Day 8 - NCL Encore - A Day at Sea

​We started our last morning with another early start with getting our coffee and walking.  We had breakfast at The Local once again.  Afterwards, we visited the casino and did some more laps around the Waterfront.  The couches and chairs were crowded already with people enjoying the sea air.  We tried the Sustainable Spritz which is very similar to an Aperol Spritz and decided to visit the pool deck.  It was packed!  We explored the upper sundecks as well and it seemed as if every chair was taken included the upright chairs along this very narrow area on deck 19.  

We were invited to a VIP party in the District Brew House at noon.  It was a nice gathering with the typical NCL canapes as well as spring rolls and pot stickers.  They came around with beer flights to sample as well.  We had two flights of beer as another was just placed in front of us.  A third was offered while we were just starting the second, so we declined.  We both wanted to try the complimentary table escape game at one and did not want it to impede our abilities to escape quickly.

The escape game is called BAMBoozled! A Superhero Escape and is held in the Q restaurant.  We were assigned to be on a team with another couple.  Each team has a box with various types of locks and an envelope with clues on how to open each lock.  Chris and I have done over 40 escape rooms on land and helped guide our teammates who have never done one.  We opened a few locks very easily and some took a little longer.  We had plenty of time though after we opened the box to figure out the phone number which is the final task.  Our first attempt failed.  We tried many more and all failed.  The host of the event came over and was looking at our table but said nothing. Other teams tried closer to the end as well but no number worked.   I was frustrated at this point, and we had to listen to a recording on how to solve every puzzle in order to learn the answer to the last puzzle.  Well, we never would have been able to solve the puzzle as our box had two of the same color cards.  We just thought the phone number had a repeating digit.  We were supposed to have a purple card instead of two reds.  It was a fun event up until that point and I view it as a win.  I think the host should have noticed this obvious error when he looked at the cards lined up on our table if he was familiar with this game.  We had to leave quickly though as we had a reservation for the paid escape room at 2pm in Galaxy Pavillion.
 
The Captain’s Quarters is the escape room in the Galaxy Pavilion.  It costs $15 per person with a maximum of 6 per team.  We were teamed up with a group of four, a set of grandparents with their teen grandchildren.  It starts with each player donning a VR headset to watch the story about the room.  Then, you enter a traditional type of escape room.  It was very nicely themed and had some interesting puzzles that we have not seen in other rooms we have previously done.  Our team did well together, and we escaped with plenty of time on the clock.  I think it is a good value for an escape room as land ones are typically pricier.  

Originally, we had planned to do the wine tasting at 2:00 with our friends.  We went to the Cellars to see if it was finishing up.  Our friends were just leaving the tasting and we decided to hit The Local for a late lunch/snack.  I had some nachos and Chris had the pub hot dog.  The service was not great as one person did not get their soup and another never got the dessert they ordered.  

While eating, our friends convinced us to join them for the next wine tasting at 4pm which was the Riedel glass seminar.  In this tasting, you sample each wine from a plastic cup and then from the three different Riedel glasses.  One glass is considered the optimal glass for the varietal of wine. We were all astounded by the different ways the same wine tasted (we even purchased 2 sets of glasses when we got home!)  

Tonight, we had Choir of Man reservations for the 7pm show.  First, we did some packing and we dressed for the evening.  We headed to Maltings for a pre-show cocktail and brought it to the theater.  The show starts with guests invited to visit the pub set up on stage for a beer poured by one of the cast.  We did not get in the long line and just enjoyed our drinks.  The show is the story of The Jungle, a neighborhood pub and the regulars who frequent it.  The show is not heavily story driven though and it is mainly the cast singing pop songs.  Chris found it to be boring after about 30 minutes and I agreed.  We were going to leave but the bartender started singing one of my favorite songs, Escape (the pina colada song).  He did a fun rendition, but we left shortly after.  

The dinner menu in the main dining room was not too enticing nor was the Grill Extravaganza theme of the buffet.  Chris suggested we visit Onda and dine ala carte if they had availability.  The restaurant was busy but had availability right away for us.  We ordered cocktails while looking over the menu.  We both ordered the salad I had on the previous visit for our starter.  For dinner, I had the short rib ravioli and Chris tried the lobster tagliatelle.  Everything was outstanding once again.  
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After our meal, we went for a walk around the ship.  We browsed the offerings in the ship stores but did not make any purchases.  Our final stop was the casino in our usual spot.  We thought we might see our friends to say goodbye but we did not run into them.  We had a plan to wake up early and take advantage of the priority disembarkation time.  The suitcases were placed outside the door and  alarm was set for six and we had a restful final night’s sleep.