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NCL Escape 12/23/17 semi live Christmas cruise


skierjj
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4 pics of our appetizers and entrees:

We had escargot and a shrimp thing I had artichoke heart something.

I had cog a vin. Mike had a shrimp thing. I think we had wines by the glass. We got to talking with 2 parties from 2 tables and we sharing wine and stories so I didn’t get pics of dessert and that’s why I couldn’t remember our entree names sorry.590a8ca4a3058cbb075446d8ca4501b7.jpg5a6067b030ad0d69f3ce6e67c1eab3bd.jpgcaa8b7efc688e68585689b37d0235a75.jpgde46211f79f10abc4f0f92fa95ecd679.jpg

Anyway it was a very pleasant Christmas dinner night.

 

 

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On to casino for Christmas night! Fun times, great service, fun bartenders, good music!

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Next day Grand Cayman:

We arrive around 11:00. It is a tendering port.

We have time to enjoy breakfast at the Haven restaurant.

I have huevos rancheros:9288104d3379e393a1816361fd46de69.jpg

Mike has classic eggs Benedict:

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For Grand Cayman we booked Sea World discovery observation tour. This trip allows you to go down into the vessel and see fish coral and shipwrecks without getting wet. We were happy with this experience, Mike needs glasses to snorkel, so we should’ve invested in a mask that has a prescription but never did, so this was a fun and easy way to kind of go under the surface to see stuff. The captain got this vessel incredibly close to the reef.

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The whole thing took about 1 1/2 hour.

We then shopped a little in Grand Cayman. We love the Guy Harvey shop. His art helps with his ocean conservation efforts, so we feel good about shopping there; plus the prices are fantastic for the quality. Here is a pic of a mock up of his studio:

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Then we sit down and grab lunch at the Paradise cafe right on the water. There are six cruise ships in the bay that day. The little restaurant is swamped. We got our drinks, but they forgot to take our food order. No problem for me, they had free lightning speed internet. Finally! So I continued my review there. They finally took our food order. Mike had seafood combo. Coconut shrimp, fish and chips and conch fritters. I can’t remember what I had (no pics of that restaurant). Anyway it’s a cute restaurant and fairly good quality.

Next we got in a super long line to tender back to ship. Then Mike saw a sign for Haven guests. So sweet, we breezed by all of humanity going back to the ship. I felt like an #%**hole, but it was cool. “First time in Haven” I said.

Here is are 2 pics of Escape from tender:

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Sides at Cagneys:

Macaroni and cheese, (Really? at a steakhouse? You are thinking. I know, but I’m a sucker for a good Mac and cheese with proper white sauce).5f62e2c92dc650cc454cc9c2db6eaa74.jpg

Broccoli and asparagus:

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Desert, Mike had just simple vanilla ice cream and I had cappuccino as my dessert.

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Ropes course:3e1a89be115cb69d2836b1e258cf68f8.jpg

Basketball court, they were playing a game of dodgeball:b4ee779992eff89268511f979f6d7dae.jpg

Day 5 was Costa Maya:

We decided on another NCL tour: beach getaway. IMHO: do not do this tour. Go directly with Mayachanbeach.com months ahead of your trip to book a space.

Anyway here are some pics:

(It wasn’t that horrible but I LOVE Maya Chan)! (A private excursion we did a few years ago).

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More from beach getaway and Costa Maya tourist trap area. Actually we enjoyed the tequila bar, sipping good tequilas, I could have shopped a lot more but I didn’t bring my credit card and we only had so much cash.5c51553bb06f421c5a73a218183c688b.jpgd40b2b61112d9459d4040838aa8506f6.jpg24de9530fbe69c92fe0ea8a87d1cf566.jpg51b76a0ddbed2cf04b196bfac778749e.jpg9f4b9732893455cc8341c4368a0789a3.jpg0e5cf14d9ca0e2d1cff98eee91050d16.jpg

 

 

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Did they use the ships boats to tender or were they from the island?

 

 

 

Both, they used the lifeboat boats and the larger open air boats. We took life boats from ship to Grand Cayman and big tendering boats back to ship, I think. About a 10 minute ride each way. It just takes a long time to fill and empty all of the passengers. But it was easy. Patience is key in these environments.

BTW, I’m glad that you responded, because I don’t see my review showing up from cruise critic on my safari on Norwegian boards. (I see it on the cruise critic forums app. though). This takes a lot of time to do. I’m currently sitting at Las Vegas airport for hours and they have quick internet here.

 

 

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FYI Walking on pier from costa maya is a little long.

Celebrity solstice was parked (moored?) right next to Escape, we were bigger, but I’m sure everyone was comparing ships. We were out on our balcony, enjoying our 2nd bottle of bubbly 1 from casinos at sea and 2nd for being latitudes Platinum member.79a8b3a937ed40a2c32426461dee3608.jpg

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Later it started to rain, but just for a few minutes.

 

 

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We didn’t drink those 2 bottles in one session, but that’s how it sounded! Sorry.

I see why it would have been better to actually do this review more semi live for real, because I’m starting to forget everything. Names of crew members, entertainment we saw, names of entrees etc. (I didn’t have enough internet on the ship and I thought I would have good internet and time in the ports, but I didn’t)

In fact if you let me go back to 1st day, I think we saw After Midnight show, which I really liked, in the theater.

The second day, a day at sea:f668fae3b86fb70502f73640e507edeb.jpg

We had all this stuff going on that I forgot to include. Plus we enjoyed the spa and pool and sun deck and jacuzzis.

Just busy having fun and relaxing, but if I didn’t take a picture of it, it just vanishes from my memory like a puff of smoke.

We also had a lot of reading time too. Even though we packed in a lot of activities, shows and dining, it seemed like we had enough rest, relaxation and great sleep on a very comfortable bed.

Ok to continue:

Dinner on day 5 was “Belinda”, I want to say, I can’t remember her name, anyway, she was a broadway singer and jazz performer. She was great with a real jazz band behind her. Good food too. Very entertaining in a classy setting.

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Millie was our server, she did a great job. Now for the food at the supper club:

We had a choice between tenderloin and Ahi tuna, we both chose tenderloin. But first the appetizer tray, very tiny bites of:

Mushroom soup, pate, and I think a crab cake.459d4efc109609dbf46696a21861687c.jpg

Then the entree:1278cb4cbbecb706f898eb0c599e27c9.jpg

Then a tray of desserts:7bd4fc051afc11970cb851e9f1cf1a90.jpg

Towel animal to end evening:edaffc1159c1a76b8e880f8e1909e8af.jpg

 

 

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Ok I’ll continue tomorrow night.

(BTW we are finally home now in California from our 11 day vacation; one day travel to Miami, 7 days on cruise, tour Miami then transfer to airport, fly to Las Vegas for New Years for 3 nights, then fly home). Sheesh I’m tired! Good night all. More to come, stay tuned.

 

 

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Glad to see you had a great time. I am getting my pictures together to do my pictorial review of the Star cruise you were originally on! ;)

 

 

 

I knew you were up for one of your fantastic reviews...can't wait!

Did you have good weather? Did you have fun?

 

 

 

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That afternoon Costa Maya day, before the supper club we went to the wine cellar for some wine and appetizers from Pinchos tapas. They were great! We had the cheese platter, the dates, and beef little appetizers on a stick.

Oh, also the name of the singer from the supper club was Brenda Braxton from the play on Broadway called 'Smoky Joe's cafe'. (Thanks Mike for looking it up).

 

 

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After the supper club we also went to the late show at Levity. The comedians were funny!

Next day was a day at sea.

With only 2 full days at sea, the public pool and all of the places in the sun were in high demand! Lounge chairs in every conceivable space. All the people from cold places were trying to get their tan on.

I went to the jogging track to walk in the sun. Then off to the spa. Lunch was in Haven: salmon for me, French dip for Mike. Pictures to come from my phone soon.

 

 

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We had a wine pairing with chocolate at 4:00

We had another (and different) supper club with fly boys: really great, go see it!

And brat pack show in theater: really good and fun!

Then Glow party (it was rocking for hours) and a little casino action and music.

Then everybody on the ship was starving and there was a big line at O’sheeans. We decided not to wait and had little bites in our room from the butler, perfect.

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2 more towel animals that got lost:c7dd4fb7428120eca0dbdb8b7f0e6edc.jpg

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Next day was Great Stirrup Cay Private Island.

Big huge tender boats take us to island.

I’m not sure if you need to reserve the clam shells or not. We found s nice place under s tree.

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Beautiful beach kinda quiet at first then very crowded later.8f9d52c946a5432d80d6143855169e7d.jpg

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So at the private island we did the Stingray City Bahamas excursion. We met at a little shack and waited until everyone got there. We then walked about 1/4 mile to the boat dock. They had nice, knowledgeable guides and helpers 4 in total. They drove us to the area where the stingrays are. In a beautiful sandy bottom with beautiful blue water, we all go down into the enclosure. There are many large southern stingrays there. It was a delight to pet, feed and hold them. They also swam by your legs and even between your legs. They really felt soft and velvety on the undersides. And each one had different markings and colors so the guides knew each one by name and attitude.

I’m so glad we did this once. Would I do it again? Probably not, unless we want to take our grandkids someday. No photos of this excursion.

We swam in ocean a little more, read our books for awhile. We didn’t get food or drinks on the island, so I’m not sure how that works, if food is free or not, etc.

The return trip was pretty bumpy and we got some splash. Getting off the tender was a little dangerous, as the seas were rough then. But the crew was very professional , rightly putting our safety first and helped everyone get off safely as gangway was sliding back and forth and up and down.

 

 

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That afternoon we sadly had to start to pack and review our account etc. we hung out and enjoyed the Haven and the spa.

Next up our last dinner: La Cucina

It was yummy.

I think I had rigatoni and meatballs:

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Mike had chicken and mashed potatoes served in an interesting way with a nice sauce:

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I had a side of roasted vegetables:

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Our wine was: ale Serre Nuove, I think it was an Italian Cabernet, very good.

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The dessert was the best of the whole cruise, tiramisu:

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I’m not really into desserts though, but this was fantastic!

End of day 7:

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We put our bags out, and went to bed. Before retiring to bed, we made the rounds. We tipped our butler, room steward and our concierge and others that made our trip over the top excellent. We filled out a hero card for one of our casino bartenders: Yas-D. I went up to Haven for a nightcap and the bartenders up there are really talented mixologists. Wow I wish I had known about some of these drinks they were preparing for the guests. They were amazing.

I had a hard time sleeping that night, I just didn’t want the cruise to end. I watched the stars, watched us coming into Miami etc.

 

 

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