Awful!!!

Item: Norwegian Escape
Rating: 2.8
Author: keriwanner

Norwegian Escape Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

keriwanner

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 38

Overall rating:

2.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Bahamas & Florida (New York Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 24, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Escape

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 14102

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Overall it was a vacation but not worth the $$$ or points. The ship is way too big and not enough amenities for all its passengers. Most people I spoke with while on the ship were also unhappy about their experience. Do not cruise out on NYC in the winter it kills 2-3 days and you are trapped inside with way to many people. All in all, I won’t be cruising with Norwegian ever again, I’ll stick with Royal Caribbean and Carnival.

Embarkation

2 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The only places that weren’t too crowded, the food itself was good.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

The ship is so massive that it holds ~5000 people. We had a completely booked cruise. There is not enough accommodations for all of these people. One small pool for adults, you have to make reservations for all shows (we did not know this), everything for the week was sold out by the second night, there were lines for everything.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

The little we got to see was decent, but again you needed reservations for everything or you couldn’t get in.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Nothing to brag about

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ports of call

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

1 out of 5

It took us nearly 3 hours to get off of the ship. They use tender boats at this location and call by number. They were only loading one boat at a time for 5000 people. We didn’t get onto the island until around 130 and had to be back NLT 530. There is only a small sand beach which is way over crowded. The rest is mostly rock debris. The island is huge, they need to do a better job and build it up.

Thumbs Up 6

Nassau, Bahamas

5 out of 5

I love nassau! A group of friends and myself took a taxi to cable beach, rode jet skis for a quarter of the price that the cruise excursions charge, drank coconuts with rum, and hung out. Went to the fish fry after (great local food but for tourists) then walked to junkanoo beach got some more drinks and walked through downtown back to the port.

Thumbs Up 23

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

Long lines, but we took our own luggage with us. so we got off the ship early and it moved pretty quickly.

6 Comments

dawn88 5 years ago

We cruised on Breakaway over the holidays and never found it wall to wall people which we would have expected at that time of year. Looking forward to Escape in one week, sure its going to be amazing!

Thumbs Up 0

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lindysail 5 years ago

Wow that's too bad you had a bad experience. I absolutely loved the Escape... had the cruise of a lifetime. I LOVE Norwegian, I think they are the best!

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giraffedrd 5 years ago

They do remind you on the ship’s information channel to book an early tender time to get off the ship early at GSC. You also get tender #1 if you book an excursion or cabana. I didn’t find the ship to be crowded on the way down or back. Plenty of room in the spa, gym, restaurants and events. I had a very different experience.

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DannyTammy 5 years ago

Had research been done you would have noticed booking shows ahead of time is highly recommended. Get on the ship....go to box office for shows you cant reserve online.

Thumbs Up 1

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jerry1125 5 years ago

We went on the Escape in the end of September last year to Bermuda and had a great time. It was much better than Carnival and we booked the shows ahead of time and had no issues.

Thumbs Up 3

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terriesanchez 5 years ago

A little research goes a long way. Read about the ship. Explore the deck maps. Check the FAQ's.

Thumbs Up 2

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Other reviews of this sailing

Great cruise experience!

Great staff but only average food and entertainment

Worst cruise ship ever.