NCL Escape: Day 1 Embarkation in NYC
We embarked on a Sunday and the entire embarkation process took 2 1/2 hours at Pier 88 in NYC. The terminal was packed by 9:30am with folks showing up well before their call time due to the NYC marathon, which had little impact on the traffic since it is nowhere near the terminal. We had a 9:30am check in time and when we were finally checked in we were given boarding group 34?!?!?!? Anywhoo, a lovely TSA guy at the terminal started swapping people out with used boarding group placards so we boarded about 10 groups ahead. I’ve been in this terminal multiple times and this was the worst experience to date so hoping it’s just a fluke from the Marathon.
We boarded at Noon and got my kids set up with registration at Splash Academy - everyone was lovely ... later we discovered how challenging the new virtual “queue” system would be for the entire trip.
We headed for lunch at American Diner (which is an upcharge but I promised my kiddos milkshakes!). I had the lobster and shrimp rolls which were delish. Grace loves the mozzarella sticks but they were barely warm so not a lot got eaten. Milkshakes were excellent! Service was a little slow but thoughtful and everyone was working hard.
Our rooms were ready by 2pm and the Muster drill was easy peasy.
We explored the ship and found a great little spot with a small couch and 2 chairs on the port side of deck 8 right by The Wine Cellar Bar on the Waterfront. We hung out there, even in chilly November weather, taking in the sites and sounds before sail away.
the ship right by the finally went looking for dinner around 5:45pm and whoa Nelly what a mess! All of the dining rooms were a 30-45 minute wait so we went to O’Sheehan’s and after 30 minutes sitting at a table with not so much as a glass of water we left. (My kiddos were starving.) It was crazy busy. Went to the buffet instead and again wow what a mess! Pizza stations were empty of food, not a lot of options that my kids would eat and the place was chaos. Oh well, first night is usually bonkers and we made do.
