Hawks LOB

We just sailed the Allure in December and loved it! In Jamaica we booked a tour through Courtney Taylor Tours online and it was excellent,! We reserved a mini van for our family and could customize our day. We were picked up at the port in Falmouth and taken to The Blue Hole near Ocho Rios. It was a beautiful drive there and our guide did an excellent job describing everything on the way. The Blue Hole is a river up in the rain forest which forms several pools. You can cliff jump at about 5 or 6 different places, and there is even a rope swing into one pool. We had a fantastic guide there that took great care of our family and explained how to safely jump off each point, he also filmed us with our GoPro. Google Blue Hole Jamaica and you can see what it's like! We then went to Scotchies for an authentic Jamaican jerk chicken lunch. Our guide helped us select the best dishes, called our order in by cell phone, and our food was ready shortly after we arrived. We made a quick stop at a beach, but didn't stay long because it was too windy, and then we headed back to the ship. We were there about 2 hours before we needed to be back, so no worry about missing the ship!

In Cozumel we booked a tour to the Tulum Mayan ruins through Royal Caribbean which was also a lot of fun. We toured the ruins and then were taken to a nice beach with a restaurant for lunch (buffet) and spent a couple of hours there. If you do take the ferry to Playa del Carmen be prepared with Dramamine! We never get sea sick on big ships, but this ferry crosses a waterway with very large swells. I saw a lot of people using barf bags!!

Have a great cruise and enjoy the Allure, it's a great ship!

We were on the 12/17-24 sailing on the Allure. I didn't hear anything about Noro or stomach virus until our last day when there was a form in our cabin asking if we had been sick with any stomach virus while on the cruise. We had not, however our whole family had some sort of respiratory virus (flu or cold). I'm still coughing like crazy and think I may have bronchitis. The staff cleaned like crazy and there were Purell stations EVERYWHERE, not just in the restaurants. I did hear a lot of passengers coughing, just like my family.

Tip: I always pack these heavy duty magnets for hats, jackets, wet swim stuff, etc. They work in the room and the bathroom, even in the shower, since most of the walls are metal. To my surprise, the walls by the bed were not metal, so I could not hang my flashlight by the bed. This may also be why we could hear our neighbors. Apparently, NCL builds the room divider walls differently than other ships. This is the first time I encountered a non-metal wall between rooms. This only applied to the wall on the bed’s side. The other one was metal.

 

 

 

Where did you buy the magnetic hooks? We cruised the Escape in April and I tried to find some before our trip, but couldn't find them anywhere! Love your review! :)

We sailed the Escape in April (family of 4) when the departure time was 4:00pm. We boarded in one of the first groups, packed our swim suits in carry-on bags and headed strait for the water slides because the lines weren't too long! Some rules about the drop water slides and ropes course you should know. The drop slides require you to be at least 100 pounds (and yes, they will weigh you if you appear close), and you're not allowed to wear ANY jewelry (no wedding rings, piercings, anklets, bracelets, necklaces etc.), no hard hair clips, no glasses and no phone/camera. I also wouldn't wear a swim shirt because I noticed many people that had swim shirts on got stuck in the slide and had to be released out of the emergency hatch. For the ropes course you have to have closed toe and closed heal shoes, you can NOT be wet at all, you must wear a shirt that covers your shoulders (no tank tops), and you must wear shorts or pants (no skirts/dresses). You can wear sun glasses on the ropes course and you can bring a GoPro using a head or chest strap (no cell phones or hand held cameras). We ate lunch at the buffet and I think our room was ready by around 1:30. A hint for the buffet is to go to the back of the ship to find tables, there are usually plenty. Have a wonderful cruise and enjoy the beautiful Escape!

Thanks for the info! I would have thought Keens ok so it must be sneakers only if Keens turned away.

 

Gambee mentioned something about a mat behind back if less than a certain weight, wonder if you could request it to use regardless. I think I'm just skipping that one!

On the drop slide there is NO jewelry of ANY kind allowed! Also no glasses or hard hair clips (they checked my pony tail holder to make sure it was just a rubber band). The adults that I saw that got stuck on that slide were either wearing swim shirts or tankini bathing suits. They must create too much drag and slow you down. I loved all of the slides except the yellow one. That one is too slow and you end up getting stuck and pushing yourself down. Nobody in my family got scraped by the slides and we did them a lot throughout the week. On the ropes course you must wear a shirt that covers your shoulders, shorts and shoes without open toes or heels. The other rule is you must be completely dry! (I got turned away once for being every so slightly damp). Sunglasses are fine, but no phones in your pocket. You can use a GoPro with either the chest or head mount.

Enjoy your cruise, the slides and ropes course are super fun!

If your kids like boogie boarding or surfing I'd suggest Josiah's Bay on Tortola. We took a taxi there, it's on the north side of the island, and it was very easy (just be sure to arrange a time for the taxi to come back to get you as this is not a beach frequented by taxis). There is a little "surf shack" on the beach to rent surf boards, boogie board or take surf lessons. There is also a small restaurant. The beach is beautiful and not crowded at all! My husband, 2 boys and myself really enjoyed it!

How was the pool deck? Is it hard to get chairs? Also, how were the ports? We are considering the Getaway for February 2017 and are not familiar with these ports, except Cozumel. We were on the Escape in April and loved it and would like to try another NCL cruise!

On a whim, I googled "Norwegian Cruise Line Museli" and danged if I'm not the only person ever to fall in love with it - this blogger has copycatted the recipe specifically because she fell in love with Norwegian's muesli!

 

http://www.mygrandcentralkitchen.com/2013/05/30/bircher-muesli-vacation-in-a-bowl/

Thanks for posting the Museli recipe! I too absolutely loved it and ate it every day! I didn't know what it was called because there was no label on it when we were on the Escape in April so I called it "cold oatmeal with fruit" when describing it to my husband. :)

 

By the way, that place has the BEST conch fritters that I have had!

 

 

The view is to die for! I have never seen so many catamarans in my life. They were all over the island.

 

 

 

 

 

The BVI has lots of roosters! I did a charter sailboat trip there several years ago, which is what the catamarans are doing and we were woken up every morning to the sound of roosters. It's really fun, but in a complete different way than a cruise. Every night we anchored at a beautiful beach like Cane Garden Bay and spent the days sailing, snorkeling and exploring the islands of the BVI. When we were on the Escape in April we went to a great beach for surfing and boogie boarding called Josiah's Bay. It was really fun and hardly any people there! I wish the Escape would spend more time in Tortola, it's a beautiful island.

Gambee thank you very much for taking the time to write such an amazing review and post all of your beautiful photos! My family was on the Escape for Spring Break in the beginning of April and absolutely loved it! This is bringing back all of the fun memories. :) Have you cruised the Getaway? We are considering if for next year and was curious how it compares to the Escape.

We returned from our cruise on the NCL Escape a week ago and had so much fun in Tortola at Josiah's Bay! Our oldest son really wanted to surf while on this cruise and I told him it would be doubtful because the beaches in Caribbean are generally very flat. Before sailing I googled and found great reviews of Josiah's Bay for surfing so we decided to give it a try. We took a taxi (about 20 minutes) from the pier to the beach. We were just about the only ones there when we arrived to the beautiful beach in the morning, besides the resident chickens and kitties, and it never got crowded. There is a surf shack that rents surf boards for $10/hr. and boogie boards for $5/hr. The waves were about 4 feet which was plenty challenging for my husband and older son, who are both beginners. Myself and my youngest son had a great time on the boogie boards! This was also a pretty good beach for shelling. There is a small restaurant and bathrooms on the beach. Be sure to arrange a pickup time with your taxi driver as this is a quiet beach and not routinely serviced by taxis. We made it back in plenty of time to catch our ship.

Thanks for your review.

 

I'd really like to try all dining rooms, especially Manhattan, so its a little disappointing they have the music a little too loud, I don't think my crew would like that.

 

Do they have speakers projecting the music all around or is the best way to get a table where can have a conversation just to ask to be as far away from the band as possible?

I believe they had speakers throughout the restaurant. I would ask for a quiet table when you check in at Manhattan. It's too bad it's loud in there because I enjoyed the music, it's just too much to try to have a conversation over. We went back a second time and asked for a quiet table and ended up being seated in a back room. Noise wise it was fine, but it felt weird being out of the main dining room.

Thank you for your review. It was very helpful. It sounds like you had a wonderful time.

 

I have a quick question:

You said that your sons enjoyed blended virgin drinks. We bought the soda package for our son, are those included?

I'm not sure if the blended virgin drinks are included in the soda package. We just had the UBP for my husband and myself and got virgin drinks and sodas for our boys using our cards.

My kids brought the GoPro on the Aqua Racer using the "Chesty". As far as the ropes course goes I saw people with GoPros using the head strap. My kids didn't ask about bringing the GoPro on the ropes course so I don't know the official rules.

I haven't driven in Tortola but I have driven on the left side in tight, hilly areas of Fiji, New Zealand, etc. so I feel confident in renting a car there. It's part of the fun!

 

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Sounds like you're experienced! :) I just wanted to make sure you knew what the roads were like in Tortola. You'll be able to plan a great island beach tour!

Had your husband and son surfed before? We're planning on renting a car and driving to different beaches in Tortola and I figured stopping at Josiah's Bay to learn to surf would be fun as I have never done it before and I'd be too afraid to surf anywhere else because of sharks!

 

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Yes, my husband and son had surfed before, but they are beginners. I watched the guys teaching lessons and everyone seemed to get up on the waves and looked like they were having fun (although some looked tired!).

Have you been to Tortola before? I would be very hesitant to rent a car and drive around the island! It is mountainous with very narrow roads, they drive on the left and the drivers are pretty crazy. Riding in a taxi is a bit like riding on a roller coaster, but at least I didn't have to do the driving! ;) You could probably hire a taxi for the time you are on the island and have him drive you to different beaches. Josiah's Bay is a very quiet beach so I would be sure to arrange a pickup time for your return to the ship since taxis don't just hang out there.

Was this $60 for lessons per person or could a couple get away with paying a flat $60 for the both of them? Did you take these lessons? Thanks in advance :)

I believe the $60 was per person for a surfing lesson. The surf shack is very small and laid back, they might negotiate the price of lessons? We didn't do the lesson, we just rented the boards. My husband and oldest son surfed and my youngest son and I boogie boarded. Check out the reviews of Josiah's Bay on Trip Advisor, that's where I found out about it!

Hi Aussiegrlfl,

We took the ferry from Red Hook (taxi to the ferry dock). I believe the ferries ran every hour. We did just miss one at Red Hook and had to wait for the next one on the way to St. John. On the way back we got to the ferry in time and our return was much quicker. We went to Trunk Bay which was very nice. I think Cinnamon Bay is just a little past Trunk Bay. It was an easy taxi ride from the ferry dock, maybe 15 minutes. I heard later that there is some sort of transportation from about a mile from the pier in St. Thomas to St. John, but I don't have any details on that.

Hi BosReq,

My husband and I both had the UBP and our kids didn't have any plan because we were all in the same cabin. All of the bartenders let us order virgin drinks or sodas for our boys using our card. Sometimes they would put 2 drinks at one time on a card and sometimes they would have to swipe the card twice but we never had any problems ordering drinks for our kids. The dining room waiters would also bring the boys Shirley Temples at dinner.

Yes, doing the slides when you board the ship is great because there is no lines. Also, if you stay on the ship during a port day I heard the lines where short.

Have a great cruise, I'm sure you're excited!

We recently returned from our cruise on the Escape and I wanted to provide some thoughts since reading other people's reviews was so helpful before our cruise. Our family of 4 (2 adults 40's and 50's and 2 boys 12 & 16) cruised in a balcony stateroom on deck 10. This was our first NCL cruise (not counting my very first cruise 30 years ago which was on NCL), we have previously sailed Princess and Carnival as a family. We love the sun, water and being active so I looked for a ship that provided a lot of outdoor activities like water slides and ropes course. After reading the initial poor reviews of the Escape, I almost cancelled before our final payment was due. I'm so glad we didn't cancel because this turned our to be our favorite cruise!

We flew in to Fort Lauderdale on Friday and stayed at the Hyatt Place near the airport. Our transportation got us to the Port of Miami by 10:00am Saturday morning. Check in was very easy, we were in group 4 and on the ship quickly. Our room was not ready when we boarded so we went up to the pool deck, changed into our bathing suits and rode the water slides several times. There was no line because everyone was busy eating and checking out the ship. We had lunch at the Garden Cafe and even though it was crowded there were no lines and we easily found a table. We also made our reservations for the comedy shows on one of the digital screens on the ship which was super easy.

Our stateroom was nice and it was great having a balcony. Our cabin was close to the aft elevators on floor 10 and very quiet.

We ate all meals in the complimentary restaurants (Manhattan, Taste, Savor and Garden Cafe). The music in the Manhattan was nice, but too loud to have a conversation while eating, and we weren't super close to the band. Food and service was good in each of the dining rooms and we never had a wait. This was our first time cruising "freestyle" and I did miss having the same waiter in the dining room for dinner that got to know you and could make suggestions on what to order. What was great was dinning whenever you wanted and not having formal nights!

Our boys went to Splash Academy and Entourage and met other kids their ages. They didn't spend a lot of time there, but it was a nice way to make friends for the cruise.

We had beautiful weather the entire week and enjoyed all the outside activities the ship offered on the sea days. The drop slides, Aqua Racer and ropes course were our favorites! Thursday was quite windy and there were swells so you could feel the ship move. Nothing worse then I've felt on other cruises, but we're not prone to sea sickness. The pool decks were crowded, but we were always able to find a couple lounge chairs one level above the main pool so we could see the entertainment and hear the music. I loved the Golden Octaves band that played by the pool! We had the UBP and bar service was always excellent. Our boys loved all of the virgin blended tropical drinks!

The entertainment we went to was great! We loved the comedians and saw 3 comedy shows throughout the week. After Midnight was also great, the performers were excellent! The game shows in the Atrium were fun (and funny). Silas, the cruise director did a great job hosting. We didn't see Vocal Overdrive since I'd read it wasn't very good and we didn't want to waste our time. The entertainment will be even better when they move the Brat Pack to the Theater.

The nighttime 80s Party and Glow Party in Spice H2O were excellent! The music was fun and hundreds of people were out there dancing. My youngest got to decorate a white t-shirt with glow paint to wear for the glow party.

The smell of smoke was noticeable near the casino, especially for our youngest son who is very sensitive to smoke. It didn't ruin anything for us, but it's too bad they couldn't wall in the casino with glass to contain the smell on such a beautiful new ship.

We did all of our shore excursions on our own.

In St. Thomas we took the ferry over to St. John to Trunk Bay for snorkeling. The beach is beautiful and not too crowded.

On Tortola we went to a relatively unknown beautiful beach called Josiah's Bay to go surfing and boogie boarding. Our oldest son really wanted to surf on this vacation so I researched ahead of time and found this hidden jewel. We took a taxi from the ship and arranged a pickup time with the driver for our return. This beach is about a 20 minute ride over on the north side of the island. When we arrived there were literally only a couple people there (in addition to the chickens and kitties) and it never got crowded. The waves were about 4-6 feet which was a bit challenging for us beginners but we all had a blast. There is a surf shack on the beach that rents surf boards for $10/hr. and boogie boards for $5/hr. You could also take surfing lessons which I believe were $60/hr.

In Nassau we took the #10 city bus to Cable Beach for some parasailing. We used JR Action Watersports in front of the Melia Resort. They took us around the beautiful bay and it was a lot of fun.

On Saturday we got up and had breakfast in the Garden Cafe and carried our own luggage off the ship. We weren't in a hurry since we weren't flying out until Sunday. Getting through customs was quick and we easily found transportation to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale. We stayed at the Hyatt Pier 66 which is on the intercoastal and near the beach and the airport.

All in all we had an excellent cruise on the NCL Escape! We chose this ship based on all of the activities that were available to entertain our family and the ship certainly did that!

Pack your bathing suits in your carryon bags and do the water slides first thing when you board the ship! The Aqua Racer (tube slide), yellow slide and kid's slides were all open (not ropes course or drop slides). We did this and the lines were short because most people were eating lunch or checking out the ship. We just got off the ship on Saturday and we all did the slides and ropes course a lot throughout the week. Have a great time!! :)

I was also on this cruise with my husband and our two boys and we had an excellent time! We chose this ship for all of the waterslides, ropes course, mini golf and other activities to keep us busy. We love the sun and being active outside! This was our first NCL cruise together (My very first cruise was on NCL 30 years ago!), we have sailed Carnival and Princess as a family last year and my husband cruised many times before we had kids. After reading the initial bad reviews on the Escape we almost cancelled, but I'm so glad we didn't!

I agree with the review and wanted to add some things we enjoyed:

We all loved the waterslides and ropes course! The lines weren't too bad. For the ropes course make sure you are completely dry, have closed toe and heeled shoes, shorts and a t-shirt with sleeves. For the drop slides you can't wear ANY jewelry (including wedding rings), glasses, and nothing in your pockets. Also don't wear a swim shirt, I saw several people get stuck in the drop slide who were wearing them. There is a minimum weight of 100lbs for the drop slide and there is a scale!

We did all of our own tours in each port. In St. Thomas we took the ferry to St. John's Trunk Bay and snorkeled. It is a beautiful beach and the crowds weren't bad.

In Tortola we went to an amazing beach called Josiah's Bay and surfed and boogie boarded. My oldest son really wanted to surf so I researched this ahead of time. We took a taxi and arranged a time for the driver to pick us up for our return since this is not a crowded beach where taxis frequent. The waves were great, about 4-6 feet an there was a little surf shack on the beach that rented boards ($10/hr. for a surf board and $5/hr. for a boogie board). You can also take surfing lessons for $60/hr. There were only a couple people on the beach when we got there (in addition to the chickens and kitties) and it never got crowded.

In Nassau we took the #10 city bus to Cable Beach near the Melia resort and went Parasailing. We used JR Action Sports and loved it! They did a great job and made my youngest feel comfortable even with his fear of heights.

We had the UBP and the bar service was excellent throughout the week. Our kids loved the virgin Pina Coladas, Miami Vices, Mango Meltdowns and Mudslides! We aren't big drinkers but it was nice having a glass of wine with dinner and tropical drinks by the pool.

We loved all of the comedians and After Midnight! We didn't go to Vocal Overdrive because the comments I had read were all pretty poor. The 80s Party and Glow Party in Spice H2O were excellent! I also really enjoyed the band (Golden Octaves?) who played by the pool during the day.

We would definitely cruise NCL again and I would recommend the Escape.

Are there any formal nights on the NCL Escape? We are sailing in April and new to NCL. The website was not real clear on this as they said some people choose to dress up on one night. Thanks.

Thanks for posting a review of Josiah's Bay! We are on the Escape in April and our oldest son really wants to surf. This appears to be the best beach in all the stops to try surfing. Glad to hear that it's easy to get to by taxi. Now we have to decide between this and visiting the Baths.... :D

Thank you very much for writing THE BEST REVIEW of the Escape! It was so fun to follow throughout the week! My family is cruising on the Escape in April and I'm now SO excited! We booked this months ago based on all of the activities this new ship would have that our boys would love. I was so disappointed and sad to read the reviews when the ship went into service that I almost cancelled. Then I started reading some better ones which made me feel more comfortable and your review "sealed the deal". I know our family is going to love the ship! Unfortunately I probably won't spend a lot of time in your "home" because our kids are young, but we will have so much fun! Thanks again for your humor and taking me on a virtual vacation on the Escape, I will miss your postings! Now, counting down the days until we board...:)

P.S. NCL needs to pay you for your advertising!