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WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

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    NCL Escape NOV 4-11/2017: UltraViolet & The Captain

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted · Edited by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

    Nov. 5th, 2017

    Falmouth, Jamaica

    We were up and moving by 0600, and, as usual, started out day on the balcony with fruit and coffee. We had second breakfast in the Garden Café again, and it didn’t disappoint. It was also the same food we had the day before.

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    I mean, really...can you fault us?

     

    Our plan, originally, had been to take a taxi to Blue Waters Beach Club, for a relaxing day of lying round the beach. However, we were feeling a bit under the weather from the previous night’s shenanigans. I decided laying on a beach in the hot sun for 5 hours was generally a bad idea.

     

    So, we spent about 2 hours walking around the gated port area shopping for souvenirs. It really is a nice shopping area, but there isn’t much there to hold either of our interests for much longer than that.

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    She's not waving...that's a STOP sign.

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    I was pretty sure YOU fed the bird before we left...

     

     

    After we were done milling about smartly (aimlessly), we went back aboard Escape. We changed into our swimwear, and went up to enjoy the Haven’s private sundeck. It was virtually deserted for the first 90 minutes or so, then folks started trickling in. It still was never crowded. We really enjoyed the quietness, and I soaked in the hot tub 2 or 3 times. Ultraviolet took advantage of the umbrella shade and rehydrated. Pretty sure I did, too. Servers come through periodically, and we had several cups of icewater. The hot tub temperature was just right, and it was a perfectly sunny day.

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    I don't see any weed dealers. I'm looking for them, but maybe they're still sleeping? Pssht. We're staying here!

     

    After maybe 3 hours, or so, we retired to the Haven Restaurant for lunch. I can’t for the life of me recall what we had, but I’m sure it was delish. The fact that I didn’t photograph our food (Felfies? Foodies? Lunchies?) is testament to my recovery from last night.

     

    Anyways, after lunch, we headed back to 10106 for an afternoon nap. That’s the ticket! We crashed pretty hard, and woke up refreshed. New game plan…No booze before noon, or after 4:00. Only wine after 4:00. The people inside our heads are 15 and 24 (salacious woman!), but on the outside, we ain’t getting any younger. Enough said. We lounged around the cabin for a while, then headed out to commence more, if not milder, shenanigans. We discovered the Tobacco Road bar. This became our nightly haunt to kick things off, and we frequented a comfy couch in the corner. Secluded enough to be fairly quiet, and great for people-watching as they all traipsed by. Tobacco Road got pretty busy as the week went by, and seemed understaffed.

    All but 2 nights there was one bartender, and one server attending to the tables and couches. The server’s name was Peng, and he was awesome. The first night and the first time he brought us our wine, he ceremoniously set down a large vial of nuts and Chex-Mix stuff, stepped back, and said “Some snacks.” From that point forward, we knew him as Some Snacks. Some Snacks was awesome, and on the busier nights towards the end of the week he still took god care of us. We tipped him out accordingly on our second-to-last night. Some Snacks…. wherever you are, man…. we love you!

     

    What? It’s dinner time? If you insist. Off to the Haven restaurant for dinner, and it was amazing. Diana, the Asst. Concierge overseeing the Haven restaurant, greeted us by name, asked about our day, and gave us our usual 2-top by the window. It was after sunset, so we couldn’t see much. So, I lost myself in UltraViolet’s green eyes. Yep, I’m in love. She had the Sea Bass, which was reported to be excellent, and I had the Surf N’ Turf. It was a very good piece of meat, and as everyone on CC knows by now, NCL doesn’t have lobster. I had 4 jumbo shrimpseses (one missing from the pic, lol), the cut of meat, and a baked potato. Overall, 7/10. As always, service was beyond reproach.

     

    Since dinner was kind of late, we got a few glasses of wine from Tobacco Road, and drank them in the Haven Courtyard. It was deserted, and we had the place to ourselves. We called it an early night, and headed back to our stateroom. We were greeted by another bottle of champagne, and Jefferson's usual, amazing variety of snacks. SNACKS! One more glass on the balcony, then we fell asleep to the waves rocking us to dreamland….

    NCL Escape NOV 4-11/2017: UltraViolet & The Captain

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted · Edited by WhiskeyTangoFoxtrot

    Nov. 5th, 2017

    At Sea

    Zebra Station

     

    Ultraviolet and I have a tradition…we like to start our cruise days with coffee and fruit on our deck. It’s just a nice way to ease into the day, watching the seas slip past while waking up…and eating the only healthy food on the entire trip. Also, since we’re fairly early risers, we enjoyed several magnificent sunrises. Ever since my Navy days, I’ve always said that the most incredible sunrises and sunsets were out at sea. That holds true today.

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    Good Morning from Zebra Station!

     

     

    When all the coffee is gone, we ready ourselves for the day, and head out to what I call “second breakfast”. Which, is not to be confused with “elevensies”. Most mornings, we had a buffet breakfast in the Garden Café. We dined in the Haven restaurant one morning, but, the pace of service there is very deliberate. Not slow, mind you, but rather European. That’s great for dinner, and even lunch, but we’re pretty much ready to start our day’s adventure and don’t have time for that in the morning. Even on At Sea days, where we have nowhere to be. But we need to be there ASAP! The Haven breakfast was also the best steak I had on the cruise, but more on that later.

     

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    I loved that the buffet had Eggs Benedict. 2 kinds! Traditional, and Sausage Eggs Bennie. Guess what I had every day? The English Muffins were always just a tad gummy, but the sausage and cheese were delish (I mean, it’s sausage and cheese, right?) and the soft-boiled eggs were perfectly cooked. UV would vary on the “breakfast appetizers”, and always brought it home with a flower-shaped Belgian Waffle buried under Bananas Foster and Fruit Compote.

     

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    This day was one to explore the vastness of Escape. She did not disappoint. After breakfast, we took a 2 mile walk around the Waterfront on Deck 8. We agreed that on At Sea days, we’d try to get some exercise in. As I mentioned earlier, one complete circuit around the Waterfront is 0.3 miles. We tried the walking/running track on Deck 17 first, but…it’s too short, goes through a smoking section, and gets really slippy (yinzer) when a little rain falls. No thanks. Down to Deck 8 for us. The nice thing is, the Escape crew sets out little coffee and pastry stations on both port and starboard sides. On was always at the 5 O’Clock Somewhere bar, and I think the other was by the Waterfront’s Moderno or LaCuccina seating areas. Yep, you can take a brisk morning walk, and chow down on baked goods! If only there were a cigarette machine….

    Just kidding…some folks aren’t there to exercise, but to wake up with a continental breakfast by the sea. A really nice touch by NCL.

     

    We walked all over the ship, and were very impressed by what we found. There really is something for everyone. We spent some time in the Haven Courtyard, but didn’t use the pool. I wanted to, but every day it was monopolized by a sizeable group of children. I realize that a large contingent of cruisers believe that the Haven is “marketed to families”, but I disagree with that philosophy. The Haven is marketed to people who can afford it. Period. I’ll give them credit for being largely well-behaved, but I don’t like other people’s children. I could’ve swam in the evenings, when the pool was empty, but to me, daytime is for when you swim in a pool. It’s all good, though, the private Haven sundeck had few kids to bother us. Yes, I said bother. Several of you are grasping your angina-filled chests right about now. The nitroglycerin is on your nightstands. You’re welcome!

    So, the Haven. A curious product. We loved our stateroom, and, in fact, were happy it was not in the courtyard proper. This enabled us to mandatorily see what all the ship had to offer outside of our private enclave. The service from our stateroom attendant Muhammad, and our butler Jefferson, were above and beyond. Likewise, for the Haven restaurant staff, especially Assistant Concierge Diana and our often-times waiter, Louie, were exceptional. Norwegian, I know you read this board sometimes. All the above-named crew deserves accolades and promotions. Anyways, we were in and out of the Haven a great deal. Sometimes, the lounge/bar was deserted. Other times, it was Heaven’s Waiting Room. While waiting for priority disembarkation, this is where, um…. some personalities really shone through. Let’s just leave it at that. All the money in the world can’t purchase a molecule of class or common courtesy. That ain’t for sale, it’s taught. We never saw anything untoward during priority tendering, everyone was really cool. So, yeah, the Haven is a mixed bag of experiences and emotions. Overall very good, and I will definitely book that cabin class again. We’ll contrast & compare more later.

     

    Around lunchtime, UltraViolet and I decided to eat at Food Republic. I’d read so much good buzz about it here on CC, that I had to try it.

     

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    We were greeted by a hostess, and immediately seated. The tablet that you order from at our table was having issues, so it was replaced by staff from a nearby table. After a quick lesson by him on how to order, we were off to the races. Food Republic offers Pan-Asian cuisine in portions designed to share. Sort of Tapas, kinda not Tapas. We ordered a California Roll, Radish Salad, Buffalo style Rock Shrimp, and Rock Shrimp Pad Thai. By far, this was one of my favorite meals on the cruise. The California Roll was excellent, the Buffalo sauce on the shrimp was perfect, and the Pad Thai was spot-on. UV was not overwhelmed the way I was, and rated the entire experience as “good”. I don’t even…. I’d have liked to gone back one more time, but we were trying everything along the way, and it sadly did not occur. Well worth the ala carte $32.00.

    We spent some time relaxing on a couch all along the Waterfront, which was amazing. What a great, innovative idea NCL had with this idea. Or whomever they stole it from. I really don’t care. Oh, and drinks from 5 O’Clock somewhere. Hi, Clarense, you’re awesome, Smack Dat A$$! (It’s a drink. A very good one.)

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    After that, we wandered into the casino, where we threw a few bucks into that crazy, statistically-impossible, quarter-pushing machine. It’s fun. Like, crack cocaine is fun. Until it isn’t. You know. Right? We first visited this in my first review, last year. The manufacture is Dutch, or so it appears, but a quick Google search shows numerous Asian gaming companies who produce them. Yeah, they’re fun, yeah, they’re addictive, but no, they are not profitable. This is a game based on statistics and a certain way of stacking the coins. You’re simply not going to win. BUT THEY’RE FUN!!!!

     

    A word about the Casino. It smells like reused cigarettes were put out in a… bad place. Yeah, it’s really, really bad. I know it’s been talked about here ad nauseum, but it’s worth mentioning. One of my photos, which you’ll see in a few days, encompasses 678 Place. Deck 8 was under a haze of cigarette smoke. The photo doesn’t really show it, but it’s there. I’m a former smoker, and I’m telling you, the smoky smell in the Casino is like walking through the embers of an apartment complex that burned to the ground. NCL needs to ban smoking in the Casino, and whomever ever designed this class of ships to have the Casino where it is needs to be keelhauled.

     

    We then ventured up to Spice H2O. We had one drink, and left. It was Sunday afternoon, the games were on the big screen, and everyone around us was hammered. It was like a Frat Party. The Grotto looked super-cool, but we weren’t feeling it. We don’t enjoy drunken free-for-alls where folks are passed out mid-day, but that’s what we were presented with. Bye.

     

    We made our way back to the stateroom for a nap, then we got cleaned up for our special, invitational, cocktail hour with The Captain in the Haven Courtyard. We actually had reservations at LaCuccina during this time, and we rescheduled it to the cruise’s last night. That worked out well, more on it later. So, we showered, put on our dress clothes, and made way to the Haven Courtyard. Greeted by the Captain. He was very nice, but seemed uncomfortable with the attention. I got the impression he’d rather be back on the bridge, driving the boat. The wine was lovely (“It’s on the Captain”), the Hors d'oeuvres were lovely, but…. The head of Cruise Next, Shore Excursions, and Art Gallery, hitting us up and giving us the hard sell was pretty tacky. I get it, now. We’re Haven passengers. Therefore, we must be rich (Ha Ha). Hit them up for stuff they don’t want or need. This really put us both off. This entire get together was manufactured as an Up Sell opportunity. Poor form, Norwegian Cruise Lines. Poor form, indeed. We did take some nice pics, though. We’re fancy like that.

     

    Then it was off to the Haven Restaurant for dinner. We each had the Colossal Shrimp Cocktail (3 large prawns in a passable red sauce), and UltraViolet had the Grilled Jumbo Shrimp Skewer (Excellent), while I dined on the Surf & Turf. A Petite Filet with Jumbo Shrimp. The steak was very good, if not overwhelming, and the shrimps were excellent. No desert for us here tonight. Service and presentation were par excellence.

     

     

     

     

    After we departed this “meet and greet”, we found ourselves at the Atrium Bar. Just as we got our drinks, a Balloon Animal Making extravaganza began! UltraViolet will never pass up the chance for a good balloon animal, so she jumped in and participated. Hilarity ensued. Seriously, it was funny as Hell. Allow me to say, for all my Marine Corps brothers out there…. the Green Weenie actually exists. It was in our stateroom for 2 days, I know. It was supposed to be a sword, but…I know it was the Green Weenie. After the Balloon Debacle concluded, we each got a couple glasses of wine, headed back to our stateroom, and enjoyed them on our balcony. A fine end to a very busy, adventurous day aboard Escape.

    NCL Escape NOV 4-11/2017: UltraViolet & The Captain

    in Norwegian Cruise Line

    Posted

    Best review I’ve read on here. Rooms look amazing, never seen inside a Penthouse, quite nice with large round window and balcony off the living area, so no draught or all night balcony lights bothering you! Is the cost the same as my user name? [emoji6][emoji620]

     

     

    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

     

    CostaSmallFortune, lol.

     

    More to come tonight when I’m back on my laptop.

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