Carnival Cruisers trying Norwegian Escape??

[nidaco]

Good Morning Carnival Cruisers. A question for those whom love Carnival (like my family) but have sailed the Norwegian Escape recently. What did you like, enjoy, and love about the Norwegian Escape?

 

A little background about our cruising history...well frankly we love to cruise. We have been on many Carnival ships (Breeze, Dream, Glory, Freedom, Miracle, Ecstasy...) and RC (Adventure, Explorer, Freedom, etc). But well, we want to try some other line. Not to say we don't love Carnival still, just want a different experience.

 

We are booked on the Norwegian Escape out of NYC going to Bermuda in two interior rooms. Would love to know what you liked, enjoyed and loved about your experience aboard the Norwegian Escape. Or even what you didn't care for aboard the Escape.

 

Thanks and happy cruising!

Nicole

[LMaxwell]

I loved the Waterfront area. O'Sheehans was great. MDR's were great. Drink package is kind of a joke unless you are ordering beer or wine; they can't mess that up. Cocktails they give you premix or house grade unless you go to bartender and specify. Shows were GREAT. They have rotating free dinner shows in the smaller club, so watch for that and you can download and book on the app while on the ship. Like a specialty dinner at no charge. NCL does crepes and good desserts up at the buffet; we always left the MDR and went up there for dessert. Watch for Manhattan room to have singing and dancing scheduled on night, nice live entertainment.

 

Rooms are narrow/smaller side, I think the Haven takes up a disproportionate amount of space onboard (nice if you staying there I guess). Ship can definitely feel crowded on decks 6/7/8 in the evenings. Didn't like the games and passenger participation shows in the atrium area; felt forced and ad hoc - Love and Marriage show would have been much better in the theater. Overall though it was a really nice ship with a ton of options on what to do.

[LakeWobegon]

Sorry. We haven't cruise Carnival yet but are choosing the Vista for next spring break with the kids. Sailed the Escape the past two March breaks and loved it. See review below. The kids really wanted to do the Escape/same itenerary a third time but I said, guys, it's time for a new adventure! I personally loved it myself. Great mix of things for kids and adults. The only downside is the pool area is tiny and congested. But if you can understand the activities make up for it, it's awesome.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2479102

[nidaco]

I loved the Waterfront area. O'Sheehans was great. MDR's were great. Drink package is kind of a joke unless you are ordering beer or wine; they can't mess that up. Cocktails they give you premix or house grade unless you go to bartender and specify. Shows were GREAT. They have rotating free dinner shows in the smaller club, so watch for that and you can download and book on the app while on the ship. Like a specialty dinner at no charge. NCL does crepes and good desserts up at the buffet; we always left the MDR and went up there for dessert. Watch for Manhattan room to have singing and dancing scheduled on night, nice live entertainment.

 

Rooms are narrow/smaller side, I think the Haven takes up a disproportionate amount of space onboard (nice if you staying there I guess). Ship can definitely feel crowded on decks 6/7/8 in the evenings. Didn't like the games and passenger participation shows in the atrium area; felt forced and ad hoc - Love and Marriage show would have been much better in the theater. Overall though it was a really nice ship with a ton of options on what to do.

 

 

Thanks so much. Exactly what I was looking for....fair and balanced!;p

[nidaco]

Sorry. We haven't cruise Carnival yet but are choosing the Vista for next spring break with the kids. Sailed the Escape the past two March breaks and loved it. See review below. The kids really wanted to do the Escape/same itenerary a third time but I said, guys, it's time for a new adventure! I personally loved it myself. Great mix of things for kids and adults. The only downside is the pool area is tiny and congested. But if you can understand the activities make up for it, it's awesome.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2479102

 

Thanks for the review!!! Looks like a great ship. We will be sailing on the Vista April 2018 so I can't help there. But we have always enjoyed our Carnival cruises...enjoy Carnival Vista.:D

[caddykid12]

I did 3 carnival in 2016. I love carnival. I love the prices. Love it all. Unfortunately the premier casino offers aren't as good as they were last year and had 3 free cruises out of it.

I did get tired of the same menu. I Can only see studio VIP. 88 keys so many times.

Food is a killer tho. Just tired of same food. Cruise after cruise

 

Trying NCL breakaway for 14 days to kick off 2017.

I'M NOT CHEATING. I'll be on horizon too. It's my first mega ship but reviews look great. So good I booked 14 days on Escape too. So cannot wait to see your review on that.

[SNJCruisers]

The Escape is a great ship. Been lucky enough to have sailed 29 times, 17 on Carnival, and the Escape will be the first ship that I will be on three times when I sail her in September, doing three different itineraries. The only things I enjoyed more on Carnival were lunchtime options food wise and Cheers, especially the Alchemy Bar. Howl at the Moon is fantastic and blows away the Carnival piano bar and you can get reservations for adult comedy shows, so there is no need to waste 30-45 minutes in line like on Carnival.

As a matter of fact, the Havana area on the Horizon is the only reason we have gone back to Carnival for 2018 and 2019.

 

Sent from my XT1254 using Forums mobile app

[Nanookz]

Did the Escape last October. We liked it. I don't know I could say which is better NCL or Carnival but I don't get caught up in the the dislikes. I did like the dinning better because we could make reservations for dinner at different times and there was live music in the Manhattan room. The reservations for the shows were nice because you know it will not be over capacity. Did not like the games/trivia being in the atrium. To small of a venue.

[chrislo]

We were on the Escape in Nov of last year. My husband thought the food and entertainment was better. My son prefered the food on Carnival. I liked both Carnival and NCL equally but do think we had better entertainment options on NCL plus it was nice to be able to reserve a time for the shows we wanted to see.

 

Price and itenarary will always be the deciding factor for us between lines.

[mpcaruth]

We are Carnival fans and have sailed 10 Carnival cruises, 3Royal Caribbean cruises, and 2 Norwegian. My family all agree thatNorwegian is our least favorite line. Their freestyle cruising, was notfreestyle at all for us. We sailed the Getaway (Escape's sister ship)last year and here is a summary of the pros & cons of the Getaway:

· Balcony is perhaps the smallest (narrowest) than any majorcruiseline.

· Main theater entertainment was way better than Carnival

· Comedy club was inferior to Carnival’s

· Buffet food was better than Carnival’s

· Main dining food not as good as Carnival’s

· We HATED having to make reservations for shows (Illusionnaire,comedy, main theater, etc). No freestyle here! You had to make reservations wayin advanced of the cruise, or risk not getting a spot. (There is a stand byline).

· The Getaway was loaded with outdoor activities to do (comparableto Dream class ship lido deck)

· The Water Front was a great place to walk and hang out.

· The iConcierge App is available to make reservations, see dailyschedule, see billings, and to use as onboard texting.

· If I recall correctly, there seemed to be more restrictions forOBC: I know on Carnival I used OBC topay gratuities and to upload to my casino account, but could not do these onNorwegian.

· We don’t pay for specialty dinning, and Norwegian pushes this. Ifelt there were less free dining options on the Getaway than on most Carnivalships.

· We enjoyed the sports bar (O’Sheehans) for complimentary meals.

· Room service was not free.

· In my opinion, it is obvious that there are distinct levels ofcruisers. One can cruise on the baselineprice, but there are other cruisers who pay premium for Haven amenities and specialtydining, etc. And it did seem like NCL was nickel and diming more than the othercruislines.

· Also, only on Norwegian have we gone to attend a scheduledcruise activity on a ship and found out they canceled, due to lack ofinterest. This happened on both NCLships. (For example, youth family art activity, cake decorating (twice), and canceledSlime Time Live because there were only 140 kids on the ship). All of those cancelled activities were on thetop to do list for my daughter (14 now), and she says she never wants to cruiseNorwegian again.

My very detailed, and picture laden, cruise review canbe found here:

 

Norwegian Getaway toGreat Stirrup Cay, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, and Cozumel http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2331862