Return to Band Camp: A first-time, potentially somewhat live narration - Escape April 16

[Travelicious]

As I mentioned, I have upgraded to FAS+ for this cruise.  I'm not much of a high-brow connoisseur when it comes to liquor, usually being fine with normal beer like Bud Light or Coors Light, and Bacardi, Tanqueray, and some of the cheaper wines on the regular drink package list.  But I'm looking forward to trying some of the higher end stuff. 

 

I welcome any suggestions on specific brands and drinks I should request.  I am prone to hangovers, so I won't be having 10 per day, but I am bringing Liquid IV on the recommendation of some of our more prolific reviewers and drinkers.  I hope it works!

[ChiefMateJRK]

3 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

usually being fine with normal beer like Bud Light or Coors Light

Normal beer?  Some/many would disagree.  That's okay.  Different strokes for different folks.

[complawyer]

heineken or modelo dark if it's available.. can never go wrong with chivas on the rocks, or a manhattan. if your ship has a "sugarcane" i think most do, any of their mojito's will make your day 

[kjquilts]

On 4/8/2023 at 10:14 AM, Travelicious said:

Then I heard rumblings of people receiving notifications of a FedEx package that would be arriving from NCL.  I received no such notification, but yesterday I received a package containing Latitudes packing cubes:

 

 

 

 

 

Now I am jealous ...... have been looking at that "stupid" Norwegian Escape April 16th coupon in my Latitudes Account for quite a while now.  It is useless to me since we are boarding the Norwegian Star on April 15th for a 15 night cruise.  I would have loved to have the special Latitudes packing cubes for the NCL cruise I will be on :) 

[Von & John]

3 hours ago, complawyer said:

...if your ship has a "sugarcane" i think most do, any of their mojito's will make your day 

 

So looking forward to our mojito's in 12 days 🙂

We were just talking about what drinks we were looking forward to on the first day...
Champagne, Martini @ the Ice Bar & Mojito's 🙂 

[complawyer]

im to much of a wuss for the ice bar. my wife and i tried it about 5-6 years ago on the epic. apparently, they keep it at 17 degrees. i toughed it out for about 8 minutes, an boogied my butt right out of there.

[Von & John]

LOL - I meant the Martini Bar w/ the Ice Top 🙂 

 

We've been to the ice hotel in shorts & t-shirt @ Chena Hot Springs...

We were the last ones to enter & all the jackets were taken - no problem, we ran out to the Jeep & grabbed a fleece...
We're tough up here.
We've never been to the actual ship ice bars - we can experience that outside our door pretty much anytime from SEPT/NOV - APRIL/MAY every year 😎

[Jordan61]

On 4/8/2023 at 10:20 AM, Travelicious said:

Would have liked to attend the comedy, but it conflicts with dinner plans.

 

Oh man, your comedian is Steve Trevino?! I am sooo jealous. He's one of our favorite comedians. Bummer that you can't make his show!

[cruiseny4life]

12 hours ago, Von & John said:

LOL - I meant the Martini Bar w/ the Ice Top 🙂 

 

We've been to the ice hotel in shorts & t-shirt @ Chena Hot Springs...

We were the last ones to enter & all the jackets were taken - no problem, we ran out to the Jeep & grabbed a fleece...
We're tough up here.
We've never been to the actual ship ice bars - we can experience that outside our door pretty much anytime from SEPT/NOV - APRIL/MAY every year 😎

Hahaha, we can experience ice bar conditions from about December - March here in NY! Not quite the same as Talkeetna, but close. This winter we had a cold snap where it was -25 for a couple days in a row. We quickly found out our brand new heating system (heat pumps/mini splits) does not work below -20 degrees F. The first morning we awoke to a house who's temperature was at a toasty 32 degrees. Thank g-d for having an old house with a fireplace! 

 

Anyway, yep, I don't need to purchase an ice experience either. I'll leave that to those Angelenos and Floridians. 🙂

 

@Travelicious, if you get the opportunity, try out Chimay! Not sure if Escape has this beer, but it is so yummy and included in the Premium Plus package. 

Edited April 10, 2023 by cruiseny4life

[JIMESOPUS]

Just now, cruiseny4life said:

Hahaha, we can experience ice bar conditions from about December - March here in NY! Not quite the same as Talkeetna, but close. This winter we had a cold snap where it was -25 for a couple days in a row. We quickly found out our brand new heating system (heat pumps/mini splits) does not work below -20 degrees F. The first morning we awoke to a house who's temperature was at a toasty 32 degrees. Thank g-d for having an old house with a fireplace! 

 

Anyway, yep, I don't need to purchase an ice experience either. I'll leave that to those Angelenos and Floridians. 🙂

@cruiseny4life This is why we will never switch over to heat pumps.  

[Travelicious]

13 hours ago, Jordan61 said:

 

Oh man, your comedian is Steve Trevino?! I am sooo jealous. He's one of our favorite comedians. Bummer that you can't make his show!

Maybe I'll get to see one of his regular performances.  Thanks for the recommendation.

[Travelicious]

13 hours ago, Von & John said:

LOL - I meant the Martini Bar w/ the Ice Top 🙂 

 

Are you going on Celebrity?

[Travelicious]

14 hours ago, kjquilts said:

 

Now I am jealous ...... have been looking at that "stupid" Norwegian Escape April 16th coupon in my Latitudes Account for quite a while now.  It is useless to me since we are boarding the Norwegian Star on April 15th for a 15 night cruise.  I would have loved to have the special Latitudes packing cubes for the NCL cruise I will be on 🙂 

Don't be too jealous.  Your 15 day cruise is likely more valuable than the packing cubes.

[dbkruzr]

We were on the Escape a week ago cruise was great but pool areas were a zoo if hanging there is your thing. Just wanted to mention the shows at the Pour House were fantastic if you like music.

[complawyer]

well, we've lived in los angeles for over 50 years. no ice bar for me, thank  you very much!

 

once was (too much) enough!

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, JIMESOPUS said:

@cruiseny4life This is why we will never switch over to heat pumps.  

Smarter man than I! 

[Travelicious]

I got a couple hours of work in this morning.  I'm not feeling too motivated as my payment for last month has not yet hit the bank.  Last month, I submitted my invoice on the 1st and it was in my account on the evening of the 3rd.  Hope there isn't an issue, as I put in a lot of time last month.  Maybe that is the issue.  

 

Anyhoo, here is our cruise itinerary for this trip:

 

 

Sun	Miami, Florida	---	5:30 PM	1
Mon	At Sea	---	---	1
Tue	Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic	7:00 AM	4:00 PM	1
Wed	St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands	11:00 AM	7:00 PM	0
Thu	Tortola, British Virgin Islands	6:00 AM	2:00 PM	1
Fri	At Sea	---	---	0
Sat	Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas	10:00 AM	6:00 PM	1
Sun	Miami, Florida (Flight Departure)	7:00 AM	---	0

 

The only excursion I have booked is Escape to Jost Van Dyke while docked at Tortola.  Because of the weird port time, the excursion leaves at 7:00, so I should be sipping Pain Killers by shortly after 8:00 a.m.  Woohoo!  I'll definitely be needing that Liquid IV on that day!

 

I will probably get off the ship and just walk around a bit in St. Thomas and Puerto Plata, then go back and enjoy the drink package and the Vibe.  I'll likely not even venture out to Great Stirrup Cay unless the bar at the Vibe is going to be closed.  At Band Camp, it seemed like many of the venues were closed while at GSC.  I know the bar at Spice H2O was abandoned.  

[Travelicious]

I live an hour away from the airport that I fly out of, one of only two national airports in the state.  Unless my final destination is one of the closer hubs, I never have direct flights.  For this trip, I’ll be flying first to CLT and then on to MIA.  The layover is only about 45 minutes.  Of course, that wasn’t my choice.  When I book, I never choose flights that warn of connection times.  I usually like about a 2 hour cushion.  But American Airlines decided to change my flights and times.  I will actually arrive in MIA earlier on Saturday, so I am hoping for good weather and an on-time first flight.

 

American did the same thing on my return flight.  I originally booked to fly out of MIA at around 1:00.  I later received a notice that it was being changed to 11:50.  Okay, that is still doable.  Then it changed again to 10:30.  That made me uncomfortable, so I called to get it changed to and 11:30 flight - with a 50 minute layover.  Why do they always change the times after I have so carefully picked out exactly what I want?  

[Sugar Magnolia]

6 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

I got a couple hours of work in this morning.  I'm not feeling too motivated as my payment for last month has not yet hit the bank.  Last month, I submitted my invoice on the 1st and it was in my account on the evening of the 3rd.  Hope there isn't an issue, as I put in a lot of time last month.  Maybe that is the issue.  

 

Anyhoo, here is our cruise itinerary for this trip:

 

 

Sun	Miami, Florida	---	5:30 PM	1
Mon	At Sea	---	---	1
Tue	Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic	7:00 AM	4:00 PM	1
Wed	St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands	11:00 AM	7:00 PM	0
Thu	Tortola, British Virgin Islands	6:00 AM	2:00 PM	1
Fri	At Sea	---	---	0
Sat	Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas	10:00 AM	6:00 PM	1
Sun	Miami, Florida (Flight Departure)	7:00 AM	---	0

 

The only excursion I have booked is Escape to Jost Van Dyke while docked at Tortola.  Because of the weird port time, the excursion leaves at 7:00, so I should be sipping Pain Killers by shortly after 8:00 a.m.  Woohoo!  I'll definitely be needing that Liquid IV on that day!

 

I will probably get off the ship and just walk around a bit in St. Thomas and Puerto Plata, then go back and enjoy the drink package and the Vibe.  I'll likely not even venture out to Great Stirrup Cay unless the bar at the Vibe is going to be closed.  At Band Camp, it seemed like many of the venues were closed while at GSC.  I know the bar at Spice H2O was abandoned.  

 

The Escape to JVD excursion is one of my favorites. Though the early hour is jarring, you will arrive there before the crowds and be able to grab your choice of seats. And who doesn't love a Pain Killer before the world wakes? Enjoy!

 

[Travelicious]

Just now, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

The Escape to JVD excursion is one of my favorites. Though the early hour is jarring, you will arrive there before the crowds and be able to grab your choice of seats. And who doesn't love a Pain Killer before the world wakes? Enjoy!

 

Thanks!  I did this excursion at Band Camp, and it was one of my favorites as well.  My other favorite was also at Tortola:  a snorkeling / catamaran trip with Aristocat.  I'm not a huge fan of snorkeling, but then again I have not previously seen everything I saw that day.  It was amazing!  

[Travelicious]

Full disclosure:  you know how I said I'm supposed to be cruising quarterly?  Well, Pookie and I are actually cruising again next month to Alaska.  So I'm doing two this quarter, but as of right now I don't have any other cruises booked for the rest of this year.  And I may not.  

 

We have a big one booked for next year as Pookie's retirement cruise.  It is actually a B2B totaling 23 days on the Getaway, starting in New York and ending in Copenhagen.  Then we'll have a couple of days to make our way to Paris to hop on the Dawn for 12 more days ending in Stockholm.  We were originally on the Getaway for 3 cruises, but the final leg was cancelled some time back.  I expect we'll spend a few days in NYC before the cruise, and a few in Stockholm after. 

 

So, yeah, it is very likely my quarterly cruises are coming to an end.

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 hours ago, Travelicious said:

Don't be too jealous.  Your 15 day cruise is likely more valuable than the packing cubes.

Yeah, I would agree with this too.  I like packing cubes, but we already have an ample supply that match our luggage.  I could probably sell them on the internet for about $5.

[complawyer]

by the way, st thomas is very nice, but there isnt a great deal going on there, unless you're a beach person.

 

i would suggest, in the alternative, if the ship docks in charlotte amalie, just get off and wander around the town. 

[wcook]

I’m trying to figure out how a guy completes the one time at band camp story. I’m visioning the flute and…. We’ll let’s just put that thought aside. Have a great trip. 

[Von & John]

8 hours ago, Travelicious said:

Are you going on Celebrity?

 

Not this time...
I thought NCL also had the ice tops...
Maybe my memory is remembering what I want vs. what it is...

We haven't been on NCL since NOV 2019