Excellent cruise...'s OBC promise a total lie!!!

Norwegian Escape Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 66

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Escape

7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 21, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Escape

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 9798

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

We thoroughly enjoyed our experience aboard the Norwegian Escape and look forward to our next cruise! Don't trust 's promise for OBC as it will not show up! I filled out the OBC credit application (yes, you must submit an application for the credit that is advertised) and received confirmation over 60 days prior to sailing. I then called prior to the 21 day cut-off and was assured the credit would appear 7 days prior to sailing. When it did not show up, I called who stated it would be credited 24 hours prior to sailing. I called again when it did not show up and was told it would show up when I boarded. Onboard, the crew stated accounts would show OBC the next day. Once out to sea, it is extremely challenging to reach and I used 96 minutes of my 250 "free" minutes trying to contact who told me to write a letter after the cruise for reimbursement. I will personally never use to book a cruise ever again. I had printed all my confirmation correspondence and the ship's staff could see it should have been posted, but could not do anything about it since did not follow through with sending the OBC to them. I will be going directly through NCL in the future; besides, if the price ever drops, NCL makes it up to you by awarding OBC for the price difference that they actually have control over! We met other cruisers who experienced the same thing...it seems to be a strategy for to make it as difficult as possible to receive the OBC that lures you in to book through them!

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Embarkation was very organized and flawless!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
I couldn't give the chefs aboard the Norweigian Escape enough praise. Le Bistro was fantastic, but we opted to cancel our two other specialty restaurant reservations to dine at the Manhattan Room instead, since the maitre d' and table staff were so incredibly welcoming each time we showed up to eat! Specialty dining only covered two of our family of four, which amounted to a $75+ bill for our two teenage daughters to join us in the specialty restaurants.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
We took advantage of the fantastic personal fitness training in the ship's gym...well worth the $79 for a week of personal training that included Ryde spin class, yoga, pilates, boot camp, TRX suspension training and some other classes that we were simply too exhausted to attend.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Entertainment was incredible. We thoroughly enjoyed Choir of Man, After Midnight as well as a comedy show and the crew talent show!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Ship staff and servers consistently when far above and beyond any expectations we could have...they all worked tirelessly to please the 5,200+ guests that were aboard!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
The size of the vessel was overwhelming at first sight, but the layout made it easy to find your way around. We were very pleased with the cleanliness and were quite proud pulling into port next to the competing ships that did not appear to be as well maintained as the Norwegian Escape!

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Our family of four, which includes our daughter in college and our high school student, fit comfortably in our cabin. Our room steward always knew when to slip in while were were away to freshen up our linen, prepare the 4th bunk for sleeping or give us fresh towels to shower...we loved it!!!

Ship tip

Don't trust 's promise for OBC as it will not show up! I filled out the OBC credit application (yes, you must submit an application for the credit that is advertised) and received confirmation over 60 days prior to sailing. I then called prior to the 21 day cut-off and was assured the credit would appear 7 days prior to sailing. When it did not show up, I called who stated it would be credited 24 hours prior to sailing. I called again when it did not show up and was told it would show up when I boarded. Onboard, the crew stated accounts would show OBC the next day. Once out to sea, it is extremely challenging to reach and I used 96 minutes of my 250 "free" minutes trying to contact who told me to write a letter after the cruise for reimbursement. I will personally never use to book a cruise ever again. I had printed all my confirmation correspondence and the ship's staff could see it should have been posted, but could not do anything about it since did not follow through with sending the OBC to them. I will be going directly through NCL in the future; besides, if the price ever drops, NCL makes it up to you by awarding OBC for the price difference that they actually have control over! We met other cruisers who experienced the same thing...it seems to be a strategy for to make it as difficult as possible to receive the OBC that lures you in to book through them!

Ports of call

Miami, Florida Did not visit port

We were focused on boarding and finding our way around the ship.

Coxen Hole, Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras Did not visit port

The weather was raining and not particularly conducive to exploring.

Harvest Caye, Belize

5 out of 5
Loved the beach! We also enjoyed watching the people on the zipline as well as butterfly exhibit.

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico Did not visit port

We really enjoyed the peace and quiet aboard the ship when everyone went ashore! It gave us a nice opportunity to enjoy the waterslides and ropes course without the lines!

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
We walked approzimately one mile to a nearby local beach (Playa Caletitas), which was right next to the Punta Caletitas lighthouse. It is a tiny beach that the locals tend to go to; we had it all to ourselves...snorkeling was fantastic!

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
We did self-disembarkation with only three people ahead of us...very smooth and organized process! We caught an Uber to the Marriott Biscayne for $8.00.
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2 Comments

jenyfur    4 years ago

It’s a terrific review!!! Good to know about Priceline. I worked directly with Norwegian after dealing with a couple cruise “wholesalers” what a racket. You literally get what you pay for on cruises

jpmato16    4 years ago

This is really more of a review of Priceline than your cruise.

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