Everything.. ESCAPE (live 29 Oct 2015!)

[hunterjackson]

Sounds like the shows are the only positive reviews so far. I hope the reviews get better once she moves to Miami. I am really leery about NCL since I have never been. I may change to RCCL where I know it will be great on the Oasis or Allure. The Escape looks great, but NCL sounds like the don't know how to run the ship. I sure hope I'm wrong.

 

I havent seen a single negative review. Only positive things...

[loupana]

I havent seen a single negative review. Only positive things...

 

Same here, reviews I've seen have made me more excited for our upcoming cruise...

[barnacle_boy]

There are quite a few negative reviews floating around, especially regarding the service onboard. Even the official CC UK editor's review of a preview cruise mentions lackluster service. It's understandable for a new ship, but some of it is also likely due to the implementation of new operational procedures by Prestige management. It's doubled the number of new hoops for crew and staff to jump through.

Edited November 3, 2015 by barnacle_boy

[funsun42]

So is this an accurate statement? On Escape, the difference between Mini Suite and Balcony is still only in the bathroom but instead of having a bathtub, it's an overall upgrade of the bathroom but with no bathtub. Sorry if this was already covered.

Thanks!

[funsun42]

I just got off the phone with an NCL agent. I was asking about my stateroom on my 11/28 Escape cruise. She told me she just saw the Escape in Miami and it was a beautiful ship. When I told her I thought it was still in the Atlantic she assured me it's in Miami now!!! LOL

[SliceOfLife]

So is this an accurate statement? On Escape, the difference between Mini Suite and Balcony is still only in the bathroom but instead of having a bathtub, it's an overall upgrade of the bathroom but with no bathtub. Sorry if this was already covered.

Thanks!

 

Family Mini Suite's have bathtubs and Mini Suite's have a large shower with spa like jets.

 

Hope this helps answer your question.

[SissasMomE]

I just got off the phone with an NCL agent. I was asking about my stateroom on my 11/28 Escape cruise. She told me she just saw the Escape in Miami and it was a beautiful ship. When I told her I thought it was still in the Atlantic she assured me it's in Miami now!!! LOL

 

Oh good grief :rolleyes: LOL

[CP3o]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=691

[legion3]

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/getreviews.cfm?action=ship&ShipID=691

 

Yep some of those are pretty brutal reviews.

[LMaxwell]

I just got off the phone with an NCL agent. I was asking about my stateroom on my 11/28 Escape cruise. She told me she just saw the Escape in Miami and it was a beautiful ship. When I told her I thought it was still in the Atlantic she assured me it's in Miami now!!! LOL

 

LOL. can't even see Dodge Island from their corporate office. What a maroon!

[LMaxwell]

Yep some of those are pretty brutal reviews.

 

I can't believe anyone would book a taster cruise and expect everything to be perfect on a brand new ship. They have to know they were paying for an opportunity to be on a new ship, to be FIRST, but not necessarily expect the full cruise experience.

 

NOW, if reviews like that keep up 3 months after normal Caribbean service starts, that's a different story, but I've pretty much got to write off these initial reviews at least in regards of what they would tell me to expect from normal operation.

[DCT61]

I can imagine what my review would look like if my time on the ship was based on boarding one day and leaving the next. The two most stress filled days of any cruise..what if that were your whole cruise. Grain of salt.

Edited November 4, 2015 by DCT61

[iriefeeln]

I can imagine what my review would look like if my time on the ship was based on boarding one day and leaving the next. Grain of salt.

 

 

Totally agree.

[kismet618]

I can't believe anyone would book a taster cruise and expect everything to be perfect on a brand new ship. They have to know they were paying for an opportunity to be on a new ship, to be FIRST, but not necessarily expect the full cruise experience.

 

NOW, if reviews like that keep up 3 months after normal Caribbean service starts, that's a different story, but I've pretty much got to write off these initial reviews at least in regards of what they would tell me to expect from normal operation.

Just curious as to how many taster cruises any of these "reviewers" had taken previously.:cool:

[motleyfan]

To be honest NCL deserves every of those bad reviews. I had been on the 3 nights from Hamburg to Southampton and I have no idea why they sell those for a pretty high fare and then not even trying to deliver a perfect product. I would rather let half of the people on board and make sure they have a great time instead of too many you are able to handle and then let half of them get off disappointed.

 

Can you link me to a review? I would love to see it

[motleyfan]

To be honest NCL deserves every of those bad reviews. I had been on the 3 nights from Hamburg to Southampton and I have no idea why they sell those for a pretty high fare and then not even trying to deliver a perfect product. I would rather let half of the people on board and make sure they have a great time instead of too many you are able to handle and then let half of them get off disappointed.

 

Not all the reviews were bad, I was able to find them and most of the negative reviews seem to have come from foreigners probably the snooty type with their nose in the air. One actually said she was upset about something to do with the grapefruits, & I was like really the grapefruits? Some people are too picky

[Pappion]

I imagine NCL will take a look at the reviews, foreigners or not because a good deal of people come from overseas to cruise the Caribbean. It isn't just a destination for Americans. We always notice a great deal of Europeans when we cruise in December/January.

 

I do think that people have too high expectations for the taster cruises though, as they seem to be the equivalent of a stress test on a restaurant staff. You can't expect a brand new ship & staff to be 100% perfect until they've had time to work together a little while.

[sexymartini]

Booked on the Escape 12/5/2015. This will be our 63rd cruise! Really looking forward to it. How was the dining room food?

[FreestyleNovice]

To be honest NCL deserves every of those bad reviews. I had been on the 3 nights from Hamburg to Southampton and I have no idea why they sell those for a pretty high fare and then not even trying to deliver a perfect product. I would rather let half of the people on board and make sure they have a great time instead of too many you are able to handle and then let half of them get off disappointed.

 

Not defending or fanboying NCL but I quite enjoyed my Hamburg - Southampton cruise, booked as early as possible for a low fare but we've also spent some bucks on board, got some of the best food we've ever had on NCL.

 

Bars were never crowded, I was actually surprised about the sea day how crowds spread and how the clever design really worked. The abundance of a dedicated night club as Bliss might even be positive towards crowd control I suspect..

 

Margaritaville got a bit busy and slow on food service on the sea day with the short operating hours but other than that we've received normal service.

 

Disembarkation was a bit of a hassle. With all the noncomplying people in the forward staircases and even occupying seats in the served par of O'sheehans despite friendly requests of the hostess. Luckily aft was much quicker. Nothing to blame NCL for.

 

I saw a Brit complaining about weak "American" coffee creamers in one of the reviews, funny actually as the only creamers I saw (in room) were German ones. The butter cups in the MDR were Dutch origin for instance, of course nobody complained about our brilliant Dutch butter. So the grain of salt is in place. :)

 

And the taster public is far from representative for her Caribbean public.

 

I think Escape is a beautiful ship which suits the freestyle concept (the one with the upcharges) perfectly. I wouldn't hesitate to book her in a warmer climate if a lower fare would kind of compensate my on board spendings. I do accept that our future vacations with NCL would costs a small percentage more on such ships, to me that's a good mindset when trying Escape and her future sisters. And we were turning away from NCL towards Celebrity! Kudos to FDR for getting that extra few bucks business wise but also on launching the most perfect freestyle ship to date.

 

I am about to rebook our Epic cruise because of Escape, as much as I love Epic I do remember the nights we decided to head to the room because of Shaker's being crazy full when we went for a night cocktail. Or the lack of seats in the Atrium for a nice spot for reading a book.

 

Just my ramble. :)

[steamboats]

So is this an accurate statement? On Escape, the difference between Mini Suite and Balcony is still only in the bathroom but instead of having a bathtub, it's an overall upgrade of the bathroom but with no bathtub. Sorry if this was already covered.

Thanks!

 

We had a Mini Suite with triple accomodation. The layout of the cabin was exaclty the same as a balcony (yes, the "aisle" part along the bathroom was longer as the bathroom is larger). So the only difference is the larger bathroom which had a large walk in shower with massage features. The other difference is the large sink with two faucets. But there´s no space to place you toiletry bag. In a regluar balcony there are two "shelves" underneath the sink area and two small "shelves" on the mirror. In the Mini Suite there´s one long shelf right below the mirror. But those are only wide enough to place some single toiletries or a brush. No real space for anything. I´d prefer the bathroom of a balcony over the one of the mini suite. The other difference... the sofa is reddish and not turquoise in a mini suite.

 

steamboats

[steamboats]

Most of the reviews complain about the embarkation/disembarkation process which is partly the fault of the harbor.

 

I love the complaint about the missing coffee pads :D! My guess is that they simply haven´t been delivered yet to the ship. The next complaint was, there are tea bags but no kettle... Have you ever tried to make a cup of tea with the coffee machine??? Should work...

 

On the 2 night pre inaugural we never had any major problems with the service. Yes, in Margaritaville it could have been faster but it was no big deal. It´s a brand new venue and there was lots of staff to get used to it. Servers were very friendly. At Bayamo I told our server that we will only have a starter because we have a dinner scheduled at Le Bistro. He immediately gave us tips what to order there as he had worked there before (on another ship of course). When we asked for a cocktail from the Sugarcane Mojito Bar we got the menu within a second and drinks came pretty fast too. Our cabin steward did a good job. When my DH asked for robes (he asked another cabin steward on the aisle) our cabin steward brought them within 30 min (sure, he got the request from his collegue and then had to go down to the laundry area to pick them up).

 

I think some people had to high expectations. Short trips do have their own rules. Short trips of a new ship do have their own rules even more. You can´t expect that the crew already knows everything. They have to learn too. You can´t expect that the whole ship is ready - it´s normal that something is missing or last work has to be done (o.k., on the Epic the whole The Haven area was not ready and that wasn´t normal). Most of those kinks work out within the first couple of weeks.

 

You also have to consider there was a 2 nighter for TAs and media, then a 2 nighter from Hamburg to Southamptpon, then a 1 nighter out of Southampton and another 1 nighter... that´s pure stress for the crew too to cope with a new party mob almost every night!

 

steamboats

[Single Cruiser]

Just catching up on this thread. Obviously the weathers not helping but I think the no.1 negative you'll see in reviews from those onboard is lack of nightlife post midnight. On all previous TA's and inaugurals when bar ents stop you had to Bliss for a couple of hours of dancing, drinking or just chilling. They are going to refit part of the Casino to be a smoking enclosed area so hopefully they'll also enclose skyline to be a nightclub.

 

The 5oclock bar is the smoking bar as the external part is where all the smokers now go.

[MrsBee89]

I just got off the phone with an NCL agent. I was asking about my stateroom on my 11/28 Escape cruise. She told me she just saw the Escape in Miami and it was a beautiful ship. When I told her I thought it was still in the Atlantic she assured me it's in Miami now!!! LOL

 

I spoke with someone at NCL yesterday who told me she had been on the Escape for a 2 night cruise on 30th October....I'm pretty sure the TA left before then!!

[sunline2000]

the good and the not so good....some people are so critical I don't think they can also find what was good on their vacation. We will be on the ESCAPE 11/21.

Looking forward to the new and to relax. Will I find issues or not like something YES. WE have been on almost a DZ cruises various lines......each one went mostly great.When $$$ involved I to want the best for my buck.

 

That said looking for more reviews on entertainment,the gym and relaxing spots to enjoy a good book inside or out.

[HaraldOslo]

On the silly side, it looked like Norwegian Escape would harness wind power!

 

 

That huge wind turbine on deck 16 sure would have made some noise! :-D