Norwegian Escape Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We had a great time. First time with Norwegian, will not be the last! The boat was beautiful, service was great, food was very good...always many choices. Specialty dining was top notch. I would definitely recommend this trip.  For a hidden gem tour...go check out the historic prison on Tortola, pay the $5/person and ask for a tour. Very cool. Unexpected...but very cool.

This was our 4th cruise with Norwegian and it didn't disappoint.   The Escape is a fantastic boat with lots to do.  Food was good and entertainment was great.  The group they had on board this sailing doing the dueling pianos was excellent.  Only did one specialty dinning and we are upset we waited till the last day.  Food Republic was awesome.  We went for lunch and really enjoyed it.  We had 4 in our room and it really wasn't to bad.  You spend so little time in your room it is easy to figure out.  St Thomas and Tortola were awesome.  Nassau we didn't even get off the boat this time.  

The overall cruise was great, friendly staff. However, the ship felt very crowded(we have been on about 10 cruises before) and it seemed that rather than making sure that our time onboard was the best experience possible, Norwegian seemed to be trying to milk us for every dollar we had. Only other complaint is that there was a Brat Pack show that contained an unusual amount of completely un-needed profanity.  Other than that, the overall cruise was very nice!

Starting from the day of embarkation, I'm not sure why we were asked what time we wanted to board when there were long lines regardless. If we had to wait in a long line, did it really matter what time we showed up? The room was nice and was very clean. I can't believe how small the pool is for the amount of people on the ship. I've been on smaller cruise ships with less people and they've had two very big pools. The slides were fun. The drinks were good. The food was delicious, however, the desserts need working on. The desserts were hard, and not tasty. I think desserts should be delectable, and they were far from it. The service everywhere was great. The staff is very friendly. Should've been told from the beginning that bartenders don't get part of the gratuity so that we could've been tipping the bartenders the entire time. We found out the day before the cruise ended that bartenders don't get a percentage of the gratuity we pay. That's wrong and must be horrible for the bartenders, who are super friendly and accommodating. The theater shows were awesome, however, kids should not be allowed to attend. Overall, I was pleased. Definitely not the best cruise I've been on and probably won't cruise with Norwegian again. We'll stick with Celebrity.

Loved the food and shows! Amazing what you can get for just $450 a cabin plus other expenses. Absolutely get the food package. The complementary food was great but the specialty restaurants were just fabulous!

Overall, we had a very good experience. This was our 7th cruise, and first on Norwegian. We were part of a 17-person wedding group. The layout of the ship was convenient, and it was very modern, clean, and well-maintained. The food and dining experience in the specialty restaurants was superb, but not so great in the 3 main dining rooms. The buffet was pretty good - about average from our experiences. The beds and service in the Haven area was fantastic, those in the regular cabins and mini-suites are not very comfortable and the service was average. The deck 16-17-18 water slides, pools and hot tubs, along with the other rec stuff, was really great. The main issue we had was that the Escape had a very noticable shake, or vibration, whenever under forward power. This was noticable and sometimes uncomforable throughout the ship, regardless of floor or section of the ship. All ships roll and pitch with the waves, but this one vibrates when under power, seperate from the movement caused by the waves, and occurred regardless of smooth water in the port areas or rougher seas. We would likely cruise Norwegian again, but probably not the Escape due to the vibration. All of the excursions our group went on were very well run. The scuba dive trip on Tortola to the Wreck was superb - great dive shop operation.

Yes, I would recommend this cruise to others. We enjoyed relaxing on the ship when we were at sea. The music entertainment was great.  We also enjoyed the buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The variety of food of the dining was good and it was nice to have the opportunity to go to a sit down place or pay a little extra and enjoy a "night" out.

Our favorite part of the cruise was being able to enjoy so many different restaurants and my husband  liked the fact that he didn't have to dress formally any day.  We could just relax and move about at our own pace.  It was very nice.  As I said we have been to St Thomas & Nassau many times in the past so we opted to skip those ports in lieu of enjoying time on the ship. "We met many nice people  from all over the world.  It was fun o conerse with them and get their opinions as well

This was a very last minute booking and I was worried about such a large ship. Was surprised that getting off and on would be a major delay but all in all things went pretty smooth. We only visited 3 ports-one more would have been nice as there were so many people that the venues could not accommodate the number of people wanting to see the various entertainment and game shows,especially on sea daYS. I DID NOT LIKE THE fact that you had to make reservations to see the shows and that you could only book one a night,but the entertainment was excellent. And having so many dining options(ccomplimentary) was unexpected!The food was really quite good and we never really had to wait to be seated. We splurged for a balcony and could not have picked a nicer stateroom as we were 2 decks below the buffet-prfect for breakfast and my husband is a smoker, so it was close to where he had to smoke.

     Our recent cruise on the NCL Escape was our 25th cruise (all different ships). We have attained Diamond status on Royal Caribbean because we like their big ships. The Escape is comparable to RCCL's Quantum class - the second largest class of cruise ships overall. Carnival, Princess, and Disney have nothing that comes close. We believe that "more is better"!

     We loved the ship, however, we have one major observation - there is not much easy food to be had anywhere other than in the Garden Café on the deck 16. O'Sheehan's on deck 7 is a sit-down restaurant. There is no pizza, paninis, pastries, self-serve coffee, or hot dogs to be had upon returning to the ship from a shore excursion or any other time, other than trekking to the Garden Cafe for all the above. I know that it's a competitive industry and that NCL chooses to offer free drink packages (very costly); unfortunately at the expense of the food offered onboard. Entrée portions are small (I know I could order another, but why?) and there was no lobster night in the free dining rooms - even the Carnival Magic in November offered free lobster.

     A ship this size could use another swimming pool. The Anthem of the Seas has 3+!

     The water slides and the ropes course are the "best at sea"!

The food was varied to suit all tastes and was very well prepared.

The "chaise lounge police" need to be present to stop towel parking for a full day without using the chairs.

The art dealers need to be more considerate and not suggest to a wife that she should be able to make her own decision on a $1,200 art purchase without her husband's input.

I was nervous that such a big ship would end up like a shopping mall at Christmas. But I was very surprised it was not like that at all. They handle a 4200 passengers as if there were only 2000 on board. Never had to what in long lines or denied access to anything because of demand for the same thing by other pasionsengers.

There is only 2 points that disappointed me. Did not care for the pool layout at all. Here it was always crowed, you are in a very tight location, and it is in a "pit" down in the ship. It  is basically located on 16th floor, but floors 17,18,19 surround and tower around it on all sides.

The other point, The Haven area is basically in the front 1/3 of the ship. If you don't have a Haven ticket you cannot get there. But Haven people can go everywhere. Didn't like the AUROA of class structure  of guests so obviously in your face.

Nice new ship. We were not impressed with the meals at dinner.  Most nights service was slow.  We had lipstick on our glasses in the dining room. Getting on and off the boat was easy and we got our luggage quickly. The food on Royal Caribbean is better other than the prime rib. We bought a soda package and it seemed as if the bar tenders didn't want to serve you because you we're getting soda. We paid extra to eat in the Brazilian steak house and I'm not sure that I would do that again. The food was not that great and it took us forever to get our drinks. My next cruise will be back with Royal. Was also not impressed with their shows.

Boat layout is nice.  Outdoor eating and sitting venues are a plus on deck 8.  Tapas restaurants were a disappointment but the other food establishments that were extra were very good.  Overall great cruise and pleasantly surprised by Tortola which was beautiful, clean and friendly.   Bahamas was okay but didn't expect much as we've been there multiple times.   Entertainment was overall good with many choices.  Would recommend this itinerary and boat.

The ship was amazing...having a balcony is the best!!  Loved seeing a new Island (Tortola) - the excursion "Rapid Ride Adventures" was awesome!  I would book another cruise on this boat in a heartbeat.  Thanks for a great vacation and wonderful memories!!

The boat is very large and the week we went on board, very crowded.  The saving grace was that we were Haven guests in one of the ships suites.  I cannot imagine doing a cruise without access to the Haven courtyard, sun deck and bar lounge.  The service personnel were outstanding and accommodated my family easily and expertly.  Highly recommended.

Overall, we loved the cruise.  The staff was amazing, the shows were great, and we loved 2 of the 3 islands we went to.  However, the ship was super, super crowded (yes, we went on a school holiday).  They added tons more rooms, but didn't add pools, or deck area.  I think that if you can go on a non-school holiday, it would be a perfect vacation.

This was the first time I'd been on one of the new massive ships and I was a little concerned I wasn't going to like traveling with that many people.  However ... it was wonderful!  Take advantage of EVERY early reservation opportunity you have for shows, dinners, excursions and plan your trip just a bit.  The Waterfront turned out to be our little paradise, with comfy couches and a close bar (5 O'Clock Somewhere - LOVE you, Clarense!!!) that was perfect for morning/early afternoon readings.  The new technology makes the ride smoother on rolling seas and it seems like every suggestion ever made for helping the crew be more efficient was incorporated.  Thumbs up, and would go again!

My favorite part about the cruise were the shows in the atrium and the late night parties at H2O and Skyline!  Check the itinerary before you leave home so you can pack the appropriate clothes for the parties at H2O.  For example...they had an 80's party and a Glow party where everybody dressed for the occasion.  I missed out on the part :( 

This is a BIG ship....  a lot to do, but do not book if you do not enjoy crowds.  There is limited pool area for such a crowd, and no pool area for teenagers (2 main pools are adults 18+ only).  Great entertainment, and ports were good.  Overall, a good cruise!