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NCL Escape to Bermuda May 19 2019: A Detailed Trip Report with Photos!


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Hello! It has been a week since we returned from our cruise to Bermuda so it seems like it is time to start the trip report. These are always my favorite posts here on CruiseCritic, so I figured it was time to do one of my own! This trip report will have a lot of photos, and give our general impressions of our experience. Since we’re first time trip reporters, there are a few things we missed taking photos of, but hopefully you’ll enjoy reading along anyway. Welcome aboard!

 

The crew: Myself (Sarah) and my husband, Sean, along with our friends Matt and Grace. Sean did quite a few cruises as a kid, and this was my 4th cruise. We were excited to also bring along our friends this time since they were first time cruisers. We are all from the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

From left to right - Matt, Grace, Sean, and Sarah

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Why this cruise: Sean and I really enjoyed our cruises on Getaway and Breakaway, and the Escape looked like an even better version of those ships, with the addition of the District Brew House, the Cellars wine bar, and the 5 O’Clock Somewhere bar, plus the rock grotto in Spice H2O. We knew we wanted to cruise the Escape next, and with the New York homeport, the Bermuda itinerary appealed to us more than the Florida/Bahamas. Knowing really nothing about Bermuda prior to booking, we started doing research and getting excited about the pink sand beaches and exploring the towns of Hamilton and St George’s.

 

Coming up - our travel day from San Francisco to New York!

Edited by basicprincess24
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Day 1 - Travel Day

We were up bright and early Saturday morning to catch our 7:45am Alaska Airlines flight from SFO (San Francisco) to EWR (Newark). We arrived at the airport at 5:30am, got through security, and got breakfast from Peet’s Coffee in the terminal. Alaska offers food options based on departure time, which meant only breakfast options were available for purchase in-flight, so we also purchased salads and sandwiches from Napa Farms in the airport to have for lunch on the plane. We boarded on time and we were soon settled in for the 5 ½ hour flight. IMG_6445.thumb.jpeg.e524e8cb48c7be844f0a51b10442164d.jpeg

 

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Goodbye San Francisco!

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And hello New York City! Can you spot the NCL Dawn docked at Pier 88?

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We had a blast on the Escape to Bermuda, actually one year ago to the exact day today (June 3, 2018). Our next cruise is on the Bliss, and so far I can tell, I feel the Grotto (Spice H2O) on the Escape is far better than the offering on the Bliss.

Bermuda 2018 NCL Escape.jpg

Edited by Beer Belly
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17 hours ago, Sand and Seas said:

Nice start and loving the pictures!   Can't wait to hear more about your cruise😎

Thank you! Should have more to share this evening.

 

5 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

We had a blast on the Escape to Bermuda, actually one year ago to the exact day today (June 3, 2018). Our next cruise is on the Bliss, and so far I can tell, I feel the Grotto (Spice H2O) on the Escape is far better than the offering on the Bliss.

We totally loved the Escape to Bermuda as well. Can't wait to share more! 

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On 6/2/2019 at 4:31 PM, basicprincess24 said:

Day 1 - Travel Day

We were up bright and early Saturday morning to catch our 7:45am Alaska Airlines flight from SFO (San Francisco) to EWR (Newark). We arrived at the airport at 5:30am, got through security, and got breakfast from Peet’s Coffee in the terminal. Alaska offers food options based on departure time, which meant only breakfast options were available for purchase in-flight, so we also purchased salads and sandwiches from Napa Farms in the airport to have for lunch on the plane. We boarded on time and we were soon settled in for the 5 ½ hour flight. IMG_6445.thumb.jpeg.e524e8cb48c7be844f0a51b10442164d.jpeg

 

DSCF9832.thumb.jpg.d5f6346b2a422afa125e2c3c455c0a96.jpg

 

DSCF9837.thumb.jpg.c04f3ae87bda7dc56f3d22f20b4b3528.jpg

 

Goodbye San Francisco!

DSCF9845.thumb.jpg.b4bae691ca097ed2cb77585a5d2ec236.jpg

 

And hello New York City! Can you spot the NCL Dawn docked at Pier 88?

IMG_6453.thumb.jpeg.8f22a8bf803d489c0340faf7225b4630.jpeg

 

 

 

Nice report and photos.

Isn’t Newark in New Jersey?  So,  why didn’t you fly direct from SFO to New York City?   How did you get from Newark Airport to New York Cruise Port to embark?  How much did it cost?

 

Edited by Kingofcool1947
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Day 1 - Travel Day (Continued)

We actually landed at EWR 20 min early, at 4:10pm local time. However, the traffic at the curb was crazy! It took probably 20-30 min for our LyftXL to get through to pick us up. Then, we were in bumper to bumper traffic all the way to hotel in NYC - the trip took about an hour and a half. The LyftXL cost about $75 from EWR to the Kimpton Ink48 Hotel. I had looked into the train prior to our trip, which would have cost about the same for the 4 of us,  but had decided that Uber was simpler. In hindsight, the train might have been the better option considering how long we waited to be picked up and how long we were stuck in traffic.

 

We made it!

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We saw this Sierra Nevada truck right outside our hotel. One of Sean's favorite Nor Cal breweries!

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We chose the Kimpton Ink48 because of the proximity to the port, only 1 block from pier 88. Hotels for the night in NYC were incredibly expensive, so we chose to share a room for the 1 night. We booked a two queen bed room, which was nice and modern and sufficient for our one night stay. One note on this hotel - it is located across the street from an event space, and there is a very loud event every Saturday from 11pm - 4am. The two queen rooms face this street, so we were warned at check in about the noise, and they let us know that they have sound machines and ear plugs available if we needed them. No one in our group was kept awake by the noise, but if this would bother you, book a different room type.

 

We had booked 7:30pm dinner reservations at Bea, which was about a 10min walk from the Ink48. I had found this place on Yelp, and we were all impressed. It definitely could be described as “trendy” but the food was excellent. They played loud 80s music, and had old black and white movies projected on the walls. It was a really fun meal, and we'd definitely recommend it.

 

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We all started with cocktails. Sean had the Maracuya Mama, made with passion fruit puree and chipotle tequila. This one was delicious and only a little spicy.

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I had the Long Life Elixir, made with Cilantro Tequila, lime, and pineapple juice. Also good, but Sean’s choice was better.

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For dinner, Sean had the Herb Roasted Chicken, which he loved.

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I had the gnocchi, which came in a tomato cream sauce that was to die for. I was scraping up every last bit of sauce from my plate.

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After dinner, Matt really wanted to try some authentic New York cannoli, so he searched nearby on Yelp. He found a spot with over 1000 reviews and 4 ½ stars, and it was only a block away, so we headed there next. We all had a good laugh when we arrived at Carlo’s Bake Shop, from Cake Boss. Maybe not the authentic experience we were looking for, but we decided to go for it.

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We got one of each kind of cannoli offered - original, chocolate, and rainbow sprinkle. Pretty good!

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Another funny moment happened here. Grace was trying to AirDrop this photo from her phone to Sean, but Sean didn’t remember what his iPhone was named, so when she turned on AirDrop, the only option was iPhone. We figured that was probably it, so she shared the photo with iPhone, only Sean didn’t get it! Someone else in Carlo’s had accepted her cannoli photo! Whoever who are, we hope you enjoyed the cannoli photo!

 

Yum!

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After we’d finished our dessert, we took a quick walk to Times Square to see the lights and the New Year’s Eve ball and take a few photos.

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We walked back to the hotel and called it a night, excited for embarkation tomorrow morning!

 

Coming up - New York bagels and cruise day!
 

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1 minute ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

Isn’t Newark in New Jersey?  So,  why didn’t you fly direct from SFO to New York City?   How did you get from Newark Airport to New York Cruise Port to embark?

 

 

The Newark airport is considered a NYC-area airport. It's actually a little closer to the port than JFK! We used Lyft to get through the Lincoln tunnel into Manhattan and to our hotel. We priced out flights from SFO to JFK, LGA, and EWR and EWR was the least expensive for our dates.

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7 hours ago, Kingofcool1947 said:

 

Nice report and photos.

Isn’t Newark in New Jersey?  So,  why didn’t you fly direct from SFO to New York City?   How did you get from Newark Airport to New York Cruise Port to embark?  How much did it cost?

 

 

Flying into Newark is often easier and cheaper than flying into LaGuardia or JFK. Within 20-30 minutes you can be in Manhattan.

 

Thank you for your service, my father was in the 101st from 1958-65.....Go Screaming Eagles!

Edited by Laszlo
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Both LaGuardia and JFK airports are located in Queens,a borough of New York City.

Travel time from either of  those airports by cab or Uber during rush hour into Manhattan  would be similar to what the OP experienced during the trip from Newark to the hotel on the west side of Manhattan (also a borough of NYC)

The OP is correct that taking the train into Manhattan  may have been quicker,but not necessarily easier considering that she and her group would have to schlepp their bags from the airport to the train.

The choice of hotel was good.

It is a short walk from the hotel to the terminal for Pier 88.

The OP will probably mention this in her next post.

Looking forward to reading about the Escape and their time in Bermuda.

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A car from Newark is simply easier and can be faster than the train.  A train requires 3 legs and a lot of handling of your luggage:  First you take the Airtrain from your terminal to the Airport train station.  Then a train from there to Penn Station New York.  Up a flight of stairs into the station and then up to street level. Finally a taxi from there to your hotel or the port.  Most have a fair amount of luggage for a cruise so a car is just easier!

 

Enjoying the start of this report, can't wait to read more!

 

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4 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Flying into Newark is often easier and cheaper than flying into LaGuardia or JFK. Within 20-30 minutes you can be in Manhattan.

 

Thank you for your service, my father was in the 101st from 1958-65.....Go Screaming Eagles!

 

Good advice flying into Newark instead of LaGuardia or JFK.  Easy to order Uber or Lyft from Newark Airport to NYC?

Thank you Sir/Ma’am.   Proudly fought in Iraq and Afghanistan.

And,   thank your father for his service.

Once an Eagle, always an Eagle.  

Edited by Kingofcool1947
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8 hours ago, PelicanBill said:

A car from Newark is simply easier and can be faster than the train.  A train requires 3 legs and a lot of handling of your luggage:  First you take the Airtrain from your terminal to the Airport train station.  Then a train from there to Penn Station New York.  Up a flight of stairs into the station and then up to street level. Finally a taxi from there to your hotel or the port.  Most have a fair amount of luggage for a cruise so a car is just easier!

 

Enjoying the start of this report, can't wait to read more!

 

It actually isn’t that hard.There’s a train station right in Newark which can take you directly to Penn Station NYC. No train change involved. And for a drive that could take 2 hrs if you hit it wrong with traffic-it’s a great 20 minute option.

Edited by conandrob240
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19 hours ago, basicprincess24 said:

 

The Newark airport is considered a NYC-area airport. It's actually a little closer to the port than JFK! We used Lyft to get through the Lincoln tunnel into Manhattan and to our hotel. We priced out flights from SFO to JFK, LGA, and EWR and EWR was the least expensive for our dates.

 

How long was this Lyft drive?

 

MIGHT do the Escape Bermuda run at the end of this month and I will be schlepping lots of luggage alone. No trains for me. 

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1 hour ago, perditax said:

 

How long was this Lyft drive?

 

MIGHT do the Escape Bermuda run at the end of this month and I will be schlepping lots of luggage alone. No trains for me. 

It took about 90 min due to traffic, on a Saturday around 5pm. I'm not sure what is typical since this was our first time doing this drive, I was expecting 45min - 1hr based on Google maps estimates of the same time of day. The luggage schlepping is definitely something to consider!

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We took the took the train option from NYC to Newark.  Not that difficult.  Took Uber from hotel to Penn Station and the train to Newark airport station. You then take a short Tram from station to airport.  We found it cost less than crossing the tunnel on Uber.

 

 

 

 

 

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