Norwegian Escape Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Previously cruised Carnival and Royal. Decided to try NCL because of the ports and free offers. Booked a mini suite on Escape going to St Thomas, Tortola, Bahamas. 

Embarkation - Best experience on any ship

Cabin - Room smaller than Royal. Bathroom in mini suite was fantastic

Overall ship - Beautiful. Beyond noisy! In main dining areas you could not carry on a conversation with the people at your table. I can't emphasize enough how loud it was everywhere you went on the ship. We felt it was more the design of the ship than the amount of people. The different areas on the ship were competing with each other so if you were in the atrium they amped up the mike to be heard on 2 levels from front to back of ship. If someone was performing in a bar or were playing the piano they increased the volume to compete. We have been on many big ships with many people and never had this complaint. It was like when you are with a group and several conversations are going on at once and people will talk louder to be heard and that makes other people talk louder and it gets louder and louder and nobody can be heard. Also, the air filtration was poor. The smell of food and people permeated the ship making the elevators sometimes sickening. Walked the stairs because it took several minutes for an elevator to arrive and many times was already full this was all floors at all times. On this ship the top decks are dedicated to Haven level and activity so not much chance to enjoy the views from high levels. As others have mentioned you can forget swimming in the pool, you are lucky if you can sit in the pool. Only two pools which is not sufficient for this size of ship. There is an adult only area but it does not have a pool. 

Food - Have always enjoyed the main dining areas. On Escape the main dining areas were too crowded, tables too close, food was only fair, menu was small, service was slow and cold and hot items were room temperature. Speciality restaurants (we tried three, steak house/habatchi/Brazilian) were exceptional in food and service and you could carry on a conversation. The buffet food was excellent (not our normal choice for every meal), setup superior to Carnival and Royal. 

Drinks - only Pepsi products, with normal juice and tea complimentary. Every mixed drink I tried except at the mojoto bar was undrinkable. Wine was good. At first I was thinking the free drink package was a waste until I found the mojoto bar. It was the absolute best, taste and service!!

Disembarkation - Best of all cruises we have taken. We were off in 15 minutes. 

 Not part of cruise - If you need transportation from Ft Lauderdale to Miami use MJS transportation. They are very reasonable (15 per person or 30 per person if just 2 people) only waited about 10 min, new extremely nice Mercedes vans and they text you continually to keep you posted on arrival!!

This was our first time on a new(er)ship so of course we were wowed. We received complementary dinners in three specialty restaurants on board. The food was very good in all three. The remaining days we ate in the free dining areas. The food was fair and the service in Taste and Savor was average. We tried eating in the Garden Cafe several times (breakfast, lunch, dinner). The lines were too long, which was avoidable, because they refused to open both sides until the lines were extremely long. They also blocked seating areas until the area which was open was nearly full. The food in Garden Cafe was OK but they had the same thing every day and very few dessert choices. The ship seems geared toward families with younger children, and if we had been traveling with children this would have been absolutely perfect for us. -- but we weren't.

Our favorite part of the cruise was the endless choice of excellent food. There are tons of options on this ship and you dine alone (with family) at each of them...there's no group seating. We also enjoyed the entertainment. There's so much to do that we simply couldn't do it all. My children truly enjoyed the Splash Academy, in fact they never wanted to leave as they were always thoroughly entertained and were thrilled about meeting new friends. 

For the most part everything about the Cruise/ship was perfect. If I had to select one negative it would be the salt water pools. That was new to us and it was bothersome to our eyes. In addition, both pools are deep (5ft and 6ft) which doesn't account for non-swimmers and/or beginners. The pools were also very crowded during the days at sea (which should be expected). 

Word of advice: select your excursions ahead of time and only choose to go out during 1 or 2 of the port days as many of the options for all three ports of call are similar AND many of them are expensive. Lastly, there's a $13.50 per person per day gratuity charge which can add up quickly so plan for it. However, you do have the option to request your money back at guest services (on Thursday morning). If you choose this option be sure to tip as you go as it is well deserved.

My favorite part of the cruise was the dining whenever you wanted. We ate dinner at odd times every night but it was never a problem, your staff was always accommodating. I was disappointed in the seating by the kids activities especially by the kids pool and our cabin steward was not so great. But other than that the cruise was awsome.

Beautiful ship with excellent entertainment and a wide variety of activities.  Prefer ships that hit 4 ports instead of just 3.  Many dinning option but most specialty restaurants with additional costs.  Extensive new activities like a huge ropes course and steep drop water slide.

New ship . Don't care about you . Poor customer service . Charge for everything . Free restaurant very slow . Food better at the buffet unless you pay for the food options that are not free . They should pay attention to the staff they have . 

In all honesty, the hospitality of all of the staff members was amazing. However, this cruise catered to a specific demographic of people and I do not feel as if the activities that were available were intended for all. Don't get me wrong, I made the best of my experience and enjoyed my time but I did feel out of place at times.

They permitted kids to attend the evening dance events which I believe should have been strictly for adults, we paid over $1000 and could never get access to the sorry excuse of a pool that was available. I mean really, with over 4,000 people on the ship, the designers completely dropped the ball with the pool layout. One for kids, one for "adults" a couple of hot tubs and no where to sit. It was ridiculous. I won't go as far to say that I will never go on a cruise again, but after this experience I can definitely say waiting for the next one won't kill me.

The favorite part of this cruise was the availability of the shows on the night we wanted to see them!  I think if we had not been able to see all the shows, it wouldn't have been so enjoyable.  Of course the buffet every morning and afternoon was excellent every day!  I wasn't sure if I could've done the plank walk but it was actually an excellent workout!  I'm glad I went with my husband to enjoy the climb!!!  I wore my fitbit on the cruise to monitor my actions and I everyday I was able to reach my goal of 10,000 steps and recorded a work-out daily!  We also enjoyed the drink package and the excursion perk.  

Our Cabin with a balcony was small, but adequate.  However, outside of the balcony was a walkway for the workers who every time we were in port, walked by to clean or repair something.  We had no idea that this was the case and was standing on the balcony in my nighty as they wandered by.  When in port we were forced to keep our curtains closed and therefore had no view.

The entertainment on the ship was great, but it was a good thing we knew from last year on the Getaway to book before we went on.

The specialty restaurants that were include with our package were great, but the dinners in the "free" dining rooms were not great.

I enjoyed the shows, parties and the diversity of the people on board. I did not care for The Haven concept not the exclusive pool area. The ship is beautiful however we did not care for the general pool area was too small and subsequently packed on non-port days. The food ranged from average to very good.

The ship and staff were excellent.  Room was a little small and i thought would have a sofa or chair, but there was none.  I suggest that Norwegian have some dummy terminals in their internet cafe to get to the various airlines to check in for your flight without having to purchase internet time just for this. 

This trip was so amazing. It was our very first cruise. No more driving on land for us to get rid of the stress. This is the way to unwind from life!! From the moment we booked, till the day we got home, it was fantastic. We can't wait to go on a another adventure. We met so many great people. Everything was top notch. Definitely recommend the unlimited drink package because you're gonna need it. Our favorite place on the cruise was Tortola and going to Cane Garden Bay Beach. Our favorite excursion was the Sea Trek in St. Thomas. Definitely want to stay within the Norwegian family for our adventures. We absolutely felt like king and queen of the ship. By the end we were all like family with the crew. I miss the people already. Memories that will last a lifetime for sure. Especially want to say "Thank You!" to Kevin Davis for all of his help in booking our trip. I highly recommend him when booking your vacation. 

My wife and I are ballroom and latin dancers, so this ship as well as the Getaway was a home-run for us.  There are usually three to four dance venues going at the same time, and no you do not have to be a trained dancer to have a good time.  We have had so much fun that this is our second time this year on this ship.  We find the food in the main dining rooms to be excellent, the waiters very good to excellent.  The staff in general were all great, always smiling, always a hello.  I have felt so welcome on this ship.

I find the public area, such as the pool area tighter than RCI.  The pool is adult only until 5PM, That's a plus, but on sea days the tourist are wall to wall, no matter to me I am from FL, so I have the sun and water at home.  

Embarkation and debarkation is a breeze.  All around very good to excellent cruise.  I can't think of one thing I did not like, and I am a nit picker.    

  Overall the experience was great although I think the service standard was below par especially when dining.  After the first 3 days we figured out the only place to eat half-way decent (included/complimentary) food was in the ship buffet.  None of the included restaurants had food better then a McDonalds or Long John Silvers.  We did ultimately pay for the "Fine Dining" and would recommend them to anyone on this ship.  To top it off the service was so bad in the free restaurants that we wouldn't see a waiter or entire meals would be forgotten from our table.  Other travelers confirmed the same experience.

The entire cruise was just great. This is my third cruise on NCL and they have all been great. The staff is always eager to help you, no matter if your at dinner, a show, casino or just hanging out at the pool. I recommend this cruise to anyone. We also did some last minute changes from inside to balcony and our cruise consultant Karen at took care of us at minimal cost and also ensured we got the dinning package included.

Excellent ship! Love the sea days and the ports.  This ship packs a big punch with almost too much to do.  reserve shore excursions, Vibe Beach Club, and premium restaurants early.  Try and do it all but try and relax a little too... its a vacation! Drink package is well worth it and the premium restaurants are a must.  main dining rooms are aesthetically beautiful but food is fair.  The Garden Café (buffet) is outstanding and the premium restaurants are out of this world! Slides and ropes course are great but maybe save the ropes course for a port day, (less lines and wind).  A must do trip, already booked another!

Everything about the cruise was wonderful - the ship, the staff, the entertainment and the food!  I was never bored and enjoyed every minute!!  HIghly recommend!!

Overall our cruise was excellent.   Everyone was so accommodating and friendly. We love the ability to dine wherever and whenever our stomachs wanted to.  The drink package is the way to go!!  

Nice boat but NCL is now charging for everything and it is just a pain to have to deal with. We paid a premium on the tickets and still have to pay for GOOD food and drinks. I will not cruise with NCL again until they change their charging policy.

The best part of the Cruise was the Food.  Norwegian does it right!  Great food everywhere--from the Buffets, to the Fine Dining.  There is always new choices.  You could eat at the buffet everyday and not be sick of it.  The ship is fantastic!  Ropes course, pools, children's water park, children's clubs and activities are great and they even have a babysitting service.  $10/hour for my 2 year old.  Good shows, a couple of great shows and comedy was good too.  Lots to do!  Very good experience with Norwegian.