Norwegian Escape Cruise Reviews - Reviews

from the time of check in until off the boat best experience ever..we had the ultimate drink package and ultimate dining package ,wow never waited more than 1 or 2 minutes at any bar or restaurants for drinks or service,,dining was excellent at all restaurants especially the steak house..will never go on any other cruise line thanks..

It was clean a big but needs more pools and Jacuzzi and less restrictions. 

I loved that alcoholics drinks was not allow on the kids pool. Pools were too crowded. Food was great 

I loved every bit of the cruise....except the head future cruise director.

She was condescending and I found, not very helpful.  She was not patient and just wanted to get done with me to move on to the next person.  We wanted to

book a balcony suite for 4 for next February and initially walked away with

February 2018 instead.  When we figured out we had the wrong February,

she was not very interested in satisfying what we wanted.  We booked with

Holland America....totally because of her.

Also....why did I pay so much, when these prices look less than half of what I paid?

I would give a 4 stars but had to deduct 2 stars due to 2 things that happened to me:

1. NCL handlers broke my 4 wheels suitcase. Had to made several trip to the help desk to have them fix and re-fix without success. They give me a 2 wheeler as a cheap replacement . Now I have to spend $$ to buy a new 4 wheeler one.

2. Bed bugs attacked my wife's legs 2 nights in a row, They lied about having already replaced my mattress at my demand until I point out the mark on the mattress which was not replaced.

We have cruised on Norwegian two other times and on both Princess and Royal Caribbean, as well.  Both my husband and I were very disappointed in this particular cruise.  I will break it down into categories.

1.  Our cabin - we had a mini-suite, something we've had before on both Norwegian and Princess.  With Escape being only one year old, we were anticipating extra-nice accommodations.  However, the acoustics were bad.  We heard the man in the suite next to our snoring every night - loud enough he could have been in bed with us.  Also, there were children in the suite on the other side and it sounded like loud stomping constantly.  Their door slammed so loudly it made our wall shake.  My husband stood outside our cabin to see if the people were deliberately slamming their door and they were not.  There's just no insulation to keep out noise.  On previous cruises, I used the balcony a great deal.  However, I was never able to use this balcony because of the noise.  Even with my Ipod and headset, I could not drown out the noise from our neighbors. 

2.  The food - the food was just ok.  On our last Norwegian cruise, we enjoyed the specialty restaurants every night.  On this cruise, however, instead of a $25 or $30 surcharge per person, everything was ala carte.  The dinner we paid $25 for last year was now $50 and we really don't believe the food was as good.  On previous cruises, my husband would go to the buffet and bring back delicious cantaloupe and pineapple for me.  He tried to on this cruise, but the cantaloupe was never very good and on more than one occasion showed evidence of having been frozen.  He tried to bring back some dessert, just for fun, and we never found one that we liked - one bite was one too many.  They looked pretty, but they had no flavor or were just nasty. 

The service - we really noticed a difference in the level of service.  On two occasions in separate dining rooms, we left our table before receiving our meal because the service was so SLOW.  It wasn't that the wait staff was lazy or just standing around.  They were very busy and it appeared the dining rooms were understaffed.  Once, upon leaving, the maître' d asked how our meal was and my husband honestly answered, "Not very good.  I never got my breakfast because first they brought me the wrong food and then never brought me my corrected order."  The maître d apologized and said they wanted to make it up to us, but guess what - they never did anything.  Even our cabin steward was not up to Norwegian's previous service.  I used the lotion the first evening and it was never replaced.  On more than one occasion, our trash was not emptied.  On only one night, did we receive the last service where they turn down our bed linens and place "towel animals" on the bed.  We received evening mints on only one night.  We always tip in addition to the mandatory gratuities.  On more than one occasion we left no additional tip because the service was not satisfactory.

Overall, the cruise was disappointing and makes us question if this is how all Norwegian cruises will be in the future.  We have always been very happy with Norwegian and I look to them first when planning a cruise vacation.  We actually have reserved a mini-suite for a 10-day Norwegian cruise in January of 2018, but are questioning that decision. 

it was a good time the Escape very nice ship 

The only thing I didn't like was it seemed very crowed. 

The thermal spa is very nice, But to many people where hogging the heated benches by putting their towels etc on them and doing other things leaving the benches unused 

The ship was very nice and spotless.  The dining selection was great and there were plenty of bars. The staff was both friendly and professional. The ropes course and water slides were fun.  We won't sail on a ship this size again any time soon. For the first time in many cruises we felt crowded.  The fitness facility and pools were too small for a large ship. 

Food was good. There are three dining rooms serving dinner, inc. Manhattan dr has entertainment which we enjoyed. All three has the same menu, and of course the buffet. One evening was seafood nite at the buffet (yum). Great water park with slides and much more.

For my first time on a cruise, I'd have to say the Norwegian Escape along with it's courteous staff delivered a wonderful experience for both my wife and myself. Naturally, as a skeptical person I always  kept my guard up to ensure I didn't spend more than I bargained for on this cruise. You can enjoy the cruise without spending a dime, but if you intend on taking excursions and enjoying your time at the various ports, buying on site vs in advanced proved to be a far cheaper and practical method to enjoying our time. Keeping on schedule and in attendance with the various activities can at times feel like chasing multiple rabbits at one time. I'd suggest taking your time and planning your activities and meal schedule a day in advance.

This was our first Norwegian Cruise. Liked the freestyle cruising with a multitude of dining options and the food was exceptional. The Frankie Valli "oh what a night" show was great and the performers top rate. The other shows "After Midnight" and

"the Brat Pack" were not to our taste liking but the performers were very good. Our excursion in St Thomas (St John Champagne Sail & Snorkle) was wonderful. The Tortola By Land and Sea was just ok. Would definitely recommend Norwegian for a family and friends casual cruise experience. Will be taking another Norwegian cruise in the near future. Our steward made our experience thoroughly enjoyable.

The food was wonderful, we ate at Cagney's Steak House, the steak was tender and had a great flavor. The other restaurants were just as good, including the  main dining areas.

The entertainment was not what I like to see or hear, needs improvement.

The music played through out the ship was not my taste either, the worst was at the buffet in the morning, trying to wake up and listening to loud screaming music was more than I could bear. I took my food and went to the pool area to eat.

I have been on many cruises and by far the employees are the friendliest and most accommodating I have ever encountered. Big thumbs up!

The excursions were top notch, all the guides spoke good English and where educated on the history of St. Thomas and Tortola also very accommodating.

Last thing is still NO Coke products!!!!!!!!

I would recommend this ship.

Having been on over 40+ cruises, the thing I like the most about this ship (NCL Escape) was the ship experience. There was something for everyone to do during the day and also in the evening.

Our time onboard was amazing ... Friendly welcome as we embarked...And an amazing goodbye as we left ! The Captain was there to say thank you to each passenger. Never ever had that happen before. It's great when a crew makes you feel welcomed vs. you are their job ... There was even space for me to do yoga on the balcony !! 

Favorite part = ability to relax around pool and meet new people.  Enjoyed getting to know the bartenders, wait staff and numerous others.

Improvement =  More variety on the buffet whether it be changed up a bit daily or nightly would be nice.  Only ate breakfast and 2 lunches through buffet.  

Recommend = Would highly recommend cruise line and the Escape.  Haven't stopped sharing all the fun with everyone I know.

The cruise was great, food was great and ports of call were amazing. Only disappointment was the pools on the boat. Only  1 pool for adults and was so packed we never went into it the entire week. They should add a pool to the H2O club on deck 17.

I thought it would be nice to go on a big cruise but this cruise didn't have a lot of activities plus the shows were not that great. Service was not good. There were not many places to go on cruises. In my mind big ship should have more places to shop while you are at sea too long but not this one. I would not go again and paid that much price. Food was good compare to smaller cruise on NCL.

lovely stateroom.  Dinning was awful.  We ate in the Manhattan, taste, and savour restaurants.  Food was the poorest quality we have experienced in 48 cruises.  The staff were so poorly trained, we received our wine at the end of the meal, requested coffee four times at dinner.  Finally received one cup of coffee with no offer for a refill.  Lovely people but not trained for the job.  It is very obvious Norwegian wants to make their money on booze as we have been on many ships and never experienced so many bars.  In turn, all these bars eats up valuable areas for other functions ... Such as reading, visiting with others, etc.  Seriously, one pool for adults and one for children.  With 4,000 plus passengers, try getting in the pool, that is if you dare to dodge the drunks with their glass beer bottles in the pool.  The pool in my backyard is bigger than the pool on this ship.

All of the ports......very nice...

one young man we asked a question who was in the dinning area....of Garden cafe...his name was Valley....from  India.....was not very nice when asked a question.  Most of all very nice....big smiles....

Other than the very limited smoking areas and the "smoking room" on deck 8 that is a total atrocity this was a great cruise. Please keep in mind that the forward elevator is near midship and you will have a 300 foot walk to the very front cabins. If you have mobility issues keep this in mind. Food in the dining rooms was satisfactory and the upscale dining restaurants were fantastic. Entire crew was fantastic.

Ship is nice.  No flashy tall atrium you normally see.  Food choices not that great.  Every staff person very nice.  Entertainment not exceptional. Stops are not the best.