Live on the Escape Nov 25-Dec 2

[cat shepard]

1 hour ago, zqvol said:

It is part of the thermal suite, no additional charge but does require thermal suite access. 

 

Thank you so much!

[Vagabond Knight]

What the heck is this constant jiggling motion tonight with the ship?  We're midship and it's driving me crazy. Can't read, can't get to sleep.  I love when a ship is rocking, but this is more of a quick wiggling motion that does not feel like normal ship movement. 

 

[CAKEisgood]

19 hours ago, firstimer2009 said:

Do you know the name of the Som?  In 2019 we had one on our ship named Michael.  He was a winemaker in South Africa and such an interesting person. 

Hello. We didn’t catch the name of the Som in Le Bistro. I didn’t catch a South African accent, but it’s possible it was Michael. I hope you get to see Michael on your next cruise! 

[CAKEisgood]

8 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

What the heck is this constant jiggling motion tonight with the ship? 

Not sure. We are also mid-ship. I felt it too, and do now as I enjoy the morning on our balcony. I have felt this motion on other cruises and figured it was normal motion from the sea. 
 

and for those not on the ship, the seas have been fairly calm. About 1 footers, 2 at most, wind is currently 7kts. Perfect cruising weather. We are heading to Great Stirrup Cay speed is 22 kts, heading WNW. On the TV in the room go to channel 21 for navigation information. There is also a channel with a view from the bridge. 

[CAKEisgood]

16 hours ago, cat shepard said:

Have you ever visited the Salt room? I was thinking that might a good activity on a port day, when fewer folk were on the ship.

 

My app does not show the charge to visit it. I could not find it listed on the Dailies. Any clue?

Hello. I love the salt room. It is in the spa and so you will need a thermal suite/spa pass  

The salt room has Himalayan salt blown (not sure if that’s the correct term) into the air. The tiled bed is heated and a joy for my aching back (I can feel the muscles relax against the heated tiles). The salt in the air is not too overbearing (I don’t cough from inhaling the salty air) and gives a feeling of calm.  I have lived and so I have a few injuries that cause some aches and pains, and the salty air is like an anti-inflammatory. 
If you really want to enjoy the spa, get a pass to experience the sauna, steam room, saunarium, salt room, and whirlpool, then relax in the thermal suite tranquilly. It is very peaceful. ☺️ 

[CAKEisgood]

Good morning. It is day 6 and it is a SEA DAY! Freestyle Daily 

[D_And_K_gocruising]

We board Saturday!! Started heading south from Ohio this am… 

[Stealthdog]

Looks like you are having a great time!  2 important questions:

 

1) What has been your favorite cake onboard? 🙂

 

2) Have you heard anything about or gone to any of the supper club shows.  It looks like they had dinner/show Day 2, Day 5, and Day 6.

 

Keep enjoying your time!

[CAKEisgood]

33 minutes ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

We board Saturday!! Started heading south from Ohio this am… 

Have a safe trip to Port Canaveral. And woo hoo time to enjoy vacation. Have a wonderful cruise 🚢 🥳

[CAKEisgood]

I have to apologize for some of the misspelling and grammar. Writing on an iPhone in the CC website and sometimes not so good internet connection can be challenging.
 

Thank you for your questions and please keep the coming. 

[wolft927]

Ugg we don't board till January 6th!!!

[CAKEisgood]

Yesterday we enjoyed the Old world v New world wines paired with tapas wine tasting in The Cellar. First, this is our 2nd time doing this tasting and we loved it so much the first time, we signed up again. 
 

The whites were Sauvignon Blancs.  One from New Zealand and the 2nd from the Loire Valley, France. I’m not a Sauvignon Blanc fan. My husband is and he enjoyed them. 
 

the middle reds were Pinots. They were both from Burgandy region. I enjoyed them both. 
 

the third row of reds were Cabernets. The lower was the NCL proprietary wine East West bottled by Michael Mondavi winery in Napa (Robert Mondavi’s son). The upper was from the left bank of Bordeaux (Medoc region) and was bottled by Rothchilds (but not the estate wines which are $1000+ 🤑). I enjoyed both. I prefer wines that are primarily cab and not Merlot, which come from the right bank of Bordeaux. 
 

We bought a bottle of the East West wine to take home (can’t buy it off the ship and we got 20% discount with our beverage package). 
 

my only not so good comment is about the tapas. They paired it with almonds, cheese and bacon with fig. This is not tapas, in my opinion, this was bar snacks. In February we did the same tasting with Som D on the Escape and the wine was paired with tapas from Pinchos. It was fabulous. NCL really scaled back the “tapas” and that was a disappointment. The other guests at the table had the same opinion. 
 

The Som is from South Africa (name starts with “S”, sorry I can’t recall his full name), and he is very knowledgeable and willing to answer all of our questions. 
 

I am going to feedback to NCL about the scaled down tapas with the wine pairing. 
 

The wine selection was good. I would have preferred a Chardonnay to taste, but that’s my preference. The reds were pleasing, easy to drink and had nice flavor and scent. My favorite was the Cab from Rothchilds vineyards from the Medoc region. 
 

My point of view is just me. I’m not an expert on wines. I drink what I like no matter if it is inexpensive or pricey. I prefer Old World wines (wines from Europe) over New World (US, NZ, South Africa) because it includes a taste of the minerals ((dirt) and is normally lower in alcohol. 

[CAKEisgood]

59 minutes ago, Stealthdog said:

What has been your favorite cake onboard? 🙂

 

2) Have you heard anything about or gone to any of the supper club shows.  It looks like they had dinner/show Day 2, Day 5, and Day 6.

I really enjoyed the lemon cheesecake in La Cucina. I paired it with lemoncello and it was delicious 

 

We have not gone to any shows. Just our preference. But we did casually walk past the Rumours show in the Pour House and it sounded incredible. 
 

The Choir Boys show is well regarded by guest 

 

[CAKEisgood]

Yesterday we did a little shopping in Tortola, BVI.  There are fun shops at the end of the pier. I recommend checking them out. There aren’t many, but you might find something unique. The shop keepers are having good deals for Christmas. Be careful not to over indulge. 💸

 

I bought a few items from a seller that I always go to when in BVI. She always has the recently released Havana slippers 🩴 and other odds and ends  

 

There was a reggae singer at the end of the shops and he had an incredible voice. 
 

Leaving BVI we had an incredible view from our balcony 

[cat shepard]

3 hours ago, CAKEisgood said:

Hello. I love the salt room. It is in the spa and so you will need a thermal suite/spa pass  

The salt room has Himalayan salt blown (not sure if that’s the correct term) into the air. The tiled bed is heated and a joy for my aching back (I can feel the muscles relax against the heated tiles). The salt in the air is not too overbearing (I don’t cough from inhaling the salty air) and gives a feeling of calm.  I have lived and so I have a few injuries that cause some aches and pains, and the salty air is like an anti-inflammatory. 
If you really want to enjoy the spa, get a pass to experience the sauna, steam room, saunarium, salt room, and whirlpool, then relax in the thermal suite tranquilly. It is very peaceful. ☺️ 

 

Thank you!

[breadandbutter]

19 hours ago, trurocruiser said:

Thank you for your detailed review. We will be on the Escape sailing 12/23-12/30 and just had our upgrade bid for the Spa Haven accepted, so I am especially interested in the Thermal Spa since it is included. I am so excited.

May I ask how much you bid?

[CAKEisgood]

@Vagabond Knight the seas are a little bit  higher as we head WNW. I’m mid ship and can feel the rocking and rollin’ 🌊

[Vagabond Knight]

I love me some rockin' & rollin' on a cruise ship! It's the rapid jigglin' that's weird and uncomfortable, but thankfully that's finally gone. The chandeliers in Savor or Taste, wherever we were for breakfast, were really dancing this morning when we were jigglin'.  😁

[CAKEisgood]

Tonight we enjoyed dinner at Food Republic. This is fusion of Indonesia, Japan and Korea. I enjoyed Miso chicken and pork pot stickers. My husband had the Kimchi with shrimp. I paired mine with semi sweet Riesling. 
 

after dinner we enjoyed Manhattans ( buffalo trace bourbon) 🥃 at the Prime Meridian bar that is next to Cagney’s. We like this bar because it has an old fashion Sinatra vibe  
 

 

[CAKEisgood]

Finally, last post for the evening. Almost sunset pic 

[trurocruiser]

16 hours ago, breadandbutter said:

May I ask how much you bid?

$790 each so a total of $1,580. We originally got a great deal on our club balcony, so this makes the total cost a really nice deal.

[CAKEisgood]

Day 7 Freestyle Daily. Great Stirrup Cay (pronounced key). Seas are calm and so I suspect we will be able to tender to the island. Get off the ship and enjoy the island! 

[wilmingtech]

14 hours ago, CAKEisgood said:

Finally, last post for the evening. Almost sunset pic 

I miss these sunsets.  8 days to go and I can hardly stand it.

Edited December 1, 2023 by wilmingtech

[Fischmom]

I just booked the Escape for January so of course there are no dining reservations available before 9 pm. Food Republic says “please book onboard” rather than “not available to book” like some of the others. Were you able to pre book Food Republic or did you have to book that once on board. I am planning on getting on as early as possible (we are platinum) and I am hoping at least that restaurant will have some decent options. Le Bistro is my favorite but I’m not counting on reservations being available. 

[CAKEisgood]

23 minutes ago, Fischmom said:

Were you able to pre book Food Republic or did you have to book that once on board.

Hello. We didn’t have reservations for Food Republic. We eat 8ish and were able to walk up and get a table for 2. 
Also, I could be wrong, but I don’t think reservations can be made online in advance for Food Republic. 
 

I’ve read on other CC posts that NCL doesn’t book all the restaurants in advance. They leave a lot of tables open for when people get on the ship they can make their last minute reservations. You should be able to get a reservation at Le Bistro. Our waiter in Le Bistro told us the fist 2 nights of sailing all the specialty restaurants aren’t full, so you might have better luck on the first two nights at sea to get a reservation at Le Bistro. 
 

Also, we watched a family of 4 in front of us in line at La Cucina the other night get a table at 8ish sitting outside with no reservations. We also sat outside that night for dinner, and it was a lovely evening. 
 

Have fun on your cruise! 🚢 

Edited December 1, 2023 by CAKEisgood