Great cruise!

Norwegian Escape Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 19

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5
Norwegian Escape

7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 24, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Escape

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9820

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 8 months ago

Review summary

There were 10 of us who took this cruise. Embarkation and Disembarkation was super quick and easy at Port Canavaral. We parked at portparking.com and they shuttled us to the port. Dropped our bags off and went right upstairs, immediately through security and then onto check-in. All in all, probably took 15 minutes and we were on the ship. Love the way muster is done now. We were directed to our muster station immediately upon entering the ship, scanned our cards and we were good to go. We didn't have our dining reservations yet, so we went to one of the restaurants and were immediately assisted by one of the staff members who helped us book everything which was no easy feat with 10 people. Then we went and had lunch at Taste. By 2ish, our rooms were ready. So we all headed there to take a look at our rooms. Normally, we have gotten oceanview rooms but this time we got balcony rooms and now we won't ever not have a balcony. Loved the rooms. Baggage showed up around 5ish. The beds are pretty firm, so would recommend requesting a egg crate topper, as that helped a little. Escape is a big ship but easy to navigate once you get used to it. We didn't have issues with the elevators like I've read that some do and we were a full ship. Yes, sometimes you'd have to wait for a few elevators as they would show up and be full, but you just needed a little patience. There is lots to do and yes, sometimes it felt very crowded in certain areas - Atrium and the pool area for sure. But there are lots of other places you can go that weren't overly crowded and were quiet. We really like the Brewhouse. Food - we found the food to be quite good. We only ate at the buffet a couple of times. Otherwise it was O'Sheehans, main dining rooms, American diner, etc. So many choices. I would not hesitate to take a cruise again on the Escape, although, we all decided that we are partial to the smaller ships, such as the Gem.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Embarkation was the easiest I've had to date. We arrived at the port for check-in between 11-11:30. Only a few minutes to get through security, almost immediately was at check-in and 10 minutes later we were on the ship. They immediately directed us to go to our muster station where your key card is scanned, then we went and made all of our dinner reservations and then off to lunch.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
We thought the food was very good. We ate at all 3 main dining rooms, the buffet a couple of times, American Diner, La Cucina, and Moderno. Service was a little slow at times, but we were also a group of 10 so we felt that was to be expected.

La Cucina

5 out of 5

Great food and service. Our waitress was a hoot. Pizza's are really good but way too big. They should make them about 1/2 the size.

Moderno Churrascaria

4 out of 5

Salad bar is amazing. Meats were decent. Service was good.

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill

5 out of 5

We had fun at O'Sheehans. We had breakfast there every morning. Afternoons and evenings we had drinks and played darts, video games and bowled.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
There was alot to do on the Escape. We played darts, some of the video games in O'Sheehan's along with the duck pin bowling. Played Bingo, watched Deal or No Deal and Wheel of Fortune. Pool area was definitely crowded but that was fine, there were lots of other places to hang out. Heard the water slides were fun but I didn't personally use them.

Escape Casino

3 out of 5

If you aren't a smoker, it can be a bit difficult to be in the casino.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Didn't get to watch many shows. Many of the venues are pretty tiny for the size ship and you couldn't ever get a seat. I heard some were quite good. Missed the Choir of Man but only because I wasn't feeling well.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
We had great service from everyone.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Once you figured out the ship layout, it was quite easy to get around Things seemed clean and well maintained.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
First time that we've had a balcony and now we won't ever be able to go back to just having an oceanview. Loved the balcony and the layout of the room. Great when you just want some quiet time. We frequently had drinks or coffee out on the balcony. Wish the beds were a little more comfortable. They are very firm. We had them put an egg crate topper on and that helped a little.

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
We did a private jeep tour and had an absolutely fantastic day.

George Town, Grand Cayman

3 out of 5
We did not do an excursion here. Things are expensive here and just wasn't impressed.

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

3 out of 5
We did an excursion through the ship. Mud buggy and Dunn's Falls. Getting off the ship was a total cluster, not sure why as every other port was organized and fast. This took forever and was not organized. The tour could have been great. Way too much time waiting around for one reason or another and you were nickled and dimed for every little thing. It's also disconcerting to be hit up every 5 minutes by someone trying to sell you pot, coke, or whatever they had to sell that day. It's a beautiful island but I personally wouldn't feel safe just walking around like you can on some islands.

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas Did not visit port

Due to high winds and it being unsafe to tender, we missed this port.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
We did self-disembarkation and were absolutely shocked at how easy and quick this was. We were ready by 7, off the ship by 7:30 and thru customs in minutes and grabbed our shuttle to our car and was on the road by 8 am. This has been my easiest and quickest disembarkation to date.
Was this review helpful? 19

9 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe     5 months ago

Thanks for sharing

JerseyGail     8 months ago

Thanks for the detailed review Sailing on my 1st Norwegian Escape cruise next week

javawoody     8 months ago

Appreciate the detailed review

byhisgrace     8 months ago

Thanks for your review

Gwbigdog     8 months ago

Thanks for sharing

HeavySeas     8 months ago

Thanks for sharing and glad you enjoyed your cruise

bubbles60     8 months ago

Loved your positive review!

cruising2004     8 months ago

Glad you had a wonderful time! Thank you for your detailed review.

Sogmoore     8 months ago

Very detailed review thanks for sharing

Other reviews of this sailing