CruzinMel

You can say that again and twice on Sunday. Siva is just the best. I forgot to mention that he brought me The Best Dessert I Have Ever Had - a Coconut Flan. I wanted it every day for the rest of my life. I can't believe I forgot it until just now.

Ship - Escape Deck - 18 Stateroom # - 18106 Stateroom Category – Haven 2 Bedroom Family Villa Starboard or Port Side - Not sure Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – Yes. Because the room is so far forward, there is muted noise in the master bedroom when the ship is coming into port, and a noticeable jiggle while docking. In addition, the room is below the Haven Sun Deck, so around 6:30 each morning you will hear chairs being moved around. (Probably the same in the evening when the chairs are being stacked away.) Otherwise, just the usual banging/clanking of the hangers in the closet when the seas are rough. Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - No Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. –No obstructions - nice views from the balcony. Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal sized balcony with 2 chairs and a small table. Was wind a problem? - No. If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A Any specific problems with this cabin? - The 2nd bedroom is far less luxurious than the rest of the cabin, and is lacking in storage space/drawers. There is a large step up into the bathroom, so be mindful. The bed as a single is not very comfortable. Any other comments? - Aside from the 2nd bedroom, the rest of the cabin has ample storage space and multiple nooks and crannies. I miss the shower tremendously. At certain times (docking or leaving port), there is a slight diesel smell in the toilet area, which is not noticeable anywhere else in the cabin. The room seemed hot to us, but we were able to adjust the thermostat to be comfortable. The Haven Deck 18 can be accessed without going down to deck 17 and going through the lobby - at the end of the hall, there is a doorway with key card access that opens out to the Deck 18 stairwell.

Up Now: Food and Drink I'm back! Man, this "working every day" stuff is for the birds. . . I need another cruise! So, let's talk about my favorite part: Food, in order from best to least good. I say least good because even the dining experiences we didn't enjoy had at least one thing going for them. There are not a lot of food pics, because for myself (and just myself - this is not a knock on anybody) I think it's rude to take a pic during service. So I have pics of breakfast, and one or two other things, but that is all. (Which makes me sad, because I love other folks' food pics. Incongruous, but true.) Before we talk Food, let's talk Special Needs: I have a food allergy - I have celiac disease, which means that (for want of a quick explanation), I'm allergic to wheat, barley and rye, and that allergy occurs not just if I eat bread or pasta, but if I eat something that is prepared on the same surface as bread or pasta. This means, for example, that at home, I have my own toaster; if I toast my GF waffles in Mom's regular toaster, the little bits of toast that get stuck to the burners could end up in my body, and make me sick. (There's more to it - celiac is complex - but that's the highlights. Celiac sensitivity runs the gamut from mild reactions to one friend who is sensitive to flour particles in the air.) What does a gluten reaction look like? initially, my celiac was "silent" - I ate bread, pasta and the like for the first 50 years of my life and didn't know that I was allergic - I didn't have any gastro issues (from, ahem, upstairs or downstairs), but I had vitamin deficiencies, insanely low hemoglobin, and constant seasonal allergies and rashes. The inflammation from the gluten allergy was damaging my digestive system, but not manifesting in a traditional way. I was diagnosed accidentally, and I've been gluten-free for 2 years. Everything has improved - but now, if I eat anything wheat-related, I have a reaction that ranges from irritating rashes, fatigue, and a stomach-ache (like, say, if I eat Chinese or Japanese food made with regular soy sauce, because most soy sauce has wheat in it) to severe food poisoning upstairs and downstairs (like, say, if I wolf down a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell, not realizing it's made with a flour tortilla rather than corn, and the beef probably uses regular taco seasoning, which has flour in it). These things are not fun. I spend a LOT of time reading food labels and weighing the safety of everything I put in my mouth if I don't make it myself. That was a novel, but I wanted to explain the food thing. I love food. I don't love anything about getting glutened, and it is NOT anything I wanted to experience on vacation, whether on the ship or in port. My husband would have insisted on staying wherever I was, so if I got sick, I'd ruin my day as well as his. I resolved to eat nothing in port - which meant no long tours that involved a meal. Missing the ship because I was stuck in a Dominican bathroom, for example, was not an option. If you complete a Guest Special Needs form to document your food allergy, NCL will allow you to bring on board individual portions of pre-packaged foods suitable to your allergy. I brought on 2 boxes of Kind Bars (my emergency belly-filler, to be taken whenever we left the ship.) NCL has food allergies HANDLED. I was instructed in writing before we boarded, when we checked in at the port, and when we got to the Haven, to reach out to the dining manager and discuss my needs. Marvelous, Magical Charry reached out to him on my behalf, and when I didn't find him on the first day, Siva called me in the room. I also got really good advice about pre-ordering specialty restaurant meals from other posters on Cruise Critic. On the ship, each time we ate at a specialty restaurant, our server asked if anyone had a food allergy and upon hearing I had a gluten allergy, the server would tell me which options were suitable for me. If I ordered ahead, I could have pretty much anything I wanted. The buffet was a little more dicey (more on that later), but the buffet officers were always about, the servers on the line either knew what was GF or would find out for me, and that was enough. Everything I ate for the entire week was safe, tasted amazing, and made me very, very happy. As long as you communicate, you should eat well. On to DINING!! Where did we NOT EAT? The MDRs. I had planned to take the kids to the Manhattan Room, so they could get the MDR experience but also have the Manhattan's vibe (there is live music and a dance floor, if you time it right.) That one never happened. I told them that if you took the Haven Restaurant and made it larger, a little more chaotic and a little less amazing, the experience was comparable. Food Republic. We TRIED to eat at Food Republic, twice, but the hours that it is open are not well advertised unless you look in the Daily - there's no "open" or "closed" sign, for example, so if you are wandering the ship and see people inside, you may or may not be able to eat. I had saved some specialty dining credits for this restaurant and lost out because I expected it to be open when it wasn't. Pinchos Tapas Bar. Same - I walked past it a bunch, and never saw it open. One assumes it was. The Supper Club. I hadn't heard really good things about that meal anyway, so I was not sad. Teppanyaki. I can have hibachi at home, and we don't like the performance aspect of the meal - it's too loud and if you've seen one flaming onion, you've seen them all. Bayamo. We didn't have time or inclination. Cagney's. We didn't need Cagney's, because we went to . . . The Haven Restaurant, aka Restaurant Heaven If nothing else, the Haven is worth it because of the restaurant. The restaurant is open for every meal, including lunch on embarkation day and breakfast on disembarkation day. On Escape there is inside and outside seating. It is beautifully appointed in shades of blue and cream and silver, and I loved almost every meal I ate there. (Everybody and their grandmother eats dinner in the Haven restaurant on the last night, and they all show up at pretty much the same time and they all order lobster. That meal, I probably would eat outside the Haven.) View coming into St Thomas from outside at the Haven Restaurant - notice the tables and the canvas providing shade. You can also go out there when it is not in service, which is what we were doing at this moment. On Escape, the other reason the Haven Restaurant is amazing is because of Assistant Maitre'D, Siva. (I cannot find where I saved his picture so I wouldn't mangle his last name, and he is too wonderful for a name mangling.) Siva reached out to me by phone on Sea Day 1 because I hadn't come to find him; after that, he personally made sure that my every seated meal, whether in the Haven or outside it, was pre-ordered, delicious, and safe. It's not too much to say that Siva made my cruise. Siva is almost always in the Haven restaurant, and when he is not, the other staff and managers are likewise disciplined, efficient, and professional. We were present one morning when another passenger was irate about. . . well, something - she stood up in the middle of the restaurant, annoying all the other guests and Making a Scene about poached eggs until the staff ushered her to the outside seating and fixed whatever was wrong. (We always asked to be seated away from her, because her habit was to order for her entire table by standing up and shouting at the server as she moved from seat to seat. It annoyed.) And the food. . . did I mention I love muesli? En cruise, I eat Norwegian's Bircher muesli at the buffet for every first breakfast. I was dismayed on the first day to find that the muesli in the buffet is not gluten free. Resigned to disappointment, I made do with grits* until Siva announced that he would have muesli for me EVERY DAY. And he did. And it was good. (And pretty!) Best Second Breakfast ever - Muesli and Jasmine Tea *Note on grits: no matter where you eat, the grits will always need salt, pepper, butter and probably some cheese or bacon bits. It is what it is. The menu is a set menu - it does not rotate each night, as it would in the MDR. That said, we never made our way through the whole thing, for any meal. I never felt a lack. We didn't need Cagney's because the steak in the Haven Restaurant is better. Their lamb was so good that I tried to make an excuse to take the bones back to my room so I could gnaw on them like a feral critter - I mentioned this to someone we befriended on the cruise, and she said that her husband and sons ordered extras as room service after the meal and did just that. Siva made me gluten free CRAB CAKES - it has been over 2 years since I've had crab cakes, and these were so good I almost cried. The Pork Belly appetizer is one my favorite things ever, and Indiana had 2 different tartare type apps that she pronounced divine. DH specialized in ordering things that weren't on the menu, and got them anyway. Every day, Siva personally took my order for dinner, even if we were eating in a specialty restaurant that night. If I had a question about what to order, he told me, resulting in Lambapalooza at Le Bistro. I had one non-muesli breakfast, and I could have had Shrimp Toast every day of my life after that. Shrimp Toast, Gluten Free It is possible to order from other restaurants on the ship and have that served in the Haven restaurant. We met a lady named Stacy who was on her 34th cruise in the Escape Haven, and observed her eating solo one evening. She had a never-empty glass of red wine, which she sipped on while she read a book until a HUGE bowl of Asian noodles was delivered to her table. I wanted those noodles. The children enjoyed ordering breakfast along with the buffet breakfast options - basically, continental breakfast for those who wanted to snack or not have a full breakfast. I thought they'd have indulged in the pastries (including the famous almond croissants), but instead they feasted on salmon with capers. The first sign that Drumboy was having the Best Cruise Ever was our first family meal at the Haven Restaurant - apparently, he'd eaten like a king at a solo meal, because he was greeted by name, taken to his favorite spot (towing us along), and offered the wine list immediately, where he selected his favorite white. He left us early at one meal, because he had an appointment at the Haven Bar. Shah was going to make him a Smoked Manhattan - the Smoked Old Fashioned required at least 3 people to order it, but the Smoked Manhattan went a step beyond because it required special equipment. I tasted it - it was a work of art. The rest of us didn't spend much time at the Haven Bar because No Crown, but Drumboy knew everyone by name and pronounced it good. MODERNO: YES, PLEASE. Green Card. Folks have different feelings about Moderno; my feeling on Escape is a resounding YES. Moderno is really rather difficult to eat at because the Brazilian steakhouse concept offers an extensive pre-meal buffet with such diverse and delicious offerings that you could eat that buffet and be satisfied. Foolishly, I loaded up my plate thinking my dining partners might like to taste things, and they did not, so I ate it all. (Except the soups. I avoid buffet soups because you just never know.) And then, our awesome server brought The Bread. I already knew about The Bread. The Bread at Moderno is a Brazilian cheese bread made with tapioca flour - which means it is always gluten free. I buy it at the Publix whenever I see it, because it is delicious. So there I was with my asparagus spears and shaved parmesan and manchego and beefsteak tomato and The Bread, and then. . . the gauchos came out, with their spears full of deliciousness. Picanha. Filet. Bacon wrapped chicken breasts. Chicken drumsticks. Roasted pork. Sausages. Some other kind of steak. Rack of lamb and loin of lamb. ROASTED PINEAPPLE. And then, the sides - yuca and mashed potato and rice and black beans. And then they offered us DESSERT. (Rice pudding - gluten free, but not delicious. Get the creme brulee. Or order ice cream and then get the roasted pineapple on top of it.) Drumboy got the Meat Sweats halfway through the meal and went to take a nap. We and the table next to us roared with stuffed, happy laughter. La Cucina: Ocean Olive Garden with Great Service En cruise, I have Osso Bucco at La Cucina. It is the only time and place I eat veal, because making veal is mean to baby cows. DH has their filet, because it's one of the best on the ship. I also have Pannacotta for dessert, because it is delicious and I am too lazy to make it at home. These things are known. This cruise, my Osso Bucco was the only thing I pre-ordered before Siva took me in hand, but the Maitre D' at La Cucina is a dream - my meal was mostly perfect. My forebears were Italian, and I am a sauce snob - I usually do not order pasta at an Italian restaurant because I usually can make better myself. In this case, I was correct - marinara at La Cucina tasted like Chef Boyardee (but their GF noodles actually tasted good - at home, I've taken to eating my sauce without noodles because GF noodles suck.) At La Cucina, instead of GF bread (which was routinely two slices of toasted sandwich bread), I asked for The Bread from Moderno, which I received hot and fresh from the kitchen. Our meal at La Cucina coincided with Drumboy taking a dejected DH in hand and introducing him to the Only Bottle of Crown Royal on the ship, which was reduced to half a bottle by the time we got to dinner. A happy DH is a loud DH; when La Cucina's Maitre D' asked us where we'd like to sit (we were there early at 5:30), I said sotto voce, "Where do you put the drunk people?" and he tucked us away outside, where we enjoyed our meal as the sun set. The food was in the middle - tasty enough - but the service and seating were exactly right. No food pics, but you can't beat that view at dinner. O'Sheehan's: I think it was good? We only ate at O'Sheehan's once, for a snack after Le Bistro and gambling, and I had consumed copious amounts of wine, so all I ate was french fries. DH had a burger, and pronounced it good, and Indiana loved the wings. Our server was a doll. There was always a dinner special at O'Sheehan's, different from whatever was going on in the buffet, so check the Daily for that. I know one night was prime rib. Apparently at O'Sheehan's, you get a number on your table. Also yes - that there is a canned Coke. I was two-handing my wine in true redneck fashion (Indiana didn't like hers, so I had to help her out, and it needed to be cold!). Since we had Premium Plus, that carton of Flow water was included. Yes, DH is a Dallas fan. Go Cowboys! American Diner: I wouldn't have paid for it That sounds really cold, because we had a great meal, but on a ship full of equal or better offerings, I wouldn't have paid for it. American Diner was free to Haven passengers on embarkation day, so we took advantage of it. (I have just realized we did not eat lunch in the Haven restaurant one single time. Huh.) Anyway, it was our first meal on the ship; food was good, service was great, all in all good, but not a specialty. And we never got a milkshake. Also, there was only one GF option there, and I would not have wanted to eat spinach salad again. It was DH's favorite burger, though. The Buffet: So. Many. People. DH is a huge buffet fan, and I used to be. I like buffets for the selection, and NCL's buffets never fail to offer a wide range of meal choices. Breakfast can be grits, eggs, omelettes, muesli, oatmeal, continental, full English, Indian, or a sandwich. Lunch and dinner include the ubiquitous pizza (which my people pronounced good) and always offer a rotating selection of Indian food (Indiana's favorite), Asian food, sandwiches, American comfort food, and whatever theme they are doing at night. (Seafood, steamship, Caribbean, etc.) Desserts are adquate, and ice cream by the scoop is available. On Escape, everything we tried was hot and tasty, refreshed frequently, and generally good. DH remarked that it got to be monotonous after a while, but that's because despite what he thinks, he's not a fan of a wide-ranging variety of foods. A buffet is only as diverse as what you put on your plate. At standard meal times, Escape's buffet is a madhouse of roaming, meandering, stopping, starting, randomly-turning-around, lane-blocking, and occasionally rude passengers. Add to this occasionally screaming children and constantly roaming crew, replenishing silverware and removing plates and cups within 30 seconds of hitting the table, and it's not a happy place to eat. Indiana hated it, and after our first breakfast I refused to go there except at odd times. Plus, for me, I rarely felt comfortable eating in the buffet. The crew cooking the food was great, but I knew that at any time I could be glutened if a fellow diner used the same set of tongs to grab bread and anything else that I then ate. (Some folks do not have home training.) I wasn't worried about the french fries, because I already knew they were fried in dedicated grease, but if we'd eaten lunch and dinner at the buffet, I'd have lived on french fries, sandwich meat and Indian food. First breakfast was my go-to buffet meal, but only because I was usually alone and most of the passengers were asleep - I try to catch as many sunrises as I can on a cruise. On Escape, the buffet is on Deck 16 (I think - could be 17?), but a less-known secret is that (at least for breakfast), the American Diner one deck away (I can't remember if it's above or below) has a limited breakfast buffet and seating. I ran through the main buffet for eggs and bacon, grabbed grits and juice in American Diner, and did my first breakfasts there. Small breakfast buffet at American Diner - grits, oatmeal and cream of wheat are at the end Grits and Eggs and Bacon and Tortola after sunrise Last, and Least: Le Bistro, aka The Dining Debacle, aka Lambapalooza, aka Bananaland We don't usually eat at Le Bistro. DH doesn't like to dress up if he doesn't have to and in true American style, we don't like an overly-long dinner service. (Well, we don't think we do. I think we might, with the right company.) Plus, on Escape, Le Bistro is below the casino, and all the smoke floats downward; I have always been concerned that the smell of the smoke will interfere with dinner, or that we will be seated outside and . . .no. But since this was the kids' first cruise and an opportunity to show them fine dining, I insisted. We dressed up (or as much as DH would - slacks and his Dallas polo were as far as he would go. I talked Indiana out of wearing what I refer to as her Cow Pants, at least. Drumboy got the message - blazer, slacks, button down.) We appeared for our reservation at 5:45, and I was worried that we'd be late for the Haven escort to Malevo that night - the Haven concierge escorts guests to theater shows 45 minutes before they start, and you don't have to sit in the Haven section - so Drumboy (who knows acoustics) tells us where to sit and we have a great show. I figured even with a slow meal, 5:45 would be enough for us to get there 15 minutes before showtime - an hour and a half should be sufficient, right? Nope. Maybe for a normal meal, but definitely not when the entirety of Le Bistro at 5:45 was taken up by two four-tops and three huge tables with about 15 guests at each. The minute we were seated, I started to leave because I knew we were not going to make our show time and I worried that we would not have a good meal. There's no staff in the world that could have managed that. So I have to give big props to the staff at Le Bistro, because while our meal was slow, and caused us to miss Malevo, they did a good job considering the challenge. The children did not experience fine dining that night, but they did get to learn about what a sommelier does, we tried a variety of wines, and I think their food was ok. Wine our sommelier recommended since we were having a variety of dinner choices; it smelled to me like a wet dog, but tasted wonderful. Indiana said my nose was bonkers, because it smelled good, too. Having the Premium Plus Beverage Package helps at Le Bistro - I probably should have had more Veuve. For my appetizer, I had the scallops with cauliflower veloute and I wanted to lick the bowl or order another serving of the veloute. The scallops, despite being tiny, had a very strong taste, so the veloute balanced them out. On Siva's advice, I pre-ordered the lamb and received a huge portion - and I ate it all. (Me: "Siva, do you think they could do the lobster?" Siva: "I can do lobster any time you want. You should try their lamb." And he was right.) Indy had the duck and pronounced it unremarkable; DH had a filet, which was ok; Drumboy had the seafood which was good. My meal was really the best. Desserts were likewise unmemorable, except that I had flourless chocolate cake that was so heavy I couldn't eat more than a bite. I should have gotten the cheese or the sorbet. It was our least favorite meal, despite the efforts of the staff. I couldn't help wondering what it might have been like if the seating had been less challenging. What Le Bistro lacked in ambiance and taste, it exceeded in entertainment. Aside from the showmanship at the delivery of the entrees (each entree comes out with a cover, which is removed with great fanfare), the people-watching through the windows is the best. This was a photo night, so various groups of nicely-dressed families and friends were gathering at the foot of the central staircase for photos. One assumes that this particular group was friendly? With apologies to my fellow diner - I cut off as much of him as I could: I'd heard of Furries, but this was new. I'm guessing the monkey was in charge. You have to imagine that you are drinking copious amounts of wine while trying to convince yourself you are enjoying a chaotic, noisy, loud, subpar dinner, and then you see THAT out of the corner of your eye, and think, "I MUST be drunk." They were lining up on the stairs for their group picture as we left Le Bistro - there had to be at least 20 of them, all bananas except for the one monkey and Carmen Miranda up there. But they were having fun, and isn't that the point? DH prevented me from introducing myself. 🙂 And that, friends, is the novel about Dining. I hope it helps! I'm going to finish up with a final post about on board activities and embarkation, and then my trip diary will be complete. Since this is already horribly long, I will leave you with some sunrises (which look suspiciously like sunsets, so you will have to take my word for it.) Not a sunrise, but the morning view from breakfast at the Haven Restaurant: Greeting the sun and Tortola from the sports court above Spice H20: The view from a hot tub at Spice H20 on the last sea day - the sun is getting ready to peek over the horizon: And Good Morning!

My deepest apologies, esteemed Seeker - your humble correspondent is back at it! 🙂

HI Rose! Yes - Choir of Man is on more than one night, and at more than one time. On our cruise, Malevo was the first sea day, then Choir of Man the next night, and then that was repeated in reverse on the last 2 nights. The Choir of Man and Pour Band performers were the only ones we saw out on the ship - we ran into some of the Choir coming out of Food Republic one night, and sat next to some of the Pour House players at O'Sheehan's another night.

I realize it might make you want to fling things at the screen, but I delayed dining...I was watching Dallas and wondering if they had to take their kicker for counseling.

Next: Ports - We Made 'Em All!! (Sorry for the delay - Prince Harry made me read his book this weekend. Blame it on the aristocracy.) One of the things I'm noticing on NCL overall and this itinerary specifically is that not every cruise is making every stop as scheduled. Whether it's skipping Puerta Plata (which looks to be related to scheduling and space at Amber Cove, because Escape hasn't been back to Taino Bay since it grounded) or not tendering at Great Stirrup Key, if you get irritated when your itinerary gets changed on the fly, this is likely not the cruise for you. If you don't mind an extra sea day or a quick change - go for it! That factored into my excursion bookings, after I got past the initial difficulty of planning excursions for folks with mobility challenges. My hat is off to those who do - we saw some motorized scooters in port, but few wheelchairs and not many rollators. The struggle is real. Puerta Plata - Amber Cove: Viator excursion with Alfredo's Tours Puerta Plata was a challenge, from the beginning. Since we booked after final payment but before 120 days, I was within the Haven booking time slot and I booked excursions through NCL: the Damajagua Waterfalls tour for the kids and an Explore Puerta Plata/Beach day for DH and myself. When I rearranged the pax on my booking a week or two later (and after the 120 day window opened), one person fell off of each set of excursions, and the Waterfalls tour sold out before I realized I only had 1 ticket. On the advice of our PCC, I randomly checked the website, but never could squeeze in. Then Drumboy wasn't interested in that tour anyway, so we let it go and got a refund back on my credit card. I kept the Explore tour, which had booked up in the interim, so I kept checking the website, hoping to score at least 1 more spot. Never happened - everything on NCL's site booked up well before the cruise date and nothing was available until we got on the ship. I never knew why. Bottom line: tours sell out FAST, you can only cancel by calling the excursions desk, and you better be careful when you make your reservation because if you change things after your tours are booked, you could get messed up. I had explored the web enough to decide that whether it was Amber Cove or Taino Bay, DH and Mom and I would have a port day at the pool and bar, and we'd send the kids off. After Mom canceled, I booked a Puerta Plata tour for the 4 of us with Viator, whom I'd used on a couple of other trips and trusted. I received very communicative emails from the tour vendor, saying that since it was a very busy day in port he was pretty booked, but he'd find us a driver if we could meet them outside the port area. No big! We can walk! I didn't cancel my remaining ticket until we got on board, and Magical Marvelous Charry took care of it for us. I had worried because free cancellation required 48 hours notice - I got my refund, though. Escape arrived at Amber Cove a lovely, hot morning. It was sunny and beautiful, and DH and I enjoyed breakfast while watching repairs or renovation on the pool deck of the Niew Amsterdam, which arrived before us. The kids had partied too heartily the night before, so they ditched us (this tour was $50/person, which I could have canceled but I had to eat, thanks, kiddos.) Then it was my favorite time - off the ship! The music, the sun, the two ships together, the water. . . cruise heaven. And bike taxis. Bike taxis coming really close to the ship. Huh. Haven't seen that before in the mornings, although I've seen it in the afternoons. Bit odd. Hello, gorgeous! See the elderly gentleman, next to the bike taxi already up to the Escape? (Also, ain't the fishie cute?!) That gentleman didn't need any bike taxi! He kicked our butts!!! Beautiful DR . . . but no sailboats in the bay, which was a little odd. So, we walked. We tried to keep up with the Elder, who was booking it. And we walked. I thought Cozumel had the longest dock, but Amber Cove has them beat. We walked down one side of the dock, hooked a right, walked the longest dock ever, then navigated through the duty free and the shops and restaurants, then through the terminal where all the LUCKY PEOPLE were hopping on their buses. . . ...and we walked past them, past security, across a bridge, through a FARM with smelly but happy cows. . . (I'm not kidding - they were on the other side of that fence, but this picture was prettier). . . .up a hill, around a corner, then down a four-lane divided highway full of tour groups meeting up and tour operators trying to sell tours - this is looking back at the entrance to the port . . . (see DH looking over his shoulder? He is not a fan of long walks - he says he walked enough in the Marines and then walked more in the Army National Guard, and walking is not his idea of a vacation activity, but he is a good sport.) And finally, a lovely man named Andres was holding a sign with our name on it, so we stopped walking and hopped in his air-conditioned Kia, which he retrieved from its parking spot another half mile down the road. Only one problem: Andres' English was as good as my Spanish, which is enough to ask about bathrooms and beer. My Spanish improved after we did 9 shots of rum at our first stop, and Andres was a good sport, who played cool music once he realized I like salsa, took us all over the town, and took 47 pictures of us in different spots. (I counted. It was 47.) It was a hot, lovely day - we skipped the beach, but I'd definitely go back. The DR has the best roads we've encountered in the Caribbean, sandwiched between beautiful countryside. The duty-free shops had no Crown Royal, but lots of rum. Once we got through the shopping area, DH did his favorite thing: hopped in a bike taxi, and way overtipped the driver for hauling our big booties back to the ship. We never did see the pool/bar area, but Drumboy was going out as we went in, and pronounced it fun. *Mobility note: A scooter could have done the sidewalks and port area here, and we saw several, but holy cow, you'd have needed an extra battery if you didn't do a ship's tour. St Thomas - Havensight - NCL tour to Magen's Bay, Paradise Point, and Shopping (which we did not do, because I hate shopping) Our arrival time was changed from 11 am to 12 noon - I never knew why and we didn't get an extra hour to compensate, so I guess I could have gotten angry about it? I was able to book this tour online on the app after we boarded, which surprised me. We've been to St Thomas 3 times now, and and it has rained every time - we must be a jinx. Drumboy joined me for first breakfast outside at the Haven restaurant, where we were rewarded with A View. It appears there may be a pot o' gold somewhere on the hull. DH joined us later and we watched docking - the pilot BACKED Escape into the berth, and some suicidal dude in a catamaran tempted death by getting too close, so they HONKED THE HORN at him. Once ashore, the children proceeded to warm the cockles of my heart by immediately slathering each other in sunscreen (I'm not kidding - we are pale, pale people), and off we went in the usual open-air people-mover which cheated death and ground gears as we went over the mountain to Magens Bay, which was beautiful, expensive, and after the arrival of the folks from Wonder of the Seas, crowded. Also, the water was FREEZING, but after the first Painkiller, I didn't care. The water was fortunately warmer than the torrential rainstorm that came down on our heads - well, fortunately for me and Drumboy, because we stayed in the water while DH and Indy got soaked and frozen. DH had Crown at Magens, which probably saved him from having a heart attack when the kids and I went shopping for some dry things to wear at Paradise Point. Drumboy got a fabulous hat and enlarged his Hawaiian shirt collection. It was a basic day - beautiful, but I think I am done with St Thomas. The late departure meant we saw something unique: St Thomas from the sea at night, which is absolutely beautiful. *Mobility note: lots of standing in line, lots of crowds, not a long walk from the ship into the port area, but there is no way anybody with a scooter, wheelchair or rollator could have crammed into our people carrier. Tortola - who knows? The day in port was so early and so short, and the Jost Van Dyke excursion sold out so fast, that we didn't plan any tours. (Unless you count looking for Crown Royal, which sadly, was fruitless.) DH, Indy and I walked off the ship, which was amazingly close to the port/shopping area; we searched for booze and jewelry for Mom, who had informed us in St Thomas that she wanted an emerald bracelet for no more than $400. (Yes. Four Hundred dollars. Emeralds. Didn't happen.) Thwarted, we had daquiris and did some people watching, and had a surprisingly enjoyable time. Tortola looked pretty - maybe we'll go back one day. *Mobility note - shortest pier, with some cobblestones to negotiate in the shopping area before you got to smooth sidewalks and taxis fairly close by - I can't say much else, though. I had some pics of Tortola, but this is the best one - you really get a feeling for the shortness of the walk to the shopping area. We are standing at a plaza right outside the restaurant where we had daquiris. It's basically the length of the ship, which is not bad. Great Stirrup Cay - our favorite day. I get why folks are upset when they can't make it, because it was truly beautiful and fun. I didn't eat anything, so I can't speak to the food, but whooooooo-eee, the drinks are plentiful and strong. DH was sucked into competing to be Mr. Bicep, and came in 3rd after doing 20 pushups with all the dudes half his age. (And weight. My man is luscious.) The seas were beautifully flat when we arrived; the 4 of us had a leisurely morning and took a tender at noon. A tender and a cup of tea. . . The water was even more frigid than St Thomas, but after the second daquiri, I did not care, and all the sober people and their kids cared less than that. White sands, blue water, beautiful. We tried to talk our way into Silver Cove, but unless you book a massage at the spa, it is off limits to those without Villas, and there are guards at the gates who will cheerfully but firmly tell you "No" even if you offer them your daquiri as collateral. DH made me leave the water sometime around 4 or 5 - I have no idea, really - and we joined the long, long line for the tenders. Norwegian gives you subtle hints - they shut down the buffet at 2 pm, for example, leaving you with only pound cake and cookies for sustenance, but the bars stay open. Luckily for us, folks from the Haven roam the tender lines - Marvelous Charry snatched us out of line, and tucked us onto a tender before other folks who probably wanted to smack us. I was properly sozzled, but not enough to notice that we spent quite a while bobbing away next to Escape rather than getting off; in the afternoon, the waves had picked up enough that tendering got dicey. Drumboy had ditched us to go ziplining at the last minute; he got plucked out of the line and placed on a tender, but his ended up bobbing around for about 45 minutes before anybody could get off. *Mobility note: the tendering process is not for the slow, the faint of heart, or the mobility impaired, no matter what they tell you. In calm seas, I had to time the bobbing of the ship and the tender, and the gangplank moves - there is no way on this planet we'd have gotten my mom on that morning tender, short of picking her up and carrying her. Once the tender gets to the island, there is a short walk involving a hill, before you can get to the beach wheelchairs (readily available.) Once on the island, there is plenty of that blue sand carpeting stuff that makes it easy to move about, and everything is ADA compliant - but you have to get there, first. Mom would probably be living at Silver Cove today, because we'd never have gotten her back on the ship. And that, friends, is ports! I've tried to stick to ship/mobility/access issues, but if you want to know more, let me know and I'll put something on the ports of call page.

I'm not sure what you mean about hijacked elevators - we were in the Haven on Escape earlier this month, and someone told DH that if you held down the "close doors" key it would make the elevator run express - totally not true.

Dining is up next....I went down a book wormhole this weekend (its Prince Harry's fault, so blame him). Our dinner at Le Bistro was...Bananas. Thank you for your thoughts for Mom. She made it through the week in good shape, thanks to her wonderful caregiver. Upon our return, she presented me with a table full of Christmas decorations that I missed putting away before I left, which made her happy. She likes to delegate.

Next up: Entertainment on Board 10 PM parties at Spice H20: Every time I cruise - EVERY single time! - I promise myself that I am going to stay up late and go to the parties at Spice H20, and I never make it. This cruise was no exception. I managed to stay up until 11 one night, but Drumboy was already roaming and I had gotten deaf because Indy sat me in front of a bank of speakers for an hour. . . but I'm ahead of myself. Drumboy lived at Spice H20 every night, and lost his voice after the Glow Party (he blamed it on the smoke machines), but all I can report is if you are a 20-something with Premium Plus, you will love them. He and Indy went one night, and she enjoyed it as well, but left him at 2 am (he came in at 5 that morning.) Drumboy did report that the party the last night, where the performers from the ship and shows entertained, was short and the least impressive party. That surprised me, but maybe they were tired? Choir of Man: Amazing. Go. Go as many times as you can. I should have. Also, when they offer you a beer from the stage pre-show, go get it. Drumboy reported it was a lager and quite tasty. Two of the men seated at the table below are cruise guests, finishing up their beers. This show has an audience-participation component, and is big fun. Those standing ovations at the end were entirely deserved. The cast encourages the audience to take pics and videos and post them online. Malevo: Who knows? We had it reserved, and missed it (see: Dining Debacle). From what we heard from other cruisers, the first couple of sets were good, but then the beats were repetitive and it did not hold the audience's interest. I didn't know that our cruise was their last on Escape, but they are gone. Supper Club, Barricade Boys, Bamboozled - no idea. Didn't make any of them, and actually didn't run into anybody saying we HAD to go. Choir of Man was the only show with that kind of buzz. Music in public spaces: Blue Travelers played in the Atrium a lot, with some nice sounds but not the "wow" I expected. DH is an aficionado of silky soul and R&B and they were not to his taste, but other cruisers enjoyed their sets. I tried to go to the District, because whoever was playing sounded like fun, but we were always headed someplace else and never went. We listened for a very short while to a piano-and-bass combo in the Atrium, but not long enough - they sounded good to me. Syd Norman's Pour House and the Pour House Band: My absolute favorite. Go, go, go. We stumbled into Syd's on the first sea night, and it must have been before the word really got out because we just walked in and sat down, long enough to get some cocktails. The first show was "Rock the Pour House", and apparently I was raised on progressive rock because I knew all the words and had a blast. The singers are amazing - one of the female leads sang a Heart song better than Heart - and the lead guitarist inspired a cult following which Indy quickly joined. Harmonies on point, musicians so talented you could cry . . . yes. Totally lived up to the hype. I wanted to go back for other shows, but again - we were just busy, busy, busy in the evenings. I made a point to go to "Rumors", because it is Indy's absolute favorite album, and by then, the word was out - we waited in line for half an hour to get in, and then waited another half hour before the show even started. Rumours was (mercifully for me*) shorter - it's literally that whole album from start to finish, with explanations of the songs in between. Drumboy went to the Prom and said it was fun. (He's not a rock guy.) The best pianist from Choir of Man played the keyboard for Rumours, which I thought was a nice touch. *Indy sat us up front so she could watch the guitarist. I got the speaker side and spent the whole show covering up one ear. But it was still fun.

I was hoping so - I was worried the pics were excessive, but it was truly hard to find. 🙂

Next up: Life On Board - Internet, American Football, NYE, and the Haven 2 Br Family Villa I'm going to hop and skip a bit; as is usual, the sea days have all blurred together and I didn't see a need to publish my dailies (I saved them all just in case) once I saw that someone on that other site published hers the week after we disembarked. Plus, mine have Malevo and Malevo is done on Escape for good. But there's only one place to start: Internet. If you recall, two different Haven pre-cruise concierges told me that the New Year's Eve bowl games wouldn't be on the ship (Walter even checked the channel listing and confirmed that ESPN is not a channel on the TV on Escape.) So, I bought streaming internet for DH; I figured DH would watch the games on NYE, and then as usual he'd park his phone in the safe and we'd give the login to whichever kid was dying for internet. Two interesting addenda: When I spoke with Concierge Walter on the way to the port, he told me that the ship had taken over my booking, so there was a limit to what he could do; apparently, that's why you get locked out from booking excursions, etc, a couple of days before embarkation. Walter sold me the streaming internet but told me to confirm once I got on the ship. I got the same message from the Shore Excursions desk when I called to cancel an excursion right before we left - they were locked out. Charry had to cancel it for me onboard and if I hadn't had Charry, I'd have been in line at Guest Services to do it. And that line. . . ugh. At any rate, I figured I had the internet covered. Nope. We used our regular internet from Verizon before we left port; once we got out to sea, DH couldn't get the streaming to work. I never figured out how to use it at all. We ran up on a very grumpy group of Michigan fans at Sugarcane - they had streaming internet and couldn't get it to work, and were rather put out to be missing their game. (Lots of Michiganders and Canadians on this cruise, btw.) But guess what was on the big tv in Spice H20, larger than life? You got it - ESPN. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you. . . Stetson Bennett on the open-ocean big screen. We sat at Spice H20 and watched Michigan/TSU and UGA/OSU until we got cold and tired of smelling cigarette smoke (we are non-smokers and even with ventilation from the sea, gusts of smoke get stinky and annoying after a while.) We went to our stateroom at halftime and were rewarded with ESPN and our game. So don't believe anybody, even Norwegian employees who *should* know - the ships make special arrangements for special games. We later learned the game was also on at O'Sheehan's. Back in the stateroom, comfy and warm, DH, Indy, and I prayed hard, despaired mightily, and screamed in the New Year not with a countdown like the rest of the ship, but with war cries of joy and amazement as that poor OSU kicker missed his field goal and Georgia squeaked its way to the Natty. Here's DH, mid-despair: We didn't see Drumboy for the countdown; later he told us he was back on Spice H20, where there was a huge party. When we left, we'd walked past a couple hundred champagne glasses staged just outside the entrance to H20. There were parties all around the ship - our Embarkation Daily included a flyer with a description of what was going on where. Some passengers were dressed to the nines, and others were comfortable like we were. That evening and the next day, the standard greeting from the crew was "Happy New Year!" You will note in DH's pic above that the Haven rooms are different; there are too many good videos on the Tube for me to take time showing or describing the room. It was beautiful and amazing, although slightly smaller than I remembered (or perhaps I'm bigger.) For 4 adults, or perhaps 3 adults and 2 children, it works. Storage is ample, especially in the "nook and cranny" department, although the lack of drawers in the 2nd bedroom meant Indy kept all her non-hanging clothes in her suitcase. DH and I took the master, with that comfy king bed; Indy took the 2nd bedroom and Drumboy slept on the couch in the living room. Although the 2nd bedroom couch makes into a full bed, Freddie (our Steward) kept it as a single. Indy reported that even with the mattress pad, it was not very comfortable, because she'd get stuck in the seam between the bottom and back. For whatever reason, she refused to ask Freddie to make the whole thing up - I think she liked the walking space. She did NOT like having to remember to step up to walk into the bathroom, and we think she broke a toe. There is no way on this planet that DH and I would have managed to sleep together in that room or that bed, and there is no way Drumboy would have survived climbing into the loft unscathed. Drumboy slept maybe 4 hours at a clip (he really was at Maximum Cruise). We think he was comfortable, from the snoring, but then we'd blink and he'd be gone again. He pronounced the couch good, but he's a couch surfer even in his own house. All of our pre-cruise concierge requests but one were fulfilled - the fridge was emptied and we had apple juice, OJ, and a pitcher of water. We had snacks ready when we entered the room, and mattress pads for the 2 single beds. The special needs items for Mom were being placed in the room when we went up to drop off our bags, wrapped in plastic - we were able to stop Freddie from unwrapping them. The only thing we didn't have was a lounger instead of chairs on the balcony, but that was not a deal-breaker. The only quibble I had was that our drinks were never replenished; if I had asked Renson, I know he would have made it happen and fast, but I didn't really think about it enough. Our snacks were an unending flow of munchies, and Renson made a special point to make sure I had gluten free choices along with everybody else's (bless you, Renson! I never felt left out or hungry.) We drank every single carton of Flow water we came across, but I don't know if they were covered under Premium Plus or we paid for them (I will have to look at the bill. I know there's a big brou haha going on about free cartons.) Sad to say, Mom would have put us over the top and I don't think anybody would have been comfortable. I have no idea where we would have put her wheelchair or rollator, and having the 4 other adults share one tiny toilet area would have been horrid. I cannot recommend the Haven 2 Br Family Villa for 5 adults, unless they are VERY skinny, enjoy being VERY close to each other, and can see in the dark so they don't fall over anything.

Am I reading that your stop in Bermuda got changed? I thought I saw that one another thread. Some of the Shenanigans, I am not allowed to publish. But I'll share what I can! lol

It might depend on the restaurant. Last week they boxed up my daughter's dessert from La Cucina and she left with it.

I just got off Escape last week, and I have Celiac - I spent a marvelous week eating wonderful food that was safe for me, and delicious. (I glutened my own dang self once I got home, though. I miss Siva. Siva would never have let me eat a Mexican Pizza from Taco Bell.) I filled out a pre cruise Guest Special Needs form, so it was noted all over my reservation. Eerywhere we ate, the server asked about allergies, and made sure I had gluten free bread, etc. The biggest thing, though, was finding an advocate and for me that was Siva Kamatchi, who manages the Haven Restaurant. (I feel.confident that had I not been in the Haven, I'd have been taken care of in the MDR, but Siva was amazing.) Each evening at dinner, I pre-ordered the meal for wherever we were eating the next evening. If I wasn't sure about an option, Siva helped me choose one. The biggest change was that we ate less at the buffet because I wasn't sure about my fellow guests- I was sure about french fries being GF for example, but not sure whether a fellow guest might have used a bread tong to grab French fries, as vigilant as the buffet crew are. So, there was that. We ate in 3 specialty restaurants, and I pre ordered there, too. (Good thing, too - my lamb at Le Bistro was better than everybody else's food.) The only thing I ate off the ship was a piece of corn, because I was NOT going to get stuck on St Thomas because I got trapped in a bathroom. So, it's doable. It's a tiny bit less spontaneous, but that is worth it to be safe and enjoy your cruise.

I'm hoping you've got a review up as well? Life and work have kept me crazy busy this week, so I'm way behind. So glad you had a great cruise!

Next: How Do I Get In There, Haven Edition: We parked the truck in the garage, with DH doing his usual backing in and collapsing the mirrors routine. The kids and I were excited and took about 47 selfies in the parking garage, which made no sense but whatever. We walked down the garage ramp, past the luggage and porters, to the terminal building itself, and I heaved a huge sigh because all I saw was THIS: open doors, industrial building, blue tents . . . where the heck was the Haven check in? I managed to find where we'd have picked up Mom's wheelchair - the Scootaround folks are clustered under one of the blue tents, toward the middle of the terminal building, but it's likely that the only reason I noticed was because I was looking so hard for Haven. (With apology to random strangers. If you see yourself, hi there!) Somehow, some way, as I scanned the building and the family became more and more restless, I saw this tiny flash of gold - ALLLLL the way to the right side of the building. Do you see it? How about now? I mean, for what they charge for the Haven, you'd think they could get a bigger sign; they never got bigger than this. The nice lady sitting at the table took a look at our printed-out eDocs, checked our names off a list, and directed us up the escalator. I can TOTALLY see how someone who missed that tiny gold sign would end up checking in with everybody and their grandkids. But we lucked out - once up the escalator, you are boom - at the security area. Our eDocs were checked again, as were our passports; bags through the machines, bodies through the scanners, and poof - done. No lines to speak of, although our check in time was 9:30 am and that might have had something to do with it. (This is taken from the ship later - doesn't Port Canaveral look lovely? - but what I want you to see is the luggage area, and the end of the terminal building - that's where to drop off your luggage, then cross the street and look for tiny gold signs under blue tents.) Once through security, the next bit of confusion: which line? When you exit security, there is a hallway with about 6 different rope lines to join - and NONE of them say Haven. Priority Boarding, Latitudes levels, you name it - no Haven. A representative directed us to walk all the way down to the other end of the terminal for Haven check-in. If she hadn't been there, we'd have missed it utterly and picked a line at random, and would have ended up here: No crowds, but NOT Haven check-in (Also, this is not the prettiest terminal I've been in.) We walked all the way down the terminal, again looking for a flash of gold. Halfway to the end, we encountered this lovely lady - and a flash! Do you see it? And finally, FINALLY, completely at the opposite end of the terminal from where Haven guests enter, we found Haven check-in. Let's all say thanks to DH for being our tour guide! Now, I'm not complaining too hard, because I'm young and healthy and not subject to confusion too often - but this one doesn't make much sense. Why not keep Haven security and Haven check-in together? Once at the check-in area, we explained that Mom was a no-show, and I signed a health questionnaire for everybody. 2 of us had our pics retaken, and 2 of us didn't - strange, but whatever. I wasn't arguing. After about 10 minutes, which entailed the questionnaire, the pics, signing a doc, presenting my credit card and getting our gold Haven key cards in little Haven wallets, we were set loose upon the pastries and beverages before being ushered over into an adjacent area to sit with the other Haven guests until the ship was ready. Guests were still disembarking at 10:30 am, so we sipped our coffee and checked our social media and chatted with our fellow guests and took an embarkation photo until suddenly, it was time! We walked behind our usher, past the hundreds of fellow guests who just got to the port, up the ramps. . . and time for vacation! Or not quite. I'm accustomed to going straight to the Haven area, but instead we went straight to our muster location, where our cards were scanned (poof!) and we turned RIGHT around and went to the elevators to deck 17 and the Haven lobby. Once inside the Haven, we waited a bit before our marvelous, magical, miracle-creating Concierge David Trumbull and his staff gave us introductions and instructions, along with slips of paper to reserve our show times. I hopped in line and met my Vacation Hero, the equally marvelous, magical, and miraculous Charry, who fixed my botched dining reservations, sold me the Premium Beverage Package for 4, printed us new cards, canceled my botched reserved shore excursion in Puerta Plata, confirmed Mom as a no-show and put in a notice to take back all the special needs accoutrements (no more raised toilet seat or shower stool for us!). She also encouraged me to speak to someone named Siva as soon as I could about my dining. Charry is a marvelously efficient person, as well as being lovely inside and out. And then, up to the room to drop off the carryons and meet our Steward Freddie (lovely Freddie!). Back in the lobby, I noticed DH staring fixedly at the Haven Bar, as if he needed xray glasses. Drumboy, having discovered the Premium beverage package was active, had a glass of Glenfiddich in hand. Indy had 3 different glasses of . . . something alcoholic, none of which she liked but all of which she insisted on drinking, so I took her mojito. DH still was staring at the bar and mumbling imprecations; they had NO CROWN ROYAL at the Haven Bar! GASP! No worries, I assured my beloved; this is NCL. Maybe they just hadn't had to a chance to finish stocking the bar. He grunted and frowned, and off to the American Diner we went for lunch. Here's a picture of the only gluten free option at the American Diner for lunch, which fortunately was delicious. We never managed to get a milkshake, all week long. No idea why. The crew was always working, but they were always friendly, even when they were cleaning windows on the outside of the ship. We wandered the ship, searching unsuccessfully for Crown Royal until we got to Spice H20, where Russell the Amazing Bartender had one nearly-empty bottle. Long before this, Drumboy ditched us, because we weren't roaming fast enough for him; this became a theme of the cruise, and every time we saw him, he had a sipping whiskey in hand. I almost renamed him Whiskey. At 3:30, warning notices from CD Jack told us that we'd be hearing the security briefing, and at 4, the 7 short blasts sounded, followed by the security briefing. By that time, DH, Indy and I were in the mostly-empty buffet eating French fries and admiring decorations, until the ship started moving and we went on deck, as one does, to look for land's end and the beginning of the open sea. Goodbye, Cape Canaveral!

I finally sorted through my pictures, and all the laundry is done (it is so very sad to see my bathing suit, now clean and dry and divested of sand and ocean smells.) It's time to review! First up: Pre-Cruise Hotel and Getting to the Terminal We drove to Cape Canaveral the day before the cruise. The Georgia State Patrol was treating I-75 south like the solution to all its budget woes, but once we hit Florida, the traffic down the Turnpike was RIDICULOUS. DH drove like he was auditioning for NASCAR, and we passed the Perdue Boilermaker Special going to Orlando for their bowl game. I spent a chunk of the ride on the phone with NCL, rearranging things since Mom did not come with us. We treated her as a no-show and I have yet to call back and see about getting refunded for whatever a no-show gets refunded for (I expect not much). My main concern was deciding when to purchase the Premium Plus upgrade. On Thursday evening, Concierge Desk Maria told me she could do it for just the four in my party that would attend, but the phone connection was terrible and I hung up before we finished because I couldn't hear everything. In the car on Friday, Concierge Desk Walter recommended I purchase onboard after the no-show processed, because he would have to do all 5 in our registered party and I'd have to submit a claim for a refund for Mom's. Um, no, thanks Walter. Both Maria and Walter told me the ship would not have ESPN, and UGA was scheduled to play OSU embarkation night, and we had to watch! I purchased streaming internet for DH's account for $179, so we could at least get it on the phone. We hit Merritt Island eventually; I had considered a hotel on the beach, but two rooms for (at the time 5) adults was more expensive than the 3-bedroom condo that I found at Cape Crossing Resort and Marina. The condo was BEAUTIFUL, spacious and comfortable, and exactly what we needed. We had a view of the lagoon full of yachts, and a restaurant within walking distance, and a huge TV to watch Tennessee vs Clemson - what more could we ask for? Check in was a breeze and I would definitely stay there again. The morning dawned foggy, and I do mean FOGGY. We ate breakfast at the Causeway Diner, which was a short way past the turnoff to go to the port, but entirely worth it - good, solid, breakfast with lots of options and a pleasantly sassy wait staff - would definitely eat there again! I totally winged it when we drove to the port, but they make it easy, even in the fog - once you get on the interstate to go to the port, there is adequate signage if you pay attention to the road, even if it looks like this out the window: Two sets of exits for the terminals: And then literally follow the name of your ship: Once you find the port itself, all you have to do is keep following the signs. Signage at the terminal is pretty clear - EXCEPT - if you see a nice person who tells you that you can drive to the drop off and drop off your baggage, DON'T. Go like you're going to park, but don't enter the garage - go all the way to the end of the covered area, and bam - porters! Porters who have done this a bazillion times before, and who would really rather prefer to attach your printed-out luggage tags themselves, because they have staplers that are far better than your sticky adhesive stuff (if Norwegian sent you Haven luggage tags with adhesive.) And please show your porter some love, because they work HARD. And that, friends, is how we got to the terminal. Next up - how did we find the Haven registration area? (Hint: tiny, tiny, tiny signs. Tiny. Vigilance, guesswork, and a little bit of blind luck.)

I don't think so. Granted, we ate breakfast before we got off, but they close down the buffet at 2 PM (bars stay open longer) - I doubt breakfast is available because crew wouldn't have time to get it there.

Just got off the Escape yesterday and it's 98% a big fat no. I saw maybe 10 total pax over the week, and occasional crew members - I saw our steward wearing a mask at one point, but when I saw him personally, he had taken it off. So, it's really hit or miss, and a personal decision. We are all fine, but our roll call has already started with the "did you guys come home sick?" questions - several folks seem to have bad colds, but that's it so far.

We're alive, we're home, Mom survived the week, and I have done all the laundry. . . sigh. I miss Siva and Charry and Freddie and David and Renson. I'm working on a review, but I am really, really bummed that I couldn't successfully do a Live. I have NO patience for crap internet, and the ship's internet is CRAP. While driving down to Florida, I added streaming internet for $179 because we thought we'd need it to watch the Georgia game (we didn't - that was bad advice from 2 separate people at the Concierge desk). I don't know exactly WHAT I had, and then it turned out that when I signed up for our current cell phone plan I must have had cruising on the brain, because I have a "Day Pass" thingie that for $10 a day gives me cell phone service and 3G or 2G internet across the Caribbean and parts of Canada and Mexico. So TBH, I have no idea which internet was working when - DH's phone would go off at random times because we have a Ring system watching over our doors and cameras all over the house to check on my Mom, and at one point he was texting like mad with work people and I don't know how it all happened. I called my Mom on Facebook from the water in Magen's Bay. But when I tried to upload a post? Nada. Airplane mode and Escape internet, regular mode, no idea - and that's using Androids. The kids have iPhones and they had service at random times, too - Indy in particular was thrilled because she was able to preserve a 355-day Snapchat streak with one of her friends, so big win, but then friends they made on the ship would text them to meet up at places and the texts would show up the next day. So, Cruise great. . . internet not. . . review and pics coming, and if I can get my ducks in a row, I brought back all my Dailies and need to scan them. But oh, we had such a very good time! Here is sunrise in Tortola and my last breakfast on the ship for a teaser.

TBH, the whole thing is just. . . odd. I got Veuve in restaurants, but also certain bars - it got to where I went bar hopping to test what I could find. And then I drank so much that I didn't want any more, not even when we went to Le Bistro (although our sommelier gave us some fancy red that smelled to me like a wet dog, but tasted wonderful.) We had no problems walking out with bottles of wine or Champagne after dinner, which was very, very nice, and before it was corrected I got to see how much those bottles cost because we purchased Premium Plus after we got on the ship, and a glitch in the computer didn't apply it to my account. We got our money's worth after the third day. My husband, who only drinks plain old Crown Royal and will accept no substitutes - not Hennessey, nor some Whistling Pig thing that was recommended - could find only one bottle of Crown on the ENTIRE ship - and we went to every bar. Crown Royal isn't THAT special - but on the Norwegian Escape last week, the only bar that had it was the Atrium Bar on deck 6. That includes the Haven Bar, so the location of the bar is not the thing. It's really odd.

Good morning from Tortola!! It is a bright, beautiful day! We didn't do any excursions today, mostly because it's such an early and short port day, and I didn't think anybody in my group would want to get up early. They didn't, but my behind has been up and out since 630. Go figure. Right now we are sitting in the shade at at an outside bar with great people watching, a cool breeze, and good music. DH has just sucked down his daiquiri and pronounced it good. I had a lovely first breakfast looking out at Tortola, and I wandered around a mostly silent ship. For those who have asked about putt putt, it is still here, next to the Bocce pit. Tonight is Rumours at Syd Norman's. For those who have been salty about Haven guests getting in first, your saltiness worked - they had to stop doing that. We didn't have problems getting in for Rock the Pour House, so I'm hoping we continue that trend. The Pour House band is amazeballs. Choir of Man was tremendous - standing ovation at the end, and very well deserved. Blue Traveler is fun, and that's about all DH and I have seen as far as nightlife - we've been in bed early every day, because he's just that tired, and I fall asleep.every time I stop moving. We are going to mosey back to the ship - I scored thermal.spa day passes, and there is a secluded, quiet lounger in my future.

We tried - we haven't seen it in port either, which is VERY unusual. At the bar at Magens Bay yesterday, they had Crown but the bartender told us its the first bottle they've had in 9 MONTHS. There's none at the port in Tortola this morning, in bars or stores. We offered to buy Crown and leave it at the Haven bar, but they told us we couldn't even do that. He's making do with Mudslides and strawberry daiquiri. Fortunately for us all, Drumboy is making the most of our Premium Plus package, so we have not lost any money.

On booze - DH is bummed, utterly bummed. On the ENTIRE ship (and believe me, we have looked!) we have found TWO bars that had Crown Royal. Neither was in the Haven. DH only drinks Crown, so he's been making do with Mudslides, but the irritation is real.