Cooper is our 12 1/2 year-old yellow lab. Part dog, part counselor. We call him our four-legged Dr. Phil. He's completely deaf as a result of a late-night walk in the Colorado winter that froze just about everything including his ears. Somehow he still seems to hear everything you say - or at least everything he wants to hear.
At 12 1/2 he's slowing down a bit, but he still likes long walks by the lake, fishing (more like bobber-chasing), making doggy snow angels, snacks, napping on the furniture, and his all-time favorite - belly rubs from momma.
The Cooper Sticker...
Maybe it's just nonsense, maybe we're trying to keep the memory of our four-legged friend alive well past his last day on Earth, but for no real logical reason the Cooper sticker was born. Easy to pack, easy to stick, and pretty cool looking. This past Thanksgiving we stuck a bunch in various places in the Caribbean - St. Thomas, St. John, Tortola, Jost Van Dyke, and Nassau Bahamas. The beginning of a new tradition. From here on out we'll leave a Cooper sticker in just about every place we go!
We'll keep posting the latest Cooper sticker sightings on the blog, and if you happen to see one, please take a photo and post to the comments section, or post to my Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/tammygabbertmatson
Here's where they are so far...
Gift shop at Trunk Bay, St. John
The snack bar at Trunk Bay, St. John
One of the taxis that go from Cruz Bay to Trunk Bay in St. John
Woody's Seafood Saloon in Cruz Bay, St. John
Woody's Seafood Saloon in Cruz Bay, St. John
Woody's Seafood Saloon in Cruz Bay, St. John
Quiet Mon Pub in Cruz Bay, St. John
Soggy Dollar Bar in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
Gertrude's Beach Bar in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
Soggy Dollar Bar in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
Gertrude's Beach Bar in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
Gertrude's Beach Bar in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
Soggy Dollar Bar in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
Soggy Dollar Bar in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
The Kenny Chesney No Shoes Nation Shrine at
Ivan's Stress Free Bar in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
Ivan's Stress Free Bar in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
Ivan's Stress Free Bar in Jost Van Dyke, British Virgin Islands
**Please only post Cooper Stickers where allowed ;-)
The Escape is a BEAUTIFUL ship no doubt about it! I was told by someone they made the ship more narrow then the Epic? We just never found any ebb and flow on the ship.
HOWEVER- I did find some PERFECT places to call home for the week. The WATERFRONT was a blessing, a hidden treasure! I love the extra chairs to sit out and watch the awesome view without mobs and mobs of people.
The Five O’clock bar! So glad we stumbled on that the 1st night…This turned out to be the spot we went to most of the time…Right on the water and the bartenders are the best at sea! KUDOS to Vincent Tomalin, Roldofo Signey and Chocolate Cowboy Clarence Bennet! LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM!
“For the Record: The Brat Pack,”- AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME!
Too bad we missed out on the other two we were originally scheduled for!
Comedy show was very good!
Rope Course- Excellent
Made it over the ocean on the zip-line 😉
Drop slides: people were getting stuck…that was something I didn’t want to risk!
Dining:
Our group purchased the 3 night dining package which you MUST make reservations prior to boarding the ship as it’s completely sold out by the time you get on board. Those that had booked direct were not made aware of this so they missed out on some great dining.
The three we choose for the week:
Moderno: DELICIOUS! Brazilian-style steakhouse offers slow-roasted meat carved right at your table
Cagney’s Steakhouse: The ship was a bit rocky that night so the food was good but hard time eating with the motion of the ocean. 😉
Teppanyaki: They gave away our 8pm table of 16!! Not cool, so we had to wait an hour for a table to open up. This was very disappointing as I had booked this a month in advance.
Happy with food & service at these restaurants.
We dinned in the Manhattan Room & Taste. I was disappointed to see extra charges on the menu!
Why not keep it the way it has always been? You charge for all the other restaurants on board…why even add a price to these menus?
Extra charges for things just kept adding up for everyone all week long.
I LOVE LOVE cruising but felt it was urgently needed to share the true experience on what transpired. (see below or more details)
Maybe the higher-ups at NCL need to travel on this boat as regular passengers to experience the masses during a 7 day cruise on board this specific ship.
Why Choose Norwegian Escape?
•Pro: Exceptional dining, entertainment, bar and club options abound.
•Con: A la carte fees and cover charges add up quickly
•Bottom Line: There’s something for everyone on Escape, but you might pay extra for it.
•With so much going on, the ship can-and does-get loud. Loud music, loud people, loud venues. Crowds too, are noticeable, especially at peak periods around dinner and at show times when everyone is clamoring for the same things at the same time.
•Service in general is inconsistent. Wait service varies from slow and begrudging to friendly and efficient; we were surprised that we received the best service in complimentary venues onboard, such as Taste, Margaritaville and O’Sheehan’s.
I believe Cruise Critic has it down exactly!
I have been on mega ships before, so I really thought that after the muster drill the ship will feel less crowded. It was crazy, but ‘everywhere’ we went there were huge crowds- Deck 7/Deck 6/Deck 5 massive amounts of people.
Bars in this area were packed (I’m sure from the drink packages) and the staff -well?? they just were not the friendly Norwegian Staff that I had grown accustomed to over the years on board. A few of them telling me they were ready to get back on the previous ships that they had been on.
Exhausted: Some of my favorite on board staff that I saw the first day where completely worn out by the end of the first day at sea. They didn’t complain to me, but you could see it in their faces and body language.
Not Organized: Standing in a few lines for mistakes made with shore excursions, pre-paid gratuities and changes in dates for the Broadway shows within the first day of the cruise which we couldn’t change because we had dining (which is always full). We missed both Midnight and Million Dollar Quartet. This did not sit well with a ton of guests on board. If you have to make reservations far in advance -NCL changing them is ridiculous
The AWESOME attitude of my Group! I was tickled pink that all of my clients were easy going and not easily upset. However, I have lost a few future cruisers because of this experience.
Comments from my guests:
-Hoodenpyle- Solo Stateroom
Hi, Tammy – thanks for the request for feedback. Debra received a survey from NCL and she told me that she answered it very honestly and frankly. Weather can’t be helped and I understand that totally. However the week-long rocking of the ship and the size of the studio cabins were great stressors for me. For $1,500 I feel that my cabin should have contained more room. Makes me sad because it seems that in the cruise world we are penalized for being single. I will not do that again for sure.
The night that we ate in The Manhattan Room consisted of very good food but was a 2 hour experience, taking “forever” to have our orders taken and the food to be brought to us. I heard a member of the staff stating that “they work us to death even if we are sick!” — perhaps that was just one disgruntled member. I don’t know – overall this cruise didn’t make me want to take another cruise any time in the near future
Balcony -Usry-
1) Bartenders – overwhelmed and with so many having the unlimited beverage package, didn’t seem all that interested in servicing – long wait times to be served
2) Main dining rooms – very slow service and too much wait time between courses
3) Common areas (where people gather to watch entertainment) – too small and not enough seating – some of the “games” really would be better in the theater
4) Deck 16 – very nice deck, set up – really enjoyed that
5) Entertainment too close to guest services – guest services should be in a “quieter” area so that you don’t feel that you are “yelling” over the noise –very good advice given here!!
6) Did like that staff would approach the guests in the guest service line to try to help before getting to the counter
7) Hallways were way too narrow – had to “duck” into any open space to keep from running into each other especially since the seas were so rough
8) Our balcony cabin was very very nice! Only complaint there is that the hangers in the closet did not “fit” all the way to the back so there was empty unusable hanger space
Booking: 270xxxxx – Mini Suite -Rhodes-
The Vibe space was great. Not pleased about having to pay to find a quiet place. The information paper that was given to us at the time of purchase stated drinks and food service available. Then in paren ‘subject to change’. We get to the Vide starved, no food service. None for our week, nor did they have any the first week of sailing per the bar tender. When we ask at Guest Services, they show us the ‘subject to change’ disclaimer. Which is ridiculous…..there was no change, it had never started. Why state on the information paper the food service statement when it clearly was not and never was available? A day later we receive a call from Guest Services telling us drinks and food service are available at the Vibe. Which was definitely not true!
Stateroom was nice. Bathroom area and shower was bigger than expected, though we did pay extra for a little larger cabin.
Never went to pool area to relax. Too many people, too many lounge chairs. It was a maze trying to walk from one end of the ship to the other on deck 16. We avoided at all cost. As my husband stated, he felt like he was at a frat party. Too small of pool for 4k people. Pool was adults only, but the klids could get in the hot tubs. That does not make sense.
The ‘atrium’ area was lacking in the grandeur I was expecting. Having been on a Princess cruise, they got that part right!!! 2 huge staircases. (which accommodated taking pictures on one staircase and still another one available for use)
Howl at the Moon – went on the last night. They were awesome! Crew members that were there still had a zest at the end of the week!
Early in November I received an email from Kenny Chesney's folks inviting me to a free private concert in Miami Beach? All I had to do was put together a quick video explaining to Kenny why I'd like to be invited.
After a grueling 5 minute shoot with uncooperative animals, it was a wrap! It definitely wasn't anything close to a Spielberg production, but Kenny's folks replied back a few days later with good news... show time!
So off to Miami we go! Corona swore us to secrecy so we couldn't tell anybody here in Colorado why we were going. They wouldn't even tell us where the concert was until the day of the show. We spent a few days just off of the beach in South Beach, and then it was show time!
About the show... It was awesome! The venue turned out to be the Fillmore in South Beach. What a cool place! Intimate as heck with less than a thousand crazy fans and we were 10 feet from the stage! The whole thing was hosted by Corona and they went all out!
