We had a wonderful trip and nothing was wrong except the service and that just made me mad at Norwegian for treating people so badly.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
It’s crazy and chaotic but the line went very quickly
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
Specialty dining is the way to go. Main dining rooms are basically the same as the buffet. There is ONE kitchen for all the main dining rooms and the buffet. The specialty restaurants seem to all have their own kitchens. Teppenyaki was amazing and fun and Cagney’s was delicious. I would recommend as much specialty dining as you can and the package is a decent deal. Sucks that you HAVE to pay extra for really good food though. The buffet coffee comes out as MUD and just redirects you right to the Ateium cafe(“Starbucks”). Well played Norwegian. The line was actually not horrible and went quickly. This is not Starbucks from your home. They have WCM, chocolate, caramel, vanilla and SF vanilla. No oat milk, no blonde espresso and no refreshers. It was good, but don’t expect all your faves.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The spa was amazing-we did the thermal package and it was well worth the cost just to be in a semi quiet area away from the crowds. We also got a vibe pass-you don’t need both. The spa was so nice, we didn’t really use vibe. The main pool is a fungus filled, LOUD, crowded environment pretty much all day. Not my scene. At least 200 ppl seem to love it though bc they are all smushed together.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Choir of man was AMAZING, the comedians were just okay. There was only ONE show and that’s the reason for 3 stars. Every other cruise with NCL has had 2 shows. They are cutting corners.
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
During Covid NCL cut the staff in half. Instead of giving ppl their jobs back, they are choosing to over work the skeleton crew they still employ. Ther service was NOT good. It was never ever the stewards or wait staffs fault though. They work so hard. Our server one night had 8 tables and had to fully bus them as well. A manager pointed at our table and all our empty glasses and then proceeded to walk away. Shouldn’t managers HELP? Your job is just to walk around and point out mistakes? The room stewards now have 40+ rooms. I saw him twice! There is no personal service anymore. In the past they knew my whole family by name and really made an effort to provide personalized service. They only service your room once per day. I didn’t think that was a huge deal but now I understand why it is actually. My daughter slept on the couch. In the past (prior to Covid) the room steward came and made her bed each night. In the am he would put it all away so you have a usable couch during the day. Not anymore. If you shower in the am and then go on an excursion, you may want to shower again. Your towels aren’t dried at all. I hate using damp towels and maybe that’s just me. The whole point of a cruise to me was how pampered you WERE. Now it’s just like any hotel. All the staff were kind and polite and you can tell they WANT to provide good service, they just literally can’t. The room stewards also share their tip with the entire ship. So that daily gratuity you pay for their services, doesn’t go in their pocket. It all goes to Norwegian who by the way has record profits right now. If they can get away with less staff, they will. I talked my brother out of doing Cruise next. Why limit yourself to one line? They aren’t fantastic anymore so I’m willing to shop around with other lines if I cruise again.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
I’ve been on multiple NCL ships and it basically had the same exact design. It was clean in all the common areas.
Cabin / Stateroom
2 out of 5
The cabin is small but it worked well for us. More hooks on the walls are needed. We brought magnetic ones and it was a life saver. I’m not sure why they don’t just add more? The walls are bare so at least give storage. The shower leaked onto the floor bc the seal was broken at the bottom. The balcony had not been swept or cleaned in awhile. The glass had literal salt crusted on it. They USED to clean them between cruises. There were what looked like grease smears on the walls and closet doors. Bring Clorox wipes. We cleaned the whole cabin when we arrived. The bathroom was very clean. I think it’s time for another refurbish on the Escape. At least in the cabins.
Ship tip
Book everything you can before getting on the ship. Buy water in advance. WAIT TO BUY THE WIFI UNTIL DAY 2 or 3 if you can. I paid $50 for unlimited, when just the day before it was $150.
The last tender boat was leaving at 4pm. We got in line at 3pm-seems like we were ahead? NOPE! We waiting in line, in the sun for over an hour. Toward the end they did give water and cold towels so that was nice. The tender boats were also nice.
Not staffs fault. I feel your pain. Our housekeeper on our last cruise had double the rooms with no help. Sadly he couldn’t get to everyone’s room each day. Due to some rooms needing more work than others. I know we are on vacation but you don’t need to live like a pig. Even though he could not get to our room everyday we still tip him extra. He was never not working.
**I understand how the gratuities work, thanks. My point was to new cruisers who may not know that. They may have the attitude of “I’m paying $20+ per day, per person for this so they don’t need more”. I meant that as an encouragement to tip them above and beyond if you are able. We did tip our room steward extra on a daily basis. Did you read about the skeleton crew they have? That’s what I meant about NCL treating their employees badly. The staff was CUT IN HALF BUT THEIR EXPECTATIONS ARE THE SAME. That sounds fair to you?? The staff was amazing, as I said. After 6 cruises with just Norwegian I think I can fairly judge the service.
Not sure what you mean by " treating people so badly" I got off the Escape the same day you departed and everything was great on my cruise! All staff was exceptional! I think you expect far too much from the staff!
The entire point of the daily gratuities that are collected is in fact that they DO GO TO EVERYBODY both front of the house and back of the house in order to reward EVERYONE who makes your cruise enjoyable that you may not ever interact with because they are down in the laundry washing your sheets and towels, or in the kitchen preparing all the ingredients that the cooks will need in order to make the hundreds of various dishes that are offered each night. If you feel your cabin steward has gone above and beyond then your certainly able to provide them additional monetary compensation according to your financial ability to do so.
We were on the same cruise same floor in a thermal suite. Of the 5 cruises I've been on this has by far been the most expensive and the most disappointing
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