The Great Escape - From Way Before the Beginning Until The End

[zzdoug]

39 minutes ago, zzdoug said:

DANG. Breakfast of champions? Might have to check out the Macorix. 

To clarify, I might have to check it out. 

[CruzinMel]

25 minutes ago, zzdoug said:

To clarify, I might have to check it out. 

I'm a lightweight, but they were prepared to be generous!

[CruzinMel]

On booze - DH is bummed, utterly bummed.  On the ENTIRE ship (and believe me, we have looked!) we have found TWO bars that had Crown Royal.  Neither was in the Haven.  DH only drinks Crown, so he's been making do with Mudslides, but the irritation is real.  

Edited January 2, 2023 by CruzinMel

[goldmom]

I know it doesn't help with the frustration factor, but can he buy some in port to bring back on the ship?  I seem to recall that they now allow you bring wine or possibly liquor onboard if you have the drink package.

I know, they really should have it in stock though.  Especially in the Haven.

Enjoy!

[zqvol]

3 hours ago, goldmom said:

I know it doesn't help with the frustration factor, but can he buy some in port to bring back on the ship?  I seem to recall that they now allow you bring wine or possibly liquor onboard if you have the drink package.

I know, they really should have it in stock though.  Especially in the Haven.

Enjoy!

Short answer is no, he can’t buy ashore to bring on the ship to consume, it will be held by security until the last night. 

[CruzinMel]

On 1/2/2023 at 1:03 PM, goldmom said:

I know it doesn't help with the frustration factor, but can he buy some in port to bring back on the ship?  I seem to recall that they now allow you bring wine or possibly liquor onboard if you have the drink package.

I know, they really should have it in stock though.  Especially in the Haven.

Enjoy!

 We tried - we haven't seen it in port either, which is VERY unusual.  At the bar at Magens Bay yesterday, they had Crown but the bartender told us its the first bottle they've had in 9 MONTHS.  There's none at the port in Tortola this morning, in bars or stores. 

 

We offered to buy Crown and leave it at the Haven bar, but they told us we couldn't even do that.  He's making do with Mudslides and strawberry daiquiri.

 

Fortunately for us all, Drumboy is making the most of our Premium Plus package, so we have not lost any money. 

Edited January 4, 2023 by CruzinMel

[CruzinMel]

Good morning from Tortola!!  It is a bright, beautiful day!  We didn't do any excursions today, mostly because it's such an early and short port day, and I didn't think anybody in my group would want to get up early.  They didn't, but my behind has been up and out since 630.  Go figure.  Right now we are sitting in the shade at at an outside bar with great people watching, a cool breeze, and good music.  DH has just sucked down his daiquiri and pronounced it good.

 

I had a lovely first breakfast looking out at Tortola, and I wandered around a mostly silent ship.  For those who have asked about putt putt, it is still here, next to the Bocce pit.  

 

Tonight is Rumours at Syd Norman's.  For those who have been salty about Haven guests getting in first, your saltiness worked - they had to stop doing that.  We didn't have problems getting in for Rock the Pour House, so I'm hoping we continue that trend.  The Pour House band is amazeballs.  

 

Choir of Man was tremendous - standing ovation at the end, and very well deserved.  Blue Traveler is fun, and that's about all DH and I have seen as far as nightlife - we've been in bed early every day, because he's just that tired, and I fall asleep.every time I stop moving.  

 

We are going to mosey back to the ship - I scored thermal.spa day passes, and there is a secluded, quiet lounger in my future.  

[CruzinMel]

We're alive, we're home, Mom survived the week, and I have done all the laundry. . . sigh.  I miss Siva and Charry and Freddie and David and Renson.

I'm working on a review, but I am really, really bummed that I couldn't successfully do a Live.  I have NO patience for crap internet, and the ship's internet is CRAP.  While driving down to Florida, I added streaming internet for $179 because we thought we'd need it to watch the Georgia game (we didn't - that was bad advice from 2 separate people at the Concierge desk).  I don't know exactly WHAT I had, and then it turned out that when I signed up for our current cell phone plan I must have had cruising on the brain, because I have a "Day Pass" thingie that for $10 a day gives me cell phone service and 3G or 2G internet across the Caribbean and parts of Canada and Mexico.  So TBH, I have no idea which internet was working when - DH's phone would go off at random times because we have a Ring system watching over our doors and cameras all over the house to check on my Mom, and at one point he was texting like mad with work people and I don't know how it all happened.  I called my Mom on Facebook from the water in Magen's Bay.  But when I tried to upload a post?  Nada.  Airplane mode and Escape internet, regular mode, no idea - and that's using Androids.  The kids have iPhones and they had service at random times, too - Indy in particular was thrilled because she was able to preserve a 355-day Snapchat streak with one of her friends, so big win, but then friends they made on the ship would text them to meet up at places and the texts would show up the next day.

So, Cruise great. . . internet not. . . review and pics coming, and if I can get my ducks in a row, I brought back all my Dailies and need to scan them.  But oh, we had such a very good time!  Here is sunrise in Tortola and my last breakfast on the ship for a teaser.

 

 

[zzdoug]

It's OK! 

 

You probably get more traffic with live reports but I personally prefer reading post-produced reports. Just one opinion. I also write trip reports exclusively after the fact, even if on land, mainly because I am very slow and  cumbersome with the thumbs so typing demands all of my concentration and prevents me from being in the moment and fully enjoying my vacation.  I know others are much more adept at it than I am. 

 

I for one look forward to reading whatever you are able to post, whenever it may appear.

Edited January 9, 2023 by zzdoug

[vacation44]

Looking forward to reading your post report and glad you had a great time.

[cruiseny4life]

It was fun to follow along with you, but honestly, I was having such a grand time on my ship I couldn't read half of what was being said on Cruise Critic. I'll be looking forward to hearing all about your great escape!

[CruzinMel]

I finally sorted through my pictures, and all the laundry is done (it is so very sad to see my bathing suit, now clean and dry and divested of sand and ocean smells.)  It's time to review!

First up:  Pre-Cruise Hotel and Getting to the Terminal

We drove to Cape Canaveral the day before the cruise.  The Georgia State Patrol was treating I-75 south like the solution to all its budget woes, but once we hit Florida, the traffic down the Turnpike was RIDICULOUS.  DH drove like he was auditioning for NASCAR, and we passed the Perdue Boilermaker Special going to Orlando for their bowl game.

I spent a chunk of the ride on the phone with NCL, rearranging things since Mom did not come with us.  We treated her as a no-show and I have yet to call back and see about getting refunded for whatever a no-show gets refunded for (I expect not much).  My main concern was deciding when to purchase the Premium Plus upgrade.  On Thursday evening, Concierge Desk Maria told me she could do it for just the four in my party that would attend, but the phone connection was terrible and I hung up before we finished because I couldn't hear everything.  In the car on Friday, Concierge Desk Walter recommended I purchase onboard after the no-show processed, because he would have to do all 5 in our registered party and I'd have to submit a claim for a refund for Mom's.  Um, no, thanks Walter.  

 

Both Maria and Walter told me the ship would not have ESPN, and UGA was scheduled to play OSU embarkation night, and we had to watch!  I purchased streaming internet for DH's account for $179, so we could at least get it on the phone.  

 

We hit Merritt Island eventually; I had considered a hotel on the beach, but two rooms for (at the time 5) adults was more expensive than the 3-bedroom condo that I found at Cape Crossing Resort and Marina.  The condo was BEAUTIFUL, spacious and comfortable, and exactly what we needed.  We had a view of the lagoon full of yachts, and a restaurant within walking distance, and a huge TV to watch Tennessee vs Clemson - what more could we ask for?  Check in was a breeze and I would definitely stay there again.

The morning dawned foggy, and I do mean FOGGY.

We ate breakfast at the Causeway Diner, which was a short way past the turnoff to go to the port, but entirely worth it - good, solid, breakfast with lots of options and a pleasantly sassy wait staff - would definitely eat there again!  I totally winged it when we drove to the port, but they make it easy, even in the fog - once you get on the interstate to go to the port, there is adequate signage if you pay attention to the road, even if it looks like this out the window:

 Two sets of exits for the terminals:

And then literally follow the name of your ship:

 

Once you find the port itself, all you have to do is keep following the signs.

 

Signage at the terminal is pretty clear - EXCEPT - if you see a nice person who tells you that you can drive to the drop off and drop off your baggage, DON'T.  Go like you're going to park, but don't enter the garage - go all the way to the end of the covered area, and bam - porters!  Porters who have done this a bazillion times before, and who would really rather prefer to attach your printed-out luggage tags themselves, because they have staplers that are far better than your sticky adhesive stuff (if Norwegian sent you Haven luggage tags with adhesive.)  And please show your porter some love, because they work HARD.

And that, friends, is how we got to the terminal.  Next up - how did we find the Haven registration area?  (Hint:  tiny, tiny, tiny signs.  Tiny.  Vigilance, guesswork, and a little bit of blind luck.)

  

[CruzinMel]

Next:  How Do I Get In There, Haven Edition:

 

We parked the truck in the garage, with DH doing his usual backing in and collapsing the mirrors routine.  The kids and I were excited and took about 47 selfies in the parking garage, which made no sense but whatever.  We walked down the garage ramp, past the luggage and porters, to the terminal building itself, and I heaved a huge sigh because all I saw was THIS:  open doors, industrial building, blue tents . . . where the heck was the Haven check in?  I managed to find where we'd have picked up Mom's wheelchair - the Scootaround folks are clustered under one of the blue tents, toward the middle of the terminal building, but it's likely that the only reason I noticed was because I was looking so hard for Haven.

(With apology to random strangers.  If you see yourself, hi there!)

Somehow, some way, as I scanned the building and the family became more and more restless, I saw this tiny flash of gold - ALLLLL the way to the right side of the building.

Do you see it?  How about now?

I mean, for what they charge for the Haven, you'd think they could get a bigger sign; they never got bigger than this.

 

The nice lady sitting at the table took a look at our printed-out eDocs, checked our names off a list, and directed us up the escalator.  I can TOTALLY see how someone who missed that tiny gold sign would end up checking in with everybody and their grandkids.  But we lucked out - once up the escalator, you are boom - at the security area.  Our eDocs were checked again, as were our passports; bags through the machines, bodies through the scanners, and poof - done.  No lines to speak of, although our check in time was 9:30 am and that might have had something to do with it.

 

(This is taken from the ship later - doesn't Port Canaveral look lovely? - but what I want you to see is the luggage area, and the end of the terminal building - that's where to drop off your luggage, then cross the street and look for tiny gold signs under blue tents.)

 

Once through security, the next bit of confusion:  which line?  When you exit security, there is a hallway with about 6 different rope lines to join - and NONE of them say Haven.  Priority Boarding, Latitudes levels, you name it - no Haven.  A representative directed us to walk all the way down to the other end of the terminal for Haven check-in.  If she hadn't been there, we'd have missed it utterly and picked a line at random, and would have ended up here:

 

No crowds, but NOT Haven check-in (Also, this is not the prettiest terminal I've been in.)

 

We walked all the way down the terminal, again looking for a flash of gold.  Halfway to the end, we encountered this lovely lady - and a flash!  Do you see it?

 And finally, FINALLY, completely at the opposite end of the terminal from where Haven guests enter, we found Haven check-in. 

 

Let's all say thanks to DH for being our tour guide!

 

Now, I'm not complaining too hard, because I'm young and healthy and not subject to confusion too often - but this one doesn't make much sense.  Why not keep Haven security and Haven check-in together?

 

Once at the check-in area, we explained that Mom was a no-show, and I signed a health questionnaire for everybody.  2 of us had our pics retaken, and 2 of us didn't - strange, but whatever.  I wasn't arguing.  After about 10 minutes, which entailed the questionnaire, the pics, signing a doc, presenting my credit card and getting our gold Haven key cards in little Haven wallets, we were set loose upon the pastries and beverages before being ushered over into an adjacent area to sit with the other Haven guests until the ship was ready.  Guests were still disembarking at 10:30 am, so we sipped our coffee and checked our social media and chatted with our fellow guests and took an embarkation photo until suddenly, it was time!  We walked behind our usher, past the hundreds of fellow guests who just got to the port, up the ramps. . . and time for vacation!

Or not quite.  I'm accustomed to going straight to the Haven area, but instead we went straight to our muster location, where our cards were scanned (poof!) and we turned RIGHT around and went to the elevators to deck 17 and the Haven lobby.

 

Once inside the Haven, we waited a bit before our marvelous, magical, miracle-creating Concierge David Trumbull and his staff gave us introductions and instructions, along with slips of paper to reserve our show times.  I hopped in line and met my Vacation Hero, the equally marvelous, magical, and miraculous Charry, who fixed my botched dining reservations, sold me the Premium Beverage Package for 4, printed us new cards, canceled my botched reserved shore excursion in Puerta Plata, confirmed Mom as a no-show and put in a notice to take back all the special needs accoutrements (no more raised toilet seat or shower stool for us!).  She also encouraged me to speak to someone named Siva as soon as I could about my dining.  Charry is a marvelously efficient person, as well as being lovely inside and out.

 

And then, up to the room to drop off the carryons and meet our Steward Freddie (lovely Freddie!).  

 

Back in the lobby, I noticed DH staring fixedly at the Haven Bar, as if he needed xray glasses.  Drumboy, having discovered the Premium beverage package was active, had a glass of Glenfiddich in hand.  Indy had 3 different glasses of . . . something alcoholic, none of which she liked but all of which she insisted on drinking, so I took her mojito.  DH still was staring at the bar and mumbling imprecations; they had NO CROWN ROYAL at the Haven Bar!  GASP!  No worries, I assured my beloved; this is NCL.  Maybe they just hadn't had to a chance to finish stocking the bar.  He grunted and frowned, and off to the American Diner we went for lunch.

 

Here's a picture of the only gluten free option at the American Diner for lunch, which fortunately was delicious.  We never managed to get a milkshake, all week long.  No idea why.

  

The crew was always working, but they were always friendly, even when they were cleaning windows on the outside of the ship.

We wandered the ship, searching unsuccessfully for Crown Royal until we got to Spice H20, where Russell the Amazing Bartender had one nearly-empty bottle.  Long before this, Drumboy ditched us, because we weren't roaming fast enough for him; this became a theme of the cruise, and every time we saw him, he had a sipping whiskey in hand.  I almost renamed him Whiskey.  At 3:30, warning notices from CD Jack told us that we'd be hearing the security briefing, and at 4, the 7 short blasts sounded, followed by the security briefing.  By that time, DH, Indy and I were in the mostly-empty buffet eating French fries and admiring decorations, until the ship started moving and we went on deck, as one does, to look for land's end and the beginning of the open sea.

 

 

Goodbye, Cape Canaveral!

[CruzinMel]

On 1/9/2023 at 7:40 AM, cruiseny4life said:

It was fun to follow along with you, but honestly, I was having such a grand time on my ship I couldn't read half of what was being said on Cruise Critic. I'll be looking forward to hearing all about your great escape!

I'm hoping you've got a review up as well?  Life and work have kept me crazy busy this week, so I'm way behind.  So glad you had a great cruise!

[Erekosse]

Thanks for posting! Following along is bringing back some good memories. We were on the Escape in early December.

[cruiseny4life]

9 hours ago, CruzinMel said:

I'm hoping you've got a review up as well?  Life and work have kept me crazy busy this week, so I'm way behind.  So glad you had a great cruise!

Lovely review! Especially trying to find the Haven signs. It's not quite as much a scavenger hunt in Manhattan, but nearly. I'm really looking forward to March when we can try out Miami's Haven lounge. I have high expectations. I shouldn't, but I do. Especially compared to the dungeon that is the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.

 

Review? I'm not sure. I didn't post one in September after my live and I haven't felt up to it yet for this cruise. Maybe though! I've seen the most recent reviews on Cruise Critic that are very unflattering toward Getaway. While I understand people's concerns, they seem to be a bit overblown.

 

Anyway, I'm totally here for all the cruise shenanigans you had!

[CruzinMel]

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Lovely review! Especially trying to find the Haven signs. It's not quite as much a scavenger hunt in Manhattan, but nearly. I'm really looking forward to March when we can try out Miami's Haven lounge. I have high expectations. I shouldn't, but I do. Especially compared to the dungeon that is the Manhattan Cruise Terminal.

 

Review? I'm not sure. I didn't post one in September after my live and I haven't felt up to it yet for this cruise. Maybe though! I've seen the most recent reviews on Cruise Critic that are very unflattering toward Getaway. While I understand people's concerns, they seem to be a bit overblown.

 

Anyway, I'm totally here for all the cruise shenanigans you had!

Am I reading that your stop in Bermuda got changed?  I thought I saw that one another thread.

Some of the Shenanigans, I am not allowed to publish.  But I'll share what I can!  lol

[wil e coyote]

12 hours ago, CruzinMel said:

I mean, for what they charge for the Haven, you'd think they could get a bigger sign; they never got bigger than this.

This made me LOL! We'll be on this cruise in two weeks, so the directions to find those little gold signs are super-helpful! Thanks!

[CruzinMel]

Next up:  Life On Board - Internet, American Football, NYE, and the Haven 2 Br Family Villa

 

I'm going to hop and skip a bit; as is usual, the sea days have all blurred together and I didn't see a need to publish my dailies (I saved them all just in case) once I saw that someone on that other site published hers the week after we disembarked.  Plus, mine have Malevo and Malevo is done on Escape for good.  

 

But there's only one place to start:  Internet.  If you recall, two different Haven pre-cruise concierges told me that the New Year's Eve bowl games wouldn't be on the ship (Walter even checked the channel listing and confirmed that ESPN is not a channel on the TV on Escape.)  So, I bought streaming internet for DH; I figured DH would watch the games on NYE, and then as usual he'd park his phone in the safe and we'd give the login to whichever kid was dying for internet.  

 

Two interesting addenda:

1. When I spoke with Concierge Walter on the way to the port, he told me that the ship had taken over my booking, so there was a limit to what he could do; apparently, that's why you get locked out from booking excursions, etc, a couple of days before embarkation.  Walter sold me the streaming internet but told me to confirm once I got on the ship.
2. I got the same message from the Shore Excursions desk when I called to cancel an excursion right before we left - they were locked out.  Charry had to cancel it for me onboard and if I hadn't had Charry, I'd have been in line at Guest Services to do it.  And that line. . . ugh.

 

At any rate, I figured I had the internet covered.  Nope.  We used our regular internet from Verizon before we left port; once we got out to sea, DH couldn't get the streaming to work.  I never figured out how to use it at all.  We ran up on a very grumpy group of Michigan fans at Sugarcane - they had streaming internet and couldn't get it to work, and were rather put out to be missing their game.  (Lots of Michiganders and Canadians on this cruise, btw.)  But guess what was on the big tv in Spice H20, larger than life?  You got it - ESPN. 

 

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you. . . Stetson Bennett on the open-ocean big screen.  

 

We sat at Spice H20 and watched Michigan/TSU and UGA/OSU until we got cold and tired of smelling cigarette smoke (we are non-smokers and even with ventilation from the sea, gusts of smoke get stinky and annoying after a while.)  We went to our stateroom at halftime and were rewarded with ESPN and our game.  So don't believe anybody, even Norwegian employees who *should* know - the ships make special arrangements for special games.  We later learned the game was also on at O'Sheehan's.

 

Back in the stateroom, comfy and warm, DH, Indy, and I prayed hard, despaired mightily, and screamed in the New Year not with a countdown like the rest of the ship, but with war cries of joy and amazement as that poor OSU kicker missed his field goal and Georgia squeaked its way to the Natty.

 

Here's DH, mid-despair:

 

We didn't see Drumboy for the countdown; later he told us he was back on Spice H20, where there was a huge party.  When we left, we'd walked past a couple hundred champagne glasses staged just outside the entrance to H20.  There were parties all around the ship - our Embarkation Daily included a flyer with a description of what was going on where.  Some passengers were dressed to the nines, and others were comfortable like we were.  That evening and the next day, the standard greeting from the crew was "Happy New Year!"

 

You will note in DH's pic above that the Haven rooms are different; there are too many good videos on the Tube for me to take time showing or describing the room.  It was beautiful and amazing, although slightly smaller than I remembered (or perhaps I'm bigger.)  For 4 adults, or perhaps 3 adults and 2 children, it works. Storage is ample, especially in the "nook and cranny" department, although the lack of drawers in the 2nd bedroom meant Indy kept all her non-hanging clothes in her suitcase.

 

DH and I took the master, with that comfy king bed; Indy took the 2nd bedroom and Drumboy slept on the couch in the living room.  Although the 2nd bedroom couch makes into a full bed, Freddie (our Steward) kept it as a single.  Indy reported that even with the mattress pad, it was not very comfortable, because she'd get stuck in the seam between the bottom and back.  For whatever reason, she refused to ask Freddie to make the whole thing up - I think she liked the walking space.  She did NOT like having to remember to step up to walk into the bathroom, and we think she broke a toe.  There is no way on this planet that DH and I would have managed to sleep together in that room or that bed, and there is no way Drumboy would have survived climbing into the loft unscathed.

 

Drumboy slept maybe 4 hours at a clip (he really was at Maximum Cruise).  We think he was comfortable, from the snoring, but then we'd blink and he'd be gone again.  He pronounced the couch good, but he's a couch surfer even in his own house. 

 

All of our pre-cruise concierge requests but one were fulfilled - the fridge was emptied and we had apple juice, OJ, and a pitcher of water.  We had snacks ready when we entered the room, and mattress pads for the 2 single beds.  The special needs items for Mom were being placed in the room when we went up to drop off our bags, wrapped in plastic - we were able to stop Freddie from unwrapping them.  The only thing we didn't have was a lounger instead of chairs on the balcony, but that was not a deal-breaker.

The only quibble I had was that our drinks were never replenished; if I had asked Renson, I know he would have made it happen and fast, but I didn't really think about it enough.  Our snacks were an unending flow of munchies, and Renson made a special point to make sure I had gluten free choices along with everybody else's (bless you, Renson!  I never felt left out or hungry.)  We drank every single carton of Flow water we came across, but I don't know if they were covered under Premium Plus or we paid for them (I will have to look at the bill.  I know there's a big brou haha going on about free cartons.)

Sad to say, Mom would have put us over the top and I don't think anybody would have been comfortable.  I have no idea where we would have put her wheelchair or rollator, and having the 4 other adults share one tiny toilet area would have been horrid.  I cannot recommend the Haven 2 Br Family Villa for 5 adults, unless they are VERY skinny, enjoy being VERY close to each other, and can see in the dark so they don't fall over anything.
 

[CruzinMel]

57 minutes ago, wil e coyote said:

This made me LOL! We'll be on this cruise in two weeks, so the directions to find those little gold signs are super-helpful! Thanks!

I was hoping so - I was worried the pics were excessive, but it was truly hard to find.  🙂

[CruzinMel]

Next up:  Entertainment on Board

 

10 PM parties at Spice H20:  Every time I cruise - EVERY single time! - I promise myself that I am going to stay up late and go to the parties at Spice H20, and I never make it.  This cruise was no exception.  I managed to stay up until 11 one night, but Drumboy was already roaming and I had gotten deaf because Indy sat me in front of a bank of speakers for an hour. . . but I'm ahead of myself.  Drumboy lived at Spice H20 every night, and lost his voice after the Glow Party (he blamed it on the smoke machines), but all I can report is if you are a 20-something with Premium Plus, you will love them.  He and Indy went one night, and she enjoyed it as well, but left him at 2 am (he came in at 5 that morning.) Drumboy did report that the party the last night, where the performers from the ship and shows entertained, was short and the least impressive party.  That surprised me, but maybe they were tired?

 

Choir of Man:  Amazing.  Go.  Go as many times as you can.  I should have.  Also, when they offer you a beer from the stage pre-show, go get it.  Drumboy reported it was a lager and quite tasty.  Two of the men seated at the table below are cruise guests, finishing up their beers.  This show has an audience-participation component, and is big fun.  Those standing ovations at the end were entirely deserved.  The cast encourages the audience to take pics and videos and post them online.

 

Malevo:  Who knows?  We had it reserved, and missed it (see:  Dining Debacle).  From what we heard from other cruisers, the first couple of sets were good, but then the beats were repetitive and it did not hold the audience's interest.  I didn't know that our cruise was their last on Escape, but they are gone.

 

Supper Club, Barricade Boys, Bamboozled - no idea.  Didn't make any of them, and actually didn't run into anybody saying we HAD to go.  Choir of Man was the only show with that kind of buzz.

 

Music in public spaces:  Blue Travelers played in the Atrium a lot, with some nice sounds but not the "wow" I expected.  DH is an aficionado of silky soul and R&B and they were not to his taste, but other cruisers enjoyed their sets.  I tried to go to the District, because whoever was playing sounded like fun, but we were always headed someplace else and never went.  We listened for a very short while to a piano-and-bass combo in the Atrium, but not long enough - they sounded good to me.

Syd Norman's Pour House and the Pour House Band:  My absolute favorite.  Go, go, go.  We stumbled into Syd's on the first sea night, and it must have been before the word really got out because we just walked in and sat down, long enough to get some cocktails.  The first show was "Rock the Pour House", and apparently I was raised on progressive rock because I knew all the words and had a blast.  The singers are amazing - one of the female leads sang a Heart song better than Heart - and the lead guitarist inspired a cult following which Indy quickly joined.  Harmonies on point, musicians so talented you could cry . . . yes.  Totally lived up to the hype. 

 

I wanted to go back for other shows, but again - we were just busy, busy, busy in the evenings.  I made a point to go to "Rumors", because it is Indy's absolute favorite album, and by then, the word was out - we waited in line for half an hour to get in, and then waited another half hour before the show even started.  Rumours was (mercifully for me*) shorter - it's literally that whole album from start to finish, with explanations of the songs in between.  Drumboy went to the Prom and said it was fun.  (He's not a rock guy.)  The best pianist from Choir of Man played the keyboard for Rumours, which I thought was a nice touch.

 

*Indy sat us up front so she could watch the guitarist.  I got the speaker side and spent the whole show covering up one ear.  But it was still fun.

[wil e coyote]

2 hours ago, CruzinMel said:

Next up:  Entertainment on Board

 

10 PM parties at Spice H20:  Every time I cruise - EVERY single time! - I promise myself that I am going to stay up late and go to the parties at Spice H20, and I never make it.  This cruise was no exception.  I managed to stay up until 11 one night, but Drumboy was already roaming and I had gotten deaf because Indy sat me in front of a bank of speakers for an hour. . . but I'm ahead of myself.  Drumboy lived at Spice H20 every night, and lost his voice after the Glow Party (he blamed it on the smoke machines), but all I can report is if you are a 20-something with Premium Plus, you will love them.  He and Indy went one night, and she enjoyed it as well, but left him at 2 am (he came in at 5 that morning.) Drumboy did report that the party the last night, where the performers from the ship and shows entertained, was short and the least impressive party.  That surprised me, but maybe they were tired?

 

Choir of Man:  Amazing.  Go.  Go as many times as you can.  I should have.  Also, when they offer you a beer from the stage pre-show, go get it.  Drumboy reported it was a lager and quite tasty.  Two of the men seated at the table below are cruise guests, finishing up their beers.  This show has an audience-participation component, and is big fun.  Those standing ovations at the end were entirely deserved.  The cast encourages the audience to take pics and videos and post them online.

 

Malevo:  Who knows?  We had it reserved, and missed it (see:  Dining Debacle).  From what we heard from other cruisers, the first couple of sets were good, but then the beats were repetitive and it did not hold the audience's interest.  I didn't know that our cruise was their last on Escape, but they are gone.

 

Supper Club, Barricade Boys, Bamboozled - no idea.  Didn't make any of them, and actually didn't run into anybody saying we HAD to go.  Choir of Man was the only show with that kind of buzz.

 

Music in public spaces:  Blue Travelers played in the Atrium a lot, with some nice sounds but not the "wow" I expected.  DH is an aficionado of silky soul and R&B and they were not to his taste, but other cruisers enjoyed their sets.  I tried to go to the District, because whoever was playing sounded like fun, but we were always headed someplace else and never went.  We listened for a very short while to a piano-and-bass combo in the Atrium, but not long enough - they sounded good to me.

Syd Norman's Pour House and the Pour House Band:  My absolute favorite.  Go, go, go.  We stumbled into Syd's on the first sea night, and it must have been before the word really got out because we just walked in and sat down, long enough to get some cocktails.  The first show was "Rock the Pour House", and apparently I was raised on progressive rock because I knew all the words and had a blast.  The singers are amazing - one of the female leads sang a Heart song better than Heart - and the lead guitarist inspired a cult following which Indy quickly joined.  Harmonies on point, musicians so talented you could cry . . . yes.  Totally lived up to the hype. 

 

I wanted to go back for other shows, but again - we were just busy, busy, busy in the evenings.  I made a point to go to "Rumors", because it is Indy's absolute favorite album, and by then, the word was out - we waited in line for half an hour to get in, and then waited another half hour before the show even started.  Rumours was (mercifully for me*) shorter - it's literally that whole album from start to finish, with explanations of the songs in between.  Drumboy went to the Prom and said it was fun.  (He's not a rock guy.)  The best pianist from Choir of Man played the keyboard for Rumours, which I thought was a nice touch.

 

*Indy sat us up front so she could watch the guitarist.  I got the speaker side and spent the whole show covering up one ear.  But it was still fun.

Thanks for the write-up! I'm a little disappointed that Malevo is gone as we were looking forward to that. But really glad to hear that Syd's is still going! There had been some rumblings on CC that it might be gone or changing. And we definitely plan to see Choir of Man.

As far as late night at Spice H20 - I don't know how to stay up that late anymore!!! 🤣

[cruiseny4life]

8 hours ago, CruzinMel said:

Am I reading that your stop in Bermuda got changed?  I thought I saw that one another thread.

Some of the Shenanigans, I am not allowed to publish.  But I'll share what I can!  lol

There was no Bermuda for us:( NCL was so kind to add an overnight in Port Canaveral to repair the ship. Of course their "excuse" was rough water in Bermuda...you know, four or five days after this extra night and day in PC. It was thrilling!

 

 

 

Then we went to Nassau instead and had two sea days on the back end of the cruise. Unlike many others (like dozens), I'm not clamoring for a lawsuit against NCL or extra compensation. Changes happen, sea days are great! We would have liked to see Bermuda though. We're 1 for 3 on Bermuda cruises in the last year.

 

Haha, yes please do share what you can lol

[cruiseny4life]

7 hours ago, CruzinMel said:

We ran up on a very grumpy group of Michigan fans at Sugarcane - they had streaming internet and couldn't get it to work, and were rather put out to be missing their game.  (Lots of Michiganders and Canadians on this cruise, btw.)  But guess what was on the big tv in Spice H20, larger than life?  You got it - ESPN. 

We had a boatload of Canadians on our sailing too! They were definitely enjoying some warmer weather over the New Year!

 

7 hours ago, CruzinMel said:

So don't believe anybody, even Norwegian employees who *should* know - the ships make special arrangements for special games.  We later learned the game was also on at O'Sheehan's.

Yea...unfortunately I don't believe Norwegian employees. The lack of integrity bleeds from the top and the shore side employees just aren't trained properly. It's really quite sad.

 

7 hours ago, CruzinMel said:

The only quibble I had was that our drinks were never replenished; if I had asked Renson, I know he would have made it happen and fast, but I didn't really think about it enough.

 

We had our pitcher of water and iced tea. Our butler was really confused why there were two pitchers in our fridge. I had left the pitcher out for him to refill and our room steward decided it must need water, so we had two water pitchers. My lovely husband reminded him of our iced tea request which was promptly refilled and kept filled the duration of the cruise. I love my tea!

[SeekingKillerWhales!]

I am really enjoying this! Did I miss the "Dining Debacle" or is there more coming.

 

Side note: I'm really worry your mom didn't make it. I know the crowding would have been terrible, but what a shame to lose that trip together. I hope she had a good time running the house at home!