Escape review (2/17 - 2/24) a.k.a. Bouncing eyeballs-in search of the perfect Lemon

[Mainah]

Darn I hit the enter button before finishing the title...it's supposed to be "in search of the perfect lemon drop"! Sorry bout that...can't fix...

 

 

What the heck do bouncing eyeballs have to do with lemon drops you ask? A few years ago while visiting Palm Springs, CA I met my first Lemon Drop martini and fell in love. Since then every bar/restaurant I go to I have to have one always comparing it to my first which has still been one of the best I’ve had. A couple of years ago I had a very good one at a bar/restaurant near where we live. We couldn’t stay but for one drink so we left shortly after finishing our drinks. I was fine until we start walking down the sidewalk towards the car and I feel a little strange..o.k maybe a lot strange as my eyeballs seemed to bouncing in my head! I’m looking around and everything seems to be bouncing as I walk…needless to say I look over at my partner, shove the car keys into his hand (I was going to drive) tell him what’s going on and that he’s going to have to drive. This thing not only tasted like my first it also made my eyeballs bounce so now I have 2 criteria to look for in my search for the perfect Lemon Drop ;).

 

 

This was our 3rd NCL cruise and 8th cruise overall. We’d never cruised the “mega” ships so wanted to try the Escape to see if we’d like a big ship. We like aft facing balconies and booked stateroom 9322 with the beverage package and dining package included.

 

 

We also wanted to try to get Vibe passes. I did a lot of research on CC and thanks to people posting their experiences knew that we’d have to get to port early and score boarding group 1 in order to have a chance at getting the passes. It was also very helpful to know where to go to wait in the terminal so that we’d be near the front of the line in group 1 to board. Now I have to say that I wasn’t thrilled with the thought of starting my vacation by having to run to Headliners in order to be the first in line to score passes (and I didn’t believe people would do that) however once boarding started and people actually did start running, or maybe I should say "walking very fast";), we just joined the fray so to speak and got there in time and got passes.

 

 

On the subject of Vibe. We both loved it. I’ll say now that the cruise wouldn't have been as good without it. Bartenders Rommel, Michael and Vincent were excellent. And yes I had some of the best Lemon Drop martini’s there I’ve ever had. We also met many nice people there and had a great time with many of them.

 

 

I have to say a couple of things about our cabin especially the location. I chose 9322 not only because it is aft facing but because of the larger balcony. During my research I had found that the aft facing cabins on decks 9 and 12 have the deepest balconies on this ship and also that some of these are a little wider than others facilitating the use of loungers which was important to us. 9322 had 2 loungers, 3 chairs (one that was a wooden slat type chair which didn’t seem to have a reason to be there) and a small table. This was all great however 9322 is right above the Manhattan Room MDR and we could hear the music they played there until about 10pm every night which is fine if you don’t go to bed early also after the music ended I could hear the rumbling of the engines, which was at times very loud, all night. I am a light sleeper so it bothered me. My partner falls asleep easily and doesn’t wake up for anything so it didn’t bother him. I just wanted to put that out there for anyone considering this room as I never read anything about it during my initial research.

 

 

 

 

We only attended one show (the adult only comedian show) which was quite funny after the first 10 minutes. We did however got to the 70’s and 80’s parties which were great fun and I went to the Glow party where I danced like a 20 year old until midnight and had a great time, helped by a family we had met in Vibe who took me under their wing that night. We also attended the CC meet and greet which was organized by CC’er Mayamocha and very well attended. Thanks again to her for organizing this!

 

 

We ate at Cagney’s, Le Bistro, Teppanyaki, Margaritaville, Savor, Taste, Manhattan Room and the buffet. All the food (except one pasta dish in The Manhattan Room) was great so no complaints there.

 

 

We only did one excursion which was at the end of the cruise before our flight home that day. It was the Everglades Airboat tour and we both enjoyed it.

 

 

The staff and crew were excellent. Always a smile and hello. Officers were visible throughout the ship every day.

 

 

Would we cruise a “mega” ship again? I never say never but most likely we’d not do a ship this size again. The ship felt “tight”. That’s about the only word I can use to describe it. It was packed with people everywhere, the public areas just felt too small for the amount of people on board. After reading reviews I thought that this was only going to be a problem around the pool area but it was like that everywhere so it was great to have Vibe. As I said earlier the cruise wouldn’t have been as good without it.

 

 

Overall though we had a great cruise. And although my eyeballs didn’t bounce I did find the perfect Lemon Drop (in Vibe only though I should say). To be honest I don’t think I really wanted them to bounce! Once was quite enough thank you very much ;)!

[KarimaJ]

My fav drink too! On the Jewel they had a martini bar, soooooo good.

 

 

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[Keith1010]

I enjoyed your review.

Keith

[Clarea]

Enjoyed your report.

[Jim The Lizard]

Great review, lots of great insight and comments.

 

 

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[BNBR]

Nice review. Don't let Escape turn you off from mega ships. Royals Oasis class ships are exactly the opposite of how you describe mega ships. They are airy and uncrowded. It's a ground up rethinking of cruise ships and they absolutely nail it. If all I sailed was escape, I'd think big ships were crammed and crowded too.

[aeroo777]

Thanks for the review! It was great meeting you and John up in Vibe, we always meet the nicest people in Vibe.

I heard you got to see The Haven, what did you think of it?

[Mainah]

Thanks for the review! It was great meeting you and John up in Vibe, we always meet the nicest people in Vibe.

I heard you got to see The Haven, what did you think of it?

 

Hey there! John and I really enjoyed our time spent with you and your lovely wife!

Yes indeed we did get to see The Haven (a lot of secret handshakes involved though;)) and thought it was very nice indeed...maybe someday we'll get to stay there if/when John can convince me to spend the money. ;)

[adjensen]

Having been on the same cruise, I thought that "bouncing eyeballs" might have been in regards to the seas! Very bouncy ride last week! :)

 

The Escape is the third really big ship that we've been on (previously on the Epic and the Getaway,) and it felt waaaaay more crowded than the other two. Part of that is all the kids on the Escape, due to spring holiday in the Northeast, which we've never seen on another NCL cruise, and the elevators were slower and more crowded than they were on the other ships, I don't know why.

[Mainah]

Thought I'd throw in a few pics of the balcony for those who wish to see it. They aren't the best but should give you an idea of the size etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[jdvmd]

Glad you had a good time!