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

[CORealtor]

Thanks for the great review! We Board the Escape in September, and cannot wait!

[SNJCruisers]

Thanks for the review. Doing 6 days to the west next week and then the normal 7 days to the east in January.

[LrgPizza]

Great review so far. Looking forward to more.

 

Do you know if Alamo will pick you up at the pier and take you back to MIA after the cruise if you have a reservation.

 

Yes, they do. Most the rental companies, including Alamo, have free shuttles at the port to take people to MIA to pick up their cars.

[TheDougOut]

Just to make sure I explained it correctly...you can order anything on the District menu from Food Republic, but I don't believe you can order from Food Republic while in the District.

 

 

Not sure if this was already mentioned, but there are a few food options at the District, which I believe are right from Food Republic...

 

 

 

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[panthers_4890]

Not sure if this was already mentioned, but there are a few food options at the District, which I believe are right from Food Republic...

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

That makes sense! Wish I realized that before now haha.

 

Hope you enjoyed your trip!

 

 

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[philacruisegirl86]

Hello! Do you have any of your dallies from your trip? If so could post them that would be awesome

 

 

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[riclop]

Glad you enjoyed it.

[TornWonder]

That makes sense! Wish I realized that before now haha.

 

Hope you enjoyed your trip!

 

 

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I think we all enjoyed Doug's trip.

[firegal2539]

Thank you for your review. I am on the Escape for 8 days on August 6, 2016. I have never been on as a ship as she is and was wondering if I would enjoy all that is going on, especially since I am a solo cruiser. Your review of the shows was wonderful because I booked both of them, but not the supper club, (I didn't like the reviews it got). I can't wait and thank you again.

[panthers_4890]

Sorry for the mini-break...getting back to the real world again can be tough!

 

Bars and Lounges

Broad category here, but thought I'd include it separate from the Dining part. I won't necessarily hit every single bar and lounge, but will hit highlights.

 

We were recently talking to a friend about the "centralized" areas on the ship, and I suppose that would be the Atrium and the Atrium Bar. It is by far the most well-stocked bar on the ship, and the staff is really good there. Jelica was our favorite bartender there...we experienced fun activities while there, including the trivia contests. A great space! It's a bit strange in location to do some of the shows, as Guest Services and all of those desks are right there off to the side. It didn't necessarily feel like an established entertainment space, but rather a space nestled into the deck among other things. What's really nice is that you can observe the goings on from above at O'Sheehan's.

 

The H2O Spice Bar is really fun...the bartenders joked around the entire trip, and they made sure you had a great time. One of our favorite places on the ship was the Prime Meridien Bar, located right in-between Moderno and Cagney's. It's a cool vibe. We never made it to Skyline, but it looked fun. The Mojito Bar was okay...we had high hopes, but with the UBP, I didn't feel as if it was special enough. I could've really ordered most of those mojitos anywhere (or at least I felt that way).

 

The Casino area was fun, but there is the smell of smoke running through Deck 7, so keep that in mind.

 

Overall, I just really enjoyed the layout of the lounges and bars. My biggest complaint of Royal Caribbean's Freedom and Oasis class ships have been that they've been "inward" focused, losing the whole idea of being at sea. The Escape gives you nice ocean views all throughout the three main decks of 6, 7, and 8. Placing the lifeboats off the side helps with that, too.

 

SCORE: 9.5 out of 10

 

Stay tuned for our FAVORITE part of the entire ship...The Waterfront!

Edited July 28, 2016 by panthers_4890

[Mr G RAY]

great review so far! Me and my wife are booked for January 14. Can not wiat:)

[Amoré Familia]

Thanks for the review. Doing 6 days to the west next week and then the normal 7 days to the east in January.

 

 

SNJ can you share your dailies from the West? We leave Aug 14. west.

 

 

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[panthers_4890]

Unique Feature

Every ship or class of ship has its unique feature. On the Freedom and Oasis class ships, it's the Royal Promenade or Aqua Theater, while the Quantum class has its 270 lounge. The Breakaway and Breakaway Plus class ships have the Waterfront. Folks, this feature is a game-changer.

 

I read a review last night that someone did when the ship first sailed from Southampton. The reviewer praised the Waterfront, rightly saying that it's a step in the right direction in getting these mega-cruisers to get people to connect with the sea again. My biggest complaint of most cruise ships now is that you lose the feeling of being on the water. You can get the exact same experience if you just went to a resort somewhere on land and probably save yourself money. I just don't understand why you'd create a ship that routinely sails beautiful Caribbean waters and not give people every opportunity to SEE the water!

 

Well, NCL has hit a grand slam home run with the Waterfront. In that same review I read last night, the reviewer feared that because the Waterfront is so awesome, it would likely be jam-packed with people in the warmer climates, and it would lose its enjoyability. I can say with absolute certainty that it is the best place to be on the Escape. It was rarely crowded!! Every morning after breakfast, we would make our way to the Waterfront, and we always found a comfortable couch to read and enjoy the view. For how awful the pool area is on the ship, the Waterfront more than makes up for it.

 

Most of the deck is covered, mercifully. It was a very hot and humid trip, so to be in the shade was a blessing. Also, it poured rain all day in Nassau, but we were still able to enjoy the outdoors on the Waterfront. The Waterfront wraps around the back of the ship, so you can get a nice view of the ship's wake.

 

Many of you know that the restaurants on Deck 8 have outside seating on the Waterfront. We ate one meal outside, but it was very uncommon for tables to be filled outside. So, if you don't mind the humidity, you can request those tables, even if you didn't make a reservation. Cagney's offered us a table outside, but there was no airflow on that side that night, so we refused.

 

To make the Waterfront even better, there are a couple of bars in the middle of the deck. The 5 o'Clock Somewhere bar has a nice wraparound bar outside, including a few TVs. The wine bar also opens at night with a bar outside, but we didn't utilize that one.

 

I can't speak for the smaller ships in the NCL fleet, but the Waterfront alone has made us reconsider our future plans. I also loved Food Republic and the District so much that I would have a very tough time without them on the Breakaway and Getaway.

 

If I was going to plan a cruise ship, something like the Waterfront would HAVE to be there!

 

My favorite place to be!

 

Sailaway from the Waterfront!

 

A peaceful evening's hangout.

 

 

 

 

SCORE: 10+ out of 10

[TheDougOut]

I couldn't agree more on the waterfront. With the release of each new megaship, it feels as if the relationship between passenger and ocean is further stressed and distanced. The introduction of the waterfront reversed course... putting us back in touch with what makes cruising unique and special.

 

The waterfront is definitely one of my happy places.

 

Great photos and review... thanks for sharing!

[Victorious8]

I couldn't agree more on the waterfront. With the release of each new megaship, it feels as if the relationship between passenger and ocean is further stressed and distanced. The introduction of the waterfront reversed course... putting us back in touch with what makes cruising unique and special.

 

The waterfront is definitely one of my happy places.

 

Great photos and review... thanks for sharing!

 

So excited! Also DougOut, what apps did you use to do your live review (pictures and stuff)?

[TheDougOut]

So excited! Also DougOut, what apps did you use to do your live review (pictures and stuff)?

 

I used ImageSize and the CruiseCritic forum app, although now I believe you can simplify things and just use the CruiseCritic app. The app now has built-in image reduction, which is all ImageSize was doing.

 

Have a great trip... a long time coming!! I'll be sure to follow along if you do a solo live report. Go get into some trouble for us. :rolleyes:

[CruiserRob]

I think we all enjoyed Doug's trip.

 

I know I did. Didn't dream of trying to replicate it when I Escaped :D

 

Robert

[BAMA_BOY]

My wife and I and two friends were also on this cruise. Your review is excellent and I find I have very little to add to the points you have made. Everyone has their favorite cruise lines and their favorite ships within those companies. We are now 70 and we love cruising. We loved the Escape, the cabin (mid ship mini-suite Deck 13), the entertainment (Simply Outstanding), the specialty restaurants and the Waterfront. The touch screens at the lobby areas (elevator/stair areas) made it easy to see what was happening, menus, etc. The interactive tv in your cabin also easy to use to check your scheduled events.

 

The things we didn't like were well covered in this review. Crowds in the buffet, crowds at/near the pool, even the H2O Spice area was crowded at times. Noise was "distracting" anytime you were near the Atrium area especially if there were activities taking place. The smell of smoke from the Casino on Deck 7 can be noticed on decks 6-8 anytime you're near the Atrium area and is IMO inexcusable. Reservations in the specialty restaurants are extremely difficult to obtain/change, make them early. We would like a "Martini Bar" area with tables/chairs for pre-dinner rendezvous.

 

If you have children or teenagers traveling with your group I'd think you'd love this ship, it is obviously designed to appeal to families. You can see from our future cruises we're booked on the Getaway in Oct 2017 and we expect a different experience on a longer cruise away from vacation schedules. We wanted to experience the newer NCL ships and we had a great cruise.

[firegal2539]

I have been closely following this review since I will be on the Escape on Saturday. I am sad to see that smoke is such a problem in the casino. The casino is where is spend a lot of my time and have problems with smoke, hopefully I can handle it.

 

I did read that they are trying to find a fix for the smoke problem. The last NCL cruise I was on, the casino had the best smoke eaters I have ever seen. They weren't noisy and you couldn't smell the smoke hardly at all in the casino. I commented to the casino manager and he said they had just been put in and had really helped with the complaints about the smoke.

 

Candie

[BAMA_BOY]

I have been closely following this review since I will be on the Escape on Saturday. I am sad to see that smoke is such a problem in the casino. The casino is where is spend a lot of my time and have problems with smoke, hopefully I can handle it.

 

I did read that they are trying to find a fix for the smoke problem. The last NCL cruise I was on, the casino had the best smoke eaters I have ever seen. They weren't noisy and you couldn't smell the smoke hardly at all in the casino. I commented to the casino manager and he said they had just been put in and had really helped with the complaints about the smoke.

 

Candie

 

I'm sure they will be doing something about the smoke, perhaps those smoke eaters are the answer. It's a shame because the Skyline Lounge (Deck 7 next to the Casino) is the one bar with tables/chairs to relax but not for us with the smoke. The smoke in fact was so prevalent in the Atrium area that it impacts the Al Fresco area of the Le Bistro Restaurant. We made sure we had a table inside so as not to have to smell the smoke during our dinner.

[TenForward]

Unique Feature

I just don't understand why you'd create a ship that routinely sails beautiful Caribbean waters and not give people every opportunity to SEE the water!

 

Well, NCL has hit a grand slam home run with the Waterfront.

 

Precisely the reason I booked this cruise (our first). I had friends who cruise frequently recommending Royal but in researching, I didn't like the promenade running through the center of the ship. I kept thinking 'where is the water?' Absolutely fell in love with the Waterfront space and the restaurants and bars with outdoor seating. I keep reading great things about it and am excited to experience it for ourselves. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks for info!

Edited August 1, 2016 by TenForward

[AdoraBelle]

Precisely the reason I booked this cruise (our first). I had friends who cruise frequently recommending Royal but in researching, I didn't like the promenade running through the center of the ship. I kept thinking 'where is the water?' Absolutely fell in love with the Waterfront space and the restaurants and bars with outdoor seating. I keep reading great things about it and am excited to experience it for ourselves. Glad to hear you enjoyed it. Thanks for info!

 

 

I was reading Gambee's review of Oasis recently and I just can't believe how hard they tried to recreate an ocean-free suburban retail plaza. This is the picture that made go "yes, I am literally never going on that ship".

 

[TenForward]

I was reading Gambee's review of Oasis recently and I just can't believe how hard they tried to recreate an ocean-free suburban retail plaza. This is the picture that made go "yes, I am literally never going on that ship".

 

Agree. Those kind of pictures have long made me afraid to give cruising a try, but I'm excited to finally be going.

[AdoraBelle]

Agree. Those kind of pictures have long made me afraid to give cruising a try, but I'm excited to finally be going.

 

Oh, looks like you're on Escape one week before I am!

 

I haven't been on Escape yet, but I've been on Getaway twice (as well as several other big ships). As one crowd-phobic person to another:

 

Things are going to seem chaotic in several places on embarkation day:

 

1) The terminal (make sure they give you a boarding group number! If the port workers are chatting with each other they will let you walk right past them).

 

2) The buffet. It's usually somewhat crowded, but during my first day in the buffet on my first cruise I was like "I am not going to survive this". But it shouldn't ever be 'day one' bad again after that.

 

3) The stairwells after the muster drill (depending on where your station is).

 

Don't let these things give you a bad impression--as the cruise goes on, people usually spread out and it becomes much more relaxed. You might run into a crowd during one of the shopping-district sales, and I'm sure you've picked up by now that the pool deck is a madhouse on sea days, but it's usually possible to zig when the crowds zag.

[hawkman402]

Oh, looks like you're on Escape one week before I am!

 

I haven't been on Escape yet, but I've been on Getaway twice (as well as several other big ships). As one crowd-phobic person to another:

 

Things are going to seem chaotic in several places on embarkation day:

 

1) The terminal (make sure they give you a boarding group number! If the port workers are chatting with each other they will let you walk right past them).

 

2) The buffet. It's usually somewhat crowded, but during my first day in the buffet on my first cruise I was like "I am not going to survive this". But it shouldn't ever be 'day one' bad again after that.

 

3) The stairwells after the muster drill (depending on where your station is).

 

Don't let these things give you a bad impression--as the cruise goes on, people usually spread out and it becomes much more relaxed. You might run into a crowd during one of the shopping-district sales, and I'm sure you've picked up by now that the pool deck is a madhouse on sea days, but it's usually possible to zig when the crowds zag.

 

Skip the buffet for lunch on embarkation day. Go to one of the dining rooms (Savor or Taste). You'll have a relaxing meal with hardly any one around. Choose the dining room that has the best view (they are across from each other) and ask for a window seat.