Can a big ship give me the relaxation I want?

[msmayor]

Looking to you NCL veterans for some help.

 

We are traditionalists when it comes to cruising...we love to walk a promenade deck or walking track every morning about 3 miles, we love trivia and evening cocktails before set dining at 8pm. We don't need a lounger by the pool, but instead will crave time on our balcony or in a quiet shady spot on deck. I love a trip or two at the spa, maybe a nice lounge in the evening for some music and after-dinner drinks. Oh, and the casino. We love our casino. Our favorite lines are the ones we've sailed...Royal Caribbean and Holland America.

 

I've never considered NCL as an option because of 'freestyle' and the idea that there are so many dining options and reservations would need to be made to ensure our favorite dining time.

 

That being said, we are considering a cruise on Escape in October 2018 as a way to relax after our daughter's wedding. Why? It is one of only two ships that depart on Sunday October 21st from the Northeast for one-week RT cruises. The Pride sails from Baltimore to Bermuda, Escape to FL/Bahamas.

 

We've sailed the Pride before and while I love Bermuda, we're not big fans of the ship. This trip, its really all about the ship for us. We're going to relax, not tour...I'm not looking to get off the ship at all in any ports.

 

We've never sailed NCL...and NEVER on a ship the size of Escape. Freedom of the Seas is the largest we've been on, and that ship has a capacity some 600 pax less than Escape.

 

We'd get a balcony stateroom to have a guarantee of some space outside to relax. But what about the rest of the ship? Will we be able to find quiet spots to relax? Do I need to worry about when and where we'll eat every night?

 

Am I the right cruiser for NCL?

[riclop]

It's all up to you.

[King of Cruising]

No. :cool:

[Cruiser Who Knows Nothing]

I don't think NCL is for you.

 

 

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[triptolemus]

No.

[garycarla]

Look at our list of cruises below.

 

We have enjoyed every one of them.

 

My brother on the other hand has done 5 cruises - and had issues with most of them.

 

Go figure.

[10-777]

No way.

[mjcatlvr]

Big fan of the NCL Escape! We sailed Escape this past January. Never got off the ship. We always have a balcony to relax on. Easy to grab a glass of wine at a bar and enjoy on your balcony. Husband runs to the Buffett to grab some grapes and cheese to run back to the cabin. We have spent hours reading and relaxing. So easy to make dinner reservations online for the "pay" restaurants or right as you board (complimentary restaurants need no reservations unless you have a large group). Many small nooks in the evening with live music being played is what we love. We will be sailing the beautiful Escape again Jan. 2018, Yea! We are committed to NCL because of Freestyle Cruising. We love to do our own thing! If we want to dress up for dinner, it's OK. Love Escape!

 

 

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[Karyn RN]

Just got off the escape in April. It is an amazing ship, dining might take a little bit of planning but if you like to eat late you will have no problem!

 

 

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[kimberja14]

We loved the Escape! If you enjoy spas get the spa pass...totally worth every cent and literally the most relaxing thing I've ever done:-)

 

 

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[Moby0215]

Freestyle means no set dining times and no reservations required (unless you want the paid specialty restaurants).

 

 

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[Karyn RN]

You an make reservations at the smaller/main dining rooms, but not necessary

 

 

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[Still Dreaming]

I think if you go in with an open mind and not compare everything you will love it!! We did the getaway and had a very relaxing week. Loved all the music around the ship and the out door space is absolutely amazing ( waterfront).

We have a large balcony B6 on the escape in October that has loungers on it!!! Awesome!!

NCL is like a large city that offers choices for dinning and entertainment within walking distance!

We have done 4 different cruise lines and have had a great time on each one but we tend to return to NCL for the relaxed feeling ( no formal clothes and no set dinning times!!)

[easyboy]

May not be right for you.

 

 

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[MJSailors]

Some thoughts as we also are "traditional "cruise people who frequent Princess and have taken two Cunard cruises.

We have sailed on the Breakaway twice from NYC ( home port) to Bermuda ( a favorite destination).

We chose NCL because the Breakaway took us to Bermuda.

We found the balcony on the first cruise to be very small,so for the second cruise we booked a mini suite with a larger balcony.

I would recommend going for the larger balcony for a comfortable,outdoor space to enjoy.

We also like to take our daily walks while on a cruise.

The walking/jogging track on the Breakaway is in an awkward location. A restaurant exit is at one point of the track,.People leave the restaurant and stop on the track,deciding where they will go next,right in front of oncoming walkers/joggers.There are also loungers set up at the edge of the track and people stopping at the railings to take photos.

There is no true Promenade deck as that area is called the Waterfront.

There is a walking area there which passes bars and restaurants with outdoor searing.

Part of the Waterfront is the location for the designated smoking section. The walkway does not go around the entire deck.

After two cruises on the Breakaway,we have decided not to book an NCL ship of that size again.

This is not only our reaction to the ship.

Just recently,a neighbor returned from a cruise on the Breakaway to Bermuda in April.

She thought the ship was noisy and full of people.Walking around the public decks reminded her of walking on a Manhattan street.

She loves to go to Bermuda.but after this cruise.she will continue to enjoy land based vacations there.

Our housekeeper recently returned from a Breakaway cruise.

She called it a booze cruise.

She was very glad to get off the ship in Bermuda to get away from the crowd of people on the ship.

She also does not plan to take a cruise on an NCL mega ship again.

It is true that a person can make a vacation a good or unsatisfactory experience.

As for my DH and I, we tried to enjoy the cruises to Bermuda.

The Breakaway ( or ,most likely , a ship of that size )is not our type of ship and the atmosphere was not for us.

Perhaps ,you could look into cruises on Celebrity or RCCL that leave from NJ if you are not certain if a NCL cruise is for you.

[toyotaford]

If you truly love HAL you may not enjoy NCL. We have cruised HAL twice and it wasn't a fit for us. The things we didn't like about it are the things we love about NCL. We don't like dressing up for dinner. It was required on HAL. We found the crowd to be a more subdued group than on NCL. (And we aren't partiers so that isn't important to us.) We find the crowd on NCL to just be a more relaxed, friendlier, down to earth group of people. It has nothing to do with income or social status. And it could have just been that we happened to hit a couple of stuffy HAL cruises. Maybe they are really a bunch of wild ones normally.

 

We have traveled CCL, Princess, HAL, RCC and NCL and NCL is the best fit for us. HAL is the only line we would not consider cruising on again. The only way for you to be sure is to try it. We did and we fell in love with it. We leave Saturday on our third one this year.

 

NCL is not perfect and has gone through some changes in the last couple of years that have raised some eyebrows but overall they deliver an awesome product that keeps a lot of people coming back. One thing that they have done better than any line I know of is deliver a good product for any cruise budget. You can book anything from an interior room to a 7,000 square foot suite with baby grand piano on the same ship and enjoy either one.

 

Good luck and enjoy whichever cruise you choose to take.

[Two Wheels Only]

You can book anything from an interior room to a 7,000 square foot suite with baby grand piano on the same ship and enjoy either one.

 

Even the Regent Suite on Seven Seas Explorer isn't that big. It's a little under 4,000 square feet.

 

 

[ExpatBride]

If you truly love HAL you may not enjoy NCL.

 

I agree with this. I love HAL, but they're not sailing the itinerary I wanted this summer, so I'm back on NCL, but a smallish ship, the Jade. I sailed the Epic in the Western Med. last year and could not stand it! To the point that we looked into how much it would've cost to fly back from one of the ports just to get off that awful ship. I think people are either big ship people or they're not. I'm not.

 

I think NCL can be an outstanding value for money, especially on their smaller ships. But the experience is nothing like HAL and it's the tradition of HAL that endears me to it. This is such a subjective question that I don't think anyone can really answer it for you.

[Eleteace]

I completely disagree with the people saying no!! The pool deck can be manic but I never failed to find a nice seat on the promonade deck to watch the world go by :-)

 

 

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[toyotaford]

Even the Regent Suite on Seven Seas Explorer isn't that big. It's a little under 4,000 square feet.

 

 

This is a beautiful room and I must admit a little more tastefully decorated than the GV on the Star and Dawn but those decks on those two ships are amazing.

[LrgPizza]

I've been on Escape twice, and I certainly wouldn't pick her if I was looking for quiet and relaxation. This is a ship designed for families, lots of kids, lots of parties, etc. I don't think this ship is for you.

[ozscotart]

I think you could consider the Jade : we have done a number of cruises on 'traditional ' ships including HAL, P&O, Cunard etc, all on ships around the size of Jade or smaller. Before the Jade cruise I had been on Epic and hated it, 4000 unhappy Spaniards, and no forward lounge and no promenade deck. But I did enjoy the food, freestyle dining, and the entertainment. We were on the Jade eighteen months ago and enjoyed our cruise on her too. No lectures, no 'enrichment ' but tbh quite a lot of the time we felt we knew more than lecturer on most of those ships, excepting Cunard. So I would suggest trying it, see if you like it. We are going on the Jade again this year, and I'm sure we will enjoy it.

[newmexicoNita]

Looking to you NCL veterans for some help.

 

We are traditionalists when it comes to cruising...we love to walk a promenade deck or walking track every morning about 3 miles, we love trivia and evening cocktails before set dining at 8pm. We don't need a lounger by the pool, but instead will crave time on our balcony or in a quiet shady spot on deck. I love a trip or two at the spa, maybe a nice lounge in the evening for some music and after-dinner drinks. Oh, and the casino. We love our casino. Our favorite lines are the ones we've sailed...Royal Caribbean and Holland America.

 

I've never considered NCL as an option because of 'freestyle' and the idea that there are so many dining options and reservations would need to be made to ensure our favorite dining time.

 

That being said, we are considering a cruise on Escape in October 2018 as a way to relax after our daughter's wedding. Why? It is one of only two ships that depart on Sunday October 21st from the Northeast for one-week RT cruises. The Pride sails from Baltimore to Bermuda, Escape to FL/Bahamas.

 

We've sailed the Pride before and while I love Bermuda, we're not big fans of the ship. This trip, its really all about the ship for us. We're going to relax, not tour...I'm not looking to get off the ship at all in any ports.

 

We've never sailed NCL...and NEVER on a ship the size of Escape. Freedom of the Seas is the largest we've been on, and that ship has a capacity some 600 pax less than Escape.

 

We'd get a balcony stateroom to have a guarantee of some space outside to relax. But what about the rest of the ship? Will we be able to find quiet spots to relax? Do I need to worry about when and where we'll eat every night?

 

Am I the right cruiser for NCL?

you can make any cruise a good one or a bad one. It sounds like all you need and want you will get on NCL. I do want to warn you of 1 thing: the balconies on NCL ships are very small. This has never bothered us, as long as there is room for a small table for coffee or drinks and a couple of chairs for relaxing and reading we are fine, but some people has a problem with the size of the balconies. As for the larger ship, just plan activities around times that are not as crowded. The worse part of the larger ships seems to be the elevators. They can get very crowded as they need one more set. At least this is the case with the Epic and BA, I don't know if they improved the problem on the Escape

[garycarla]

... we are considering a cruise on Escape in October 2018 as a way to relax after our daughter's wedding. Why? It is one of only two ships that depart on Sunday October 21st from the Northeast for one-week RT cruises. The Pride sails from Baltimore to Bermuda, Escape to FL/Bahamas. ....

 

I think you could consider the Jade ....

 

Since the OP mentioned only two ships that available, sailing the Jade is not going to work. If they decided to fly somewhere to catch the ship, maybe.

[MMMD]

I've been on the Jewel & the Breakaway.

The size of the Jewel was perfect for us. The public areas were never crowded, nor were the restaurants.

 

The Breakaway was a mob scene everywhere. The public area's at times were so crowded with people pulling chairs from the computer area & coffee shop -you couldn't even get by. We even had a suite & the Haven area to get away from the crowds, but when lots of big families with lots of kids are in the Haven 24/7 -it's not a relaxing place at all. It seemed wherever we went -there were crowds of people.

Luckily we had a beautiful balcony, but who wants to spend 7 days trapped in your own cabin to escape crowds?

We'd never sail a ship that size again.

 

But having said all that -read some reviews to get a feel of what your experience may be like.