My Week on the Escape 10/28/18 - 11/4/18

[ljrfrm]

Tonight was our first specialty restaurant reservation.  We were going to La Cucina, which is actually a new restaurant for us.  We always seem to do the same ones, so this trip we dropped Modernos and went Italian instead.  I thought the reservation was at 6:30 but luckily checked (I messed up similarly this past March so figured I needed to double check) and saw it was at 6:00. That meant very little time to get ready so no balcony time today.  I love sitting on my balcony and reading after a day in the sun and before getting ready for dinner.  We were all ready at 6:00 so walked quickly to our reservation so we wouldn't be late.  Our waiter was once again attentive and personable - and we very much enjoyed our dinner there. I ordered the Pear Salad, Spaghetti Carbonara (I thought it was excellent - but my husband told me mine was better.  Considering that's probably the only thing I know how to cook, I appreciated that complement), Beef Tenderloin and the Ricotta Cheesecake.  Just a little bit a food - ha.  I cleaned my plates too!  We all ordered the Tempranillo wine so they just brought us the bottle.  And then another bottle.  Great service.

 

Tonight was the Newlywed Game and I knew we'd need to arrive earlier for seats. So, following dinner, we went to the Atrium and settled in. We listened to the Golden Octaves sing their Love Songs set.  If you ever see them on your cruise, enjoy.  I thought the lead singer had a spectacular voice. I ran up to the cabin and got our cards and we played Gin Rummy while waiting.  The Newlywed Game started at 8:45 and was as funny as always.  Our cruise director was Alvin, and he did a nice job with it.  The show is really dependent on the contestants, but how the cruise director plays off of them is important. While it maybe wasn't the funniest we've seen, they all did a great job and I enjoyed watching our friends watch it for the first time.  I was happy to see they even switched up a few questions from the ones I'm used to.  I had two Gin and Tonics while there - it seemed like the appropriate evening drink after downing half of La Cucina's food and beverages.  Once the game show finished, we switched up locations to the District Brewhouse and caught the end of "Sidewalk Songs with Shawn Smith".  He had a nice voice and although we only made it for his last 4-5 songs, we enjoyed his talent.  We found a comfy couch area and finished up our Gin Rummy game.  Have I mentioned yet that I won every game we played last week?  I definitely have talent! 🙂

 

We decided to move on to the Norwegian Night Out party at Spice H2O.  Can you believe we hadn't shown our friends the area yet.  On a side note - I've never seen Spice H20 during the day! The first time we sailed the Escape, we were in the Haven. The second time we had Vibe.  Both times I said I was going to go by there while the sun was out - even if we didn't stay but just to check out the area.  We never did. This time I was committed to do so. Guess what?  We never made it again during the day. Oh well - someday.  Anyhow - back to my story.  We went to the Norwegian Night Out and what fun! We didn't stay long - but stayed long enough to dance to three or four songs.  I might have danced off the calories from my last Gin and Tonic. 

 

As much fun as we were having, we headed back to the cabin at 11:30.  This was proving to be an early bedtime cruise - or at least an early return to cabin cruise.  I do enjoy going back to the cabin at night and finding my towel animal and Freestyle Daily for the upcoming day.  I climbed into bed with my Daily to scope out all the future fun I will be having tomorrow.  It's also the time that I tried to jot down a few notes for my review.  I do a lousy job of that - half the time I can't read my writing.  In my note for this evening I wrote "rearrange". I have no idea what I rearranged or why.  I've been sitting here now trying to figure out what "brought back cheek" means. I think I finally deciphered the code.  Tonight we set our clocks back. One less hour to sleep.  Boo.

Edited November 9, 2018 by ljrfrm

[cathi007]

Oh thanks! You are making me so excited for my cruise. I love the way you write, I feel like I am there. I am going to try and get my hubby to so the newlywed game 🙂

[ljrfrm]

Day 3 (Tuesday)

Today we had the dreaded time change.  Moving that clock forward is always painful, even when you are on a cruise. We lost an hour, so there was NO way I was going to try to go to the gym this morning.  I did commit to myself to do it later in the day (we'll see if I actually follow through with that).  We woke up at 8:00 (really 7:00, ugh), texted with our friends, and once realized none of us went to the gym, we made plans to meet for breakfast.

 

Speaking of texting, just a bit of information.  Usually, we try to unplug on cruises.  But, we left our just turned 18 year old home alone for the week.  Yes, he's 18 now but a mom always worries (I can confirm that "Find my Friend" does work when you are in middle the Atlantic Ocean. You may not get the pretty map updated but the location is accurate. So most days, I knew my son either made it to school on time, or he gave his phone to a friend and his friend made it!).  We bought the Unlimited Internet package. My husband wanted the one that included VPN, thinking that he might want to try to pull up some sports or check in with work.  This was the fastest, easiest time we've had with Internet on board any ship.  There was really only one day that it was a bit slower, and even then it was still faster than previous times. Whether it was the "with VPN" part or just an overall upgrade, who knows.....but I was pleasantly surprised.  It worked out great for me to be able to I-message with our friends and children whenever needed.  That was nice, after our last communication ordeal with the I-Concierge App on the Getaway which was a bit frustrating.  We received $200 OBC from NCL at booking, and $200 from our travel agent which covered most of our Vibe and Internet charges.

 

And, since I mentioned I-Concierge, let's get this out of the way now also.  The Escape has now switched over to the new Norwegian App.  I can't comment on the texting feature since we did have the Internet, but I found it easy to use to check the "What's Going On" , see our spending damage and reservations.  I did have a hard time the first day trying to figure out where to book the comedy show and ended up bagging it. I'm not sure if I was just missing it or it was already sold out.  

 

We went to Taste for breakfast.  You know what this means, right? Muesli!!  I also had bacon and eggs. The bacon was crispy the way I like it too!!  Some coffee and orange juice hit the spot as well. The service was good and we were happy to see who we dubbed the "Good Morning Ladies". They brought some yummy pastries out each day and just like other cruises, we love their "act".  

 

After breakfast we went to the rope course.  This was about 10 am and there was nobody else in line and only a few people up on the course. Perfect timing.  My husband stayed down below to hold all our things and take photos and I headed up along with our two friends.  I've done it before, and I'm not really afraid of heights - but that first step always gets me.  I had to admit I didn't "walk the plank" this time.  I just didn't have a good feeling - I pictured myself slipping off and hanging off the ship, blowing in the wind.  Yes, not a good picture and I walked right by it.  Soon I hit the first zip line.  They told me to "run and jump" so I did.  As I'm heading to the other side, the guy told me to "let go and spread your arms".  Ah, no thanks!  It was fun though.  We made it up to the third level and looked down, waving at my husband.  As cool as I thought we were, I watched two young kids pretty much run past us. Oh to be young and brave again!!  There was also a boy behind us who was so respectful of our slowness.  We eventually helped him to pass us so he wouldn't be slowed down by us old folks.  We eventually made our way through and back down, and as I hit the bottom I realized we somehow missed the other zip line. The one that goes over the water. How did that happen?  I asked the guy who was unbuckling me - and he actually told me it was closed down. He said they had two people get stuck. A man - he said "I have NO idea how he got stuck" and a boy. He said that it takes awhile to get those that are stuck down.  The parents were too stressed that it took what was in their opinion a long time.  Anyhow - so this time there was no zipping over the water.

 

Once unbuckled and back on solid ground, we went to the cabin to change into our bathing suits and pack up to spend the day in Vibe.

Edited November 9, 2018 by ljrfrm

[SDcnm]

Enjoying your trip report!!...thanks so much...57 days til I board the NCL Escape for my anniversary cruise.  

 

Sheila  

[ljrfrm]

7 hours ago, SDcnm said:

Enjoying your trip report!!...thanks so much...57 days til I board the NCL Escape for my anniversary cruise.  

 

Sheila  

Thanks, glad you are enjoying it!!  57 days will be here before you know it!!!  Have a great cruise.

[cathi007]

8 hours ago, SDcnm said:

Enjoying your trip report!!...thanks so much...57 days til I board the NCL Escape for my anniversary cruise.  

 

Sheila  

You must be on the sailing right before ours, have a blast 🙂

[cathi007]

30 minutes ago, ljrfrm said:

Thanks, glad you are enjoying it!!  57 days will be here before you know it!!!  Have a great cruise.

Good job! I can't wait ti try the ropes course, lol. And I am an older lady too :). I am going to attempt the plank, but I might chicken out. I can't wait to read more 🙂

[ljrfrm]

16 minutes ago, cathi007 said:

Good job! I can't wait ti try the ropes course, lol. And I am an older lady too :). I am going to attempt the plank, but I might chicken out. I can't wait to read more 🙂

I did it the last time, as I was up with my son and he pretty much dared me too, LOL.  This time the couple I was with didn't do it so it was easier to wimp out, haha.  20 years ago I probably would have done it without thinking. 🙂

 

[ljrfrm]

After changing we headed up to Vibe.  The weather was nice once again, and we enjoyed relaxing, chatting with other guests and soaking up the son. I also soaked up a Bahama Mama and a Miami Vice. Once we were hungry (ok, no way we were hungry, more like once we knew we could squeeze more food in) we packed up our things and headed down to Pinchos to eat some tapas.  We asked to be seated outside, and enjoyed the comfortable weather and beautiful view of the ocean. While I don't do seafood (or anything that swims) I had plenty to choose from.  My favorite from Pinchos is the Datiles (Dates) con Bacon. They are just that good!!!  We also ordered Patatas Bravas, and both a cheese plate and meat platter.  And of course we asked for extra bread, just to get a few more calories in.  My husband ordered Boquerones also.  Our total was $32 or so - money well spent it was all that delicious!!!  Everything was washed down with a few glasses of refreshing Sangria.

 

We went back up to Vibe after lunch to take a nice nap in the sun.  At some point they came around with a few munchies but I just couldn't do it. It became a bit cloudier and a little cooler so that "nice nap in the sun" turned out to be a nice nap under a towel.  It was still cozy and nice and I was thoroughly enjoying it until it began to sprinkle.  We stuck it out until the sprinkle became a rain.  The bar was hopping at this point with almost everyone under cover and still enjoying an afternoon in Vibe.  We decided to leave and take advantage of this time to hit the gym. Yes, once again I'm heading to the gym after numerous drinks.  Maybe that's what gave me the motivation to actually go.  We went to the cabin to change and then headed to the gym where I walked 3 miles.  Yes, holding on tight again just in case!!!  

 

After the three miles, those drinks and all the food caught up to me and I decided it was nap time again.  We headed back to the cabin but then realized we really didn't have time left to nap as we had to have time to shower before our 6 pm reservations at Cagneys.  So instead, I sat on the balcony and read for a few minutes and then headed in to shower and change. Time to get ready for another meal (wow!) and then some nighttime fun!!

[mking8288]

Just to say, nice job on your Escape narrative - it's like being back on the ship, DW has been bugging me to start looking again, now that we have flexible schedules & will seize those last minute deals, pack-grab passports-and just go.  

 

It's always good to read about other's experience on the same sailing, to compare & read what's similar or not ... wasn't that a fun ride on the last Sea Day, I loved those moderate chops.  

[ljrfrm]

4 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Just to say, nice job on your Escape narrative - it's like being back on the ship, DW has been bugging me to start looking again, now that we have flexible schedules & will seize those last minute deals, pack-grab passports-and just go.  

 

It's always good to read about other's experience on the same sailing, to compare & read what's similar or not ... wasn't that a fun ride on the last Sea Day, I loved those moderate chops.  

Thanks - I enjoyed reading your live review too while I was on the ship.  That last day was just wow!!  So jealous you can take advantage of those last minutes deals. 

[ljrfrm]

We had 6 pm reservations for Cagney's tonight.  We were seated right away and immediately had the bartender come by for our drink orders.  I initially ordered the "Side Car" specialty drink which was quite good.  I did move on to wine for the meal, and once again we were given a bottle of Tempranillo after we all requested the same wine.  We laughed at the humongous red wine glasses - I think you could put the whole bottle into one glass.  Although I only had "one" glass of wine, it included multiple pours.  I had a delicious dinner of the Pork Belly appetizer, Filet Mignon (and not the small cut either, ha), brussel sprouts (which were really, really tasty) and a loaded baked potato.  Although I couldn't quite finish the potato and shared a bit of my filet with my husband, I have to admit I did quite well with almost clearing my plate. I was so full I was about to burst, but it didn't stop me from ordering the Apple Crisp for dessert.  Mmmmmmmm. While I didn't order coffee, several others ordered a specialty coffee drink with dessert that came without the charge which was nice.

 

We pretty much rolled out of the restaurant once we were finished, bursting to the seams with the delicious food.  For those that have wondered, I didn't see Rib Eye on the menu anymore, and I was sad to see I didn't see Prime Rib either which was what I wanted. BUT, my husband told me that was user error and the Prime Rib was right there in the middle of the menu.  No idea how I missed that, but the Filet was good and after a good meal, it was no problem that I missed the Prime Rib.  I'll catch it the next cruise!

 

We walked over to the Atrium and happened to find four seats together to listen to the Golden Octave's Tribute to Motown.  Once again, I thought they were great and enjoyed singing along to the tunes.  We stayed to was the Big Pyramid Game Show.  I had somewhat considered putting my name in to play but following all that wine, I just didn't trust myself to not make a giant fool of myself.  I do think I could have won it all, haha.  We had reservations to go see the 10 pm show of the For the Record, Brat Pack show.  My husband and I had seen it already in the Supper Club on a previous cruise. I definitely wanted my friends to see it though, and went back and forth on whether we would enjoy seeing it a second time.  We ended up joining them which was a great decision.  It was interesting to see the changes they made to the show from the Supper Club to big stage. I thought maybe it wouldn't be as good in such a large venue but boy was I wrong. It was once again a wonderful production with very talented staff.  We sat in the perfect location - about 3 rows behind the risers, and quite often had pretty much a front row seats when they ran back to us.  I think those in the front might have had a hard time turning their heads so often to watch what was going on behind them.  Then again, they had a great view of the stage so maybe they didn't mind.

 

Once the show ended, the night was still young.  Even though we aren't young, we thought we could eek out another hour or so of fun. We decided to swing over to Spice H20 for the 80's party. We arrived just in time to join everyone else in singing Bohemian Rhapsody.  After belting out our Mama Mia's and Galileos, we danced for another 20 minutes or so enjoying some fun 80's music.  Both Alvin and the rest of his cruise staff were doing a great job of keeping the party going and heading up the singing and dancing.  There was a great party atmosphere and it seemed like everybody was having a blast.  Despite the fun, we decided it was time to call it a night, and headed to our cabin to climb into bed with the following day's Freestyle Daily and our towel animal.  I think tonight was the night that neither my husband nor I bothered to move our new towel animal friend, and he slept the night between us, staying intact throughout the night. The next day we'd be arriving in Bermuda, but thanks to the alternative schedule, most of the day would be another Sea Day for us.  I do love Sea Days!

[cathi007]

Looking forward to some more. I hope they do 80's night on my cruise, I love the 80's music, no other better decade 🙂

[ljrfrm]

Day 4-Wednesday (Halloween!!!)

Today we were up at 8:00 am.  I made a cup of coffee and went out onto the balcony to enjoy it.  One thing I had realized earlier in the week, is that we had no creamer with our coffee maker.  I had fortunately remembered this the day before and "borrowed" about 8 little creamers from the dining room.  I was so happy to finally have some cream to put in my coffee.  While the pods of cabin coffee may not match Starbucks quality, it's coffee and it's caffeine.  It worked for me.

 

We ended up having breakfast today at Taste. I started with Muesli (surprise, surprise) and the ordered the waffles. I meant to order bacon also but forgot. I considered asking for some once I realized my mistake, but decided I really would survive without it (I did!).  I had some more coffee and a pastry brought by the singing "Good Morning Girls".  Following breakfast, I decided I needed to get my workout in.  I really, really (really) didn't want to go to the gym again. SO, I decided to hit the jogging track.  I completed 24 laps (3 miles) of weaving in and out of people, saying "excuse me" while trying to pass those walking slowly, stopping, or standing on the track.  It was not early, and there were a lot of people. Honestly, I have zero problem with people blocking the track IF they don't mind moving as I'm coming around.  I get that it is a popular area and people are out and about. I was surprised though with a few people who seemed to give me a dirty look like I was bothering them when I was trying to pass them.  I was nice, said excuse me, and passed without bumping them. So why the looks??  For about 10 of the laps, I fell behind someone else and "drafted" behind them.  They did my dirty work - saying excuse me and passing those stopped on the track.  I just slipped through after them.  It was nice to have a buffer.

 

Following my walk, I went back to the cabin and got ready for a day in Vibe.  We ended up spending from 11:00 am - 4:00 pm there.  We were treated to fruit kabobs and "spring rolls" again, and I enjoyed a Miami Vice, BBC, Bahama Mama and Bushwacker.  My Bushwacker came with something spelled on top.  A secret message, just for me. Awwww.  Throughout the day, we saw land.  I spy with my naked eye......Bermuda.  So close but yet so far. We were there but there was no room to dock.  So, as planned, we anchored off the coast and bobbed in place until we finally saw the Carnival ship leave.  We all waved and clapped. Bye Bye.  Our turn now.  We skipped lunch today (dreadful, I know) and we never got hungry.  That's when you know you have plenty stored up from all your other meals!!   We enjoyed spending time in the hot tub and took some awesome hot tub photos with Bermuda in the background.

 

When we were good and cooked, we left the hot tub, dried off for awhile, then returned to our cabin to shower.  We sat on our balcony and watched the docking.  We also watched the sunset over the Dockyard.  There's just something about cruising and sunsets that naturally just go together.  I was happy to see our cabin was facing the Dockyard.  While the view out the other side was gorgeous as well, I enjoy watching all the comings and goings of docking, and of course the possible pier runners on Friday.  Plus, did I mention that sunset???  By 6:20 we were docked and we headed to Manhattan for dinner.  We had skipped lunch so we could have an early dinner (the plan was 5:00 pm) to be able to disembark and walk around the dockyard.  The fact that we didn't make it to dinner until almost 6:30 took away a lot of our Dockyard time. We had the Halloween party later so wouldn't be able to spend too much time off the ship.

 

We were seated right away and immediately had someone coming to our table to deliver bread and take drink orders. I went with the Riesling tonight - and had several glasses. By my calculations, since I walked 3 miles, I earned roughly the calories of a piece of bread. Therefore, I rationalized I could have extra bread.  I can rationalize anything!!  I also ordered two appetizers as I couldn't decide. I rationalize that simply by the fact that I was on a cruise.  I had the Croquettes and Dumplings and they were both fantastic. For my entree I order the Chicken Cordon Bleu - it was very good too.  I had a delicious bread pudding for dessert. Yes, more bread!

 

After being stuffed to the brim with food, we were ready to head out to the Dockyard.  The elevator we got in only went as low as Deck 5, so we had to walk across the deck to get to the stairs down to Deck 4 and the gangway. Interestingly enough, this was the first time I ever stepped foot on Deck 5. We walked by the Splash Academy and then the private room for Taste. I never even knew Taste had a private room.  We walked right off the ship, took a few pictures and then headed towards the stores. Most of the stores were still open, but we really didn't have a lot of time so after walking around for an hour, went back to the ship.  We passed Calico Jack's which was just starting to get hopping with their Halloween party. Along with many, many other friends.  Yes, the line to get back on the ship was long.  Very long.  I guess we all had the same idea and needed to get changed into our Halloween costumes.

 

I'm not sure how long we waited in line to get back on board. It wasn't too bad. But, it was frustrating to see a family/group of about 25 all walk by us and go right to the front of the line.  One person was pushing a wheelchair - I totally have no problem with someone who needs it going in front of me to get on.  But to see them all follow and push into the front of the line was too bad.  The last 5 stragglers to do so weren't even really walking with the person in the wheelchair, and clearly could have easily waited in line.

 

Regardless, we were soon to the front of the line.  They asked to see our ship card as well as ID. Now, at every port we ever go to, we're told to bring our ID's ashore.  I feel like over the last few years, we are never asked to show our ID's anymore. But, I always bring them.  Bermuda definitely asks to see ID's. Not only that, they actually look at them too - and made me take off my sunglasses one day to examine the resemblance between the real me and my picture ID. The couple in front of us hadn't brought their ID's off the ship. They were allowed on, but told "Don't let that happen again".  Once through the line and back on board, we went right to our cabins to get into our Halloween costumes.

Edited November 11, 2018 by ljrfrm

[workingmom200112]

On ‎11‎/‎8‎/‎2018 at 8:05 PM, ljrfrm said:

 

Day Two (Monday)

another couple who enjoy working out.  They motivated me (hard to believe, but it's true) to hit the gym this trip.  Now, I say this every cruise, but my thought was that they would hold me accountable.  SO, if we are going to work out in the morning, it had to be early enough to make it to breakfast still. 

 

Loving your review ljrfrm!  Just wondering....is there a time limit on using the treadmills?  I usually run for about an hour, and thinking during my cruise (in 27 days!) I will definitely need to stick to this

 

TIA

[LinnieRed]

What a fun trip! Awaiting the Halloween pics. 

[ljrfrm]

6 hours ago, workingmom200112 said:

 

Loving your review ljrfrm!  Just wondering....is there a time limit on using the treadmills?  I usually run for about an hour, and thinking during my cruise (in 27 days!) I will definitely need to stick to this

 

TIA

Great question - I didn't see anything but I might have missed it.  I saw folks running on them for awhile and it didn't seem to be a problem. That said, it did seem quite busy in the morning and at one point they were all taken. But, people seemed to come and go off them regularly so I really didn't see anyone waiting either.  Maybe someone else might know the answer?  Hopefully you'll run BEFORE you partake in your UBP, haha!! 🙂

[ljrfrm]

I had wondered how NCL would handle Halloween.  We sailed on 4th of July previously and they decorated the ship and had a fun singalong so I figured they'd have something.  I also heard from others they do a costume contest.  The Escape didn't disappoint. Neither did the passengers. While we saw costumes off and on all day long, everyone really stepped it up a notch for the nighttime festivities. There was a party atmosphere in the air and folks were out to have a good time.

 

It wasn't just the costume party.  There were activities throughout the day for both children and adults.  They had a great pumpkin display (as in it was nice - not that it was Charlie Brown's Great Pumpkin) and had a pumpkin carving demonstration during the day in the atrium. Daytime activities also included Hallows Eve General Knowledge Trivia, the movies Hocus Pocus and Beatlejuice, "The Greatest Acts You've Never Seen", Video Wall Trivia: Scary Movies and the Thriller Flash Mob rehearsal.  For families they offered Pumpkins hunts, Family Spooky Crafts and Family Trick of Treat.  Plus, all the Splash activities for the kids.

 

The fun had only begun during the day and nighttime offerings were plenty as well.  There was the Supper Club For the Dead at 7:00 and 9:00 pm. This was described as "The dead have risen and are hungry. They have taken over the Supper Club tonight.  Come take a 2 minutes walk through the Club to see what meals are being served in the great beyond. Who knows, you may bump into a ghost or two. Low lighting and theatrical fog will be used throughout the experience".  How fun does that sound??  We missed it unfortunately.  At 10:00 pm they had  The Night of the Rocking Dead (A haunted House party) in the Atrium, with performances from the entertainment department including After Midnight, For the Record and Choir of Man. I'm sad I missed this - somehow I didn't even know about this until just now as I'm looking over the entertainment lineup.  Lastly, there was the Spooktacular Halloween Party in Spice H20.  This was where we planned to go, to join in the costume contest and celebration.

 

After our walk around the Dockyard, we went up to our cabin to put on our costumes.  We went as Game of Thrones.  And we probably spent far too much money on our costumes. I have never seen the show (I know right? My kids still can't believe it) but I do know my husband was Jon Snow.  I was someone with a long dress and a very low cut dress (way out of my comfort zone so I did wear a flesh colored tank top underneath. I just don't do cleavage).....and I had a wig.  And it totally didn't work. My wig was long, blonde and made me look like Barbie. Oh well.  I think we looked pretty good. Or pretty awesome. Well, except for my Barbie wig.  Boy did that thing itch.

 

We made our way up to Spice H20 and it was already packed.  We figured out where we had to go to get our number for the costume contest.  We were number 28.  I figured there'd be some people behind us but can you believe they had 113 entries.  The costumes kept coming and coming for well over an hour.  I can't remember all the contest categories but some were best group, most original (Beer Pong won - that couple had an awesome costume), best kids costume (Baby Shark - the cutest baby you can imagine - there were only a few kids there but Baby Shark would have won if there were dozens!), best overall (Skeleton with a 'er, "male part" included - it was great).  It took so long, I mean SO long for everyone to walk through and tell Alvin (dressed as Pikachu) what they were and let the judges see them. But, it was cool that so many people and groups dressed up.  Alas, we didn't win. We lost to the Village People.  That darned YMCA.....gets the crowd every time! Oh well.

 

Once the contest was done, they had the Flash Mob Thriller performance and then we all took a giant selfie.  After that, we ran as quick as possible to change out of our clothes. It was windy on deck and I was a bit chilly, plus way to itchy with my wig.  While the Game of Thrones costumes did not last long on us, it was a lot of fun.

[cathi007]

OK where is the pick of John Snow and I am assuming Khaleesi??? I am G.O.T. obsessed, lol

[LinnieRed]

2 hours ago, ljrfrm said:

Great question - I didn't see anything but I might have missed it.  I saw folks running on them for awhile and it didn't seem to be a problem. That said, it did seem quite busy in the morning and at one point they were all taken. But, people seemed to come and go off them regularly so I really didn't see anyone waiting either.  Maybe someone else might know the answer?  Hopefully you'll run BEFORE you partake in your UBP, haha!! 🙂

On the Sun at least, the machines turn off at 30 minutes. You can turn them back on but it does shut down. And there are signs saying 30 minutes max.

[OceanBlueWaters]

RE:  Joggers on track.  I sympathize with you!  Clearly these people never exercised a day in their lives, yet they seem to feel the need to CLOG up the track on Cruise!  There were some with purses wrapped around them and "jogging" with slippers trekking along.  There were Grandmas/Grandpas who travel in pods and are on the track with no respect to others.  MOVE OVER!  They are in center lane shuffling along.  Some were in full dress and slippers trekking along.  Huh?  Where is the respect to others who are serious?   Good grief!

You were quite nice voicing your experience about jogging track 🙂

[ljrfrm]

2 hours ago, cathi007 said:

OK where is the pick of John Snow and I am assuming Khaleesi??? I am G.O.T. obsessed, lol

Haha - ok let me see what I can do.  I try not to post photos with our pictures - and not sure my friends will want it posted either but I'll try to "fix" a photo up to at least share.

[ljrfrm]

1 hour ago, LinnieRed said:

On the Sun at least, the machines turn off at 30 minutes. You can turn them back on but it does shut down. And there are signs saying 30 minutes max.

Interesting.  I usually was on about 40 minutes and it didn't shut down.  Maybe because I was so slow, haha.  I didn't see any signs but could have missed them.  

[ljrfrm]

41 minutes ago, OceanBlueWaters said:

RE:  Joggers on track.  I sympathize with you!  Clearly these people never exercised a day in their lives, yet they seem to feel the need to CLOG up the track on Cruise!  There were some with purses wrapped around them and "jogging" with slippers trekking along.  There were Grandmas/Grandpas who travel in pods and are on the track with no respect to others.  MOVE OVER!  They are in center lane shuffling along.  Some were in full dress and slippers trekking along.  Huh?  Where is the respect to others who are serious?   Good grief!

You were quite nice voicing your experience about jogging track 🙂

I tried to remind myself that some people may not have realized they were on the jogging track. I was just surprised at those that gave me the "look" when I politely said "excuse me".  Honestly, I think I was too busy also counting my laps. I was so afraid that I would lose count and exercise extra!  That would have been terrible.

[ljrfrm]

Once we changed our clothes we thought about going back to Spice H20 for the party but decided to walk around and see if anything else was going on.  It had been 5 hours since we had dinner - way too long without food - SO, it was time to head to O'Sheehans.  Now, you have to understand my goal in life is to go eat wings at O'Sheehans late night. But, I'm always WAY too full and usually I never make it there.  Tonight was the night - we were going to do it!!!

 

We walked up to request the table and just our luck, the foursome before us took the last table.  The host scanned my card, and told us to "wait over there" pointing to the barstools just outside O'Sheehans that are looking down on the Atrium.  He told us it should be more than a few minutes.  Beetlejuice was on the big screen - and it was the best part (the dinner scene - where they sing that Banana Boat song "DAY-O") so we sat down and started singing.  My friend and I went over to the bar to get some drinks while the guys stayed there waiting in case we go a table.  Well, up until this point I had THE best experience with ordering drinks.  Seriously, amazing services, friendly staff, no complaints whatsoever.  I have to say, this was frustrating.  We stood there.  And stood there.  And people who were just walking up were getting served, and we weren't.  Finally the bartender looked at me and said "one sec" and gave me that "I got you" look. Well, he didn't have me.  He then helped like four other people until I finally gave him that super annoyed look and practically shoved my card in his face.  Now, if you've learned anything from this review so far, you'll see that I'm a pretty relaxed person on vacation - and don't complain much. But, here's the thing.....I didn't have an issue with him not seeing me, or helping someone first who just walked up if he didn't see me.  BUT, if you're going to tell me "one sec" and act like you got me next......then get me!! We finally got our drinks and went back to where our husbands were.  They were still waiting.  Still no seats??

 

As we were there waiting, we noticed others were being seated. Wait! What?  What about us??  I went up to the host and he looked at me confused when I asked him why he was seating others and we're still waiting.  Long story short, he had no idea who we were. I told him, "Remember, you told us to wait there" and pointed to our spots. He said he hadn't scanned my card but I told him he had - just before he told us to wait.  He scanned my card again and must have realized it had been scanned earlier. He apologized profusely and said he must have deleted my card from the waiting list (which there wasn't even one now) and said he would seat us immediately.  Now, let me add it was packed.  Everybody had the same idea and things were hopping. I get that mistakes can happen.  I took a deep breath and dreamt of my wings - knowing this would all be worth it. He told us he could seat us right away and brought us immediately to a table. 

 

Well, it must have been a table without waitstaff because we sat, and we sat and we sat.  We noticed others were seated after us and getting their food. Of course, we called attention to our table and we were promised someone was coming.  Just then my friend the host came over to apologize once again. He told me he still felt horrible about the error. I told him all would be good if he could find us a waiter or take our order.  We just want our food. Well, we quickly had someone over and my wings were in front of me in less than 5 minutes. As I worked up an appetite with this whole ordeal, I ordered Nachos too. Just because I could.  Those wings sure hit the spot. The Nachos were so-so but I still ate them!!  

 

Wow, that food hit the spot but we sure had to work to get it!!!  After we finished, we headed back up to our cabin.  I prepared a room service request for breakfast the next morning, read over the new Freestyle Daily and read for a few minutes before going to sleep.  Tomorrow will be a full day so we needed our beauty sleep.

Edited November 13, 2018 by ljrfrm