanging.

Great review up to this point along with your review on Escape.

Yeah, I feel bad about that. I honestly ended up getting overwhelmed with that one because there was just so much to cover. Writing this review has reinvigorated me, though, so I plan on going back and finishing that one up. Still might be useful/enjoyable to read even a year later. Stay tuned.

Cheers.