Norwegian Escape Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Overall my NCL experience was a good one. There were just a few things I was not happy with. The shore excursion to Coral World was the worst. The place is old run down and in great need of repair. After being there for about 30 minutes my husband and I left. We did not even do what we paid for which was to swim with the sea turtles. If it were me I would not even offer this to the guests anymore. 

Every resturant we went to on board we excellent except for the Brizilian steak house. The food was uninteresting and bland. All entertainment was good with the exception of Beau Tahana. He was rude, not funny. I was not sure if he was a musician or trying to be a comic. 

My daughters and I had a great time on the NCL Escape Cruise.  We always meet nice people who work on the ship and make our trip extra special. Not a big fan of the live shows but always enjoy some of the game shows they play in the Atrium.  Went on the Getaway 2 years ago.  This ship is the same but could see they made some improvements in some of the areas.  Enjoy the casino but they allow smoking in all parts of it.  Wish some parts were non smoking.  The Casino is in an open area so the smoke travels to other open areas of the cruise ship.

Beautiful ship but thumbs down to the service, food and shows except when the staff performed.

I only give 5 stars to Rawiwat Suebsing. He was so friendly and always so welcoming. I had a few bad experiances with other staff but when i saw Rawiwat he made me smile.. He is a blessing to all of the guest.

Our family of six loved the sailing on the Escape.  Great food in all the restaurants. Top shelf drink at bars everywhere.  Lots to do for grandkids, parents and grandparents!  We enjoyed the ropes course (one for adults and one for kids!), swimming, gym.  Splash Academy is top notch. Truly a family cruise.  Best cabin steward ever.   Staff was outstanding.  We really enjoyed  Magen's Bay (St Thomas) -- one of the best beaches in the world.  Virgin Gorda is a great tour in Tortola. Some of us watched a parade in Nassau and the rest stay on the ship with so much to do.  We would highly recommend NCL and the Escape.  

Tyler our Cruise director was the best part of the cruise. Hands down best cruise director I've had on a cruise. He was hilarious and friendly and made the dance parties, shows and the whole cruise a lot of fun. Especially the funny game shows, lots of laughs there!!! The ship was beautiful, the prettiest I've even been on next to the Oasis/ Allure. Sky course and water slides were AWESOME!! Best part of the ship. Walking the plank was amazing and terrifying at the same time, couldn't get enough!! Food on the other hand was not good. Food in the Manhattan room at dinner was the only food we could eat, it was good every night. The buffet was awful, quality of food was NOT good. I was always hungry after breakfast and lunch. The Irish pub O'Sheehan's was great. Had excellent fish and chips along with buffalo wings. Ate there for lunch many times. Service wasn't great but when you're hungry and its all you can it, its worth the wait. I heard the specialty restaurants were good but I paid for my cruise so didn't want to pay to eat somewhere on top of it. This was my first NCL cruise. I would go on NCL again, but it would not be my first choice.

This was my first cruise and I would highly recommend it. Always something to do if you choose or can relax by pool and read a book. Water slides were awesome. All staff were very accommodating - I traveled with friends and family-about 20 of us. It was a good time.

 Been on several other cruise lines and this was our best to date.  Loved the ship and the staff.  Everyone is very friendly and helpful.  The food was outstanding.  Only thing I think they can improve on would be the entertainment.  That was a bit lacking.  I would recommend getting access to the Vibe.  Private area with no crowds.  You have to get that as soon as you get on the ship.  Worth the price.

The steakhouse on board was the best around!

We just returned from he Caribbean on the NCL Escape From beginning to end it was one of the most enjoyable cruises. Our balcony cabin was in a great location on deck 9 close to the waterfront on 8 and all the entertainment. Lots to do on the ship and the entertainment was first rate. The After Midnight show and the the Cats pajamas show in the supper club were wonderful. The comedians were some of the best and most talented performers. The Howl at the Moon and all the pianists on the ship were very accomplished and entertaining. O'Sheenans pub had terrific prime rib wings and breakfast. Moderno and Le Bistro had wonderful selections and the food was well prepared. The ropes course is a must do and Virgin Gorda in Tortola and Paradise Island in the Bahamas were memorable excursion destinations. The staff on the ship did everything to make our trip enjoyable and memorable. We gone on several cruises with NCL and will go on many more. This ship is a beauty!

Our overall review of our cruise was excellent.  The professionalism of the crew and staff was exceptional.  We enjoyed the entertainment, shows, dining and relaxation.  We would recommend Norwegian Cruise Line to friends, family and employees.

Awesome amenities, great layout, wonderful dining, excellent specialty restaurants, and the best surprise was the 24 hour O'Sheehans pub/restaurant!  St Thomas, Tortola and Bahamas are all excellent ports.  Highly recommend this cruise and cruiseline.

Positive Suggestions:

Dining Walking/Reservation - We prefer the set time to eat, but following your system this is what happened.  Difficulty reserving we couldn't do it in the room, calling or using the outside big screens.  We founded the staff of Savor and Taste were overwhelmed with so many people.  The greeting part of the staff didn't feel that we were welcomed, the waiting time from bread and water to the first course took more than 20 minutes.  When we went to the Manhattan Room that was completely outstanding from the beginning to the end.  The staff was excellent, team work, all the staff were connected.  The recommendation is the staff of Savor and Taste need to be at the same category or even better as the Manhattan's staff.

Onboard Activities - Knowing that the Administration is coming with the Free styling that can work better if in your website you provide more information about what will be happening that way the person can pack all what is needed to be part of the activities ( 80's, neon night and others).  I was super sad that I could be dressing  for the 80's and I didn't have anything in my luggage to be part of the event.  Night out was not too bad but I still like the formal dinner because you can see it as WOW!!! dressing like a prince/princess night.... The white night is the one that you changed to neon and I'm glad that I have my white clothes for that night because I didn't have any neon even an accessory to go with.  Again the best is be more informative with tips for the people to pack for the purpose to have fun!!!!!

The excursions are a little bit pricey for what the local vendors offer.  Then we got the excursion deal from Cruise Only thinking that we got a deal and in the boat were more cheaper. I was not a happy camper at all.  Excursion Example:  St. Thomas was a combo of shopping, sight seeing and beach.  We could go walking distance and shop, the sight seeing was on the way to the beach, we could get a taxi and stop on the way taking pictures and continue the trip in taxi to the beach.  We paid for that trip what we paid in another cruise and included food that was excellent. When the person select the excursion is because is the safe way to go but the expectation are to have fun for the price that was paid.

Days at Ports:  I was expecting that we going to be at earlier time at the ports to  having more fun.

I had a ton of fun on my first cruise since I was 15. It was my boyfriend's first cruise and he had a blast. We had an Oceanview room and had plenty of room to store our two suitcases full of clothes and shoes. We had the drink and dining packagexperience. I'd recommend to book specialty dining way before your cruise because many other travelers couldn't get into some of the restaurants. As for the drinks, enjoy! Right when you get onto the ship, go to the box office and book the comedians. We booked the musicals and other acts beforehand. The comedians can get booked pretty quickly. Other than that, my recommendation is to relax and enjoy! There is plenty to do for couples, single travelers, families, kids, etc. Norwegian had a large variety of events to meet the needs of each type of traveler. Cheers!

The service and cleanliness of on the ship is excellent. the staff is top notch.  We enjoyed the entertainment very much.  There were always plenty of activities available though we didn't participate much. The pool/hot tub area is small for that many guests.  I am a bit of a foodie, though, and I continue to be disappointed in the food on NCL cruises.  It's certainly plentiful, but it's just not that tasty, kind of hit and miss.  We did enjoy the food at the churrascaria and teppanyaki. If you aren't that fussy you'll probably be happy.  WiFi is outrageously expensive.  Time in port much too short.  If you are going on a cruise to see the islands, don't.  We spent maybe a total of 14 hours off the ship the entire week.

All I can say was the Vibe area made the trip for me.  It's was so nice to be away from all the other people smashed on the deck trying to bake themselves for hours at a time.  With that said, a few things I learned while on this cruise.  I felt the boat move the entire time.  This has never happened on a cruise for me before.  It was never bad enough to take medication, but you definitely feel it.  A balcony room is a must.  I never had a balcony before and will never go back to not having one.  Balcony is worth the extra money.  The port of Miami is crazy and the signage as you try to get your luggage the day of disembarking is terrible!!!  I have never been so confused about how to get off a ship before.  If you want something to do, there is always an activity to do or try.  The daily schedule is packed full of all kinds of events.  Dance parties they hold are so fun.  You have all ages at these parties.  Some drunk and others sober.  All of them had fun.  It did get extremely crowded at times.  The only thing on the ship I didn't care for was the Margaritaville restaurant.  It is hardly open and up charge.  Also making reservations for dinner is next to impossible.  

Overall, a great vacation.  The ship may be too large for my taste, but the ports were nice and the staff amazing.  My only hope for NCL is they figure out that people really don't want to be charged extra for most things on the ship.  I really felt like all they wanted was extra money from us the entire trip.  

Stop thinking- just do it!  Book this cruise now. You won't regret it. Amazing ship and on board experience. Negative online reviews are nonsense. The ship is a bit too crowded for my taste, but this didn't take away from our trip enjoyment.  Food is excellent and cabins are designed well. Had a midship balcony cabin and my husband and two kids (4 & 6) found it to suit us well. 

My favorite part of the cruise is spending with the family quality time and the food!!! Hands down the food was delicious, the servers were nice and attentive. However, I have paid and planned couple of surprises for my moms bday and let me just say that the communication from the crew members are off! I felt that from the front desk guest services from operations/ operator were not on the same page. I kept reminding them and they keep on giving me the wrong info of what I requested... Saying there is no such thing as a gift card when I was told by phone that they will have one ready at my mom room. It was a mess when it came to communication. Also, our housekeeper Eric was a huge disappointment. Not making out bed when requested and asking if we needed something.. Responding yes and his response well take it now cause I will forget. Really?! It's your duty to make sure I have everything I need when making the room. I kept seeing our old used towels being folded not providing clean ones as I requested. It's been a headache with service. Overall I gave it a four star because the entertainment , shows and dining was superb and the ship was nice! I would recommend it but norwegian should recast some of the employees.

We were a party of 12 and everyone had a great time. Got married in st Thomas and received lovely gifts from the hotel director and they made us all feel welcome.

This was our 13th cruise and I was excited about vacationing on a brand new ship for the first time.   Parking and getting on the ship went smooth. 

What I liked about our cruise:   Our Room - The Food was great anywhere you ate, water slides were fun, top brand spirits included in the drink package, and the staff was very friendly.  The casino was very nice and one of the best paying casinos I have experienced in a long time.  You could actually play on the machines for awhile and win some money.

What I didn't like:  The design of the ship floors and especially the pool area.  The pool area was way too small and crowded for the amount of passengers on board.  It  really grossed me out to even want to get in the pool or hot tubs with so many people in them all the time.  Every chair on the deck was right up against another chair no room in between them it's so crowded. The TV monitors were on the sides so you couldn't see the screen unless you were in the pool or cranking your head to one side sitting in one of the front chairs on the side of the pool.  My husband and I had to stay on the ship on a island day to be able to enjoy the pool and hot tub.

The decor of the ship is gloomy - gray and black - What?  The main theater is all black no color, looks like it's needs remodeling.

Specialty Restaurant Reservations:  Total frustration when it came to making reservations at the specialty restaurants.  We starting making our reservations immediately when we got on board.  The majority of times left for most all the restaurants was from 9pm on and some days were not available.   After day one forget about changing a time or making a new reservation.  It was like being at work trying to juggle the schedule for the week with restaurants and shows.

We won't be back on the Escape because you can't relax and enjoy the pool area and booking reservations for the week was not freestyle cruising at all.  The NCL cruise we went on before was much better and did not make you reserve restaurants and shows. 

NCL get rid of the reservations and redesign your ship's pool area.  Make your casino smoke free - we don't want to play in the smoke and we don't want to walk through it. 

LOVED THE SHIP, IT WAS LOVELY. I was very surprised to find out that room service carried a $7.95 convenience charge, it wasn't clear if that was per person or just a cabin charge. Nonetheless I never encountered that on any other cruise. Thank goodness there was a coffee maker in our cabin which was kept well stocked!  In addition most of the shows required reservations and ticket purchase.

The Escape was a great way to disconnect from the outside world with lots of on board activities to include delicious food.  The savor, taste, and Manhattan free restaurants were amazingly delicious!  You don't need the dining package. The service was excellent and always have a smile 😀