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ESCAPE 10/25/15 Hamburg to Southampton 3 Day Live-ish Review

CoffeeGoddess

By CoffeeGoddess,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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CoffeeGoddess "Live from...." Rare

CoffeeGoddess

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Yep, I'm one of the lucky ones who are the first paying customers on the Escape for her maiden voyage out of Hamburg!

"What is 'Live-ish'?", you may ask. That just means I'm not going to be tied to the screen and keyboard all the time. My plan is to upload and update my review at the end of each day before I head to bed but I'll probably post picture and/or video while I'm waiting for food or drinks as well. I'll be enjoying this trip and don't want to spend precious exploring-the-new-ship time looking at a screen. Of course this is all predicated on there being reliable wifi on the ship. If there isn't then all bets are off on when things will actually post. I know Kikki21 also has a review going for this one as well so we'll probably cover a lot of ground between us.

 

My reviews are pretty straight forward and I have no special camera or equipment; since I need to upload pictures they'll all be coming from my S3. Instead of downloading my pictures to Flickr and then posting the link I'll be posting directly with Tapatalk so some of the pictures may be huge depending on which app I use to take them. I'll be stopping the live-ish after I disembark. I'm not doing the transatlantic but I'll be spending 4 days in London including Halloween. I'll come back here and post about that as well for anyone who's interested in London, but most likely after I get home.

 

While the Hamburg/Southampton was available as a 3 day in the UK, it was only available as a 2 and 1 in the US. So I'll be in a Forward Facing Penthouse for the 2 nights and then move on down to a Studio for the last night. I wanted to check out the Haven and also see a Studio which, as a solo traveler, is the room type I'd most likely purchase. Our CC Roll Call is also doing a cabin crawl on Monday so I'll try and post some pictures of other cabin types.

 

Speaking of the Roll Call, looks like we have a good group for this. We'll be having a pre-cruise meet up for drinks and dinner at the Hafen Hotel (where most of the group is staying) and then schluppi1404 offered to take us on a walking tour of Hamburg since he lives there. The hosts have been awesome with getting things set up and Rocky4ever even did a webpage for both our sailing and the transatlantic. Our Meet & Greet is set for 11am on Monday in Cagney's, and the organizers have been hinting at special things and surprises so it sounds like we're going to have fun!

 

They opened shows and all the dining you could do reservations for to be pre-booked close to sailing so it looks like everything there should be up and running. I reserved After Midnight and Bayamo; I'm looking forward to them.

 

 

Here's a gratuitous shot of my packaged luggage for those who like that kind of thing:

22209712209_acfc8c3843_n.jpgpacked by Coffee Goddess, on Flickr"]22209712209_acfc8c3843_n.jpg[/url]

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CoffeeGoddess "Live from...." Rare

CoffeeGoddess

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CoffeeGoddess, one of the early Escape suite photos shows the Lavazza machine has been replaced with Nespresso. When in your Haven room, could you report on whether the N machine includes a milk frother so one could make a cappucino? Thank you!

Absolutely.

 

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CoffeeGoddess "Live from...." Rare

CoffeeGoddess

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Made the first flight so now I'm chilling at Heathrow waiting for my Hamburg flight.

 

I love that they don't have enough gates so you sometimes need to go down the stairs and get bused to the terminal.

 

I was going to put a picture here but Tapatalk seems to be having issues with it.

 

I'm recharging at EAT while waiting. It's not bad and they have outlets at the seats.

 

cf9cd1f6d2c27b1693d99caf684e6f68.jpg

 

Well it did that one.

 

 

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CoffeeGoddess "Live from...." Rare

CoffeeGoddess

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Made it to the hotel about 11:00pm and went to sleep soon after. Now I'm at 6am, ah jet lag.

 

I got a room at Hotel Hafentor which is on the opposite side of the park from the Hafen Hotel most of the rest are staying at. It was an excellent price for a single room and right by an S baun station.

 

I followed the signs to baggage claim, customs was quick with a stamp and baggage came fairly quickly. Once I left the baggage claim I followed the signs to the train. They had a bank of automated booths to buy your ticket with multiple language choices.

 

77c9bd79580f4b7ff1f8356c3782c58a.jpg

 

The stairs and escalators down were right across from it.

 

f219c826f670738ea11061129f5702c4.jpg

 

It was 3,10€ to get from the airport to the Landungsbrucken station. It reminded me of the Barcelona trains. It was pretty busy but I had enough room to keep my luggage right in the seats with me.

 

20c803ca0d1bee9e9b92c26a543a228a.jpg

 

While the exit for the Landungsbrucken station had escalators up, I did not see a lift. And the second escalator wasn't working so I had to carry my luggage up. Then there was another shot staircase to get up to main station area, no ramp, and you needed to go down the stairs to get out. So not a great station for heavy luggage or the mobility impaired.

 

A quick walk around the station exterior and there was my hotel.

 

a900082fcf185bbd217e8cde79644c54.jpg

 

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asubaru

asubaru

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I envy you; 2 wonderful cities plus the new Escape!

 

Look forward to hearing about your adventures and thanks for the updates.

 

 

 

 

Made it to the hotel about 11:00pm and went to sleep soon after. Now I'm at 6am, ah jet lag.

 

I got a room at Hotel Hafentor which is on the opposite side of the park from the Hafen Hotel most of the rest are staying at. It was an excellent price for a single room and right by an S baun station.

 

I followed the signs to baggage claim, customs was quick with a stamp and baggage came fairly quickly. Once I left the baggage claim I followed the signs to the train. They had a bank of automated booths to buy your ticket with multiple language choices.

 

77c9bd79580f4b7ff1f8356c3782c58a.jpg

 

The stairs and escalators down were right across from it.

 

f219c826f670738ea11061129f5702c4.jpg

 

It was 3,10€ to get from the airport to the Landungsbrucken station. It reminded me of the Barcelona trains. It was pretty busy but I had enough room to keep my luggage right in the seats with me.

 

20c803ca0d1bee9e9b92c26a543a228a.jpg

 

While the exit for the Landungsbrucken station had escalators up, I did not see a lift. And the second escalator wasn't working so I had to carry my luggage up. Then there was another shot staircase to get up to main station area, no ramp, and you needed to go down the stairs to get out. So not a great station for heavy luggage or the mobility impaired.

 

A quick walk around the station exterior and there was my hotel.

 

a900082fcf185bbd217e8cde79644c54.jpg

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Tapatalk

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CoffeeGoddess "Live from...." Rare

CoffeeGoddess

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The single room is small but just perfect for one person.

 

6fa30e7e0429744164717355bdd0f68c.jpg

 

b15de233056d388a3bc2524d22504722.jpg

 

c5f9ca681f18ef9a5f48e390a15b7584.jpg

 

Since both Trip Advisor and Yelp little to no pictures of the hotel and none of the breakfast I declined the breakfast at check in. However when I went down there this morning to check it out I was pleasantly surprised at what they had available for 9€. Thankfully the lady let me add it and I enjoyed a tasty breakfast before heading out to explore.

 

Buffet with cold and hot items.

bd883f1ec6002ac75a2a168b7bae17b1.jpg

 

Delicious!

72310e01d282815fdbf544f2bf1eecd5.jpg

 

I was also surprised they had a little bar as well. I'll be uploading all my pics to Trip Advisor for a review when I get back.

 

dfce0abae2f36b8c674b22c883a3e167.jpg

 

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CoffeeGoddess "Live from...." Rare

CoffeeGoddess

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I took a morning stroll and enjoyed the river front while very little people were around. Thankfully they did have a coffee shop open so I grabbed an espresso on this chilly morning.

 

53c9ed8b5066310b370698c416f6af97.jpg

 

Then I took some pictures of the scenery and shops.

eaee1e44540fd12f14c7581946fcc128.jpg

 

Now I'm just back at the hotel trying to figure if I should nap or go out exploring some more. I did walk by Hafen Hotel and as I expected it's an easy walk from my hotel. It'll be nice to meet a lot of roll call members tonight.

 

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