Escape 8/6, Haven LIVE-ish

[Monica887]

So I actually got myself an Internet package, I should I a Live, I guess? Will internet work well enough? If I disappear, wifi isn't working. Or I'm too busy drinking mojitos. 

 

WHO AM I?

Just a middle aged mom, leaving her husband and kids at home, and escaping with my Aunt, who I frequently travel with. This will be my 8 th(?) NCL cruise in addition to 9(?) other cruises. I don't drink enough to justify a drink package. And I'm a vegetarian, which usually isn't a big problem. I have found previous posts from vegetarians helpful so I figured I'd return the favor.

 

WHY AM I GOING? 

I'm tired. I need a break. Last summer was a trainwreck of a summer, and I'm trying to make up for it after an intense year of family stress, which seems to finally be in a good place. On my Alaskan cruise last summer, we never got our luggage (and that trip was with the kids). On our Christmas week cruise this year, I got Covid pretty bad and was stuck in bed while they had all the fun. I work on a school schedule and am making the most of this summer!

 

WHY THIS CRUISE?

We wanted to try out the Haven, and a ship with a Haven proper. The itinerary doesn't matter to us at all, as we've done these ports many times before (Roatan, Harvest Caye, Costa Maya, Cozumel), and just wanted to enjoy relaxing. So we picked a ship with a good Haven that worked for our schedules. I can't promise too much excitement in my live - I anticipate spending a lot of time by the pool being anti social and listening to podcasts. But I'll share what I can and you can live vicariously through my total relaxation. 

 

I'M PACKED!

I'm living dangerously and booked the flight through NCL, which means I have a 3am Uber and arriving day-of. After last year's luggage fiasco, I now have a Tile tucked away in my big suitcase, and a packing cube for my carry on with one sundress that can work for day or night, a bathing suit, and 2 pairs of underwear. Some day I'm actually going to pack that way and it's going to be glorious.

 

 

We have reservations at Bayamo, Cagney's, Moderno, and Bistro, if anyone has vegetarian recommendations or tips! 

[Moonglo]

Have a wonderful cruise. I look forward to reading about your experiences.......

[Monica887]

And the adventure begins! I woke up 5 minutes before my 2:45 am alarm, while I'm the middle of a dream about a big floating suitcase. The Uber came 15 minutes early. I caffeinated with bad coffee at the airport. We landed almost 30 minutes early, a little after 7:30. By 8:00 I had my luggage. 

 

I thought the first shuttle was at 10:30, but it was 9:30. Yay! On the Haven security line and check in there was only one group in front of me. So now, at 10:30 I am firmly planted in a comfy chair in the Haven port lounge, and re-caffeinating. Life is good. 

 

[Monica887]

Posting again just to test the ships wifi!

Was on the ship by 11:30. 12:30 now and room should be ready soon. 

 

We did receive a card holder. They took Haveners from the port lounge in small groups according to muster station. We walked through the theatre to scan cards but didn't have to stop, and were taken up and elevator and met the concierge who gave out forms to reserve comedy shows and dinner theatre. 

Light snacks by the pool. Waiting for my Aunt who is still on a shuttle from the airport so we can eat for real! 

 

 

[kruiserkatie]

Enjoy! We love the Escape Haven! Who is your concierge?

[Monica887]

2 hours ago, kruiserkatie said:

Enjoy! We love the Escape Haven! Who is your concierge?

Dilip. I've been on Escape before but not Haven. I'm already hooked forever!!

[kruiserkatie]

Dilip is wonderful! Truly one of the best! The whole Haven team is terrific ! Looking forward to following along. Enjoy every moment!

[Monica887]

Just a quick update -

 

Luggage arrived by 3. 

 

We hit the American Diner for lunch, since we know we'll mostly be at Haven for lunch and it was included today. 

 

 

Lobster rolls for my Aunt, mozz sticks to share, and a veggie burger for me. The burger took a while (cruise ship veggie burgers usually do) and was pretty good. 

 

When we went back to the room, in addition to the original snacks (regular mini M and Ms, peanut M and Ms, pistachios, and fresh fruit) there were canapes (they were pretty but not so great). We hit the Haven bar for a drink, and I let them pick something for me, and I got something with house made apple cinnamon rum that was delicious. 

 

 

Explored the Haven a bit. Stopped by the restaurant and met the team to talk about vegetarian requests. They were very helpful and said I can just let them know at breakfast what I want for the day. 

 

Spoke to the spa representative who was in the Haven to try to get day passes for a port day. She said you can't buy them in advance - only day of, and to come back that morning. 

 

The room is lovely but not much bigger than a regular balcony room (we are HF). The bathroom smells like mildew and they tried to clean it but I'm not sure there's anything they can do. Tons of storage. Plenty of drawers and cabinets for 2 people. One of feature is that there's only an outlet on one side of the king sized bed. I'm sleeping on the pull out chair and not sure that's going to go well. I'm so exhausted that for tonight it will do. 

 

Bayamo for dinner. Tuna app and entree for her. Beet salad and cauliflower steak for me. The beet salad could have used more flavor. The cauliflower was filled with flavor, a bit of curry and very peppery. I enjoyed it but it was too spicy for her. Sorbet and cheesecake in a jar for dessert. I ordered the cheesecake based on recommendations here and it was delicious! And I often don't care for their desserts, but this has a nice balance of flavors, and wasn't slimy for a pudding texture. 

 

A beautiful sunset (obviously pictures don't do it justice!) And lost money in the casino. Looking forward to doing a lot of nothing tomorrow! Haven for dinner, then Choir of Man (which I somehow have never seen before...)

 

 

 

 

[Shidah]

Thanks for taking the time to do this!  Are you on the 17th or 18th floor of the courtyard?  We go in a few weeks and now worried about mildew smells.  Should I pack room spray?

[Molokai-Chuck]

Thanks for posting your fun! We will be on the Escape in the Haven in September.

Chuck and Mary

[nhtravels]

Enjoy your cruise!  Our first Haven experience was also on the Escape and we've never been able to cruise any other way since!

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Thank you for sharing your vacation and as I always post…the food pictures!

[Monica887]

8 hours ago, Shidah said:

Thanks for taking the time to do this!  Are you on the 17th or 18th floor of the courtyard?  We go in a few weeks and now worried about mildew smells.  Should I pack room spray?

17. I love the location!! Idk if room spray would help. We left the bathroom door open to hope to air it out, but all that did was make the bedroom smell. With the bathroom door closed the bedroom is fine. 

[Monica887]

1 hour ago, LouChamp said:

Aloha. Thank you for sharing your vacation and as I always post…the food pictures!

I had to tell me Aunt I was going to be "that person" taking food pics. So if they're not great, it's because I'm trying to be quick about it and not keep adjusting the plate! 

[Monica887]

I'll add tidbits as I think of them...

 

MAGNETIC WALLS

One oddity of the room is that the walls aren't magnetic! It's fine since it's just the two of us. But when I'm with my kids I DEFINITELY need the hooks for extra storage. I also usually use magnets to keeps dailies and schedules on the wall to avoid surface clutter.

 

HAVEN CHECK IN

And when my aunt got to the port around 2, the lines were much longer. And only 1-2 stations open, even for Haven. She was disappointed that she didn't get to experience the port lounge, so if that's of interest to you, get there early! 

 

MORE FROM YESTERDAY 

Oh, and last night before dinner, a birthday cake appeared for me in the room! (A few days early). SO much food is being delivered to the room!! 

 

CURRENT THOUGHTS

Just woke up. Coffee delivered to the room (I forgot to ask for the famous almond croissants!!!).

 

Weather is beautiful. Haven is magical, and we love Escape. But it's like when you stay in a nice hotel in a city and then step outside into the city itself and there's a totally different vibe between the two. (And I'm a city girl at heart, so I truly love the energy of both!). 

 

Back to drinking my coffee...

[disneylover89]

When we were on the Escape last month, my bathroom had a horrible urine smell.  The room attendant tried everything to make it go away but nothing helped.  I finally started to leave a towel completely over the vent behind the toilet bowl and it helped immensely. Try it. 

[scaaty]

Thank you for sharing your adventure with us. Will be in the Haven on the Escape in October 🙂

 

[Monica887]

Just now, disneylover89 said:

When we were on the Escape last month, my bathroom had a horrible urine smell.  The room attendant tried everything to make it go away but nothing helped.  I finally started to leave a towel completely over the vent behind the toilet bowl and it helped immensely. Try it. 

Yes! I learned that trick here and have used it in the past. And in fact when they came in to look at it he said "the drain must be thirsty" - ha! But this is not that smell and feeding it did not help. 

[Monica887]

You guys! This deserves its own post! 

 

I'm an iced coffee drinker. I'll drink regular if I must. But usually the only way to get iced on a ship (without a drink package) is by sticking some in the fridge for tomorrow. 

 

But just now in the Haven restaurant I asked for iced coffee and they said they didn't have any. But then I asked if they had any cold coffee and he said "let me see what I can do". And then this appeared. And I'm so happy I could cry. 

[Ellis1138]

10 hours ago, Shidah said:

Thanks for taking the time to do this!  Are you on the 17th or 18th floor of the courtyard?  We go in a few weeks and now worried about mildew smells.  Should I pack room spray?

 

Depending on the smells:

Sewage type smell: Pour some cups of water down the floor vent behind the toilet.

 

Basic mildew/bathroom: Bring some hanging Damp Rid and/or hanging charcoal bags. Either Lysol spray in a travel size, or some small essential oil bottles can cover the smell.

 

[thesh0rty]

@Monica887, May I ask your cabin number? We’re on the Escape soon and our friends will be in a courtyard penthouse. Just wanted to know if they’ll have to deal with the smell so we can prepare. Thank you!

[cruiseny4life]

Loving your review so far! Keep it coming...I haven't sailed Escape yet and can't wait to hear all about your experiences.

 

That iced coffee looks SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO good! I drink my daily iced coffee black, but when on vacation I do enjoy some cream and sugar. Mmm, thank you for sharing!

[Monica887]

Just now, thesh0rty said:

@Monica887, May I ask your cabin number? We’re on the Escape soon and our friends will be in a courtyard penthouse. Just wanted to know if they’ll have to deal with the smell so we can prepare. Thank you!

I'll share once we're off the ship! It's an HF on 17.

[CScapeMama]

Thank you for all the intel! We are going on our first NCL Haven cruise on Escape in October. We usually sail w/Royal and our family can't wait to experience whatever fun NCL has to offer...until then I'll live vicariously through your posts😍

[Monica887]

3pm. I have been doing massive amounts of nothing. This has been my view all day. 

 

 

Started the day with the coffee delivery followed by that magical life changing iced coffee at breakfast. Breakfast was also fruit, an almond croissant, and avocado toast. The avocado toast was delicious and had a ton of avocado. Fruit was fresh. The almond croissant was tasty, but a little crunchier than a croissant should be - not what I was expecting. Didn't get more pictures because I was too excited about the coffee. 

 

 

After breakfast some quiet time on the balcony watching the flying fish jump across the bluest water. 

 

And then to the pool where we have been ever since. It's just after 3:00 now and I only have about 2000 steps. That's what happens when your room is about 40 steps from your pool chair. 

 

The pool is fantastic. There are a dozen or so kids. A little louder than I would like, but well behaved and having fun. There are pastries and candy by the pool, and infused water and iced tea. I do wish there was regular water (after a while I've had enough cucumber). And an ice machine would be nice, since only the water comes out of the cooler. I've also been eating so heavily that I would like some fruit, so that I'm not tempted to just eat M and M's if I'm feeling snacky. The chairs are comfy, the hot tub is warm, there are loungers in the pool with nice cool water, and the space itself is climate controlled and perfect. All the adults are friendly and well behaved. 

 

There's a light lunch menu just for the pool. 

 

I had a falafel wrap and she had the burger. Falafel was good, not dry, but more veggies than falafel. Which is fine since I needed something light! 

 

 

Oh, also, yesterday the spa representative who came to Haven said I couldn't make a day pass reservation in advance. But the concierge was able to make it happen, and so tomorrow's lazy day will mostly be spent at the spa rather than the pool!