Sailing the Es-cap-ay (Escape)- Western Caribbean Review June 24, 2017

[usckatieh]

Our guide would sometimes coax the monkeys where he wanted them to go with sunflower seeds.

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Here’s the monkey checking out his pocket. Yup, they do make excellent pickpockets.

 

 

His thoughtful face

 

I believe this guy is the spider monkey. Apparently people try to keep them as pets but they get very protective of their owners so that they’ll become aggressive towards other family members. Hence why they end up at the animal sanctuary.

 

This pretty macaw would say “Hello” or “Hola” when prompted.

 

[usckatieh]

There’s a bird on your head

We borrowed Dad’s hat because that made a more comfortable landing pad (for Patrick at least)

 

 

A little reward

 

Then, we moved over to the ever popular three toed sloth area. My daughter was the first one to get some sloth love. You’re instructed to stand and hold your hands in a sort of cradle that will support the sloth’s rear end. They they set the arm claws over your shoulders and his little legs wrap around your waist.

 

That face!

 

[deb_buffy]

Thank you so much for the info on the sloth experience. We are on this cruise in Sept and have just got in touch with Daniel to book.

 

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[CazV]

omg that sloth photo is adorable!

[scopewest]

Enjoying your review, thanks for taking the time to do this!

[texascat]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a wonderful review! It looks as if you are having a great vacation.

[Tminish]

How long of an excursion was Daniel Johnson’s Monkey & Sloth Hangout?

 

 

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[Tiggertastic]

We so need to do this excursion, we weren't going to get off in Roatan as we'd been twice before but now I've seen your review, I'm in.

 

 

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[miamilady305]

Loving your review and your pictures are AAAMAAAAZZZZZIIIINNNG. I will be on my first NCL Escape (NCL period) cruise in a mere 138 days. Looking so forward to it ;).

[usckatieh]

We so need to do this excursion, we weren't going to get off in Roatan as we'd been twice before but now I've seen your review, I'm in.

Thank you so much for the info on the sloth experience. We are on this cruise in Sept and have just got in touch with Daniel to book.

 

I'm so excited that you both enjoyed the excursion photos. We really had an amazing time!

 

How long of an excursion was Daniel Johnson’s Monkey & Sloth Hangout?

 

We were instructed to meet around an hour after the ship docked so that ended up being about 10am for us and we were back to the boat by 1:30 but the timeline was really guided by our preferences. Norma was willing to stop where we wanted to stop and stay at the beach as long as we felt comfortable but since DH was feeling his cold, we decided to get back to the ship in time to catch a late lunch and relax.

 

Loving your review and your pictures are AAAMAAAAZZZZZIIIINNNG. I will be on my first NCL Escape (NCL period) cruise in a mere 138 days. Looking so forward to it ;).

 

Yay! I'm so excited for you! This is a great ship!

[usckatieh]

We lost power last night due to some summer storms, but here's some more sloth photos because they're awesome.

They’re having a little chat.

 

You get to hold them for about 2-3 minutes and then they’re passed onto the next person.

Patrick was getting a good hug.

 

High three?!

 

This one was getting a little sleepy.

 

I was really excited about my new friend! This seriously made my year.

 

DD’s gopro action was a little shaky but it looks like the sloth is playing peek a boo with her in the beginning.

 

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[roskie1]

I will be on that sailing also!

Yes the wings are free!!

[WaywardBlue]

"...just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." ;p

 

Your organizational skills amaze me. Wow! & so many amazing pictures...that one of your son in the mask is priceless, lol...& I never knew until just now that I had any desire whatsoever to hold a sloth. The Es-cap-ay is on my wish list...thanks so much for this detailed report. :)

[usckatieh]

These guys can turn their heads all the way around.

 

When we had all held them, the guides set the sloths back in the trees to “hang out.”

 

Hey buddy.

 

Here’s a pretty driveway on the way to Parrot Tree beach.

 

Nice view!

 

Here’s the entrance to Parrot Tree Beach where we stopped for a little beach break. Nathan had started to get my cold and was feeling a little crumby so we didn’t figure on staying too long, but we had a nice time.

 

[gamecockmom]

Loving your review. I'm glad I'm not the only one OCD about organizing.

We'll be back on the Escape in September. This time doing the Eastern Caribbean.

 

 

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[usckatieh]

Loving your review. I'm glad I'm not the only one OCD about organizing.

We'll be back on the Escape in September. This time doing the Eastern Caribbean.

 

Yup, we are members of the OCD travel club! The Eastern Caribbean is beautiful. Have a great time!

[usckatieh]

Parrot Tree Beach

 

This is a private resort so there were no vendors, just a helpful gentleman from the food hut that came over to ask if we needed any food or drinks. The water is very warm and calm, it comes into the lagoon through an inlet.

 

It amazed me that we could just walk up and hang out on any of the cabanas by the water.

 

 

The water was clear and beautiful

 

 

Pretty coconut trees

 

[usckatieh]

Here’s what the resort itself looks like. They also had a pool that you could pay extra to swim in, but we just stuck to the beach.

Patrick enjoyed his personal water backpack (here's the amazon link if you want one).

 

Kasiah thinks she may have gotten a little sting on her leg from a small jellyfish, but she’s the only one that noticed a sting. We did however start having trouble with sand fleas or biting flies once we got out of the water. I guess that’s why not a lot of people were hanging out by the loungers. The bug spray helped but we were about ready to leave by the time we dried off anyways. It looks like this might be a local hangout because we met a Mom and her two sons who lived in Roatan and were making it a beach day. From their website, it looks like on your own, the charge to visit the beach is $15/adult, $5/kid.

 

Norma was waiting for us near the food hut and it was just a short 15-20 minute trip back to the dock. She even dropped us off in port, right in front of the ship. We were so happy with our experience with this excursion. Both Daniel Johnson’s staff and Norma were great people to spend the day with and we were left with some unique and amazing memories!

 

Soda Package

 

Back on the ship, we decide to catch a late lunch at the buffet. A note about the soda beverage package. This didn’t seem as good as a value on NCL as it was on RC. For one, Nathan prefers Coke products and NCL only offers Pepsi. We knew that when we were going in, but if he had know how difficult it would be to get a soda, he would not have purchased it. In his experience, the bars we were almost always slow, it was difficult to get consistent soda service in the dining rooms and there were no drink machines- those self service machines on RCL make it very easy to fill up when you need to, rather than waiting in line with UBP crowd.

 

As we were eating lunch, I did notice that the kids and I were popping up with red spots. They didn’t hurt or itch but they were definitely from the sand flea bites. The red marks lasted about 12 hours so I warned the kids club that it wasn’t a rash later that night so they wouldn’t worry.

 

DD’s arm

 

A few bites on Patrick’s forehead

 

The kids and I heard the wobble playing in the Atrium so we stopped at the line dance class. The events team on this ship are a lot of fun for all ages.

 

We had Tappenyaki reservations for dinner which I was very excited about! It was loud in that restaurant but the chefs put on a great show. The appetizers felt a bit rushed, but the main course was amazing and there was soooo much food. The kids ordered off the main dining room kids menu so they were no charge and the chef was nice enough to give them their own bowls of rice. DD didn’t care for the garlic flavor in the rice, but I thought it was great. The steak was perfectly cooked and seasoned! I tried not to take too many photos because I didn’t want to distract from the show but here’s a quick photo of our chef and the green tea ice cream dessert.

 

 

After dinner, we managed to wobble our full bellies out the door and the kids asked if they could go to kids club. They didn’t want to miss a day! Nathan and I checked out the piano bar but it looked like the line was out the door. Then we ran across Deal or No Deal in the Atrium and that was packed too. We decided to just relax in the room instead.

Pick up from kid club in the evenings is very easy. Just bring your key card and your child’s card and give the counselor the password that you set up at registration. Then they call your child, they also double check his name before he leaves and you’re on your way. Kasiah kept her own card in a small shoulder bag, which they left her keep in a basket on the sports court when they were playing games. Late night child care is available after 10:30 and that’s $6 for the first child/hour and $4 per sibling/hour.

 

Next up, Harvest Caye!

[LincolnLog]

Thank you so much for doing this review! As much as I loved reading the adventures of DougOut and CruiseLifeRick with their no-kid freedom, I was really hoping to find a family themed report before our cruise in October. And it just so happens that our kids are the same age as yours so this is very helpful! I'm so glad to hear that they enjoyed the kids clubs.

[usckatieh]

Thank you so much for doing this review! As much as I loved reading the adventures of DougOut and CruiseLifeRick with their no-kid freedom, I was really hoping to find a family themed report before our cruise in October. And it just so happens that our kids are the same age as yours so this is very helpful! I'm so glad to hear that they enjoyed the kids clubs.

 

This ship seems to be well suited for families and kid-free travel, which is pretty cool. They have a fun, party atmosphere but the ropes course, slides and kids club gives families lots to do too. I don't know what they do in kids club that they love so much but they must be doing something right!

[Carolina Girl 99]

You have a beautiful family.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience. Sailing on the Escape 10/28 to celebrate my Sister's Birthday.

 

Can't wait continue to reading more about the adventures.

 

 

Hey there fellow Getaway cruiser!!! We will miss you on the Escape sailing by a month- we are embarking on Sept 30. Have a great time and Happy Birthday to your sis!

[SuzyQwaveWatcher]

I'm enjoying your review! You are a great photographer with a beautiful family. We are sailing soon on the Es-cap-ay and we are so excited!

[usckatieh]

Here’s the Freestyle Daily for Day 4- Sorry, I forgot to photograph them before I started highlighting! Can you tell I like movies? I also LOVE that NCL put a tear edge and a folding crease on the Freestyle so it's so easy to carry around with me! It's the little things in life.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 4- Harvest Caye

We like to stay active on port days, so when I saw we had a beach day on Harvest Caye for Belize, I went ahead and booked us on the paddle boards. I’ve never tried paddle boards before, but I saw photos of kids sitting on the front while adults paddled and that seemed like a fun family idea. We woke up at 7:20 (we’re really getting good at this sleeping in thing- hehe), but when I looked at our tickets that NCL left for the paddleboards, I realized that the instructions said to meet at 8:20 and the excursion was a 20 minute walk from port, and we dock at 8:00. That seemed a little early for 9:00 paddleboarding, so as much as I strive to be punctual, this one was going to be a stretch. We headed to the buffet to grab some breakfast and fill up our water bottles.

 

NCL Newbie Cruise Tip- I found that Margaritaville on deck 17 was a great place to fill up our water bottles before excursions. It was much less crowded than the Garden Cafe. And the proper etiquette for filling up water bottles is to fill up the cups provided with water and then transfer that to the water bottle.

 

Speaking of water bottles, we had a few different varieties that we brought on our trip. As you’ve seen earlier, Patrick claimed the Platypus style water backpack, Kasiah choose the water bottle that doubled as a sprayer so you could spray yourself in the face on hot days (something like this), I brought my RTIC (generic YETI) 30 oz cup for keeping some ice handy and Nathan carried the wide-mouth collapsible water bottle which we also used to refill water into the RTIC cup to get it cold. I chose the wide mouth version so we could fit ice in it if we wanted to. He liked that it had a carabiner clip on it, so he could just clip it to his backpack and when you’re done with it, you just roll it up and the clip keeps it in a small little ball.

 

 

Yeah, I buy too much pre-cruise crap, I know. But they really did all work out great so here's to feeding your own cruise-crap addiction. You're welcome.

 

Back to Harvest Caye-- An alternate Harvest Caye excursion, that I heard good things about was the cave tubing. The zip line also looked like a blast. We’ll probably try some more adventurous excursions when Patrick is a little older.

 

They announced the all clear to leave the ship at 8:10 so we were able to leave about 8:20. They were not kidding about the walk. There is a very long pier to travel before you get to mainland Harvest Caye. They did have some shuttles running if you were traveling with someone with mobility issues.

 

Here’s the pier from the boat

 

[oncruisecontrol]

 

Travel Apps

 

i-concierge

I was looking for NCL apps so I downloaded the i-concierge app before the cruise and was very disappointed to see that it didn’t do anything until we got on the ship. Once on the boat though, this app showed us the daily schedule, ship activities and let you book events like the comedy show.

 

NEWBIE NCL CRUISE TIP- Download this app before you get on the ship or before you embark so that you don’t have to use ship’s internet to get it.

 

TripRider

Another app that I love is called TripRider. This is a travel app setup to handle my packing list, schedule and travel documents! I can schedule things on the calendar day by day and mark some “must do”s like “try the gelato shop on the Waterfront” so that I don’t miss anything that I meant to check out! It also stores pdf documents like excursion receipts, plan expenses, saves maps, has a place to enter people that we meet and their contact info, and my favorite part is that is has a password protected area to save things like photos of our passports, medical insurance cards, etc. You can access everything without internet so it worked for my off-the-grid plan too. It also had a diary section where I took notes of what we did every day- which I used for this review! It even makes a "trip book" with any details you select, so I used that to print our packing list and send our itinerary to our family before we left so they’d know our travel dates, hotels, and when we fly, flight numbers. Here’s a few screenshots of the packing list and schedule.

 

 

My Standard Pre-cruise checklist includes:

• Call credit card companies, which apparently you don’t need to anymore because both companies said they didn’t need that information
  
• Get cash for tips and excursions. NEWBIE CRUISE TIP- I’ve found that $50 in ones, $50 in fives, $100 in tens, several $20s more than covers most of what we need. For the large bills ($20), I figured what I needed to spend on excursions and tips (with some thick padding for just in case situations) and take about that much.
  
• Print luggage tags and documents- Thanks to AAA for covering this one for me
  
• Print excursion confirmations (NCL and independent) because you never know when you’ll need proof that you paid for something.
  
• Pay bills due while on vacation
  

After all that and asking the neighbors to grab the mail for us, we were all set!

Wow, you are extremely methodical. I am too, but in an old fashioned sort of way.....I hand write out lists. Then I highlight each task as I accomplish it. Raised in the '70's....what can I say. I still have a use (and joy) of hand-writing! Really enjoying your review. I suspect I'll pick up a few pointers from you.

[oncruisecontrol]

Stateroom

 

 

 

Bathroom- this actually felt decently sized compared to some of the bathrooms in the past. I like the mirror shelves.

 

Shower- one of the better cruise showers. Solid door, shampoo/conditioner and body wash dispensers. The water pressure and temperature was reliable and with separate knobs for temperature and volume of water, it was easy to set the temperature for kid’s showers without getting completely soaked. #parentproblems

 

Our muster station was in Taste so we knew right where to go. While waiting for everyone to gather for muster, I turned off my cell service and logged into the i concierge app with our room number and could see the daily schedule on my phone- no paid internet required. FYI- we also saw the people in the room before us, listed on our "my account" on i concierge but they disappeared the next day. The muster drill was pretty much like every muster ever (but at least we had chairs to sit in.) Next up, sail away!

Hmmm. I'm looking at the photos of your shower on Escape and it doesn't seem to have the "footbar" that is mounted about 12 inches up from the floor to assist us ladies in shaving our legs like what we had on the Getaway. Not happy about this if that is indeed the case. I'm sure you stated it earlier, but was this a balcony cabin?