Overall we had a wonderful time. We enjoyed our time on the ship as well as each of the ports. The weather was ideal - warm but not too hot. While the Escape is large with a lot of people, it generally did not feel overly crowded. Disembarkation definitely felt crowded, and right after a show the elevators would fill up, but it was easy enough to plan around. The cruise director Jack seemed to be always around and enhanced the experience. There is so much to see and do on this ship - we did not have enough time to do it all.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Extremely fast and efficient embarkation. We were sitting in O'Sheehans with a snack and a drink before Noon!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
All the food was really good. We did the buffet for a couple of breakfasts, one dinner, and way too many snacks and the food was always tasty. The main dining rooms were also very good for breakfast and dinner. We did Cagney's (delicious) and Tepanyaki (delicious and fun) for the specialty dining. The service was always on point.
Teppanyaki
5 out of 5
We did Teppanyaki our first night (it helps set a fun mood for the cruise). Our chef was amazing, incredibly entertaining and fun, plus the food was delicious. We definitely left stuffed!
District Brew House
5 out of 5
We kind of stumbled on District Brew House - it's a bit hidden. Great selection of craft beers, great views, and was not very crowded.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
As others have mentioned the pool area gets really crowded, we went to Spice H2O on the sea days to relax in the sun in a much less crowded environment. The waterfall grotto is a great addition to this area - feels really good to cool off in there then back into the sun. Ropes course is very cool, and the miniature golf was fun. We enjoyed several of the events in the atrium - quiz games, talks, etc.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Choir of Man is the most fun show I have ever attended. Hard to imagine coming out of the show without a huge smile, great audience participation, great performances, overall a great show. We also saw one of the comedy shows, the magic/comedy show which were both very good. The Abba tribute dinner and show was also very well done.
Spice H20
5 out of 5
We feel this area is much better than the pool area. Less crowded, great views, and the rock waterfall grotto is perfect for cooling off.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Every staff member we encountered was friendly and helpful. Sometimes the bars would get busy - once I think I had to wait 5 minutes for my drink, fortunately I survived! We felt welcomed and appreciated at all times. Our room steward, Merrianne was awesome.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
It is a large ship, so there is quite a bit of walking, but well laid out. We really enjoyed the waterfront area on deck 8. Elevators were crowded at times, but we would just use the stairs to try and walk off some of the buffet snacks.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had a balcony cabin, enjoying my first cup of coffee each morning on the balcony was wonderful. Typical room size...not huge but definitely big enough. Plenty of storage, and the USB ports by each side of the bed were helpful.
Ship tip
The very back of the buffet is much less crowded than the front and has better views.
A lot of beautiful and interesting things to see in Puerto Plata. We did a city tour that included a run factory, cigar factory (which was more interesting than I expected), the fort, Pink Street, Umbrella Street, and Independence park.
Did a snorkeling tour here on a smaller boat with about 10 people. First stop was a beautiful reef area full of fish, second stop was an area with sea turtles.
We did an excursion through NCL to Virgin Gorda and the baths. This included beach time and a hike/walk through the caves and some incredible rock formations. A bit taxing, but well worth it.
Our arrival was delayed due to a boat accident just outside the port early in the morning of our arrival. As a result, our disembarkation was delayed around 8 hours. I really need to give kudos to the Norwegian crew for making the best of a tough situation. The buffet became packed, they opened up the specialty restaurants to provide extra sitting space, and made frequent announcements to keep us updated. I was impressed how well most of the guests took the long delay as many of us had our travel plans severely disrupted. It is definitely better being stuck on a cruise ship than being stuck in the airport!!! When we were finally able to disembark it was a very slow process. The issue is there were only 3 of the facial identification stations that you had to go through for 5,000 people. Adding a couple more stations would make a huge difference.
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