Norwegian Escape Review 7/16/16 to 7/23/16

[panthers_4890]

My wife and I, including 2 of our college friends, just disembarked from the Escape yesterday, and I thought I would try out a hopefully brief review of our time on the ship the past week.

 

Before I do, I would invite all of you to please ask any questions you have about the ship...the trip is still fresh, so hopefully I can answer your questions well! If I don't know the answer, I will be honest and invite anyone else with more info to chip in.

 

Backstory to the trip...I have been on 4 cruise lines (NCL, Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Celebrity), but the 2 most recent have been on Royal's bigger ships, and my wife and I have grown a little partial to them. However, when planning for this trip, I came across some reviews about the Escape which piqued my interest, and the ball got rolling. On top of that, we were able to score the Ultimate Beverage Package and a 4-meal Dining plan in promos for less money than the Oasis of the Seas cruise was 2 years ago, so that pretty much sealed the deal for us. I'll discuss all of those things in posts to come.

 

The trip itself started a few days before the cruise. The 4 of us flew to Orlando to spend 3 full days at Disney World. My wife and I had never been, and we were trying to find the right time to get there for a little taste of the magic. I won't go into detail about that part of the trip, but it was AMAZING. It takes quite a bit for me to be convinced of "the magic," but Disney World got me hook, line, and sinker. The attention to detail is astounding...it is truly a must-see for all ages, especially the shows at night.

 

We then hopped in a rental car at Disney and drove down to the Miami airport the day of Embarkation. For anyone interested, Alamo does still offer a complimentary shuttle from their rental place to the Port of Miami. I tried finding a current update on if that service still existed on CC, but couldn't find anything more recent that last summer. So, yes, it does exist. However, you must present your Alamo receipt in order to utilize the service.

 

We then got on the ship and the rest will be in the posts that follow.

 

I'm going to break down the trip into categories, with rankings, and if I can figure out how to insert a few pictures, I will do that as well (no promises!).

 

Until then, I will continue to gather my thoughts, and I invite all questions! Not to ruin the end result, I will say that we had a wonderful time, and we will be talking about this trip for a long time!

[sun, sand, cocktail]

Hi. I'm looking forward to more of your review. My husband and I are on the Escape in October.

I hope in your review you will touch on the (free) onboard entertainment. Besides the two main shows, After Midnight and The Brat Pack, there seems to be a revolving door with the shows in the Supper Club. Curious what was onboard for your cruise.

I'm SO excited that you "got the magic" of Walt Disney World. It makes me so happy to hear people say that.

Thanks

[panthers_4890]

I'm trying out Photobucket for the first time, but the site appears down at the moment, so I'll bring in more photos later!

 

EMBARKATION

We arrived to the Miami International Airport (the worst place on Planet Earth) at around noon. The Alamo drop-off location is somewhere deep in the bowels of a confusing merry-go-round of a car garage. However, we got onto the shuttle to the Port with ease. The shuttle was full of passengers, but we were the only ones going to the Escape -- the rest I assumed were going on one of the two Carnival ships in port that day.

 

The Disney World resort we stayed in had zero printers, so we had no opportunity to print our luggage tags for our luggage to get to our staterooms. Well, that didn't matter at all...as soon as we arrived, the curbside bellhop gentleman tagged those suckers right up. It was also *not crowded* at all when we got there at 12:30. I couldn't believe it...I guess those check-in "times" do help crowd management. Note to everyone: they don't enforce those at all. In fact, and this surprised me, they never once looked at our E-Docs that we printed. Seriously, why bother bringing them? We didn't need them whatsoever.

 

We were assigned to Terminal B.

 

Now, I have to admit, we were 100% spoiled and probably forever ruined by the check-in process for the Oasis of the Seas. We were in the door and at the gate in 10 minutes. So everything from now on will be compared to that...just keep that in mind if I complain at all...

 

The line to check in took about 20-25 minutes to wind down to get to the counter. It wasn't bad at all in the grand scheme of things...but it also wasn't a 10-minute wait that will never be topped.

 

Once we got through the line, we were on our way upstairs and directly onto the ship. It was a breeze. We arrived on Deck 7 Forward and were funneled to the midship location where the staircase and chandelier are. To get there, we had to walk through a crew stairwell, which isn't the most glamorous of places. They had the same music blasting all day "Heeeeeeeeeyyyyy, He-ey baby! I wanna knoooooo-ooo-oooo-oow if you'll be my girl!" It was a DJ pump-up mix and was fun to dance to on our way in. (They also played this music on our way off the ship...)

 

Overall, the Embarkation process was superb, and we really can't complain. The only thing I'd change would be a more "WOW" factor when we first walk on...but the layout of the ship doesn't really lend to that, and looking back, I'm 100% understanding of it.

 

SCORE: 9 out of 10

[panthers_4890]

Hi. I'm looking forward to more of your review. My husband and I are on the Escape in October.

I hope in your review you will touch on the (free) onboard entertainment. Besides the two main shows, After Midnight and The Brat Pack, there seems to be a revolving door with the shows in the Supper Club. Curious what was onboard for your cruise.

I'm SO excited that you "got the magic" of Walt Disney World. It makes me so happy to hear people say that.

Thanks

 

I will touch on those for sure! We didn't make it to the Supper Club during the cruise, but we made it to After Midnight, The Brat Pack, Harry Maurer (sp?) Magic and Comedy, and the comic show on the last day. None of them cost anything, and we were very impressed. I have lots more to say on them, so stay tuned!

 

And yes, Disney was just awesome. The Fantasmic show and the fireworks at Magic Kingdom were stunning. I felt like a kid again.

[Grumpy'sGurl]

Following along! DCL may be in your future! Its magical as well!

[portcity]

Thankyou for taking the time to post a review!

[Sand and Seas]

Great start....looking forward to the rest of your review:D

[TenForward]

Following! Thanks for taking time to post.

[panthers_4890]

Okay, I'm going to try including pictures for the first time...I hope it works!

 

As you can see below, it really wasn't too bad at around lunchtime...

 

 

We are getting on the ship!

 

The first glimpse of the beautiful chandelier!

[panthers_4890]

CABIN -- Stateroom 13834 Mid-ship Mini-Suite

 

I inexplicably have zero good pictures of our cabin, but those are easily found all over the NCL webpage. In January, we initially had booked a cabin toward the aft of Deck 13, a regular balcony stateroom, but after the 90-day countdown hit and prices plummeted, we called NCL for an upgrade. The agent on the phone did a nice little switcharoo and voila, we were mid-ship in a mini-suite! The best part is that our original promotions were unchanged by the upgrade (which was awesome because the promos at the time were not nearly as good!).

 

The cabin itself has pretty much the exact same layout despite being slightly longer and a bit wider (which really only affected the couch). The bed is by the window in this stateroom. What I really love about this room is the cool lighting they've implemented. It's a nice elegant touch, as seen below.

 

 

Where the room really separates itself from a normal stateroom is the bathroom. The shower seems HUGE compared to the walls-caving-in showers they have in other rooms. I can't tell you how important of a difference this was for me. I'm a tall man, which usually isn't an issue unless I'm on a plane or in a cruise ship shower. I might as well pack elbow pads for those tiny stalls they get away with in these ships...there's no way for me to wash anything without bumping my elbow. But not so in this cabin! It has enough room for two people comfortably, has 6 body jets, as well as an adjustable shower head. Brilliant! The sink also has 2 faucets and plenty of storage. If possible, I highly recommend getting the upgrade if you can. I'm not sure I'd pay for it, but if you can get it "free" like we did...go for it!

 

Okay, time for a story. So, at Disney World, we couldn't help but notice that there were a billion large groups of teens from all over South America, many of which were celebrating countless Quinceaneras. I have literally nothing against large groups of teens, as I teach high school mathematics, but I do try to avoid them come summertime. So you can imagine the eye-twitching I experienced as I was surrounded by the age bracket I was trying to avoid. And surely the Norwegian Escape would offer some reprieve. Turns out, our cabin was surrounded on both sides by a group celebrating a, you guessed it, Quinceanera. Just my luck. They actually wound up being just fine...I believe it was mostly adults in that group.

 

That leads into what I wanted to comment on next for the cabin. I could barely hear any noise from outside our cabin. No conversations, no yelling, no door slams...really, the only noise we could hear would be stomping from above or the ever-noisy toilet black hole.

 

Our room steward was very friendly, but we hardly ever saw him! I'm not sure where they hide during most of the day, but I am used to seeing them more often. I'm a little sad we didn't get to know him better, but it is what it is. Our room was always clean and tidy with many towel animals! He also opened up the balcony door separating our friend's room next door.

 

SCORE: 9 out of 10

[mabones]

I'm on the December 3rd sailing so I can't wait to read the rest of your review. I'll have to mark my calendar for the 90-day mark.

[panthers_4890]

Following along! DCL may be in your future! Its magical as well!

 

 

I so badly want to take a DCL cruise. The cost is what holds me back...but I'm sure my arm can be twisted [emoji28]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[rfkeith10]

We will be on the Escape in October. It is always nice to read the different impressions folks have regarding the ship and cruise experience. Looking forward to the rest of your review. Thank you....

 

Ray

[Clarea]

Following.:)

[Victorious8]

Just curious to know the age range of your group. It helps me to better interpret the review! I sail in just under a week and I am SO excited!!! I'm all ready to win the beer competition in The District.

[Keith1010]

Enjoying your review.

 

Keith

[williecruz]

Enjoying your review. Looking forward to more!

[panthers_4890]

Just curious to know the age range of your group. It helps me to better interpret the review! I sail in just under a week and I am SO excited!!! I'm all ready to win the beer competition in The District.

 

Sure thing! The age range of our group goes from 27 up through 33. My wife and I are both educators during the year, so we love having summers to take vacations like this.

 

I am so excited for your trip next week! The District is an amazing place...I wanted to spend every waking moment there, but didn't always get to do so. Good luck in the competition! I think the all-time record was something like 89 beers. I can't even wrap my head around that. By the time I made it to the District at 3:30pm on Embarkation Day, someone was already at 9 beers. No way I can keep up with that pace...:eek:

[Sissaaaaaa]

Just a quick FYI, for your next Disney trip :D All of the resorts have printers! Just go to guest services, and any of your flight or other necessary check in items can be printed.

[panthers_4890]

RECREATIONAL AREAS (specifically pool areas, ropes course, mini golf, water slides, etc.)

 

Probably the first things I notice whenever I look at any of the Breakaway class ships are the ropes course near the funnel and the water slides near midship. I didn't read too much into any of these activities before the trip because I enjoy being surprised. I do appreciate prior knowledge, though, so hopefully you'll find this helpful.

 

POOL AREAS

Okay, this is probably the biggest glaring problem on the Escape. There are actually 2 pools, but one of them is shoved right in the middle of the kids area and water slide exits, so it's not a great location for any lounging. The main pool is out in the open, where there are 2 bars (one is an overlook bar), a little bit of seating, and a stage with 2 large screens. Honestly, the entire pool scene was a disaster from our perspective. Every time we walked by, it seemed like a frat party was taking place. One of our friends noticed that there was even one "adult only" day at the pool, and there was a marked up-tick in the inappropriate nonsense taking place. My only guess is that the ship is trying to replicate a "downtown Miami nightclub" atmosphere there (Pitbull is their "mascot" celebrity, after all), but it just seemed gross and inappropriate. I really don't recommend it for families. I do appreciate that there is a large number of people comfortable in that atmosphere, but I am not one of them. I really don't like how that became the vibe of the main pool area.

 

H2O SPICE(adult only area)

Thankfully, there was a chance to escape the mess of the pool area at H2O Spice. The atmosphere here is a total difference...it's relaxing, quiet, and best of all, no kids! There is plenty of seating available here, including loungers and upright chairs. You can choose a wide open sun area, or a shaded umbrella spot. There are 2 hot tubs, which are often full, and there is the waterfall feature. At first I thought it was a little gimmicky, but I came to really appreciate it. There's quite a bit of water flow from the feature, which helps for a nice cool down. There are places to sit and talk, which I appreciated. The bar at this pool is very nice...the staff is quick and attentive. They even walk around with spray bottles ("Misty Misty") to give you a quick cool down if you want it. They could probably improve this area with an actual pool, but I didn't miss it as much as I thought I would.

 

Not very busy on Sea Days...

 

The water feature. Wish I had a better picture...I did take some video, but I won't bother with that yet. Also...the floor gets extremely hot. DO NOT go without footwear!

 

 

One thing that I really came to appreciate on the Escape was that the glass around the pool area had gaps. I've linked a picture below. It really allowed the breeze to pass through the area nicely. I remember hating that the Solarium on the Oasis didn't have enough air flow...we essentially baked in there.

 

WATER SLIDES

I am always surprised by the Royal Caribbean faithful who vehemently oppose water slides on their ships. If done well, they can really add a flavor of fun while cooling you off at the same time. I noticed that the Harmony of the Seas just added some to the Oasis class, which is a no-brainer for me. The Escape really does a good job in this category. The main water slide is incredibly fun...despite being enclosed, they've added interesting light features inside as you go, and I'm sure everyone's noticed the part that goes over the ocean that is encased in glass instead of the normal plastic. We rode this one many times.

 

The "Aqua Loops" are a thrill. We've tried slides similar to this at other water parks and hated them. The floor drops out unexpectedly, which always raises my blood pressure. But the Aqua Loops are done very well. You have to be 99 lbs or higher to ride them, and you can't wear any jewelry (including wedding bands!). I also don't recommend having your room cards anywhere on you, either. My friend lost his on the slide, and they were in velcro pockets! The ride isn't too long, but it feels like it. The first time I rode it, I thought I was at the end and started opening my eyes...until I was slammed with water and my contact flew out of my face! You'll know when you finish! Despite the cautions, the Aqua Loops are VERY fun!

 

ROPES COURSE

We did this twice, and I wish I could have done it more! They have streamlined this process very well. It's safe, doesn't need much supervision, and you are free to roam all around the course at your leisure. You have to be 48" tall I believe to do it. There are 2 levels...you start at the highest one and wind your way back to the lower one. At the highest point, you are just below the top of the smokestack funnels. The views are INSANE! I've never been on the Quantum of the Seas, but I have to imagine being on the ropes course with the wind in your face is a notch above the crane, even though it doesn't go nearly as high. I could be wrong...

Either way, this is a great feature. There's enough space for probably 30-40 people to be on the course at one time. It constantly rotates through, so your wait time isn't horrible (maybe 20-30 mins max). But you can stay on for easily 45 minutes. Two of the three zipline features weren't operational, which was a huge bummer...I'd love to try the zipline over the water! But the plank that hangs over the edge was definitely open, and it does not disappoint. What a rush! The first time I did it, I couldn't get my knees to stop shaking. They also take your picture...be forewarned.

I wish I had a better picture of the ropes course, but on the left, you can see about how high it goes relative to the funnel. That particular zipline wasn't operational :(

 

MINI GOLF

A fun 9-hole course. It's pretty industrial in its design. We played it twice, and probably would again. There are some fun contraptions they built, and it was a good challenge (some holes were Par 4). The course on the Oasis had foam balls, which was really a joke...these were solid and felt more like a normal golf ball. A big plus!

 

Here's an example of one of the holes...

 

SCORE: 7.5 out of 10 Note: If it weren't for the main pool area, this would probably go as high as a 9.5, but the glaring problem just can't be overlooked for us.

Edited July 25, 2016 by panthers_4890

[panthers_4890]

Just a quick FYI, for your next Disney trip :D All of the resorts have printers! Just go to guest services, and any of your flight or other necessary check in items can be printed.

 

Interesting...we stayed at the French Quarter, and we asked the guy at the front desk if we could somehow print our E-Docs and luggage tags for the cruise. He said we didn't have access to a computer anywhere, but he was very helpful in allowing us to email those documents to him. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get them without logging in to a computer (our phones were being weird). We were able to get the E-Docs printed after about 30 minutes of struggle...which was a little irritating that no one even looked at it at the pier. Oh well!

 

The guy did mention that if we needed to print boarding passes, or even cruise docs for DCL, they were able to do that easily. Overall, he was very helpful, and we thanked him profusely!

[CruisinHarvey]

Following along. We'll be on he Escape for the 4th time in under 4 weeks. Interesting reading your perspective. Thanks.

[lilmac0168]

Loving the review so far. I just have a quick question about how long did it take to drive from Disney World - we are doing the same thing in October and can't wait.

[panthers_4890]

DINING Part 1(Complimentary)

 

I decided to break this aspect of the trip into 2 rankings....one for complimentary and one for specialty. I'll break it down by each restaurant we tried. It's nearly impossible to hit all of them in one week, so I will only offer the rankings for those that we tried.

 

Garden Cafe

This is, of course, the Escape's all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant. Even though we knew better, we went here for our first lunch of the trip, and as expected, it was packed. It didn't take long to find a table for 4 thankfully, but that wasn't the case on other days. I believe we only ate here for another 2 meals (breakfasts) because it was just so stinkin' crowded all the time. One of those breakfasts took us 3 laps to find a table.

 

The food at the Garden Cafe is quite delicious, and we never had trouble with waiting for refills. My absolute favorite was the waffle with banana compote for breakfast...sooooo good! The wait staff do a great job of clearing tables quickly. I also really like how they keep a stack of wrapped silverware at the table at all times, which makes one less thing for you to carry back to your table. Nice touch.

 

Breakfast, including my favorite waffle!

 

The view out the window at the Garden Cafe...we were being followed by 2 Carnival ships.

 

At the end of the day, though, I can't help but remember how crowded it was at all times of day. They really created a conundrum on this ship when they started charging for Margaritaville. I can imagine that Margaritaville was packed when it was complimentary, but I'm sure it alleviated the crowds in the Garden Cafe. But now that it's a la carte, Margaritaville is almost always empty, while the Garden Cafe gets ALL of the crowds from the pool areas. Tough problem to have when you've probably spent quite a bit to have that restaurant onboard.

 

Taste/Savor Restaurants

These 2 complimentary dining rooms are on either side of the Mixx Bar on Deck 6. We ate our first dinner here, but had 5 breakfasts in these for the rest of the week.

 

I'll start with breakfast...

WAY better in these than the Garden Cafe, if just for the lack of crowds. It's peaceful, they sit you by the windows for the views, and you get some personalized attention from the wait staff. Honestly, if you don't have to worry about feeding kids, I'd go here for breakfast every day, hands down. They have Daily Features, which rotate entree options, but they also have regular menu items that never change. The food is slightly better in these restaurants than the Garden Cafe, too.

 

A great place to enjoy coffee...

 

Now on to dinner....

We ate our first dinner at either Taste or Savor. The food was...okay. The experience was...less than okay. Honestly, it's really loud in there, which makes it tough to have a conversation. Because of the structure of Freestyle cruising, the wait staff seemed completely overwhelmed. And here's my biggest knock on Savor and Taste...every single time we went there, the food was delivered to the wrong person. It's really not a big deal, but it was a glaring issue to have the food being put down in front of the wrong person every time. I'm not sure why that's happening...just come up with a way to communicate that information. I know it probably has to do with the sheer volume of people at any given time, but I'd really just prefer they ask who had what entree instead of guessing and making us switch them. It's a detail that was tough to overlook. I wasn't too fond of Taste or Savor for any meal beyond breakfast.

 

Thankfully, we were able to find one complimentary restaurant that was a good experience...

 

Manhattan Room

This one wins the day for sure. We ate 2 meals in this dining room for dinners. They often have live performers from the big shows come and do some singing and/or dancing, and they welcome people to the dance floor to dance along with the music. It's a neat vibe, and the restaurant faces aft, overlooking the wake of the ship. We saw the sunset both times we were there. The BEST part of the Manhattan Room was that the wait staff got our food placed correctly nearly every time (but not always). I'm not sure if there was a turnover on staff in the others, but it was nice to have that detail taken care of in this one.

 

A great atmosphere...they had a band playing this night.

 

And one of my favorite meals at Manhattan Room...anything is better with bacon!

 

Overall, I would recommend Taste or Savor for brunch (we rarely ate lunch), and the Manhattan Room for dinner if you are strictly looking for the complimentary route. The Garden Cafe is nice if you're looking for a snack in the middle of the afternoon (but even then it was crowded).

 

In terms of snacks...and let's be honest, we're talking ice cream here...I was a bit disappointed that you could only get soft-serve ice cream in the Garden Cafe while on the Sun Decks. The Oasis of the Seas had them right there on deck, and it was glorious.

 

(Edit) Also...and I know this sounds random...but the hashbrowns on the Escape are AMAZING! I ordered them as a side every breakfast. Get them...a lot of them.

 

SCORE for Complimentary Dining: 7 out of 10

Note: The food itself at these places would rank at a 8.5, but the other issues brought this down.

Edited July 25, 2016 by panthers_4890

[panthers_4890]

Loving the review so far. I just have a quick question about how long did it take to drive from Disney World - we are doing the same thing in October and can't wait.

 

The drive to Miami took about 3 1/2 hours, but it easily pushed over 4 when we missed the Car Rental exit, had to find gas, and couldn't figure out how to get back to the correct intersection. Have I mentioned how much I hate Miami Int'l? I will caution you...there's a Shell station on the corner of the intersection you have to take to return the car...DO NOT buy gas there! It's at least $1.00 more per gallon than the gas stations just a few blocks away. Thieves!

 

Hope you enjoy your trip!