Our January 30th NCL Escape review with photos

[cmstl97]

Background

 


I have read a ton of these reviews since booking our first cruise a year ago, so I figured it was my turn to share our thoughts on the NCL Escape. I found a ton of great information from these threads, so thank you! After reading so many conflicting reviews of the Escape, I finally gave up and stopped reading reviews all together. This was only our second cruise so I don’t have much experience for comparison. Last year during the same week we sailed on RCL’s Liberty of the Seas doing the 5 day Western Caribbean with stops in Cozumel and Belize City. We really enjoyed the cruise a lot. There were some hits and misses, but overall the trip was great. A few months later I booked again on RCL Navigator of the Seas for the 6 day Western in Jan 2016. During that time I started paying more attention to the Escape and it really caught my eye. With the beverage package included, the Escape in a balcony was actually slightly cheaper than the 6 day RCL in an ocean view. Easy enough decision! I cancelled RCL and switched to the Escape.

 

Now that I see someone posted at 50+ page review of our same Escape cruise, I will just hit on the highs and lows and not do a full day by day.

 

Pre-Cruise

We arrived in Fort Lauderdale around 11:30am on Friday 1/30. I initially booked a shared shuttle but cancelled and decided Uber would be easier. We needed to get to the InterContinental in Miami to stay for the night. We decided to splurge on UberLux and within a few minutes we were picked up in a really nice new Chevy Suburban. The 35 minute drive was $89. UberX would have been less than $40, but even for $90 the ride was cheaper than the other car services I had quoted.

 

We checked into the InterContinental shortly after noon and were allowed to check in early and get upgraded to a 21st floor harbor view room. I have a ton of IHG points and booked the room as a reward night, so I assume that played into both the 4 hour early checkin and room upgrade. The hotel was really great. Huge bathroom, very large room and a great view of the harbor. Highly recommended, especially if you can book with IHG points as your other options are going to be primarily Holiday Inn’s.

 

 

Check-In

Our goal was to get Vibe passes. I convinced myself that I wouldn’t be disappointed if we didn’t get them after reading that the past two weeks, people who got to port at 8:30am still were not able to get them. We took an Uber from the hotel and got to port at 8:45. It was hard to find a porter to take our luggage since so many people were still getting off the ship. We got into the Terminal C security prescreen area a 9:00. Security opened at 9:30 and we were the second people through. Check-in took a few minutes then off to the boarding area. We enter and get handed Group 2. Two other people in front of us. This makes no sense! Terminal B had the group 1 cards, C started with group 2. I had found extremely detailed instructions on what to do and where to sit, so we followed them to the T. After all of the pre-boarding finished, we rushed (okay, we nearly ran) to Guest Services and got spots 25 an 26. Hugh sigh of relief at this point! It was hilarious to see a bunch of adults literally giggly that they had got the passes but it set the tone for a really fun week ahead. Much more on Vibe later.

 

 

Cabin

 

We had cabin 12904 (same as 12304) which is one of the largest regular BX category balconies on the ship. The balcony itself is nearly twice as large as a regular balcony. The extra space was nice, but there are no loungers so we really couldn’t utilize the full amount of space we had. Other than the large balcony, the cabin is a standard balcony. Decent amount of storage space for two adults, bathroom was small but adequate and we rearranged the side tables beside the bed to have more access to the closet.

 

 

 

Service

 

We ran into our cabin steward several times throughout the week. We made sure to remember to set our Do Not Disturb or Make up Room light when we were coming and going. We didn’t have any special requests of the steward, but he did a great job. We never had any issues through the week that required help from Guest Services. Bar staff was fairly week outside of Vibe and restaurant service was adequate as well.

 

Food

We found the food overall better than last year on RCL. We ate all of our breakfasts in the buffet. The selection was pretty diverse and the setup keeps the crowds moving despite number of people. We only had one MDR experience at The Manhattan Room which we enjoyed. The food was decent and service was fairly week. We did notice that the two person tables got in and out a lot quicker than the larger groups, which is understandable. We also did the 3 meal SDP.

 

Cagneys - excellent steak and service. One of our favorite meals on the ship.

 

Teppanyaki - fun, but it’s pretty much like any other hibachi grill you will visit. Food was good.

 

Moderno - this one was great as well, but we did it on night 6. Big mistake. By this point in the trip the last thing we needed was another big heavy meal. We probably wasted the credit on this one because we had a few bites of most of the meat selections and called it quits.

 

Food Republic - if you’re going to a full a la carte menu, go here! Awesome food for a cruise ship. We contemplated going back for dinner the same day. We went with a group of others we had met so we could order more to share and everyone was really impressed with the food. If I had to choose between paying for Margaritaville and Food Republic, without a doubt, FR wins.

 

Vibe Beach Club

This way by far worth the stress and anxiety. Access to this area and the three bartenders we had made the trip. No questions asked. Ro, Ewrin and Rudy were amazing. You really had to work to let you drink go empty. They brought around chilled towels, fruit and snacks several times a day, cleaned your sunglasses. The champagne and mini beers flowed freely to say the least! Getting chairs or one of the chaise loungers was never an issue. No chair hogging at all. The bathrooms were kept spotless. All of the other guests in Vibe with us were just so much fun. Had we not had the passes this cruise would have been an entirely different experience for us. I had read a few times that deck 19 right outside of Vibe is just as good, but I can’t say that I agree. That area was just as congested as the pool deck which is not a good thing.

 

 

 

 

The ship

This is were I have to be a little negative. The sun decks on sea day are incredibly crowded. Even up on deck 19 outside of Vibe, you literally had to step over people and loungers to walk. The pool deck was a madhouse. Placing a running track through a restaurant and intersecting one of the main thoroughfares into the pool deck was a horrible idea. The layout of the entire outdoor space is just not good or well planned. I went to Spice H2O before 8am on a few sea days and there were literally no loungers open. There were loungers setup in every last inch of open deck space available on the sea days. Margaritaville not being used for breakfast doesn’t make any sense. They try to direct some buffett traffic up there, but both mornings we took our food up to 17 there was no one else there.

 

You can definitely feel all 4000+ people on the ship. People watching is really difficult since all of the venues have their own distinct space and don’t open up to one another. The Promenade on the RCL ships just has a better feel to me. We sat in the Wine Bar many nights and were the only people in there. It’s open to 678 Place but gated off and the entrance isn’t noticeable as you pass by. Food Republic is hidden up on deck 7 foward. The Pinchos/Bayamo/Sugarcane space seemed to confuse people a bit as they walked in and tried to figure out if it was one venue or two with a shared bar.

 

Odds and Ends

Yes, the casino stinks. Really bad! For a barely 4 month old ship, it smells more like a 60 year old casino on Fremont Street in Vegas. Bad ventilation or none at all?

 

The ship did rock a lot during our sailing. We were far aft so that probably made it worse, but there was an odd fast sharp side to side motion that we felt a lot. Crossing Nassau back to Miami I think I literally almost rolled out of bed once. I don’t remember feeling nearly as much motion last year on Liberty of the Seas and sea appeared to be quite a bit more rough on that trip.

 

Overall, I liked the NCL experience better than RCL, but would I book Escape again? Probably not. There are just too many people on board. We really enjoy sea days and being outdoors during a trip to get away from cold weather, and that is where Escape rates the worst. The outdoor public spaces are just far too congested and hectic. Without having guaranteed Vibe access, I would not enjoy being shoulder to shoulder on those sun decks at all. We would like to do an Eastern itinerary again on a small ship, so now it’s time to start researching the options for next year!

 

I do have the Freestyles but will not be scanning them. If there is anything specific anyone wants, I will try to answer!

[cmstl97]

Here are few more photos of St. Thomas, Tortola and Nassau. Luckily on all three stops we were docked facing the better view.

 

 

 

[summer0621]

Great review....debating on going on Escape. This is going to be a very stupid question...I will apologize ahead of time.... I am new on here and just started reading these boards, so maybe this question is on a whole other thread,(possibly the new cruisers??) but what is VIBE and how do you become a part of it? Is it free? How do you get involved in it? I've picked up, from reading a little about it, but it sounds awesome.

[Sand and Seas]

Thanks for the great review and pictures! We have never tried the Vibe, but it sounds fun. We did love the Aqua Racer slides, but avoided the pool deck. Like you, we loved Food Republic. Did you go to the shows? We had booked Million $ Quartet and the Brat Pack, but both had been cancelled due to cast injuries. We have already booked to go back on Escape again:D

[cmstl97]

Great review....debating on going on Escape. This is going to be a very stupid question...I will apologize ahead of time.... I am new on here and just started reading these boards, so maybe this question is on a whole other thread,(possibly the new cruisers??) but what is VIBE and how do you become a part of it? Is it free? How do you get involved in it? I've picked up, from reading a little about it, but it sounds awesome.

 

Good question. Basically to get Vibe you have to be one of the first 80 people at Guest Services to get a pass. Passes are first come, first served but Haven and other Priority guests have access to them before the general boarding groups.

 

You get a dedicated area for a max of 80 people, better loungers with cushions, tons more space, private hot tub, dedicated bar and bathrooms, infused water, fruit skewers and snacks, food for purchase and all around awesome service. The photos with the green chair cushions are Vibe, the blue chairs packed in with no breathing room are what the rest of the sun decks look like.

 

There were reports of people getting to port at 8:30am the past few weeks and not getting them. Quite a few haven guests do take them. It's just luck of the draw but now I would be really disappointed if we cruised NCL again and couldn't get them.

Edited February 8, 2016 by cmstl97

[summer0621]

Good question. Basically to get Vibe you have to be one of the first 80 people at Guest Services to get a pass. Passes are first come, first served but Haven and other Priority guests have access to them before the general boarding groups.

 

You get a dedicated area for a max of 80 people, better loungers with cushions, tons more space, private hot tub, dedicated bar and bathrooms, infused water, fruit skewers and snacks, food for purchase and all around awesome service. The photos with the green chair cushions are Vibe, the blue chairs packed in with no breathing room are what the rest of the sun decks look like.

 

There were reports of people getting to port at 8:30am the past few weeks and not getting them. Quite a few haven guests do take them. It's just luck of the draw but now I would be really disappointed if we cruised NCL again and couldn't get them.

 

Thank you very much for the explaination about VIBE. Sounds great. I wonder if the ship was completely booked..all Haven rooms and speciality rooms etc...if there would even be a chance of anyone else even getting them in the first place.

[JBoogens]

...I had found extremely detailed instructions on what to do and where to sit, so we followed them to the T...

 

Where did you find these detailed instructions?

[Trish4bruce01]

Also wondering about the detailed instructions.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Speasda]

"Now that I see someone posted at 50+ page review of our same Escape cruise, I will just hit on the highs and lows and not do a full day by day."

 

Thanks for your review and thoughts. We are in 6 weeks and can't wait.

 

For those following along at home - This someone is Doug. Surely you met Doug on your cruise...

[cmstl97]

For the Vibe instructions, just get there early. Be aware that there may be no Group 1 cards for your terminal depending on how they are assigning groups at that point. Haven, B2B guests, special need groups and Priority do have first grabs at passes and Haven guests will purchase them and they do not have to stand in line. It appears that if one single person in a group was in a wheelchair or handicap, they let their entire group board with them too. One group had to be more than 15 people and one wheelchair. Try to ask and find the door where boarding will actually begin. There are several signs above the doors leading to the boarding hall, but they don't necessary mean anything. With the amount of people that preboarded ahead of us, I was really surprised we got passes at all.

 

"Now that I see someone posted at 50+ page review of our same Escape cruise, I will just hit on the highs and lows and not do a full day by day."

 

Thanks for your review and thoughts. We are in 6 weeks and can't wait.

 

For those following along at home - This someone is Doug. Surely you met Doug on your cruise...

 

I've only had a chance to skim over parts of his review, but I'm sure I did see him in the brewhouse at one point. He put some time in that post...that's for sure!

[Yorkvillain]

Great stuff, thanks.

[TheDougOut]

Check-in took a few minutes then off to the boarding area. We enter and get handed Group 2. Two other people in front of us. This makes no sense! Terminal B had the group 1 cards, C started with group 2.

 

I was wondering if this was the case. We were also in C, boarding group 10, and it appeared that our terminal had all the even numbers and Terminal B had all the odd numbers. I had assumed (falsely, now) that nobody in C would have had a chance at the Vibe passes.

 

We've debated attempting to secure Vibe passes for both of our two last cruises (BA last August). Ultimately we decided against them simply because we were traveling in a large group and didn't want to feel cutoff from the others.

 

But I have to say... both the BA and Escape have so many options in exterior spaces that we never felt shorted by not having them. We spent many afternoons relaxing on the Waterfront loungers and/or the various sundecks without ever feeling overwhelmed by others. In fact, many times it felt like we were on a much smaller ship. Having said that, if it were just the two of us, we'd probably go after the Vibe passes and then simply rotate between Vibe, the Waterfront, and the forward observation deck.

 

I've only had a chance to skim over parts of his review, but I'm sure I did see him in the brewhouse at one point.

 

Well, we all know that's unlikely. :D

 

Great review... love the photos!

Edited February 9, 2016 by TheDougOut

[cubsfan2008]

I agree with the review. We were on this sailing and got the vibe as well. If it weren't for getting the vibe, I think the trip would of probably been bad due to how crowded all outdoor areas were. It was literally shoulder to shoulder everywhere. This was probably the most crowded ship I have experienced and I would probably opt for ships with less rooms next time.

 

For the OP, I was in the group with the captain lol. We also loved Ro, Rudy and Merwyn. If someone goes to the Vibe, sing Row Row Row your boat to Ro and tell her Peter says hi. Vibe and Food Republic were the two highlights of our trip.

Edited February 9, 2016 by cubsfan2008

[cmstl97]

I was wondering if this was the case. We were also in C, boarding group 10, and it appeared that our terminal had all the even numbers and Terminal B had all the odd numbers. I had assumed (falsely, now) that nobody in C would have had a chance at the Vibe passes.

 

We've debated attempting to secure Vibe passes for both of our two last cruises (BA last August). Ultimately we decided against them simply because we were traveling in a large group and didn't want to feel cutoff from the others.

 

 

I had never seen the terminal differentiation mentioned here. The last few weeks people had said they didn't get passes despite getting there at 8:30, but it makes sense now. If the pre-boarders get the bulk and you're on an even deck in Terminal C...your chances getting slim. They said 1 and 2 still board at the same time which may be partially true. I was trying not to look like a total jerk and run, so a few slipped in before me!

 

I agree with the review. We were on this sailing and got the vibe as well. If it weren't for getting the vibe, I think the trip would of probably been bad due to how crowded all outdoor areas were. It was literally shoulder to shoulder everywhere. This was probably the most crowded ship I have experienced and I would probably opt for ships with less rooms next time.

 

For the OP, I was in the group with the captain lol. We also loved Ro, Rudy and Merwyn. If someone goes to the Vibe, sing Row Row Row your boat to Ro and tell her Peter says hi. Vibe and Food Republic were the two highlights of our trip.

 

Well we called him Toga...for obvious reasons! Great group of fun people though. We had a blast hanging out with everyone all week.

[MerDub]

Funny, we were on Liberty OTS 5 day cruise last year as well. I think we sailed on Feb 18th and our ports were Labadee and Ocho Rios, but some engine part broke and we ended up missing Ocho Rios to make it back to Ft. Lauderdale in time. 3 sea days and one port day left us with a little bit of cabin fever. We are booked on the Getaway leaving this Sunday, finally going to make it to Jamaica!

 

We're currently booked in an inside room so we're definitely trying for Vibe passes but my parents are driving us down to Miami from Boca Raton and they may not be keen on leaving at 7:30 to get us there at 9 am. It is a school holiday week in NY, CT, MA, so I imagine there will be some larger groups and lots of kids, which may either work to our advantage or totally against it. I think it would really enhance our cruise though. It's too bad Haven passengers get first dibs on them as they already have an exclusive area to lounge - as well as their balconies! They should give people in inside rooms first chance at them heh :D

 

Thanks for your review! It's really nice to have someone who was on Liberty last year comparing the food and amenities to one of NCL's larger ships. Glad to hear you enjoyed it and the food in the MDR was equally as good!

Edited February 10, 2016 by MerDub

[Jenjer]

I think they should let you book Vibe when you put down your deposit. Make it nonrefundable non transferable, if any of the first people end up cancelling or moving their sail date then have those passes first come first serve.

 

It would really help with all the I have to camp out to be group #1 or #2 and run to guest services.

 

As for why Haven guests would get them 2 reasons seem to stick out. First the Haven allows for kids some people really don't want kids and the noise they involve. Second is if your cruising in Haven but your friends are not its a great place for you to meet up and hang out together.

[SSLaura]

Sorry if this is a stupid question, but where do I purchase the tickets for VIBE and how much do they cost? Thanks for all the good tips.:)