My Escape Review from a Royal Loyalist

[legion3]

Indeed.

 

And now everyone gets to point out just how far they are above that type of comment. Bravo!

 

Given the many posts by the OP and the locations mentioned as previously lived in, I will accept that the OP has more experience than the many of the posters being critical.

 

If the NCL Escape sucked for this OP then I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

[almondglaze]

Just returned from the 3 day. The ship is pretty and new but was not a WOW for me. Felt like I was on the Epic again. The grotto was the coolest thing. And DO NOT MISS Million Dollar Quartet. So awesome ! After Midnight had great singers but too much dancing for me. Margaritaville did not have the atmosphere I thought it would have. Food and drinks were good. I wish NCL had movies under the stars like other lines. The Atrium is just too noisy. Ate at Cagneys on the waterfront. Very nice. Daughter ate atFood Republic and said it was best food she's had on a ship. We had a 10:15 flight. Got off the ship at 7:40 and was at the airport at 8:05. The ship ride was one of the smoothest I've ever had. Couldn't even tell it was moving. We had a balcony on deck 12 forward.

 

As for the urban comment, there was a group of 800 "urban" people onboard from a travel club who were really having a good time.

[Trekker954]

Are you sure it wasn't the worst trip of your life? OP is pretty adamant that even the carpet was ugly and the washrooms had hour long waits. :confused:

 

Too "Urban"

 

That's taking this a bit far. I never even commented on the carpet or washrooms, so chill out. Maybe you are confusing me with another.

 

My bartender experiences were mostly from noon through 8 pm. I did not go into the bars at night.

 

I never said is was too urban. Just commented my view on composition, which I have no objection to. Everyone was very nice. never meant to convey that as a negative. I also could have added, after Carnival, it may have been the youngest large group of passengers typically found on cruises, thus I "personally" felt the music from days of Duke Ellington and Carl Perkinns just too old. Unfortunately I may have put that in the wrong place. Just wanted to comment I was happy I didn't have to sit through multiple languages during the muster, which RCI often makes us do.

 

Its funny no one experienced what we did during embarkation because everyone we met and spoke with at the trivias and such mentioned dismay as well. We did not have any type of priority access and arrived at noon if that makes a difference between experiences. We also found our young check in representative having to keep asking other colleagues how to process things.

 

Overall I give the Escape a Very GOOD cruise.

 

Yes, I love Pitbull. They did play his music at many venues and even had a Mr. Worldwide Drink on the menu. :)

Edited November 15, 2015 by Trekker954

[punkincc]

Given the many posts by the OP and the locations mentioned as previously lived in, I will accept that the OP has more experience than the many of the posters being critical.

 

If the NCL Escape sucked for this OP then I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

Well, there you go, the Op's final word is "Overall I give the Escape a Very GOOD Cruise". Case closed. The Escape does not "suck". Guess all those little issues didn't add up to much after all.

[JJInc]

 

I never said is was too urban. Just commented my view on composition, which I have no objection to. Everyone was very nice. never meant to convey that as a negative.

 

Here's my problem with your view on composition, which you have no objection to :rolleyes:, then why bring it up? If this cruise was sold out, at 4200 passengers, why did the urban/black people stand out? Could it have been those red shirts with their club logo on it? :eek: Btw, glad they were nice:rolleyes:

[Lily815]

Here's my problem with your view on composition, which you have no objection to :rolleyes:, then why bring it up? If this cruise was sold out, at 4200 passengers, why did the urban/black people stand out? Could it have been those red shirts with their club logo on it? :eek: Btw, glad they were nice:rolleyes:

 

They were all very nice!

[Tura Lura]

Next post will say some of my best friends are "urban." That euphemism is uncalled for (and inaccurate since not all POC live in a city). There should be no reason to call out that a ship has a lot of black people on it unless you feel it's a "warning" to others. And to say you had no problem with it as they were very nice, uh... Wow.

[helen haywood]

Oh! Now I get it. Wondered what "urban" referenced...but then I live in a rural area.

[NLH Arizona]

Oh! Now I get it. Wondered what "urban" referenced...but then I live in a rural area.

It took me a minute too, "urban" is living in cities versus rural areas and it took me a moment, because I wondered why it would be a big deal enough to point out that there were quite a lot of city folks on the cruise. Probably never came to my mind what the OP meant immediately, because it wouldn't matter what the mix on my cruises are and would never point out one portion of them as having a lot on the ship, cause it doesn't matter. Edited November 15, 2015 by NLH Arizona

[legion3]

Well, there you go, the Op's final word is "Overall I give the Escape a Very GOOD Cruise". Case closed. The Escape does not "suck". Guess all those little issues didn't add up to much after all.

 

If I had as many it would be a "suck" cruise.

 

But I know what NCL is, not what their new CEO wishes them to be.

[punkincc]

Given the many posts by the OP and the locations mentioned as previously lived in, I will accept that the OP has more experience than the many of the posters being critical.

 

If the NCL Escape sucked for this OP then I will give them the benefit of the doubt.

 

If I had as many it would be a "suck" cruise.

 

But I know what NCL is, not what their new CEO wishes them to be.

 

Someone who is well travelled and has a long cruise resume should certainly have the right expectations when it comes to a cruise, but that does not mean that they do. You were willing to give plenty of weight to this person's review when you thought they were saying the cruise "sucked", but once they basically said the cruise was really good in spite of some flaws ( which may be temporary on a brand new ship ) you are ready to discount that.

 

I'm sure we have all read reviews from very experienced cruisers that are full of drama and over exaggeration. When they start about the elevators, I roll my eyes. I never did figure out what this posters problem was with the entertainment. The OP had some good points about flaws, but there was a lot, apparently the majority, which they did like.

[sjbdtz]

The problem this week is not necessarily that they were short-staffed, but instead that they were absolutely exhausted.

 

Normally, once per week there's a passenger turn-over. They disembark, turn the cabins over, and embark new passengers.

 

This week, they had to awaken at 3 a.m. for Customs & Immigration because it was the first time the ship was in the US.

 

Then they had to disembark passengers, and turn the cabins around - not just standard, but in preparation for VIPs for 1 night.

 

Then they had to disembark the VIPs, and turn the cabins around again for another group for 3 days.

 

 

Many 3 day trips have a tendency to be booze-cruises, which is probably more straining on bar-servers & waitstaff.

 

 

Put all of that together, and you'd have an exhausted crew. Doing 3 times in one week, what they normally do once / week is draining.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

.

[maywell]

Next post will say some of my best friends are "urban." That euphemism is uncalled for (and inaccurate since not all POC live in a city). There should be no reason to call out that a ship has a lot of black people on it unless you feel it's a "warning" to others. And to say you had no problem with it as they were very nice, uh... Wow.

 

Bonus points, that the OP was cruising from Miami which is urban. That's like sailing out of NYC and saying they wasn't expecting so many urban people there. Or going to Amish county or Key West and saying wasn't expecting it to be so rural.:rolleyes:

 

 

Glad they enjoyed themselves, but sheesh.....

Edited November 15, 2015 by maywell

[hpecorari]

The problem this week is not necessarily that they were short-staffed, but instead that they were absolutely exhausted.

 

Normally, once per week there's a passenger turn-over. They disembark, turn the cabins over, and embark new passengers.

 

This week, they had to awaken at 3 a.m. for Customs & Immigration because it was the first time the ship was in the US.

 

Then they had to disembark passengers, and turn the cabins around - not just standard, but in preparation for VIPs for 1 night.

 

Then they had to disembark the VIPs, and turn the cabins around again for another group for 3 days.

 

 

Many 3 day trips have a tendency to be booze-cruises, which is probably more straining on bar-servers & waitstaff.

 

 

Put all of that together, and you'd have an exhausted crew. Doing 3 times in one week, what they normally do once / week is draining.

 

 

 

Stephen

 

.

 

Wow, Stephen, I hadn't thought if it that way. I'm exhausted just reading all they had to do recently! Hopefully, they'll get back into their normal routine!

 

Harriet

[legion3]

Someone who is well travelled and has a long cruise resume should certainly have the right expectations when it comes to a cruise, but that does not mean that they do. You were willing to give plenty of weight to this person's review when you thought they were saying the cruise "sucked", but once they basically said the cruise was really good in spite of some flaws ( which may be temporary on a brand new ship ) you are ready to discount that.

 

I'm sure we have all read reviews from very experienced cruisers that are full of drama and over exaggeration. When they start about the elevators, I roll my eyes. I never did figure out what this posters problem was with the entertainment. The OP had some good points about flaws, but there was a lot, apparently the majority, which they did like.

 

I still give it weight. She had lots of complaints...suck was my word.

 

Thought the overall tone was negative.

 

Wonder what a review would be for a cruise that truly sucked.

[punkincc]

I still give it weight. She had lots of complaints...suck was my word.

 

Thought the overall tone was negative.

 

Wonder what a review would be for a cruise that truly sucked.

 

It is human nature to put emphasis on the things that annoy, or are not to our taste, or not what we are used to ( "Loyal Royal cruises NCL." ). Sometimes they might as well just say "It wasn't Celebrity" or whichever is their preferred line. It is really hard to write a balanced review which is why I don't even try.:)

[jonbgd]

I want to hear from others that cruise on other cruiselines.

It tends to give them more perspective than those that wear rose colored glasses.

 

BTW

Don't most people complain when something negative happens than compliment when things go good.

[ashdquick]

Hi Everyone!

 

Quick question for you. I know a couple of you mentioned something about the check-in terminal on your boarding documents (Terminal B or C) Can you tell me where you see that at? I don't see anything on our documents. I have called Norwegian twice now and one CS rep told me that you can check in at B or C so to check my documents however the 2nd CS rep, said it will only terminal B that would check in at.

 

I am going to be traveling with a big group want to make sure we get to the correct terminal for check in.

 

TIA.

Ashley Q

[punkincc]

I want to hear from others that cruise on other cruiselines.

It tends to give them more perspective than those that wear rose colored glasses.

 

BTW

Don't most people complain when something negative happens than compliment when things go good.

 

I don't mind hearing from them as well, and I have seen some excellent unbiased comparisons, but I don't necessarily think they have any better perspective than anyone else or that their reviews are any more helpful.

 

People do tend to dwell on anything "negative", or "different" from their previous experience, and this is what people who read them should keep in mind when they are reading reviews and perhaps making decisions based on them. This review is a perfect example. One poster perceived it as a very negative review, but when pressed, the reviewer stated that the cruise was "very good" or something to that effect. So apparently the negative things they mentioned, while valid points, had little impact on their enjoyment of the cruise and they were unable to write a review that accurately expressed their experience, IMO.

 

Not a criticism of the OP and I appreciate the info she presented. It is very difficult to do, as I said, which is why I don't even try.

[CocoCandy]

I want to hear from others that cruise on other cruiselines.

It tends to give them more perspective than those that wear rose colored glasses.

 

BTW

Don't most people complain when something negative happens than compliment when things go good.

 

 

This was my first time on NCL. I have cruised many times on RCCL ( last time was on Allure last week) and Carnival ( last time was Breeze in August).

 

NCL Escape was very beautiful and huge. I liked our mini-suite cabin and LOVED the bathroom! It was the size of a normal hotel room bathroom and had a huge glassed in shower with multiple spa shower heads.

Edited November 15, 2015 by CocoCandy

[CocoCandy]

Are you sure it wasn't the worst trip of your life? OP is pretty adamant that even the carpet was ugly and the washrooms had hour long waits. :confused:

 

Too "Urban"

 

 

Not sure why you asked me that, but I had a good time :)

 

I am sure their service in the dining room will improve with future sailings and working out kinks, as I stated. My experience in the dining room was my own and other people may have other experiences.

 

Like I said, Garden Cafe buffet food was very good! I didn't miss not visiting the main dining room after night 1 due to a great selection of tasty food in the buffet.

 

Not sure what the public toilet comment was about? I never waited for a public toilet nor encountered any lines in one either. They were kept clean. Carpet is new and looked fine to me

 

Random observation.. NCL Escape has these wonderful hand washing stations at all entrances to the Garden Cafe, which I feel every cruise line should implement.

 

As for OP's " urban" comment, I am confused myself on that comment.

Edited November 15, 2015 by CocoCandy

[xcell]

My only complaint on any ncl ship is the dining in the non specialty restaurants..too slow... so I pay the upcharge and dine in the specialty restaurants...

 

Sent from my SGH-I337M using Tapatalk

[kenoqueen]

Wow, Stephen, I hadn't thought if it that way. I'm exhausted just reading all they had to do recently! Hopefully, they'll get back into their normal routine!

 

Harriet

 

I've been following them and yes, it seemed like they had a lot of activity since they have been officially underway. I'm sure things will become "normal" after they get a few cruises under their belt. There's always things to work out on anything New. We are booked for Jan. 2nd and can't wait. It's one reason we waited to sail instead of trying to be on one of the initial cruises.

 

The crews on these ships work very hard and in case anyone hasn't noticed lately, in the real world it's a daily occurence that people seem to have an expectation that is sometimes hard to meet.

 

I have no doubt the reviews will get better. :)

Edited November 16, 2015 by kenoqueen

[DivingPrincessE]

Hi Everyone!

 

Quick question for you. I know a couple of you mentioned something about the check-in terminal on your boarding documents (Terminal B or C) Can you tell me where you see that at? I don't see anything on our documents. I have called Norwegian twice now and one CS rep told me that you can check in at B or C so to check my documents however the 2nd CS rep, said it will only terminal B that would check in at.

 

I am going to be traveling with a big group want to make sure we get to the correct terminal for check in.

 

TIA.

Ashley Q

 

They were not put on the cruise documents until a day or two before departure, then we were sent a message telling us to re-print our docs. Unfortunately we had a big ol' "B" on our docs. So we walked past terminal C with absolutely no lines, were people were just walking in, and kept on to B with God-awful lines.

 

[DivingPrincessE]

"This specific cruise had a very high urban composition". What on earth does that mean and how did it impact your cruise?

 

Just curious what type of Broadway show you would have felt to be more appropriate? Many of the recent Broadway shows have been set in the 60s and 80s, I believe. Two of them have been on RCCL, both Hairspray and Mama Mia. Other NCL ships have had Blue Man Group and Rock of Ages as well as Cirque type dinner shows. Some of the current Escape shows are now touring, or recently on Broadway, so you can't get much more current than that. The Cotton Club covers music of the 30s, For the Record the 80s, and Million Dollar Quartet the 60s. Pitbull is the Godfather of the Escape and I am sure his music and other current music was at all the parties. I was born in the 40s, but I love music from every decade including the current one. The King and I, now THAT would not have been current;).

 

It actually does impact the cruise. One show was actually called "Cotton Club" ...Cotton...Club... And you are getting up in arms about he word "Urban"? I have since found out it was the name of an actual club, but that still seems offensive to me. I mean actually offensive, not the things that our delicate flower of a society deems to be offensive in the year of the CryBullies.

 

So if one show is "Cotton Club" and both comedians are African American (though thankfully one of them was race-neutral) the other made sure to talk about racism, racial profiling, and how the racism of law enforcement. In a time when Black Lives Matter protesters are LITERALLY calling for the murder of law enforcement, the last thing I would like to hear on a vacation is about how cops are the racist ones...

 

Also, if we had gotten on the cruise and noticed it was 80% Irish people, and the music was all Irish folk music, and the dancing was all Riverdance. We would have mentioned that in a review, too.

 

Stop being so easily offended people.

 

 

As to the shows...I didn't know a single song from Cotton Club, and only a couple from Million Dollar Quartet. I found the shows extremely boring as a result. I'm not sure if you're unaware...both Hairspray and Mama Mia were made into movies in the 2000s...so most young people are familiar with them. Not to mention they are or were both on Broadway pretty recently.

 

One of the reasons we wanted to try Norwegian is because of things like Blue Man Group and the Aerial shows we had heard the line put on. We were disappointed that on the brand new ship they had nothing but musicals with very dated music.