It was okay

Norwegian Escape Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 38

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Escape

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 09, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Escape

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 12665

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

In all honesty, the hospitality of all of the staff members was amazing. However, this cruise catered to a specific demographic of people and I do not feel as if the activities that were available were intended for all. Don't get me wrong, I made the best of my experience and enjoyed my time but I did feel out of place at times.

They permitted kids to attend the evening dance events which I believe should have been strictly for adults, we paid over $1000 and could never get access to the sorry excuse of a pool that was available. I mean really, with over 4,000 people on the ship, the designers completely dropped the ball with the pool layout. One for kids, one for "adults" a couple of hot tubs and no where to sit. It was ridiculous. I won't go as far to say that I will never go on a cruise again, but after this experience I can definitely say waiting for the next one won't kill me.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
needs to diversify not only by age group but also ethnically

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Cheldon took great care of us and the inside room wasn't as small as I thought it was going to be.

Ship tip

Bring cash, prepare for extracurricular expenses that are not included with your cruise fare and make sure you have comfortable shoes! The ship is huge and you will be walking A LOT. Also, kids are welcome everywhere it seemed like..just an FYI

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

1 out of 5
get away from the tourist trap

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

5 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5
Was this review helpful? 38

11 Comments

MrChocoholic    8 years ago

There are size limits on the pools that are located higher on decks. It's a simple problem: the bigger the pool with a few thousand pounds of people lounging it raise the center of the gravity on the ship that makes it top-heavy. Inherently instability. As for your statement that onboard activites "needs to diversify not only by age group but also ethnically" need explanation. How do you divide the activities ethnically?

Kroosth    8 years ago

All cruise ships have small pools! Lack of space.

capeman    8 years ago

I agree they did drop the ball with the little pools, and tight public outdoor spaces.  I just thought it was me.  RCI has them beat there with large outdoor space and pools.

lianaacev    8 years ago

Wow, sorry to all of the parents out there who are obviously offended by the kid comments. Sheesh, never said I hated them lol However, the point of my review from MY experiences regarding the dance events was to simply imply that it would and could have been more enjoyable without the super young, crying children that were front row center near the fog machines and loud speakers, but I digress.. to each their own. I still had fun regardless, happy sailing to ALL in the future! :-)

kcdean    8 years ago

As for myself I like a little quiet time sometimes that's why I booked the Haven however I also like to mix and mingle with everyone and get involved in the activities so by booking in The Haven I get the best of both worlds

perditax    8 years ago

You should look in Celebrity instead (really). Look for pictures of their adults only Solarium area, which is free.

tzntay0208    8 years ago

^^^ yes or don't cruise. Maybe try a sandals adults only all inclusive resort.

myangel0508    8 years ago

Being a family on the ship and paying 6k i am glad my children and I got to enjoy the dance parties and the pool, cruise off season if you dont want to deal with kids

tzntay0208    8 years ago

It wasn't that crowded when we went. I enjoyed seeing kids and families having a good time together at the dance parties. The clubs are for adults only so maybe you could have went there for a no kids atmosphere. But it's not fair to say no kids at the parties on deck then families would have be excluded with nothing to do in the evening but sit in their rooms. The glow party I thought was a perfect atmosphere for all ages. They had glow paint and it was fun for all. There was an older couple handing out glow stick necklaces to all the kids. It brought them joy to bring these for random kids. So not everyone minds seeing families having a good time together. It also wasn't that crowded and we always were able to use pool. We went Dec.5-12 so maybe that was off season.

kcdean    8 years ago

Well you could do like I did and book Haven penthouse suite and then you get your own pool concier Butler and maid service plus all the specialty dining and everything all included however they cost about $8,000

cakeface    8 years ago

Try off seasons if you can. Way less crowded .

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