We liked it, But...

Item: Norwegian Escape
Rating: 4
Author: goodwind

Norwegian Escape Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

goodwind

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 11, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Escape

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 12746

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

Overall, we enjoyed our cruise on the Norwegian Escape. The ropes course was a great activity for the children. I was not a fan that you had to make reservations for all the shows. Bingo was quite pricey and can easily you run up the tab. The staff however, was great. We enjoyed the Art Gallery and the Art Gallery Staff were amazing. The Teppanyaki Restaurant was our favorite that we went to. We had the Ultimate Beverage and Dining package. Next time we will not take the Dining package. It was only available for use at a few places. Since, the adults only had the package we had to pay for the children. The cost for the children even on the kids menu was full price ($24-$29), so we got the kids the adult meals. It was hard to attend many activities that we were interested in since they ran simultaneously. Popular activities in the atrium were always crowded making it also hard to attend. The pools were extremely crowded. Went only 1 time due to this issue. My youngest didn't even want to go back due the crowd and rude children. Elevators were slow and frustrating. Majority of the time taking the stairs up 6-7 flights was faster. We would recommend the ship again. However, probably not during the busy summer season. We would consider this ship again during off seasons.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Only complaint about the cabins are that the walls are vey thin. We could hear the cabin next to us talk and watch TV. During the nights it was a bit frustrating trying to sleep with noisy teenagers next door. We had small children with us so trying to get them to bed with the noise did not help. I am sure our other neighbors probably could hear our kids as well. The cabin was clean and worked well for a family of 4.

Ship tip

Definitely would want to invest in the Ultimate beverage package. It was the best package to have. The ultimate dining package is limited to certain restaurants. We only used 2 of the 3 we were allotted. Kids did not have Ultimate Dining so we had to pay for them.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

3 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

3 out of 5

Need cash to take taxi if you venture on your own. Taxis are flat rate. So, plenty of cash on hand is needed.

Thumbs Up 3

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

5 out of 5

Definitely, want to have cash for taxis and shopping.

Thumbs Up 3

Nassau, Bahamas

1 out of 5

This was a crowded port. It was a pain to get out of the port and back in. There were at least 4 other ships docked at same time. Shops were not as friendly and nice as the other 2 islands we stopped at. However, the Pirate Museum was a great find and walking distant.

Thumbs Up 1

3 Comments

Claylaura2 8 years ago

Can I ask what you mean by the dining package is only available in a few places? Is cagneys, lebistro, lacucina, moderno and teppanyaki included?

Thumbs Up 0

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trissyakatrissy 8 years ago

My kids ate free with kids menu at all specialty dining locations. They were also kind enough to give them veggies ala carte at no charge. Pools were annoying, I would agree. My youngest child also didn't want to go to Splash Academy, but that is due to her attachment issues since she had an appendectomy about 6 months ago! Other than that it was awesome! I found the stairs to be good exercise.

Thumbs Up 0

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tzntay0208 8 years ago

When we went in Dec 2015 our kids were free in the specialty restaurants if the ordered off of the kids menu. If they wanted the reg. Specialty Menu items then they were full price..they aren't going to charge your 3 yr old $25 for a grilled cheese sandwhich. Teppanyaki was our favorite too.

Thumbs Up 0

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