Fantastic Experience - NCL First Timer

Norwegian Escape Cruise Review

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 5

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5
Norwegian Escape

7 Night Caribbean: Great Stirrup Cay & Dominican Republic (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 25, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Escape

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 13836

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 11 months ago

Review summary

Fantastic overall experience. Would sail NCL again after the cruise.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
The ship was delayed coming into port due to the closure of the port of Miami. This was not NCLs fault and they handled the situation pretty well overall. A little more/detailed communication could have helped alleviate some of the stress....but nothing compared to the stress and long hours the staff were put through that day! Overall, great, straightforward and painless experience.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Overall the food was pretty good. Sometimes some of the options were pretty bland in taste/seasoning, but that's why you have salt/pepper at the table!

Cagney's Steakhouse

5 out of 5

Fantastic steaks and food here! Highly recommend!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
Plenty to do onboard. Sometimes it was difficult to do multiple things in a night due to overlapping, but I believe that is kind of the point to keep everyone from walking all over each other etc!

Entertainment

5 out of 5
DJ Will was absolutely terrible. Literally played the same set list every evening. Heard multiple similar complaints from other guests. Dueling Piano bar was an excellent time! The musicians were overall fantastic and made for a really fun time! Choir of Man was a really fun show. Would definitely watch again.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The staff was excellent... From servers, to bar tenders, to security. Everyone said hi, friendly, and wanted you to be safe and have a great time. Red in the Skylight Lounge was the absolute best bar tender we have come across!

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Having previously sailed on an Oasis class ship shortly after COVID (and at 40% capacity) I was nervous how crowded the ship would be. I didn't need to be nervous. The ship is very well designed and I never felt overcrowded or had to wait in overly long lines (just learn to be places early and you will get to everything you want).

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Balcony.... Standard room with enough storage to make the stay comfortable.

Ports of call

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

4 out of 5

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

2 out of 5
This was a horrible experience. Their systems went down multiple times. This caused massive lines and we were almost late for our NCL booked flights out of MIA.
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