My husband and I cruised on the Escape in 2016. We had such a great time we rebooked the same cruise again in 2017. This cruise was scheduled to be an Eastern Caribbean cruise to St. Thomas, Tortola and Nassau. The itinerary changed to Western Caribbean following Hurricane Irma. Despite the change we enjoyed the cruise. Following Hurricane Irma we heard many other passengers re-booked on this sailing and the ship was packed. We definitely felt the ship was more crowded during this cruise. The ship mainly felt over crowded in the pool area and places like O'Sheehan's. Otherwise we were able to find quiet places on the ship if we wanted to.
While we enjoyed our cruise in 2016 a little more due to it being less crowded,we still had a great time on this sailing. For us Norwegian continues to have a great balance of fun activities and parties along with relaxation. We are able to stay active and indulge in delicious food/drinks.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Embarkation was easy and quick. We arrived early and boarded after the priority cruisers. No long lines, no stress.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Drinks/Bars: we had booked the cruise with the drink package Perk, we thought the Perk was worth it, even though we had to pay the service charge. We had a few favorite bars:
Tobacco Road's bar tender's were the best. Marasiol (sp) was our favorite! Tobacco Road has liquor options that are not avail at other bars - but it does not have the ability to make any frozen drinks. We recommend trying some of their Signature cocktails. If there isn't anything you like, talk to the bar tenders, they will find something that fits your taste.
If you are interested in a frozen drink the 5 O'clock somewhere bar is close by - outside on deck 8. Nice place to hang out, enjoy the breeze and get a break from the crowded spaces.
Vibe Public is a fun place to hang out near the top of the ship, it is disconnected from the main pool area. Bartender Bong keeps it exciting with his magic tricks and shot o'clock!
District Brewery had an excellent selection of beers on tap and in bottles - we enjoyed the Left Hand Milk Stout on Nitro. Atrium Bar made quality drinks including margaritas and white Russians.
Dining: We enjoyed breakfast at Taste/Savor. These restaurants were not as busy as the Garden Café Buffet and everything we ordered was delicious. I would highly recommend the pound cake French toast for anyone with a sweet tooth. The smoked salmon bagel was also a favorite. *Taste/Savor are also lunch/dinner options for quiet dining.
The Garden Café Lunch Buffet was impressive given it's selection of Indian and Asian food. Other food options were average. We also ate at O'Sheehan's. Food and service there were hit or miss. We mainly enjoyed the open faced sandwiches and prime rib there. On a full sailing this restaurant got packed during high dining times, long waits. Going to eat during less busy times led to no waits and better service (as would be expected).
For Dinner we primarily ate in the Manhattan room. We enjoyed the entertainment during dinner and the service was very good. The last evening we ate appetizers at the a la cart restaurant Food Republic. We would only return to that restaurant for the sushi, everything else we tried was just good and the service was fair. Although I did like the ability to order electronically. *If you do not splurge for the dining package there are plenty of quality dining options included with the cruise among the Manhattan room, Taste/Savor, Garden Cafe' and O'Sheehan's. We only tried Food Republic because we had a credit that could not be applied to paying for our gratuities. We did speak with several cruises who had the dining package. The favorite specialty dining restaurant seemed to be Cagney's. Everyone raved about it.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
Waterslides: we again enjoyed the Aqua Loop and Aqua Racer. This year the staff were more strict with the Aqua Racer rules. Many staff wouldn't let riders connect their tubes and staff were giving people warnings who fell off their tubes that they would be banned if they did it again. The Aqua Loop still does not allow any jewelry or anything on your body other than your swimsuit. Staff were consistently checking pockets this year.
Ropes Course: this cruise seemed to experience more wind. When the wind speed got above a certain speed OR when there was lightening in the area the ropes course was closed. The course seemed to be closed more than it was open this time and the 3rd level needed to be repaired, so it was closed the whole cruise. This was a disappointment as we really enjoyed the course during our prior cruise.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
Entertainment: The 80's and Glow parties were packed and full of energy. We brought 80's outfits and white/neon outfits to add to the fun. Staff will paint your face for the Glow party if you show up early. The line grew fast and staff couldn't get through the whole line, but again this was a full sailing. There were many options for nightly entertainment. Orly Penate (sp?) was extremely talented. The dueling pianos were entertaining. There were several options we didn't even get a chance to try.
Children's Programs
We did not cruise with any children.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Service ranged from Fair to Excellent, depending on where we were.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
We enjoyed the design with a quieter area on the back of the ship for adults during the day. We preferred the parties to be held on the back of the ship vs the main pool area. This allowed the pool area to remain open longer than we have expereinced on other ships. We also enjoyed the quieter space outside of the ship the floors 6,7, 8.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Cabin: we stayed in an interior room centrally located on Deck 11. It was the typical interior cruise room. The bathroom shower did have a door vs curtain which was nice. The location worked well for us as we were only a few floors away from activities on 6, 7, 8 Place and the main deck with the pool and Garden Café. We had the option to walk when the elevators were busy.
Ship tip
If you are deciding whether or not to book on the Escapse feel free to check out our vacation video from this trip: https://youtu.be/pt0g8-LGdyg We loved watching others' vacation videos to prepare for our cruise and decide which one to book!
Our youtube channel Explorcation also has our vacation video for the Escape from 2016: https://youtu.be/guVG-GlPQeY The itinerary in 2016 was Eastern Caribbean (St. Thomas (St John), Tortola). You can find shorter videos on our channel of the Escape slides and ropes course if you are interested.
Roatan, Honduras: we booked a tour with Victor Bodden Tours. This was a great decision. The tour was private and affordable. We decided where we wanted to go/what we wanted to do. We would recommend visiting Victor's Monkey business and snorkeling at Half Moon Bay.
Harvest Caye, Belize: the island is beautiful but small, not much to do but loaf on the beach. If that is what you want to do then it is the perfect place. The biggest complaint is that the drink package does not apply to any bars on the island. We brought a water bag, filled it with ice and ordered some extra beers before leaving the ship since we had the drink package. Some of the bars have the aluminum beer bottles that you can reseal. They worked great to transport in our water bag onto the island. If you walk to the end of the island where the private villas are the beach wasn't as crowded. We returned to the ship for lunch and went back to beach in the afternoon. The island had cleared out. Late in the afternoon there were probably less than 10 people still on the island.
Costa Maya: the port had plenty activities to keep someone busy for several hours. We enjoyed walking around but chose not to leave the port. Plenty of shopping, bars, restaruants. There is an elevated aviary to walk through for an extra cost. You can also swim with dolphins.
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