February and March 2025
We are on the Norwegian Escape this time.
Sunday 2/23/2025
Embarkation Day is finally here.
Up at 5:30 to catch the Cruise Express bus at Kingston Plaza at 7:00. It wasn’t as full as previous trips, but we did have to wait for someone that missed the bus in Rensselaer.
The bus took us from Kingston Plaza to Pier 88 at Manhattan Ship Terminal; we arrived at 10:00am. Check-in was the usual long line, but it went fairly quickly. We were aboard the Norwegian Escape in short order.
The terminal was fairly active. The security screening and check-in took about 20 minutes. They always take Lynn’s picture at check-in, even though we upload a photo online. I think the one I use is too dark to see her eyes. We were on board by 11:30. First snack/beer at Savor, which is one of the main dining rooms. O’Sheehan’s was a 30 minute wait for a table.
I wore my Eagles hoodie. I got a lot of “Go Birds!”, and a few “It was the refs!”, which made me laugh.
Dinner was at Bayamo by Ocean Blue. It’s a Latin Seafood place.I had the grilled scallops on pork belly and the salmon. It was an outstanding meal.
Monday 2/24/2025 Sea Day
We made reservations at the tapas bar, Pincho. This is situated where there is usually a sushi bar, adjacent to Bayamo on Deck 8 midship. In fact I think they rearranged some signage and swapped out the menus. We’re happy for it. Sushi isn’t an attraction for us, but we are keen to try new things. Pincho didn’t disappoint. Tapas is, for the uninitiated, is Spanish appetizers. That is to say meat, cheeses, and seafood in small portions. I’ll post the menu, but my favorite was the Pato (duck confit, Serrano ham, and Amarena cherry), but the Patas Bravas were a nice surprise.
A quick note about the waiter we had, Thomas George Pullanthanickal. We mentioned that Lynn is allergic to alcohol. He made sure that everything that might have been mad with wine was shown to us, separated, and not given to her. Very impressed.
Tuesday 2/25/2025 Sea Day
We awoke to a very wet ship and high winds. It rained all day and the seas got really rough in the afternoon. Aside from trips to the buffet and dinner at the main dining room, we stayed in our stateroom for most of the day.
Lynn went up for a smoke, but the deck was totally closed!
Wednesday February 26, 2025 Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic
The weather cooperated this morning. I was able to get some shots of the sunrise.
Having been to The Dominican Republic just last year, we decided to hang out at Taino Bay, which is a shopping and recreation area just at the docks. Lynn hung out at the pool and I strolled about looking at the shops. This was far more relaxing than going on an excursion across the island somewhere.
Coming into port in DR
Dinner was at Cagney’s steakhouse. This is one of the specialty restaurants on board. I started with the onion soup and my entree was a 16oz prime rib. The only issue I have here is that early reservations are usually unavailable. We had dinner at 8:00 and ended around 9:30pm. As someone who generally heads to bed around 10:00, it’s too late to eat that much. It was worth it. Cagney’s really knows what they’re doing with a piece of beef.
Pro Tip: You can always order a Cagney’s steak in a main dining room (MDR) for a $25 upcharge. Get the steak without the wait!
Thursday, February 27, 2025 San Juan, Puerto Rico
A light mist rolled in as we approached the island, but it soon burnt off and we had a great start to the day.
Again, we have been to San Juan many times, so we didn’t take any excursions. Last year we went to Castillo de San Cristobal, so this time we just walked around and got an empanada at the park and did some shopping.
The weather was perfect, of course.
Friday, February 28, 2025 St Kitt’s
I woke up to a nice view of Saba Island
Today is a beach say at Basseterre, St. Kitt’s
After a short walk to the meeting plaint and a very quick bus ride to the resort, we were at Carambo Beach. We rented an umbrella and hung out on the loungers. The water was warm. A high lite was that there were several small fish swimming among us. The water is clear enough to see them.
The tropical sun really heats up the sand.
We left port on time at 6:00pm. Tomorrow is Antigua, which is not far. We are poking along at around 8 knots (roughly 9mph) waiting to steam over to Antigua.
Pretty much a relaxing day, We needed it!
Even the sunset was tired 😉
Saturday, March 1,2025 St. John’s, Antigua
The sun rose behind a few clouds this morning. It was quiet on deck, except for the crowing of roosters from the island.
It soon warmed up and the crew got us ready to disembark for St. John’s.
Today is another beach day. This time on the island of Tortola, Antigua. The locals pronounce it “an-tea-ga”, since “we’re not French!” We took a very informative tour of the island, and ended up at a beach for lunch and a swim.
We visited a few British Naval outposts, one was a lookout above the Admiral Nelson Dockyards.
The other was the dockyards themselves. While the British Navy has long departed, the yards are still there and in full use. Originally used as a secure port for ship restoration and sail repair, it is still used for these activities today.
Then we had some time at the beach. Another beautiful day.
Sunday, March 2, 2025 Tortola, British Virgin Islands
We docked before sunrise is a cove surrounded by high hills. The sun finally came up over the rim in an explosion of yellow orange light. A great start to the day.
We took an excursion to the beach. The ride took us up over those hills on very narrow and under paved back roads. Almost 45 degree hills up and a very determined transmission on that open air cruise bus got us there.
The scenery is stunning, as we look out over the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.This is the British Virgin Islands, but it looks like Moana!
Monday, March3, 2025, An unexpected Sea Day
We were to doc in Phillipsburgh, Saint Maarten today, but due to expected heavy seas on Wednesday and Thursday, we are skipping this port and heading north to New York City. Here is the itinerary change letter we received.
Needless to say, since Sint Maarten is a lovely port, the passengers are quite upset. Personally, I’m grateful for NCL for watching out for us. We’ve sailed into heavy seas before so I can say for sure that it’s not at all enjoyable.
Tuesday, March 4, 2025, A Day at Sea
Mardi Gras came and went with little fanfare. I saw some beads there and again, but no real big deal was made of the last day before Lent.
Luckily the sun was out and the pool deck was quite full. A DJ played an eclectic set list, but there was little dancing. The guests still seem subdued because of the loss of a second port. Of course the bars were heavily attended.
Our original itinerary included St. Lucia, but that was scrubbed before we set sail.
We ate at Food Republic night. It’s an odd mix of sushi and international appetizer items served tapas style. Everything we had was outstanding.
Oh yeah! I won at the casino 🙂 A whole $5USD. I tried to figure out these newfangled slot machines and ended up ahead. I cased out knowing that there is no such thing as a truly random number generator and these computers aren’t giving me any real odds of winning anything.
Wednesday March 5, 2025, A Day at Sea.
The seas aren’t as smooth as before. We are sailing northward and are situated off the coast of the Carolinas today.
Thursday March 6, 2025, A Day at Sea.
We arrived at New York City around 10:00pm. Due to CBP rules, we had to overnight in port before disembarkation. No problem, our bus arrives tomorrow morning anyway.
Friday March 7, 2025, A Disembarkation Day
This looks like the end of our cruise blog – no more stops :-(. I hope you enjoyed it!
Carrick of Nordenhal 