Hey, here's an Escape Review 1-16-16 w/some PICS

[aubreyc1988]

Hello! For those curious about the Escape and dying for another review, here's one for you! I am kind of throwing this together, so bear with me! After getting off the ship and getting back to our current home in Dallas, Texas, I got a cold from my dear husband and still recovering from that! :(

 

I cruise primarily with my husband, TJ. We normally do 2-3 cruises a year, one around August or Sept, and another in the winter around Jan/Feb. We picked the Escape because it's a new ship, we got a great deal with the "Pick 2" promo, and generally find NCL to be a very good value. We cruised this time with some friends we actually met on a previous NCL cruise a year ago! We sort of planned the whole thing together, which was fun as well.

 

I will try to be honest and critical, as well as keeping in mind we are so blessed to be able to even take vacations!

 

Feel free to ask any questions as I go along, and I will try to answer them to the best of my ability. I did not save any dailies, as I do not have a scanner and I have seen many of them floating around on cruise critic anyhow.

[aubreyc1988]

Pre-Cruise

 

We normally fly Spirit Airlines into Fort Lauderdale Airport when cruising out of Florida due to their super deals! We flew out the day before the cruise, with our flight landing in FLL at about 10:50am. The airplane we went on was actually one of the nicer aircrafts of Spirits that had ample legroom, but the seats were are hard as a rock. No biggie for me, as my husband had a movie loaded up on our tablet and it was a direct flight (About 2.5 hours in the air I believe). We arrived on time and went to go get our checked bag and rental car.

 

We usually use Budget for a rental car company and have found the best pricing through them. Usually, when cruising out of Fort Lauderdale or Miami, we like to stay at The Element, by Westin, in Miami. However, since our friends flight was coming into FLL at around midnight and we were picking them up, we opted for a hotel in Fort Lauderdale.

 

I got a great rate through our TA for The W, by Westin, which is beach front right off of 17th St. I was SUPER excited for some pre-cruise beach time, only to be confronted with a super windy, super rainy day. :(

 

The super dark lobby at The W

 

 

 

See how rainy and dreary it was? We had a intercostal/partial ocean view

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

The W Hotel is supposed to be a "Luxury" hotel, but I found the Element by Westin to be FAR superior. I guess the lobby is nice, but it was SO dark in terms of lighting and decor, I just could not get into it. However, it did smell really nice.

 

Our room, however, was falling apart! The furniture was all banged up and when I went to shower, the fixtures literally came OFF the wall and I had to figure out how to put them back ON the wall! Not exactly my idea of luxury.

 

The beds were OK, not the best. Maybe they were older. There is a HUGE hype about Westin "Heavenly" beds and I wasn't overly impressed, especially for the price point.

 

 

If you see where the white shutters are, those open up to a view of the shower. There is NO actual door to the bathroom, so if you need privacy, may not be the hotel for you.

 

 

There was a lot of nice bathroom amenities, included toothbrush, toothpaste, mouth wash, shower scrubbie, etc.

 

Because of the rainy weather, I didn't really get to use their pools and other outdoor areas, but I did see this really cool pool that had a staircase going through it, which was a cool design I thought

 

[Kdiamond55]

Nice job so far! We have stayed at the W before a few times, but we had a condo room (at some point some of this hotel was supposed to be sold as condos) so our room was maybe newer and never saw any of the issues you had. The lobby is dark but it is a nice hotel...definitely one of the nicer on Ft. Lauderdale beach. Their freebie shampoos and soaps and stuff are great (I think they are Bliss products?).

 

Living here in South Florida, I can tell you this crappy weather is not the norm for this time of the year. We have been miserable! it has pretty much looked like it was out your hotel balcony for weeks on end.

 

Love the Escape, getting ready to head out on it again, looking forward to your review.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Kdiamond55

[aubreyc1988]

Embarkation

 

Our plan was to get to the Miami port early, but our friends had some flight delays and instead of picking them up the night before the cruise, we picked them up around 9am the day of the cruise. We ended up getting to the port around 11am.

 

Embarkation was not the smoothest, I will say that. There was not enough chairs for everyone and when we did find two chairs, a guy sitting next to me said I took the chairs from people who had *THOUGHT* their number was called, but really it wasn't their number. So we got some glares from that couple...great way to start your vacation, haha! If you get up, you forfeit your right to the chair :D

 

When on board, we went to O Sheehan's with some friends for lunch. I cannot stress how HORRIBLE O'Sheehan's food and service was for this cruise. This is my 4th NCL cruise and I've never had service this bad at O'Sheehan's! Not only did it take at least 2 hours for us to get our food, it was all cold and the menu is TERRIBLE now with no mozzarella sticks or chicken fingers.

 

After O'Sheehan's, we went to Deck 10 to go to our balcony stateroom. Our luggage arrived pretty quickly, we definitely had it before dinner. Then we went to the muster drill, which was in the main theatre for us. I liked having it in the theatre, instead of in some small area like O'Sheehan's or the Atrium - was nice having a chair and sit and relax through the drill.

 

Before we knew it, it was time to sail away from Miami!

 

 

We went to the 5'oClock Somewhere Bar outside for sailaway drinks and it was a fun time - I'd tell you more about it, if I could remember...

 

 

 

Lots of people were throwing food off the ship for the birds :( a big no no, but it did create some fun for the people at the 5'OClock Bar - Birds flying EVERYWHERE and fighting each other for food flying off the ship, definitely entertaining :o

[aubreyc1988]

The day before sail away was my birthday, so we had a fun birthday dinner at Cagney’s. I ordered a 5 oz filet with potatoes, which was delicious (I think??? my husband and I had too much fun at sail away) I also got a birthday cake, which was delicious.

 

 

Day 1 at Sea

 

We had the Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle on this sea day. It was ok, wasn't the best one I have ever been too, and ended up not doing the slot pull. This is my 11th cruise and sometimes I am just over some of these activities. We did end up doing a cruise critic pub crawl, which was a blast! Here are some pics of drinks we all got at Margaritaville's Bar.

 

 

 

All the bartenders at Margaritaville were great (everywhere on the ship, bar service was SPECTACULAR, no complaints here) They made it clear from the beginning you did not have to pay to sit and have drinks, but the food was ala carte.

 

 

 

As far as Margaritaville the food venue goes, we did not eat there based upon principle and the place is deserted. Only on sea days did I see one or two tables occupied with people eating. I wouldn't be surprised to see this turn into a "Cover Charge" venue soon, but who knows.

[ChickonRules]

Great review so far! Your photos are awesome too. Can't wait to read more!

[Sand and Seas]

We were on this cruise too so very interested in the rest of your review. Like you, thought O'Sheehans food with the new menu was blah. Tried it for lunch and had trouble finding something good. Had OK breakfasts here a couple of times to avoid the buffet. Missing the old menu:(

 

The ship was beautiful and overall a good week! Had the best soup ever at the MDR- I think it was called Maui Onion. Loved Cagney's and Le Bistro as usual. And, for the first time we tried this on a ship, LOVED the Aqua Racer water slide.

[aubreyc1988]

We were on this cruise too so very interested in the rest of your review. Like you, thought O'Sheehans food with the new menu was blah. Tried it for lunch and had trouble finding something good. Had OK breakfasts here a couple of times to avoid the buffet. Missing the old menu:(

 

The ship was beautiful and overall a good week! Had the best soup ever at the MDR- I think it was called Maui Onion. Loved Cagney's and Le Bistro as usual. And, for the first time we tried this on a ship, LOVED the Aqua Racer water slide.

 

 

Thanks! I'll be posting more later tonight! I caught the terrible flu either from the ship or airport who knows, so off to the drugstore for more meds

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[funat55]

Great start. Love your review so far and looking forward to more.

[aubreyc1988]

Shows

 

I am going to cover the shows in this post, since I can’t really remember what days we saw what shows.

 

My husband had reserved all the shows on the TV as soon as we got on board. To our DEEP disappointment, Million Dollar Quartet AND The Brat Pack was cancelled due to performer injury. The replacement was some variety show hastily thrown together.

 

Don’t get me wrong, it was GOOD and the talent was certainly there, but I really wanted to see a broadway show and not a VARIETY show. I wonder why they couldn’t have an understudy always onboard or have a better back up plan, as previous reviews I have read about the Escape also had cancelled shows. I’m sure they have legitimate reasons, but I was pretty disappointed by this and their handling of the situation. I didn't prepay for the brat pack, but if I had, would have not been happy with their substitute for the show.

 

We did get to see After Midnight and to my surprise, I LOVED it and it made me even more sad that Million Dollar Quartet had been cancelled. I was disappointed that NCL lets people come into the theatre 10 - 15- 30 minutes into the show. It's so disruptive. I had to standup/squat as a 2-3 people tried to get to their seats who happened to be sitting in our row 30 minutes into the show. I was trying not to stand up completely as to block the view of the people behind me, and the people trying to get to their seats trampled my toes. :mad: Up until about 35 minutes in, I saw people coming in from all over the theatre late, and in my opinion, they should try to stop this from happening. What can ya do tho? :cool:

 

 

We did get to see the comedy headliners shows a couple evenings, which were VERY good and the adult shows were very tastefully done. I have been to some comedians on different cruise lines where the adult comedy is just gross and vulgar, so I appreciate when it is done with good humor and some class. I can't remember their names and I didn't keep the dailies.

 

We saw Howl At The Moon on the last day. I would have to say, compared to other times we saw HATM on other ships, the talent was just NOT HERE for this - I love a good piano bar/dueling pianos, but I just didn’t think the talent was THERE this time.

 

Up Next, 5 O' Clock Somewhere Inside Stage/Bar

[aubreyc1988]

Instead of Howl at the Moon, we went to the the 5’O Clock Somewhere Bar on the inside of the ship, where they had the stage, and it was a blast! Great music and fun times!

 

We had a round of Patron shots and OMG, let’s just say I don’t know if I will ever do that again! As you can see from the photos, I was quite surprised after I attempted that HUGE shot of Patron - they served it in like a dessert wine glass, which was WAY more than a typical shot - OH WELL, it's 5'O Clock Somewhere, right???

 

In case you are not aware, this is what your night is like when taking shots of Patron (no judgement pls, haha)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[aubreyc1988]

More pictures from 5'O Clock Somewhere Bar/Stage

 

Great Band, I think called The Starlight Band??? The guy in the first photo isn't in the Starlight band, I think he's a different cast member of a different show just having fun, but I really can't remember clearly. I really loved this area of the ship! Bar service was great here too (It was really good everywhere on the ship tho, never had to wait for a drink)

 

Here are some more pics - I included some fun ones because I thought they would make for a more interesting review :D

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 28, 2016 by aubreyc1988

[kneught77]

Embarkation

When on board, we went to O Sheehan's with some friends for lunch. I cannot stress how HORRIBLE O'Sheehan's food and service was for this cruise. This is my 4th NCL cruise and I've never had service this bad at O'Sheehan's! Not only did it take at least 2 hours for us to get our food, it was all cold and the menu is TERRIBLE now with no mozzarella sticks or chicken fingers.

 

I was on the same sailing.. I was actually really impressed with O'sheehans (mind you, this was my first NCL cruise.. so no old menu to compare) I thought the wings were great, and the burgers.. better than average. Was there for breakfast a couple times.. also enjoyed it!

 

The service was very hit and miss though.. from being really fast and friendly.. to waiting 20-30 minutes for our food. It just seemed to depend on the server. Overall.. we went there at least once or twice a day. Including some 3am stops :D

 

RCI doesn't really have a very good late night option.. so that was a nice place to have!

Edited January 28, 2016 by kneught77

[aubreyc1988]

I was on the same sailing.. I was actually really impressed with O'sheehans (mind you, this was my first NCL cruise.. so no old menu to compare) I thought the wings were great, and the burgers.. better than average. Was there for breakfast a couple times.. also enjoyed it!

 

The service was very hit and miss though.. from being really fast and friendly.. to waiting 20-30 minutes for our food. It just seemed to depend on the server. Overall.. we went there at least once or twice a day. Including some 3am stops :D

 

RCI doesn't really have a very good late night option.. so that was a nice place to have!

 

 

I didn't have any 3 am stops but when I woke up once at 5 am and needed some coffee, the service was non existent and went to buffet for some. And every time I went for food it was loooong waits and cold when it arrived. And one day at sea they didn't open for lunch until 12:30! I found the buffet much better, but I will touch on that later in my review :) glad you enjoyed o Sheehans, it's a decent venue, but it used to be really good with its old menu

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[kneught77]

I didn't have any 3 am stops but when I woke up once at 5 am and needed some coffee, the service was non existent and went to buffet for some. And every time I went for food it was loooong waits and cold when it arrived. And one day at sea they didn't open for lunch until 12:30! I found the buffet much better, but I will touch on that later in my review :) glad you enjoyed o Sheehans, it's a decent venue, but it used to be really good with its old menu

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Looking forward to it!

 

I really enjoyed it.. but the entertainment cancellations were very disappointing. :(

[Victorious8]

LOVING this review! As someone who is younger and will definitely have a few too many Patron shots on my cruise I am loving this perspective. Also I hope you feel better soon!

[aubreyc1988]

LOVING this review! As someone who is younger and will definitely have a few too many Patron shots on my cruise I am loving this perspective. Also I hope you feel better soon!

 

Thanks - I will write more tonight as real life demands I work :( Already on the up and up from my cold :D

[judipa]

Shows

 

I am going to cover the shows in this post, since I can’t really remember what days we saw what shows.

 

My husband had reserved all the shows on the TV as soon as we got on board. To our DEEP disappointment, Million Dollar Quartet AND The Brat Pack was cancelled due to performer injury. The replacement was some variety show hastily thrown together.

 

Don’t get me wrong, it was GOOD and the talent was certainly there, but I really wanted to see a broadway show and not a VARIETY show. I wonder why they couldn’t have an understudy always onboard or have a better back up plan, as previous reviews I have read about the Escape also had cancelled shows. I’m sure they have legitimate reasons, but I was pretty disappointed by this and their handling of the situation. I didn't prepay for the brat pack, but if I had, would have not been happy with their substitute for the show.

 

We did get to see After Midnight and to my surprise, I LOVED it and it made me even more sad that Million Dollar Quartet had been cancelled. I was disappointed that NCL lets people come into the theatre 10 - 15- 30 minutes into the show. It's so disruptive. I had to standup/squat as a 2-3 people tried to get to their seats who happened to be sitting in our row 30 minutes into the show. I was trying not to stand up completely as to block the view of the people behind me, and the people trying to get to their seats trampled my toes. :mad: Up until about 35 minutes in, I saw people coming in from all over the theatre late, and in my opinion, they should try to stop this from happening. What can ya do tho? :cool:

 

 

We did get to see the comedy headliners shows a couple evenings, which were VERY good and the adult shows were very tastefully done. I have been to some comedians on different cruise lines where the adult comedy is just gross and vulgar, so I appreciate when it is done with good humor and some class. I can't remember their names and I didn't keep the dailies.

 

We saw Howl At The Moon on the last day. I would have to say, compared to other times we saw HATM on other ships, the talent was just NOT HERE for this - I love a good piano bar/dueling pianos, but I just didn’t think the talent was THERE this time.

 

Up Next, 5 O' Clock Somewhere Inside Stage/Bar

 

Was on Escape in November and loved the trio doing Howl at the Moon! Thought they were the best ever. Saw the same 3 on the Epic and loved them then too. Who can beat Sexy J?

[ilovetotravel1977]

Was on Escape in November and loved the trio doing Howl at the Moon! Thought they were the best ever. Saw the same 3 on the Epic and loved them then too. Who can beat Sexy J?

 

Is it always the same performers though?

[ilovetotravel1977]

sorry, dumb post. Can't delete it.

[weltek]

Is it always the same performers though?

 

No, they rotate often. The three we had in early January weren't clicking that well. We've seen Howl many times at home and at sea, and this just wasn't the best gelling group. There were a lot of missed opportunities to make songs more fun and there wasn't much "backup instrument" playing. Drums very few times, no bass.

[aubreyc1988]

No, they rotate often. The three we had in early January weren't clicking that well. We've seen Howl many times at home and at sea, and this just wasn't the best gelling group. There were a lot of missed opportunities to make songs more fun and there wasn't much "backup instrument" playing. Drums very few times, no bass.

 

I personally felt the two really couldn't sing well or play piano super well and it just wasn't enjoyable to listen to. Maybe like you said, they just weren't gelling well - there were many people enjoying it, just personally I didn't enjoy the group on my sailing.

[aubreyc1988]

FOOD

 

We booked a little before Black Friday and they had "Pick 2" option for Getaway and Escape. We chose UBP and 4 Meal SDP. We have eaten at all the specialty restaurants before sailing and chose to do Cagneys 2x, Teppanyaki, and LeBistro. We also ate at the buffet several times for breakfast and lunch, as well as Food Republic, all of which I will review. :)

 

I apologize for not having many photos, it really was dark in a lot of the dining rooms, and the photos didn't really look too appetizing anyhow. These photos were taken by our cruising friends, but they have let me use them since I didn't have any for Cagney's

 

Pre-drinks before eating at Cagney's

 

 

I'll start with Cagney's first. I LOVED every meal here! I didn't branch out very much and got the same thing both times. First meal was my birthday dinner and I wasn't super hungry so I didn't get a starter, I got the 5 oz filet with mashed potatoes, Chocolate Cake and of course, my birthday cake (Which I didn't know I was getting)

 

 

Server made me a napkin rose in a cup!

 

 

And my yummy birthday cake I had 2 bites of

 

My husband got the 5 oz filet as well. Everything tasted great! We normally get our steaks cooked medium rare. Our friends usually go Medium or Medium well and they didn't enjoy theirs as much - I thought they didn't really cook their steaks to medium and were always either medium rare or well done in MY opinion. However, my medium rare steaks always were fantastic. Service was great, super fast.

 

Here's me and my friend popping a pose before entering Cagney's - I was a little tipsy here, full disclosure :P My husband spent time at the spa and while I was waiting for him to get done with his treatment, I had some drinks with Bong at the Mojito Bar. Thanks to my friend for letting me use her picture of us!

 

 

 

Second time at Cagney's I was a bit hungrier, thankfully. I got the pork belly, which was not my favorite - I just don't know what I was thinking, I usually don't go for "fatty" things. My husband liked it though. For my entree I got the 8oz filet I believe, medium rare. It was SO good! My husband said it was the best he has ever had at Cagney's and ended up eating half of mine! I had some sort of apple crisp for dessert, which was OK.

 

The boys are pretty happy with their meal here

 

 

So in conclusion about CAGNEY'S experience on the Escape, I was very pleased with the food we got, especially since it was essentially free with our perk. If we had paid the À la carte prices, I would have been OK with it, as it was all very delicious, but I could see these À la carte charges adding up quickly. I wish they would have kept the Oreo Cheesecake on the dessert menu. The current dessert line up is alright, but I loved that Oreo Cheesecake..

[UKLloyd]

I'm sorry what? No Oreo cookie cheesecake anymore?

I'm absolutely gutted!! That was the best ever dessert I've had.

 

Can't believe it's gone.