Brilliant cruise, more like the cruising of pre-Covid. We absolutely loved this ship, you could party or relax, your choice. Our favourite daytime place was Waves pool bar on deck 17, you could watch all the action on the pool deck but not be among it, and the waiters were great to chat to. For night times the parties on Spice H2O were brilliant. Due to Greek regulations they weren’t allowed to sell beverages while docked in port at Greece but if you had the beverage package you could still get drinks included in the package as you technically weren’t buying something you had already paid for. I couldn’t buy a Starbucks whenever we were docked in Greece but could have got all the alcohol I wanted!
Embarkation
4 out of 5
For the first time ever we booked our flights and transfers through NCL. They agreed to give us direct flights from Manchester to Rome with Jet2 which was great. Once we got to arrivals an NCL rep was waiting and took us to our transfer. As we were stopping at Greek ports on this cruise we had to show if we were fully vaccinated and were given a sticker so that we didn’t have to show this info again at the pier. There was a bit of a walk to the transfer and a bit frustrating as they kept losing track of how many more people could get on each bus but overall not bad. We arrived at the pier after 1pm so virtually no queues. We got our key cards at the check in desk, had a quick bite to eat at the buffet and then our cases were already at our cabin by the time we got there. It was all very smooth and we would book flights and transfers with NCL again if direct flights were offered.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Garden Cafe buffet had decent choice, food temperature ranged from lukewarm to hot. We only ate some breakfasts and lunches here. I did enjoy the songs from the staff in the morning!
O’Sheehans is 24hrs complimentary and did great pancakes and fruit salads for breakfast. Most of the main menu was ok, fries really hit and miss though!
MDRs were good, some starters and mains are offered every day and others change every day. Desserts were great here although we rarely had room for any.
We had 4 specialty dining and with the exception of the Italian restaurant La Cucina (which was still good but just nothing special), all were delicious. Cagney’s steakhouse was exceptional.
We made reservations but you really didn’t need to, there were tables available at any restaurant whenever you wanted.
Drinks were really good everywhere, they definitely were not watered down! We paid £199 for the free at sea promo which included the premium beverage package for 9 days and 2 specialty meals. We also took an offer of extra 2 specialty meals for £59. So for a total of £258 with no additional gratuities on the food and drinks we had 9 days of unlimited drinks up to $15 each and 4 specialty dining meals. Can’t complain.
Cagney's Steakhouse
5 out of 5
This was our favourite of our 4 specialty dining experiences. My medium-rare ribeye was cooked to perfection, as good as any of our favourite steakhouses back home. The potatoes gratin were an excellent side and I recommend the crème brûlée for dessert. The staff were also amazing.
Moderno Churrascaria
4 out of 5
Moderno was great, although we got full pretty quickly and had to turn those cards from green to red and say no more food before we even tried half the meats! The pineapple they serve with the meats is delicious and the staff were so friendly
La Cucina
3 out of 5
I can’t fault the service at this restaurant but apart from my shrimp ravioli which was delicious, nothing else was as nice as the food you’d get from the MDR.
Teppanyaki
5 out of 5
Teppanyaki is as much about the experience as the food, and both were fantastic! All of the chefs had a different style of entertainment and our chef Warren did music trivia with us - he would start a song, we would join in and name the song and artist. He was really witty and great fun. The jumbo shrimp and the beef both tasted incredible. No room for dessert at this one!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
There were so many more activities on than when we last cruised in April. Trivia, game shows, bingo, origami, movies, cooking demonstrations, dance classes, competitions at the pool. We didn’t take part in a lot of these but enjoyed watching others. We did play the free mini golf which was fun, and enjoyed the casino. I also enjoyed a bit of quiet time at the Spice H2O lounge occasionally to read.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The only main show we attended was Choir of Man. Do not miss this show, it’s outstanding! Not a big story, a simple premise, but really resonated with us, and every single performer was great.
The house band at Syd Norman’s Pour House were also great but you need to be there really early for a seat. Some people may say this should be switched to a bigger venue but I think you need the more intimate venue for the way this band interacts with the audience.
Elsewhere there was always something going on, parties on Spice H2O at night were brilliant especially the 80s party. Performers in the lounges weren’t always the best singers but sang the right songs to engage the crowds. Overall NCL excelled in entertainment again.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
This is the best service I’ve ever had in my 5 cruises so far. Every single person greeted you with a smile. Every person in every bar and restaurant and anywhere else was helpful. The cruise director Jack and his right hand man Jeff were very visible, hosting competitions and introducing parties, speaking after shows, greeting people getting off at ports of call, saying goodbye at disembarkation. Our room steward Ryan was a star. Windel the barman on Waves pool bar on deck 17 was amazing, no idea how he remembers so many orders at once as well as everyone’s name! The 2 ladies who looked after the John Hardy jewellery store were so patient with me and not pushy at all when I tried on the same thing about 5 nights in a row before finally making a decision. Those are just a few people to call out but honestly everyone was amazing. We also had to speak to guest services about a charge on our account that was a mistake, they apologised and rectified it straight away. Everyone makes mistakes, but if you own up to it and fix it then that’s ok by me.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
This was our first time on the Escape and we loved it, we’re already looking into booking again. It’s big but after a couple of days we knew our way around. It was really well designed, noise from parties up on deck 17 at night was contained to that area. My husband asked how they manage to keep the entire ship spotless all the time - I told him this is why we prepay our gratuities and don’t moan about it!
I heard the ship was about 75% capacity which made it easy to get loungers even on sea days, and you could get a table at any restaurant almost any time.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Our balcony cabin was deck 10 mid ship, big enough for 2, with about 15-20 hangers in the wardrobe and plenty of shelves and cupboard space. Bed was comfy and each bedside unit had a light and usb charge point. There were also 3 or 4 other charging points, I think 1 EU and the others US. Bathroom was a really good size with plenty of storage. Room was always spotless after you requested it to be made up. Our toilet was blocked one evening and Ryan our room steward had someone fix it right away.
Note - decks 6, 7 and 8 are where the shops, bars, theatre and restaurants are, decks 16 and up are for pools etc. Keep this in mind if you want a quiet cabin.
Ship tip
Don’t write the ship off if you don’t find your happy place right away, there is so much going on on this ship that there really is something for everyone, you will find your thing. Remember the staff do not have the power to read minds, sometimes you may have to ask for something you want, but they will help you if they can. Oh and remember to base the cruise on your experience, not what other people tell you as some people just live to complain. Like the lady who complained very loudly that priority disembarkation had left without her, and when the poor guy she was complaining at asked her what time she had been told to be there she replied “well I don’t know, there was a letter on my bed telling me but I didn’t read it, but I’m priority and I need off now, I have a cab waiting.” Total idiot but still blamed NCL when talking to anyone about it.
Due to the fact we didn’t dock here until about 1pm we couldn’t find a decent 3rd party excursion and not one that did both Valletta and Mdina. So we did an NCL excursion City Knights and Mdina and most of it was pretty good although the guide was hard to hear. Mdina was really interesting and worth a visit but I’d go back to Valletta, it was beautiful. Our guide told us you can walk just along from the cruise port and pay a euro for a lift up to the gardens and do Valletta on your own, we’d do that next time.
The 5 stars are for beautiful Santorini, not for the NCL excursion we did which was quite poor. Charming Oia and Winery it was called. The winery was poor and the guide left us to our own devices almost the entire time. I’ve done a similar excursion through a 3rd party at a much nicer winery with a better guide, the only reason we did this one through NCL was because we got a discount and we didn’t need to get a cable car on the way up we drove instead. On the plus side we only waited about 15 mins for a cable car down, helped by the fact we were the only big ship there that day.
We did a half day excursion to Pompeii with Viator, it was about £55pp but this included your €16 entrance fee to Pompeii and many tours don’t, so check that before booking a tour. The tour was late leaving the port, the guide wasn’t holding a sign or anything so nobody could find him, then we also went to the station to pick more people up which delayed us even further, and what was supposed to be a 4 hour excursion ended up as 5 hours so I would be wary of using Viator again if I was tight for time. However our tour guide for Pompeii itself was absolutely brilliant, very funny guy called Mikel. I toured Pompeii years ago and this excursion was way more enjoyable.
It’s definitely worth paying for a guided tour of Pompeii, brings it to life. Also wear sensible footwear, someone in our party wore flip flops and struggled a bit. And don’t assume it won’t be roasting hot in October!
We booked a Corfu Flavours and Sights excursion through Venture Ashore that was only about £40pp and was excellent. Our driver was also our guide and was really knowledgable and witty, there were only 3 of us on the tour so felt like a private tour, he even offered to extend the tour for free if we wanted. The island was beautiful and we drove pretty high up and got spectacular views with lots of stops for photos. We also visited a Koum Kuat distillery and sampled some alcohol and sweet treats and purchased some to take home. Next time we go back to want to take a boat ride out to visit caves.
This was the port I was most looking forward to and unfortunately I wasn’t feeling well enough to go but my husband did the tour we booked and loved it. We booked Mount Etna Slopes and Taormina for £58pp through Venture Ashore, a 6 hour excursion that started with a drive to the coach park at Etna, then a walk to a few craters (not enough time to take the cable car to the very top) then a drive to Taormina with a walking tour and free time, then a quick tour of Messina including the clock tower. My husband’s promised me we’ll go back and do this one again as it sounded amazing and I was gutted to miss it!
We were told to be ready to disembark any time from 6:45 am, we were called off the ship at 7:05 and our transfer left at 7:30. All smooth for us. Other people weren’t as fortunate as there was an air traffic control strike in Italy which we were told about by NCL when they found out, 2 days before we disembarked. We were stuck at the airport for over 12 hours before our flight left but at least we got home, many flights were cancelled altogether and some people were stuck in Rome for days or couldn’t get into Rome for the cruise after ours. I really hope too many people weren’t affected. It did make us glad we booked everything through NCL as if our flight was cancelled they would have to take care of hotels and new flights for us.
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