Escape New England-Canada Sept 10-17, 2023 updating Semi Live rev 3.0

[Steelers0854]

Day 1 Embarkation Day (Depart 17:30) cont.

 

DW was already giving me grief as my bag arrived about 90 minutes before hers did. When her bag arrived about 4:30 it was drenched. We have Eddie Bauer bags that are a hard shell bottom and soft shell top. Her clothes were drenched!  Of course, this was clearly my fault, if ya know ya know (I kid she mostly took it like a champ 😉).  Hopefully a little air dry in the cabin will work it’s magic!

 

At 17:45 people were still boarding the ship. Must have been 20+ people so maybe an airport transfer got hung up. We ended up pushing off at 18:10ish. We had a beautiful sail away past lady liberty and we headed for dinner at 18:45.

 

 

We walked down to the Manhattan Dining Room and walked right in. They even gave us the table by the aft window and we had a hell of a view.

 

 

I’m going to start by saying this was one of the best meals we have had at sea. Special shout out to Crispin P, one of the best servers we have had as well. They did an amazing job with DW’s allergies and took such good care of her. A+!

 

DW preordered the salad, French onion soup, beef medallions and the chefs choice dessert. While a bit salty she said the soup was very good. Her favorite was the salad, chalk full of goodies like nuts and bacon. She loved that her steak came with a sauce she could eat and she said the olive oil she got for her potato was very good quality olive oil. For dessert she got the lemon sorbet which she loves sorbet so she was delighted. She said this sorbet was one of the best she has had, almost creamy in its consistency. A home run for dinner!

 

 

 

 

 

I got the gumbo, shrimp cake and the spare ribs. The gumbo was good but I couldn’t find the sausage in mine. Had plenty of fish though so that was good. That shrimp cake was next level though. The creamy mustard sauce was amazing!  Balanced nicely with those cucumbers. The real star was the entree. When I tell you the meat was fall off the bone tender I mean it. You literally picked it up and it came right off the bone. BBQ sauce was on point. Onion rings were a little sad but I’ll let it slide cause the Mac salad and Cole slaw were incredible. The portion size was huge and even included corn which was still pipping hot. If NCL keeps this up we are in for a real treat.

 

 

 

 

After dinner we swung by Moderno to speak with them about the allergy situation since we are dining there tomorrow. All good on that front, tons of stuff for DW there.

 

We decided to call it an early night. We had some rebel-rousers next to us in the hotel last night coming home drunk at 5am and screaming in their room for an hour. Plus it’s an early tender port day with and early departure so we called it quits tonight.

 

Couple of interesting points. There is actually a deck 14 on this ship. I do t think I have ever been on a ship with a deck 13. Found that interesting. Also the apparently only service your rooms once a day on NCL. No big deal but thought Carnival was the only one cutting back there these days.

[www3traveler]

Currently watching the Cowboy-Giants game being played in the Meadowlands, NJ, they are reporting scattered rainfall.  Shortly before halftime Cowboys 16  Giants 0.

Have a great cruise

[shof515]

11 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

No big deal but thought Carnival was the only one cutting back there these days.

all cruise lines is cutting back to once a day room service.its also not a big deal for me. a few months ago i was on the oasis of the seas and they room only service the room once

[JIMESOPUS]

@Steelers0854 If you don't have the Vibe Beach pass, on the opposite ( deck #19 ) there is an open sundeck with two hot tubes. The jets haven't worked in a long while but it's a great spot to soak in that very warm water. You can also get a drink up there

[dexddd]

looks like you are coming into RI.  Will you be stopping by your summer home?

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

Will you be stopping by your summer home?

Good morning, Dexddd and all.  Yes, we are at Newport early, watch them setup for tender operations & announcements, started calling group 2 now. Going to be slow & take a while before they call open tender. We could've picked up priority tickets to go ashore but not in a hurry. "Our" mansion is still there, haven't visited in a while but maybe hop over nearby for some decent seafood, like this place.

 

Cherry/Chaddy just left for vacation from NY, her boss (Kiv) as well and won't get to say hello this time, Yusif from Turkey is GM onboard, going to a Meet The Officers this late afternoon just before dinner. 

 

Dense fog & cloudy, about 73 degrees and showers/t-storms on the forecast. Think we are just going out after a leisure breakfast & walk around the waterfront. 

Later 😎

Shorex should be stopping at places like this.

 

 

They serve up good seafood but probably not going there this time.

 

 

[mking8288]

Ship's WiFi & servers are good, supports 802.11.ac ... will probably do the unlimited basic upgrade later, same prices as pre-cruise but we can use non-refundable OBC. 

Just started calling tender group 3.

 

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

 

Our steward brought us coffee/1 cup maker last night while we're out for dinner. Chocolate strawberries delivered plus 2 Flow water (should be 4)

 

Cabin has 4 outlets, plenty with an extra tap and the 220 volts not yet used for the Chromebook & Fire HD10 tablet. 

 

 

 

Heading to the MDR to meet the gang for breakfast as they call tender group 4, 5 should be next. 

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by mking8288

[mendi]

We are on the Escape next week 9/17 to 9/24 same itinerary. A little early concern about the hurricane landing in Nova Scotia next Friday which is return day for current cruise back to NY. Hope you get your port stop in and have a smooth sail home so we can have a smooth sail away on time.

[mking8288]

Never forget - moment of silence

 

 

To friends that we lost then as we're there when the towers fell 

Edited September 11, 2023 by mking8288

[NYcruzzer]

12 hours ago, shof515 said:

all cruise lines is cutting back to once a day room service.its also not a big deal for me. a few months ago i was on the oasis of the seas and they room only service the room once

MSC still had twice a day service when I sailed on Meraviglia thus past May. Not that I would pick a cruiseline based on once or twice a day service. 

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

 

 

I'm loving this photo. It's quite incredible and is a fine representation for my mood today...as is my mood every 9/11 (I try not to be melancholy, but it's hard not to be). 

 

Last year, we entered NY Harbor in the wee morning hours of 9/12. I was hoping to see those two towers of light you posted, but alas, it was too late in the morning for them to be on when we finally came into sight distance of Lower Manhattan. 

[JIMESOPUS]

2 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Good morning, Dexddd and all.  Yes, we are at Newport early, watch them setup for tender operations & announcements, started calling group 2 now. Going to be slow & take a while before they call open tender. We could've picked up priority tickets to go ashore but not in a hurry. "Our" mansion is still there, haven't visited in a while but maybe hop over nearby for some decent seafood, like this place.

 

Cherry/Chaddy just left for vacation from NY, her boss (Kiv) as well and won't get to say hello this time, Yusif from Turkey is GM onboard, going to a Meet The Officers this late afternoon just before dinner. 

 

Dense fog & cloudy, about 73 degrees and showers/t-storms on the forecast. Think we are just going out after a leisure breakfast & walk around the waterfront. 

Later 😎

Shorex should be stopping at places like this.

 

 

They serve up good seafood but probably not going there this time.

 

 

We love Newport. When we were younger loved to walk the " Cliff Walk " and then get something to eat like at Flo" 's. See that section of the walk near your summer home is still out of service. Someone in our group pointed out your summer bungalow the last time we did the walk. Picture taken on the other side of your gate.

 

 

 

[mendi]

Newport is <2 hour drive for us to visit and have spent 500+ nights there over last 40+ years and we keep going back. Will probably stay on board that day when we arrive next week and enjoy the solitude and probably thermal suite. But if you have not been there it is a must see and has lots to offer. Try the Newport Vineyards, great New England Winery.

 

[mking8288]

Escape using Theater/Supper Club - Fwd and Manhattan MDR - Aft as staging to board tenders, 1 from front & 1 from rear.  Taking a sneak peek by walking thru I-95 below deck since SIL has special access.  Kudos to the crews. 

 

Heading ashore at 11 AM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Day 2 - Newport's waterfront, boats & nearby ... tendering itself on the boat, about 15 minutes thru the harbor - cloudy, breezy but quite humid day.

 

Noticed that flags are half staff on this special day of memorial. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by mking8288

[www3traveler]

Thinking of you, your family and all those that had to live through that terrible day and all the terrible days in the aftermath.

 

BIG BIG BIG BIG HUG

 

LOVE AND PRAYERS

[zounds]

A BIG thank you to Steelers and mking for the info and photos, as we'll be boarding next Sunday.

[Steelers0854]

Day 2 Newport, Rhode Island (06:00 - 16:00)

 

Pro Tip: Don’t book a cabin directly above the Pourhouse. I’ve had plenty of cabin locations across the years, below pool decks, above bars and lounges etc. this is by far the worst. They do live music at the pourhouse and the floor vibrates and it’s so loud it’s like you’re at a concert. Thankfully they stopped playing at 10:15 otherwise it would have been horrible. Would love to know what idiot thought putting cabins directly above this venue was a good idea. I should have done more research but our TA selected the cabin.

 

 

It’s a muggy morning in Newport but it looks like the rain may hold off until after we leave today. Last tender is at 3pm. We grabbed tender ticket 8 last night on our TV in a pretty unintuitive process but we managed to figure it out. They called group 1 at 07:15 but quickly said that anyone can come, apparently everyone is a late riser today lol. We headed down about 7:40 and got on a tender. They made us wait 20 minutes while a slow trickle of passengers filled it up. It was a quick 15 minute ride into the dock.

 

We headed to this really cute cafe called Drift. DW and I spilt a açaí bowl and grabbed coffees.

 

 

It started off a cool cloudy day with a little mist and slight breeze. The sun quickly started to burn off some of the cloudy and was quickly becoming muggy and warm with the breeze alluding us as the day progressed. Most things open at either 10 or 11. Some shops were open at 9. Plenty of cafes and coffee places open at 8 or earlier. We walked around the quaint little town for a few hours before heading back to the ship to grab lunch.

 

 

 

It always surprises me when people are unprepared when returning to the ship. Multiple people complaining about having to show a photo ID. SMH lol. Newport is a great little town, I can see the appeal as it’s very laid back with a lot of cute cafes, shops and local places to eat.

 

I’m pretty sure 80% of the ship was trying to get ashore around 11:30 when we came back. The lines to get off were huge and they were running multiple exit points. At 11:50 they were calling group 18 to meet at the theater for tendering.  At noon it was open tendering. 

 

The NCL app continues to be my nemesis. They don’t update the freestyle as it’s still showing Day 1, there is no real way in the app to figure out when any of the restaurants etc open.

 

I love that NCL runs their buffet like Princess. Basically one side was always open as the flipped between meal times. So many other lines (I’m looking at you Disney and Carnival) have weird operating hours and it can be difficult to time things especially with excursions.

 

It was another great lunch today. They even have a whole suckling pig!  That and the fried yucca were the standouts!

 

 

 

DW’s:

 

[schmoopie17]

15 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

Day 2 Newport, Rhode Island (06:00 - 16:00)

 

Pro Tip: Don’t book a cabin directly above the Pourhouse. I’ve had plenty of cabin locations across the years, below pool decks, above bars and lounges etc. this is by far the worst. They do live music at the pourhouse and the floor vibrates and it’s so loud it’s like you’re at a concert. Thankfully they stopped playing at 10:15 otherwise it would have been horrible. Would love to know what idiot thought putting cabins directly above this venue was a good idea. I should have done more research but our TA selected the cabin.

.

That's why the first thing we do is look at the deck plans to make sure we have cabins above and below. Your TA didn't do you any favors.

 

And it may just be me (it usually is...), but the green writing is a bit difficult on my near 70-year-old eyes. In any case, enjoying your writing (what I can see of it 😁).

[mking8288]

Lining up to get back onboard, 3 tenders waiting ... it's the slow process of boarding the lifeboat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by mking8288

[AmyJA]

34 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

 

 

That store is ready for Lee!

[mking8288]

Luxury one with its own helicopter and an old ship that've seen better days. Homecoming to the Escape and the tender platform set-up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

O'Sheehan's lunch - menu options really can't be simplified further or shorter. Reuben sandwich was very good today.

Comments card are out ... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Let's talk recovery & winching - no, it's not a train, not a plane, not a bird, not a off-road vehicle ... Rather, just the ship's lifeboats, it's belly or underside. Looks like we should be sailing on schedule at 4 PM ... all accounted for.  Didn't see anyone embarking with luggage here in Newport, apparently some were expected to be late yesterday & need to catch up boarding today.