Escape Questions

[Becca11]

We are embarking on our second cruise ever on the Escape from NYC to Bermuda, 7 day cruise,  on October 20th.

 

1. This seems to be a "shoulder season" in both NYC and Bermuda. Trying to plan our packing. Any advice on weather and clothing choices?

 

2. Was surprised to find specialty dining open for lunch on our one sea day on the Sky, on our first cruise. Have read NCL's dining FAQs and now see that this is standard operating procedure.  We have 3 SPD meals in included in our fare as part of the Take All Offers,  Free at Sea promotion.  We've made dinner reservations for 3 nights: Le Bistro, Moderno and Tepenyaki.  Would like to try dinners in the MDRs on the other nights since we somehow completely missed that on the Sky. Is it worth purchasing the smallest SDP for each of the two of us to use in the specialty dining restaurants for lunch? Not counting embarkation day, there are 3 sea days on this cruise. Given our experience on the Sky and NCL's FAQs, I expect some of the specialty dining to be open for lunch on sea days, but do any of you have experience with which ones are typically open midday or all day?

 

3. We've purchased a Thermal Suite package to have access to an adults only indoor pool for the cruise, which also gives us ( me especially) access to a water feature with shade. Any tips on using the Thermal Suite package to get the most out of it?

 

4. We plan to see Bermuda on our own using public transportation: ferries,  buses and taxis.  Any tips or must sees?

 

5. We purchased 2 deposits for a total of $500 deposit money on a future cruise on the last night of our cruise on the Sky, which gave us a $250 on board credit to apply against our on board balance on that cruise. It was a "apply 2 deposit  credits to your next cruise" special offered on the last day on the Sky. Is this a fairly typical offer on NCL cruises? If so, this may be a more cost efficient way to "cover" the cost of specialty dining at lunch. Your opinions and experiences?

 

5. Bring on your best tips and suggestions for the Escape! 😊😊

 

Thanking you all in advance... ❤️

Edited October 6, 2019 by Becca11
Further information and questions

[salty dingo]

We are on the same cruise as you! Only 14 days to go!!

 

I can help with question 4. On a previous cruise to Bermuda we bought the bus/ferry pass and it worked out great. You just get on and off when you like and fare is no concern... getting tokens or having enough $5 bills on you. Also you don't need to worry about getting a transfer ticket if changing buses enroute.

 

It is very easy to go anywhere in Bermuda via bus, and we will do It again. Thinking we will get the two day pass for the first two days and save exploring the dockyard for the day we leave, to stay close to the ship before departure.

 

There is supposed to be a  visitor center near where we dock where passes are sold. Last cruise we docked in St. George's and we bought passes at the post office there. No post office in Dockyard I think, but there is one in Hamilton as well as St. George's. I have read there is a NCL free ferry from Dockyard to St. George's but not sure if or when they will run that for our cruise.

[shof515]

2 hours ago, Becca11 said:

2. Was surprised to find specialty dining open for lunch on our one sea day on the Sky, on our first cruise. Have read NCL's dining FAQs and now see that this is standard operating procedure.  We have 3 SPD meals in included in our fare as part of the Take All Offers,  Free at Sea promotion.  We've made dinner reservations for 3 nights: Le Bistro, Moderno and Tepenyaki.  Would like to try dinners in the MDRs on the other nights since we somehow completely missed that on the Sky. Is it worth purchasing the smallest SDP for each of the two of us to use in the specialty dining restaurants for lunch?

 

 

The specially dinning restaurant does not have a lunch menu. What i noticed on the breakaway and the escape, they only use the restaurant as a venue as that has table and chairs since they most likely cant use the dinning room.. On both of the ships, it was always at Moderno and it was more a like a theme lunch buffet every sea day. One sea day it was German theme with German food, a band playing some German music. Then another sea day, it was Asian theme.

 

 

Edited October 6, 2019 by shof515

[Becca11]

25 minutes ago, shof515 said:

 

 

The specially dinning restaurant does not have a lunch menu. What i noticed on the breakaway and the escape, they only use the restaurant as a venue as that has table and chairs since they most likely cant use the dinning room.. On both of the ships, it was always at Moderno and it was more a like a theme lunch buffet every sea day. One sea day it was German theme with German food, a band playing some German music. Then another sea day, it was Asian theme.

 

 

Huh.  Interesting.

 

When we were on the Sky last month,  we discovered quite  by chance that Pinnacle Lounge and Sushi Bar was serving their full bar and sushi menu at lunch time because it was a sea day.  We ordered a single roll of sushi and  a couple of drinks for lunch.  The drinks were covered by our beverage package.  The cost of the sushi roll went against our onboard account.  No one asked us if we wanted to use our specialty dining  credit for that purchase, but we already had dinner for two subsequent nights reserved for Cagney's and Le Bistro, so those reservations probably showed up on our account when it was accessed to add the Pinnacle charge... I'm guessing?  

 

When we left the Pinnacle Lounge we peeked inside of Cagney's, which was also open for lunch.  People were seating and ordering and they appeared to be ordering from a standard menu, i.e. there didn't seem to be a separate theme going on, nor any sort of buffet.  ???

 

Long story short, we do intend to use the MDRs for the dinners other than our three SDP dinners included in our promotion, so there's no need to buy additional SDPs if they can't be used for lunch- or if it's cheaper to just order from the lunch menu in the ala cart dining venues.  Or, if applying an OBC from a Cruise Next deposit or two will cover the cost of a couple of lunches at ala carte dining venues.  

 

We are totally happy with buffets, MDRs and room service (continental breakfast or an occasional $7.95 delivery charge) for breakfast and lunch otherwise.  And dinner otherwise too.

 

Was just wondering if there was a known "hack" or best practices for saving $$$ on ala carte venues for lunch or snacks.

 

Thanks for your help!  🙂 🙂

Edited October 6, 2019 by Becca11
clarity

[Becca11]

 

54 minutes ago, salty dingo said:

We are on the same cruise as you! Only 14 days to go!!

 

I can help with question 4. On a previous cruise to Bermuda we bought the bus/ferry pass and it worked out great. You just get on and off when you like and fare is no concern... getting tokens or having enough $5 bills on you. Also you don't need to worry about getting a transfer ticket if changing buses enroute.

 

It is very easy to go anywhere in Bermuda via bus, and we will do It again. Thinking we will get the two day pass for the first two days and save exploring the dockyard for the day we leave, to stay close to the ship before departure.

 

There is supposed to be a  visitor center near where we dock where passes are sold. Last cruise we docked in St. George's and we bought passes at the post office there. No post office in Dockyard I think, but there is one in Hamilton as well as St. George's. I have read there is a NCL free ferry from Dockyard to St. George's but not sure if or when they will run that for our cruise.

 

 WELL WE'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO CRUISE WITH A SALTY DINGO, SO, LIFE GOALS!  🙂  🙂  See you on the ship!  

 

Thank you for the information about getting around in Bermuda!  You are confirming our impression of it, that it's easy and inexpensive.  We like to explore on our own so it's nice to know that our impressions are close enough to accurate, and to have some details filled in.

 

Long story about the short turnaround on cruises but basically Husband is using up some backlogged vacation time before retirement.  He took a week off in September, which we spent on our first cruise, on the Sky.  We enjoyed that so much and it exceeded our expectations so much that, on a lark, we looked at what NCL was offering for the upcoming week off this month.  Bermuda was on our bucket list, the price was right for the stateroom and the Take All Offers/Free at Sea promotion was still running.  I was all, "We need to jump on this!"  Ergo we are cruising again this month.  

 

And that will be it for this year.  The original catalyst for this intense study of cruising is a Princess cruise we have booked for January 2020.  That was to be our "first cruise."  We were several thousand dollars into it when we became overwhelmed by planning.  We had no idea what we'd prefer, like, not like, could deal with in order to have something better/more/different elsewhere in the experience, because we had no point of reference.  Neither of us had ever set foot on a cruise ship before!

 

So we booked the "little" cruise on the Sky, just to get oriented to the process and the possibilities, and we were totally blown away!  AWESOME experience!

 

There's another thread on here that speaks to NCL practically giving away cruises this fall.  The low fare and the free promo offers were a huge incentive for us on this Bermuda cruise.  The Princess cruise in January 2020 is 10 days with 7 port calls en route, so it's a longer/bigger cruise, but functionally in terms of feeding and housing us, only by 3 nights.  It is also high season for the Caribbean, as far as I can tell.  The price difference between what we've already paid for that cruise in January and what we  are paying for this "hurricane season" NCL Bermuda cruise is notable.  

 

We live on the east coast and both of us will soon be retired, empty nesters without kids and their schedules and needs in the mix.  Soon we will be ultimately flexible to deal with itinerary changes, etc. due to weather.  We'd buy good trip insurance regardless because *anything* can happen, not just weather.  So if this is the trend, remarkably low fares off season, I can see taking advantage of that in the future.  🙂 

Edited October 6, 2019 by Becca11
clarity

[PSU78]

Have you joined the roll call for this cruise? There is a wealth of info there, plus you may want to consider the meet and greet, slot pull, etc. We booked this cruise in part because we love the Escape. The Choir of Man show is a must, as well as the dueling pianos in Howl at the Moon.

[dexddd]

Few years back they sold the passes in the terminal.  Last year it was a tent like area straight ahead of the end of the pier when you walked off the ship.

[PortFees45]

"3. We've purchased a Thermal Suite package to have access to an adults only indoor pool for the cruise, which also gives us ( me especially) access to a water feature with shade. Any tips on using the Thermal Suite package to get the most out of it?"

 

The salt room is a total scam, unless you like sitting in a weird Fortress of Solitude-esque crystal chamber. Also it smells like feet. 

[mjkacmom]

Since the Sky doesn’t have a haven restaurant, could those folks eating lunch in there be in the Haven?

[gizfish]

I can give feedback on a couple of your questions.  Regarding the thermal suite, the thalassotherapy pool is not really the type of pool that you would swim or do laps in.  It's really like a giant hot tub with a cascade of water in the middle.  The sides of the pool have bars for you to hold on to when the jet feature is activated.  Each area of the pool has its own activation button.  But when any of them is activated, swimming would be impossible in that pool.  You could probably read a book while leaning against the bars (and there is a way to lounge at the back end of the pool on bars that accommodate that position.  But if the jets are active near you, that would not be possible.  From that pool you can go into the hot tub area which is connected.  The hot tub jets are incredibly strong, so strong they will push you away from the tub area if you are in the main pool.  One thing that is very relaxing in the thermal spa area is the heated loungers.  They do post that there is a (I believe) 30 minute max you can occupy one.  I never saw this enforced, but was not there during a busy time.  Since you are on a port intensive itinerary, the spa should not be too crowded while you are in Bermuda.  A good time to go is after dinner at 8 or 9 before they close (I think that is 10 pm).  

 

Regarding the cruise next certificates, when you print your docs, a form to purchase more certificates will be part of them.  Also, you will be reminded of them on board, and if you go to the past guest party, they will also try to sell them to you.  I have never been on an NCL cruise where they did not offer cruise next certificates for purchase, and it has always been buy one for a smaller OBC but buying the two like you did for $500 gives the $250 OBC.  Buying three or four doesn't give a proportional increase on OBC.  And, just so you know, sometimes NCL will allow you to use two certificates for one cruise deposit.  You can't do that online though.  You have to book with NCL by phone to do that.

[Becca11]

2 hours ago, gizfish said:

And, just so you know, sometimes NCL will allow you to use two certificates for one cruise deposit.  You can't do that online though.  You have to book with NCL by phone to do that.

 

Yeah, I sort of figured that out when I booked online (through a third party) and the Cruise Next deposits weren't accounted for in the balance due, despite using my Latitudes rewards number.  =/  I called NCL's customer service line and asked if we could apply the Cruise Next certificates to this cruise.  I was told that we could, and that I would receive a refund to the credit card I used to book the cruise within 7 to 10 business days.  I then received an email from NCL listing the two Cruise Next credits against the balance due, but showing the amount of the actual payment I made against the balance due as well.  My guess is that this was the agent's only way of documenting that the Cruise Next credits were going to be applied, and that I had already paid the full balance.  I am monitoring our credit card account, waiting for the $500 refund to be applied, and I've deducted $500 from the balance due and our payment.  BUT, I have have since read, on the NCL Cruise Next thread on this forum, that NCL's overall policy is that Cruise Next credits are to be used on cruises booked 6 months in advance or more, up to 4 years out, although sometimes exceptions to this rule are seen.

 

So now I'm kinda wondering if we are going to get those two credits refunded to our card or not.  I'm kinda chill about it, as long as I can keep our books straight and those Cruise Next credits don't disappear somehow.  The cost for the large balcony stateroom was low enough that it's OK with us if these credits must go towards a future cruise.  Somehow we missed the "at least 6 months in advance part" but there's so much information inherent in the process, that doesn't surprise me.  We are bound to miss fine print somewhere.

 

5 hours ago, PSU78 said:

Have you joined the roll call for this cruise? There is a wealth of info there, plus you may want to consider the meet and greet, slot pull, etc. We booked this cruise in part because we love the Escape. The Choir of Man show is a must, as well as the dueling pianos in Howl at the Moon.

 

Thank you so much for the information!  I will go take a look at that thread.  🙂  🙂

 

2 hours ago, gizfish said:

Regarding the thermal suite, the thalassotherapy pool is not really the type of pool that you would swim or do laps in.  It's really like a giant hot tub with a cascade of water in the middle. 

 

That's actually fine.  The Thermal Spa had me at  "thermal."  Oooooh, heat!  I honestly could have been happy with the grotto in Spice H2O as a water feature with shade and a lower population density in the feature itself (adults only) (not that I hate kids, bless young families and the adults entertaining those children, but it's just no longer our demographic) but I was concerned that in late-ish October sailing out of New York into the Atlantic, it might be too chilly/windy to enjoy that type of outdoor water feature.  As long as I can get into a heated body of water with some shade (I've been known to burn in the shade from reflected UV rays) I'm happy.  

 

I do have a question, though:  are the sauna, steamrooms and sanarium gender neutral?  I don't care either way- I'll have on a generous and modest towel, my bathing suit and/or a robe, but I'd like to get my head around what to expect- can I expect to share this experience with my husband, for instance, when he's with me, or should I expect it to be divided like it is in gym locker rooms?  We've had both experiences and either is fine.

 

2 hours ago, gizfish said:

Since you are on a port intensive itinerary, the spa should not be too crowded while you are in Bermuda. 

 

As of right now, the plan is for Husband to have a dive excursion on the first afternoon in Bermuda, whilst I lounge on heated stone in the Thermal Spa (like a cat,) or get my nails done, or shop for shiny ornaments (like a cat.)  Husband is certified but it's been years since his last dive, so he's signed up for the discovery dive course just to keep things legal and safe.  I had a diving accident the first time I tried to dive with him, could not equalize for the life of me, got stubborn and tried to push it, and bled into both ears.  =(  Oh well, it's all for the best:  I sort of knew going into it that scuba was never going to be my thing anyway.  Imagine, if you will, a Labrador Retriever and a Persian cat jumping off of a boat into the ocean.  Which of them is going to have the better time of it, LOL?  I'll take myself to the Thermal Spa or get my nails done or go shopping for shiny baubles, where I belong.  🙂  (I'll honestly cause less bother that way!)

 

Second day is for exploring the island together.  Third day is for whatever appeals to us,  either going back ashore to explore the island again, to see or experience something to which we did not get the day before, or maybe the thermal spa together.  Whatever is fine!

 

4 hours ago, PortFees45 said:

The salt room is a total scam, unless you like sitting in a weird Fortress of Solitude-esque crystal chamber. Also it smells like feet. 

 

OMG LOL.  

Well, I'm probably gonna smell like feet then.  🙂

I've had a miserable allergy season this year (in my defense, I'm not the only one in our area suffering, a bunch of us are lit up big time over some allergan or another) so I was planning to park in there, because salt *anything* seems to help the sinus and nasal symptoms.  So if I smell like feet, please kindly ignore...  🙂

 

3 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

Since the Sky doesn’t have a haven restaurant, could those folks eating lunch in there be in the Haven?

 

Interesting!  I was wondering how the Haven level of amenities would be handled on the Sky, if at all!

 

We were barely aware of the concept of the Haven when we booked that cruise, and the Haven was way out of our target budget, and IIRC Haven styled accommodations weren't offered through the booking service we used.  (If they were, I blew right past them/didn't recognize them due to the budget parameters we had for that trip.)

 

I slooooowly became aware that there were forward facing staterooms with large balconies on the Sky, and I began to wonder if those were the owner's suites?  Perhaps those are the Haven accommodations on the Sky?  

 

My impression was, based on what our server in Pinnacle told us, that at least some of the SDP restaurants were open to the whole ship for lunch.  My impression was that we could have walked right into Cagney's and been seated- but we'd just eaten sushi, so there was no need for that.

 

Don't know about Le Bistro on that day, we didn't look, and IIRC, La Cucina was still doing the complimentary pizza thing for lunch, because we snagged a couple of pieces of pizza from there a couple of hours later.

 

Anyway, I might call NCL and ask about sea day dining, SDP passes for lunch, etc. on the Escape, since this is a sea day intensive itinerary (3 out of 7 days) and it is a dining venue intensive ship.  

 

Thank you to everyone for your help!  ❤️

Edited October 6, 2019 by Becca11
grammar

[salty dingo]

We found the local Bermudians to be wonderful.  For example, we explored the Botanical gardens for a while and went out a side entrance to look for the bus stop, and got lost in a residential area.

 

A man on a scooter with a coat and tie and Bermuda shorts noticed us and stopped to help, and pointed us to the nearby bus stop. Every local we met was kind to tourists.

[Falckon]

On ships without a Haven restaurant, suite and Haven guests can eat breakfast and lunch in Cagney's and/or Moderno.

[mjkacmom]

1 hour ago, Falckon said:

On ships without a Haven restaurant, suite and Haven guests can eat breakfast and lunch in Cagney's and/or Moderno.

I’ve never heard of specialty restaurants being open for lunch, but I think there are limited hours to get sushi, free buffets set up, or overflow seating (we ate our buffet food at la cucina every morning on the Gem), or for suite guests from the haven menu.

[gizfish]

We never book 6 months in advance and always use a cruise next certificate without a problem.  I had no idea that was a condition.  We will have to verify that the next time we want to get them.  I would be very upset if we couldn't use them.  The thermal suite is entirely coed other than the changing rooms. 

[Becca11]

52 minutes ago, gizfish said:

We never book 6 months in advance and always use a cruise next certificate without a problem.  I had no idea that was a condition.  We will have to verify that the next time we want to get them.  I would be very upset if we couldn't use them.  The thermal suite is entirely coed other than the changing rooms. 

 

I don't know that the 6 months in advance thing is or is not. I *think* I read that on the Cruise Next thread on the NCL  forum here. That was here though, not NCL.  I could have read it wrong,  misunderstood it,  etc. Or that poster could have been mistaken. 

 

Husband says he doesn't remember any stipulation about 6 months, and the NCL rep with whom I spoke over the phone didn't mention it.

 

I don't want to get anyone alarmed needlessly!

 

We've agreed that we will purchase another Cruise Next credit or two on this next cruise, depending on what's offered whether one or two, and we are even seriously considering booking the next cruise while on the ship in order to get the most perks. Husband is close enough to retirement that we can actually consider it.

 

I will make sure I understand straight from the source then!

 

[mjkacmom]

8 hours ago, gizfish said:

We never book 6 months in advance and always use a cruise next certificate without a problem.  I had no idea that was a condition.  We will have to verify that the next time we want to get them.  I would be very upset if we couldn't use them.  The thermal suite is entirely coed other than the changing rooms. 

I think sometimes they allow you to apply 2, but it needs to be booked more than 6 months in advance.

[Falckon]

55 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I think sometimes they allow you to apply 2, but it needs to be booked more than 6 months in advance.

There is no requirement to book 6 months in advance. Here is the link to the current "Terms and Conditions" 

https://www.ncl.com/popup/cruisenext_terms?hide_hf=true 

 

Also, you can apply two CruiseNext vouchers online. You just can do it in the same transaction. You have to apply one, back out, and then apply the next. I just did it last week.