A few random post-cruise thoughts - Norwegian Escape sailing 1/7/17

[Zimomiller]

This was cruise # 32 for us and without a doubt we had the worst weather we have ever encountered on a cruise. We have sailed in January and February several times before but never encountered such consistently low temps, high winds, heavy rain and heaving seas. Mother Nature is so unpredictable.

 

We have been in higher winds and waves on previous cruises but that was for just an evening. Our weather luck on this trip was just bad. Started raining at the delayed sail away and just degraded from there. All day Sunday and one half of Monday were howling hellish rain and turbulent seas. 50-60 knot winds and 15-18 ft. seas were common.

 

Weather broke for St Thomas and Tortola but the rough seas led to the cancellation of almost all water based excursions in Tortola so we never got over to Jost Van Dyke.

 

Felt sorry for the first time cruisers who are now likely turned off. So many on-board crew members were suffering from the motion effects. Luckily, my wife and I are not affected by the waves. Call me nuts but I like to feel the ship move.

 

We still had a decent cruise. Any day at sea is better than any day at work.

 

We flew in 2 days early for this cruise to Ft Lauderdale airport terminal 2. We chose 2 days prior to our cruise this year to celebrate an anniversary. We were so glad we did as we passed through Terminal 2 baggage claim 2 almost exactly 24 hours before the shooting incident. We of course felt horror and remorse for those affected but we could not help but to feel lucky that we avoided what could have led to our involvement in that disaster.

 

Haven embark was a breeze. Arrived at 1030 am and were seated waiting to be brought on board to the Haven in about 10 minutes.

 

Debark was quite easy as well as Rashida and her staff led the Haven passengers down a crew elevator behind the scenes right to the front of the line.

 

The ship was in great shape. Yes there was always some maintenance in process but it did not detract from the cruise.

 

Maybe it was just us, but Tyler the cruise director was just too annoying to listen to.

 

Tried Food Republic. Expected so much better based upon CC reviews. It was a meh experience for us. Combine that with ala cart pricing and there is no reason to return for us. Food reviews are very subjective, your experience may vary.

 

Decent well organized CC Meet n Greet turn out by cruisers as well as NCL senior officers and staff. It is always disappointing so many other cruisers fail to come after they signed up.

 

We dined only in the Haven restaurant, Cagney's and Le Bistro. They are the best and most consistent venues for us. Our experiences in these venues were quite good.

 

Friends that cruised with us tried La Cucina against my warnings that the reviews on CC were not good. They walked out as they found the food to be inedible.

 

Loved the Haven. It is always a quiet luxurious refuge.

 

The Haven bartenders are masters of their craft and are true mixologists on the Escape.

 

The retractable magrodome over the outdoor Haven courtyard area was a godsend for most of the trip as it kept the horrid weather away from the calm and serenity of the Haven. Unfortunately the people that are in charge of opening and closing it apparently have no idea what they are doing or the equipment failed. I thought I was going to get a video opportunity when they tried to open it but I watched them struggle in vain with the controls in Nassau for several minutes as they tried to open it and made no progress. (It was only open 1/2 way one day the whole trip and I believe that was in St Thomas.)

 

Only a cigar smoker will understand this comment. The Cigar humidor room was a disaster. Every cigarette smoker on the ship apparently does not know the difference between a cigar and a cigarette and as a result clogged the room with people and an impenetrable cigarette smog making it unusable for cigars let alone uninhabitable by humans. NCL staff could have not have cared any less.

 

Smoke from the casino continues to be clearly evident in 678 Place and down the halls. I thought it was a bit better than on the Getaway because all the smokers on Escape were cramming the cigar bar.

 

We attended no shows except the comedian on Thursday night at Headliners. Frank Townsend was very funny and creative. His bit on scooter riders on board was hilarious.

 

Next up for us we are trying something different. The MSC Seaside. Feedback has been quite good on the Yacht Club vs Haven experience.

 

Combine that with NCL's non-stop tendency to take things away while raising prices and we are looking for alternatives. The Haven is nice but NCL has lost their mind with their current pricing and would be better served in the long run if they would focus on polishing the Haven product. Instead they seem hell bent on taking out costs by removing popular food items and going cheap on amenities.

 

All of this is happening while NCL is jacking up Haven pricing to unaffordable levels leading them to stoop to murky auction/bidding wars to unload unsold Haven inventory. Something has to change to get NCL’s attention and competition may be the answer.

 

If you have any questions I would be happy to try to answer them.

[easyboy]

Too bad you missed the port excursion due to weather. With escalating prices, you are right in checking out other lines. Thanks for the feedback.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[rgruenhaus]

This was cruise # 32 for us and without a doubt we had the worst weather we have ever encountered on a cruise. We have sailed in January and February several times before but never encountered such consistently low temps, high winds, heavy rain and heaving seas. Mother Nature is so unpredictable.

 

We have been in higher winds and waves on previous cruises but that was for just an evening. Our weather luck on this trip was just bad. Started raining at the delayed sail away and just degraded from there. All day Sunday and one half of Monday were howling hellish rain and turbulent seas. 50-60 knot winds and 15-18 ft. seas were common.

 

Weather broke for St Thomas and Tortola but the rough seas led to the cancellation of almost all water based excursions in Tortola so we never got over to Jost Van Dyke.

 

Felt sorry for the first time cruisers who are now likely turned off. So many on-board crew members were suffering from the motion effects. Luckily, my wife and I are not affected by the waves. Call me nuts but I like to feel the ship move.

 

We still had a decent cruise. Any day at sea is better than any day at work.

 

We flew in 2 days early for this cruise to Ft Lauderdale airport terminal 2. We chose 2 days prior to our cruise this year to celebrate an anniversary. We were so glad we did as we passed through Terminal 2 baggage claim 2 almost exactly 24 hours before the shooting incident. We of course felt horror and remorse for those affected but we could not help but to feel lucky that we avoided what could have led to our involvement in that disaster.

 

Haven embark was a breeze. Arrived at 1030 am and were seated waiting to be brought on board to the Haven in about 10 minutes.

 

Debark was quite easy as well as Rashida and her staff led the Haven passengers down a crew elevator behind the scenes right to the front of the line.

 

The ship was in great shape. Yes there was always some maintenance in process but it did not detract from the cruise.

 

Maybe it was just us, but Tyler the cruise director was just too annoying to listen to.

 

Tried Food Republic. Expected so much better based upon CC reviews. It was a meh experience for us. Combine that with ala cart pricing and there is no reason to return for us. Food reviews are very subjective, your experience may vary.

 

Decent well organized CC Meet n Greet turn out by cruisers as well as NCL senior officers and staff. It is always disappointing so many other cruisers fail to come after they signed up.

 

We dined only in the Haven restaurant, Cagney's and Le Bistro. They are the best and most consistent venues for us. Our experiences in these venues were quite good.

 

Friends that cruised with us tried La Cucina against my warnings that the reviews on CC were not good. They walked out as they found the food to be inedible.

 

Loved the Haven. It is always a quiet luxurious refuge.

 

The Haven bartenders are masters of their craft and are true mixologists on the Escape.

 

The retractable magrodome over the outdoor Haven courtyard area was a godsend for most of the trip as it kept the horrid weather away from the calm and serenity of the Haven. Unfortunately the people that are in charge of opening and closing it apparently have no idea what they are doing or the equipment failed. I thought I was going to get a video opportunity when they tried to open it but I watched them struggle in vain with the controls in Nassau for several minutes as they tried to open it and made no progress. (It was only open 1/2 way one day the whole trip and I believe that was in St Thomas.)

 

Only a cigar smoker will understand this comment. The Cigar humidor room was a disaster. Every cigarette smoker on the ship apparently does not know the difference between a cigar and a cigarette and as a result clogged the room with people and an impenetrable cigarette smog making it unusable for cigars let alone uninhabitable by humans. NCL staff could have not have cared any less.

 

Smoke from the casino continues to be clearly evident in 678 Place and down the halls. I thought it was a bit better than on the Getaway because all the smokers on Escape were cramming the cigar bar.

 

We attended no shows except the comedian on Thursday night at Headliners. Frank Townsend was very funny and creative. His bit on scooter riders on board was hilarious.

 

Next up for us we are trying something different. The MSC Seaside. Feedback has been quite good on the Yacht Club vs Haven experience.

 

Combine that with NCL's non-stop tendency to take things away while raising prices and we are looking for alternatives. The Haven is nice but NCL has lost their mind with their current pricing and would be better served in the long run if they would focus on polishing the Haven product. Instead they seem hell bent on taking out costs by removing popular food items and going cheap on amenities.

 

All of this is happening while NCL is jacking up Haven pricing to unaffordable levels leading them to stoop to murky auction/bidding wars to unload unsold Haven inventory. Something has to change to get NCL’s attention and competition may be the answer.

 

If you have any questions I would be happy to try to answer them.

That was a funny statement when you said the cigarette smokers created a cigarette smog in the cigar area. Whenever I am in a casino I have never seen any cigarette smokers clear a row of slots as fast as one cigar smoker.

 

Rob G.

[Zimomiller]

That was a funny statement when you said the cigarette smokers created a cigarette smog in the cigar area. Whenever I am in a casino I have never seen any cigarette smokers clear a row of slots as fast as one cigar smoker.

 

Rob G.

 

Yah, there is quite a long list of people that hate smokers and then add too that list that cigar smokers cannot stand cigarette smokers and vice verca

[pjcomfort]

We were also on the Escape on Jan 7/17 and we are very disappointed with our trip! The speciality restaurants were subpar and were not any tastier then the main dining room with the exception of Teppanyaki which was a great experience and excellent food)! La Cucina was terrible! 3 of 4 in the group could not even eat main entree as it was that bad! Moderno was slow service and we didn't even get a chance to try all the different meats! Cagneys was ok but not great for a steakhouse!

Manhattans was very good with excellent service!

Daughter caught a virus on Wednesday and had a very high fever and was sick for rest of trip! She was wanting to go home the last 3 days! I caught whatever she had on thurs and I am still recovering!

Wife was sick(motion) for 2 of the days as well! Son was only one to avoid getting sick on trip!

We enjoyed St.Thomas as we had an excellent 6 hour tour(shopping, site seeing and beach). Tortola was also very enjoyable! Nassau very dirty and not enjoyable at all!

We will not be cruising again anytime soon.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[rgruenhaus]

Yah, there is quite a long list of people that hate smokers and then add too that list that cigar smokers cannot stand cigarette smokers and vice verca

Yeah dying from smoking can be so random that smokers use that excuse to keep on lighting up. My father coughed up his right lung from smoking chesterfield kings and my grandfather died of cancer of the throat smoking white owl cigars. I quit cigarettes back in 1971.

 

Rob G.

[purpletequila]

I actually had a great time on the Escape in November but I COMPLETELY agree about Tyler. Beyond obnoxious and annoying. I know I'm in the minority on that but he flat out ruined the Glow party for us and several people walked out after he was still screaming and yelling the same nonsense after a half hour. A few older guests said "I can't listen to this anymore" and left Deal or No Deal. I mean, there's energy, then there's whatever he is.

 

I didn't try La Cucina cause I grew up with an off the boat Sicilian grandmother so no "Italian" restaurant ever measures up. But I wouldn't rush back to the specialties either. The only one we loved was Le Bistro. Cagneys was average at best. Moderno got both of us sick. Food Republic was just ok.

 

But we loved the spa, Vibe, the casino, the comedians, Howl At the Moon and most of the deck parties. I'm going again in November on the Getaway.

[JC5240]

Completely agree about Tyler. He was on the Getaway back in 2015, and although entertaining during the pool activities and such, I could not take him at any of the nightly shows, ESPECIALLY the Glow Party. His voice went right through me -- we actually left and came back after he left the party lol.

[dexddd]

This was cruise # 32 for us and without a doubt we had the worst weather we have ever encountered on a cruise. We have sailed in January and February several times before but never encountered such consistently low temps, high winds, heavy rain and heaving seas. Mother Nature is so unpredictable.

 

We have been in higher winds and waves on previous cruises but that was for just an evening. Our weather luck on this trip was just bad. Started raining at the delayed sail away and just degraded from there. All day Sunday and one half of Monday were howling hellish rain and turbulent seas. 50-60 knot winds and 15-18 ft. seas were common.

 

Weather broke for St Thomas and Tortola but the rough seas led to the cancellation of almost all water based excursions in Tortola so we never got over to Jost Van Dyke.

 

Felt sorry for the first time cruisers who are now likely turned off. So many on-board crew members were suffering from the motion effects. Luckily, my wife and I are not affected by the waves. Call me nuts but I like to feel the ship move.

 

We still had a decent cruise. Any day at sea is better than any day at work.

 

We flew in 2 days early for this cruise to Ft Lauderdale airport terminal 2. We chose 2 days prior to our cruise this year to celebrate an anniversary. We were so glad we did as we passed through Terminal 2 baggage claim 2 almost exactly 24 hours before the shooting incident. We of course felt horror and remorse for those affected but we could not help but to feel lucky that we avoided what could have led to our involvement in that disaster.

 

Haven embark was a breeze. Arrived at 1030 am and were seated waiting to be brought on board to the Haven in about 10 minutes.

 

Debark was quite easy as well as Rashida and her staff led the Haven passengers down a crew elevator behind the scenes right to the front of the line.

 

The ship was in great shape. Yes there was always some maintenance in process but it did not detract from the cruise.

 

Maybe it was just us, but Tyler the cruise director was just too annoying to listen to.

 

Tried Food Republic. Expected so much better based upon CC reviews. It was a meh experience for us. Combine that with ala cart pricing and there is no reason to return for us. Food reviews are very subjective, your experience may vary.

 

Decent well organized CC Meet n Greet turn out by cruisers as well as NCL senior officers and staff. It is always disappointing so many other cruisers fail to come after they signed up.

 

We dined only in the Haven restaurant, Cagney's and Le Bistro. They are the best and most consistent venues for us. Our experiences in these venues were quite good.

 

Friends that cruised with us tried La Cucina against my warnings that the reviews on CC were not good. They walked out as they found the food to be inedible.

 

Loved the Haven. It is always a quiet luxurious refuge.

 

The Haven bartenders are masters of their craft and are true mixologists on the Escape.

 

The retractable magrodome over the outdoor Haven courtyard area was a godsend for most of the trip as it kept the horrid weather away from the calm and serenity of the Haven. Unfortunately the people that are in charge of opening and closing it apparently have no idea what they are doing or the equipment failed. I thought I was going to get a video opportunity when they tried to open it but I watched them struggle in vain with the controls in Nassau for several minutes as they tried to open it and made no progress. (It was only open 1/2 way one day the whole trip and I believe that was in St Thomas.)

 

Only a cigar smoker will understand this comment. The Cigar humidor room was a disaster. Every cigarette smoker on the ship apparently does not know the difference between a cigar and a cigarette and as a result clogged the room with people and an impenetrable cigarette smog making it unusable for cigars let alone uninhabitable by humans. NCL staff could have not have cared any less.

 

Smoke from the casino continues to be clearly evident in 678 Place and down the halls. I thought it was a bit better than on the Getaway because all the smokers on Escape were cramming the cigar bar.

 

We attended no shows except the comedian on Thursday night at Headliners. Frank Townsend was very funny and creative. His bit on scooter riders on board was hilarious.

 

Next up for us we are trying something different. The MSC Seaside. Feedback has been quite good on the Yacht Club vs Haven experience.

 

Combine that with NCL's non-stop tendency to take things away while raising prices and we are looking for alternatives. The Haven is nice but NCL has lost their mind with their current pricing and would be better served in the long run if they would focus on polishing the Haven product. Instead they seem hell bent on taking out costs by removing popular food items and going cheap on amenities.

 

All of this is happening while NCL is jacking up Haven pricing to unaffordable levels leading them to stoop to murky auction/bidding wars to unload unsold Haven inventory. Something has to change to get NCL’s attention and competition may be the answer.

 

If you have any questions I would be happy to try to answer them.

 

I'm with you on the Haven prices and the whole bidding thing although we did book Escape for next year.

 

Our next trip this year is on MSC Divina in the YC and really looking forward to it. I wish the Seaside was out this year but I guess that gives us something to look forward to in the future possibly. The MSC private island was delayed so maybe we'll wait for that to be open and do the Seaside.

 

The YC rooms are overall smaller but the amenities and offerings are more vast.