Just off a Wonderful Cruise on Escape

[BenDover]

8 hours ago, disneylover89 said:

When do tender reservations open up?

They just sort of started making announcements about making tender reservations midway through the cruise. I remember trying to do it the first day, but no go.

[dbrown84]

10 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Whaaaaaaaa????? Best crab cakes I've ever had are in the Haven! They beat out Baltimore crab cakes even. Haha...sorry your wife doesn't like them. I love that they have virtually no filler. I've never had Cagney's crab cake, because why buy something when you get yumminess for free upstairs? I do hope she is able to get all the crab cake wonderfulness on your next cruise!

 

Of course I had to find my photos of Crab Cake Eggs Benedict from my Dec/Jan post. I can't wait the 53 days until I have this again! Thank you for letting me think of the fond memories. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

 

better than MD/Baltimore crab cakes??????  This I have to see for myself :)

[marktwothousand]

No more virtual muster drills? When did that change?

[zqvol]

2 minutes ago, marktwothousand said:

No more virtual muster drills? When did that change?

This week

[DCGuy64]

On 1/24/2023 at 9:22 AM, cruiseny4life said:

Whaaaaaaaa????? Best crab cakes I've ever had are in the Haven! They beat out Baltimore crab cakes even. Haha...sorry your wife doesn't like them. I love that they have virtually no filler. I've never had Cagney's crab cake, because why buy something when you get yumminess for free upstairs? I do hope she is able to get all the crab cake wonderfulness on your next cruise!

 

Of course I had to find my photos of Crab Cake Eggs Benedict from my Dec/Jan post. I can't wait the 53 days until I have this again! Thank you for letting me think of the fond memories. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

 

Barf! 🤮 Who'd put cat food on their eggs like that? Gross 🤢

 

LOL I know, it's personal preference, just kidding. But I'm not a fan of crab cakes, that's just me.

[neurosurg]

Excellent review.

I was on the escape last week too, and agree, except for the first day "freezing" in Florida, the weather was great.

 

Being from Maryland, I agree the crab cakes were horrendous.  Basically inedible if you're used to crab cakes from Maryland.  My steak from Cagney's was fine, but there were a couple of people at my table that had to ask for another steak as they were way too overcooked (e.g. asking for medium, and having the steak come well done).  I just figured it was because the chefs were cooking steaks for more than 200+ people at a time in their dining room, by far the most crowded specialty dining venue.  I did order extra sides and appetizer, and was charged the ala carte price, despite having the specialty dining package.  However at Food Republic, I got a wink and a nod and an extra dish was not charged.

 

They did announce signups for the tenders two or three days before Stirrup Cay but if you wait more than a few hours, you will get a 12pm+ time.  So if you do intend to get there in the morning, make sure you sign up right away.

 

As for the muster drill - they do require everyone to gather together but essentially they just scan your card.  After mentioning to the crew that there was no easy place to sit, they shrugged their shoulders so we just decided to wander over to the atrium to listen to the announcements.

 

 

[Wedgie Wedgie]

There are folks onboard the Escape now that reported the old muster drill is back. Bars were shut down at 3:00. 3:30 mandatory muster drill that lasted 15 minutes. I saw it on the thread for next week from someone going back to back.

[gzmtlock]

On 1/24/2023 at 11:13 AM, disneylover89 said:

When do tender reservations open up?

 

I happened to be near Guest Services the afternoon, two days before GSC day.  They were open then.  We got group 4.  Tender process actually went quicker than we expected.  They started calling group 1 at about 7:30 am.  We weren't ready to go when they called #4 at about 8:00-8:15.  We ended up going with group 7, got onto the island by 9:30 or 10, if I remember correctly.  The seas were very calm that day, so tendering went smoothly.

[gzmtlock]

43 minutes ago, Wedgie Wedgie said:

There are folks onboard the Escape now that reported the old muster drill is back. Bars were shut down at 3:00. 3:30 mandatory muster drill that lasted 15 minutes. I saw it on the thread for next week from someone going back to back.

I can further confirm this.  Spent nearly 30 min standing in a hallway.  Best part of the cruise - NOT!

[gzmtlock]

On 1/24/2023 at 8:46 AM, jcollin said:

  Did you eat at food republic as well?

 

We liked Food Republic so much, ate their twice.  Split 4 dishes between the two of us, and that was plenty.  Our favorites were the Tiger Roll, Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Black Cod Skewers, and Vietnamese Pho.  Only thing I would not recommend is the Pork Belly Bao.  Oh, and the pepper served with the Pho.  I thought it was a shishito pepper, silly me.  Took a bite.  My tongue burned, and burned, and burned some more.  After I asked for some milk to put out the fire, they told me it was a Thai chili.  Good news is, the milk worked.  Couple of sips, lingering on my tongue, and I was back in business.  Really quite stupid of me!  Live and learn.  🙂

[INKY19]

Can someone please post the dailies

[New2cruise2022]

On 1/24/2023 at 7:22 AM, cruiseny4life said:

Whaaaaaaaa????? Best crab cakes I've ever had are in the Haven! They beat out Baltimore crab cakes even. Haha...sorry your wife doesn't like them. I love that they have virtually no filler. I've never had Cagney's crab cake, because why buy something when you get yumminess for free upstairs? I do hope she is able to get all the crab cake wonderfulness on your next cruise!

 

Of course I had to find my photos of Crab Cake Eggs Benedict from my Dec/Jan post. I can't wait the 53 days until I have this again! Thank you for letting me think of the fond memories. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

 

Great pictures. 🤤 

[zencruisers]

Thank you for the review. We have our family cruise on the Escape on March 17th.

[Green4me]

Can anyone let me know what days they did White out and Glow nights?

 

Thanks

[CedarLane]

Can you tell me which wine tastings would be good for a beginner?   My daughter is interested in learning more about wine.  We will be on the Breakaway in March and I believe they have the wine and chocolate pairing class and a “black glass” class.  Thanks!

[jcollin]

On 1/31/2023 at 11:38 AM, zencruisers said:

Thank you for the review. We have our family cruise on the Escape on March 17th.

 See you on there in March

[zzdoug]

On 1/25/2023 at 10:49 AM, neurosurg said:

 

My steak from Cagney's was fine, but there were a couple of people at my table that had to ask for another steak as they were way too overcooked (e.g. asking for medium, and having the steak come well done).  I just figured it was because the chefs were cooking steaks for more than 200+ people at a time in their dining room, by far the most crowded specialty dining venue. 

I keep telling people to order steak by temperature, not some subjective and variable label where people can disagree. A neurosurgeon wouldn't describe a lesion as "small", he or she would say it is 3 millimeters across or whatever.  Cooked to center temperature of 125F / 52C is medium rare by the time it gets to the table. Cooked to center temperature 135F / 57C should be medium by the it arrives. Learn what temperature you like your steak cooked to. And make this a thing, people. Then you will be happy with your steak and you won't have to send it back, and maybe, just maybe, someday our upcharges wouldn't have to cover the costs of so many steaks that ended up in the trash. 

Edited February 4, 2023 by zzdoug