Our Silver Wedding Escape was a HAVENly surprise!

[Linda the Book Lover]

Happy Anniversary! I love the idea your DH had on keeping the bed flower pedals. Keep the photos coming they are great.

 

Which Haven cabin did you stay in?

[dolita22]

Wow, what a surprise! Congratulations on your silver anniversary! My DH and I will be married for only 3 years this coming November (we're newbies!), and I love hearing about couples who have been married much longer still traveling and having fun together.

 

Looking forward to more of your review when you're over the jetlag. :)

[Elevatorman]

Please tell what cabin you had?

[meltingmoments]

happy anniversary

thank you for sharing your wonderful adventure.

 

Thank you for your good wishes and I hope you enjoy reading more! :)

[meltingmoments]

Happy Anniversary! What a way to celebrate on the Escape in The Haven. That cabin looks heavenly!! I am looking forward to more of your review!. We have to wait 10 more months before our turn. :)

 

Thank you!

 

Wasn't it an amazing way to celebrate? I feel so lucky we had the opportunity.

 

10 months will go by in a flash, hopefully! Enjoy!

[meltingmoments]

Happy Anniversary! I love the idea your DH had on keeping the bed flower pedals. Keep the photos coming they are great.

 

Which Haven cabin did you stay in?

 

Thank you so much for the anniversary wishes!

 

My DH was very creative, I thought with his keeping of the petals! :)

Glad you like the photos, it makes it worthwhile adding them when people enjoy them. :)

 

We stayed in cabin 17128, a Courtyard Penthouse suite.

[meltingmoments]

Wow, what a surprise! Congratulations on your silver anniversary! My DH and I will be married for only 3 years this coming November (we're newbies!), and I love hearing about couples who have been married much longer still traveling and having fun together.

 

Looking forward to more of your review when you're over the jetlag. :)

 

 

Don't you just LOVE surprises like that? :)

 

Thank you for your good wishes. Well I can still remember being newly-weds and it doesn't seem that long ago! I can promise you we still have fun after all these years! :)

 

Didn't realise just how much that jetlag can hit! But I WILL continue, I promise!

[meltingmoments]

Please tell what cabin you had?

 

We had cabin 17128, closest to the Haven entrance. I can't tell you the fun my DH had every time we used that entrance!! He would look over his shoulder and ask *Is anyone looking? Look where we're going* :eek:

[meltingmoments]

After a wander around the ship we decided to go and check out the beer in the District Brew House.

 

DSCN5558 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

DH had a Stella, BIL had the District Pale Ale and I had a Bud.......not very adventurous, but I'm not a big beer person! :o

 

The beer made me sleepy.......I know....what a lightweight!....so we headed back to the Haven for a chill.

We were greeted with these treats today!

 

DSCN5514 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

This is NOT going to end well for our waistlines! :o

[meltingmoments]

After spending some time just relaxing and enjoying our suite, we got ready for the Captain's Cocktail party, which was being held in the Haven courtyard.

We met the most lovely couple from Ohio who were celebrating their Golden Wedding anniversary! Wow! Double us! :)

 

We enjoyed a glass of prossecco and some nibbles and a chat with some of the Officers and then we made our way to Cagneys where we had dinner reservations. Now we were also booked in to see the show, After Midnight at 10:00pm but we didn't mention this to our waitress as we thought we had plenty of time with an 8pm reservation!

Well, it was not to be and we missed the show!

The service was lovely......but slow!

We thoroughly enjoyed our meal, but with hindsight, we should have made it known we had show reservations. Never mind, it wasn't the end of the world!

 

We followed our meal with a drink in Tobacco Road.

 

DSCN5507 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

We then went back to our room and enjoyed some time on the balcony.

Now the only comment I would have to make about this room was it's proximity to the public area. It was very close to an area on deck where there was a table tennis table and when people were looking out over the side of the ship, our balcony was visible to them. Wasn't a big deal, but something to be aware of. Hopefully this picture shows what I mean.

DSCN5480 by smilinglady, on Flickr

[meltingmoments]

So onto day 3 and we arrive at Roatan.

 

20160816_130438 (1) by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

DSCN5548 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

20160816_130953(0) by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

We had booked an NCL excursion for the family today, Sightseeing and Beach, so we were up early and had breakfast in the room. We got ready and were heading out when Virginia, the Concierge, spotted us and asked us if we were leaving the ship. When we said we were, she beckoned us to follow her and escorted us off the ship quickly and easily via another exit! We had forgotten we had that perk! :)

 

We met the rest of the family on the pier and were directed to our tour bus.

The sightseeing tour was just enough for us. We saw something of the island, had a few stops for photos, visited an Iguana farm...........and had a beach stop.

 

DSCN5521 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

DSCN5523 by smilinglady, on Flickr

[meltingmoments]

DSCN5523 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

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[meltingmoments]

The beach was really lovely and we spent just over an hour relaxing and walking up and down the shoreline.

 

DSCN5538 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

DSCN5537 by smilinglady, on Flickr

[meltingmoments]

We were back on board the Escape around 1:30pm and had lunch in the Garden Cafe. It wasn't too hectic as lots of people were still ashore.

I can't say enough good things about the food on our trip. We mostly ate our lunches in the Garden Cafe and found something to please all of us every time!

 

We then spent a couple of hours on the Haven sundeck. We found the pool area of the Haven was always a little crowded. There were a fair few families with young children and of course they were using the beds closest to the pool in order to keep an eye on their children. Not a problem for us at all, we just went up one deck and enjoyed the calmness and tranquility up there.

 

Tonight we had dinner booked in La Cucina. I had the sea bass and it was delicious. DH had Filet Mignon and declared that delicious too. Desserts were creme brulee and tarte tatin, both very nice.

 

We managed to make it to the show, After Midnight tonight and were glad we did. It was very high energy and very enjoyable.

 

We ended the evening in O'Sheehans enjoying some of our wine from the wine package we had purchased on Day 1

 

Back to the cabin to sit on the balcony and indulge in some of today's snacks and another day was done!

 

DSCN5545 by smilinglady, on Flickr

[meltingmoments]

After another peaceful breakfast at *our table* in the Haven restaurant, we had a wander around a quiet ship.

We didn't fancy the tender over to Belize and so decided to make the most of a quiet day.

 

DSCN5552 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

DSCN5551 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

DSCN5554 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

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[meltingmoments]

After snapping happily away around the ship, we spent an extremely relaxing day in the Haven on the upper sundeck. How fab was it to be offered iced water and ice cream without leaving your comfy seat? I could SO get used to this!!

 

After relaxing in the room, we met up with my BIL to listen to some jazz in Cellars Wine bar. Very relaxing and a great musician, Orly Penate.

 

Dinner tonight was Teppanyaki. We have done this on NCL before and it's become a firm favourite for all of us and tonight was as good as ever.

 

DSCN5562 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

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Thought this was very clever.......NCL spelled out in the rice! Made me smile.

[Linda the Book Lover]

As I sit here too lazy to go fix a late lunch all I can think of is coming back to a cabin of treats and a glass of wine! ;)

[meltingmoments]

As I sit here too lazy to go fix a late lunch all I can think of is coming back to a cabin of treats and a glass of wine! ;)

 

I know that feeling!

I just tried ringing the Butler.........I think he's off duty! ;)

[meltingmoments]

After dinner, we made our way to Spice H20 for the 80's party. The littlest member of our family proved himself to be an excellent dancer and really enjoyed himself! So much so, he completely wore himself out and literally just flopped down on deck and fell asleep! Bless him!

It began to pour with rain and the party was taken inside to the Skyline bar.

DH and I only lasted a little longer. We found this party wasn't as good (for us) as the 80's party on the Epic. The music was more *rocky* than we enjoy, but we still had a good night!

[meltingmoments]

We had no particular plans for today so we had a leisurely breakfast in the Haven and then checked in with the rest of the family.

The dancing last night must have really taken it's toll as they were not yet functioning!!

We decided to do our own thing today and DH and I got ready to leave the ship and have a wander around Cozumel.

It was SO hot and humid, I was melting within moments!!

We enjoyed a wander around and took some photos but what I DIDN'T like about here was the fact that we got pestered every few steps by shop owners trying to persuade you inside their shop with *let me give you a free gift....no obligation*.....mmmmm, just a tad annoying, so we crossed the road to avoid them on our way back! ;)

 

DSCN5570 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

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[meltingmoments]

No port stop would be complete on a Caribbean trip without a stop for refreshments at Senor Frogs.......

 

DSCN5589 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

DSCN5588 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

 

DSCN5587 by smilinglady, on Flickr

[meltingmoments]

We went back onboard for a late lunch in the Garden cafe and spent the rest of the afternoon chilling on the Haven sundeck.

 

Arrived back to the cabin to afternoon treats of cheese and crackers and chocolate cake! Oh my poor waistline! :eek:

 

Arranged to meet up with the family later on and joined them in O'Sheehans.

My SIL and Niece went to see the Brat Pack show and I spent time with DH, BIL and Nephew playing basketball in O'Sheehans.

 

We ate dinner in the Manhattan Room this evening and it was very good. Between us we had herb-crusted chicken,poached salmon and a New York strip steak. Desserts were Apple Pie, selection of ice cream and warm chocolate lava cake. Service was good and we had no complaints.

 

We followed dinner up with a visit to the Brew House to catch the guy from the Wine Cellar the other evening, Orly Penate.

I lasted an hour and then left the men to it and retired to my Haven!

[meltingmoments]

So today was to be our final day on this beautiful ship!

 

Another breakfast in the Haven was followed by a few peaceful hours on the sundeck and then a quick shop! One has to have a souvenir after all!

 

After that we went to check out our photos. We had had SO many taken this cruise, we had a hard time choosing, but we finally got it down to a reasonable number!! :eek:

 

Lunch was taken in the Garden Cafe with the rest of the family and then it was time to pack! :(

 

Tonight the whole family enjoyed the show, Oh What a Night, and of course, I managed to get something in my eye at the end of the Crew section, when they sing *You are Norwegian now*....such a softy!

 

We split up to eat tonight. DH and I went to O'Sheehans as I wasn't very hungry and the others went to Food Republic as this didn't appeal to me. They really enjoyed it though.

 

After a final drink in O'Sheehans to finish off our wine package, we ventured for one last time to the casino.

We chattted to a member of staff there who told us we would now be docking in Miami at 1:00am.........we had thought we were going along quite fast!!! It seemed that there was a medical emergency! We never found out any more but I hope and pray that the person involved was okay.

 

And that was it, our last night onboard!

[meltingmoments]

So the time had come to leave our Haven.

All good things must come to an end!

DH went to breakfast, I took some early morning pictures of Miami.

 

20160820_110234 by smilinglady, on Flickr

20160820_110251 (1) by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

20160820_110945 by smilinglady, on Flickr

 

The Carnival ship had followed us all trip!

We left the ship around 9:00am but we were ages getting through customs, for some reason!

We were starting to get a bit panicky because we had to get to the car hire company before 12:00 noon in order to collect the car we had rented for our next stage in our trip, down to Key West.

We finally got through customs and just about made it to the car hire place! Phew!!

 

So our Escape had ended, but we were once again lucky enough to be continuing our adventures with a drive to Key West. Unfortunately this part of the trip would NOT include a Butler! ;)

 

So that's it..............I hope people have enjoyed reading about our Haven introduction. I completely understand now when I read the comments that once you have been in the Haven, or a suite, you will never go back to a regular cabin again.

But with a bit of luck we will hopefully cruise again, and I for one, will be grateful to do that any way I can. :)

[SenatorsFan]

Thanks for sharing your cruise with us. Congratulations on your 25th anniversary!:) We celebrated ours on a cruise 3 years ago and I'm already hoping to cruise again on our 30th. :)

Heather