Cruise Review: Escape From New York, Sept. 2-9, 2018

[Moonglo]

Enjoying your Cruise review immensely.....definitely looking forward to more!

[PaulInPGH]

Enjoying your Cruise review immensely.....definitely looking forward to more!

 

Thanks very much. There's much more coming--we're only on page 12 of a 40 page review. Yikes.

[PaulInPGH]

Our stateroom was a Spa Balcony, number 15754. It was spacious, but more in the long and narrow way, with an extremely lengthy couch between the bed and the balcony door. There wasn’t a lot of room to walk between the foot of the bed and the cabin wall, so I would have traded a little of the length for some extra width.

The balcony itself was interesting. Because deck 16 was directly above us, our balcony was under an overhang provided by the larger deck above. This slightly took away from the feeling of open sky and ocean you get with a typical balcony. On the plus side, however, it did provide useful shade from the sun and a shield from the rain, meaning our balcony furniture was never wet. On the whole, my wife and I agreed that we liked the extra overhang.

As you might expect, being directly under the high-traffic deck 16 made this cabin a bit noisy. If you’re a very light sleeper, or if you like sleeping at odd hours, I’d recommend a cabin on a different deck. The noise was definitely less at night, though, so I can say I was never bothered by it.

[PaulInPGH]

The Spa Balcony comes with a pass to the thermal suite, which we’d never experienced on any of our previous cruises. Since it was new to us, we decided to head up to the spa for a quick tour to check it out. The tour was definitely unnecessary, as they largely try to sell you on purchasing additional services and treatments. I was comforted, though, when we were told that the hair-loss treatment was “known by the FDA, and will not hurt your head, or your brain cells!” Good to know.

We had a bit of time before the muster drill at 3:30, so we naturally decided another drink was in order. We stopped at the Mojito Bar on deck 8, and we were surprised to find the bar almost completely empty. Weirdly, this would be our only stop at this bar this cruise, even though it was one of our favorites when we were on the Getaway a few years ago. I think this may be due to the fact that they changed the raspberry mojito I used to absolutely love to a raspberry guava mojito—a far inferior version, to be honest.

Finally pausing the drinking, we made our way down to the atrium for the muster drill. This was yet another event that ran late, not getting started until closer to 3:50. The absolute mass of people assigned to the atrium for their muster station left me in serious doubt about our ability to survive an actual emergency, but, thankfully, we never had to put that to the test on this cruise.

[PaulInPGH]

We attempted to grab a bite at O’Sheehan’s right after muster, but we were told they wouldn’t open up for food service until 4:45. We visited the Garden Café instead, which, in my opinion, remains NCL’s weakest food offering. It’s one area where our cruises on RCI really win hands-down.

After our quick snack, we made our way back to our stateroom to grab our luggage and get settled in. It’s always a nice feeling when your luggage shows up, and you know that you definitely did hand all your possessions to an actual luggage porter and not a slick, luggage-stealing conman.

Our next stop was the Cellars Wine Bar for a quick glass before dinner. Super stereotypically, my wife and I have really been getting in to wine as we’ve aged, so we were both very excited to try some fun wines here. The first glass I tried at Cellars turned out to be my favorite of the trip, the Louis Jadot Pouilly-Fouisse.

[Rockwife]

Thanks so much for this review, Paul! My eyes are glued to it because we're leaving for NYC tomorrow and will be boarding on Sunday. Also glued because you're hilarious and my kind of people (four favorite things; eating well, drinking, music and travel).

 

BTW, you look familiar. Would I have ever seen you in/around Atlanta?

[PaulInPGH]

Thanks so much for this review, Paul! My eyes are glued to it because we're leaving for NYC tomorrow and will be boarding on Sunday. Also glued because you're hilarious and my kind of people (four favorite things; eating well, drinking, music and travel).

 

BTW, you look familiar. Would I have ever seen you in/around Atlanta?

 

Thanks so much. I'm sure you'll have a great time in NYC and on the Escape. I haven't gotten to it yet in the review, but don't skip Pinchos! The food there was the best we've ever had on a cruise. You can also order from Pinchos at the wine bar, but we also really liked sitting outside on the waterfront. Definitely stop back when you return to share your experiences.

 

I don't think it's me you saw, since I haven't been to Atlanta since around 1990, and I would have been 7 at the time. I used to play music for a living in the Philadelphia area about 10 years ago and used to get recognized for that, but that's unlikely unless you vacationed in Philly or the Jersey Shore at some point.

 

Have a great cruise!

[PaulInPGH]

Our dinner that evening was to be at Le Bistro, and this is where we encountered the thing that truly annoyed me the most during this cruise. When we arrived, we were told that the restaurant was completely full, and the only seats they had available were two tiny tables that are placed outside the restaurant. Now, maybe this would be alright if you’re actually eating on a sidewalk in Paris, but these tables were in the middle of an extremely noisy atrium, right below a smoky casino, and generally had the ambience of dining in a loud, smelly, Vegas hotel lobby. In other words, it was not anyone’s idea of the kind of setting where you would want to enjoy several courses and relax with a bottle or two of wine. Maybe I was a little extra sensitive following the Risotteria window ledge debacle, but I was not a happy camper.

We asked the hostess if we could be seated inside, and we were told we would have to wait until something opened up. We planned to do this, but right about then, my wife started feeling very nauseous. The long day of drinking combined with a lack of food hit her very suddenly, so rather than wait around, we opted to head back to the room so she could lie down. Note to our future selves: add some extra food at the buffet the next time you decide to tie one on.

[PaulInPGH]

While my wife was resting, I laid on the aforementioned super long couch and read. After a couple hours she felt a good deal better, and we finally were able to grab some food. We stopped at O’Sheehan’s and revisited some of our favorite items from previous cruises—particularly the fish and chips and the wings. Since I hadn’t eaten in something like 12 hours, I also may have thrown a hot dog in the order, as well.

Because my wife wasn’t feeling up to going out, we decided to call it an early night. The always comfortable NCL bed was calling our names, and we knew we had an entire week of fun ahead.

Up next, Day 4: Living the dream by doing absolutely nothing.

[PaulInPGH]

Day 4 (Cruise Day 2): Pure Relaxation

Last year we took a two-week-long vacation to Europe. The trip was absolutely amazing—the best we’ve ever done—but it was exhausting. We packed every single day with non-stop action, and while we had a very memorable time, it was punishing. When we got home, we decided to make the next vacation one where we did as little as humanly possible, and I’m happy to say we largely succeeded on this cruise.

In the Freestyle Daily left in our cabin the night before, there was a note about moving clocks forward one hour to account for Bermuda time. I was expecting this, so we did as instructed without question. However, we didn’t think closely enough (or read the Daily closely enough), because the Daily was for day 2 of the cruise—meaning clocks were to be turned back at 2:00 AM on night 2 (Monday night), not night one. The result was we were up way before we’d intended, thinking that we were now an hour later. At the Garden Café for breakfast at what we thought was 9:00, we were very surprised by how light the crowds were.

Likewise, when we walked up to check out Spice H20 after breakfast, we were again delighted to find very few people out and about. We enjoyed exploring the cave-like water feature with no one else around.

We only became aware of our mistake when we attempted to grab lunch at O’Sheehan’s at what we thought was noon, but was actually only 11:00. The hostess informed us of our error, and we had a good laugh. Because we had a little extra time, we wandered down to the dining room to check out the lunch menu. We dined at Savor, which would be our only trip to a main dining room the entire cruise. I enjoyed the Philly cheesesteak, which I’ve had on prior cruises and which is shockingly delicious.

[PaulInPGH]

We finished lunch just in time to make it to Cellars for the 1:00 PM black glass wine tasting. This was a for-fee event ($20 per person) which included tasting five different wines. The thing that made this more fun than a typical tasting was the black glass challenge, where you’re given three wines in black glasses and asked to identify the wine within simply via taste. This was much harder than I expected. While I’m still a wine novice, I thought I would do better than I did, though I came very close on a few of my guesses. For folks who enjoy wine, it was definitely a fun way to spend an hour while onboard.

After the wine tasting we made our way to the pool deck for our first fruity outdoor drink of the cruise. When we got our drinks, we noted an interesting/annoying thing: the drinks no longer come with straws. I haven’t been reading posts on Cruise Critic in a while, so my guess is this doesn’t come as a surprise to most folks, but I was taken aback. Most of the time, straws are completely unnecessary, but try to drink a frozen daiquiri without one—it sucks. Actually, it doesn’t suck, which is why you need a freaking straw. We met a couple people later in the cruise who brought their own straws, which seems like a good call in future.

One other note about the pool area: I know the pool areas on NCL ships leave a lot to be desired. The only time we ever even attempt going in the pool is while the ship is in port. But the pool on Escape was a whole other level of bad. People were jammed in so close together it looked like a swingers cruise. I can’t imagine that is much fun, but if that’s your thing, you’ll be right at home on this ship.

[PaulInPGH]

Seeking a more peaceful getaway, we left the pool deck and made our first visit to the thermal suite. The thermal suite is a wonderful section all the way forward on deck 16 which can only be accessed by passengers who’ve purchased spa passes, or in our case, passengers who book a Spa Balcony cabin. It’s a much less busy area because they only allow access to approximately 100 people per day. Since my wife and I are both averse to the sun (which begs the question, why do we keep cruising), we were both very happy to have a quiet, sun-free place to relax.

The main area of the thermal suite has a hot tub, a thalassotherapy pool, and a good number of very comfortable padded loungers. It also features some heated, hard-as-rock loungers, but I couldn’t see laying in one of those things for longer than about the thirty seconds I attempted. The padded loungers, though, were my favorite destination for lounging on this cruise.

The thalassotherapy pool was very large and quite hot (like a hot tub), and it features a number of jets to give your body a good pounding. There’s a waterfall-like thing in the middle of the pool which provides a heavy massage to your neck and shoulders. There’s also a part that, well, I have no idea what its purpose was, but which basically fills the water with bubbles and tosses you about like you’re in a raging river. I have no idea if that had a positive effect on my body, but it was fun. We both felt more limber after spending time in the thalassotherapy pool, so there may be something to it, but I wish they told me whether it would “hurt my brain cells.”

The thermal suite also has a number of rooms that are supposed to offer various health benefits. We briefly opened the door to the steam room before taking a hard pass (again, we’re not heat people). The snow room was much more our speed, and I always enjoyed cooling off there after a swim in the hot thalassotherapy pool. The salt room was also nice, and is supposed to improve your breathing. Again, I have no clue if that’s actually the case, but it was very easy to relax in there and I found myself nearly falling asleep more than once.

Speaking of falling asleep, we spent a solid couple hours in the spa, and I nearly fell asleep while lying on those comfortable padded loungers. We eventually had our fill of relaxation and made our way back to the cabin to shower and change before our evening activities.

[PaulInPGH]

 

Inside the thermal suite, with the weird heated torture loungers.

[boopsahoy]

 

Inside the thermal suite, with the weird heated torture loungers.

 

I love those! :D:D

[PaulInPGH]

I love those! :D:D

 

I know they're popular, but I just couldn't do it. Maybe if they were soft. The spa did have a couple excellent round padded loungers for two, but we didn't manage to get a photo of one of those. We only got a chance to sit in one once during a port day because they were so popular.

[UFMOM]

Enjoying your review. The thermal loungers are more comfortable if you cover them with a couple of towels to help diffuse the heat and make them a little softer. Also use a rolled up towel under your neck and head for support. Sometimes the spa has the heat cranked up too high on them, we like it somewhere in the middle. The padded loungers are better for longer use. Love the spa area too. DH swears by that waterfall in the pool for his neck and upper back.

 

 

 

Mary Ann

[PaulInPGH]

Enjoying your review. The thermal loungers are more comfortable if you cover them with a couple of towels to help diffuse the heat and make them a little softer. Also use a rolled up towel under your neck and head for support. Sometimes the spa has the heat cranked up too high on them, we like it somewhere in the middle. The padded loungers are better for longer use. Love the spa area too. DH swears by that waterfall in the pool for his neck and upper back.

 

 

 

Mary Ann

 

That's a good point about the heat of the loungers. Now, give me a cooling lounger and I could sleep on one of those for hours:)

 

I, too, loved the waterfall massage thing. Sitting here in my uncomfortable desk chair makes me wish I had one right now!

[mizLORInj]

Was that an aperol spritz with your risotto? (post #8) Got turned onto them while in Italy this past April and they are tasty! and part digestive aid!

[PaulInPGH]

Was that an aperol spritz with your risotto? (post #8) Got turned onto them while in Italy this past April and they are tasty! and part digestive aid!

 

Yes! We fell in love with them when we were in Italy last September. Luckily, they're catching on not only in the U.S. but on NCL ships, as well. We enjoyed several on the Epic last year and several at the atrium bar on this cruise on the Escape.

[JamieLogical]

Loving your review so far! We are on this cruise in a little over 3 weeks and I an trying to glean every tidbit I can from your posts to make the most of our time.

[PaulInPGH]

Loving your review so far! We are on this cruise in a little over 3 weeks and I an trying to glean every tidbit I can from your posts to make the most of our time.

 

Thank you. I should have more posted this evening.

[bluecartakesacruise]

Inside the thermal suite, with the weird heated torture loungers.

Agree with you 100%, but my GF loves them. They make her happy which makes me happy. Thermal spa pass is the best.

 

Enjoying your review, we were on the sailing right after yours which landed up being a cruise to pretty much nowhere except away from Florence. I spent a lot of time in those padded loungers. :cool:

[PaulInPGH]

Agree with you 100%, but my GF loves them. They make her happy which makes me happy. Thermal spa pass is the best.

 

Enjoying your review, we were on the sailing right after yours which landed up being a cruise to pretty much nowhere except away from Florence. I spent a lot of time in those padded loungers. :cool:

 

Wow, I was curious where that cruise ended up. Did you guys stop in any ports? It's crazy, because we had our phones off the entire cruise, we didn't even know about the storm until the day we got back. I'm sure that must have been less than ideal, but hopefully you guys still enjoyed the trip. That's the nice thing about sailing one of the larger ships; there's enough onboard to keep you occupied for a week. I'd hate to be in that situation on one of the smaller ship with fewer onboard options.

[PaulInPGH]

Before leaving for the cruise, we’d made reservations for both theater shows, After Midnight and the Brat Pack. After Midnight was up first, but before heading to the theater for the 7:30 show, we had enough time to pop in the District Brew House and check out their beer selection.

I enjoyed the beer—I chose something light and summery, though I forget which one specifically—but I would say their beer could have been a bit colder. That may just be me, though, since I typically like my beer just this side of frozen. There was a piano player playing music sans singing (think cocktail hour), and he was excellent. We’d stop in to hear his more lively sets later in the cruise.

[PaulInPGH]

We made it to the theater on deck 7 just after 7:00 and quickly found seats. I would highly recommend making reservations for any show you might want to see because this theater is tiny, especially for a ship this size. It’s only on a single deck, and there seemed to be an unusually high number of seats reserved for Haven passengers.

The show was well worth it. The musicians were fantastic, and the singing was some of the best I’ve heard at sea. The Brat Pack was even better, though, but more on that in a bit.

The show let out at about 8:45, which left us with an hour to kill before our rescheduled reservation at Le Bistro. This was just enough time for us to grab a quick drink up at Tobacco Road, where the Latin duo was playing. We grooved to some familiar songs while I enjoyed a Getaway, which is probably my favorite drink on NCL ships. It’s like a mojito on steroids, and I could drink them anytime, anywhere.