Escape to Garden Cafe

Norwegian Escape

Casual Dining

Norwegian Escape complimentary dining options include three main dining rooms, a help-yourself buffet and a variety of casual cafés, grills and on-the-go choices. Plus, the Main Dining Rooms offer a menu that changes daily.

We selected the Garden Cafe for our welcome aboard lunch.  There were other dining options open, but since we had our first general session meeting about an hour after boarding, we wanted something quick.

Garden Cafe is located on Deck 16 aft.   There are many different stations from which you can choose your favorites or try something new. 

Breakfast  Buffet

Most mornings you'd find us in the Garden Cafe before our first general session.   Selections in the ready-made category included eggs, waffles, pancakes, cereal, bacon and sausage.  You could have an omelet made to order if you liked.  Check out our photo album for some more pictures.  Escape - Garden Cafe

Help Yourself

You don't have to wait for someone to server you coffee, juice, ice tea, or water unless you wanted to wait.  Central to each group of tables were silverware wrapped in napkins along with some condiments.   There was a selection of condiments on the buffet station as well, including my favorite HP Sauce.

We always love the baked bread and Norwegian Escape's Bakery didn't disappoint with a nice selection at each meal.   You could also grab a piece of fruit or two for your meal or later in the day.

Walk Around the Buffet

Some common phrases heard in the Garden Cafe:   "Where did you get that?"  "I didn't see that." 

There is a tendency to grab a plate and start filling it up at the first buffet station you see.  I see that behavior on all cruises, and am guilty of it as well at times.   My suggestion to you is before digging into the selections, walk around and get an idea of your options.   Then go back and start filling up your plate.

The picture above is a good example for why you might want to do that.   Near the entrances of the buffet you'll find a soft-serve ice cream machine.   You might be tempted to have that for dessert and if that is something you like, you won't be disappointed.  But, if you walk a little further, you'll find one of the crew serving dishes of ice cream from the selections of the day.    It's like going to your favorite ice cream parlor back home.  You can make your own sundae if you like as well.

Review of Garden Cafe

There was a decent selection of food at each meal (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).   We were a little disappointed with some of the items, however.   The scrambled eggs weren't cooked to our liking, perhaps because they needed to stay under the lights for extended period of time.  We like crispy bacon, which wasn't always available.  Overall, we were happy with the variety and quality of the food.  Food is so subjective, but we think most people would find something they would like to eat.

The dining room itself is a bit hard to navigate at times - especially in prime times.   There are some wooden barriers that in our opinion should be removed.   They block the natural flow of traffic.  On the positive side there are a number of different seating arrangements, ranging from handicap accessible tables, to high-top tables, which could accommodate any size group.

Norwegian Cruise Line is well known for Freestyle Dining.  

Click (here) or Image to the left for more stories and photos from our conference cruise on Norwegian Escape.   Check out this brand new ship from Norwegian Cruise Line.

If you have specific questions about the ship, the itinerary, or cruising in general, we'd love to hear from you.

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc
 

Norwegian Escape Embarkation

Welcome Aboard

Norwegian Escape

November 14th we checked out of Key Biscayne Marriott Hotel and boarded the shuttle, our conference committee had arranged, to take us to Port of Miami.  The ride there is so much nicer since Miami built the tunnel that connects to the pier.   It didn't take long before we got our first glimpse of Norwegian Escape.

There was quite a bit of traffic at the pier already, so our driver couldn't get us close to the terminal entrance.   We were met by porters who took our checked luggage and we then had a short walk to the entrance.

Group Boarding

Due to the size of our group, and since we had our opening session early in the afternoon, Norwegian Cruise Line had arranged a separate embarkation area for our group.   After going through security, we checked in at the counter, got our cabin keys and proceeded to a waiting room until our group was called. 

Shortly after that we had our welcome aboard picture taken and proceeded up the gangway to the ship.   Cabins were still being prepared, but we dropped our carry-on bags in our cabin and headed off for some lunch.   We decided to head for the buffet because it would be fastest.

Embarkation seemed to be organized for the rest of the passengers as well.   That's nice to know since there are a few thousand of your new best friends all anxiously waiting to get onboard the ship.

Click (here) or Image to the left for more stories and photos from our conference cruise on Norwegian Escape.   Check out this brand new ship from Norwegian Cruise Line.

If you have specific questions about the ship, the itinerary, or cruising in general, we'd love to hear from you.

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc
 

Love That New Ship Smell - Meet Norwegian Escape

NORWEGIAN ESCAPE - NOV. 14-21, 2015

7 NIGHT CARIBBEAN (R/T MIAMI)

This year's National Conference was held onbord the first revenue sailing of Norwegian Escape from its homeport of Miami, Florida. Ports visited were St. Thomas, USVI, Tortola, BVI, and Nassau, Bahamas. There were more than 800 people in our group. This post serves as an anchor for our mini-series of posts about the conference and the new ship.Please come back often for updates.

The images above highlights our first 24 hours in Miami. We flew from Chicago to Miami, where we had a pre-cruise conference reception at Key Biscayne Marriott Hotel. The next morning we transferred by shuttle bus to the pier, where we got our first glimpse of Norwegian Escape.

Norwegian Escape

View Itineraries          Click to Learn More about Norwegian Escape

 Ship Review

1

Conference

Pack For a Purpose
National Conference 2015

2

Ship

Norwegian Escape Embarkation
Norwegian Escape Two Icons

Norwegian Escape Hull
Escape Mini-Suite
Escape Haven Cabin
Escape Video Arcade

3

Dining

Margaritaville at Sea
Food Republic a Fun Dining Experience
Escape to Garden Cafe
 

Food Republic
Margaritaville at Sea
Escape - Garden Cafe

4

Ports

Dreams Sugar Bay

5

Entertainment

6

Travel 

From Cruise to Winter in One Day

From Cruise to Winter in One Day

Norwegian Escape Back in Homeport

Cruises Inc., and CruiseOne held their 2015 National Conference onboard the brand new Norwegian Escape from November 14-21, 2015.    We were among the more than 800 people in that group that were lucky to be sailing this new ship for the first 7 Night Caribbean voyage from Miami. 

It was a gorgeous day in Miami as we awoke to the view above, as seen from our mini-suite balcony. Checking the weather forecast back home in Chicago, we learned about a major Winter Storm that was already in progress.    It would make for a very long day, but for now, we enjoyed the view.

 Settling in at MIA Airport

We selected one of the last disembarkation groups from the Escape, which still meant we were off the ship before 10 AM and at the airport about 15 minutes later.   We had a 3:20 PM flight so we had decided to camp out at American Airlines Admirals Club.   That would be the best decision we made that morning.

We kept monitoring our flight and it was still on time, which surprised us since the snow was falling at the rate of an inch an hour back home.  Eventually the flight would be cancelled and we'd need to be re-booked.   Four agents in the Admirals Club worked on getting us re-booked.   Finally, they were able to reroute us via Orlando.  The only problem was that we had to leave right away and race to the gate.  They called for a ride to the gate and we made it in time.    There were many more delays before we'd ultimately get off the flight in Chicago, including just short of 3 hours on the tarmac waiting for a gate.

click images to enlarge

Winter Accommodations ORD

This was the scene at O'Hare International Airport at about 12:30 AM.   We considered ourselves lucky to be at our final destination and not having to spend time at the airport.

We still had another long line to go through - since our flight was cancelled, our luggage wasn't on our re-booked flights.   It took about 30 minutes or so to get an agent to track down our bag, but after that it was off to get our car from off-airport parking and then finally drive home.

The Morning After

We dug our way into the driveway at 2:30 AM - not exactly the way we wanted to end our fantastic cruise.   Finally, 12 hours after getting on a plane in Miami, we were in our house and ready for bed.

The next morning the sun was out and shining brightly on the 12 inches of snow that had fallen the day before.  You can see that it had been a chore digging our way into the driveway, especially in the dark of the night.

We were happy that this winter storm was after our cruise and not when we were flying to Florida.   This was a significant amount of snow this early in the season.   You never know, which is why we build in buffer time for flights to the cruise port and always travel with travel insurance.   There were several potential insurance claims that fortunately we didn't have to make.   Insurance would have covered trip delay, lost luggage, and even a hotel room if we had gotten stranded.   

Watch for more posts about our cruise as well as photos on our Norwegian Escape Shutterfly Page.

#FriFotos is Back !! this Friday

This Friday #FriFotos returns to Twitter hosted by @_frifotos .  A new theme is featured each week plus #PhotoHour Friday 7pm GMT for photographers to discuss & connect. The theme for the first week is #Winter so we thought this would be a fitting story to share about the theme.

#Winter travel can be challenging, but getting away to somewhere warm is worth it. Just be sure to plan for delays and insure your trip so that it can be worry free.

 
If you like Travel & Photography join us online:

Follow us on Twitter: @ChrisPappinMCC  Pinterest: CruiseWithChris Pappin and Facebook: CruiseWithChris Pappin Cruises Inc 

Pack For a Purpose

CONNECTING WITH CHILDREN OF THE BAHAMAS

Our final port of call during our 2015 National Conference cruise on Norwegian Escape was at Nassau, Bahamas.  We were among the more than 75 Independent Cruise and Vacation Specialists who partnered with the Sandals Foundation, the non-profit arm of Sandals Resorts International, to donate school supplies to Bahamian children as part of Pack for a Purpose®. 

Conference attendees that participated in this fundraiser donated almost 600 pounds of school supplies to underprivileged children in the Bahamas. What a great way to bring  the "Connect" conference theme to life.

The mission of Pack for a Purpose is to positively impact communities around the world by assisting travelers who want to take meaningful contributions to the destinations they visit through five different initiatives including education, health, child welfare, animal welfare and socioeconomic development. The education initiative supports more than 520 education projects around the world including schools, after-school programs and libraries. 

Since 2011, The Sandals Foundation has been a partner with Pack for a Purpose in the Caribbean to positively impact local communities by assisting visitors who want to take much needed school supplies to support educational initiatives in the region.  Visitors are encouraged to pack up to five pounds of needed supplies in their suitcases, such as school supplies, medical supplies, sports equipment, etc., to meet the needs of people in nearby underdeveloped regions.

Please consider participating in Pack for a Purpose as you travel to areas with PfaP partnerships.  The website is www.PackforaPurpose.org. 

Happy Thanksgiving 2015

HAPPY
THANKSGIVING

Norwegian Escape in St. Thomas USVI

It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is here already. Where did 2015 go? As has become my tradition, I'd like to share with you some of the things that I'm thankful for and highlight some of my adventures this year.

I hope that you, your family, and friends have plenty to be thankful for this holiday season. I know that I have plenty of things to be thankful for, including my health, family, and friends and the ability to share my love of cruising with all of you. I’m grateful that I’ve been able to explore new worlds with family and friends again this year.

While this has been another tough economic year, it appears that the cruise industry has weathered the storm once again.

The value of cruising has never been stronger. Even in these tough times, more and more families have taken to the seas.  Indications are that the record discounts offered the past two years will be coming to an end.  In the meantime those discounts have made cruising an even better value, and consequently we have seen a surge in first-time cruisers.

Thankful for ... 
Sailing on Brand New Ships

Cruises Inc. and Cruise One held the 2015 National Conference on Norwegian Escape which just started its inaugural season sailing to the Eastern Caribbean from Miami. This state of the art ship is conservation minded including the amazing hull art work of Guy Harvey.

Once again our conference was held in November and we had the opportunity to thank our veteran members.  Thank you to all who have served in our armed forces.

We wonder what the Pilgrims, who came to the New World in Tall Ships, would think about the Norwegian Escape.Their ships measured 110 feet, held 150 passengers at most, and took months to cross the Atlantic.  The Escape is more than 10 times that length (1098 feet), holds almost 4248 passengers and 1731 crew, and took just a couple weeks to cross the Atlantic.

Thank you for making our blog column a part of your lives in 2015.   I hope that the information we share helps you to dream about future cruises of your own. I'd be honored to help you plan those trips. I have the best job in the world - helping make dreams come true. For that, I'm truly thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving to All

National Conference 2015

Cruises Inc. & CruiseOne National Conference was held onboard the brand new Norwegian Escape, which is based in Miami starting this month.  Here was our view from our 31st story hotel room at Marriott Key Biscayne Miami.  We had a welcome cocktail party at the hotel on Friday November 13th.  The rain waited until we were done with our party

Port Miami welcomed the Norwegian Escape into its new home port early Saturday morning.  One of our fellow agents captured these images early in the morning.

Norwegian Escape looks beautiful all lit up in Miami, but she looks even more amazing in full sunlight.  The hull art was designed by Guy Harvey, who sailed with us on our cruise.  He hopes that his art will bring awareness to conservation efforts so that generations to come can enjoy the sea.