moops

Based on location of those who had issues, and those who didn't, my sense is that this is mostly isolated to a small set of cabins on the starboard side. I was in 8746 and @justpinky had issues in 8742 which was 2 doors up from us. Seems cabins in this direct area on the port side didn't have as much of an issue. And anyone in the larger cabins (starting at 8736 starboard, and 8136 port side) also had no issues because they are clear of the theatre below (you can check the deck plans and you'll see which cabins on Deck 8 overlap the theatre). As I mentioned, location itself is great -- the noise, not so much!

Really appreciated your post! We've never cruised NCL, and after a not so great cruise a couple of weeks ago on Princess, have decided to give NCL a try for a Canadian cruise! You're review seems to address some of our boredom issues along with the food questions that we had. Thanks again!!!!

 

PS. We've cruise on Royal also, as you can see in our signature. Thought about the Anthem, but they're not sailing when we planned on going. Plus i'm upset at Royal for leaving me behind in Nassau! ;)

OMG, funnily enough, I stumbled across the post last night that summarized your unfortunate Nassau experience -- it was a terrifying read; how traumatic, but good to see it hasn't turned you off cruising!

If someone asked me to describe Escape in one word, it would be 'fun' -- and by that I don't mean it's an obnoxious spring break party atmosphere, more that there's something for everyone, the atmosphere is really high energy, and it's easy to stumble across activities and fun stuff no matter where you go. I still prefer my Royal experiences for various reasons, but wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Escape!

Based on reco's on CC, we recently stayed at the Hampton Inn Airport Blue Lagoon. We landed late at night, so just needed a place close to the airport/port that was reasonably priced, with some shops and restaurants w/in walking distance to grab late dinner and last-minute supplies. Free airport shuttle, free breakfast, kitty corner to many shops/restaurants, and $10 pp shuttle to port. No bed bugs that we could see. :)

Just off the Escape last Saturday. From the Welcome Aboard bulletin:

• Buffet 11:30-2:45pm
  
• O'Sheehan's 11:30-2:30pm
  
• Taste & Savor dining rooms 12:00-2:00pm
  
• Margaritaville (fee) 11:30-2:30pm/4:00-5:00pm
  

Food Republic and Pincho were only open for lunch during on sea days.

What types of shops are on escape. Just trying to decide what to buy and where.

 

 

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I would say the usual ship fare -- a 'general' store with souvenirs, booze, sundries, etc; high end jewelry; watches; some branded stores (Carolina Herrera and Lacoste -- never saw anyone shopping in those); makeup & perfume. If you go on the Norwegian site and search the Escape, it lists the stores (I tried to include a link but it didn't work!).

How would you compare Escape to a RCCL Quantum class ship like the Anthem of the Seas? I ask because I am much more likely to sail Anthem again rather than the only large NCL ship I have been on, the Breakaway. I expect to take the Escape out of NYC in the future, would like a comparison if possible. Thank you OP for an informative review.

Unfortunately I can't provide an informed answer as I have yet to sail Quantum Class (that's next on the list!). The largest I've sailed on Royal is Oasis class, and I preferred that general ship experience more than the Escape. Personal preference, but for me it just felt like there was more consideration put into what the general experience would be for the folks who weren't necessarily paying more -- larger, open gathering spaces that everyone could enjoy; more spacious layout with better flow; easier access to complimentary food and beverage, etc. Again, this is only my perspective, and I can understand why people love the Escape!

Bodden offers a Fun-N-Sun non-private tour. It's a limited time at the beach (2 hrs), as they spend 1.5hrs touring the island, and about 45mins @ Victor's Monkey Business, first. We did the Bodden Zip-N-Dip last week. After ziplining we saw the animals @ VMB -- probably spent only about 30 mins, then they drove us to Bananarama @ West Bay. It poured rain so we didn't sit on the beach. I was actually fairly underwhelmed, the beach area is very narrow, the water cloudy (probably due to weather), and there were vendors everywhere. So West Bay may not be your best bet!

Just off the Escape and asked our steward to get a pitcher of ice/water, and he said we'd have to request this from room service, which we never got around to doing. We had brought water bottles, so simply filled them up every day at the various water stations -- in the buffet, inside Margaritaville (using a clean cup to transfer)...I'm sure there are more stations, we just didn't see them! We also used the melted ice from our cabin's ice bucket. We weren't sure if the tap water in our bathroom was the same as drinking water, so we erred on the side of caution.

We were on the Escape last week, connecting balcony (8746) and heard no noise from the cabin beside us. May have been luck with quiet neighbours, but definitely didn't hear anything through the door.

Royal Caribbean sold the Escape? :D :D :D

 

That made me laugh when I saw the topic. Thanks I needed that today.

yeah, gotta love typos, whoops! :)

Hi everyone! Thought I’d add my review of our experience on the Escape as I’ve lurked and gleaned so much great info over the years from these boards.

As background, I’m early 40s, have only been on four (incl. this one) cruises in the past twelve years ….my preferred travel style is land-based vacations as Iike to immerse myself in the city or country I’m in. However, I’ve also enjoyed the cruises I’ve been on, which have been multi-generational family affairs (adults, no kids) – perfect way to spend time together with something for everyone. This time I was cruising with my Mom (60s), my birthday present to her! J We have cruised before, always with Royal and prefer mega ships as we like to have a lot of places to explore, and options of things to keep us entertained.

Overall, we had a really good time – there were definitely pros and cons versus our previous cruises on Royal. For us, we give the edge to Royal (don’t hate me, I know this is the NCL board!), but wouldn’t hesitate to recommend the Escape as it definitely is a great ship. I think it’s just a matter of what kind of cruise experience you’re looking for, and for us Royal has a slight lead for our needs. But you certainly can’t go wrong with the Escape – it was a fun week, and certainly what works for us, may not for others – but I thought it might be helpful to offer our perspective! Here we go, it’s a long one…

Pre-cruise:

Thanks to CC reco’s, we stayed Friday night at the Hampton Inn Airport Blue Lagoon. A solid choice, good value (free airport shuttle and breakfast), with an excellent location that is perfect for last-minute shopping. Convenient port shuttle ($10 per person).

Embarkation & settling in:

A long line to check-in but the wait wasn’t bad (~30 mins), smooth overall. We arrived at 12:30pm, on-board by 1:00pm. Cabins ready by 2:00pm, luggage 3:00pm. Muster was 3:30pm – efficient, crowded, no big deal (our station was in the theatre, so pretty organized, and we could sit!). We went to the 4:15pm sail away party on the pool deck -- fun, high energy, exciting to cruise past all the other ships waiting their turn to head out to sea.

We also went to the 2:00pm “ship tour” – which was one of the staff simply showing us around decks 6-7-8, pointing out restaurants and amenities (I think everyone assumed it would be a more comprehensive tour). Terry was the guide, an adorable member of the Cruise Director’s team, and it was only the poor guy’s second week on the ship so it was funny that the crowd had to correct him on some points. Truth be told, the tour wasn’t useful, no fault of Terry’s (and he was great the rest of the cruise).

The cabin:

Family balcony (category B3) cabin 8746. Spacious layout, lots of storage. Bathroom is big (outfitted with soap, shower wash gel, moisturizer, shampoo…but no conditioner). Thanks CC for the tip on bringing magnets as the walls are all magnetized so great to post up info as needed. Our loveseat was by the balcony, and from what I could see, cabins alternated ‘bed vs. loveseat by the balcony’ configuration. We loved being on deck 8 since we spent so much time in the Atrium and dined mostly in the MDRs. And the Waterfront is a lovely oasis. Cabin was on starboard side -- for this cruise, we only faced port once (Cozumel), so choose port side on this itinerary if that's important to you.

BUT….this cabin location was *terrible* for noise, avoid it at all costs! It’s directly over the theatre, likely above the stage. Booming sound, music, vibrations whenever there were shows, and some off-hours when they were rehearsing. Most nights done by 11:15pm, but Tues night it went on until 12:30am! We also overlooked a shuffle board court so there was occasional clinking and talking below, not a huge issue for us. The problem really was the theatre noise. I had anticipated this would be a problem once our cabin was assigned and I saw the location, so in a way, we were prepared. Unfortunately, we couldn’t move as the ship was fully booked. Not all deck 8 cabins will have this problem -- the more forward cabins are clear of the theatre, just be sure to check the deck plans ahead of time. We didn’t see our cabin steward, Wilfredo, much – but he did a nice job every day, no complaints.

Food & beverage:

Food is one area where NCL has a leg up over Royal Caribbean – and we didn’t even dine in any specialty restaurants! When we booked, there was a “Canada at par” promotion which saved us nearly $600, but meant we had to forego all promotions, so no specialty dining or Ultimate Beverage Package -- shocker! honestly, I think we were, like, two of ten people on the entire ship who weren’t drinking for ‘free’! but I found the costs for wine and cocktails very reasonable to ‘pay as we went.' And I actually benefited from the generosity of some wait staff a couple of times as they took pity on my UBP-less self, scoring free pop and a couple of glasses of Prosecco without even asking (well played on their part to earn some extra tips!).

Food was very good, better than expected – O’Sheehan’s 24/7 pub food is a great idea; MDRs surprisingly high quality – actual clams in shells for the pasta (vs. canned), smoked duck salad, roast lamb, prime rib, etc. Even the buffet was decent – liked that they had so many ‘build your own’ stations (salad, tacos, pasta, hot dogs, burgers, crepes, omelettes). We dined there at least once for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, and it was always a good experience; no over-reliance on fried foods. It was busy, but we always headed to the back which was a little less chaotic.

For MDRs, we preferred the Manhattan room – nice atmosphere with live music and dancefloor; despite it being their more formal dining room, it felt very intimate (unlike on Royal where I found the tone more stuffy). Ask for a table by the stage, otherwise it’s hard to hear the music from the back. One night we watched a Motown singing performance which was fun. For any MDR we never had to wait more than 5 minutes. This is where we really appreciated the idea of Freestyle cruising -- eat when we want, wear what we want, no need to haul cocktail dresses and heels on vacation (though I do get the appeal of dressing up, for me, I'd rather have a lighter suitcase!).

One disappointment was there were no places to just grab coffee or snacks to go. For coffee you had to buy at the Atrium Café, or hoof it up to the buffet, but even there you couldn’t take your coffee with you as they don’t provide to-go cups. Same for snacks – either the buffet, pay at the Atrium café, bake shop, or gelato place. On Royal, there were so many places to grab a snack or coffee – the Promenade pizza place and café, Central Park, Boardwalk, etc. We did notice some coffee stations on the Waterfront some mornings, but they were always empty and/or cold, and it’s not like we were up late – so we weren’t sure if they were just ‘leftovers’ from the night before!

The ship layout:

I was rather disappointed with the ship’s layout. It felt like in an effort to be an ultimate all-inclusive at sea, they used every bit of spare space to fit in another money-making restaurant, bar, or ‘exclusive area’ (Vibe beach club, Haven, etc.), at the sacrifice of having larger gathering spaces available to everyone. This was a key difference between the Escape and Royal ships – and one of the reasons we feel we prefer Royal.

The Atrium is a great concept – I like the casualness of having a public space where games and entertainment happen, inviting anyone strolling by to participate. But the layout is terrible, packed, not enough chairs (even with extra folding chairs). Sometimes we just parked upstairs at O’Sheehan’s to watch the shows. There really didn’t feel like there were many inviting spaces to just sit, gather, and people-watch unless you were at a bar, the congested Atrium, or the Waterfront (which was lovely). Also, some of the floorplans were rather odd – like having to walk through the buffet to get to the pool after exiting the aft elevators. Flow overall just seemed a bit chopped up and divided.

Pools and gym:

We aren’t huge sun-worshippers or swimmers, so didn’t mind that the pool was crowded, as others might. When we wanted to just park ourselves on the upper decks to sunbathe, there was no problem finding loungers as location wasn’t important to us. The Aqua Loop was really fun – never had to wait more than 5-10mins. Ropes course was also great – waited 30 mins on the first sea day – disappointingly,the upper ropes course was closed for “maintenance” (though never saw anything being ‘maintained’!); don’t forget closed-toe/-back shoes, no jewelry, shirt with sleeves, nothing in pockets. We didn’t hang out in Spice H2O as we prefer shade and there wasn’t a lot on offer there save for a few umbrellas which were taken. The gym wasn’t huge, but never full, decent equipment.

The activities:

I think what really ‘made’ the cruise for us was the fun atmosphere which was set by the Cruise Director, Andre, and his team. I thought the staff were excellent and really created the right tone – good honest fun, witty, not overly cheesy or annoying. (I mean, as a geek at heart, he had me with his Harry Potter trivia, robe and all!). The team really made the week memorable – I can’t remember any CDs from my past sailings, but will definitely remember Andre (and Terry, and Brenda, and the rest of the gang). We spent a lot of time in the Atrium where they held most of the games and trivia. So many laughs – Newlywed game, Celebrity dance-off, Battle of the sexes, salsa lessons, and on and on.

Live music was also very good – loved the Golden Octaves, listened to them all over the ship. Latin Duo were also good. Howl at the Moon was fun. Didn’t go to the Spice H2O parties, though checked out Glow night briefly (a lot of techno if that’s your thing!).

Didn’t see After Midnight, but watched the Brat Pack, and it was (sorry to say) terrible. If you aren’t familiar with John Hughes movies, avoid this, it does nothing to explain the characters or plots. I grew up with the movies, love the music – but this felt like a high-end high school musical. The theatre was a third full at best, so perhaps this show is on its last legs. Since the Mersey Boys sold out their Supper Club appearances, they added them as a walk-in performance for Friday night in the theatre. We had actually booked to see them in the Supper Club, but after watching their preview performance during the Variety Show, decided it looked terrible and didn’t go (having seen them, they’re actually not bad!).

The Decks and Engines Q&A with the Captain and Chief Engineer was really interesting.

Ports:

Roatan – Zip-N-Dip with Bodden tours. Pretty fun, not necessarily scenic ziplines and it poured rain at the beach, alas!

Harvest Caye – As you’ve read, really just a beach and pool day. Pool was jam-packed, sand was rough. But we did see a boa constrictor being captured! (luckily it was small, not like in the movies)

Costa Maya – Chacchoben tour with Native Choice. Our guide was very good, knew his stuff. If you tour with Native Choice, give yourself at least 45 mins to get to their office. The walk down the pier is long (we took the shuttle), then you need to navigate the port plaza, then find your way through the local streets to their office (when they say “four blocks”, it is waaaaayyy longer than that!). We cabbed from the plaza ($2 pp), since we were running behind. Bring mosquito repellant or you will be eaten alive!

Cozumel – Visited before, skipped Paradise Beach and went souvenir shopping instead!

Tech stuff:

Liked the concept of the iConcierge app -- it was super helpful for checking daily charges, a good thing since there were two errors. Once, charged for two extra glasses of wine in the MDR; another time, $21 charge for the mini bar which we didn't use (which was reversed before I caught the mistake, thankfully). For the MDR error, guest services requested the restaurant void the charge, which was done within 24 hours. I did notice that sometimes the app didn't fully list all the activities in the Freestyle Daily, so I stlil relied on the print-out as my 'guide' for the day. I thought the multiple touchscreens through the ship were a great idea -- we booked entertainment a couple of times this way (which you can also do from your TV or app).

In Summary….we had a great vacation (I mean, it was a week in the sunshine on a giant cruise ship!). We’re glad to have sailed with Norwegian, though likely we will cruise Royal again. I can definitely understand the appeal of the Escape – an impressive ship with good food and a fun atmosphere. If I was cruising with friends, it would be great to bar and show hop, so much to see (and drink!). Overall, a fun and memorable vacation. Hope this review was helpful, thanks for having us!

We were just on last week's Escape Western Caribbean sailing, fully booked. Echo comments above, pool can get crowded, buffet was a bit loony at breakfast and lunch on some port days when folks came back to eat (e.g. Harvest Caye). Atrium was busy when entertainment was happening (terrible layout, not a lot of room to move or sit, but worth it for the fun!).

Oh, and avoid the shops during the $10 sale -- total madness! :)

Just off the Escape -- I was in a regular balcony, and we had to vacate the cabin by 9:00am, and I believe everyone off the ship by 9:30am. IIRC buffet and O'Sheehan's were open to 9:00am, one of the MDRs until 8:30am. Not sure about Haven dining options, but I imagine the disembarkation times would be same for all. Our group time was 9:25am, so we hung out on the Waterfront until called.

Ship - Norwegian Escape

Deck - 8

Stateroom # - 8746

Stateroom Category – B3 (family balcony)

Starboard or Port Side - Starboard

Quiet Stateroom? (With comments on problems) – NO definitely not quiet, very very noisy! Avoid this cabin at all costs. Directly over the theatre -- booming music, noises, and vibrations during shows, and off-hours when they are rehearsing (up until 12:30 am one night). Cabin also overlooks starboard shuffle board, so may be a noise issue for some (clinking, talking, etc.); we did not find the shuffle board to be a major issue as we were not usually 'home' during the day and the shuffle boards were not frequently being used (play ends at 8:00pm each night).

Was stateroom a connecting stateroom? - Yes

Balcony View - Give comments on view, noting if location of any obstructions was an issue. – No obstructions, overlooks Deck 7 shuffle board court.

Balcony Size? Normal or oversized for class? - Normal

Was wind a problem? - No

If an aft cabin, was soot a problem? - N/A

Any specific problems with this cabin? - Noise! See above.

Any other comments? - We loved the cabin layout -- very spacious for two people, good storage, huge bathroom. We also loved being on deck 8 as we spent a lot of time in the Atrium, and it was an easy walk to the main dining rooms (decks 6 and 7), plus the Waterfront is great for quiet time. We aren't big 'pool' people, so not inconvenient to be further from the poolside action. Note that this cabin has the sofa (vs. bed) beside the balcony which we prefer. From what we could see, cabins alternate sofa vs. bed by the balcony, so every other cabin had the same layout.

To close the loop on this....just back from the cruise. AVOID cabin 8746! It is directly over the theatre (and by my estimation, very close to the stage) -- booming noises, music, and vibrations whenever the shows were on, as well as off hours on occasion. The worst was Tuesday evening -- no shows scheduled so I imagine they were practicing after the comedy show ended. We are talking non-stop vibrations and booming until at least 12:30am. Unfortunately the ship was fully booked so couldn't move. As noted above, the more forward cabins are probably clear of the theatre, so no issues (check the deck plans, you can see that the theatre doesn't reach right to the front of the ship).

Also, we were directly over the starboard side shuffle board. That actually wasn't a big issue as we weren't usually 'home' during the day. So, yes, some clinking and whatnot -- but not terrible. However, this might be a problem for some folks. (Note there are shuffle boards on both port and starboard sides).

The cabin layout itself (family balcony) was great, and we loved being on deck 8 as we spent a lot of time in the Atrium and main dining rooms. But the specific location of 8746 is beyond terrible!

Thanks everyone! Have spoken to my travel agent, balconies are sold out, but he's putting me on a wait list, so hoping something will come open in the next week (probably unlikely, but crossing my fingers). If nothing changes, oh well, will just have to plan limiting the times we'll be in the cabin while the shows are going on. Good thing we're night owls!

Oh dear, we are booked for this month on the Escape in 8746, on the Starboard side. Is there shuffleboard on Deck 7 on both sides of the ship? Worried now about that and potential theatre noise. Challenge is it's a guaranteed balcony, so I can only hope we may be able switch at the port! Alas, such is the risk we take to save some money -- luck of the draw, so can't really complain I suppose!