Worst cruise. Everyone says carnival is a party ship...I am not a party person but I also didn't like that you couldn't get good food after 1000 and any food after 1130. The food was all the same. They advertise that they have so many restaurants to choose from...only if you pay if not you eat the same food for 7 days. Staff is rude and doesn't try to make it a good cruise.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
We got through quickly and the people were nice.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
The food is all the same unless you pay extra for the specialty restaurants. The wait staff is rude and un caring. One night took it 2 hours to get our food....we have a 4 year old didn't go to well, Only one time did the staff introduce themselves. The food at the buffet was limited. They served food very limited hours. Ice cream was super soft. The bar tender at the buffet was rude.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
They only have 2 pools for the 4,000 plus people on broad. And one of them was adult only till 7pm. If you have kids I would not recommend this ship. The hot tubs on the 16th floor were adult only as well. Plus the had an H2O area with 2 hot tubs and that was adult only. The shows wee okay. The activates like bingo and deal or no deal were expensive $118 for 2 people.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
The shows were good when I got to see them. You had to get a ticket for them some were out. Some shows you had to pay for. Seemed like they nickeled and dimmed you.
Children's Programs
3 out of 5
The younger kids program was good. I didn't like the area they were in it was un inviting. No carpet on tile floors. The older kids Entrouge area was not a good fit for my daughter. The head person was an a$$ to her.
Service and Staff
1 out of 5
The staff did not care and never smiled. I talked to other people on the ship and asked if this was Norwegians way or was it just this ship. Everyone told me that it was this ship. I have done 2 Carnival cruises and the people learned our names. This cruise our room didn't get ice unless we asked. They left the dirty dishes in the room unless we set them outside in the hall.
Ship Quality
2 out of 5
The rooms are so small. We couldn't get my moms chair in the room unless we took it apart. We couldn't get into the closet because the couch and upper bed blocked it. There are no drawers. The person asked if we wanted them to put up our upper bed each night we said yes never happened.
Cabin / Stateroom
1 out of 5
The rooms are so small. We couldn't get my moms chair in the room unless we took it apart. We couldn't get into the closet because the couch and upper bed blocked it. There are no drawers. The person asked if we wanted them to put up our upper bed each night we said yes never happened.
Ship tip
Don't go.......I couldn't wait to get off this ship....I was so disappointed. I wouldn't go back even if it was free. It was stressful.....all the food was the same....staff was rude and didn't care.
I ALWAYS read up what the ships have to offer!! Never jump in blind. My family lived the Escape and never had issues with food. We got every complimentary restaurant on board for different meals and never found the same food throughout the whole week. BUT ALWAYS SO YOUR RESEARCH!!
Half is half no matter how you look at it😉 I realize that research is a "best practice" when cruising/vacationing, but not everyone takes the time to do it. I can't understand traveling on blind faith and then being surprised when things aren't exactly perfect. Just my opinion... Nothing more.
RESEARCH. If you would've done some research, you would've found out that you can make reservations for the complementary dining. Especially when traveling with a large group. Even if NCL is freestyle cruising. The hallways are narrow? Don't care. I don't hang out or party in the hallways. You can't please everyone and some are harder to please. That's why there's so many different cruise line. Everyone can get what they want. But it's not because some don't research PRIOR to their cruise and find out that the ship doesn't fulfill their needs that they have to give it a horrible review. I'm someone who would rather look at the glass half full then half empty.
While I would try the Escape again I also thought "Some" of the staff were just tired and at the end of their contract & lacked some serious customer service skills. I've never noticed this from staff on Carnival. (Lucky me)
As far a shows I don't like making reservations. I rather show up when I feel like. However Escape shows did put any Carnivals shows to shame that I've seen.
Food selection was not great!
& NO lobster night! 😣
But I wasn't cooking so for 7 days I could figure it out and I'm picky!
I'm not a fan of my time dining. Because if you have a large party (we had 10)
I had to call every night to try and get a table together or wait an hour in line. Or eat at 5 or after 8 pm or eat at separate tables to get a decent eating time.
The pool I didn't care if their was only one.
One pool was dumb for that many people. But I go for the parties.
Hallways now that was a joke. Those are teeny tiny. But I wasn't in a hurry.
Unlimited drink package
😍😍😍
3/4 sail free 😍😍😍
Something that NCL lacks is being able to tip extra through your seapass when you have an unlimited pass already purchased before cruising Ie: unlimited drink pass.
So unless you carry cash with you there's no way to help put that smile on staffs faces. 😉
You're issues are a result of not properly researching prior to booking. You have the option to compare the rooms and they all list the square footage and have pictures. As far as entertainment Norwegian and Royal you usually have to reserve in advance but if you researched you would of known that. As far as the ship having only 2 pools... again if you researched in advance by checking out the deck plan you would of seen the two pools. Don't just book a cruise research the ship PRIOR to booking it to ensure it would suit your needs.
There’s is food 24 hrs a day: O’Sheehans. The room was too small? You should’ve known that. The square footage and the layout of the staterooms are easy to find. Some stateroom even have specialty access and more space for people who have a wheelchair. Shows: you need to make reservations prior to your cruise for that. A little bit of research is basic when taking a cruise. It would’ve avoided a lot of your issues. And the ice cream was super soft? Is it a good thing or another complaint? Cause from your review and all the complaining, I can’t tell.
I’m traveling on Escape next year and I’ve read plenty of reviews up till now. None like this I might add. I’m looking forward to that trip despite this review.
O'Sheehan's is open 24 hr. There is no excuse not to be able to get food after 11:30 . It is available. Some of the menu stays the same daily, but there is ALWAYS something different in each category in the complementary dinning options including the buffett. I would agree that at times service was a bit slow, but that happens in land based restaurants all the time. You complain that the room was small, but the floor plans and square footage are right there so you can compare rooms when you book. There are so many other things that were issues for you that could have been solved with a little research prior to cruising.
First of all The Escape is not a Carnival ship it owned by Norwegian Cruise Line. You can get food at the 24hr cafe. We found the food very good and delightful. Staff were great and served well. We loved our cruise on the Escape
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
