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Escape 8/20-8/28 Review

mehruns1

By mehruns1,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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mehruns1

mehruns1

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Prelude

So this is my first ever cruise review so please bear with me :). My husband and I just got off the Escape on 8/28. Just a little background on us: the DH is 40 and I'm 32, we've been married for two years and have no children. We recently hopped across the river from Manhattan to Jersey City. This was our second cruise on NCL (last year we conveniently rolled our suitcases from our Hell's Kitchen apartment to the Breakaway for a cruise to Bermuda (we had a great time on this cruise, right up until the DH needed to get off the ship in Bermuda to have an emergency appendectomy; the Bermuda hospital and staff are lovely).

 

So for those of you still with me, we had a fantastic time on the cruise. There were some lows but ultimately, as my husband repeats to anyone who will listen, you really have to try hard to not have a good time on a cruise. As our "perks" we had the UBP and SDP (3 nights, I also purchased a second 3 SDP for both of us).

 

Embarkation was a bust. We got to the port around 8:35am (we were trying for VIBE passes - we had them on the Breakaway). The Cruise Gods were not with us and while we about 10th in line waiting for security to open, due to a series of unfortunate events we somehow wound up in boarding group 3, lucky for us, they didn't actually call boarding group 1, unlucky for us, when they did eventually call boarding groups 3 ad 5 the guy had no idea what was going on (including it seemed that we were in fact the odd numbered boarding groups) that it became a stampede and everyone (regardless of boarding group) ran to get on the ship. Fortunately, I'm fun sized (read: extra short) and despite my big backpack I scurried very quickly to Headliners with my husband behind me trying to keep up. We arrived in Headliners and at this point I thought we actually made it, I was so excited we were going to get the VIBE passes! There were not too many people ahead of us and I anxiously awaited the numbers to be handed out (the numbers that I read all about here on cc) I was wrong. No numbers were handed out and then there was a long pause. There were rumblings in line that a supervisor had been called. Someone had scooped up 26 passes, despite the fact that they were not all there. The supervisor came over, didn't seem overly thrilled to be there and started handing out numbers. His stack was running low; he handed out the last two numbers to the couple directly in front of us. I was crestfallen. I asked the supervisor if there was a waiting list we could be placed on (I had read varying accounts that this existed) he said no. He told me come to guest services after we set sail.

 

Disappointed, more because I felt like we had "done everything right" and still came away empty handed, it was time for a drink. One very strong rum and coke (pepsi) later I was starting to relax and enjoy the cruise! We checked out our stateroom (we had a spa balcony - 15150 -bed by closet for those who are interested in that sort of thing) and dropped off our carry on bags. We headed to Taste for lunch (Savor had the longer line - likely because Savor had the view). We had a table by the window watching them load food and paper products onto the ship. (Good to know there would be no shortage of TP!) We shared a popcorn shrimp appetizer (actually two - they accidentally ordered two and we were hungry so hey, why not). I had a grilled fish sandwich and the hubs had a tuna salad sandwich. Both were good. We skipped dessert and went off to explore the ship. We headed to Spice h20 just to see it and it seemed nice, the grotto looked relaxing. We shot a few baskets (much I'm sure to the chagrin of the children wondering who this short person was trying to play horse). We enjoyed sail away from our balcony and then headed to the spa for the raffle and to thermal suite to unwind before dinner at Moderno.

 

Husband really like Moderno (I liked it too, likely not as much as he though as I got full quite quickly). I did love the cheese rolls though. Man those are tasty. I want to note the great service we had that night in Moderno. The waitress asked if we had any food allergies and after my husband responded no (his default response) I reminded him that he is severely lactose intolerant. The waitress was wonderful! She went through each item he could and could not have. (We would experience this level of concern again in Le Bistro - Gustav - he was AMAZING). After a spin on the salad bar (which was pretty good, but I think my expectations were too high after reading reviews) we were ready for the meats! I have always maintained that I could compete in one of those 72oz meat eating contests. Evidently, I am wrong. By the time the fourth meat came around I tapped out. Husband had a few more bites and then he threw in the towel. We decided to forgo dessert as we were both way too full.

 

After dinner, never one to give up, except, I guess, on copious amounts of meat, I headed back to guest services to check on Vibe - who knows, maybe someone returned one. They had nothing. I would wind up going back the next morning to ask again. This time I was told that Vibe on the Escape was nothing like the Breakaway. It was not as nice, I probably wouldn't like it anyway and we should go check out Spice h20. While I appreciate this motherly attempt to appease me, it felt a little patronizing. He did note that if we saw any kids in Spice h20 that I should call 00 to have them removed.

 

Sunday morning we went to the gym before heading to the CC meet and greet. Husband took a yoga class and I took a spin class, and quickly remembered that I hate spin. I must not have set the bike up properly and my behind was killing me about 10 minutes in. Husband loved yoga. He had never taken yoga before but decided this would be the perfect opportunity to try it out. The gym staff was nice but we found Maia was much more pleasant and held better classes than Gary. Gary did not appear to want to be there. I decided to take yoga on Monday morning (I'm not typically a yoga person - I take cardio kickboxing at home) and by the end Gary had us essentially napping for 15 minutes while he lifted weights in the corner (we were supposed to have our eyes closed- whoops). I'm not saying he had to medidate with us but the husband said the Sunday class was much more active. The only thing I did appreaciate was his honesty when I asked him about Norwegian Fight Klub. Since i do take kickboxing I thougth this would be a perfect class for me, but he informed me that it was a very basic class and that I probably would not like it). Also we took fab abs classes with both he and Maia and her class was far superior (and longer).

 

I've been a lurker on CC for many years (longer than what it says on my profile - I'm thinking I must have changed my username at some point from something even more embarrassing) so this was my first meet and greet. Thank you Baryton (Rusty) for organizing. It was fantastic getting to chat with fellow CCers and many of the ship's officers. At this point, I also had a celebrity moment, when JW (whose reviews are amazing and hilarious) sat down in front of me during the officer presentations. After they finished, I tapped him on the shoulder and told him I loved his review (which I did/do) and asked if he got Vibe passes (since he had written about it previously). I think my husband wanted to kill me. He told me I had to move on (he was not wrong). After hearing that JW didn't get them either, and hearing his account of what happened, I walked away from our conversation a) thrilled I got to actually meet/speak to him and b) feeling positive about the situation. On the way out of Cagney's I ran into a few people who had seen us in line at Headliners (and actually got the passes) and they were very sweet and said they felt badly for us that we didn't make the cut, given all of the shenanigans regarding the distribution of passes. One of the guys suggested I go find Jovo (the hotel director) who had just finished speaking to us and explain the situation and see if there was anything he could do. We were off; I had hope again. This was another example of how great CC people are; I never would have thought to do that. Long story short, (I know, too late) a couple hours later I had a message saying our Vibe passes were available at guest services. To say I was elated would be an understatement. I must add that I would not recommend this method to get passes under normal circumstances. And truth be told, had the Vibe passes been given out like normal (numbered tickets and all), and I missed out I wouldn't have said anything.

 

Sidenote: Right after speaking with Jovo we did go up to Spice h20. The grotto really was very nice. It was busy but not crazily so (though the loungers were very close to one another). Things got a little exciting when something caught fire on the lounger of woman sitting by; she did not seem to notice. Thankfully the quick thinking guy next to her caught her before she laid back on whatever was burning.

 

We headed up to Vibe where everyone was VERY nice. Despite having been told the first time I went to guest services that it was over sold and it would be quite crowded, it was never busy (by the end of the week it was pretty much empty - and not just because they had added additional chairs). The best bartenders are in Vibe! On our first day we arrived just in time for shots! Delicious! The first one was some ice cream concoction which I loved! Someone on CC mentioned that if you need Vibe to have a good time on this ship then maybe this isn't the ship for you. There may be some truth to that for us. Would we have had a great time if we hadn't had the passes? I'm sure, but for us having an umbrella we could sit under, the padded loungers, and the less crowded area really made for a fantastic time.

 

Basically the hubs and I spent the rest of the days going between Vibe and the thermal suite. Which is exactly what we like to do (and what we had done on the Breakaway). I find the thermal suite one of the best places to nap on the ship (although in my younger days I could see myself napping it out - or passing out - in the comfy chairs on the waterfront.

 

I know some people were unhappy with the weather. Especially those flailing their arms at the shore excursion desk the morning we got to St. Thomas. I guess a bunch of people wanted to cancel their excursions due to the impending rain. We really didn't mind the little rain we had during the week - it was hurricane season after all (though it probably helped that we had the spa passes).

 

I had pre-booked two excursions: Zip-lining in St. Thomas (so much fun despite getting soaked by a quick passing rainstorm!) and Virgin Gorda and the Baths in Tortola (not so much fun). The baths were lovely but it took so long to get there and once we were there people kept getting lost and it was difficult to find the tour guides. It just seemed to us that the ferry ride took too long for the amount of time we actually had at the baths. To quote my husband "if you want to be cranky, go on this tour." Everyone seemed a little cranky on the ferry back to the ship. Be sure to either be on a deck or on your balcony if you have one when leaving Tortola. You travel through "the narrows" and all the little islands peppering the sea are beautiful.

 

The food was really the only "low" for us on this trip. And I know food is so subjective so I realize someone else on the same cruise may have loved the food.

 

For breakfast and lunches we pretty much went to the buffet every day. I think this was a big mistake as we really were unhappy with the food in the buffet. On the Breakaway we loved the buffet for breakfast and lunch (my husband affectionally refers to it as the "cafeteria"). In fact we thought all the food we had on the breakaway, save La Cucina, was great. There was a wide variety and it changed every day. On the Escape the food seemed to be the same everyday and the quality just wasn't there. Rolls would be stale and the eggs were inedible. We had omelets one day which were not that bad, but then another day we tried to get them again but the guy making them was so confused that he burned my husband's and didn't seem to care or notice (to be fair he may have been new). Unfortunately we are creatures of habit and I think we both thought it would get better. It didn't really. One bright spot on the buffet were the panini's. They changed every day and were usually pretty good. I know a lot of people have commented that the buffet is crazy busy. I would be lying if I said it were not busy, but the lines moved and we were always able to find a table. One thing I will say is the staff cleaning the tables hustled! They were quick to take a dirty plate or replace utensils. They were all very nice as well.

 

We also weren't crazy about the food in Taste the night we went there for dinner. I had tilapia the husband had chicken. Both were really bad. We probably should have asked for something else, but didn't bother.

 

There were some food highlights though. We thought Bayamo was excellent (I had cod and husband had duck). They also made him a special dairy-free dessert. We also loved Le Bistro (we went there twice). The service was fantastic in both restaurants. We liked Food Republic (again I think my expectations may have been too high) so I was not as blown away as some. That said I would definitely recommend stopping by there.

 

We saw a couple shows: For the Record (Brat Pack) and the Comedy Juggler. Both were fun! Note for NCL - they should change the questions for the Newlywed/Not-so-Newlywed Game (which is always super fun btw) They were the same as last year on the Breakaway. Perhaps next time my husband and I should enter since we would surely have an advantage :).

 

All in all we had a very nice time on the trip and by the end we were completely relaxed (which was exactly what we were going for).

 

tl;dr: we had a great time, the service was great, the escape is very nice ship, we just weren't thrilled with the food.

 

 

One last thing...I have dailies which I will scan later this week.

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kchiumento

kchiumento

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Thank you for the review. We leave on the Escape Saturday. You confirmed my suspicions about the baths. We opted for Jost Van Dyke instead and after hearing your take on the baths, I'm confident we made the right decision.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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Two Wheels Only

Two Wheels Only

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Things got a little exciting when something caught fire on the lounger of woman sitting by; she did not seem to notice. Thankfully the quick thinking guy next to her caught her before she laid back on whatever was burning.

 

:eek: Are the chair police using lasers? Flamethrowers? Details, please.

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mehruns1

mehruns1

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:eek: Are the chair police using lasers? Flamethrowers? Details, please.

 

Haha, I'm honestly not sure what happened. It almost looked like someone flicked a piece of a cigar from somewhere and it landed on her towel and with the heat started to smoke and then burn. I unfortunately I was not explaining it properly to my husband when I noticed it - it was only smoking at this point- and I kept saying "is that a blunt?" Rather than "I think something is on fire." He had no idea what I was talking about, lesson learned.). The guy who said something ran to the grotto with a cup to get water to put it out. Even after the water it was still smoldering a little bit. The really strange part was the woman's ambivalence that she was almost burned by whatever it was.

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beerman2

beerman2

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How do you find out about the Van Dyke tour?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

We are going in Oct. and bought through NCL being it is a short day in Tortola.

 

You can check JVD out on Trip Advisor, U-tube, or google it.

 

 

You can also go to carribbean ports here on CC and click on Tortola!

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TSUmom

TSUmom

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Enjoyed your review - Thank you for taking the time. Glad you got your Vibe passes. That is our goal, our last cruise we were in the Haven and it is a little pricey for our next cruise so we decided to "run for the prize" by getting to port early and scoring an early boarding group.

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el820

el820

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We were on the same cruise as you. We also had lunch at Taste on embarkation day. I think you two were sitting on a table right next to us.

 

We also took The Baths excursion through NCL, and felt the tour way too short. It was a 4.5 hr tour, but we really didn't have much time to spend on the beach after we deduct time for the ferry rides, the trek to the The Baths, and the walk back to the meeting point. It was a very nice place to visit but wished we had another hour or so to spend on the beach.

 

The food was also the low for us on this cruise. We have been sailing with NCL since our 2007 Hawaii cruise, and I must say the food has been on a decline ever since, in terms of quality and selection (MDRs & buffets--we have never dined in specialty restaurants). I really miss my rack of lamb, sea scallops, lobster tails, and a nice juicy ribeye steak in the MDR :(

 

Did anyone else find the food on this cruise over seasoned with salt? I usually like my food well seasoned with salt, but find most of the dishes I had on this ship were too salty for my liking. The notable items were the coconut crusted tilapia & asian noodle in the buffet, and the steak diane sauce in the MDR. The coconut tilapia was so salty to a point of being bitter...it was not edible.

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mehruns1

mehruns1

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Here is a link to the dailies (and the fitness class schedule). Please let me know if it works. https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7ys2lDgyM1NZmJhWHZnVFRpMkU&usp=sharing

 

 

 

We were on the same cruise as you. We also had lunch at Taste on embarkation day. I think you two were sitting on a table right next to us.

 

Were you guys the young couple auditioned for the newlywed game? It's interesting to hear that you weren't crazy about the food either. Did you hear us talking to the man next to us at lunch that day about the food? He was telling us that the food on NCL has been getting much better over the past couple of years since Norwegian purchased Oceania and Regent.

 

Also, I would love to hear what someone recently off of the Breakaway thought of the food.

 

tsuMom - good luck with Vibe! I will be thinking good thoughts for you!

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mehruns1

mehruns1

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I'm so super excited to board Escape this weekend! So, I think I may have missed it, is Vibe as good on Escape as Breakaway?

 

Yes! It's a little different in that there is one hot tub instead of two and they removed the cabanas, but it's great. And they added a mister which was very refreshing. Also, we found the service in vibe on the escape to be better than the service on the breakaway (which was good in its own right).

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el820

el820

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Here is a link to the dailies (and the fitness class schedule). Please let me know if it works. https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7ys2lDgyM1NZmJhWHZnVFRpMkU&usp=sharing

 

 

 

 

 

Were you guys the young couple auditioned for the newlywed game? It's interesting to hear that you weren't crazy about the food either. Did you hear us talking to the man next to us at lunch that day about the food? He was telling us that the food on NCL has been getting much better over the past couple of years since Norwegian purchased Oceania and Regent.

 

Also, I would love to hear what someone recently off of the Breakaway thought of the food.

 

tsuMom - good luck with Vibe! I will be thinking good thoughts for you!

 

LOL...no, we are way pass the newlywed stage haha. We were finishing up when you guys were having your apps. Actually I think I was alone on the table with 4 or 5 empty plates in front of me after my wife left the table early to take the kids to use the bathroom.

 

We were on the Dawn last August to Bermuda, and I thought the food was about the same but less salty. We had friends who sailed the Escape this past March and they said the buffet food was better than what they had on the RCL Oasis/Allure. I guess it's really subjective when it comes down to food preference. I remember a waiter in Manhattan said the menu was changed a few weeks before our sailing--I guess for the worse, IMO.

 

I only gained 4 lbs after this cruise. I remember reading somewhere the average is about 7 lbs, so this goes to show how much I enjoyed the food on the Escape :D

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mehruns1

mehruns1

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Nice review, thank you.

 

Do you happen to remember if there were multiple times offered for the St Thomas zipline? And maybe when it showed up as available to book?

 

Thanks.

 

Yes, there were a bunch of options time wise. It didn't appear until much closer to the cruise, maybe 1 month out or less.

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