This was my seventh cruise with NCL since 2004 and my fifth as a solo cruiser. Having previously cruised on the Dream, Dawn, Gem, and Breakaway I was aware of NCL's freestyle cruising, culture, and had my own set of expectations.
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This was my seventh cruise with NCL since 2004 and my fifth as a solo cruiser. Having previously cruised on the Dream, Dawn, Gem, and Breakaway I was aware of NCL's freestyle cruising, culture, and had my own set of expectations.
Getting to the port: For those of us who take public transportation arriving at the port is not difficult. Metro-North and LIRR deliver you to Grand Central or Penn Station from there you can either hoof it - which I did on the way home or you can catch a cab which I did on the way there. To keep your cab ride short and inexpensive have the driver drop you off at street level across the street and not have him or her drive up to Pier 88. If you choose to drive and to park at the pier expect to pay a premium for parking and allow extra time. Driving in NYC is not for the faint of heart.
Embarkation: What a lovely experience compared to the Gem from NYC and the Breakaway from NYC. It was fast and organized, I was on the ship within 60 minutes of arriving at the port. The longshoremen will take your luggage, make sure you have printed out your luggage tags and affixed them before you hand over your bags. It's also customary to give them a cash tip. For me, it was $3 for one bag.
Ship: to say that the Escape is a huge ship is not giving it credit. It is an immense ship. Over seven days I walked 39.6 miles - the vast majority of which were aboard the Escape.
If you are not a cabin dweller the vast majority of your time will be spent on decks 6-8 which house the restaurants, shopping, theaters, casino, Skyline club, District Brewhouse, and bars. Decks 9-15 are all cabins with the exception of 11 which has the studio lounge and 13 which has the medical center. Decks 16-20 are the spa, fitness center, sun decks, pools, bars, buffet, the Haven, Margaritaville, slides, ropes course, Vibe beach club, arcade, and H2O.
My suggestion to you is a month before you go spend an hour a day on the treadmill and stairclimber, your thighs will thank me. There are 16 passenger elevators on the Escape. The forward elevators are in two banks of four. If you want to go up you should press both sets of up buttons. The aft elevators are one bank of eight. You only need to press one up button. 16 elevators sound like a lot. When you consider there are 4266 passengers aboard the ship when full there is one elevator for 266 people. Bear in mind there are those who are disabled, on scooters, those who need to stop at every floor, people who take the elevators down, floods of people on day 1 embarking with their luggage, floods of people on day 7 disembarking with their luggage, crowds when the shows get out, crowds when the ship ports and departs. A recommendation would be to limit your elevator time and take the stairs, it will save you stress and will help you work off the calories.
Cabin: your cabin is appointed with at least 3 - (in the studio's case 4) outlets. However, they will only work if your key card is in the slot that turns the lights on. It is best to charge your devices at night while you are in the room with them. NCL states that the cabin stewards will unplug devices when you are not in the room. I'm not sure what the point of that is, because if you are not in the room the devices will not charge. If you have never cruised before the cabins are very small. The beds are quite comfortable.
Smoking: Not that any of us should be smoking. I imagine the Escape being difficult for smokers in the winter. While in port in NYC the only open smoking area was the interior cigar room. It was horrible. When out of port the smoking areas are only outside, uncovered, at Spice H20 on deck 17 aft and Waves at deck 17 midship. If the weather is nice, this is not a problem. On the Breakaway, there was a smoking section on deck 8 on the waterfront and on the Gem deck 7 which were both covered. You can only smoke in the casino when the casino is open and you are playing.
Studio lounge: unlike the Breakway the Escape has three floors of studio cabins midship on decks 10-12. Thank you NCL! The Studio lounge is beautiful with digital screens, comfortable seating, modern design, the worlds best complimentary espresso cappuccino machine, water, juice, a pay per glass wine bar and amazing staff. Our solo coordinator Claudius organized dinners and meetups and made the solo cruising experience an unforgettable one.
Spa: The spa has become one of my main reasons for sailing with NCL. If you like to relax in a hot tub or on a lounger and want to do so in peace, I highly recommend buying the thermal spa weekly pass. Before you cruise call your travel agent or NCL and have them add it. Imagine sharing loungers, pools and hot tubs with 4000 people then imagine sharing them with 100 people. The cost is at least 20% cheaper if you book before you go. The week pass was approximately $200 if booked before the cruise and $248 on the first day of the cruise. Let me tell you about my favorite place on this ship - eucalyptus steam room, sauna, sanarium, dry salt bath, snow room, hot tub, thermal pool, rain showers, mosaic tile loungers, bathrobes, infused water, fresh fruit... this is what relaxation is meant to be. I will never cruise without access to the spa. Granted you do have to avoid the spa salespeople who are trying to give you acupuncture, teeth whitening, hot towel shaves, massages, scrubs, manicures and pedicures... if you have mastered the NY leave me alone face you will be fine. Don't make eye contact, smile or ask questions, they will latch onto you like harpies.
Internet: I purchased the no limit package without video streaming. It was approximately $200 for the seven days. For me this was worth it as my work and finances never sleep. Whatsapp allowed for perfect VOIP video calling and all my finance apps worked without a hitch just like I was at home.
Cruise Next - yes, I did it. Within the next four years I expect to be cruising a few times with NCL. I purchased two $250 Cruise Next deposits for a total of $250.00. I almost did not purchase the certificates on this cruise because I was given incorrect information. NCL wooed me with the inexpensive deposits so I had booked two future cruises prior to setting foot on the Escape. My question was - could I use these cruise next deposits towards my already booked cruises? The lady at the desk said no. She stated I could cancel my booked cruises and rebook them. I asked her if I would lose my deposits, she stated that since I was within 180 days of my next cruise - and that was when final payment was due - that I would lose my deposit. I was not satisfied with those answers. So... while I was on the Escape I called NCL. I was told that yes I can use the cruise next credits towards the cruises I had already booked, that I could cancel the other cruises if I wanted to as I had booked them a long time ago and that my final payment was not due until 90 days before the embarkation date. I later learned that the new NCL rule is that you will lose your deposit if you cancel the cruise within 120 days of the embarkation date. This information was confirmed when I returned home and see in my NCL account that the cruise next deposits are there and they can be applied as partial payment to the cruises I have already booked. Short story - if you're getting an answer you don't like or sounds incorrect, check with someone else.
Restaurants:
Savor, Taste, and Manhattan room - the menu is the same, the service is excellent. Savor and Taste are open for breakfast and lunch most days, check the Freestyle Daily. Take the opportunity to try the bizarre things on the menu. For example, the spinach pancakes with smoked salmon were amazing. They have cappuccino, espresso, and real coffee. If you are a solo or a couple, want to be seated quickly, offer to share a table, they will happily place you with other cruisers. You may meet your next Facebook friend, I did!
Garden Buffet - meh. I'm not a fan but there is always something you will find that is edible and it is almost always open. The coffee is horrible if you are from the tri-state area. Continental style begins at 6 am and hot food at 6:30 am. You may run into a few folks who have yet to find their cabins after a night of partying.
O-Sheehan's - limited menu, but everything on it they do it well. Fantastic place for wings and beer, Irish coffee, sandwiches, salads, fries, and burgers. This is the 3-6am spot for those who can't sleep after a late night at Skyline. One of the complaints I heard from another solo cruiser was that the late-late night food and entertainment on NCL was not as good as Carnival. NCL doesn't cater to those who don't sleep.
Margaritaville - If you like it or hate it on land your experience will be the same on board. The place is only open from 12pm to 5pm. The nachos are huge, enough for six people. The margaritas are awesome. The surcharge is $14.95. I had conch fritters and fish tacos, both were decent.
Bayamo - Expensive but worth it. $39.99 for the seafood feast which includes king crab legs - which are amazing, lobster tail, clams, muscles. MMMMM
District Brew House - not bad beer and hard cider, sports on TV. We didn't eat here.
Food Republic - This was the sleeper surprise of the trip - excellent food, service, bizarre pairings like pastrami dumplings! Their drinks were fabulous.
Clubs: Spice H2O is the outdoor venue which is lovely, it has movies and parties. Skyline which is next to the casino holds the after-hours parties with live music and DJs. Unlike the Breakway this is not an enclosed club, it is open to the casino which makes it seem less club like.
Active: Yoga class was fabulous. Ropes course with "walk the plank" and the zip line is excellent, however, the cameras were not working and the upper deck was not open due to high winds. Slides were excellent. You cannot have anything in your pockets or on your person (except for your room key) when you are going on the slides or on the ropes course.
Drinks: The black glass wine tasting event with the Sommelier from Columbia was amazing. He is by far the most candid, demonstrative, informative Somm I have ever met. While on this topic let's discuss the drink package - it is 'included' as a perk with your cruise, however, you have to pay the gratuities and taxes if you chose this perk. If you are not a drinker do not pick this perk. You will get far more value out of the restaurant package.
Sugarcane Mojito Bar: amazing - make sure you stop here. Fantastic drinks and service.
Tobacco Road bar: there was a bartender with the last name Venezula - it was like watching an artist make a drink.
Bermuda:
This was my fourth trip to Bermuda - I'd be willing to go every year for the remainder of my life if I could. It is difficult to believe that so much beauty exists in the world in one place. Do not be afraid of the public transportation, buses and ferries. Everyone speaks English, they are all friendly, the people of Bermuda want you there spending your money and having a great time. You do not need to book the ship's shore excursions, a two-minute internet search will guide you. Places to not be missed in Bermuda include Horseshoe Bay beach, St.George's Tobacco Bay, Crystal Caves, and 'discover scuba' at snorkel bay if you are not a certified diver. If you are a certified diver make sure to do a wreck dive. Hamilton is lovely for a walk and shopping.
NCL offers a free ferry from Kings Wharf to St. George's... you get what you pay for. The public ferry takes approximately 30 minutes. The NCL ferry puts along and takes at least an hour - or more.
Disembarkation: If you can walk off with your luggage this is your best bet. The day before disembarkation you will pick up your luggage tags from deck 6 service desk. If they do not have the color for the earliest group wait in line to get it. The earlier you get through the faster you will get through customs. The Escape requires that you wait on Deck 8 or 6 before you are called to go to deck 7 to exit. From there you will weave your way throughout deck seven in a creative maze of chairs through restaurants and public areas.
Overall - the vacation was amazing. I'm not trilled with the mega ship experience but I will be on the Escape again in September and January. I'm looking forward to the Bliss in NYC. If I had to take a first time cruiser on a ship it would not be this one. I would take them on a smaller ship such as the Gem, Dawn or Jewel as the mega ships are overwhelming.
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