Escape 8/20-8/28 Review

[mehruns1]

Thanks for the review and Dailies. So excited I sail next month!! :D

 

I guess there was no word on what happened with those 26 Vibe passes... sounds odd what went down there. I hope that's not something that will be repeated.

 

Have a great time! Honestly, I'm not sure what happened with the passes. I heard varying accounts. The family who took the passes were some of the same people I had waited outside of the terminal with, so they knew us and told someone else in Vibe on the first day that they felt badly that we didn't get passes (someone had told them since they took so many passes we had missed out). I guess one of the family members felt so badly that she told someone else in Vibe that she wouldn't have gotten passes for some of her family members that she knew would never use it (and to be honest, I didn't see them that much up there as the week wore on). I am very interested to read what JW's review says as he probably got the real story as to what happened. The "official" story from the cruise line that I got was that they were all there when the passes were handed out and that they only gave out 8 passes. Who knows but I don't think that part is true. As to whether or not it will be repeated, I do not think it will. There were so many complaints (not just from people who didn't get the passes, but from some people who actually did get them) that I think they will be sure to follow the protocol moving forward.

[CruisinHarvey]

Thanks for the review. We were on your cruise too. Good for you with the Vibe passes. I know Sean would have helped out, but have no experience with Jovo. We saw the long line when we went into Headliners for dinner reservations and thought something was wrong. We found out later from JW and Jerome later what the deal was.

 

We too had food issues this trip. The steak in Le Bistro was tough. We had to saw it. Then we go to Cagney's the last night, and steak is so dry there was no juice with a medium rare steak. They took the steaks off our bill. I don't know what's going on with their beef, but something has changed. It's always been the highlight of our trips, This is our 4th cruise on the Escape.

Edited September 1, 2016 by CruisinHarvey

[juksing]

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.

 

We were on the same cruise and we Dined in specialty restaurants for dinner,Margaritaville for lunch and Mdr for breakfast and everything was over salted, especially Moderno and Teppanyaki.

[CP3o]

Ugh, disappointing dining reports, hope it was reported on reviews and mentioned to Ncl representatives.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[starfishee]

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

 

Yessssssss! Escape to Jost Van Dyke was AWESOME!!!! It was definitely worth every penny, the crew on the Rebel Yell were great, the ride there was absolutely indescribably beautiful and White Bay was absolutely BREATHTAKING!!!!!!!!!!!!! Painkillers are delish! Great decision!

[mehruns1]

Ugh, disappointing dining reports, hope it was reported on reviews and mentioned to Ncl representatives.

 

We happened to get a comment card the night we went to Cagneys. I did note that while our server was great the food was not. We had planned to do two nights at Cagneys so that night my husband ordered the lobster and I had the tuna figuring the next time we'd have steak. He said the lobster was frozen and reheated and my tuna was way too salty and over cooked (or I suppose it could have just sat too long before it made it to us). We didn't wind up going back. I will say we liked Le Bistro (we went there twice- I had the Dover sole both times and it was quite good. DH has the sole one night and scallops the other. Liked both a lot.

 

I'm hoping that the food on our cruise was just an abberation.

 

el820- yes I do remember you now (or at least your table!)

[stp108]

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

 

 

Thanks for scanning and posting. Going on the Escape on Oct 8 and was glad to see the dailies.

Susan

[Tiaa]

Hi loved your review, we are going our first cruise on 24th, can you please advise what the Vibe is. :(

[mehruns1]

can you please advise what the Vibe is. :(

 

Thanks so much! So Vibe is an adults only (18+) exclusive area of the ship that is rarely crowded. Great bar service, padded loungers, umbrellas (when it is not too windy), hot tub and mister they bring around fruit skewers and cool towels (washcloths). The cost is $99 per person, per week, but as you read the passes can be difficult to obtain :(. It's a really nice area since the pool deck can get so crowded. Plus the bartenders there are the best!

[Tiaa]

Thank you for your reply, l didnt realise we had to get passes but we will try and get some when we board. As l said this is our 1st cruise and we really dont know what to expect and what to do but we wont be long in finding out.

[starfishee]

Ugh, disappointing dining reports, hope it was reported on reviews and mentioned to Ncl representatives.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We didn't have all bad experiences with the dining, i'd say we had a mixed bag. We thought that the buffet was great, breakfast, lunch and dinner were all good, great variety that changed from day to day. We lunch and dinner in the MDR, good meals, no complaints, will definitely go back. I would definitely get the Steak Frites again...delish. We will try the breakfast in the MDR as i've heard it's quite good. We absolutely LOVED Cagney's, just as much as we did on the Epic a few years ago. The filet is cooked to perfection! We were slightly disappointed with Moderno as we found it to be outstanding on the Epic, and just mediocre on the Escape, wouldn't bother going again. Tried Le Bistro for the first time, not super excited about that, it wasn't bad, it wasn't good, just meh. O'Sheehans for breakfast, less than stellar, it was almost if they went to the buffet and filled your order from there and then let it sit for 15 minutes before serving it. O'Sheehans pub grub was great, went several times, their wings are yummy! Margaritaville you could not pay us to go back to, my friend definitely got food poisoning there, not to mention, the food was just awful....But honestly, think about it, it's Margaritaville, their food is not good on land, I don't know why we thought it would be good at sea. For us, we really found Cagney's as the only specialty restaurant that seemed any better than the complimentary options. Overall, plenty of great meals to be had, just not feeling the need to pay for the specialty when the inclusive meals are just as good...if not better. Just mho.

[Mrs Lizard]

What are vibe passes????

[beerman2]

What are vibe passes????

 

See post #34 above, it explains it.

[mehruns1]

I was going through the papers I brought home and found the spa price list. I added that to the dailies folder in case anyone is interested. The "value" pricing was for port days. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7ys2lDgyM1NZmJhWHZnVFRpMkU

[Southerngal410]

I was going through the papers I brought home and found the spa price list. I added that to the dailies folder in case anyone is interested. The "value" pricing was for port days. https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B7ys2lDgyM1NZmJhWHZnVFRpMkU

It says the document can't be found. Would want to see the price list.

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

[mehruns1]

I can't figure out why it isn't working on google drive, but let me know if it works uploading as an attachment. Thanks.

Spa Price List.pdf

[Southerngal410]

Got it, thanks!

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app