Escape "LISTING" cruise 3-3-19

[graphicguy]

Being at sea, the casino was open.  Few know but tucked away in the corner is a little snack area.....

 

Smoking....certainly a hot button on a cruise ship.  But, it’s clear NCL is really trying to “contain” the smell of smoke.  I noticed it in the casino the most.  Obvious as one of the few areas they allow smoking is in the casino.  But, either they’re doing a yeoman’s job of cleaning every day, or they have better ventilation systems.  I didn’t notice it as much as the cruise wore on.  That includes the Cigar Room outside of Tobacco Road, which I spent quite a bit if time in.  I’m not even sure I know where the smoking areas are outside, as I didn’t see anyone smoking on the WaterFront.

 

I know smokers feel “put upon” on cruise ships as the areas they’re allowed to smoke get fewer and fewer.  Personally, I feel it’s a bit unfair to make smokers feel like Pariahs.  But to me, it seems to be a foregone conclusion that NCL is going to continue to become more and more restrictive for smokers.  The Bliss only allows casino smoking in a small, enclosed area. I see that trend continuing.

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

... 

LOVED FOOD REPUBLIC (see pic....beef short ribs).  Ate there twice. It’s not included on the SDP, but I didn’t mind as it was close to my cabin and I loved their food.......

 

Was that short ribs served in a bowl of ramen noodles with bean sprouts ??  

 

We tried - without success - getting into Food Republic for lunch, no luck whatsoever as they didn't bother opening it once the entire ship was on Noro alert, maybe the next time on these mega ship. 

 

Right now, still on the fence but looking at the "old" Dawn, but the T/A prices next month are very dropping ... seemed like FDR is having a bit of problems filling up the "remaining" 10% of the ship with the usual gimmicks, sailing out of NY even with local school districts on Spring break.  One of the nieces' family are taking the kids to Asia instead ... what to do, what to do (just hold still & play by watching prices, LOL.  

 

[graphicguy]

34 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

 

Was that short ribs served in a bowl of ramen noodles with bean sprouts ??  

 

We tried - without success - getting into Food Republic for lunch, no luck whatsoever as they didn't bother opening it once the entire ship was on Noro alert, maybe the next time on these mega ship. 

 

Right now, still on the fence but looking at the "old" Dawn, but the T/A prices next month are very dropping ... seemed like FDR is having a bit of problems filling up the "remaining" 10% of the ship with the usual gimmicks, sailing out of NY even with local school districts on Spring break.  One of the nieces' family are taking the kids to Asia instead ... what to do, what to do (just hold still & play by watching prices, LOL.  

 

It most certainly was beef short ribs with ramen, bean sprouts and even a soft boiled egg.  I LOVED IT!

 

I think word is out.  The longer you wait with NCL, the cheaper the price....at least that’s what I’ve found recently.  Of course, your cabin selection is limited the longer you wait.  But, on this cruise, it paid off for me as I got my mini-suite cabin with the large balcony for about the price of a regular balcony.  Booked 3 weeks from sail date.

 

They still book full, and as always, the best cabins go quickly.  But, if you’re patient, it can pay off.

 

Didn’t NCL just refurb the “old” Dawn?  I’ve been mildly curious about sailing Dawn.  Would love to hear if you book her.

[graphicguy]

I’ve talked a bit about entertainment.  It’s all over the ship.  It’s all good.  But, what NCL is known for are their high quality of main shows.  In this case, it was “Choir of Man”.  Frankly, I knew next to nothing about this show.

 

Keeping with my “do what I want, when I want, how I want” theme of this cruise, I just didn’t get around to seeing Choir of Man until the last night of the cruise.  My “cruise friends” and I (6 of us) just wandered up about 15 minutes before showtime and got the seats you see in the pic.  I’ve seen Blue Man, Rock of Ages, Cirque shows, etc on NCL ships.  Choir of Man ranks right at the top.  They received a standing “O”........

 

 

Edited March 24, 2019 by graphicguy

[graphicguy]

Well.....as you can tell, we’re getting to the end.....Time for a wee bit more food and a nightcap before packing to go home.....

[graphicguy]

Last(ing) impressions......

 

The cruise started out ominously with the crazy wind blast.  Weather in general was not our friend on this cruise.  Mentioned, you more or less know sailing out of NYC in the Atlantic in the Winter can get dicey, and it did.  Wasn’t unexpected.  After the “list” Canaveral was chilly, missed GSC because we couldn’t tender.  In Nassau the weather was fine.  I think if I ever sail to Nassau again, I’ll forego any excursions and just go to Junkanoo Beach and spend the afternoon there.  Don’t see Nassau on any itinerary I’m likely to book anywhere in the foreseeable future, though.

 

Escape is a beautiful ship that has incorporated some of NCL’s newest features like District Brewhouse, Food Republic Spice H2O grotto, Pinchos Tappas, Bayamo, etc.  I wasn’t able to hit Bayamo, although I tried a couple of times.  Kind of strange because they surely didn’t look busy when I attempted to get a seat....probably ¾ empty both times.  I’ve seen this happen before and can’t really explain it other than the reservation system they use doesn’t seem very accurate showing how busy they really are.  And, they don’t seem to really waver from it (unless you have a Haven concierge represent you).

 

 

Like every NCL cruise I’ve ever been on, the ship(s) are extremely clean and well kept.  Staff, from bartenders, to cabin steward, to Customer Service (who were efficient and friendly), to restaurant servers were wonderful.  No matter where we ate, from the Garden Cafe to Cagney’s, there was always someone from the management team to come and check on how pleased we were with our meals and the service.

 

I’ve always enjoyed NCL entertainment.  I consider it the best of any of the other cruise lines I’ve sailed (MSC, RCCL, CCL, Celebrity, HAL).  Escape ranks right up there (can’t recommend “Choir of Man” highly enough).  If you can’t find something enjoyable to do on an NCL cruise, the issue is with you, not the ship.

 

Can’t say enough about how well the crew and upper staff performed during “the list”.  They were all calm, confident and helpful.  The entire staff should be commended for the outstanding service provided during the entire cruise.

 

The last few cruises I was either in a full suite (GEM) or the HAVEN (Getaway and Breakaway).  So, the service was “over and above”, and you tip accordingly.  For those cruises I set aside Hundreds of $$$ for tips.  For this cruise, being in a mini-suite, I tipped my steward $20 and various bar/waitstaff another $50, doled out $10 here, $5 there another couple of dollars somewhere else.  I ALWAYS received great service.

 

NCL does solo cruising better than any other line.  They like and appreciate us rather than treat us as an afterthought.  It seems I relate to the passengers NCL attracts more than I do with other cruise lines.  That’s neither good nor bad.  It just is.  Made some lifelong friends (again) on the Escape.

 

Lot of debate about the drink package.  Personally, I think it’s a great deal just paying for the tips/service charges.  My bartenders never charged extra even though they made some of my drinks with “premium” brands.  Not sure if that’s because I tipped them, but they used premium bourbon for some of my drinks and premium tequila for my Margaritas (because that’s what I requested).

 

Caveats....the set up of the newer NCL ships are not conducive to those with limited mobility or those who want to bring strollers aboard.  With strollers and electric scooters, the cabin halls are narrow and difficult to navigate.  Maybe limit scooters and strollers to NCL’s older ships?  Just a general observation with the cruises I’ve taken on NCL’s newer ships.  

 

The other caveat.....I could not justify the “new” price for the VIBE ($209/pp).  I really can’t see that as a viable price for the VIBE.  Bottom line, not even remotely worth it given the other adult areas on the ship (Spice H2O).

[graphicguy]

If you remember, I just used carryon luggage.  So, disembarking was easy.  I grabbed a coffee and a croissant from Garden Cafe and was off the ship around 9:30 a.m.

 

Only way I can figure to sum this up is with the last day’s view the last full cruise day and my 3 hour airport wait in the Delta Sky Club......

 

Hope you enjoyed the review and perhaps caught a few tips along the way.  Thanks for following.....

[Oakman58]

I enjoyed your report, thanks for taking the time to share it.

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, Oakman58 said:

I enjoyed your report, thanks for taking the time to share it.

Thanks...glad you liked it!

[All-ready2cruise]

Thank you so much for all the great info and the wonderful pictures. Really enjoyed reading and perusing all the details you shared. 

Cheers

[graphicguy]

7 minutes ago, All-ready2cruise said:

Thank you so much for all the great info and the wonderful pictures. Really enjoyed reading and perusing all the details you shared. 

Cheers

Glad you liked it!

[Jenner9]

Great report! Thanks for sharing!

[graphicguy]

Thanks!

[BullyLvr]

Thanks for sharing. I enjoyed reading!

[eileeshb]

Interesting to see the scallops at Le bistro weren’t any better on Escape than I experienced on Getaway last year.  Wasn’t impressed, I’m a coastal gal and love my shellfish but those scallops were barely edible by my standards. 

Odd now that Viking Sky has pushed the Escape “listing” way down in terms of cruise ship problems. It’s made the main news headlines in Ireland and UK the past 2 days but the incident on Escape didn’t even get a mention when it happened. 

[jaja]

Enjoyed  "sailing along" with you via your review..! Thanks !!!!

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, eileeshb said:

Interesting to see the scallops at Le bistro weren’t any better on Escape than I experienced on Getaway last year.  Wasn’t impressed, I’m a coastal gal and love my shellfish but those scallops were barely edible by my standards. 

Odd now that Viking Sky has pushed the Escape “listing” way down in terms of cruise ship problems. It’s made the main news headlines in Ireland and UK the past 2 days but the incident on Escape didn’t even get a mention when it happened. 

Thanks all.  So glad you guys enjoyed it as much as I did posting about it.  It gave me a chance to relive it.

 

From what I heard, the Viking cruise spent hours listing back and forth.  Our NCL cruise issue lasted for an hour, as in “ONE”.  From the looks of it, the Viking cruise also was dangerously close to crashing into the rocks near shore and were without its engines for a significant time.  None of that was the case on the Escape.  Escape never took on water, either.

 

Sounds like the Viking ship is now docked and all passengers are accounted for, with some either already home, or on their way.

 

Don’t know what’s going on with LeBistro and their scallops.  I think it was a matter of preparation, not the quality of preparation.

 

That said, there was plenty of very good restaurants and food on the Escape.

 

Again, thanks for following along!

[All-ready2cruise]

12 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Thanks all.  So glad you guys enjoyed it as much as I did posting about it.  It gave me a chance to relive it.

 

From what I heard, the Viking cruise spent hours listing back and forth.  Our NCL cruise issue lasted for an hour, as in “ONE”.  From the looks of it, the Viking cruise also was dangerously close to crashing into the rocks near shore and were without its engines for a significant time.  None of that was the case on the Escape.  Escape never took on water, either.

 

Sounds like the Viking ship is now docked and all passengers are accounted for, with some either already home, or on their way.

 

Don’t know what’s going on with LeBistro and their scallops.  I think it was a matter of preparation, not the quality of preparation.

 

That said, there was plenty of very good restaurants and food on the Escape.

 

Again, thanks for following along!

Escape is a much larger ship than the Viking Sky and the Escape never lost their engines or power.. so sad for those on the VS.  I was on the NCL Star in Oct. 2015 when we sailed through TS Joaquin and as a result, can tell you there were many injured passengers.  The medical centre ran out of medical walking boots for broken ankles and such. 

 

As far as the Scallops go, I LOVE scallops, but the only place I've found them cooked to the proper temp is Teppanyaki (on any ship), surprising I guess.  BTW, I've never enjoyed a meal in Le Bistro and avoid it on all  my cruises. 

I love the variety of restuarants on NCL and find the food, in most, to be average or above average in quality.  I guess I'm a bit prejudice since I've only cruised on MSC Divina as the exception to all my NCL cruises.  

.

 

 

[graphicguy]

Agree about the scallops in Tepanyaki being really good!

[Beer Belly]

Tepanyaki was our favorite when we were on the Escape in June. Thanks for taking us along.....feels like I was back on the ship.....excluding the listing. 

[nhquilter1]

Thanks so much for your review! I can't wait to set sail on the Escape in September!!

[graphicguy]

2 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

Tepanyaki was our favorite when we were on the Escape in June. Thanks for taking us along.....feels like I was back on the ship.....excluding the listing. 

Tepanyaki food was very good....plus, the show that went with it was entertaining.  Glad you liked it.

[graphicguy]

2 hours ago, nhquilter1 said:

Thanks so much for your review! I can't wait to set sail on the Escape in September!!

Beautiful ship.  I’m sure you’ll have a great time.

[michelle-nh]

Thanks so much for your review! We are heading out on Escape one week from today. Looking forward to it! 

[DuckTollerFans]

Thanks for the great review again!  It has helped me get a bit more oriented to the Escape before our cruise in June. Also, a bit more excited - as if! 🙂