Escape bound tips or secrets

[misand]

Any tips or secrets for the Escape?

[FLAHAM]

Realizing that your preferences may be very different from mine, here are a few items from the Garden Cafe (buffet) that I enjoyed on my Escape cruise last month:

 

1.  Piles of chilled, peeled shrimp and mussels on seafood night.  Cocktail and tartar sauce readily available.  

 

2.  Carving station with whole Peking ducks on Asian night.

 

3.  Carving station with whole (snout to tail) roast hog on a spit on American night.  

 

4.  "Sandwich of the day" at lunch.  These were pre-made but reasonably interesting and well-done.  I always checked for them.  Based on the ingredients, some I enjoyed and some I passed on.  

[Shidah]

Great topic, I am interested in this as well.  

[misand]

Thanks, keep them coming!!

[xcell]

This might not be an escape limited hint, but when disembarking out of NYC, go tot he aft -- it's closer to the terminal entrance.

[MamaLady76]

18 hours ago, FLAHAM said:

Realizing that your preferences may be very different from mine, here are a few items from the Garden Cafe (buffet) that I enjoyed on my Escape cruise last month:

 

1.  Piles of chilled, peeled shrimp and mussels on seafood night.  Cocktail and tartar sauce readily available.  

 

2.  Carving station with whole Peking ducks on Asian night.

 

3.  Carving station with whole (snout to tail) roast hog on a spit on American night.  

 

4.  "Sandwich of the day" at lunch.  These were pre-made but reasonably interesting and well-done.  I always checked for them.  Based on the ingredients, some I enjoyed and some I passed on.  

Are the chilled peeled shrimp only available on seafood night or they in the buffet each night for dinner?

[JamieLogical]

Some of my tips and suggestions for the Escape (some of these I missed on ,y first sailing and regretted it!):

 

• Do not miss Pincho Tapas! I don't think I would spend a specialty dining credit there, especially sine there is an upcharge. Just use your OBC or pay out of pocket for the items you want. Individual items are pretty cheap. And sit on the waterfront if/when you can there!
• Speaking of the Waterfront, ask for seating out there at every opportunity when dining in the specialty restaurants on Deck 8. Usually you can get an outdoor table if you just ask when you check in for your reservation.
• Make sure you check the daily for the small venue performances by the solo artists and house bands. Some of the best performances on the ship aren't in the main theater.
• Do not miss Howl at the Moon! I can't believe we didn't check it out at all on our first sailing. We went three times on our second sailing! It is so much fun! But get there about a half hour early to grab a seat, there are no reservations.
• District Brew House is a great place to hang out with a nice view and laid back atmosphere. We like to hang out there during sail-away from all the ports (not the main sail-away out of NYC).
• Food Republic can be good if you are into the sorts of food they offer. Wasn't my thing, but worth checking out.
• If it's cold out for your sail-away from NYC, a GREAT place to hang out for it is actually in the Garden Cafe. It has windows that go all the way around the back of the ship and it's very high up, so it has great views and it's heated!
• Pay attention to the dailies for live performances in the Manhattan room and try to have your dinner there when they are going on. They are a rare treat.
• For a quiet place to read in a comfy chair in the shade, you can't beat the Waterfront.
• If you see chocolate chip or white chocolate macadamia nut cookies at the late night snack bar in the Cafe, grab a ton of them. They are precious and rare! You will most often see oatmeal raisin or chocolate chocolate chip.
• When they have nachos on the late night snack bar, grab yourself a hotdog and put some chili and nacho cheese on it. Yum!
• The sad, floppy pizza is very sad and floppy, but it can really hit the spot late at night after a lot of drinking, so go ahead and give it a try.

[bkrickles1]

6 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

Some of my tips and suggestions for the Escape (some of these I missed on ,y first sailing and regretted it!):

 

• Do not miss Pincho Tapas! I don't think I would spend a specialty dining credit there, especially sine there is an upcharge. Just use your OBC or pay out of pocket for the items you want. Individual items are pretty cheap. And sit on the waterfront if/when you can there!
• Speaking of the Waterfront, ask for seating out there at every opportunity when dining in the specialty restaurants on Deck 8. Usually you can get an outdoor table if you just ask when you check in for your reservation.
• Make sure you check the daily for the small venue performances by the solo artists and house bands. Some of the best performances on the ship aren't in the main theater.
• Do not miss Howl at the Moon! I can't believe we didn't check it out at all on our first sailing. We went three times on our second sailing! It is so much fun! But get there about a half hour early to grab a seat, there are no reservations.
• District Brew House is a great place to hang out with a nice view and laid back atmosphere. We like to hang out there during sail-away from all the ports (not the main sail-away out of NYC).
• Food Republic can be good if you are into the sorts of food they offer. Wasn't my thing, but worth checking out.
• If it's cold out for your sail-away from NYC, a GREAT place to hang out for it is actually in the Garden Cafe. It has windows that go all the way around the back of the ship and it's very high up, so it has great views and it's heated!
• Pay attention to the dailies for live performances in the Manhattan room and try to have your dinner there when they are going on. They are a rare treat.
• For a quiet place to read in a comfy chair in the shade, you can't beat the Waterfront.
• If you see chocolate chip or white chocolate macadamia nut cookies at the late night snack bar in the Cafe, grab a ton of them. They are precious and rare! You will most often see oatmeal raisin or chocolate chocolate chip.
• When they have nachos on the late night snack bar, grab yourself a hotdog and put some chili and nacho cheese on it. Yum!
• The sad, floppy pizza is very sad and floppy, but it can really hit the spot late at night after a lot of drinking, so go ahead and give it a try.

You're bringing back some fond memories of my Escape cruise from this past July.

Loved District Brew House, especially before dinner when there was some live music.

Also, Waterfront was so nice. Especially by the 5 oclock somewhere bar.

And I do miss the chocolate chip cookies.

I will say, regarding Howl at the Moon, it was always approximately 4 hours long on the 3 or 4 nights we went and there was a constant turnover after about an hour so you could usually get seats after a few minutes of waiting. We'd sometimes go at around 10pm, got seats for 6 of us, and we would stay until the end.

It was probably our favorite entertainment on the Escape after Choir of Man, which was still in the supper club when we sailed.

[Costa canary]

Make sure you go to the choir of man in the theatre,it’s a great show and get there early and go up onstage and have a beer as they do a sort of pre show hanging around and talk to the guests kind of thing !

 

dont miss howl at the moon , our favourite place to hang out in the evening 

 

i agree with the above post about Pincho tapas , well priced and very tasty 

 

Marco in the bar at margaritaville was my favourite barman and made my favourite drink on the ship ( uptown top shelf margarita) and you can now enjoy the volcano nachos there ( $8.99) without having to both have a meal 

 

although it has mixed reviews we thought Moderno was the best meal we had in the 2 weeks onboard, I had 6 of the 12 different meats offered and they were all surperb 

 

i also agree the Peking duck in the buffet was excellent 

 

the supperclub is a great venue , we went 3 times , 2 free and 1 paid for , the wine lovers the musical we paid for and it was great fun , all 3 times I think the food was better than the mdr and with much better service , plus you get to see somebody sing whilst you eat , what’s not to love about that !

 

[iloveislands24]

Love all the tips! Sailing on the Escape for the first time in about 2.5 weeks, cannot wait. 🙂

[BirdTravels]

Some of the best food on the ship is at Pimch’s Tapas Bar. But it is pricy,,,, But you can use your SDP and for a $7 upcharge, you can eat your fill. Go down the menu and repeat. 

 

The perfect place for sail away is all the way forward on Deck 19. But, you need to head up there as soon as muster ends,,, and use the stairs if the elevators are busy. 

[AL3XCruise]

On 2/11/2019 at 10:12 AM, JamieLogical said:

If it's cold out for your sail-away from NYC, a GREAT place to hang out for it is actually in the Garden Cafe. It has windows that go all the way around the back of the ship and it's very high up, so it has great views and it's heated!

 

I agree, the aft view leaving NYC is great.  Depending on temps the Garden Cafe is an option, but if you can stand it the view from the waterfront is fantastic.  Not only is it less busy than the upper decks, but it also has fewer glass panels, loungers and other obstructions.  Makes it easy to get from one side to the other if desired.

 

10 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

The perfect place for sail away is all the way forward on Deck 19. But, you need to head up there as soon as muster ends,,, and use the stairs if the elevators are busy. 

 

The negative on 19 is that the deck isn't full width (at least if you don't have access to the Haven Sundeck).  You'll see the Statue of Liberty in front of the ship, but as the ship passes it you'll either loose site of it or need to quickly walk to a different area.  Plus the windblocks limit photography if that is important.

 

The view of the Verrazano Bridge, of course, is best from Deck 19 or 20 though.  

[jtheile]

Thanks for the tips I am sailing on the Escape in June for my third trip to Bermuda.

 

Does anyone know which dining room is open for lunch on embarkation day?  Thank you.

[JamieLogical]

1 hour ago, jtheile said:

Thanks for the tips I am sailing on the Escape in June for my third trip to Bermuda.

 

Does anyone know which dining room is open for lunch on embarkation day?  Thank you.

 

 

IIRC both Taste and Savor were open for lunch on embarkation, along with O'Sheehan's and the buffet.

[bkrickles1]

On 2/10/2019 at 2:23 PM, misand said:

Any tips or secrets for the Escape?

I'll add one more extremely minor tip.

Margaritaville does a free breakfast every morning. It's limited but does have an omelette station and some other stuff.

There's very nice outdoor seating and it's always practically empty.

It's a good option for a simple breakfast without a crowd.

[packer99]

Go to the very back at the Garden Café. Check out the crepe station.

 

If you have a balcony, there are USB ports for your phones underneath the lights by the bed.

[clskinsfan]

If you love the ships horn like we do you can sit in the hot tub on deck 19 all the way forward and get all of it you want on sail away. Nothing better than sitting in hot water with a cold drink and having your eardrums mutilated while looking at some of the best views on the ship. 🙂  As an added bonus when I cruised on Escape almost no one went up there to that tub. We had it to ourselves every evening.

 

If you are gonna do some Specialty Rests. Dont skip the Brazilian steak house. One of the best meals I have ever eaten in my life on land or sea.

 

Food Republic has awesome sushi and is relatively affordable for lunch.

 

The waterfront is a great place to sit with people and enjoy an after dinner drink. We really loved that feature on the Escape. The port side is very relaxed in the evening while the Starboard side has 5 oclock somewhere and is a little more upbeat. NCL really did a wonderful job with the waterfront on this ship.

 

Osheehans and the center of the ship are rocking at night. If you are looking for a party you wont have a hard time finding one on Escape.