NCL Escape-solo cruise review March 18-25

[natefish95]

Note-This will be a semi-detailed review of my time of the NCL Escape. It's been almost 2 weeks, so I'll include as much detail as I can. I may include pictures if I can get those figured out.

 

Hello fellow CC'ers! I got off the Escape over a week ago, but it still feels like yesterday that I was being reluctantly dragged off yelling for Captain to let me stay on...

 

I initially did not plan to write a review. As soon as I got back home I was absolutely slammed with school, but now I have a bit more free time, so I figured I would share my experiences and answer any questions. Williecruz is also writing a review from this sailing, so hopefully between the two of us you all will see what an incredible time we had. They arranged the M&G and I had an incredible time getting to know them and all the others from our roll call all week!

 

Background: I have cruised NCL several times before with family, but it had been 4 years since my last cruise. I booked this cruise almost a year in advance because I managed to get a good deal for a studio (and the UBP was a huge selling point too). I also should mention that this would be my first solo cruise! I've taken several solo trips before including a long weekend in Bogota, Colombia, but a solo cruise would be uncharted territory.

 

I am currently a senior at Georgia Tech (Go Jackets!!) and this was a graduation present to myself. This was also a last hurrah of sorts because I'll be starting graduate school in the Fall. My family offered to join me, but I told them I was happy to go alone. I've been so busy with school, and I wanted to maximize rest and relaxation.

 

In the past I have planned out every detail of our family cruises. I was 13/14 and picked out the cabin, excursions, and made reservations for dinner. My parents put a lot of faith in me. Now that I am 21 and was tasked with planning my own vacation...it didn't quite work out that way. I didn't reserve anything ahead of time except for a 6 pack of water (aside from the flight and pre-cruise hotel). I spent maybe 20 minutes researching beaches in St. Thomas and about the same amount of time figuring out how to get to the Baths on Virgin Gorda. I essentially winged it, which is so out of character for me. How would this end up? Well you'll just have to stick around.

 

So now that you know I'm a college student who booked this cruise on a whim, didn't research the ports much, and didn't reserve anything ahead of time, this should be a fun time.

[cruisedancemom]

Sounds like this will be a great review! Looking forward to it!

 

 

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[natefish95]

Day 0-St. Patrick's Day, skipping class, flight, and hotel

I woke up Friday morning excited to begin my adventure, but I had 2 hours of class first... I ended up only going to the first hour of class because I still had so much to do. I stopped by the bank to exchange some 20's for dollar bills for tipping and stopped by Starbucks for lunch since I had zero food in my apartment. Does anyone else have that awkward few days before a vacation where you don't want to buy more food since you're leaving soon? I finished packing and then took MARTA to the Atlanta airport.

 

Security took about 20 minutes, which is actually longer than what I usually experience in ATL. I grabbed a sandwich from Fresh to Order in Concourse B and then waited a few hours. Fresh to Order is one of my favorite restaurants. The quality wasn't as great as what it usually is in the restaurant, but it was still pretty good. I highly recommend it if you want a quick, good quality sandwich or salad. I was also super relieved to find a story selling Apple accessories because my iPad charger decided to stop working. Ugh, first world problems, I know.

 

It was a quick 2 hour flight gate to gate. I was flying Delta and I love how you can use Delta Studio to watch things on your own device. Not sure if it's new, but I don't remember seeing it a few months ago. I was shocked at how big Miami airport felt. ATL is so easy to navigate, but I felt like I was walking forever in MIA.

 

Tip-Download the Delta app. I loved getting notifications when my bag was being loaded, unloaded, and when it was arriving at baggage claim.

 

I was staying at the Hilton Miami Airport and there wasn't any information on their website about where to get the hotel shuttle. I asked someone and they said to flag it down when you see it. Why can't there be an easy pick-up location for hotel shuttles?? I waited about 20 minutes (it supposedly comes every 15 minutes) gave up and called and Uber. As I was getting in, the shuttle drove by. It was a quick drive and it was $3.33 from airport to hotel using Uber pool.

 

I walked into the lobby and there was a lengthy line to check-in, but I'm a Hilton Honors member and there was no line. I'm the lowest tier, but being a HH member gives you quick check-in and free WiFi. I also got a pretty good HH deal when I booked about 3 months out.

 

Tip-Join the Hilton Honors program.

 

By this time it was almost 8:00pm and I was starving, so I went to the Coral Cafe in the hotel for dinner. I got a burger, which was pretty good, but the service was very slow and it was on the pricier end. I knew I should have gotten some empanadas in the airport.

 

The room itself was very nice. Comfortable bed. Very spacious room. Good water pressure. I would not hesitate to stay there again if I get in late like I did this time, but if I have more time to spare I would stay somewhere with more restaurants and things to do nearby. I stayed in Coconut Grove in 2012 and loved the area! This hotel suited my needs though.

 

I woke up the next morning at 6:30am and that is probably the only time I college student on spring break will gladly wake up that early and be happy about it. I went back to the Coral Cafe in the lobby for breakfast and it was average. Nothing special. I had fruit pastries and coffee. Check-out was a breeze and then I grabbed an Uber at 8:30. Turns out that my Uber driver didn't speak English. I'm conversational in Spanish, so it was no problem for me. He took a wrong turn at the port, and I had to help him navigate, so it would have been a little difficult if you don't speak Spanish.

 

But we made it. The Uber was $18 I believe using UberPool. I saw the Escape in the distance and got a huge smile across my face. My home for the next week is right THERE! They say size doesn't matter, but it was pretty great seeing how much bigger it was than the other ships in port.

 

Next stop-check-in, running of he Vibers, first impressions and the rest of Day 1

[natefish95]

Sounds like this will be a great review! Looking forward to it!

 

 

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I'll try not to let you down!

[natefish95]

I got to the port a little before 9:00. I walked to the Terminal C entrance and realized I didn't drop my luggage off. It was early, okay! Found a port, dropped off my suitcase, tipped him a few bucks and then walked back. In the 5 minutes I was gone they had opened the doors and people had begun to file inside. I decided to stand in the security line. There were maybe 15 people ahead of me. Around 10 they started letting people through security, but they started with those sitting in the chairs to the side of security. I'm not sure if this is common practice, but I found it pretty odd. Nonetheless, security was painless, filled out the health questionnaire, and made my way to the Latitudes line.

 

This was the one time all week I experienced less than stellar customer service. There was a lady directing people to certain lines. Below is the conversation:

 

*Walking towards Latitudes line*

Her-"Sir, where do you think you're going?"

Me-"Uh, the Latitudes line..."

Her-"Are you Latitudes?"

Me-"Yes..."

Her-"Oh, ok. Go ahead"

 

It was the tone of which she asked those questions that I didn't like. I'm 21, but I'm pretty short and look like I'm 12. There probably aren't many Latitudes members like me, but I still didn't like the way she questioned me. Like I said, that was the only time I had less than stellar customer service. Check-in was very easy. Have your passport, health questionnaire, and e-docs ready. Up the escalator and I was given the golden ticket to Willy Wonka's factory. It was actually a "Boarding Group 1" placard, but I felt a huge surge of excitement.

 

While waiting, I was finally about to put faces to the screen names. I met williecruz and MDFlyer, and hearing about their past experiences on the Escape just got me more and more excited. Soon enough boarding began. There were no announcements for Platinum cruisers, but it's possible they were in another waiting area. There were definitely other groups who boarded before us. When they let Group 1 board, it felt like Black Friday. People were running and walking briskly because we all wanted those Vibe passes. Thankfully there was no pushing or trampling or pretending to be the family of someone in a wheelchair. Long story short, I secured a Vibe pass along with the other people I was with during boarding.

 

I was so happy I didn't even know what to do. Do I immediately go to Vibe? Go exploring? Go to the buffet? I went to the Waterfront to make a few calls to the family and then went to Savor for lunch. I had the pineapple and grapefruit appetizer. It wasn't the best and I would not get it again. I got the fish and chips for my main and it was pretty good. I've had better but it was still good, and I would definitely get it again. Afterwards I went up to Vibe and started getting to know the other people. Everyone was really intrigued that I was traveling solo so young. I was already having such a great time meeting everyone and I completely forgot about how nervous I initially was. By this time the rooms had long been open, so I made my to deck 12, drink in hand, to go check out my studio.

 

I stayed in a studio cabin once before on the Epic, but I was traveling with family then. I was staying in cabin 12561 and it was just as I remembered from the Epic. I dropped my stuff off and opened up the Daily to see what kind of trouble I could get into tonight, but it was totally blank! How anticlimactic. Some printing error probably. No worries though because I'm on vacation and I'll do what I want when I want. I love Freestyle cruising.

 

The muster drill was painless, but I felt myself starting to fall asleep. Not sure if it was just boring or the UBP was kicking in. I'm going to go with a little bit of both. Afterwards, I made a mad dash for Vibe. Walking, actually shuffling, out of the theater felt like the Mexico City metro because it was so crowded. I studied abroad in Mexico City and have such "fond" memories of being packed in like sardines. Sailaway in Vibe was fun. I went back to my cabin and did some unpacking, showered and then stumbled upon the solo travelers meeting in the studio lounge by accident. It was great though because I got to meet a few more people from CC. I was surprised that there were a lot of older folks. I expected the majority would be 20's or 30's for a spring break cruise. Everyone was super nice though and Sharon, the solo traveler host, was fantastic.

 

I ended up going to dinner with a few of the other guys, and had a great time getting to know everyone. I remember I had the salmon tartare, which was decent, the Asian noodle salad, which was delicious, and the green curry, which was incredible. I eat a lot of curry and it was very tasty. Afterwards we did some walking around. We popped into Howl at the Moon, but it was too packed. We did some bar hopping and ended up in the Brewhouse, which was surprisingly dead. I love beer and loved the atmosphere of the District Brewhouse. It was a great way to end the night of day one. Good beer and new friends. Can't beat that!

 

I'll end here for tonight. Feel free to ask me any questions and I'll do my best to answer.

[anonmom]

Great review so far! Do you have a beer list from the District?

 

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[quaker77]

Thanks for the sharing

We board this Saturday on the Escape for our first Ncl cruise

[natefish95]

Great review so far! Do you have a beer list from the District?

 

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I did not take pictures of the drinks menus, but a Savior Gambee has pictures of the menus. http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/norwegian-drink-lists/

 

Thanks for the sharing

We board this Saturday on the Escape for our first Ncl cruise

 

You're going to love it! I've sailed Carnival before and i feel like NCL is just a step above. Everyone on the ship, crew and passengers, were all so nice.

[tripleboom]

Almost didn't click because it was a solo thread. How could it apply to me? Well call me a dummy! Really enjoying your writing style and enjoying following your review! Keep it up! :)

[natefish95]

Day 2-Fun day at sea and a fun day doing nothing

 

People seem to be divided on sea days. I absolutely love them, so I was really happy that this itinerary had 3 (really 3.5 because of the early departure from Tortola).

 

I woke up around 7:00. Not sure who this person is that woke up early so much on vacation, but it really does not sound like me. I figured I should offset some of the eating, so I went to the gym. This was actually my first time using the gym on a ship, so I have nothing to compare it to. It was a little small, but I just went to do some cardio. I really enjoyed being able to look out at the ocean while on the treadmill. When I got there around 7:30 it was not crowded at all, but by 8:00 it had definitely gotten more crowded. Afterwards I went to the Garden Cafe for some breakfast. I did my buffet walk around and was so disappointed they didn't have eggs benedict. BUT just as I was about to give up and was mentally outlining a scathing review I saw not 1 but 2 types of eggs benedict! It was delicious as was the fresh fruit I got. At this time the Garden Cafe was not crowded and I had no trouble finding an empty table.

 

I went up to Vibe and relaxed for a few hours. At 11 I went down to O'Sheehans because a few of us had agreed to pre-game the Meet and Greet. We were told the bar would be closed...more on that later. It was so fun to meet more people in person after talking online for months. At 12 we made our way to the District Brewhouse for the Meet and Greet. The location was moved a few weeks before sailing, and I'm so glad it was. I walked in with a drink in hand, but they had servers walking around with flights of beer and small hors d'oeuvres.

 

It was so much fun meeting more people, seeing who the officers were and trying a few different types of beer. Andre the CD was also there. I read after the cruise that this was his first time as CD and I thought he did a great job. After the Meet and Greet did some more relaxation at Vibe. More drinks and more shots. Fun, fun, fun. At some point I went down to O'Sheehans for a burger, and it was really good.

 

That night I went to Taste alone, but as I was waiting (they said the wait would be like 10 minutes) I ran into someone from the studios so we decided to have dinner together. I believe I got pasta for my main and it was average. It was a fun dinner and we also chatted with the couple next to us a bit. I don't think I ever encountered a rude passenger. Popped into 5 o'clock somewhere, but decided to call it a night early. I had to be rested for my long day of doing nothing tomorrow.

[natefish95]

Day 3-Another day at sea?? Don't mind if I do!

 

Woke up at a decent hour. Went to the Garden Cafe for my newfound usual of eggs benedict and fruit. I didn't go to the gym because I already exceed my expectations by going once. Anything else would be overkill.

 

This day was honestly just a blur. I spent most of it in Vibe hanging out, making new friends, drinking and doing shots. That is a perfect sea day in my book. I watched the sunset from the hot tub with a couple from Buffalo and it was pure perfection. We then went downstairs and I showed them my studio and I saw their balcony. I thought the balcony room was a nice size with a lot of storage. They really liked my studio as well. Neither of us had dinner plans, so we decided to see if there was any room in Teppanyaki and sure enough there was! See? Not planning and reserving is starting to work out!

 

Teppanyaki was incredible and so worth it! They had the speciality dining package, but I did not. We had a somewhat reserved group, but the three of us had a lot of fun and had some funny banter with the chef. Side note-the Wasabi cocktail is really good and the Shaku Shaku tastes like medicine. Just my opinion. The food itself was phenomenal! I had filet mignon and chicken, and the filet mignon was cooked perfectly and so juicy. The courses were miso soup, a seaweed salad, fried rice and then the main, which you pick. One of the best meals I've had on NCL.

 

After dinner we went to Tobacco Road and hung out there for a bit. Someone ordered some type of Old Fashioned and it was insanely strong. We all took a sip and agreed there is no way we could finish it. It was $18, so they just paid the $3 difference with the UBP. I'm sure there was more bar hopping. I don't remember exactly where we went, but ti was a fun night. Cheers to new friends who adopted a young, first-time solo traveller!

[lv2travel98]

Loving your review!!! I leave on the Escape on May 20. 2017 and have a studio room. There are 4 of us going and all got studio's. I'm really getting excited!!! I have sailed with NCL 4 times and this is the first time on one of the newer ships. I have never heard of a VIBE pass. What exactly is it, how much does it cost, and how do you get one???

[lv2travel98]

Can't wait for your next review post!!!:cool::cool::cool:

[cincicruisers]

Following along, enjoying your review

[jrzurel]

Great review so far

 

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[cruisedancemom]

You definitely haven't let me down! Love your writing style!

 

 

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[BeachyBoo]

Following! Great review so far!

[LSKC]

Following

[cookie*]

Enjoying your review!

[fonrouge82]

Loving your review! DH and I will be on the Escape for the first time 100 days from today. Your review is making us even more excited!