Escape, Escape - Two Times the Escape. Live Review B2B NCL Escape, Dec 9-16 & Dec 16-23

[Stealthdog]

Day 1 we went to Moderno.  It was very good.  We had tried Moderno on a previous NCL sailing and found it much worse than land based Brazilian steakhouses (Fogo de Chao, Texas de Brazil, etc).  The version on Escape is significantly better.

 

There are obvious space limitations on board, so we don’t expect a Brazilian steakhouse on a ship to be as extensive as a land one.  The salad bar at the Escape was well done (and a huge upgrade over our last experience).  It’s not as extensive as the land based restaurants, but there was a great variety of cheeses, meats, olives, vegetables and the Escape did a good job at mimicking the salad bar experience of the land based versions.

 

The variety of meats on board are also fewer than what you find at land based restaurants.  But, the exceptional, individualized service is elevated on the Escape.  Because of that, we were able to get the temperatures we wanted almost immediately and weren’t constantly being served well done cuts of meat, which normally go immediately into a discard pile and is a waste of food. 
 

The quality of the meats used at Moderno were clearly good quality.  One thing we particularly appreciated at Moderno was the salt was at a minimum.  Often at the land based restaurants some of the cuts of meats are overwhelmed by salt.  Just like land based restaurants, we really didn’t care for the chicken or pork offerings (we often find them dry), but that is partly personal preference.  
 

We liked Moderno enough that we may change our reservations on Friday from Food Republic to Moderno.  I guess it will depend on whether we want to gorge on meat or gorge on other foods. 😂

 

If you do go to Moderno on the Escape, ask for Julius.  He was awesome. 

[Stealthdog]

Everything I said about the gym last week, forget.  It is absolutely packed this morning!  What a difference a cruise makes - completely different passengers from one cruise to the next with different focuses and interests.  
 

I’ll keep an eye to see what times are lighter, but mid morning on a sea day…..try a different time.  I still found a bike, so have about 30 minutes to catch up from yesterday with typo filled posts while we rock from side to side. 

[Stealthdog]

There were four of us again yesterday in our area of the piers departing Canaveral.  Different ships, but same order - Carnival first, Royal second, us third, and Disney last.  We watched Carnival and Royal leave from the balcony - it was too wet and rainy on the outdoor decks.

[Stealthdog]

The sailaway party was moved to the atrium because of weather.  We went to the Atrium for a Broadway Musicials trivia and got to watch the festivities.  Wow….what a different a cruise makes.  A lot more (what appears to be well behaved) children on board this sailing and the adults were just having a good time with the singing and dancing. 
 

We didn’t win the trivia 😔 but we did pick up the activities sheet for stamps/signatures.  We will turn those activities sheets in on Friday to see what kind of prizes they give out.

[Stealthdog]

For those following this review, @APDMOM is doing a review of the Escape this sailing as well.  Will likely have different interests, focuses, and thoughts.  You can follow along here 

 

 

2 times the pictures, 2 times the critiques, 2 times the answers!

 

[Stealthdog]

After dinner at Moderno, we checked out the show in the Theater - Legends Live from the Other Guys (same group who does the Supper Club and West End/Broadway songs).  They told us during the leaving and reboarding the ship process yesterday that they had a new show.  
 

Their act covers male and female legends over the years.  It was fun and the audience was really into it.  I preferred their Supper Club and 4 Sea Sons shows more, but the Legends Live is worth the trip to the theater.   Given this was their first performance of a new act and they will probably make some changes over time. 

 

 

[Stealthdog]

Day 2 Daily.

 

We might have gotten lucky yesterday leaving on time.  A friend of mine just texted from the Encore.  They haven’t even docked in Miami yet - just circling waiting to get approval.  Anyone with flights are going to miss them.  What a mess!!

[D_And_K_gocruising]

Appears you are getting MUCH better seas pretty quickly!!  YAY.. From what I can see, unless something is really messed up, still shows the Disney Fantasy in port.... 

 

Hoping you have a much better week of weather!!!

 

[slavetoabunny]

Sun is out and the seas appear to be laying down.

[Stealthdog]

1 hour ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

Appears you are getting MUCH better seas pretty quickly!!  YAY.. From what I can see, unless something is really messed up, still shows the Disney Fantasy in port.... 

 

Hoping you have a much better week of weather!!!

 

There is this bright thing up in the sky…I don’t remember what it is called.  And I didn’t know the sky ever turned blue!!!  😉

 

The sea is still a little rocky, but nothing like it had been the last few days. 

[ch175]

Thank you for taking the time to write this Mr. Stealthdog! I’m debating booking either the eastern or western run in Feb/Mar. My last NCL cruise was in 1996 - I’ve been exclusively Celebrity and RC since then.

 

You’ve just about convinced me to do it. You should get a $100 social media influencer credit or something. Enjoy the rest of your vacation, and I’ll be following along to ensure you do.

[Stealthdog]

Someone was sneaky today.  While I attended the Cruise Critic Meet & Mingle by myself (thought he was going to the Spa), someone orchestrated the decorations of the room while I was gone.  

[Stealthdog]

The weather strikes again.  Because of the winds we had to go slower than normal last night and today and our time in Cozumel is adjusted.  Cayman has also been cancelled because tendering will not be safe enough.  So we arrive in Cozumel tomorrow at around 11ish instead of 8, and will leave later in the day since we aren’t going to Cayman.  Bummer for us because we have never been to Cayman before and it was the only port we planned an excursion.   Everyone will get $50 Non-refundable OBC for port fees for Cayman and refunded any excursion booked as OBC (I assume refundable).  Hopefully this cruise doesn’t turn into a 2 port, 5 sea day cruise and we go to Great Stirrup Cay on Friday. 🤞

[L1211]

On 12/5/2023 at 8:53 AM, Stealthdog said:

We are in a Club Balcony (MC), 9th deck, the same cabin both cruises.  We typically like longer cruises in December (12 days+) because they tend to be cheaper and have fewer children on board.  The last 2 years its been more challenging to find a longer cruise that was affordable, and one we were interested in. 

 

We still had 4 Cruise Next Certificates to use before they expired, so used 2 per cruise.  We also got the 10% military/vet discount from the fare, so this B2B ended up being a very affordable 14 days of cruising.  Port Canaveral is a cheap port for us because we don't have to pay for lodging the night before and can get a ride to the port to avoid the parking fees.  Its about a 1 hr ride for us - a family member (who is our also our TA) is taking us this time, so this review won't have any information about the parking garages, prices, or experience. 

 

We are Platinum status and will be looking to book some of the status events on board, particularly the wine tasting event and the ship tour. 

How do you like the Club Balcony?  Thinking if that cabin in the Bliss.  Thanks!! 

[L1211]

On 12/5/2023 at 9:02 AM, Stealthdog said:

We typically prefer specialty dining on cruise ships because we have been disappointed too many times in MDRs....and have seen too many unsanitary guests in the buffets so normally avoid that as much as we can.

 

We have a total of seven specialty dinings per cruise to use and this review will be very heavy on the specialty dining restaurants, light on the MDR, and probably just a few comments on the buffet and cafes (I'll still post menu pictures):

2 pack - Free at Sea (with booking)

2 pack - Free at Sea Upgrade (purchased upgrade)

2 dining - Platinum

1 dining - Amex Platinum perk

 

We have already booked five dinners per cruise but will need to adjust that because of Supper Club shows we want to go to.  We will probably end up doing six dinners and one lunch per cruise in the specialty restaurants.  The plan is to do each restaurant at least once, minus Moderno and Teppanyaki.  Our favorites on other ships have been Le Bistro and Cagneys, so we will probably go to those two multiple times.

Don’t know about the “Amex platinum perk”. Did you book with your platinum card?  Any other benefits? Thanks!! 

[APDMOM]

Happy Birthday @Stealthdog! 🎁

[macewank]

9 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

The weather strikes again.  Because of the winds we had to go slower than normal last night and today and our time in Cozumel is adjusted.  Cayman has also been cancelled because tendering will not be safe enough.  So we arrive in Cozumel tomorrow at around 11ish instead of 8, and will leave later in the day since we aren’t going to Cayman.  Bummer for us because we have never been to Cayman before and it was the only port we planned an excursion.   Everyone will get $50 Non-refundable OBC for port fees for Cayman and refunded any excursion booked as OBC (I assume refundable).  Hopefully this cruise doesn’t turn into a 2 port, 5 sea day cruise and we go to Great Stirrup Cay on Friday. 🤞

I'm expecting us to miss GSC. This weather in the Gulf/Atlantic is not friendly for tender ports.

[Stealthdog]

13 hours ago, L1211 said:

How do you like the Club Balcony?  Thinking if that cabin in the Bliss.  Thanks!! 

We like the Club Balcony.  The bathrooms are larger than the regular balconies, so that is a big positive to us.  The location is nice too - we are right above the waterfront deck, so only 1-3 levels of stairs to get to everything. 
 

The one perk I wasn’t expecting was the free laundry.  We already get it for platinum status, but if you don’t have loyalty status you are saving $29 for a bag of laundry.  On a B2B for us, we are using both because we didn’t want to pack too much. 
 

We are getting canapés every once in a while, but to be honest I’m not even used if we are getting the for club balcony, loyalty status, casino, or something else. 
 

I would look at the difference in prices.  If the club balcony is close in price to a balcony, I’d do it.  If the difference is large and you like the location of the regular balcony, the better value is with the regular balcony. 

[Stealthdog]

13 hours ago, L1211 said:

Don’t know about the “Amex platinum perk”. Did you book with your platinum card?  Any other benefits? Thanks!! 

There are 2 ways to get the Amex Platinum perk - book the cruise through Amex travel or through a TA that is partnered with Amex.  You have to pay for the full cruise with your Amex card.  
 

There area lot of travel and other perks with the platinum card (refunds for streaming services, Uber credits, hotel credits, etc).  I assume you are asking specifically about the cruise perks. 
 

Amex has a perk when going on most cruise lines.  The perk depends on the length of the cruise and cruise line.  For a 7-day NCL cruise, we get $200 non-refundable OBC and 1 dinner for 2 at Le Bistro for paying for the cruise with our Amex platinum card (through a TA partnered with Amex).

 

it’s not enough to pay for the cruise with the platinum card, you have to make sure whoever you book it through can get the perk applied to your reservation.  Many of the large travel agencies can’t do it.  
 

Between Amex and shareholder benefits, we start every cruise with a nice amount of OBC. 
 

Google “Amex Platinum” and “The Points Guy”.  That blogger lays out the what you get for it by cruise line really well. 

[Stealthdog]

9 hours ago, APDMOM said:

Happy Birthday @Stealthdog! 🎁

Thanks.  We had a nice dinner at Le Bistro last night and went to the Choir of Man again to celebrate!

[Stealthdog]

Day 2 MDR lunch menu.  I didn’t get a pic of the dinner menu. 

[Stealthdog]

Last night we ate at Le Bistro.  It was our third time so far on the B2B and it was another home run.  
 

They held our bottle of Tempranillo from Friday night (last night on the first cruise), so we were able to enjoy that with dinner.  
 

We didn’t get anything new, so no food pics.  Eric got the steak tartar and loved it again.  I got the escargot - the only time I ever get it is on cruise ships so every chance I will order it. 😂. We both got the onion soup.  For dinner I got the filet and Eric got the lamb.  Everything was cooked perfectly, the flavors were great again, and we were both happy with every dish. 
 

I knew something was likely coming for desert, so I just ordered anything for desert.  I got the Frasier strawberry desert and Eric got the Marquis chocolate desert.  The chocolate is probably the best desert in Bistro, so if you only go once, that would be my recommendation.

 

After the deserts were delivered, the mini birthday cake was brought to the table.  It was a very light cake and was pretty good.  We didn’t eat much of it because we already had cake in the cabin, but the gesture and recongnition of celebrating a birthday on a cruise ship is always nice!

[Stealthdog]

We saw the Choir of Man last night again.  Because we were dressed up and I didn’t want to be called on stage again, we didn’t sit in front of the stage (third row on the right instead).  To ensure I wasn’t selected, I avoided making eye contact at the point in the show when I knew it was coming - I looked down at the phone and pretended to be going through photos 😂

 

They were missing one of the performers from last week’s show, so it was a slightly different show because others had to pick up his songs and the choreography had to change with one fewer performer.  If we hadn’t seen it last week, we wouldn’t have known.

 

Note - if you do the behind the scenes tour (at least the complimentary latitudes rewards one), part of the tour takes you to the dressing rooms in the theater.  The producer (Carlos) for this cast  will answer any question you have about the show.  

 

This version was just as high energy and entertaining and we (and the whole audience) really enjoyed it.  The performers do ad lib a little with audience participation which is really fun to watch.

 

NCL has done such a great job in getting Choir of Man on their ships and putting on an outstanding theater show specifically on the Escape.  If you think about it from a financial standpoint, a ticket for a Broadway, West End, or National Tour is typically about $100/person, at the low end (we have spent more than $200/person depending on seat location).  The Choir of Man on the Escape is the same quality as those national tour shows (I won’t say that for most other shows on cruise ships), so getting that complimentary on board is awesome.  

If you are on a NCL sailing that has Choir or Man, make reservations for it.  It’s an incredibly entertaining show. 

Edited December 18, 2023 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

We are sailing down the Yucatán right now - we just passed Cancun, and have some nice views of the Mexican coastline.  Skies are completely blue and it looks like it will be a great weather day in Cozumel today.

 

Yesterday we were thinking about doing the Lucha Libre excursion because it looked like something we have never done before, but when we checked with excursions it was sold out.  We have been to Cozumel 6-7 times already, so it’s not a terribly exciting port stop for us.

 

I think our plans for the day will be to go to the gym after we dock, have a spice H2O afternoon on board, and maybe finally try the slides on the pool deck.  We might get off for a few obligatory photos of the port, but we are kind of leaning against that.  

[Stealthdog]

Day 3 Daily.  Also, this weeks fitness activities attached.

Edited December 18, 2023 by Stealthdog