NCL Escape Review 1/2/16-1/9/16 with Pictures

Dinner tonight is Food Republic:

This was the best meal of the cruise. Period. You order from tablets. It is al a carte, but not expensive. The four of us ate like pigs for about $70.

Fish tacos:

Pork something:

Scallops:

Sushi:

We also had Pad Thai which was awesome, but no picture...

My favorite picture of the cruise:

Watched the band in the atrium tonight. Really good. But we were wiped out from the beach day...

But... we had to hit the 80's show! It's our era! It was fun, but we kind of felt like we were being made fun of. Still a good time.

Next day was the last sea day. Today, for some reason, the crew decided to enforce the no chair hogging rules. They put little yellow stickers with the time on loungers. If nobody came back in 60 mins, they would remove the towels, fruit, books and whatever other nonsense people left. We watched chairs with bananas and apples on them all day until about 4 pm when the idiots came back, sat for about 5 minutes and then left. Rude morons.

This day we actually lucked out and got great loungers with a great view of the band area. And all the fun of the sea day. Like the ice carving:

The crew dancing:

Great sunset:

Although we ate in Manhattan dining room tonight we saved dessert for this:

The best dessert on any cruise. Ever.

Thursday night on the Escape is the Glow Party. They promote it big time and everyone is there. Get there early because it is packed and forget about getting a drink at the bar. Packed.

Before we went, we hit the atrium and listened to the piano player. Very good.

Off to Spice:

Bahamas:

We've been here before and we actually like it despite the bad reviews. Great sail in, and always marvel at how they spin the ship around and back it in.

We just walk to Junkanoo beach. Not a great beach, but close by and the water is nice.

Sock monkey likes Junkanoo:

I'm guessing the food is good on this ship???

We decided to try Margaritaville for lunch. OMG. Don't over order. We got nachos and a chicken quesadilla and we were stuffed. Couldn't even eat dinner that night.

Debarkation was smooth as could be. We had a very late flight, so we were in no rush.

The boys never went to bed...

We rented a car from Hertz. Worst part of the cruise. It was a Seinfeld episode. They know how to take a reservation, just not how to hold a reservation. Well after an hour we got a car and headed to Hollywood for the Margaritaville Resort.

Great lunch at the Land Shark Grill:

After lunch, we drove around and headed to FLL where we would fly out. Mostly it was to let the boys nap in the car. But really enjoyed exploring FLL. Saw this contraption. It is a bicycle bar. So awesome.

In summary, this was one of the best cruises we have taken. The Escape is a great ship, with great crew. The boys want to do it again next year and I would too.

Forgot about the shows. We only went to the Million Dollar Quartet and it was excellent. Stay until the end. It is the best part.

We would have loved to see a comedy show, but unfortunately, we didn't book it AS SOON AS WE GOT ON THE SHIP! Because it was booked the whole cruise. Bad system.

Any questions, just let me know.

Did the ship seem too crowded or too smoky in any areas?

Did the ship seem too crowded or too smoky in any areas?

It really didn't seem crowded. And I didn't notice it being smokey. We gambled a little and it was fine. The only time I felt the crowds was at the bars. The buffet never had lines. It's really set up well. And yes, I am an Islanders fan....

Great photos!

Enjoying all of your posts.

Keith

On the NCL excursion to JVD did you go directly there or stop other places on way?

Only thing showing on NCL web is combination of stops.

Would love to spend time at JVD in Oct.

On the NCL excursion to JVD did you go directly there or stop other places on way?

 

Only thing showing on NCL web is combination of stops.

 

Would love to spend time at JVD in Oct.

We went straight from the pier to JVD. I hope it is available because it was outstanding.

Oh yeah, forgot about Mr. Worldwide. I love Pitbull and if you do, you will not be disappointed. The boys loved it. His music does get the crowd going. However, as we were walking down the ramp to disembark, Pitbull was playing. My wife said, "I think I've heard enough of Pitbull for awhile." That about sums it up.

We booked two prenights at the Margaritaville resort and I saw your thread. How did you enjoy that?

We booked two prenights at the Margaritaville resort and I saw your thread. How did you enjoy that?

That resort is awesome. You will love it.

That resort is awesome. You will love it.

Couple things I forgot. Debarkation was a disaster. We should have waited another half hour on the ship. The slides were awesome. The boys did the drop one. We did the tube one and it was very fast.

The breakfast in the buffet was ok, but the scrambled eggs were terrible. I recommend going to the omelette station and having fresh eggs cooked to order. Worth the wait.

We didn't do any of the specialty restaurants except Food Republic and Margaritaville. We found the food to be very good in Manhattan, so not really motivated to eat elsewhere. Plus, we really didn't want to be so full after dinner because there was always something fun going on.

On the way back from Tortola, the ship was rocking quite a bit.

If I think of anything else, I'll come back and post it.

It really didn't seem crowded. And I didn't notice it being smokey. We gambled a little and it was fine. The only time I felt the crowds was at the bars. The buffet never had lines. It's really set up well. And yes, I am an Islanders fan....

Great to hear. And that goes for everything you said in this post. :)

Looking forward to our cruise in November, thanks for your reviews

Did anyone dress up for the 80s party? Also, dos you only eat in Manhattan or did you try Taste or Savor? I was wondering if the service was any faster at the smaller venues.