hallux

Sure does! I was on the Escape last year - they had the rock variety show, the "prom night" show and (best of all) Rumours!

That shouldn't matter, all the DR needs to know is that someone wants a table for X number of people, they don't need to know WHO is dining...

One is noted on the deck plans, deck 15... https://www.ncl.com/cruise-ship/joy/deck-plans I don't see any post-renovation video tours, not sure if it changed when they made the OL smaller. I was on the ship in 2022, any pics I might have may no longer apply.

This is the way. If you want to prevent connecting to the CellularAtSea 'tower' on the ship or any land-based towers that may be in range, airplane mode is your friend @SAmome

Well... I didn't catch it when it happened to me. I figured I had a little OBC to use and any replacement excursion wasn't going to use most of it so I decided, maybe a little sooner in the cruise than I would have otherwise, to upgrade to unlimited internet since my net cost would have been quite low. THEN the $50 charge to recoup the shorex credit I was given when I pre-booked the excursion hit my account. OOPS

A table for 13 is probably going to be several smaller tables moved together, making a long banquet-style table. Talking from one end to the other is going to be difficult but not impossible. Definitely see the maitre'd in advance. If you want to dine as a group all trip you might consider seeing them on embarkation day and setting something up.

I booked a couple of my excursions online before my last cruise, all received the Latitudes discount without issue. Another word of warning - if you pre-booked an excursion and it ends up canceled on-board (by you or NCL) the $50 credit is not initially factored in the refund, the FULL PRICE (or Latitudes-discounted price) of the excursion is credited and then there's a $50 charge the next day to account for the $50 shorex credit you received when you pre-booked the excursion.

LOL, I was 'misplaced' one time on Mackinac Island when I was a very young lad, apparently a group of college-age ladies made sure I was reunited with my family...

Luggage might not, though. There's a cut-off for luggage drop-off at the desk, after that they can't assure the bags will make the flight.

It's not explicitly on the prohibited items list - https://www.ncl.com/prohibited-items However, it does contain a fan and it's not battery-powered so it may be subject to scrutiny and possible confiscation depending on who is evaluating it and their interpretation of the rules.

Fingers crossed! However - Bliss holds those same parties on the pool deck despite having Spice...

As others noted - there are two MDRs open for breakfast, plus the included venue in the Atrium. I'm a buffet breakfast person - the omelette station is pretty good, as is the bacon and sausage. I give another vote for Le Bistro - Steak TarTare, Baked Onion soup, the Sole is my go-to meal there. In the MDR, the seemingly 'simple' breaded Flounder is one of my favorites. On my last cruise, on the Bliss, I also had a really good meal at Cagney's. Sorry to contradict you, Bird, but on the Escape I recall the dance parties being in Spice (with photo evidence. ok, maybe not the BEST photo to show a 'hopping' dance party, it was the first I found) Comedy, theater shows, The Pour House, Howl at the Moon ('dueling pianos'). The shows in The Pour House were AMAZING. If you're a Fleetwood Mac fan, they do the Rumours album start to finish one night with some speaking interludes explaining how the album/songs came to be - you need to be in line an hour or more before show time though (I walked by around 8/8:15 for a 9:30 show and the line was already quite long).

85 isn't far off from my dad's age (turns 81 during their next cruise, a TA on Princess from the Brooklyn terminal). But he and my mom know better than to do this. In fact, as much as he might not be an NCL fan, though he's never stepped foot on an NCL ship, he found no fault with what NCL did with the group in Africa...

An interesting thought on this - they called their family on board at 5:45, but how long did it take THEM to contact 'authorities' on the ship?

Re-read their post, they had the EARLIEST!