Escape Nov 12 - 19 Sailing: The Good, the Bad and the Meh!

[LD Silver]

I was on the November 12 – November 19 Eastern Caribbean sailing of the Norwegian Escape. The itinerary included three sea days (Sunday, Monday, Thursday) and three ports of call. They were St. Thomas (Tuesday), Tortola (Wednesday) and Nassau (Friday). I sailed with my girlfriend. We are seasoned cruisers with over 20 cruises between us. We stayed in cabin 11679 which is an inside aft cabin. We chose an inside for two reasons:

 

1) We don’t spend much time in our cabin

2) Inside cabins are so dark that we sleep very soundly.

 

The 11th deck met our main requirement of being sandwiched between two other decks that are exclusively cabins to help minimize any noise disruptions (unfortunately our nearby neighbors made this difficult at times. More on that later.)

 

I’m not going to write a full review but rather a bullet point listing of the Good, The Bad and the Meh!

 

The Good

• Overall friendliness of the crew – everyone was very helpful and made you feel like a valued cruiser.

• The UBP. Not just good but great. It was so convenient to just hand the card over and not deal with all the slips of paper and reconciling your account. We got our money’s worth on the deal. Like most folks, we received it free and only had to pay the 20% gratuity.

• Tyler the Cruise Director was outstanding. A super talented guy with lots of energy and a good sense of humor. He was extremely visible. He even sat in with the Howl at the Moon guys on Friday night and played drums for several songs. Boom-Shaka-Laka!!

• The Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. NCL has really stepped up their game. Not only did NCL provide the usual spread of coffee and pastries but they also served fruit smoothies and assorted chocolates in addition to the attendance of several of the officers and CD Tyler.

• For the Record: The Brat Pack was right up our alley as we both graduated from high school in the 80’s. It did not disappoint. The show runs one hour and 27 minutes but flew by. A note to parents: It is rated PG16 so that means a few F-bombs, sexual humor and mature themes. We saw several parents leading their young children out after the first 10 minutes.

• Popcorn shrimp and chicken nachos appetizers on the lunch menu at Taste and Savor dining rooms. Get them both. Do it.....you’re on a cruise.

• Spice H2O on deck 17 aft is a great place to spend your sea days. Spice H2O is an adult-only area with loungers, two hot tubs and its own bar. There is also a grotto area with waterfalls to cool off. Most importantly ......it is nice and quiet. Some folks like the music and action of the main pool area.....not us. It’s so much more relaxing to be able to have a conversation without having to yell at each other. WORD OF CAUTION: Get there early as the place fills up quick.

• Howl at the Moon Dueling Pianos is a rocking good time. Great music and fun banter between the performers and crowd. I like how they played a good mix of crowd favorites like Bob Seger’s Old Time Rock and Roll and Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline but also deeper non-traditional dueling piano cuts like Interstate Love Song by the Stone Temple Pilots and In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. Outstanding!

• Our favorite bar was Mixx which is situated between the Taste and Savor dining rooms on deck 6. It’s a great place to have a drink before a show and people watch. Joao De La Cruz is a great bartender. GF said he makes an outstanding Moscow Mule.

• The Awesome 80’s Party should not be missed. We danced.....we sang......we played air guitar! WE HAD A BLAST!! Cruise Director Tyler and Assistant Cruise Director Andre guided the crowd through a musical tour of the 80’s with all genres represented......pop, dance, hair band metal, rap.....you name it. Don’t miss it.

• The chicken dishes in the Taste and Savor dining rooms. I loved the Chicken Kiev and both the GF and I enjoyed the Chicken Parmesan. The Herb Crusted Chicken Breast was also delightful.

• CALLING ALL BEACH LOVERS! If you want to visit one of the greatest beaches in the world then take the NCL excursion “Escape to Jost Van Dyke”. It is a 45 minute catamaran ride aboard the Rebel Yell from the port in Tortola to the White Bay, Jost Van Dyke. They drop you off right by the Soggy Dollar Bar which has free beach chairs and serves the most delicious beach drink...the Painkiller. The sand is soft and fluffy. It rained a little while we were there but we stayed in the water and drank our Painkillers in the rain and loved every minute of it. Rum punch is served on the ride back to port to put the exclamation point on a fantastic excursion.

• If you want to hear a bunch of Frankie Valli/4 Seasons’ songs and some corny humor then make sure you make it to Oh What a Night! We saw the show in the Escape Theater on Day 5 (Tortola) as opposed to the The Supper Club which has several showings at 6 PM.

• I liked the light system in the cabins for “Do Not Disturb” or “Make up My Room” Basically; you switch on a light from inside your cabin for either setting. No more placing a tag on your door handle.

• The chicken wings in the O’Sheehans Bar & Grill at 11:30pm were pretty tasty…..especially after a few Moscow Mules. We watched the end of the Sunday night football game there. Sorry, Patriot fans.

• We saw a couple of comedy shows and it just so happened to be Vince Acevedo both times. He’s a really funny guy with a quick wit that really doesn’t have much prepared material but rather just riffs back and forth with audience members. Jay Stevens was the host both times and did a warm up set and was good too.

 

The Bad

• The port of Nassau is disappointing. The town is dirty, the people are rude and the beaches lacking. We will treat Nassau as an additional sea day on any future cruise we happen to port there.

• Late arriving people to shows. Buy a watch and show up on time. I’ll just leave it at that.

• The cabin seemed to lack storage space......especially shelving. Not a big deal just had to be a little creative with the storage.

• I could not get the Norwegian iCONCIERGE app to work on my phone.

• The NY strip steak in the main dining rooms. Chewy and over cooked. Just say no.

• Our breakfast order was not picked up from outside our stateroom overnight on one occasion. We like to hit the gym first thing in the morning so we order coffee, yogurt and pastries to enjoy in our cabin while getting ready. You can’t sweat the small stuff so we course corrected and headed up to the Garden Cafe.

• Noise from nearby cabins. Somebody in a cabin near us fired up the TV at 6 AM every morning and turned the volume up to not 10 but 11 (because it’s one louder). Also, our neighbors were bouncing a ball off their cabin wall one time. C’mon man!

• The deserts in the complimentary dining options leave much to be desired. They are great on the eyes and disappointing in the mouth. The single worst item item was the no sugar added carrot cake in the Taste Dining room. It tasted like motor oil.

• The taxi situation in St. Thomas was chaos. Both at the port and at Magen’s Bay. We had to get off one van and get on another in the pouring rain at Magen’s Bay because they had loaded them in the wrong order. Cruise ships have been coming to St. Thomas for a long time. One would think they would have a better system in place.

•I don’t like the last day of the cruise being a port day. It just feels like it brings the cruise to an abrupt end. A sea day just eases you back into the impending reality.

 

The Meh!

• The production show After Midnight was OK. There were some real show stoppers in the show but a lot of it seemed to drag. Jazz is not my favorite genre of music so that probably affected my thoughts. Hardcore jazz fans may love it. I did like that there was a live band providing the music instead of a prerecorded track.

• The bedding is just OK. The mattress was hard and I woke up most mornings with a stiff lower back. But the most annoying issue was the lack of fitted bed sheets. The bottom of the bed sheet barely came down to the end of the mattress and would ride up most nights.

• The Fitness Center had a lot of equipment but it is of average quality. The treadmills had all kinds of entertainment options but the belts had a lot of drag. The elliptical machines were flimsy. They did have a rowing machine which delighted my GF. The cold towels are a nice touch.

• The ship actually did not sail until 8 PM so it was kind of strange to sail away in the dark.

• The scrambled eggs and poached eggs in the Garden Cafe. Most of the yolks in the poached eggs on the eggs benedict were hard boiled.

• Casino……..who knows? We only walked through it on our way to someplace else.

• Pay restaurants…..again who knows? The food was so good in the Taste and Savor dining rooms we didn’t bother with them.

 

This was our first cruise on a megaship and admittedly was a little apprehensive at first. But after a day or so we pretty much figured things out. The layout and the signage both make it easy to get where you want to go. Another thing we liked was all of the entertainment options. There were so many shows we just couldn’t fit into our schedule. There was a comedy juggler, game shows, trivia contests, Q&A sessions, karaoke....... not to mention all the live music at several of the bars.

 

As I said at the beginning of my review, the crew was outstanding. The level of service was top notch. We had a large organized group on our sailing of hearing and sight challenged folks. We witnessed one example after another of the crew going out of their way to patiently assist them. I saw one bartender use one of these folk’s cell phone to clarify what brand of whiskey they wanted to drink at O’Sheehan’s. We were extremely impressed with the level of professionalism by all of the crew.

 

Two of the most important criteria we judge a cruise by are level of service and entertainment. This cruise only reinforced why NCL is our cruise line of choice as they exceeded expectation on both counts. No cruise is perfect......but overall it was another great cruise on NCL.

 

I’d be happy to answer any questions or elaborate on any of the above comments here or feel free to send me an e-mail at LD_Silver_Cruiser@Yahoo.com.

[NotACruiserYet]

Thanks for taking the time to post! Over 20 of us sail on Escape this coming Saturday! I was glad to see you mentioned the 80's night. One of my sisters really lead the group in making sure we got to this event. We all have our 80's outfits lined up... PLEASE tell me we won't be the only ones in 80's gear! LOL No matter... we'll have a ton of fun either way. The drink package will make sure of that. ;)

[helpmecruise16]

Great review! We are taking the same cruise in February.

 

We have Jost Van Dyke booked, as well. Was the walk to the beach from the catamaran easy? We have one person who isn't a good swimmer and one who has a slight mobility issue (he can walk unassisted), so I am a little worried about that. Also, were there any kids there?

 

Did you go anywhere in Nassau? We are trying to figure out what to do there. We were thinking of Melia...

 

Thank you for taking the time to write your review, it was very helpful!

[packer99]

I am surprised you had a problem with the bed. We had a balcony and it was the most comfortable bed I had ever slept in for Hotel type situation. I never slept so better. (Well of course, it could be just because I was so relaxed being on vacation)

[LD Silver]

Great review! We are taking the same cruise in February.

 

We have Jost Van Dyke booked, as well. Was the walk to the beach from the catamaran easy? We have one person who isn't a good swimmer and one who has a slight mobility issue (he can walk unassisted), so I am a little worried about that. Also, were there any kids there?

 

Did you go anywhere in Nassau? We are trying to figure out what to do there. We were thinking of Melia...

 

Thank you for taking the time to write your review, it was very helpful!

 

No worries on the catamaran. It pulled up almost all the way to the shore. It was maybe a 15-20 foot walk in water no higher than the knee. Easy cheesy. did not see any kids at Jost Van Dyke but they would have fun.

 

We walked to the straw market and looked around in Nassau. I've been there before and the beaches are not great. The only thing that interested me was Atlantis but it is too pricey for me. Stay on the ship and get good seats at the pool would be my advice.

[mjkacmom]

Great review! We are taking the same cruise in February.

 

We have Jost Van Dyke booked, as well. Was the walk to the beach from the catamaran easy? We have one person who isn't a good swimmer and one who has a slight mobility issue (he can walk unassisted), so I am a little worried about that. Also, were there any kids there?

 

Did you go anywhere in Nassau? We are trying to figure out what to do there. We were thinking of Melia...

 

Thank you for taking the time to write your review, it was very helpful!

 

We've been to Nassau 4 times, and it is not a port where you can just wing it. We loved the Melina, beautiful property and beach, went to Atlantis twice, slides were great, cabbage beach is gorgeous, and did a day pass at the Hilton, it was ok, but same harbor beach as Junkanoo.

[LrgPizza]

Great review! I like the bullet point format. We loved the Escape, and I still enjoy reading about her. I miss her.

 

I just have one comment -- no sugar added carrot cake??!! Dude... What did you expect? You might as well eat the chair. :)

[LD Silver]

Great review! I like the bullet point format. We loved the Escape, and I still enjoy reading about her. I miss her.

 

I just have one comment -- no sugar added carrot cake??!! Dude... What did you expect? You might as well eat the chair. :)

 

You are so right! I actually didn't notice the "no sugar added" on the menu.

 

Won't make that mistake again:)

[UKLloyd]

I was on the November 12 – November 19 Eastern Caribbean sailing of the Norwegian Escape. The itinerary included three sea days (Sunday, Monday, Thursday) and three ports of call. They were St. Thomas (Tuesday), Tortola (Wednesday) and Nassau (Friday). I sailed with my girlfriend. We are seasoned cruisers with over 20 cruises between us. We stayed in cabin 11679 which is an inside aft cabin. We chose an inside for two reasons:

 

1) We don’t spend much time in our cabin

2) Inside cabins are so dark that we sleep very soundly.

 

The 11th deck met our main requirement of being sandwiched between two other decks that are exclusively cabins to help minimize any noise disruptions (unfortunately our nearby neighbors made this difficult at times. More on that later.)

 

I’m not going to write a full review but rather a bullet point listing of the Good, The Bad and the Meh!

 

The Good

• Overall friendliness of the crew – everyone was very helpful and made you feel like a valued cruiser.

• The UBP. Not just good but great. It was so convenient to just hand the card over and not deal with all the slips of paper and reconciling your account. We got our money’s worth on the deal. Like most folks, we received it free and only had to pay the 20% gratuity.

• Tyler the Cruise Director was outstanding. A super talented guy with lots of energy and a good sense of humor. He was extremely visible. He even sat in with the Howl at the Moon guys on Friday night and played drums for several songs. Boom-Shaka-Laka!!

• The Cruise Critic Meet and Greet. NCL has really stepped up their game. Not only did NCL provide the usual spread of coffee and pastries but they also served fruit smoothies and assorted chocolates in addition to the attendance of several of the officers and CD Tyler.

• For the Record: The Brat Pack was right up our alley as we both graduated from high school in the 80’s. It did not disappoint. The show runs one hour and 27 minutes but flew by. A note to parents: It is rated PG16 so that means a few F-bombs, sexual humor and mature themes. We saw several parents leading their young children out after the first 10 minutes.

• Popcorn shrimp and chicken nachos appetizers on the lunch menu at Taste and Savor dining rooms. Get them both. Do it.....you’re on a cruise.

• Spice H2O on deck 17 aft is a great place to spend your sea days. Spice H2O is an adult-only area with loungers, two hot tubs and its own bar. There is also a grotto area with waterfalls to cool off. Most importantly ......it is nice and quiet. Some folks like the music and action of the main pool area.....not us. It’s so much more relaxing to be able to have a conversation without having to yell at each other. WORD OF CAUTION: Get there early as the place fills up quick.

• Howl at the Moon Dueling Pianos is a rocking good time. Great music and fun banter between the performers and crowd. I like how they played a good mix of crowd favorites like Bob Seger’s Old Time Rock and Roll and Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline but also deeper non-traditional dueling piano cuts like Interstate Love Song by the Stone Temple Pilots and In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins. Outstanding!

• Our favorite bar was Mixx which is situated between the Taste and Savor dining rooms on deck 6. It’s a great place to have a drink before a show and people watch. Joao De La Cruz is a great bartender. GF said he makes an outstanding Moscow Mule.

• The Awesome 80’s Party should not be missed. We danced.....we sang......we played air guitar! WE HAD A BLAST!! Cruise Director Tyler and Assistant Cruise Director Andre guided the crowd through a musical tour of the 80’s with all genres represented......pop, dance, hair band metal, rap.....you name it. Don’t miss it.

• The chicken dishes in the Taste and Savor dining rooms. I loved the Chicken Kiev and both the GF and I enjoyed the Chicken Parmesan. The Herb Crusted Chicken Breast was also delightful.

• CALLING ALL BEACH LOVERS! If you want to visit one of the greatest beaches in the world then take the NCL excursion “Escape to Jost Van Dyke”. It is a 45 minute catamaran ride aboard the Rebel Yell from the port in Tortola to the White Bay, Jost Van Dyke. They drop you off right by the Soggy Dollar Bar which has free beach chairs and serves the most delicious beach drink...the Painkiller. The sand is soft and fluffy. It rained a little while we were there but we stayed in the water and drank our Painkillers in the rain and loved every minute of it. Rum punch is served on the ride back to port to put the exclamation point on a fantastic excursion.

• If you want to hear a bunch of Frankie Valli/4 Seasons’ songs and some corny humor then make sure you make it to Oh What a Night! We saw the show in the Escape Theater on Day 5 (Tortola) as opposed to the The Supper Club which has several showings at 6 PM.

• I liked the light system in the cabins for “Do Not Disturb” or “Make up My Room” Basically; you switch on a light from inside your cabin for either setting. No more placing a tag on your door handle.

• The chicken wings in the O’Sheehans Bar & Grill at 11:30pm were pretty tasty…..especially after a few Moscow Mules. We watched the end of the Sunday night football game there. Sorry, Patriot fans.

• We saw a couple of comedy shows and it just so happened to be Vince Acevedo both times. He’s a really funny guy with a quick wit that really doesn’t have much prepared material but rather just riffs back and forth with audience members. Jay Stevens was the host both times and did a warm up set and was good too.

 

The Bad

• The port of Nassau is disappointing. The town is dirty, the people are rude and the beaches lacking. We will treat Nassau as an additional sea day on any future cruise we happen to port there.

• Late arriving people to shows. Buy a watch and show up on time. I’ll just leave it at that.

• The cabin seemed to lack storage space......especially shelving. Not a big deal just had to be a little creative with the storage.

• I could not get the Norwegian iCONCIERGE app to work on my phone.

• The NY strip steak in the main dining rooms. Chewy and over cooked. Just say no.

• Our breakfast order was not picked up from outside our stateroom overnight on one occasion. We like to hit the gym first thing in the morning so we order coffee, yogurt and pastries to enjoy in our cabin while getting ready. You can’t sweat the small stuff so we course corrected and headed up to the Garden Cafe.

• Noise from nearby cabins. Somebody in a cabin near us fired up the TV at 6 AM every morning and turned the volume up to not 10 but 11 (because it’s one louder). Also, our neighbors were bouncing a ball off their cabin wall one time. C’mon man!

• The deserts in the complimentary dining options leave much to be desired. They are great on the eyes and disappointing in the mouth. The single worst item item was the no sugar added carrot cake in the Taste Dining room. It tasted like motor oil.

• The taxi situation in St. Thomas was chaos. Both at the port and at Magen’s Bay. We had to get off one van and get on another in the pouring rain at Magen’s Bay because they had loaded them in the wrong order. Cruise ships have been coming to St. Thomas for a long time. One would think they would have a better system in place.

•I don’t like the last day of the cruise being a port day. It just feels like it brings the cruise to an abrupt end. A sea day just eases you back into the impending reality.

 

The Meh!

• The production show After Midnight was OK. There were some real show stoppers in the show but a lot of it seemed to drag. Jazz is not my favorite genre of music so that probably affected my thoughts. Hardcore jazz fans may love it. I did like that there was a live band providing the music instead of a prerecorded track.

• The bedding is just OK. The mattress was hard and I woke up most mornings with a stiff lower back. But the most annoying issue was the lack of fitted bed sheets. The bottom of the bed sheet barely came down to the end of the mattress and would ride up most nights.

• The Fitness Center had a lot of equipment but it is of average quality. The treadmills had all kinds of entertainment options but the belts had a lot of drag. The elliptical machines were flimsy. They did have a rowing machine which delighted my GF. The cold towels are a nice touch.

• The ship actually did not sail until 8 PM so it was kind of strange to sail away in the dark.

• The scrambled eggs and poached eggs in the Garden Cafe. Most of the yolks in the poached eggs on the eggs benedict were hard boiled.

• Casino……..who knows? We only walked through it on our way to someplace else.

• Pay restaurants…..again who knows? The food was so good in the Taste and Savor dining rooms we didn’t bother with them.

 

This was our first cruise on a megaship and admittedly was a little apprehensive at first. But after a day or so we pretty much figured things out. The layout and the signage both make it easy to get where you want to go. Another thing we liked was all of the entertainment options. There were so many shows we just couldn’t fit into our schedule. There was a comedy juggler, game shows, trivia contests, Q&A sessions, karaoke....... not to mention all the live music at several of the bars.

 

As I said at the beginning of my review, the crew was outstanding. The level of service was top notch. We had a large organized group on our sailing of hearing and sight challenged folks. We witnessed one example after another of the crew going out of their way to patiently assist them. I saw one bartender use one of these folk’s cell phone to clarify what brand of whiskey they wanted to drink at O’Sheehan’s. We were extremely impressed with the level of professionalism by all of the crew.

 

Two of the most important criteria we judge a cruise by are level of service and entertainment. This cruise only reinforced why NCL is our cruise line of choice as they exceeded expectation on both counts. No cruise is perfect......but overall it was another great cruise on NCL.

 

I’d be happy to answer any questions or elaborate on any of the above comments here or feel free to send me an e-mail at LD_Silver_Cruiser@Yahoo.com.

 

 

 

Thanks for taking time to write a review.

 

Just wondered what the weather was like all week? We are on the escape in a couple of weeks and have been checking the weather. It just says rain all day constantly at the moment. How did you find It?

[bzmom2girls]

No worries on the catamaran. It pulled up almost all the way to the shore. It was maybe a 15-20 foot walk in water no higher than the knee. Easy cheesy. did not see any kids at Jost Van Dyke but they would have fun.

 

We walked to the straw market and looked around in Nassau. I've been there before and the beaches are not great. The only thing that interested me was Atlantis but it is too pricey for me. Stay on the ship and get good seats at the pool would be my advice.

 

There are beautiful beaches in Nassau- next time get a day pass to a hotel or resort.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[eatdrinkfly]

great review - thanks for the info.

excited to board the Escape (again) in less than 2 weeks. :)

 

and from my experience, "sugar free" usually means "chemical ****storm" and is best avoided as a general rule.

[LD Silver]

Thanks for taking the time to post! Over 20 of us sail on Escape this coming Saturday! I was glad to see you mentioned the 80's night. One of my sisters really lead the group in making sure we got to this event. We all have our 80's outfits lined up... PLEASE tell me we won't be the only ones in 80's gear! LOL No matter... we'll have a ton of fun either way. The drink package will make sure of that. ;)

 

You will not be the only ones in 80's outfits. You will see a little of everything. We even saw a guy wearing lederhosen. He must have thought it was an 1880's party.

 

The event is held in Spice H2O on deck 17 aft. It is really a video 80's party as the music videos are shown on the big screen as the music plays. One thing to be aware...it is LOUD. We saw folks with ear plugs in.

 

You will have a blast!

Edited November 22, 2016 by LD Silver

[clarkg]

Thanks for taking the time to write a review.

[karenpstok]

Thanks for taking the time to post! Over 20 of us sail on Escape this coming Saturday! I was glad to see you mentioned the 80's night. One of my sisters really lead the group in making sure we got to this event. We all have our 80's outfits lined up... PLEASE tell me we won't be the only ones in 80's gear! LOL No matter... we'll have a ton of fun either way. The drink package will make sure of that. ;)

well i will be on this sailing too and will look for a group of 20 dressed up in 80s gear lol. The parties at 1030 at spice h20 are great fun!!

[karenpstok]

Thanks for taking time to write a review.

 

Just wondered what the weather was like all week? We are on the escape in a couple of weeks and have been checking the weather. It just says rain all day constantly at the moment. How did you find It?

i was on the escape for halloween and it said rain everyday in the forecast before i left and it actually only rained one day for a short time. I would not worry!! Happy cruising! I am going saturday again and it says there will be rain but i dont worry about it cause it is usually just a shower

[Coreysgrl06]

Did you have the dailies?

[joeholms]

Thanks for the great post. Seriously, one of the most helpful that I have read. My wife and I are sailing on the Escape in less than two weeks and you have answered a lot of questions that I had been looking for.

[ABC Cruisers]

We were on this cruise also. We were lucky enough to get Vibe passes even though we were in boarding group 16! Vibe passes are well worth the $99 a week, there was never more than 15-20 people there, Ruby was wonderful and knew everyone and what they drank as soon as you walked in.

 

Unlike our other cruises, we have never had a noise problem, on this cruise you heard every time the neighbors flushed their toilet, as well as others that seemed to be coming from the deck below us. We had cabin 14288 on the slant, great balcony space! Storage space is tight in the cabin, but we made it work.

 

PRINT OUT anything you have included with your cruise!!! We had the 7 night Platinum dining package, I checked our reservation right before flying to Florida and everything looked good. All of our reservations were made 90 days out and included in our vacation summary. Our first night was at Cagney's, the computers were down when we finished and they just took down our cabin number and said they would take care of everything. We woke up the next day to a $125. 08 charge to our account. We called guest services, who insisted we didn't have a dining package. We stayed calm and said we would be down with the receipt. (We had taken the beverage package as our free perk and purchased the 7 night dining package). Even after seeing the receipt, they took it out back, made a copy and told us they would see what they could do, but they had nothing for our dining package on record...what about the receipt we just gave you??? It took 3 days for them to credit that charge and get that straightened out. We also received a $40 non-refundable OBC from the staff after this, we called when we saw the OBC but it wasn't being applied to our bill. They said it would be applied on the last day of the cruise towards our bill. On Friday the only thing that had been charged against the OBC was hubby's sushi roll at Food Republic. When we questioned why the entire OBC wasn't applied towards our outstanding balance they said you had to have a charge other than the daily gratuities for them to use it. We said we had purchased 2 Vibe passes at $99 each, they said that was not an acceptable "charge", so we left paying a bill with a notation for $30 in unused OBC.

We heard other people having the same problem with dining packages not being linked to their reservations also, so we were not alone.

 

When you read it's crowded, that's an understatement. We were on the Allure last year and never felt crowded anywhere on that ship. This ship even has pool chairs placed end-to-end on both sides of the jogging track! Our cruise would have been so much different if we weren't able to get Vibe passes, the pool was packed, the hot tubs where totally filled, the pool deck looked like a mass of sardines!

 

The ship is beautiful, other than guest services the staff was great, Tyler the CD was great, what a treat it was to see him walk into Howling at the Moon and interact with the guys there and us in the audience while he took his place at the drums all 3 nights we were there. HATM is not to be missed. We have been to a few of their locations on land and they are hit or miss, these 3 guys were absolutely wonderful!!! Will we go on another NCL cruise....probably not. We dealt with guest services way more than we should have during our vacation, once we presented a copy of our paid receipt that should have been the end of the problem and the dining package should have been immediately added to our account and the credit for the first night should have been done instead of dragging it on for 3 days. We remained calm during the entire process, I own my own business and my husband is in sales, so we appreciate if a customer has a question or concern that they remain calm and level headed instead of being loud and bullying. They really didn't want to even credit that first night dinner charge and throughout it all it seemed the norm to pass us to other people in hopes we would give up and go away. The crowded public areas aren't relaxing and not having water or coffee included in an "Ultimate" beverage package just seems silly when other lines include everything.

[Ku4anci]

How was the WIFI, if you have used it?

[LD Silver]

How was the WIFI, if you have used it?

 

I did not use the wifi..........my guess is that it was slow.

[TonyFred]

Thanks for taking the time to post! Over 20 of us sail on Escape this coming Saturday! I was glad to see you mentioned the 80's night. One of my sisters really lead the group in making sure we got to this event. We all have our 80's outfits lined up... PLEASE tell me we won't be the only ones in 80's gear! LOL No matter... we'll have a ton of fun either way. The drink package will make sure of that. ;)

 

 

You are going to be so glad you dressed up! That party was a BLAST!

 

Heres a short video montage from the party on our recent Halloween cruise.

 

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Openbar82]

Thanks for a great to the point review. I'm sad to see that Nassau has not changed as far as the cleanliness and the constant wave of pushy sellers. (no thank you I do not want drugs or a prostitute.) I wish I was joking about this. But hey I'll always take a extra sea day with an empty ship.

 

I'm looking forward to the 80's night and the Brat Pack show. I hear nothing but great things about the Jost Van Dyke excursion on the Rebel Yell can't wait.

 

Cheers!

[Chigirlcruzin]

Thanks for taking the time to post! Over 20 of us sail on Escape this coming Saturday! I was glad to see you mentioned the 80's night. One of my sisters really lead the group in making sure we got to this event. We all have our 80's outfits lined up... PLEASE tell me we won't be the only ones in 80's gear! LOL No matter... we'll have a ton of fun either way. The drink package will make sure of that. ;)

 

 

 

I'm sailing tomorrow, too! Sooooo excited! I didn't bring 80s gear but maybe I can do my makeup 80s style!

 

 

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Edited November 26, 2016 by Chigirlcruzin