A bit better than average.

Item: Norwegian Escape
Rating: 3
Author: danimorse76

Norwegian Escape Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

danimorse76

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 63

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 14, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Escape

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: TBA

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

This was our 4th cruise. 2nd on Norwegian. It was good. It wasn't great. As always the Norwegian staff was fabulous. They really do an excellent job of making sure your every need is met. I did not like the ports, St. Thomas, Tortola, and Nassau. For a 7 day cruise i would have liked another stop. We were late getting into Nassau so there was no point in going to Atlantis, not enough time to make it worth the money. When we went to the Buffet to eat we would have to wait forever and then run to get a table...not fun. The ship is not very well laid out, the spaces are not big enough for the amount of people that the ship carries. All the shows were sold out, and everywhere we were always jam packed. I won't do that one again.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

All the shows were always too full, the ship was just too crowded.

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Our kids enjoyed their activities.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Mario was our room attendant, he was wonderful!!!

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

Cleanliness - the ship was immaculate. Design - was lousy.....just crowded, crowded, crowded, always a battle to find somewhere to sit, almost everywhere was always standing room only. That gets old.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Once you have a balcony, you'll never go any other way!!!

Ship tip

Don't go on the Escape, go on the Jewel, much better ship!

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

1 out of 5

Traffic was terrible, everything was overpriced, save your money for the cruise.

Thumbs Up 0

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

sail and snorkel with the turtles....was wonderful!!!

Thumbs Up 3

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

5 out of 5

Beautiful scenery, take a horse and buggy ride, it's fun and worth it.

Thumbs Up 3

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5

If you go shopping, the locals love to barter, some of the things made there are beautiful.

Thumbs Up 4

9 Comments

CruiseG60526996 8 years ago

Well said Heather! Some just want to complain all day long. Heard a few of those everyday at the cafe

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heatherbutler 8 years ago

Because some people are never happy. And find a problem with everything. While other people make the best of their vacation and are easy to please. It's what you make of it.

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askoleern 8 years ago

I don't understand this,we were on same ship ,ate at the buffet every day and had no problems with waiting or finding a table, why do some have a problem and some don't...

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ehcruise 8 years ago

*Only for some shows online reservations available

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ehcruise 8 years ago

You can make them online through your NCL account

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ehcruise 8 years ago

Most shows even the free ones need reservations

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kmickels 8 years ago

When I've cruised in the past I never had to make a reservation to see the nightly show. Do I need to make reservations for the free shows or only those that you pay for?

Thumbs Up 1

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heatherbutler 8 years ago

Your supposed to book your shows way in advance. There were five of us and we never had to wait for seating at the buffet. We had a excellent time!!

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ehcruise 8 years ago

I agree that the ship is a bit crowded but that didn't really ruin my experience. Just have to be sure to book reservations as early as possible and plan ahead. You can also reserve on the ship on the first day. We reserved our seats for the two main shows (After Midnight and For the Record) online several weeks before sailing to make sure we had seats for those. I had read online that shows fill up fast so we made sure to do that early. Also, for a few of the shows that they say are sold out, you can arrive early and wait until everyone is seated and then usually there are some open seats left. Of course this only works if your group is small. We did this twice for show in the supper club and were able to get seats. Also they repeat the most popular shows a few times a week so again if you plan carefully and read the daily schedule then you should be able to see most shows. Also about the buffet, yes it does get crowded, but the food is great and we really never spent more than 2 -3 minutes (at the most) to find a table. Just beware after the port day in Tortola, EVERYBODY heads to the buffet at the same time for lunch since it is an early ship departure time. That is the worst I saw the Garden Cafe. But even then we were able to find a table in a few minutes.

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