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

[Stealthdog]

One thing that was a surprise to us was a free laundry bag for club balcony cabins.  I’m usually very detailed at planning and completely missed this.  Having a free bag definitely helps by letting people pack less.  We already had free bags for platinum status, but it’s a nice perk for club balcony guests.  The laundry slip the room attendant gave  was already labeled CB, so we just had to count up the items and put them in the bag.

 

Below is the information for normal laundry.  

Edited December 12, 2023 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

Earlier today Eric represented in the speed trivia completion.  We like to participate in some of these games and trivia.  People had to answer as many trivia questions in 30 seconds as they could to accumulate points.  All questions were multiple choice and contestants had to hit one of 4 buttons that matched the right answer.  If they got one wrong, their game ended.  Eric brought me home the coveted Norwegian playing deck of cards for his 4th place, so we got off to a good start today! 

[wilmingtech]

11 hours ago, Stealthdog said:

Last Day 2 post - Meet and Mingle.  Special thanks to @GuelphCruisers for organizing it.  The meet and mingle was the best organized and attended I’ve seen on a cruise in the last 5 years!  We had the district brewhouse completely reserved, many of the ship management were there, and it was a great opportunity to meet fellow cruise critic people and put faces to usernames.  If you have an opportunity to attend yours, do it!

I just want to comment that @GuelphCruisers did a great job.  It was a good group of people at the

Is M&M and I really enjoyed talking with everyone.  @BigAl had a bunch of great insight from many cruiselines.  I learned quite a bit and appreciate all that was shared.

[wilmingtech]

I'll pick up the drama from here while @Stealthdogenjoys his dinner at Bayamo.  It's now 6:30.  Still waiting on cruisers but they are now pulling up the 1st of 3 gangway.

 

Yesterday in DR there were 19 people who got left behind.  (Unofficial count)

 

Tonight getting left behind isn't a big deal as a ferry ride gets you over to Tortola.    

[wilmingtech]

NCL talking to the port agent

 

[wilmingtech]

10 people reported missing so far.  This is according to my son (16) who went down and spoke to the NCL agent.

 

They might also be willing to wait much longer tonight as it won't take more than an hour or two to get over to Tortolla.

Edited December 12, 2023 by wilmingtech

[wilmingtech]

They just made an announcement on the ship for the 5 missing people to call in if they are on the ship.

[wilmingtech]

Well they honked the horn haha.  Still waiting.  We had to head over to Syd Norman's to watch the Fleetwood Mac cover band.  Had to get there early for seats.  It fills up quick.  Back to your regularly scheduled program....

 

Edited December 12, 2023 by wilmingtech

[Stealthdog]

We ate out on the waterfront part of Bayamo last night.  There was an eruption of cheering coming from the front of the ship sometime between 630-645, so I assume that was guests giving some pier runners encouragement.  
 

Day 5 - we are in Tortola.  We just got the all clear to leave the ship.  Our tour meetup is at 830 at the end of the pier (about 2 hours).  I’ll try to get some of yesterdays events captured, but may have to get to some of it later.

[Stealthdog]

Yesterday in St Thomas we decided to walk to the downtown area of city.  We like seeing all the ships in port and wanted to see the holiday decorations at the governors house.  The yacht haven area closer to the pier is nice too, with several restaurants and shops. 
 

We stopped in St Thomas last year in a Dec cruise as well.  The downtown area from Havensight is about 1 mile.  You can walk it or there are cabs ready to take you right outside the pier.  

 

Edited December 13, 2023 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

Last year our tour guide on an excursion recommended restaurant called greengos.  We didn’t have enough time to go last year, so wanted to get there this year.  It was worth the trip.  It’s located on a little alley in the middle of the little downtown area, right across the street from a Coast Guard office.  They have traditional Mexican food (not fast food type) and fun drinks.  It was worth the trip - the food was better than everything on the ship so far, except for Le Bistro. 
 

Eric got the shrimp enchilada and I got the chicken nachos.  The drinks are a Donkey Punch and a Bushwacker.  We saw someone get the Cervezarita which looked awesome - a mega size martini glass with a beer placed upside down into it. 
 

note - they don’t take American Express!  So if you go, make sure to have a different card or cash.  We had to manually enter a credit card into their system to pay for the meal. 
 

We highly recommend Greengos - it’s worth the effort to get there and try it out.  If you like spicy salsa, get the Shark Face Salsa 😁
 

 

[Stealthdog]

We unfortunately had to make a trip to guest services again.  I was treated to the great aroma of marijuana on the balcony yesterday morning - it was really strong and persistent. I brought our room attendant and 2nd Stew (yes that is his actual title 😂…..I’m waiting to meet Chief Stew Kate) in so they could smell it.  They said they were filing a report.  When we got back from the tour and were getting ready for dinner, the overwhelming stench of marijuana again greeted us when i opened the balcony door.  I had to close the door because the odor was so strong it was coming into our cabin.  After dinner I spoke to Guest Services about it.  Hopefully it is addressed.  I generally don’t care what other people do, but when you impact other people’s enjoyment on their vacation, yeah……not ok.  

Edited December 13, 2023 by Stealthdog

[brookie848]

1 hour ago, Stealthdog said:

Last year our tour guide on an excursion recommended restaurant called greengos.  We didn’t have enough time to go last year, so wanted to get there this year.  It was worth the trip.  It’s located on a little alley in the middle of the little downtown area, right across the street from a Coast Guard office.  They have traditional Mexican food (not fast food type) and fun drinks.  It was worth the trip - the food was better than everything on the ship so far, except for Le Bistro. 
 

Eric got the shrimp enchilada and I got the chicken nachos.  The drinks are a Donkey Punch and a Bushwacker.  We saw someone get the Cervezarita which looked awesome - a mega size martini glass with a beer placed upside down into it. 
 

note - they don’t take American Express!  So if you go, make sure to have a different card or cash.  We had to manually enter a credit card into their system to pay for the meal. 
 

We highly recommend Greengos - it’s worth the effort to get there and try it out.  If you like spicy salsa, get the Shark Face Salsa 😁
 

Back in 2017 we sailed on the NCL Dawn out of San Juan. This was in November, and if you remember that year, it was the year with the horrible hurricanes. We were the first NCL cruise out of Puerto Rico (we had to sail-in the day of the cruise because there were no/few hotels available for tourists) and everything was being run by generators.

 

While we were at the airport, we got a change itinerary notification that we would be stopping in St. Thomas -- they had just opened the port back up. When we stopped at St. Thomas a week later, we had crappy weather, but our goal was to go spend money to help the people living there out. So we went into town and proceeded to do just that and this is where we ate. We had great food.

 

I see the chocolate shop is still across the alley. My husband bought a bunch of things for his co-workers there.

Edited December 13, 2023 by brookie848

[brookie848]

1 hour ago, Stealthdog said:

We unfortunately had to make a trip to guest services again.  I was treated to the great aroma of marijuana on the balcony yesterday morning - it was really strong and persistent. I brought our room attendant and 2nd Stew (yes that is his actual title 😂…..I’m waiting to meet Chief Stew Kate) in so they could smell it.  They said they were filing a report.  When we got back from the tour and were getting ready for dinner, the overwhelming stench of marijuana again greeted us when i opened the balcony door.  I had to close the door because the odor was so strong it was coming into our cabin.  After dinner I spoke to Guest Services about it.  Hopefully it is addressed.  I generally don’t care what other people do, but when you impact other people’s enjoyment on their vacation, yeah……not ok.  

 

And let's be honest...the real concern here is fire. I think anyone who smokes on the balcony should be forced to read/watch about the Princess ship where someone died because a passenger was smoking on their balcony. 

[D_And_K_gocruising]

1 hour ago, brookie848 said:

 

And let's be honest...the real concern here is fire. I think anyone who smokes on the balcony should be forced to read/watch about the Princess ship where someone died because a passenger was smoking on their balcony. 

Sure fire = bad, but pot smoke is just horrible.  They just  legalized it here in Ohio so am sure going to have to smell it lots more on people.  I dont know if they really understand how much that stuff stinks.. And how much it lingers.   Sure cig smoke isnt any fun, but would rather have that then pot smell..  

[brookie848]

57 minutes ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

Sure fire = bad, but pot smoke is just horrible.  They just  legalized it here in Ohio so am sure going to have to smell it lots more on people.  I dont know if they really understand how much that stuff stinks.. And how much it lingers.   Sure cig smoke isnt any fun, but would rather have that then pot smell..  

I vote for no smells. 😁 And it's been legal here in NY for a while. I'm still getting used to the skunk smell.

[schmoopie17]

1 hour ago, D_And_K_gocruising said:

Sure fire = bad, but pot smoke is just horrible.  They just  legalized it here in Ohio so am sure going to have to smell it lots more on people.  I dont know if they really understand how much that stuff stinks.. And how much it lingers.   Sure cig smoke isnt any fun, but would rather have that then pot smell..  

My asthma is triggered by smoke...from any source. If I have shortness of breath I typically go outside (or on a cruise ship, on our balcony) and it helps clear it up. If someone is smoking and that crap wafts to our balcony, they can bet they'll be getting a visit from CS.

[Stealthdog]

It’s 15 minutes until all aboard, and guess who is on a NCL excursion late getting back to the ship?  This guy!!!!

 

I might put on a show if there any pier runner watchers today.  😂

 

Just like Dominican Republic, we have regular data and internet access in Tortola through T-Mobile.  So at least on the East 7 day itinerary, we will have regular internet service on 3 port days.  For those on the fence of upgrading to unlimited plan, it may not be worth it you won’t use it much onboard and can access on port days.

 

We are eating at Cucina tonight.  Goal for today is to complete yesterdays reviews and most of today.

Edited December 13, 2023 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

Disappointed again.  I was ready to sprint down the pier with my arms flailing like Phoebe from Friends, but there were no watchers.  Turns out the time in port was extended from 130 to a later time.  Great for us - more time.  Sad I had no audience to run for. 😂

Edited December 13, 2023 by Stealthdog

[Stealthdog]

It turns out, Great Stirrup Cay is already canceled on Friday, so they extended our time in Tortola until 430.  We haven’t been to Great Stirrup Cay yet, so that’s a bummer.  Hopefully next week. 

[Stealthdog]

Last night (Day 4) we ate at Bayamo Ocean Blue.  We ended up eating at the Waterfront, which was nice - it was quiet and had a nice breeze.  Service was a little slow on the Waterfront area, but we didn’t have any reservations and weren’t rushed. Not sure if the service was quicker inside. 
 

The food presentation at Bayamo was outstanding - best presentation we have seen on board.  So far we are ranking Bayamo a solid 2 behind Le Bistro, but ahead of Cagneys.  The meal was hit or miss, with mostly hits. 

The jumbo shrimp was good - it was clean tasting with no overbearing fishy taste.  The scallops on top of pork belly was a very interesting concept.  Eric wasn’t a big fan of the scallops part but the pork belly was great. 
 

I had the iceberg wedge. It was awesome.  Great concept, presentation, and taste.  I’m typically not a huge fan of blue cheese, but this salad was well done.  Eric also loved the roasted beets - was a big hit for him. 
 

I’m not a big seafood fan and got the filet again.  It looked like it was same filet I got from Cagneys, but the temperature was perfect and it was a lot more enjoyable.  Eric liked the concept of the Chiopino - it’s like a soup with 6-7 different types of seafood in it.  He enjoyed about half the pieces but didn’t care for the other half. 
 

For desert I got the cheesecake in a jar - this desert was awesome as well.  Presentation again was fun and the flavors were great. The chocolate mouse cake was a little boring.

 

We will go back to Bayamo again next week.  There were a few other plates Eric wanted to try.  It is a restaurant that I think is a solid choice for anyone with a dining package.

 

[Stealthdog]

We walked past the Pour House and it was already full for the show more than 30 minutes before. We were chatting with the NCL entertainment staff monitoring the venue and she said people had been standing in line for 2 hours (immediately after the first show started) and it filled almost immediately after the doors opened. That is crazy to me - like Taylor Swift concert waiting on a cruise ship.  We probably won’t see any of the shows in the Pour House - for us there is too much going on entertainment-wise on the ship to spend that much time in line. 

[Stealthdog]

Day 5 Daily.  Also the vomit bags on the stairs, as promised. 😂

 

Today we are in Tortola and in port with the Mein Schiff 4. 

[schwartzy]

1 hour ago, Stealthdog said:

It turns out, Great Stirrup Cay is already canceled on Friday, so they extended our time in Tortola until 430.  We haven’t been to Great Stirrup Cay yet, so that’s a bummer.  Hopefully next week. 

 

Sorry you didn't make it to Great Stirrup Cay! How much notice did they give you that they extended your time in Tortola? Were people able to change their plans?

 

I am really enjoying your posts! It is such a fun distraction to follow you. We will be on the Escape in February. 

 

As for the "runners," on past cruises my husband's goal was always to be among the last 5 on the ship. He will be out of luck if dozens don't even make it back! 

 

[Stealthdog]

4 hours ago, schwartzy said:

 

Sorry you didn't make it to Great Stirrup Cay! How much notice did they give you that they extended your time in Tortola? Were people able to change their plans?

 

I am really enjoying your posts! It is such a fun distraction to follow you. We will be on the Escape in February. 

 

As for the "runners," on past cruises my husband's goal was always to be among the last 5 on the ship. He will be out of luck if dozens don't even make it back! 

 

We didn’t know until we got back on board ~2pm.  Heard announcement from the cruise director letting us know that Great Stirrup Cay was canceled and we would be in Tortola until 430.  Had impact on the activities - many of the onboard activities were cancelled with no notice, which was a little frustrating. 
 

I don’t know when it was first put out because we were off ship.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Stealthdog