Live on the Escape Nov 25-Dec 2

[CAKEisgood]

Hello. I’m fairly a newby to cruise critic, but not to cruising. I really enjoy the live posts from other cruise critics folks, so I’m going to give this a good ol’ fashion try. 

We (me and the husband) are embarking from Port Canaveral on Saturday, Nov 25th, on the NCL Escape. This is our 4th cruise on the Escape. We absolutely LOVE the Escape. The staff have been so attentive and they bend over backwards. It will be interesting to see if it is the same on this cruise (our last Escape cruise was in Feb 2023). 
We are staying in cabin 15160, club balcony suite with unlimited access to the thermal spa (an absolute must for us)

We are foodies and enjoy good wine (love the Mondavi wine bar). We have reservations in 4 of the specialty restaurants. I’m allergic to seafood, but my husband is not, and so seafood reviews will be based on his opinion. Also, we enjoy good whiskey (him)  bourbon (me) , rum (both) and gin (me). Tobacco Road is a fav spot to people watch and just to chillax. 
 

Today I started organizing all my “toiletries” (is that still a word used? I’m aging myself). Put my facial wash, creams ,etc in their small travel size containers. Got out the passport and began to put together my little carry on bag.  Got out my luggage,  printed the luggage tags attached them to the bags. We bought apple AirTags, and it will be fun to “find” our bags when we are on the ship. 

 

Weather is forecasting to be typical Florida November weather (mid to high 70s) on Saturday, low chance of rain. We are driving from Northern Palm Beach County, and the drive takes about 2 hours. It should be an easy drive

I will give updates daily on the cruise, as long as the internet is working, and we purchased the high priced premium Wi-Fi, so it darn better work good! 

Post questions. I’m not an expert on all things NCL, and  I’ll do my best to answer your  questions 

[DublinFC]

I will be following along on here for updates.  I hope you have a fantastic cruise.  If you are able to could you mention how many regular outlets, not USB, are by/near the bed area?  I think there is at least one, but I cannot remember.  

[haynesra]

Following along, looking forward to your review. We hop onboard the Escape on the 16th! Countdown on.

[Cruise_Anne]

Count me in to follow too!  We won't see the Escape until March, but I'm excited to learn about it!

[CAKEisgood]

1 hour ago, DublinFC said:

I will be following along on here for updates.  I hope you have a fantastic cruise.  If you are able to could you mention how many regular outlets, not USB, are by/near the bed area?  I think there is at least one, but I cannot remember.  

Will do! 

[wilmingtech]

Thank you so much for doing this!  We are on the same itinerary from the 9th-16th of December (DR, St.Thomas,Tortola, GSC)

 

I'd be super grateful if you shared the freestyles for this itinerary!  Any menus or other paraphernalia would be icing on the cake.

 

Looking forward to your review!   

Hope you guys have great cruise!

 

 

 

[wolft927]

Thanks we are on the Sam itinerary January 6th 2024. First time on the Escape, but Sailed many times on NCL. We have a 2 Bedroom Haven Suite and will also hopefully do a Live Review as well. 

[CAKEisgood]

10 hours ago, wilmingtech said:

I'd be super grateful if you shared the freestyles for this itinerary!  Any menus or other paraphernalia would be icing on the cake.

Absolutely!

[Gemina]

Looking forward to following along! We are on the Escape in February. It will be our first time on NCL.

[tqdrivenws6]

We embark the day you disembark with the alternate itinerary. 

 

I'll be curious of two things, one far more important than the other. 

 

1. Are the hashbrowns back?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Way down the list:

2. What internet speeds are you seeing?

 

We were last on Escape December of 2022 and the speed was less than exciting. The Breakaway in February of 2023 (with Starlink) was significantly faster and actually usable. 

 

 

Enjoy your trip!

[D_And_K_gocruising]

2 hours ago, tqdrivenws6 said:

We embark the day you disembark with the alternate itinerary. 

 

I'll be curious of two things, one far more important than the other. 

 

1. Are the hashbrowns back?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Way down the list:

2. What internet speeds are you seeing?

 

We were last on Escape December of 2022 and the speed was less than exciting. The Breakaway in February of 2023 (with Starlink) was significantly faster and actually usable. 

 

 

Enjoy your trip!

Same!   See you onboard on the 2nd!!  

[CAKEisgood]

I don't usually eat breakfast, but I will look for the hash browns 

 

We purchased the Unlimited Premium WiFi and in the past it has worked pretty good. I hope it stays the same or is better on this trip. I'll report back on how the internet is working ...or not 😬

[cat shepard]

Thank you for doing this. I will be on Escape in February - my first NCL cruise Same itinerary. 
 

I will be looking for any insights you want to share. Am very interested in your wine experiences. 
 

Ann

[Mysschevous]

I look forward to your review!

[Moonglo]

I just signed on to follow your review and am looking forward to following along with your cruise as well. Also....I love your online name......."Cakeisgood".....I love a good slice of cake....or most any other dessert for that matter......Have a wonderful trip!

[trish4bruce]

We are on the Escape Dec 30th.  This will be my 3rd time on this ship.  It is my favourite NCL ship. Would love to hear all about your Tobacco Road experience and who the bartenders are there and at the other bars.  Feel free to share who your favourite are.  We are huge bourbon fans and will upgrade our drink package to the + to get the higher end liquors!  We are also in Vibe so if you also have passes would love to hear about your experience.  Have a wonderful cruise.  

[firstimer2009]

I'm on the Escape Sept 2024 and am in a room that looks like it's above The Cellars although a little more towards Tradewinds.  Decided if there is a bunch of rowdy stuff going on we will just join them. 😁 I love wine and my husband loves Bourbon/Whisky so Tobacco Road and Cellars will be our favorites.  Looking forward to your review!

[Cruise_Anne]

Yes!  I'm excited to hear about the wine!  I'm a cab-sav girl at heart, but not exclusively!

[derek005]

We are on the boat as well and this will be our 7th time on it. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by derek005

[CAKEisgood]

19 hours ago, trish4bruce said:

We are on the Escape Dec 30th.  This will be my 3rd time on this ship.  It is my favourite NCL ship. Would love to hear all about your Tobacco Road experience and who the bartenders are there and at the other bars.  Feel free to share who your favourite are.  We are huge bourbon fans and will upgrade our drink package to the + to get the higher end liquors!  We are also in Vibe so if you also have passes would love to hear about your experience.  Have a wonderful cruise.  

Hello and so good to hear from a fellow bourbon fan. I will provide updates on the awesome bourbon drinks and the bartenders.  

 

We don't have Vibe passes, so sorry I won't be able to provide any info about that.

[CAKEisgood]

16 hours ago, Cruise_Anne said:

Yes!  I'm excited to hear about the wine!  I'm a cab-sav girl at heart, but not exclusively!

ME, TOO!  However, I have gravitated to more of the old world wines living in South Florida because the cost of California wines are way overpriced here, but Italian, French and Spanish wines are much more affordable.  I am hoping the wine list has been expanded since our last trip on the Escape in Feb.  Will update and share!

[Chesneygirl]

Looking forward to following along….have a wonderful cruise! 

Our turn is coming up in January! 

[Stealthdog]

Following!  We will be on the Escape for Dec 9th and 16th sailings.  Only request is don't break the ship!

[wilmingtech]

Today is the big day!

Have a great cruise!  

Hope the Embarking process is smooth and drama free for you!

[CAKEisgood]

Good morning almost afternoon. We are on the ship! 
 

Drive went smooth, traffic was light. We got to the parking garage just before 9 am and they didn’t open the garage until 10:30. There was no explanation for the wait and no one came out to tell us. Once we got parked and in the terminal it went smooth. We even said hello to Linda who always checked us in (just darn luck we go to her station each time) 

FYI Construction going on at the parking area 

Since we were last at Port Canaveral they have torn up the area where we used to drop off our luggage. They are building a new parking garage.