Inside the Escape!

In the center of the sixth floor is the atrium. The cruise director uses this area for many events. To be honest, it is too small for all of the games in which it's used. The "UnNewlywed Game", "Deal or No Deal" attract large amount of people and with limited seating, hundreds are standing to watch. It's hard to see over people's heads. It would be much better if these shows were held in the showroom.

Adding to the congestion, is the Atrium Bar. Located in the center of the atrium, it is connected to a coffee bar. Obviously it was a challenge to get a drink during the busy show times (which happened to be all day and night). We started each and every day in the atrium bar with a Bailey's and coffee.

On the first night, after the big surprise, we organized a dinner in Taste, one of the complimentary restaurants. It wasn't possible to seat us all together but we were in two tables next to each other. The menu was outstanding. There was a buffet employee visiting each table to inform them of the next day's seafood menu. He sang a song and kept calling my husband Richard Gere... we all laughed so hard! 

The second night was in Teppanyaki. We were able to sit together but with two different chefs. This is the perfect place for a celebration. High energy and entertaining, the chef creates a feast as he entertains. We laughed and sang songs.

Norwegian Epic, Getaway, Breakaway and Escape all have O'Sheehan's on the seventh floor.This Irish Pub has a bar on one side and a complimentary restaurant on the other. On all the other ships besides the Escape, we have daily afternoon Thai Chicken Wings and a beer. On this trip, we saved the wings for our late night snack. It's also a great place to get breakfast. Barry's weakness is the Shepard's Pie.

The reason we don't have our daily beer and wings in O'Sheehan's is because of the District Brew House. This addition to the ship's design is what makes it Barry's favorite. Floor to ceiling windows, ages 18 and over and soft leather chairs/couches make this one of the most comfortable spots on the ship. With 24 beers on draft and over 50 in bottles, this is a beer lovers delight! We had our afternoon Miami Weiss which was our favorite Hefeweizen. In the afternoon there was a piano player. This was our go-to place to be on the stormy days we experienced at the beginning of the cruise. It seems we get into more of a "routine" on longer cruises. Seven days is nonstop action, especially with friends/family. For the most part, we enjoy crossing the Atlantic Ocean because of all the sea days. We like to sleep in, read, pretend to work out in the gym... at least talk about working out. We seek to establish new relationships with fellow travelers. To be sure, port stops, for the most part, are an interruption to our relaxation. :-)

Everyone traveling with us, knew we could be found in District Brew House at Beer-Thirty. We mostly started out alone and soon a group would be gathered... drinking and laughing. In this photo we have the birthday boy, me, Jeremy (my son) and Michael (Barry's brother). The best part of this cruise for me was watching Michael gain his independence... this is his first big vacation during his stroke recovery. Using a walker, he was able to navigate the elevators and explore the ship. It was good for Jana, who has cared for him since day one... but it was also good for Michael. Being able to go to the cabin when he wanted or be social when he wanted was liberating... I say, "Take THAT Locked-In Syndrome!" Michael beat it...

Sea day afternoons are often spent playing games. We always pack three games... Mexican Train, Five Crowns and Catch Phrase. Since the Hurricane Harvey flood, we are slowly replacing our cruise staples. Mexican Train was a game we had in Lake Tahoe, so I brought it to Houston and will replace the one in Tahoe. We had an unexpected extra sea day when the seas were too rough to port in Grand Cayman. Rather than be disappointed, we used it as an opportunity to get in a good game of Mexican Train with Jon/Lisa and Dennis/Patti. We often cruise with Jon and Lisa and have spent many hours playing games on sea days and at home. They are FUN game partners!!!

The giant chandelier is constantly changing colors. As the girls sat having a Mojito at the Sugarcane Mojito Bar, it suddenly occurred (after 45 minutes) to Jana that the light was changing color. Okay.. we had to tell her that it was changing. She just happened to look up every time it was back to silver. It definitely changes into deeper hues in the evening. Here are a few of them...

Another of the 21 bars and lounges aboard the Norwegian Escape is Tobacco Road. On the perimeter of this bar is a cigar lounge. The only negative is that it is small and actually more cigarette smokers go in than cigar smokers. As for the bar itself, they serve a fantastic Old Fashioned and the best cosmopolitan on the ship. Right across from the Italian restaurant, La Cuchina, is tends to be busy during dinner hours.

Dan, Jeremy and I seemed to find each other late night, most nights. With the Unlimited Drink Package, we didn't have to stress at how much was being spent with every drink ordered. In actuality, I'm not sure if it would have been worth it if we had to pay for it, but as a "perk" it made for a relaxed vacation for all in our group.

Norwegian tends to have better than average entertainment. For this cruise, we had seen a couple of the main shows on other ships but "The Brat Pack" was new to me. It was a great show with talented singers and dancers. It was a rendition of Breakfast Club with music from the 80's. We also enjoyed the late night comedians... where they often had a more risque material than the earlier shows. It feels good to get a good gut laugh going...

Though it wasn't as fantastic this time as usual, Moderno is usually one of our favorites. This Brazilian Steakhouse has the green and red tabs for "go and stop" to alert servers to approach with a variety of meats... or stay away. There is so much to like in this area. Prime Meridian Bar is situated between Moderno and Cagney's Steakhouse. Fun, relaxing bar for a pre-dinner drink. It's best to get there early to get a barstool. As for Moderno itself, their salad bar has quite a variety. They have a little sushi, smoked salmon, fried parmesan cheese patties, artichoke hearts, gorgeous asparagus, roasted red peppers, breads and sauted mushrooms. I could pay the extra charge and just eat the salad bar delights.

All in all, we had a fantastic time on this ship! Norwegian is lively and great for groups, especially if you catch it in time for the additional perks. With 25 dining options, family and friends can spend some time together and some time apart. Cruises that are 7 days or less tend to be a younger, wilder crowd than the longer ones. We definitely like a mix of short and long. In fact, we will have our shortest cruise ever coming up on March 5th...