Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Escape Review by a Couple in our 50's - Aug 28-Sept 3

gamecockmom

By gamecockmom,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

 Share

Recommended Posts

gamecockmom

gamecockmom

Posted
Posted

Let me start by saying we aren't a couple that has the flexibility to cruise several times a year so our review will most likely be a little different than most. I put notes in my phone while we were on board so I'm going to try and give a good detailed review. It might actually be a little too detailed...Oooppssss

 

Day 1:

We live in upstate South Carolina and have made the drive to Miami a couple of times in the past. When we have, we would split the trip up in two days staying the night before about two hours from port and then driving the rest of the way in the morning of departure. We have also gotten direct flights out of Charlotte, NC. This time because we needed to take our furbaby (dog) to stay with our son and daughter-in-law in Columbia, so we decided to fly out of Columbia. On Saturday we get to their house and get settled in, relax a while and get the last minute things ready for our 5:00am flight the next morning. New lesson learned. We will never again wait to fly in the day of departure. I was already getting stressed because we had heard all the warnings about strong storms in Florida so I was freaking about our flight being cancelled or delayed and missing the ship. However, in this case, just like 90% of the other things I stress about before vacation, this worked out to be just fine. We left on time at 5:00am and arrived in Atlanta about 10 minutes ahead of schedule. We had enough time on our layover for a quick breakfast. Our flight to Miami was also uneventful and we met a sweet young lady beside us who worked for Homeland Security. Since our son is a Law Enforcement Officer, this gave us a lot to talk about. I'll talk to anybody so I'm sure I chatted her ears off :p. We arrived at Miami and had planned to take a taxi to port after retrieving our luggage. But, on our way to baggage claim we spotted the NCL Consultant and decided to try the shuttle for a change. This was a great decision. Bye-Bye luggage :D It would arrive at our cabin later that day !! The only thing I needed to keep up with was my purse. This was so much easier than I had imagined and well worth the few dollars more than the taxi would have cost. This was super easy and convenient. We had a little wait for the next shuttle but no biggie..we're here and the fun is about to begin. We talked with several who were also waiting. Some had cruised NCL before, some where first time cruisers and some were new to NCL. The driver arrives and he's friendly and speedy. Told us it would only take 3 hours to get to the port :eek: Of course he was kidding !! We were there in about 15 minutes.

We arrive a port and get the first look at the Escape...OMGosh !! It's huge and much more beautiful than in pictures. I'm so excited I can hardly stand it. I'm like a kid at Christmas. The driver parks between Terminals B & C to make it simple for those going in each direction. We're heading to Terminal C. We did our necessary paperwork and I'm happy to say that things are already going smoother than our last check-in on the Getaway in 2014. We head to the line for Lattitudes Members. Staff is polite and smiling and of course we're laughing and joking around with her so she's getting a kick out of us being silly. I did notice that others who were not Lattitudes Members finished about the same time we did but that just goes to show how efficient and smooth the check-in process can be. I feel this gives a good first impression to those new to NCL. Up to the "Waiting Area". We are in Group 22 and they've just called Group 4 so we have a little wait. That's okay it gives us time to people watch and that can be very entertaining to pass time. LAWD !! The things you see :confused: We had toyed with the idea of VIBE passes but figured in Group 22 we wouldn't have a chance. We did find out after speaking with someone in our M&M Group that she was in Group 19 and got passes so maybe we should have tried ? Our group is called and we're on our way. Loved the singing and welcoming smiles as your board. Of course silly me has to dance a little with some of the crew as we walk by...Yes, I'm an idiot and I get an eye roll from the hubby. He's used to it by now.

 

Lunch & Afternoon:

We usually head to the Garden Café for lunch but thanks to suggestions from Cruise Critic posters, we decided to try Taste or Savor for lunch rather than go with the other 99% of the crowd trying to get into buffet. Decided on Taste and this was a GREAT decision. No waiting, quiet, great table, wonderful staff !!! We both decided on salads and Cajun Shrimp. Decided to eat light after the early morning flights and all the excitement. Salads and shrimp were both delicious. They had a great selection for desserts but we passed. It's just the first day and I didn't want sugar overload just yet.

 

From here we decided to do some exploring. Since the Getaway and Escape are similar we had a pretty good idea of where things were. We had read so much about the 5 O'clock Somewhere Bar on the Waterfront that we thought that would be a great place for our first drink. And, we wanted to check out the "Chocolate Cowboy" we had heard so much about. Let me just say, his reputation holds true. This guy is like an artist at work !! He mixes awesome drinks and he's hilarious. After talking with him, he actually remembered our son and daughter-in-law from their cruise on the Getaway this past October. I don't think this guy ever forgets a name, face or their favorite drink. More on the bar later...LOL They make the announcement that most staterooms are ready so we decide to go check ours out.

 

Stateroom 14904 - Aft Balcony:

Holy Cow !!! I LOVED this balcony. Two chairs, a small table and two lounge chairs. We've stayed in Balcony Staterooms and a Balcony Suite before but I think we've found our favorite. I'd love to stay in an Aft Balcony Suite (on one of the corners) at some point but unless the Upgrade Fairy comes through at a great price, that may not happen. There's plenty of room for the two of us and bathroom is just fine. Closet had enough room for all the necessary and unnecessary things I brought. I always over pack !! I did purchase 3 of the collapsible cubes from the Dollar Tree. These packed easily and worked great in the top of the closet for extra storage for underwear, socks, belts, bathing suits, etc. Another suggestion that I saw on Cruise Critic. By this time 2 of our 3 pieces of luggage had arrived so I decided to start unpacking a little. Our 3rd piece of luggage was still MIA so hubby called to check on it and was told they were still delivering. He was hanging the phone up when our Room Steward, Jimmy, was knocking and had our final piece of luggage. I could tell that it had most likely been taken to the "Naughty Room" :eek: We had the UBP so I had not tried to smuggle anything in. I'm not saying we had not in the past...tee hee hee.

 

Drill:

Okay, I'm going to hit a nerve here I'm sure. Come on people !! This is a necessary part of safety. Just listen to the announcements. Go to your assigned areas. If everybody would just do what they are supposed to do, this process could be done in half the time. Bless their hearts, you could tell crew members in our area were getting so frustrated. I know people are excited to be on board, be by the pool, drinking or whatever, but seriously ? The rest of us want to get on with our vacation too !! So, pull yourself away from whatever you're doing. And, yes the WHOLE family has to attend. I think they were still announcing make up drills on day 3...UGH !!! Enough about that.

 

We needed another drink. Decided to try the Mixx Bar this time. Hubby wanted to try a Yellow Bird and I decided on the Rebellish Fish. He liked his drink but I didn't particularly care for mine. I'm a light drinker and to me it was pretty strong. It could have just been the combination of the different flavors but it wasn't for me :o

 

Dinner:

By this time the crowds are thinning and people are finding their way around the ship. We decided to just go to the Garden Café for dinner. Its got a good variety and it's simple. We had no trouble finding a table by the window. The food was very good for a buffet. This gave us a chance to sit and talk about the day and decide what to do next. One last trip by "Cowboy's" Bar and we decided to call it a night. It had been a long day since we'd been up since 3:00am. Back to our stateroom we went. Since I had finished unpacking earlier, we relaxed on the balcony for a while. It had been a great to start to an incredible vacation. I had read that the upper Aft Balcony Cabins would have a little more "sway". You did feel a little more movement, but it wasn't bad. My hubby said it felt like he was being rocked to sleep. The bed was super comfy and I loved the pillows.

 

Day 2 Later !!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gamecockmom

gamecockmom

Posted
  • Author
Posted
For informative purposes, was the bed near the balcony or near the closet?

Aft-facing 14904

 

The bed is near the closet, but if you leave the drapes pulled back on the doors to the balcony, you can easily see out. I'll try to post some pictures later. I'm new at this...LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gamecockmom

gamecockmom

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Day 2 - Sea Day:

We woke up early after a wonderful and restful nights sleep. As mentioned previously, we found the bed to be very comfortable. I head to the balcony and it's raining. But no worries, there's plenty to do and hubby doesn't need to spend the entire day in the sun anyway or he'll become a red lobster. It's pretty amazing to watch the storm clouds from the Aft. You can see the path we've come from and it looks like we're sailing around the biggest part of the heavy rain. I liked being able to see both sides of things rather than just the Aft or Starboard side. With the overhang, I'm not getting wet so I sit outside for a while and admire God's amazing creations with the sea and sky. Very peaceful and relaxing.

We shower, dress and head to the Garden Café for breakfast and Mimosas. "Washy Washy" is singing and smiling bright early this morning. I'm glad to see most passengers are either using the dispensers or allowing the singing "Washy Washy" guys to spray their hands. We go by and see Jeffery, the Bartender in the Café, and get our mimosas. He's laughing and saying by the end of the week we'll hate to hear the "Washy Washy" song...Nahhhh...It's all good. It's already crowded but we have no trouble finding a seat at one of the bar tables with the high stools. We usually find a table before fixing our plates. One of us stays at the table while the other goes to the bar and then we switch off. I'm finished with my first Mimosa by the time the hubby returns. He likes to walk and "window shop" as he calls it to decide what he wants...he's hunting grits. It's a southern thing :p So, I go for my 2nd mimosa before fixing my plate. Once I get there I see poor Jeffery having a very hard time with someone wanting her Bloody Mary. The guy is doing his best to "Please" this women and he's doing it with a smile. She's asking 40 questions about how he's going to fix it and what exactly she wants in it and how he's suppose to prepare it and then tells him "Well I guess I'll just have to settle for this". Okay, I know customer service is a huge part of making people happy but people do not have to be rude and talk down to others. I honestly don't think he was doing anything wrong, she was just high maintenance :mad: I smiled at him and winked when I asked for my Mimosa. He knew I wasn't flirting and I think he appreciated the acknowledgement that I realized she was a pain in his butt. Anyway, I'm trying to be healthy with my meal decisions so I do eggs, fruit and little fried potatoes. Probably not the best decisions but better than sweet rolls which were very tempting. Never found the grits the first morning but they were there the rest of the week. There's so much to choose from that you can find just about any breakfast choice you want. The omelet stations are pretty busy but they move fast. If you don't mind the crowds and want variety, then the Garden Café is a good choice.

Breakfast is finished and we're heading for our M&M group meeting. I really wish I could remember the names or even screen names of everybody we met. I think the coordinator said we had like 71 sign up but maybe 30 actually came. She did an amazing job setting this up and even had a game for us to play to get to know each other. The ship went beyond expectations for this too. There were snacks and coffee, hot tea, and some type of yummy frozen drinks going around. The Ship Officers are actually coming around and talking to each of us. In the past, they were introduced while standing at the front of the room and were gone. This time they actually carried on conversations and gave out cards. We were very impressed. I forgot to mention the Cruise Director in Day 1. Tyler, he's from Tennessee, and he's a hoot. We saw him dancing and playing up to the crowd at the Sail Away by the pool the day before. He comes in to the M&M and introduces himself and mingles before the Officers do actually gather at the front of the room for their formal introductions. Once finished, they still stayed around for a while and continued talking to several who attended. This was much more fun than other M&M's we've attended. Great Job Guys !! Very Organized !!

Someone in our group suggested a Cabin Crawl. We had never participated in one before but several wanted to see our Aft Balcony so we figured why not and it would be nice to see some of the others. We saw one of the Studio cabins and the Studio lounge. This was such an amazing option for solo travelers. Yes, the cabin is small but plenty of room for one person and it's great they have their own area lounge they can hang out in if they want and meet people. We saw a Balcony Suite which is a little larger cabin than ours and a little larger bathroom. Then we saw a cabin towards the front of the ship that had the biggest balcony I'd ever seen. He had two chairs, a large table, two lounge chairs AND he had brought his own hammock and STILL had room :D The wind coming off the front was a bit much but that could have been from the weather. Otherwise it was amazing. We were supposed to see the Haven but we got separated from our group, ran through the rain to try and catch up, and got there right before the group finished. The couple that were staying in the Haven said sorry... hate you missed it but we're done. Well then...okay ? Maybe another time :rolleyes: After running through the rain and humidity I now look like Shirley Temple with my curls...LOL

Next we were off to the Lattitude Members Meeting. We see the same Ship Officers plus a few more and again they're talking and passing out cards. A few laughed about just seeing us earlier at the M&M. The Servers were walking around with trays of champagne and cheese. We found a spot towards the back and sat for a while and chatted with a few other members. This was a good opportunity to meet other people who have traveled NCL many more times than we have. It was interesting and fun. They made the announcement wanting you to purchase other cruises and the onboard credit that would carry over. This is something we have done in the past, did this time, and will most likely continue to do. If you plan to cruise NCL again, this is a win-win deal.

 

Lunchtime:

We decided to go to O'Sheehan's for a late lunch. We had eaten there on the Getaway and figured it would be a great option. And it was. Hubby got the wings and I got Nachos. This a great little Irish Pub type atmosphere and it's really comfortable there. Not too loud and it gave us a chance to look over the daily. Finished lunch and by this time "Cowboy's Bar" was open. Time for a drink or two. Again, there's a crowd there that he knows and by this point we've become one of his regulars too. Stayed for a while before heading to our stateroom for a little nap before dinner and we have late reservations for "After Midnight"

 

Tonight is "Dress-up or Not" Night. We opted for Cruise Casual. I did bring a strapless dress but mostly capris and nice dress shirts for evenings and capris or short skirts with nice shirts for daytime wear. I packed hubby khaki pants, khaki, navy and black shorts with nice dress shirts with collars for night and jean shorts and nice Guy Harvey, Salt Life, etc. T-shirts for day time.

After stopping by Cowboy's for liquid courage we went to the Atrium for the "Newlywed Not So Newlywed Game". As I said before, I'm an idiot and I had that liquid courage, so we tried out for the position of the middle couple in the Game. Had absolutely NO idea what we'd gotten ourselves in to. You had to audition for that middle couple. Set the scene...the lady is Jane...the man is Tarzan...Jane is stranded and needs Tarzan to rescue her. Tyler, Cruise Director and my dear southern friend, has each couple come dancing out. My liquid courage decides to slap him on the buttocks several times as we dance across the stage. He laughs it off because I'm SURE this is not the first time this has happened. I call for my Tarzan and hubby comes across the stage to pick me up when all I can think is "He's going to pick me up and my strapless dress is going to come down" So I grab my dress !!!! Between the butt slapping and me holding my dress at the top, we get a few laughs and some applause but we didn't make it to the middle seats. It was still fun and next time we'll know what to do. One, be more creative and two, don't wear a strapless dress !!! If you've never gone to any of the games in the Atrium you're missing out. They're usually a lot of fun and the ship plays re-runs of them on the TV the rest of the week. I was able to record part of our audition on my phone to show our family and friends when got home.

We had to leave before the Game was actually finished or we would have missed our reservations at "After Midnight".

 

"After Midnight":

This is a wonderful musical with very talented singers, dancers and musicians. It's a totally different type of music so if you aren't a fan of Jazz or big-band songs or Broadway, this may not be what you expect. Hubby calls me a music nerd because I listen to everything but truth be known he's just as bad as I am. Again, this may be something you want to research before attending. There were people getting up and leaving less then 30 minutes into the show. This is not only disrespectful to the performers but also to those who are there to enjoy the show. The performers do stay afterwards if you'd like to stick around for pictures.

 

We realized we hadn't eaten dinner tonight but didn't really want anything so we went for something to drink before heading to our Cabin. It was supposed to be one drink. Which turned in to several and met some amazing new friends and where at but the 5 O'clock Somewhere Bar on the Waterfront or as I've been calling it "Cowboy's". Now ,it's time to call it a night. Arrived back at our Cabin and Jimmy had made up the cutest towel elephant, chocolates on our pillows AND complimentary chocolate covered strawberries from Jovo, the Hotel Director. We met him at the M&M and Lattitudes Members Meeting. Super nice guy.

 

Day 3 Later:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gamecockmom

gamecockmom

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Great start! Envious of that Aft Balcony. Did you spend a lot of time there? Looking forward to the rest of your review:D

 

We actually did. I probably spent more time out there than my husband. I loved it in the mornings especially just relaxing in the lounge chair. I found it had less of a breeze but it wasn't uncomfortable. We had originally booked on deck 15 but I read that you got noise from the Garden Café. So, I called and we were able to move. In the evenings if there was music at H20, you could hear the music from the balcony but this was actually enjoyable. Once inside, there was no noise. No doubt, we will do an Aft again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
eliw23

eliw23

Posted
Posted

Great review so far gamecockmom! I was the mini-suite person during our cabin crawl. I loved seeing your aft balcony! I haven't gotten my thoughts together yet on a review since I came down with a really bad cold when we got back and I'm still recovering. I guess I didn't use the Washy Washy guys enough. :(

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gamecockmom

gamecockmom

Posted
  • Author
Posted
I'm not a fan of margaritas so I was planning to skip Margaritaville but you've made this sound so fun that I'm definitely going!

 

Margaritaville at Sea is on Deck 17 and they serve food there. The 5 O'clock Somewhere Bar is on Deck 8 and there's two parts to it. There's an inside area that has different activities throughout the cruise. The BAR is actually in the outside area of 5 O'clock Somewhere and is located on the Waterfront and that's were you'll find the Chocolate Cowboy and Ron Ron. Just wanted to clarify that for you.

We had a margarita or two but the bar has a good menu with lots of other choices. As I mentioned before, I'm a light drinker so I don't like drinks that are super strong. Try the Tranquil Waters, it was really good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gamecockmom

gamecockmom

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Really enjoying this review. We will be on Escape in June. Hubby and I are also gamecocks! We live in Columbia.

 

 

One of the questions in our M&M was "What's a Gamecock?" Bless....

My hubby wore his Gamecock hat during most days (he's a little bare on the top..tee hee hee..and didn't want to blister). We had a couple people to comment about it. Thank Heavens they won the Thursday night we were on the cruise !! In Cozumel he had somebody want to buy it from him...LOL

 

Go..Cocks !!! Always great to hear from a fellow fan :D

 

I'm sure you'll enjoy your trip in June !!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
gamecockmom

gamecockmom

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Great review so far gamecockmom! I was the mini-suite person during our cabin crawl. I loved seeing your aft balcony! I haven't gotten my thoughts together yet on a review since I came down with a really bad cold when we got back and I'm still recovering. I guess I didn't use the Washy Washy guys enough. :(

 

Hey...thank you so much for showing your mini-suite too !! I think this was is a wonderful idea because it gives others the opportunity to see options for their next "adventure". I'm sure we'll participate in another Cabin Crawl next time too. It was fun also to have additional time with people from our M&M group.

So sorry you're feeling bad :( I hope you'll recover quickly !!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • ANNOUNCEMENT: Set Sail on Sun Princess®
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...