On Sunday, March 3rd, just hours after leaving New York, the Escape experienced a sudden unexpected wind gust causing the ship to tilt. I will first say that the crew and staff were remarkable in handling the situation at the time and place where I was. I cannot comment on other areas of the ship although I did speak with other passengers that were not as impressed as I was. And while you cannot believe everything you see on the news; the pictures and news accounts made the event to be much more serious that what we were told. And seeing the ambulances lined up when we arrived at Port Canaveral makes me believe the situation was more serious than what we were told. By the way, I was in the District Brew House with a dozen or so others at the time. We all held on as the tables, chairs and stools were tossed against the outside wall. And while the bartender, Ravi, was noticeably shaken by the experience, he kept us all together until the ship was righted. So, my commendations to him. While I did not walk through the entire ship on Sunday night, I did see enough to realize that this was a serious and unusual event.

On day three we arrived at Port Canaveral. I signed up for the excursion to the Kennedy Space Center. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent there. However, the actual time spent at the center was less than four hours. Referencing the visitor guide, the recommended time to visit all the exhibits is about nine hours. I needed to be very selective in choosing the exhibits I wanted to see and forgo the balance. My comment here is only about the excursion description and cost. The excursion description should somehow state that you will only have time to see half the center. The excursion cost is $112 (discounted). The actual cost of admission is $57. I would think that with some incredible buying power coupled with the volume of visitors that NCL brings to the center, NCL should be able to negotiate a “Half Day Pass” that would reduce the price of the excursion and reduce the expectations of visitors.

On day four, (the first day the sun came out) we were informed that we would not be stopping at Great Stirrup Cay. The ship decided that tendering to and from the island would not be safe. I can only say that this was the first nice day of the trip and question that decision. And aren’t the life boats used for tendering? Shouldn’t they be safe to travel back and forth to the island? Additionally, I question why we spent two days in Nassau. I’m sure there are/were options that would offer a substitute for Stirrup Cay other than spending two days at the same location in Nassau. I am disappointed that I did not get to Stirrup Cay. Read more