Norwegian Escape Questions from a Newbie

[TexasCruiser84]

I am thinking about booking the Norwegian Escape for November, 2019. I have only cruised with Carnival (3, Glory, Liberty) and Royal (1, Harmony). I enjoyed the mega ship experience on Harmony and am interested to hear from others how the Norwegian Escape stacks up. I have tons of questions and would love to hear you advice, tips, tricks, rants, etc.

 

1. How does Harvest Caye compare to Coco Cay or Labadee? Does the drink package work on Harvest Caye? Do you have to take a tender to get to the port?

 

2. Are specialty coffees (espresso shots, lattes, drinks with Baileys etc) included in the drink package?

 

3. Does NCL Escape have anything similar to the Coke Freestyle machines that Royal ships have? Or are you limited to the canned Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, etc.

 

4. How difficult is it to get a chair outside on a sea day? I don't care if it is by the pool (no kids, we never really go in the pool) - I just want a spot to lay down, catch some sun and drink a fruity adult beverage.

 

5. On that note, how crowded does the adults only area get? Will I be hard pressed to find a chair on a sea day?

 

6. I'm thinking about purchasing a Vibe Beach Club pass. For those who have purchased this pass, did you consider it worth it?Did the area fill up quickly, making it difficult to find a spot to hang out?)

 

7. We will be a party of 2, and we usually dine around 6:30-7. Is there a long wait for a table in Freestyle dining? Can you make a reservation for Freestyle dining to avoid a wait?

 

 

I am looking at cruise options on NCL Escape and Carnival Vista. Please help me make up my mind!

[Two Wheels Only]

1. UBP does not work there.

 

2. No.

 

3. No and no. Pepsi products, only.

 

4. You'll find a chair unless you want to be right next to the pool.

 

5. Varies. You'll usually find a chair.

 

6. The number of passes is limited. It isn't crowded.

 

7. You can make reservation or just show up and possibly wait for a few minutes.

[Cyclops32]

I am thinking about booking the Norwegian Escape for November, 2019. I have only cruised with Carnival (3, Glory, Liberty) and Royal (1, Harmony). I enjoyed the mega ship experience on Harmony and am interested to hear from others how the Norwegian Escape stacks up. I have tons of questions and would love to hear you advice, tips, tricks, rants, etc.

 

1. How does Harvest Caye compare to Coco Cay or Labadee? Does the drink package work on Harvest Caye? Do you have to take a tender to get to the port?

 

2. Are specialty coffees (espresso shots, lattes, drinks with Baileys etc) included in the drink package?

 

3. Does NCL Escape have anything similar to the Coke Freestyle machines that Royal ships have? Or are you limited to the canned Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, etc.

 

4. How difficult is it to get a chair outside on a sea day? I don't care if it is by the pool (no kids, we never really go in the pool) - I just want a spot to lay down, catch some sun and drink a fruity adult beverage.

 

5. On that note, how crowded does the adults only area get? Will I be hard pressed to find a chair on a sea day?

 

6. I'm thinking about purchasing a Vibe Beach Club pass. For those who have purchased this pass, did you consider it worth it?Did the area fill up quickly, making it difficult to find a spot to hang out?)

 

7. We will be a party of 2, and we usually dine around 6:30-7. Is there a long wait for a table in Freestyle dining? Can you make a reservation for Freestyle dining to avoid a wait?

 

 

I am looking at cruise options on NCL Escape and Carnival Vista. Please help me make up my mind!

I can not answer all of your questions but...

 

No Coke products. Only Pepsi and it is usually from a bars soda gun.

 

Have not been in the Vibe but do know it is a small adult only version of the Haven. Only a small group of people can get a pass usually less then 100.

 

You can make reservations to just about every restaurant. We always make them and have never had a wait. With only the two of you you could still get in many places with no wait or just a short one.

 

If you can afford it the Haven is the best. You have about 1/3 of the top 3 decks that only Haven guest have access to. The Haven has less then 100 cabins so you figure there are about 200-300 people at best in that part of the ship so you always can find a spot.

 

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[PTC DAWG]

You can most certainly get a shot of Baileys with the UBP.....I did it every mornin recently on The Escape....2 shots of you ask nicely. Add to coffee, done...There is a bar in the buffet.

[FitchburgWIFamily]

2. Are specialty coffees (espresso shots, lattes, drinks with Baileys etc) included in the drink package?

 

espresso shots = no, lattes = no, drinks with Baileys = yes

 

3. Does NCL Escape have anything similar to the Coke Freestyle machines that Royal ships have? Or are you limited to the canned Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite, etc.

 

No canned soda, just fountain soda, and no machines to self-serve, just standard Pepsi products from a hose.

 

4. How difficult is it to get a chair outside on a sea day? I don't care if it is by the pool (no kids, we never really go in the pool) - I just want a spot to lay down, catch some sun and drink a fruity adult beverage.

 

 

On the Escape: not hard at all...just keep going up and up. Also, we have had good luck getting chairs in H2O, which during the day is very quiet and has a great water feature to help cool down.

 

5. On that note, how crowded does the adults only area get? Will I be hard pressed to find a chair on a sea day?

 

We have never had a problem, but we have always either gone up a little early (10ish) or a little late (3ish) we never tried to get their at noon and find a seat.

 

6. I'm thinking about purchasing a Vibe Beach Club pass. For those who have purchased this pass, did you consider it worth it?Did the area fill up quickly, making it difficult to find a spot to hang out?)

 

Never purchased, sorry

 

7. We will be a party of 2, and we usually dine around 6:30-7. Is there a long wait for a table in Freestyle dining? Can you make a reservation for Freestyle dining to avoid a wait?

 

You can make a reservation, but there is no need. Their are three "formal" dining rooms, the Manhattan (with live music) and the small twin Taste and Savor. We have never had to wait for a table. We just show up.

 

 

Happy cruising!

[MainerRN92]

Also an Escape newbie, to add to the OP's questions: With a party of two, when you show up in the MDRs for dinner, are you seated at a two-top table or with a group?

[Trela1234]

Also an Escape newbie, to add to the OP's questions: With a party of two, when you show up in the MDRs for dinner, are you seated at a two-top table or with a group?

 

We were seated at a table for two.

[LrgPizza]

Also an Escape newbie, to add to the OP's questions: With a party of two, when you show up in the MDRs for dinner, are you seated at a two-top table or with a group?

 

 

You will always be seated alone unless you ask to be seated with others. If you do, you’d have to wait until someone else showed up asking to join, which might be never. It works like regular land restaurants. Seated alone with your party.

[TexasCruiser84]

Thank you all!

[BirdTravels]

Thank you all!

Wrt the Vibe Pass. The Escape sells 80 passes for the 4500 passengers. If you don’t have “frequent cruiser priority boarding status”, you will need be at the terminal long before it opens to be one of the very first persons to board and walk fast (no running) to buy the pass.

[BNBR]

Escape is nowhere near as good as Harmony, overall. Escape, however, does have a lot of unique features that Harmony does not and if you embrace the differences, you will have a great time.

 

You asked multiple times about finding chairs during sea days outside. This is an absolute, utter, freaking disaster on Escape. The pool and adults area in the back is WAY too small for the volume of passengers. Worst I've ever seen on any ship, by far. Your best bet is to buy a Vibe pass, though you have to be one of the first on the ship and sprint to the lounge where they sell the passes. For what you seem to be wanting to do, Vibe would be worth every penny and more if you can get one. You may or may not even like Spice H20 - the adults area on the back. It has almost no shade, it's overcrowded, no pool, and the bar area is a major smoking hub. We thought the daytime vibe there was terrible and didn't spend really any time there. Note that the main pool is adults only as well.

 

Another option is getting the Thermal Suite. It's worth the $200/week. It's inside, no bar, but lots of loungers, plunge pool, totally awesome with amazing views. If you don't need the sun, another good spot is the waterfront, which is a killer feature on Escape. There is open bars on the waterfront and we always found plenty of seating.

 

If you do specialty dining, make reservations. For the regular freestyle dining, not once did I see any real wait or issue when walking by those dining rooms. People walked right up and were being seated almost right away. They do the dining exceptionally well.

 

That said, I HIGHLY recommend specialty dining on Escape and it's worth the package. It's a high point and they do it very well. Pincho Tapas for lunch on the waterfront with an adult beverage is so great and affordable. The District Brew house, if you are a beer drinker, is one of the best spots on the ship, too. They have a 24 hour pub with waiter service, totally free, O'Sheehans, and it's a cool venue, too. We liked that a lot.

 

Don't pass up the waterslides, especially the tube slide. It's super fun and we never saw a very long line as they move people through it quickly.

 

Drink package. Note that it does NOT include bottled water.

 

Just be realistic in your expectations. The Escape feels cramped and can get crowded, it's not, in any way, the open, airy ship that Harmony is. I don't personally consider Escape a mega ship, it's just a "plus sized" large ship. But it's still got a lot of good features and unique venues that you'll enjoy.

 

Main (and only) general pool area:

 

Edited May 11, 2018 by BNBR

[Jetsterkitty]

The availability of deck chairs is directly related to the time of year you sail. I always sail "off season" (Spring or Fall - right before or after the kids are in school) and I've never had issues getting deck chairs... unless you want to be right at the pool, then you need to get there early and keep your spot all day. Otherwise, there are always ample chairs on the upper decks, even on the mega-ships. :)

[Maraprince]

One of the main reasons why we take a balcony cabin is to avoid the difficulty of finding a deck chair at peak times.

 

MARAPRINCE

[Two Wheels Only]

4. How difficult is it to get a chair outside on a sea day? I don't care if it is by the pool (no kids, we never really go in the pool) - I just want a spot to lay down, catch some sun and drink a fruity adult beverage.

 

^^ Deck 19 (available to all)

 

^^ Deck 20 (available to all)

 

Since you don't seem interested in either of the 2 pools on deck 16 (one is adult-only and the other is for all ages), you'll probably not have a problem with finding a lounger in the sun.

 

Unfortunately (or maybe, fortunately ;)), too many people don't go to these parts of the ship and then complain that they can't find a lounger....

[PTC DAWG]

I agree, loungers everywhere....waiters too....

[TexasCruiser84]

I appreciate the honesty about the comparison to Harmony. We are also going on Symphony before we would go on NCL Escape, so we may be a bit spoiled. But, reading honest reviews will allow me to temper my expectations appropriately and adapt rather than be disappointed once on the ship. Escape seems to have a number of great things about it that I might enjoy more than a Harmony or Symphony, like the variety in the specialty dining and bar concepts, new-to-us ports, and the ahhhmazing looking thermal spa.

[BNBR]

I appreciate the honesty about the comparison to Harmony. We are also going on Symphony before we would go on NCL Escape, so we may be a bit spoiled. But, reading honest reviews will allow me to temper my expectations appropriately and adapt rather than be disappointed once on the ship. Escape seems to have a number of great things about it that I might enjoy more than a Harmony or Symphony, like the variety in the specialty dining and bar concepts, new-to-us ports, and the ahhhmazing looking thermal spa.

 

I wish I had realistic expectations when we went on Escape, I would have enjoyed it more. Embrace the differences. Don't expect a mega-ship like Harmony, expect more of a larger Carnival ship, if that makes sense. (Escape is practically same design, just a little bigger, as Carnival Dream class). If you enjoy dining and bars, they nail this. And yes, again, thermal suite was worth every penny and more, I would get a pass for that again without question - and I'm not a "spa" person at all.

[Leegeo]

Hi been on the Gem a few times and always get the spa pass for the week. Is the spa pretty much the same but just bigger?

I wish I had realistic expectations when we went on Escape, I would have enjoyed it more. Embrace the differences. Don't expect a mega-ship like Harmony, expect more of a larger Carnival ship, if that makes sense. (Escape is practically same design, just a little bigger, as Carnival Dream class). If you enjoy dining and bars, they nail this. And yes, again, thermal suite was worth every penny and more, I would get a pass for that again without question - and I'm not a "spa" person at all.

[LrgPizza]

Hi been on the Gem a few times and always get the spa pass for the week. Is the spa pretty much the same but just bigger?

 

 

Does the Gem have a snow room in the spa? If not, then not the same.

[Leegeo]

No snow room on Gem but I think I read somewhere that sauna/steam rooms are co Ed.

They weren't on the Gem and I wished they were since my husband and I wanted to sit in there together.

[Leegeo]

Anyone been on both Gem and Eacape and did the spa?

[barb65]

If you can't get a Vibe pass, seriously consider buying a Thermal Spa pass ($199 if you buy it before the cruise; $219 if you buy it after you board). If you're not sure about the Thermal Spa, once you board, go to the spa and request a tour and then you can decide. Also, check out the Escape Thermal Spa on You Tube.

[mjkacmom]

We preferred the bigger spa on the Breakaway over the Gem, liked the co-ed rooms.

[Leegeo]

Hi booked the spa already last month . Just wondering about co Ed as it wasn't on Gem. Hopefully it is?

[barb65]

Hi booked the spa already last month . Just wondering about co Ed as it wasn't on Gem. Hopefully it is?

 

Yes, it is co-ed. You will love the Escape Thermal Spa. Booked it last year for our Escape western Caribbean cruise and spent 2-3 hours there every day. Also booked it for our upcoming Escape/Bermuda cruise. Worth every penney.