Some thoughts from my 3/18-3/25 Escape cruise

[Panhandle Couple]

On 3/26/2023 at 1:44 PM, hallux said:

The live musical entertainment on this ship is ON POINT. 

The group in Syd Norman's Pour House was excellent.  I went to 3 of their shows (Rock the Pour House, Rumours [covering the Fleetwood Mac Rumours album] and Rock the Prom) and all were ROCKIN'!  Those musicians and singers are worth what they make, or more.

The four that did Howl At The Moon were also EXCELLENT.  Their interaction between each other and with the crowd was great, and they all seem very talented.  This was apparently the first week on board for at least one of the performers.

Choir of Man is a must see!  Fantastic show!

 

Port fees refund!

Yes, you read that right.  We did not skip a port, but it seems NCL underestimated passenger count resulting in an over-charge of port fees and taxes, we all got a little less than $13 of refundable OBC, the only reason anyone can figure is over-charge of those fees.  Yes, we ported at both Taino Bay AND GSC

 

NCL is THE cruise line for the solo traveler!

The solo cabins and group are awesome, and even when I wasn't with the solo group at an activity someone was still conversational with me.  We had over 30 in the lounge for the meet one night, over 3x as many as the solo host had previously had.  This was not my first solo NCL cruise, the first one was great, this one may have been even better.

 

Sadly, one of the comedians (the better of the 2 from what I hear) was the same one I saw on the Joy last year and his show was almost the same.

 

I felt like the activity schedule was a little lighter than on previous cruises, I guess I can compare the dailies.

 

Internet worked well for me, I bought the unlimited plan and page loads seemed quick.  Others had issues with the app, which worked flawlessly for me.

 

All of the crew were friendly and engaging.  During the 70's party one sound/light person (I was standing on the sun deck under the ropes course overlooking Spice, on the port side) actually stood for a second and waited for me to acknowledge that he was saying hi to me...

 

I'm happy to try to answer questions if anyone has any, except any about the drink package as I don't drink.

We did this 2 weeks prior, and we agree, the Syd Norman's band was very good.  Better than the one on Breakaway a few week earlier.  Got a personal feeling as we met one of the singer's relatives prior to the show and had a good conversation.  They had not been able to see the singer live despite several years of cruise singing.  So they added a homecoming feeling to the show.

The first 2 shows were great, Prom night is sort of a weird concept.  We listened at the outside bar.

 

Loved A Choir of Man.  Saw it both nights.  Fun show, but maybe not for everyone?

The main singer (bartender) also had his own show earlier in the cruise in the dinner theater.  It was very good, and up close.

 

The Uptown Boys (Billy Joel tribute) was just OK.  Saw both shows.  All 3 singers we saw last year on Bliss doing Jersey Boys, so funny when they made canned jokes about 'Jersey.

 

Glad you enjoyed yourself! 

 

[iKarenE]

Did you have to make reservations for the shows and if so which ones? And did you make them once you boarded? Also if you didnt make reservations could you still get in? Thanks, this is out fist time on the bigger ships and we havent figured it out yet! LOL

[hallux]

38 minutes ago, iKarenE said:

Did you have to make reservations for the shows and if so which ones?

Comedy and Choir of Man were the only shows that took reservations, unless you also plan to do the show in the Supper Club.
 

 

39 minutes ago, iKarenE said:

And did you make them once you boarded?

I made my reservation for Choir of Man prior to the cruise but that was the only show that could be reserved before the trip.  Reservations can be made on embarkation day at the Box Office, deck 7 by the theater.

 

40 minutes ago, iKarenE said:

Also if you didnt make reservations could you still get in?

I had made a reservation for the 7 PM show but the solo host arranged a group for the 9:30 show on the same night, he was able to call and get my reservation changed.  A group of us walked in with someone that didn't have a reservation, she wasn't stopped and there were still some empty seats.

[snooper1225]

Sounds fun!

[Panhandle Couple]

1 hour ago, iKarenE said:

Did you have to make reservations for the shows and if so which ones? And did you make them once you boarded? Also if you didnt make reservations could you still get in? Thanks, this is out fist time on the bigger ships and we havent figured it out yet! LOL

They have a stand by line for Choir of Man that can enter about 10 minutes before listed start.  

But the real start for CoM is about 15 minutes before the listed start.  No spoilers here, so just trust me, be there at least 15 minutes before start, and sit in the first 10 rows or so.

 

[lisakay927]

I am SOOOOO happy to hear there is a rock band at Syd Norman's on the Escape! We were on the Breakaway in March and went to Syd Norman's three times! They were awesome! I knew there was a Syd Norman's on the Escape but wasn't sure it would be the same genre of music playing. Thanks for the info!