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

[prov2727]

Did you find that you needed to have any visas, etc?  My understanding is not from reading what NCL sent but they don't flat out say (they don't want to be liable if you do), and sometimes you doubt your understanding of legal jargon.

[Stealthdog]

14 minutes ago, prov2727 said:

Did you find that you needed to have any visas, etc?  My understanding is not from reading what NCL sent but they don't flat out say (they don't want to be liable if you do), and sometimes you doubt your understanding of legal jargon.

We had no requirement for visas.  I think the best source for visa requirements can be found from the Dep of State website that provides requirements by country.  This is probably our 8-9th Caribbean cruise and we (US citizens) have never needed a visa.  It may depend on your nationality.  
 

Leaving the ship while in port, all we have needed was the NCL stateroom card and a government issued photo ID - for both the east and west ports. 

[slavetoabunny]

24 minutes ago, Stealthdog said:

We still haven’t seen any eggnog on board.  Maybe we are missing it, or it will be something available on the next sailing. 

I asked and they only have it on Christmas.

[Stealthdog]

T minus 4 minutes.   Ready to toast any pier runners.  Don’t disappoint me today!

[prov2727]

21 minutes ago, Stealthdog said:

We had no requirement for visas.  I think the best source for visa requirements can be found from the Dep of State website that provides requirements by country.  This is probably our 8-9th Caribbean cruise and we (US citizens) have never needed a visa.  It may depend on your nationality.  
 

Leaving the ship while in port, all we have needed was the NCL stateroom card and a government issued photo ID - for both the east and west ports. 

Thank you! I was pretty sure that was the case but you have settled my mind. Get back to relaxing and enjoying your cruise!

[slavetoabunny]

26 minutes ago, Stealthdog said:

T minus 4 minutes.   Ready to toast any pier runners.  Don’t disappoint me today!

I heard a lot of people were indulging in the Skunk stuff.  We might get lucky.

[Stealthdog]

15 minutes ago, slavetoabunny said:

I heard a lot of people were indulging in the Skunk stuff.  We might get lucky.

There was one runner - she sprinted the first length of the pier and then started walking when she reached other passengers.

 

It looks like there are several late NCL tours getting back, so other passengers are either responsible or lucky. 

 

The ropes are still tied too, so maybe there are more tours that still haven’t returned.

 

Edited December 20, 2023 by Stealthdog

[slavetoabunny]

14 minutes ago, Stealthdog said:

There was one runner - she sprinted the first length of the pier and then started walking when she reached other passengers.

 

It looks like there are several late NCL tours getting back, so other passengers are either responsible or lucky. 

 

The ropes are still tied too, so maybe there are more tours that still haven’t returned.

 

They just started dropping them.

[APDMOM]

5 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

T minus 4 minutes.   Ready to toast any pier runners.  Don’t disappoint me today!

 

🤣  I thought I was well prepared with a sailaway drink on our balcony.  It was LONG gone by the time the last excursion finally returned.  

[APDMOM]

On 12/19/2023 at 1:23 PM, kittymamma said:

First time NCL cruise and wondering about times for Garden Cafe Buffet breakfast.....it shows "early risers", 5:30--6:30, deck 16 aft.... followed by breakfast 7:00-10:30 deck 16 aft. What is the difference in what is offered and does the buffet close from 6:30-7:00 ?

 

 

-

Hi @kittymamma

 

They don’t really close. Sometimes they will open a little before 7 too.

 

Here are the offerings for the early risers:

 

 

 

 

 

[kittymamma]

Thanks for the reply and the photo...that will certainly help with our pre-planning. Looking forward to trying NCL.

[Stealthdog]

Final night in Le Bistro.  I repeated my meal of escargot, French onion soup, and filet.  Eric got escargot, French onion soup, and lobster thermidor.  We both had the marquise chocolate desert, and the waiter brought us the marrons et clementines desert because that was the only one we still hadn’t tried.

 

The lobster is an up charge menu item and comes as a very large whole lobster.  Eric loved it.  The marrons is a Bavarian cream type of desert.  It wasn’t too rich and it is something we might have gotten if we back another time.  The marquise is probably the safest desert option on the menu.

 

Overall, all 4 nights in Le Bistro were fantastic.  They have indoor seating and outdoor seating on deck 6.  We sat inside all 4 nights because we didn’t want a constant stream of passengers walking by us while we ate.  But if you like people watching, sitting outside the restaurant may be more your style.

 

If you only have a one to a few dining vouchers/packages, I highly recommend Le Bistro.  It’s probably the restaurant you will most likely find something that you will enjoy. 
 

Note - for those with the AMEX Platinum dining perk, make sure to specify when checking in that you are using the French Dining voucher with AMEX.  The default at the restaurants appear to be to use your dining packages.  If you use a dining package for Le Bistro, you will have to go back again for the French Dining Voucher.  Always use your French Dining AMEX perk first because it’s not transferable to another restaurant on board. 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

After dinner we decided to see if we could get into the late showing of the Supper Club.  We saw the 4 Sea Sons show in the theater the first cruise, but missed the Divas tribute in the Supper Club, so wanted to give that a try.

 

There were plenty of seats when we got there and you are able to see the show without the meal (which we didn’t like when we tried it on the first cruise).  
 

The Divas show is another lounge act, with a performer singing songs from famous divas over the years (ie Donna Summer, Whitney, Tina Turner, etc). The selection of songs was a bit odd for us - the singer covered a couple of Alicia Keys songs and an obscure Rhianna song.  I’m not too sure many people consider Alicia Keys a diva 😂 and it may be been a better choice to do a Rhianna song the audience knew.  Her voice was really suited for those Alicia Keys songs and they were her best ones.  There are two musicians in the act and they were both very good. 
 

I give the singer credit for trying to do a wide range of diva song, which is really challenging.  The act may have been better if there were a couple of entertainers performing (like the Other Guys in their West End act) because it may have allowed a better tailoring of songs to different singers’ strengths.

 

Overall, we love the Supper Club concept and the lounge feel to the show.  We are going again Day 6 - we already have reservations.  If you want to check out the Supper Club and only plan to go to one, I would probably recommend seeing a different show.  Ask Cruise Director Jack or someone from the entertainment team for a recommendation. 

 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Stealthdog

[APDMOM]

2 hours ago, kittymamma said:

Thanks for the reply and the photo...that will certainly help with our pre-planning. Looking forward to trying NCL.

PS: If you want an early morning warm breakfast, O'Sheehan's is open for breakfast at 6 am.  We just had our first morning coffee there and it was the best coffee we have found so far on the ship.  We plan to eat breakfast there tomorrow morning.  🙂 

[Stealthdog]

2 hours ago, APDMOM said:

PS: If you want an early morning warm breakfast, O'Sheehan's is open for breakfast at 6 am.  We just had our first morning coffee there and it was the best coffee we have found so far on the ship.  We plan to eat breakfast there tomorrow morning.  🙂 

My ranking of breakfast on board:

1) O’Sheehans

2) MDR

3) American Cafe

4) No breakfast

5) Garden Cafe

 

It’s not that the food is bad in the cafe, it’s the hygiene issues for us of seeing people sneeze or cough into their hands and then handle serving utensils, or pick up items from the trays with their fingers, eat it in line, then get some more.  There is also no salmon or avocado in the cafe (at least the days/times we have been in there).

 

We prefer going to the buffet cafe off peak hours when there are fewer passengers. 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

Day 6 daily.

[APDMOM]

Did GSC get cancelled while I napped? 😴

 

[Stealthdog]

13 minutes ago, APDMOM said:

Did GSC get cancelled while I napped? 😴

 

I haven’t heard any announcements.  Do you know if the app had previously said GSC and now says Nassau?  All the excursions are still being sold for GSC.  I’ll do some snooping once we get ready for dinner.

[wilmingtech]

From Marine Traffic - 

[Stealthdog]

Disembarkation instructions were put in the Day 6 Daily.  On Deck 6 by guest services they provide the 5 timelines for disembarkation on Saturday.  Luggage tags are available at a couple places near guest services and you can choose which time you want to leave the ship.  
 

We decided to go with Purple (approximately 830).  We didn’t want to do easy walk off because we do have 3 pieces of luggage.   730 appears to be the first time (tentatively) for freestyle disembarkation. 
 

It appears passengers with NCL transfers, excursions, and post cruise packages will get disembarkation instructions and luggage tags sent to their cabins.

[APDMOM]

26 minutes ago, Stealthdog said:

I haven’t heard any announcements.  Do you know if the app had previously said GSC and now says Nassau?  All the excursions are still being sold for GSC.  I’ll do some snooping once we get ready for dinner.

Yes, The original showed GSC arrival 8 AM and departure 5 PM

 

 

[Stealthdog]

I finally was able to spend the rest of my non-refundable OBC.  We really wanted to avoid scrambling tomorrow to make sure it was all used.  Eric’s mother is in for a surprise with a nice post cruise present.  Who am I kidding - she gets perfume every time we cruise, so no surprise.  😂

[wolft927]

As far as GSC this would be week 3 of missing but at least you do get another port day even if it’s Nassau. We cruise on the escape 2 weeks on the 6th, would like the private island day but honestly we also love sea days 

[Stealthdog]

29 minutes ago, wolft927 said:

As far as GSC this would be week 3 of missing but at least you do get another port day even if it’s Nassau. We cruise on the escape 2 weeks on the 6th, would like the private island day but honestly we also love sea days 

Missing GSC is a bummer because I love the private islands and we haven’t been to GSC yet.  But, we are kind of treating this B2B a little like a floating resort, so we will survive.  Besides, I got 2 CruiseNext Certificates so we will have a chance again.  Though I do like certainty (well, as much as I can get) and itineraries with tender ports may be low on my wish list for future cruises. 

[Stealthdog]

It’s official, GSC cancelled and replaced with Nassau (6am-130pm).  Eric has given me a future vacation credit for a beach weekend in a Florida location of my choice for MLK Day weekend as a makeup for our beach days getting canceled for my Bday cruise. 😁

 

 

Edited December 21, 2023 by Stealthdog