!!! NORWEGIAN ESCAPE !!! ^_^ The Ultimate Review and Complete Pictorial Guide

[Two Wheels Only]

... I take on average 500 pics a day

 

I just got off of Escape and didn't take that many over the entire cruise. :eek:

[helen haywood]

You aren't a professional!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[gambee]

Hey guys, that's not a barracuda. That's called a houndfish.

 

Looking at pics I think you're right, plus it did not have the attitude of a barracuda either. That is essentially what threw me off.

[gambee]

Looks like you are not the social misfit you claim to be. Meeting new friends and having great times is what makes cruising so great.

 

You are absolutely correct! He and his mom are awesome people and he is so funny. [emoji41][emoji41]

 

This is an absolute joy to follow. Looks like all y'all had a blast. I'm so jealous. My next cruise isn't until October.

 

Cheers!

 

 

Not sure I would call it a social misfit. My main issue is the initial part of social occasions, thus that is why I tend to shy away from them. But once I open up to a group of people, I tend to warm up to them quickly :). For the most part.

 

I am quite glad that I went to see them on day one. At first I was having second thoughts about it, but Ty sort of pushed me into it :D

[gambee]

Gambee, what a wonderful review!! You and your mother appear to be having such fun and enjoying yourselves so much! What joie de vivre! And your lusciously colorful tropical photographs!! There is a Tourism Ministry somewhere that should hire you!! Loving your review all the more juxtaposed against the other review of Escape the same week you sailed that had such a different perspective. What infectious fun you must be to travel with!

 

You were responsible for persuading me to try Oasis....based on your Allure review. Now you're preaching to the choir as I've sailed Getaway and Escape and am returning to Getaway in September. Thanks again for these reviews. If I'm ever depressed on a gloomy day all I need is to cue one of them up!

 

Thank you for your kind words, they are truly appreciated. Did you ever get around reading my Oasis review? That was a fun cruise!

 

We also have our eyes on the Getaway, but with school starting and not know exactly what to expect, that will have to wait.

[gambee]

That looked like a really fun day!

 

That it was, very memorable indeed. I think that was one of our best port days ever!

[gambee]

Hi there Gambee...your reviews make my day and forget about those gorgeous pictures... do you use only your GOPRO camera for the beach pictures or do you use it for all your pictures? personally I am looking for a good waterproof camera and not sure which one to pick..I am leaning towards the Olympus 860 or 870 ...any suggestions??? (I am a novice when it come to taking pictures) i

 

 

Most of my pictures are taken with a Sony A6000, only about 5% or less of the pictures you see were with the GoPro. The GoPro was mainly used for the water slides, underwater pics at the beach, and the rope course. There are a few on vibe, but maybe like 10 of them or so.

 

When you say good camera you have to realize that my standards are really high. At one point I even bought an RX, which everyone claims to be the perfect point and shoot and I hated it.

 

That said, I also own a Olympus Stylus TG-2 iHS. I think now that model has been replaced by the Olympus TG-4. The thing is that I did not even bring it on this cruise. It takes ok pictures I guess, but they just look a bit fragmented to me.

 

I really love the versatility of the GoPro, that is why I recommend it. But the issue with the GoPro is that it is pathetic when the lighting is poor. The pictures are also not the sharpest ones, but for active scenes it is perfect.

 

I guess it really depends what you truly want, do you really plan on using it in water that often? Do you have another camera? Will this be your main camera?

 

I have also found that the iPhone 6s camera is outstanding. My ex went to Australia and Japan and all he took was his iPhone, I could not believe the results from that tinny lens.

[gambee]

I just got off of Escape and didn't take that many over the entire cruise. :eek:

 

Yeah, I do take a lot. But only keep a % of them in my personal library, I usually weed out the ones I don't like. Generally, I keep about 40% of them.

[gambee]

Day 5, Tortola.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

We woke up early. I really think that the Tortola stay is rather short, the entire day we just seemed to be running. That does not make for a very enjoyable experience.

 

Mom started telling of everything she did the night before. She said that the Brat Pack was excellent! I was also able to confirm this from several other people that I spoke to. This seems to be the show that no one should miss.

 

She stopped by Howl at the Moon and said that she enjoyed her time there as well. There are people continuously going in and out, so you might luck out and be able to find a seat here and there.

 

She said the same thing from the karaoke, there are always seats available, unlike on the Oasis where she had to be standing most of the time.

 

Oh wait, now I remember why I woke up early that morning. Remember that I was sleeping with the balcony door open? Well, I guess once we docked I started listening to a bunch roosters going cock-a-doodle-doo. That is so funny, because it reminded me of growing up in Colombia when we used to go to the farm on the weekends. It actually brought some great memories.

 

 

This was our first time on this port.

 

 

It was quite beautiful!

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

I also remember discussing with mom that next time we sail with NCL I will be bringing less clothes. There is really no need for 3 pants, or all those shirts that I brought.

 

 

I forgot to mention that our shower had a mild draining issue. Nothing horrible, but still enough to get a good amount of water there when taking a shower. After the shower it would quickly drain out. There was a bit of an odor with it...

 

 

We decided to skip breakfast, and head out to look for shuttle to head to the beach.

 

 

This one came quite nice!

 

 

[gambee]

It is a nice wide dock.

 

 

 

We were the only ship in port again :)

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

I went around the ship to get some shots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

The port area looks very new, and most of the stores have really neat stuff. The main issue is that everything is very expensive! Mom wanted to buy a few items, but it was just too much to justify the purchase.

 

 

 

The coffee beans were like $13.

 

 

We just kept on walking towards the taxi area.

 

 

Looking back the ship.

 

 

[gambee]

It is quite pretty.

 

 

We asked for a shuttle to Cane Garden beach, and they sat us on an open air bus. The cost to the beach is $8 per person each way.

 

 

Something to note is that we actually had cell signal, Ty said that it might be due to proximity to St. Thomas. But the bad part was that the ship internet was slow again.

 

It is calm here, similar to St. Thomas. I really appreciate that.

 

 

We passed by a governmental building.

 

 

[gambee]

I actually really enjoy Tortola. It has an even slower pace than the rest of the Caribbean, and most everyone is really nice.

 

 

These pics are from a moving vehicle, so they don't come up as clear as i would like. But I still rather post them.

 

 

 

The ride up the mountain is very steep, not for the faint of heart.

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

That is Cane Garden beach. I think it is rated #9 beach of the best on the Carib, or at least that is what the driver told us.

 

 

 

I really enjoyed this beach, there are a lot of restaurants, and people going around checking on your drinks and stuff.

 

 

Drinks are priced really low, and I think it is because of the drink packages on board the ship. I don’t think NCL is helping much to the local economy. Mainly because most people leave the beach by 1pm, and few people drink before then. We also heard that the beach is empty if there are no ships in port.

 

I wonder what other cruise lines are calling port there...

 

 

[gambee]

At first I wanted to do the Baths. But I decided not to because I was afraid of the walk in the woods with mom. I heard it can be a little strenuous.

 

 

 

 

He came next to me and asked to pet him, such a cutie :)

 

 

They also offer inexpensive internet. For $5 you can use the internet the entire time you're there. I asked mom if she wanted it, but when she realized she could use her US cell signal she decided to just use that. I really couldn't care less. After all, she was the one using the internet the entire cruise, I was pretty much used to just check on my stuff every 7 hours.

 

Nonetheless, this is a good deal if you’re not buying the internet from the ship.

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

By the way, that place has the BEST conch fritters that I have had!

 

 

The view is to die for! I have never seen so many catamarans in my life. They were all over the island.

 

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

By the way each chair is $5 and the umbrella is also $5.

 

 

Then I went for a little walk to see what I could scope.

 

 

 

 

[gambee]

They have a bunch of stuff for rent.

 

 

 

 

 

Drinks and menus.

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

It is really a nice beach!

 

 

 

Solar Catamaran, how cool? Although I never saw it in the water. It seems to be some kind of picnic table with a grill and all.

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

Everyone having a great time.

 

 

The weather was not the best, but at least it wasn't raining.

 

 

 

[gambee]

 

 

 

I got a coke, what is it cokes in the Caribbean? They taste so different. I heard it is the sugar that they use.

 

 

We didn't get an umbrella this time around.

 

 

[gambee]

 

A couple came by and left all their stuff just there. They went for a long walk all the way down the beach. I would never do such a thing.

 

 

There they go, they didn’t even ask anyone to keep an eye on it.

 

 

At one point I went in the water.

 

 

It was actually quite nice. Not as cold as I expected to be.