Could have been better

Item: Norwegian Escape
Rating: 3.8
Author: backdraught

Norwegian Escape Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

backdraught

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 27

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 09, 2023

Ship: Norwegian Escape

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 12748

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 11 months ago

Review summary

There were a lot of things that could have been better. The food was mediocre, the bars were always packed (assuming with basically everybody having the drink package) and the ports didn't have much to do. Also not finding out that the on board credit we received when booking couldn't be used towards gratuities on the last day led to scrambling around the small shop to buy things we really didn't need so we used the money. This was my second cruise on this boat with a similar itinerary. I liked it the first time but this one was a mess.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Embarkation was fine, no issues got right through with minimal wait.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

I feel the food went downhill over the duration of the cruise, especially in the main dinning room. The buffet was pretty standard. The specialty dinning rooms were also kind of a let down.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Pools were busy and the slides weren't open very often. The ropes course was fun but also not open very often.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Choir of man was the only decent show honestly. Everything else wasn't worth watching.

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

My son loved Splash Academy, was there most of the cruise.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Your room only got attention once and it could be at any hour of the day. We got back from port one day at 5pm and they still hadn't finished cleaning rooms.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

It was fine, no issues.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

The room was fine, no issues.

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5

Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic

5 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

5 out of 5

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

3 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

This was garbage. They have colored luggage tags with different times to get off. Well at least 6 of the colors were in one area and they didn't let you in there till ALL the luggage was in there so your debarkation time didn't matter. It was a free for all once they let you in. We lost some of our group in the mess.

9 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 5 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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Cruiser1995 10 months ago

Royal Caribbean still has twice a day room attention. Honestly I wouldn't mind once a day if the once a day was reliable. We had the same experience being gone off the boat in a port from 8am to 4pm and our room wasn't even touched despite our correct use of the "make up room" lights. We had 2 adjoining rooms and wanted to get ready for dinner but the room steward ASKED US TO LEAVE OUR ROOM at 5 so he could clean because "I'm off at 6." My teenager was in the shower in her adjoining room and this guy wanted to come in then when we had left both rooms empty all day. They went down to once a day cleaning to hire less people and still charge us the same and ask for the same gratuity when giving us all less. Thats the most frustrating part for me.

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Sogmoore 11 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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WorldCrusinJW 11 months ago

Thanks for the detailed review

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NCLARRY 11 months ago

Did you find the rest of your group?

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Gwbigdog 11 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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javawoody 11 months ago

Thanks for the review

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cruising2004 11 months ago

Sorry you were disappointed.

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Lawnboy1956 11 months ago

Not being able to use your onboard credit for gratuities is the same for all cruise lines. You also can’t use it in the casino. You can use it for premium restaurants, shopping, and excursions. With a few exceptions all cruise lines have gone to once a day room cleaning. Holland America has twice a day but it’s not really a good line for children.

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Other reviews of this sailing

Great cruise, excellent service,

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Another Wonderful Cruise!