Escape Nov 2017

[SSMcruises]

(ok, this is so much longer than I thought it would be....hope you're not bored ;))

While I would not quite call this a trip report, I do want to pay back into the pool of information on CC that benefited my vacation planning!! And I am a researcher/planner! I can not remember how many times this past week on the Escape when someone asking me how I knew something, and my response was CC reviews. HUGE thanks to those who wrote amusing, extensive and incredible trip reports - TheDougOut, CruiseLifeRick, POA1 and many many others.

My husband and I were joined by friends and their two kids (13,10) on the Escape Nov 11-18, 2017. We had forward/midship balconies, on the starboard side. We flew Toronto to Miami on the Friday before and spent an amazing day in South Beach, staying at Winter Haven (Marriott Autograph Collection).

Leaving Toronto - we had the dreaded 625 am flight, which meant leaving home around 3 am. This was only made worse by the first snow of the season starting the night before. We walked out our front door to a sight we had not seen in many many months - a blanket of snow! Thankfully it did not impact our drive too much, and we were at Park and Fly Valet by 4 am, checked in at the airport by 430 am and onto the customs line up. This was our first time checking bags using the automatic bag check system. Note to self - remember to ensure the bag tag matches the passport or that machine will spit your suitcase right back at you! Thankfully it seemed to be a common problem and the airport staff person quickly reset our machine. We flew American Airlines and I was quite happy with it. We had upgraded our seats for extra leg room and were very comfortable. I will say that I am always shocked about the amount of 'stuff' some people insist on carrying onto a plane. Pay the $20 and check that bag - you struggling down the aisle with your purse, your plastic bag, your over the shoulder bag and a rolling suitcase is a bit much!

Transportation - We used UberXL from the airport to the hotel. Unfortunately we were not able to specify what vehicle we wanted (does Uber allow this??) so we ended up crowding into a small sized SUV, it had three rows of seats, but not much room was left for luggage in the back. Thankfully my husband is a Tetris master and managed to get most of the luggage stowed.....but not all, as we sat with a suitcase on our laps for the trip. I did have a laugh at the fact that were were spending $1000s on this trip and were all crowded into one Uber to save $20! The drive over to South Beach was ok, if you overlooked the fact that my husband had to participate in an unexpected conference call while we were all in the car. Nothing starts a vacation off great like a work emergency!

When we were getting ready to leave the hotel for the port on Saturday morning, the valet offered to get a bigger car for us. He called 'a friend with a big SUV' to come drive us. Thankfully the most delightful lady showed up with a HUGE SUV. The bags were quickly stowed and we all rode in comfort to the port. We made sure to get her contact information for a pick up upon our return.

Check in - We arrived at the port around 1045 am, and were through security in no time, walked right up to the check in desk and were on our way to the waiting area in no time. We received boarding group 7 (maybe 9, hmmmm??). They were already calling group 4 at that point. We waited about 15 minutes and were on our way onto the ship by 1130 am. I was very surprised and happy with the speed of the whole process!

Plans VS Reality - As I said, I am a crazy, over the top vacation planner...or I should say, researcher. I think to read everything I can about everything and go from there. I had explained to our group that we would board, head straight to the dining room for lunch and by the time we were done the rooms would be ready and yada yada yada. What actually happened is we planted ourselves at the pool area, ordered a few rounds of drinks, tried out the slides, went for a dip in the nearly empty pools, and just hung out. I don't think we made it to the rooms much before 3 pm! After Muster we must have grabbed a bit to eat somewhere, most likely the dreaded Garden Cafe buffet as I have drink tax charges from there on my account. But I have to say, it was exactly what was needed. Everyone could grab what they wanted, we could all talk together about things so far and let the vacation begin.

I wont say that I threw my research out the window, but I took a deep breath and went with it. Ahhhhh, vacation!

The Slides - lots of fun. I received the wedgie of a lifetime on the drop slide!!! The 10 year old was not able to ride the drop slide, but he enjoyed the other two options. The 13 year old weighed in at 98.5 lbs, and you had to be 99 lbs to ride. She was bummed but we quickly explained that a few days of eating on the ship and she would most likely be on the slide by the end of the cruise. I will say that the slide with the inner tubes was much more fun when you went with someone else. They allow two tubes at a time!

Fast forward a few days and the 13 year old got weighed again and was 100 lbs! Success, she was crazy excited to try the slide. Except she got stuck...in the slide!!! Inside the first loop. Thankfully she is an adventurous kid with a good head on her shoulders - she did not panic at all, she quickly used her hands to scoot herself along until gravity took over and did its job. There is an escape hatch there just in case, however she did not need it. I will say I was kind of shocked that she got stuck. In my past life I was part of a team that operated an indoor waterslide at a hotel. There were weight and height minimums that were greatly exaggerated to ensure safety. I had assumed if the slide said 99 lbs minimum weight, that it would be safe at, lets say 80 lbs, however they put a safety cushion of 99 lbs just to be sure! Needless to say, she was fine, wanted to ride again! Just a word of caution if someone is right at the minimum....you might not make it all the way around !

The Ropes Course - it only opened once the entire cruise. We had high winds for a first few days, and the ropes course was closed. When we arrived back on the ship in Costa Maya on the Wednesday the course was finally open and those who wanted to quickly changed and headed up. They loved it! My husband and the 13 year old walked the plank and pulled the rope for a picture. We were all anticipating the photos and after checking the next night, we realized that the camera was on the completely wrong side and everyone's pictures were of their back!!! Oh well, we were able to take a few nice pics of them from the deck below!

UBP - what can you say? It makes a vacation a whole lot of fun! We were fortunate enough to find a great server on the pool deck, which allowed us to avoid lining up for drinks. She kept us hydrated each day bringing mixed drinks for the girls and providing a regularly filled bucket of beers for the boys! She would even bring the kids a soda or something if they were around. We started off by trying the signature drinks in each restaurant but quickly realized that we were not enjoying them. Most nights it was the CabSav wine and we all enjoyed it. I am a Moscow Mule drinker, it is my go to drink on a regular basis. I found them to be ok on the ship, sometimes hit or miss. When someone took their time, muddled the limes and used the shaker, they were outstanding (shout out to the guys at Spice H2O), when they just tossed the ingredients in the cup and passed it along to you it was so-so (looking at you Atrium!!).

Specialty Dining - we chose Moderno, Cagneys and Teppanyaki for our three meals, plus one night in Food Republic. We enjoyed each meal, rated Food Republic as the best, hands down. Teppanyaki was the most entertaining. I will say, for the boards showing limited availability at each restaurant, there were a lot of empty seats during prime times! All I can say get the brussel sprouts at Food Republic!!!! Best dish of the entire cruise!

Taste and Savor - I would have thought we would have eaten here more, however we only had 2 dinners and 3 breakfasts. One dinner was quick, as we were trying to get to a show and the server was very attentive and even asked if we had felt too rushed! The food was good, I was hoping for a better french onion soup but it was passable Our other dinner was the longest, most ridiculous experience ever. We dined after the 730 pm Brat Pack show - we thought the show would be less than an hour, however it was 1 1/2 hours, meaning we did not get to dinner until 9 pm. We were immediately sat in the booth right behind the hostess stand. It was at least 10 minutes before we even got water, and everything else was just as slow. We were still sitting at dinner when the restaurant had closed and the staff were attending a meeting in the back corner. It was close to 11 pm when we left. Unfortunately we were also sat at that booth for a breakfast that also took forever to come out....moving forward we avoided that booth at all costs, there must be some invisibility cloak around it or something.

Entertainment - we saw the comedic juggler (I napped...in the theatre...during the whole show!!!), the Brat Pack (too long IMO, and I am an 80s chick!!) and Howl at the Moon! It is true what they say, the crowd really makes the difference for dueling pianos. The first night just my husband and myself went and we had a blast. Some of the guys from After Midnight came in and joined in for a while and it was incredible!!! We dragged our friends there the last night and it was lacking, but mostly due to the songs being requested. We also attended the Glow Party, which was unfortunately moved indoors at the last minute due to monsoon rains. It was ok, but I think if we have been able to be outside it would have been much better.

Itinerary - we booked Eastern Caribbean and got the Western, which was completely understandable given the storm situation this year. The western ports we got were not be greatest, but we made the most of them. Falmouth Jamaica, Grand Cayman, Costa Maya Mexico and it was supposed to be Great Stirrup however ended up being a last minute change to Nassau

Falmouth - we stayed in the port area, enjoyed some jerk chicken and red strip and a bit of shopping. The weather was not the greatest in the afternoon so it was nice to be close to the ship. This port is far enough away from most attractions that we really had no firm plans for the day.

Grand Cayman - we went all out and booked a private boat with Crystal Charters. We spent an amazing 4 1/2 hours on a boat with Matt and Alex and they made the day spectacular. We snorkeled off this great little reef, visited Starfish Point, stopped by a beach bar for some drinks and then headed to Stingray City. If we were not already sold on our decision to use Crystal Charters, our arrival at Stingray City sealed the deal. There were a number of what we called cattle boats there - huge two deck boats with at least 75 people on them, and just a couple of guides. There were people everywhere around those boats and very few stingrays. The 6 of us and our two guides had at least a dozen stingrays and Matt and Alex had names for them, explained so much about them, and was even able to calm those of us (ok, ME!) that were nervous. The memories and pictures we have from that experience will never go away. The charter left from Camana Bay which was a short taxi ride away and was a little piece of heaven itself. We arrived back at the port around 230 pm and the last tender was at 3 pm. While tendering is never my thing, NCL certainly made it better by offering cool towels, cold beverages and lots of welcoming smiles!!!

Costa Maya - we booked with Maya Chan, and everything they tell you about the trip there is 100% correct. The road is crazy bumpy and full of lake sized pot holes. For that matter, just getting out of Costa Maya port area is like running the gauntlet. The cruise ship companies really want you trapped in that area. Since we had booked a private excursion, we had to walk all the way out of the commercial, revenue generating complex to get our taxi. The directions provided by Maya Chan were detailed and very helpful. Our day at Maya Chan was great, although the sun kept hiding away on us. We enjoyed the space, the peace, and the amazing taco bar. And I am not a rum punch lover, but my goodness, it was great there! Perhaps a few less rum punch would have made the ride back to the ship easier!! Thank goodness for gravol!

Nassau....scratch that....Great Stirrup Cay....scratch that.....Nassau - with our original itinerary we were scheduled to be in Nassau, so my husband used Marriott points to secure us a room at Atlantis. This would have given us water park passes for 2 adults and 2 kids. Great solution to experience Atlantis without spending the crazy amounts they want for tickets on the ship. Nassau got cancelled so we cancelled the room. Well then Nassau got rescheduled the day before arrival, which did not leave us time to get anything set up. I had done limited research for Nassau since we knew we wanted to experience Atlantis. Needless to say we could not get a room organized in time, and we also could not swallow the thought of paying almost $1000 for the 6 of us to go. So we flew by the seat of our pants and ended up at Cabbage Beach. We had a great time, however it was not relaxing. The waves were crazy huge, and swimming was impossible. Trying to stay standing was near impossible. It cost us $60 for 4 loungers and one umbrella. Cab fare was $4 each way, per person, so another $50. Again, we had a great time, however wish we had lucked out on a calm bay someplace. Or someplace with a bathroom!!!

Disembarkation - so so so easy. I can not say this enough. Since we had a 2 pm flight we were in no hurry at all. We had an 830 am breakfast in the dining room, sat in the Atrium for a bit and were called around 945 am. We were curb side by 10 am, with our luxury SUV pickup just minutes away. Travel days are rarely fun, especially when the vacation is over. There is something to be said for having a nice final relaxing morning before heading out...almost like we extended the vacation by just a little bit!

What we expected and what we got -

• crowded pool decks, very much expected and very much received. I am an early person who loves to sit outside and read in the quiet morning. I would be on deck by 7 am ish and was able to have a pick of chairs. By 9 am the deck team was marking chairs with red stickers, however I never actually saw them remove anything from chairs. Whatever their system is, it is flawed. I was sitting out one morning from 7 am until after 9 am. We all went to breakfast and were back at our seats by 10 am, less than an hour and our chairs had been marked, however there will still towels on other chairs since before 7 am!
  
• crowded elevators, very much expected, but not as bad as we feared. Aside from Muster drill, or when arriving back on the ship, it was not that bad. We were on deck 13 so it made it much easier going back and forth using the stairs.
  
• balcony divider not able to be opened, but it was!!! When we boarded the divider between our neighbours balcony and ours was left open, however our friends were on the other side of us. Our steward quickly closed off one side and opened the other. It made for a nice place to sit together and relax. It was closed and locked sometime during our last day in Nassau, however it was not a big deal.
  
• Motion sickness...always expected, but always prepared. I took ginger gravol every morning and drowsy inducing gravol a couple of nights. I was not nauseous at all, and I am always nauseous, it seems to be a natural state for me. I would much rather prevent it than treat it. Also, all the fresh ginger in my Moscow mules might have helped too!
  
• The rocking and the rolling....so much worse than I thought it could be. Some reviews have talked about a shimmy, a vibration, a nonstop movement on the ship and boy did I feel it. We had high winds and some rougher seas throughout the week but I felt it all the time. The best way I could describe it was it felt like someone had their foot on the back of my chair and was shaking it, all week long. There was such a vibration in some chairs at Howl at the Moon that I had to change seats. I never let it stop me, but it was very very annoying to feel it. And needless to say, I am still feeling the motion of the ocean. Hopefully another day or two and it will pass.
  

We ended the cruise with a variety of opinions and thoughts. I think I might be done cruising - the movement of this ship might have done me in. Others (including my husband) want to try Royal, some want to try the Med. We shall see. All in all, it was a fabulous vacation that I will never forget. I really am appreciative of this information that I discovered on this site before our trip and hope that I have paid that back to someone in someway!

Happy travels everyone!

[jdvmd]

Thanks so much for your comments!

[alysonofagun]

 

The Ropes Course [...] My husband and the 13 year old walked the plank and pulled the rope for a picture. We were all anticipating the photos and after checking the next night, we realized that the camera was on the completely wrong side and everyone's pictures were of their back!!!

 

 

 

 

Laughing because I did exactly the same! Almost bought the picture for the hilarity of it!

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[MacCruising2018]

Thanks for the great review and esp info on the automatic baggage check! We will for sure have snow as we are cruising in mid January but fortunately our flight doesn't leave until 10:20am. Going to check out the hotel recommendation in South beach. Thanks again!

 

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[Bluenoser47]

We will for sure have snow as we are cruising in mid January Going to check out the hotel recommendation in South beach.

 

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We are staying at RIU Miami Beach rigjt on the beach. 2 nights before we cruise January 13th.

[dacsmom]

Thank you for your review. I am on the Escape in February and the time is passing so slowly. I love to read other peoples experiences.