Escape "LISTING" cruise 3-3-19

[graphicguy]

If you're ever looking for something to do, be it trivia, demonstrations, even some entertainment, the Atrium is the place to be.  The Escape also has a library and conference rooms.

 

 

[graphicguy]

During the M&G I asked the Ass't Hotel Director if I could just take a look at the Haven on the Escape, as I'd been a Haven guest on both the Breakaway and the Getaway and I wanted to compare and contrast.  She agreed.  Unfortunately, I did not have my phone/camera with me at the time when we scheduled to do the tour.  So, I don't have any interior shots.

 

It is significantly bigger than on the "Away" ships with the Haven Restaurant having a whole upstairs to itself (vs sharing a space with the main Haven area on the other ships.  Pool looked bigger and there were more lounges, too.  As I suspected, it was not crowded......at all.  Even on the first sea day.  The pool area had the roof closed as it was still quite chilly outside.

 

I will try the Haven on either the Bliss or Escape at some future cruise.

 

 

[mking8288]

28 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

If you're ever looking for something to do, be it trivia, demonstrations, even some entertainment, the Atrium is the place to be.  The Escape also has a library and conference rooms.

 

So true, especially when outdoors are not ideal on sea days - easily packed in 300+ people including the overlook upstairs.  I wish they come up with a better plan for overflow seating with those folding chairs scattered everywhere ... this public assembly setup, would unlikely get past the fire safety team where I used to work.  Glad that you pointed out the atrium lounger hogs as they had their systems in place, stalking the prime spots from morning until beyond moon rise.  We only saw the barf bags on the staircases & by the elevators were during the norovirus alert ... by then, just about everyone already heard & knew.  

 

We walked by that mini library almost daily and IMHO, way too small and its opening hours far too limited ... nowadays, Kindle, Fire tablet & iPad/minis for offline rescues.  

 

On eBag's Mother Lode series, we loved them - paid only $50 for the 22" convertible carry-on/backpack - one of the my versatile air-land-sea bags, even checked it - loaded & expanded - once coming home from overseas.  Otherwise, we used the 21" expandable rollerboard for flights & cruises and the smaller 18" wide-body Mobile Office (it's "heavy" & sturdy) as a base for shorter all-in-1 car trips - stack a discontinued eBag Tech 2.0 backpack or new Speck business laptop on top, and I'm smartly packed for 5 to 8 days on the go.  

 

OT, been preoccupied on extended family matters as our dearest SIL just passed after an 18 month battle, fought & beaten the incredible odds but Heaven finally took her in, surrounded by us ... hence, NCL just lost another (gold) Latitude member.  Well, actually, total # of "Ambassadors" had dropped in the last year, total universe now in the mid 30's only)   Will shortly be back on the hunt for last minute deals, even Sail Away ones with no worries - while looking at other lines & options, the latest DSC bump is annoying !    

 

[DuckTollerFans]

2 hours ago, mking8288 said:

T, been preoccupied on extended family matters as our dearest SIL just passed after an 18 month battle, fought & beaten the incredible odds but Heaven finally took her in, surrounded by us

Henry,

I recall you've mentioned her a few times - Sorry to read this news. I'm glad she was surrounded by a loving family at her passing.

[DuckTollerFans]

5 hours ago, graphicguy said:

If you're ever looking for something to do, be it trivia, demonstrations, even some entertainment, the Atrium is the place to be.  The Escape also has a library and conference rooms.

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2019 by DuckTollerFans
error in saving

[DuckTollerFans]

<OK, don't how how to edit above posting of your photos>

 

Anywho, I love the dysfunction of the conference room photo with that ONE chair out of place. 😕    That's where my head is tonight. Ha!

[Von & John]

6 hours ago, DuckTollerFans said:

<OK, don't how how to edit above posting of your photos>

 

Anywho, I love the dysfunction of the conference room photo with that ONE chair out of place. 😕    That's where my head is tonight. Ha!

 

You'd fit right in with my family...

 

[graphicguy]

15 hours ago, mking8288 said:

 

So true, especially when outdoors are not ideal on sea days - easily packed in 300+ people including the overlook upstairs.  I wish they come up with a better plan for overflow seating with those folding chairs scattered everywhere ... this public assembly setup, would unlikely get past the fire safety team where I used to work.  Glad that you pointed out the atrium lounger hogs as they had their systems in place, stalking the prime spots from morning until beyond moon rise.  We only saw the barf bags on the staircases & by the elevators were during the norovirus alert ... by then, just about everyone already heard & knew.  

 

We walked by that mini library almost daily and IMHO, way too small and its opening hours far too limited ... nowadays, Kindle, Fire tablet & iPad/minis for offline rescues.  

 

On eBag's Mother Lode series, we loved them - paid only $50 for the 22" convertible carry-on/backpack - one of the my versatile air-land-sea bags, even checked it - loaded & expanded - once coming home from overseas.  Otherwise, we used the 21" expandable rollerboard for flights & cruises and the smaller 18" wide-body Mobile Office (it's "heavy" & sturdy) as a base for shorter all-in-1 car trips - stack a discontinued eBag Tech 2.0 backpack or new Speck business laptop on top, and I'm smartly packed for 5 to 8 days on the go.  

 

OT, been preoccupied on extended family matters as our dearest SIL just passed after an 18 month battle, fought & beaten the incredible odds but Heaven finally took her in, surrounded by us ... hence, NCL just lost another (gold) Latitude member.  Well, actually, total # of "Ambassadors" had dropped in the last year, total universe now in the mid 30's only)   Will shortly be back on the hunt for last minute deals, even Sail Away ones with no worries - while looking at other lines & options, the latest DSC bump is annoying !    

 

Henry....sincerest condolences to you and your family!

 

I’ve seen the Library packed some days, and totally abandoned on others....sort of hit and miss.

 

I’m a fairly laid back guy.  But, on this cruise, when I saw a book placed on a chair in the Atrium, and it stayed there with no one claiming the chair after about 30-45 minutes, I just moved the book under the chair and grabbed a seat.  When I was ready to move on, I took the book to Customer Service.  Never saw or heard a peep from anyone.  

 

While crowded, I never had an issue getting a seat at the railing of O’Sheehans overlooking the atrium.  Luck of the draw, perhaps!

[eileeshb]

I was once on an overnight ferry from France to Ireland that got caught in a similar storm, everyone onboard was too seasick to be doing anything that would get them injured. Quite a few vehicles did however get damaged quite badly, but apart from the lingering sea-legs and nausea all the passengers were fine. We were getting flung from one side of the dance floor to the other when the storm hit and the crew decided to tell everyone to get back to their cabins for safety. 

[graphicguy]

More “around the ship” photos.....

[graphicguy]

Spice H20 and ropes course.

[graphicguy]

Gym...One of the MDRs, a small part of THE WATERFRONT.....

[graphicguy]

Someone reported that a Ship had turned back during the “List”.  Not sure about that as this ship shadowed us throughout.........saw it again docked in NASSAU.....

[graphicguy]

Bocce Ball....Putt-Putt....B-Ball courts.....

Edited March 17, 2019 by graphicguy

[graphicguy]

Ropes course and Spice H20 rules........

[graphicguy]

Once again, it would be hard for me to justify paying $209/pp for the VIBE when venues like this are available for no charge.  

 

Spice H20 bar, grotto, facing the screen......

Edited March 17, 2019 by graphicguy

[mking8288]

Love pictures !!   Great job in telling the stories ...

 

Outdoors "looked" pretty empty, cloudy (floors - wet or hosed down by crew ?) & perhaps too chilly for the chair logs to be out in force ... or, did you capture these while some of them were still at breakfast or sleeping (aside from the ones at PC) ... not even a handful of beach towels to be found.  

 

I was looking at Marinetraffic & don't recall seeing (nor reading about it over at Royal's forum) that they're turning around ... urban legend, maybe ?? - I believed that ship might've possibly been Carnival sailing from Baltimore.  

 

[graphicguy]

3 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Love pictures !!   Great job in telling the stories ...

 

Outdoors "looked" pretty empty, cloudy (floors - wet or hosed down by crew ?) & perhaps too chilly for the chair logs to be out in force ... or, did you capture these while some of them were still at breakfast or sleeping (aside from the ones at PC) ... not even a handful of beach towels to be found.  

 

I was looking at Marinetraffic & don't recall seeing (nor reading about it over at Royal's forum) that they're turning around ... urban legend, maybe ?? - I believed that ship might've possibly been Carnival sailing from Baltimore.  

 

I consider myself a veteran cruiser, Caribbean, Bahamas, Bermuda, Mediteranean, Vancouver.  Sailed Spring, Summer, Fall, Thanksgiving, Christmas.  Nothing anyone can do about it, but this cruise had the worst weather of any of them.

 

Outside areas were pretty sparse for the first 3 days of the cruise, as a result.

 

The trailing ship in the pic was pretty far away.  I max zoomed to get the pic.  Looked like a Carnival ship to me.

[Speddie]

On 3/14/2019 at 6:06 PM, DancerCouple2014 said:

Pretty please, if you get a chance, can you take a picture of the menu at Sugarcane?  I'm wondering what mojito options are covered under the UBP.  Thanks!

 

[dexddd]

On 3/15/2019 at 4:44 PM, mking8288 said:

 

So true, especially when outdoors are not ideal on sea days - easily packed in 300+ people including the overlook upstairs.  I wish they come up with a better plan for overflow seating with those folding chairs scattered everywhere ... this public assembly setup, would unlikely get past the fire safety team where I used to work.  Glad that you pointed out the atrium lounger hogs as they had their systems in place, stalking the prime spots from morning until beyond moon rise.  We only saw the barf bags on the staircases & by the elevators were during the norovirus alert ... by then, just about everyone already heard & knew.  

 

We walked by that mini library almost daily and IMHO, way too small and its opening hours far too limited ... nowadays, Kindle, Fire tablet & iPad/minis for offline rescues.  

 

On eBag's Mother Lode series, we loved them - paid only $50 for the 22" convertible carry-on/backpack - one of the my versatile air-land-sea bags, even checked it - loaded & expanded - once coming home from overseas.  Otherwise, we used the 21" expandable rollerboard for flights & cruises and the smaller 18" wide-body Mobile Office (it's "heavy" & sturdy) as a base for shorter all-in-1 car trips - stack a discontinued eBag Tech 2.0 backpack or new Speck business laptop on top, and I'm smartly packed for 5 to 8 days on the go.  

 

OT, been preoccupied on extended family matters as our dearest SIL just passed after an 18 month battle, fought & beaten the incredible odds but Heaven finally took her in, surrounded by us ... hence, NCL just lost another (gold) Latitude member.  Well, actually, total # of "Ambassadors" had dropped in the last year, total universe now in the mid 30's only)   Will shortly be back on the hunt for last minute deals, even Sail Away ones with no worries - while looking at other lines & options, the latest DSC bump is annoying !    

 

Sorry for your and DW's loss.

[graphicguy]

Once we were underway, the Atlantic smoothed out a bit (but was still somewhat choppy, throughout).  I ate in Savor the 2nd night of the cruise, for no other reason than I had a bunch of Specialty Dining coupons (two from NCL for being Platinum, one from AMEX Platinum and 3 from the SDP) I really wanted to see how the free dining areas were.

 

I just wanted to go somewhere, walk to the hostess and be seated.  She asked about dining with others (since I was solo).  I was OK with that.

 

I had “Hake” fish and it was excellent.  I had a Ceasar salad and a fresh veggie mix, too.  All were great.  Have to say, food and service were as good as anything else I had on the ship.

 

EXCEPT.....my dining mates were....ummm.....interesting.  A Father and Son duo, who were taking a cruise to celebrate the son’s birthday (21st).  And, another solo gentleman.  Loved talking to the Son and Father duo.  Interesting as the son was in college and the both of them were clearly quite “tight”.  They had sailed before so we compared and contrasted.

 

The othe solo gentleman?  I’m guessing he was in his mid-late 60s.  Not quite sure about him, to the point where I made it a point to mention something to Customer Service about him.

 

He said he was a renowned musician in Europe and was some sort of soloist (voice?  Instrument?).  He said his wife had just left him.  He was quite bitter about it.  But, then he said he was actually a teacher, and didn’t make much money.  Then, he said his wife left him penniless and he was suicidal (which is what caused me to go to Customer Service and log my concern about him).  Then he veered off into some sort of story about how he had been spanked when he was young and in grade school.

 

He was on the cruise, I’m guessing, to take him mind off his troubles.  But, he was all over the map.  There was no conversation the rest of us could have without him interjecting something about himself and how tough his life was.

 

Being concerned, I reassured him he was a valued person at our table and talk of harming himself (or anyone else) was something he really should share with a professional.  I even offered to take him to the infirmary to see if they could perhaps help.  One minute he seemed lucid regarding the conversation at the table and the next he became hell bent on talking about another long drawn out story regarding either his musical genius, his dastardly (soon to be ex) wife, or how he planned to harm her or himself, then would flip back to how he was super popular in Europe.

 

At the end of dinner, he asked all of us to be his table mates for dinner every night.  I told him if I was planning dinner at Savor, I’d probably be there at 7-ish.  But, I told him I also had dinner plans at the other restaurants.  My other tablemates said “well see”.

 

Customer Service said they’d have security check on him occasionally in his cabin.

 

I saw him a few times more around the ship. And, I felt guilty about steering clear of him every time I saw him.  I felt badly about avoiding him. But, I also know that whatever it was he needed, I wasn’t capable of providing.

 

Strange and eventful cruise up until that point.  Looking back, I chuckle, nervously, hoping he took all of our advice and to seek help once he was back on terra firma, both physically and mentally.  Also feeling guilty by the thought that maybe all he needed was a good listener and I did not provide that for him other than at the one, and only, dinner I had with him.

[graphicguy]

By this time, all the furniture on my balcony had been replaced from the list, and you could not tell my cabin had been through the “list” 48 hours earlier.....

[graphicguy]

Our first stop was Cape Canaveral.  I’ve done the NASA tour.  I’ve done the airboat excursion.  I’ve been to Canaveral more times than I could count, both via a cruise ship and throughout the years as a land only destination.  It was still chilly (at least for FL) at around 60º.

 

I decided to pass on getting off the ship.  I did see the SpaceX rocket on its landing pad from ny balcony, though.

 

 

[RedRover96]

30 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

I did see the SpaceX rocket on its landing pad from ny balcony, though.

That was worth the cost of admission!  Cool!!!

[graphicguy]

Spent almost every evening before dinner at PRIME MERIDIAN....great bar located by the MDRs....pics of Main Theater and Supper Club....