One of the worst cruises EVER

Item: Norwegian Escape
Rating: 2.8
Author: dr1mom

Norwegian Escape Cruise Review to Caribbean - Southern

dr1mom

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 34

Overall rating:

2.8 out of 5

Verified Review

12 Night Southern Caribbean (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 09, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Escape

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 11128

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Although the Escape has an absolutely beautiful hull painted by Dr. Guy Harvey, the ship itself is poorly designed. The chef has a love affair with pepper. Finally had to order my food a day ahead so that it would taste like the description instead of pepper with a hint of what it was supposed to be. I would NOT recommend this ship to anyone

Embarkation

4 out of 5

We were herded like cattle with people yelling about no drinks allowed, stay in the lines etc. Once at the desk, we were treated very well.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

Buffet food was always cold by the time you found much sought after seats. It was mediocre food.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

The fitness room was pretty well equipped. The mini golf course was good. Not enough pools or hot tubs. Spa was good. Although Ladie's night out was so disorganized, I left.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Magician made a couple of mistakes in the first show, but did much better the 2nd time.

Children's Programs

3 out of 5

didn't bring kids

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Room steward was great. Had a waiter at the buffet and a bartender argue with me. Also saw a couple of personnel bickering with each other.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

The common areas were clean but the overall design of the ship was terrible. Bottlenecks everywhere! Not enough pools and hot tubs. Not enough seating for the buffet. No way to disinfect hands before touching the forward door button on deck 16 to access the outside. Watched a man sneeze into his hand, then touch the door button. By the end of the cruise, over 50% of the people were sneezing and coughing. Overstuffed chairs in the atrium did not allow enough seating, so folding chairs had to be brought out for each event. 2 Jimmy Buffet restaurants should be combined into 1 and another pool & hot tub installed on deck 17. The sign in at O'Sheehans caused another bottleneck. It should be located on the opposite side closer to the elevators instead of by a support pillar that further reduced the flow of through traffic.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Expected it to be larger. It was the same size as the cabin we had on Holland America in April without a balcony.