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

[Travelicious]

So, posting and photographing dropped off yesterday.  In a change of scheduling, I went to the solo meeting in the studio lounge.  It was kind of fun and I got to meet @Travelgrrl.  This prevented me from having dinner before the show.

 

Choir of Man was a lot of fun.  I’m glad I went.  After the show, dinner in Manhattan.  It was about 8:30 and crazy busy.  I never go to dinner that late.  Because I ate so late, I decided I should stay up for a bit to burn off some of the calories.  The casino paid me back about half of what I previously lost.

 

Here’s the big news:  I actually, for the first time ever, stayed up and went to the 80s dance party!  I definitely burned some calories there, but quickly replenished them with delicious alcoholic beverages.  Got to bed around midnight.  That’s much too late 2 times in one week.
 

 

[Travelicious]

Today we are at Taino Bay.  I just walked around to see the sights.  It is a very nice port, and the lazy river looked refreshing.  


 

 

 

 

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Travelicious

[Sugar Magnolia]

24 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

So, posting and photographing dropped off yesterday.  In a change of scheduling, I went to the solo meeting in the studio lounge.  It was kind of fun and I got to meet @Travelgrrl.  This prevented me from having dinner before the show.

 

Choir of Man was a lot of fun.  I’m glad I went.  After the show, dinner in Manhattan.  It was about 8:30 and crazy busy.  I never go to dinner that late.  Because I ate so late, I decided I should stay up for a bit to burn off some of the calories.  The casino paid me back about half of what I previously lost.

 

Here’s the big news:  I actually, for the first time ever, stayed up and went to the 80s dance party!  I definitely burned some calories there, but quickly replenished them with delicious alcoholic beverages.  Got to bed around midnight.  That’s much too late 2 times in one week.
 

 

Very proud of you for burning the calories, burning the floor and burning the midnight oil.
 

Wish the Epic would dock at Taino Bay but instead, we are headed to Amber Cove tomorrow with 6,000+ of our closest friends on the Carnival Mardi Gras. 
 

[Travelicious]

19 hours ago, www3traveler said:

Did you have a good turnout of Officers?

Someone on a different thread was asking if Alvin Oliva is the Cruise Director and I would like to know about the Executive Chef Ganesh Panjami.

 

I hope you are having a wonderful time and are having good weather.

The cruise director is William Oliva according to the screen.  I did not see your friend showing as executive chef.  It had someone else listed.

 

[www3traveler]

45 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

The cruise director is William Oliva according to the screen.  I did not see your friend showing as executive chef.  It had someone else listed.

 

Thank You

[MAsquared]

On 4/8/2023 at 12:50 PM, Travelicious said:

Perhaps you are too young to remember, but there was a movie in the 90s called American Pie.  One of the characters repeatedly told stories starting with, "one time, at band camp . . ."

 

No kids on the cruise.  It was before the vaccination restrictions were lifted, and kids were not eligible for vaccinations yet.  It was great!

 

You other questions should be answered in the next post.  Except the Choir of Man question.  I don't remember.  If it was, I didn't see it.

One of the funniest movies!!!

[Travelicious]

Had to get ANOTHER remote control, as the new one developed problems.  Every button turned on / off the tv, and did not perform proper functions.  My room steward tried several before he found one to work properly.  I was then able to watch episode 2 of Dahmer, before having a nice nap.

NCL had a Latitudes showing on Steve Trevino (?) at 5:00.  I went for the first half hour, as I had previously scheduled dinner at 5:30.  I was sad to have to leave early, after enjoying a White Russian during the show.

 

Dinner at La Cucina was excellent.  This used to be my least favorite of the specialty restaurants, but trying different things has really improved the

experience.  

 

I had the Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon

 

 

the gnocchi, which is homemade and the best I’ve ever had

 

 

 

and the pollo cacciatore.  All so good!

 

 

Note that I remembered to take photos of the food before taking a bite, just this once.  Too full for dessert, I got a lemoncello to go, took a walk, and stopped in the casino for a few minutes.  Won all of my money back plus a little.

 

Came back to the room to find my daily treat.  Not sure if this is Band Camp redux or part of the Latitudes experience.

 

 

forgot to post yesterday’s treat.

 

 

 

[Travelicious]

Oops.  Kind of messed up that last post with the photos.  Anyhoo, hope you enjoy!

[Jordan61]

2 hours ago, Travelicious said:

NCL had a Latitudes showing on Steve Trevino (?) at 5:00.  I went for the first half hour, as I had previously scheduled dinner at 5:30.  I was sad to have to leave early, after enjoying a White Russian during the show.

 

He has a couple of stand up specials on Amazon Prime if you (or anyone else) are interested.

[smillerholmes]

17 hours ago, Travelicious said:

The cruise director is William Oliva according to the screen.  I did not see your friend showing as executive chef.  It had someone else listed.

 

Will was the Assistant Cruise Director on my Getaway cruise in September 2022.  He is quite interesting and approachable.  And he was EVERYWHERE!  It was noticeable because I normally do not even recall who the Cruise Director was on my cruises, so he was a good one.

[cruiseny4life]

3 hours ago, smillerholmes said:

Will was the Assistant Cruise Director on my Getaway cruise in September 2022.  He is quite interesting and approachable.  And he was EVERYWHERE!  It was noticeable because I normally do not even recall who the Cruise Director was on my cruises, so he was a good one.

Yes he was! Out of the four cruises I've been on, I remember him more than any Assistant or Cruise Director. I also loved the show he and Y'anique put on each day. It was hilarious.

[Travelicious]

I’ve been a bit neglectful, so I’ll make this one short. Yesterday was St. Thomas.  I had no plans, but just walked around the stores a bit.  It seems to me that there are no longer good deals either on land or on the ship.  But a bottle of liquor I’ve had my eye on was $17 more in St. Thomas then on the ship.  Guess I’ll be using some of that OBC.

 

Dinner was at Le Bistro.  Again, great food, but way too much.  I once again had to forego dessert.

 

 

 

Today I took the Escape to Jost Van Dyke excursion, which meant a 5:15 wake up, 6:20 meet up, and 7:00 shove off.  I vowed not to get as schnockered as I did last time, so I had only 2 Pain Killers from the Soggy Dollar bar, and a few sips of the terribly sweet rum punch back aboard the Rebel Yell.  We only had about 2.25 hours at JVD, but it was long enough for me.

 

 

 

 

The water was gorgeous!

 

upon return, I showered and went to O’Sheehans for some lunch.  Found this in my room.

 

 

Good to have around because I never have room for dessert.

 

I just awoke from a nap, and am going to see if I can get my hair to look like I did not just awake from a nap.  Then I’m going to go in search of an espresso martini.

 

Oh, during my nap I dreamed a bunch of us CC’ers went to visit @sid_9169.  It seems he was on the verge of marriage or some sort of such merger, and we were there to meet his proposed.

[Travelicious]

A knock, and another tray of goodies.  I’m going to be fat as a tick.

 

[fabnfortysomething]

I love the reference to band camp but am seriously alarmed at the implication many people are too young to associate!

my children watched American pie so how old does that make me?[clue add 20 years to my screen name]

we did April 1st sailing on Escape to Eastern Caribbean and just got round to posting my review

[iKarenE]

We leave this Sunday on the Escape and also booked the excursion to Jost Van Dyke. I dont know what I was thinking but it certainly wasnt getting up that early LOL. What do you recommend bringing over there or dont we need to bring anything? Was there anything else to do along with having a few Painkillers? Thanks.

 

[Elsammo46]

Do they allow you to take desserts to go? I've heard conflicting reports from different people, some say you can, other say they don't allow it. I usually have a hard time finishing everything and would like to be able to take things back to the room. I'm on the Getaway in about 3 weeks from now.

Edited April 21, 2023 by Elsammo46

[Travelicious]

14 hours ago, iKarenE said:

We leave this Sunday on the Escape and also booked the excursion to Jost Van Dyke. I dont know what I was thinking but it certainly wasnt getting up that early LOL. What do you recommend bringing over there or dont we need to bring anything? Was there anything else to do along with having a few Painkillers? Thanks.

 

you only need a towel and money.  The painkillers are $8 each.  You can also order breakfast there if you didn’t find anything to eat on the ship that early.  I had the  Egg Sandie for $9.  
 

The main thing to do is just to enjoy the beautiful view, the nice drinks, and take a swim in the clear water.  On the way back, you will be offered included rum punch.  Some folks enjoyed it very much.  It was way too sweet  for me.

[Travelicious]

9 hours ago, Elsammo46 said:

Do they allow you to take desserts to go? I've heard conflicting reports from different people, some say you can, other say they don't allow it. I usually have a hard time finishing everything and would like to be able to take things back to the room. I'm on the Getaway in about 3 weeks from now.

I haven’t tried.  I’ve been way to full to even think about it, plus I’ve had all those treats delivered to the room every day.  I’ll see if I can find out.

[JIMESOPUS]

Some numbers for this cruise,

 

4788 passengers

crew at 92%

 

$20 refundable OBC per passenger for overcharge of port fee's

[cruiseny4life]

10 hours ago, Elsammo46 said:

Do they allow you to take desserts to go? I've heard conflicting reports from different people, some say you can, other say they don't allow it. I usually have a hard time finishing everything and would like to be able to take things back to the room. I'm on the Getaway in about 3 weeks from now.

On Joy, in March, I was allowed to take my dessert to go. I saw a lot of to-go packages being carried by passengers onboard. 

[debenson0723]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

On Joy, in March, I was allowed to take my dessert to go. I saw a lot of to-go packages being carried by passengers onboard. 

This was my experience on the Joy in February also. I did it almost every night. 

[Travelicious]

23 hours ago, Elsammo46 said:

Do they allow you to take desserts to go? I've heard conflicting reports from different people, some say you can, other say they don't allow it. I usually have a hard time finishing everything and would like to be able to take things back to the room. I'm on the Getaway in about 3 weeks from now.

I was just told by a wait person in Bayamo that you are not allowed to take anything to go.  She said this is ship-wide.

[Travelicious]

Dinner was at Bayamo last night at 7:45.  Ugh!  I was seated outside by some people I sat with at the Sail and Sustain class a few days ago.  We carried on with conversation, so I neglected to get food photos.  As always, the food was tasty and way too filling.

 

I have been trying to get the higher end wines and spirits because I have the premium plus package.  Whatever happened to bringing the bottle to the table, presenting it, and pouring a bit to taste before filling the glass?  At every restaurant this week, with the exception of Le Bistro, they have just plopped a glass of already poured wine in front of me.  I’m pretty sure that at least half of the time it has been the cheap stuff instead of what I ordered.  I guess this is the reason to order a bottle instead of a glass.

 

Today we will anchor at GSC.  I’m staying aboard, will get mostly packed this morning, and enjoy the ship and Vibe Beach Club.  I’m going to try to eat light today so I can be at least a little hungry for Cagney’s at 5:30.

[Travelicious]

Well, another great cruise has come to an end.  As good as Band Camp?  Maybe not quite, as the ship was full and people did get in my way.  But I met lots of nice folks and made a few new friends.  The food was consistently good.  Service was mostly good except in Manhattan the one night I ate there.

 

Now to try to get home.  First flight is delayed 20 minutes, and I am again at risk of missing my connection.  

[www3traveler]

35 minutes ago, Travelicious said:

Well, another great cruise has come to an end.  As good as Band Camp?  Maybe not quite, as the ship was full and people did get in my way.  But I met lots of nice folks and made a few new friends.  The food was consistently good.  Service was mostly good except in Manhattan the one night I ate there.

 

Now to try to get home.  First flight is delayed 20 minutes, and I am again at risk of missing my connection.  

Welcome Home

Thank you for all your wonderful postings.

I pray that you have a very safe journey home.