Does anyone love the Escape?

[graphicguy]

27 minutes ago, snorklinbarb said:

Probably new one posted where family had not cruised in a few years and did no advance bookings for shows or restaurants so had a difficult time with that.  5200 guests onboard.  Still what OP needs to keep in mind is they also highly complimented crew and service and said they had an "amazing" time.

 

GG, enjoying Bliss review!

Thanks!

 

Glad you enjoyed it.

 

Not familiar with that person's/family's experiences!  Don't judge a cruise by one (or a few) people's experiences.

Edited May 4, 2023 by graphicguy

[hallux]

Just now, graphicguy said:

Don't judge a cruise by on (or a few) people's experiences.

Correct.  Something to consider is that someone is MUCH more likely to complain than to praise.  That family had issues and had some (likely valid) complaints.  There were 5196 other people on that trip that might have had a wonderful and had zero complaints.

 

I was on the Escape the week after them (based on the 5200 with 1500 kids, I heard similar numbers during my cruise about the cruise the week before, while we had 1,000 fewer kids in my sailing) and had a wonderful time.  While I felt there were some minor service issues I found it to be pretty good overall.

[gmbhardy]

We hate the Escape. Our first cruise was on the Escape. The ship and the experience were so fantastic, we instantly fell in love with cruising to the point where we are now addicted and willingly pay exorbitant prices for reduced services 😜

[tgloersen]

Sailed her 2 times.  The first time was excellent, Ship,Crew, Service.

 

The second time (Jan 2023) not so well.  Ship still nice, Crew amazing but very over worked.  this unfortunatly lead to horrible service.  The worst i've seen on any NCL cruise.

 

Again the Crew is amazing and nice, but since there are so few of them,its creating very poor service in our view.  But hey let raise the DSC that will take care of it!  Not!

 

The only fix for this is more FTE's for service.

[vacation44]

Been on the Escape twice and loved it both times.   The Escape is my husband's favorite ship, while mine is the Joy.

[Ramblin and Gamblin]

DW and I were recently on the Escape the first week of April.  The ship had over 5000 passengers due to spring break.  Like another poster, we didn't intend to go during spring break; we just didn't pay enough attention to calendars.  The negatives: the pool area was packed on sea days, and the buffet was frequently crowded. In addition, you had to line up early at Headliners and Syd Normans if you wanted to get a seat.  Thankfully, we didn't care about the pool or the buffet, and once we learned we needed to line up early, we adapted.  Turns out I can hold a drink and stand in line at the same time.

 

Outside of those areas, the crowds were not as noticeable.  DW uses a mobility scooter, and even with the space it takes in an elevator, we never had to wait more than a few minutes for one with enough room for us to board.  We never waited for a table for two in an MDR and service was great.  As long as you got to the main theatre 15-20 minutes before show start, you could always get a seat.  The ship has enough bars that we could always find a place to hang out, maybe not our first choice bar, but easily manageable.

 

Like you, I was worried as we approached our date based on what I was reading from others.  It turned out fine.  Happy travels.

[craig01020]

4 minutes ago, Ramblin and Gamblin said:

Turns out I can hold a drink and stand in line at the same time.

🤣

[hallux]

1 hour ago, Ramblin and Gamblin said:

Turns out I can hold a drink and stand in line at the same time.

I presume that ability wanes as the hours and drink counts increase.

[Ramblin and Gamblin]

Thankfully, even for Syd Normans, we only needed to line up about an hour early, so I didn't have to test my endurance too much.

[BirdTravels]

8 hours ago, hallux said:

For a sun worshipper the Escape is a great ship!  LOTS of free-to-access deck space (if you don't mind not being near the pool all the time).

 

Yes, getting into shows in Headliners and Syd Norman's required advance planning and some extra time spent (I was about 25-30 people deep in a line at 8:15 for a 9:30 show in Syd Norman's), but the shows were generally worth the time.

 

I really liked the Bliss and Joy for having the Observation Lounge, but in general I really like this class of ship.

Yes getting into Syd’s would be hard,,, because there is no Syd’s on the Escape. 

[hallux]

19 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Yes getting into Syd’s would be hard,,, because there is no Syd’s on the Escape. 

Sorry, it's called The Pour House on the deck plans.  It was often referred to as Syd Norman's.  His name was mentioned an awful lot during at least one of the shows...

[WexIrl]

12 hours ago, craig01020 said:

Starting to have second thoughts about my 10-day Europe cruise booked on the Escape. I've read many bad reviews citing the crowds and inability to get into shows or even elevators. Certainly there has to be some Encore lovers out there. If so, please tell me why you're a fan.

 

Thanks.

We were on the Escape in 2022 at full occupancy.
 

We did not encounter any crowds where we would not expect them.

We do not pre book anything and found no issues getting into shows or specialty restaurants.

We generally do not take the elevators, on occasion we did, however, I never observed 'crowds' waiting as we passed by them. 

And most importantly, I never waited more than a minute at a bar waiting to be served 🍻 😁

[zzdoug]

Just off the Escape. We enjoyed it, but will choose a different ship next time. We only cruise in steerage and really would like access to a quiet relaxation pool. The only pools available to us were super loud with dj music.

 

Food was generally very good in both included and premium restaurants, and even the buffet. 

 

A transatlantic cruise probably has a different demographic from our 7-day Caribbean itinerary and may adjust music selections and volume accordingly. 

[cruiseny4life]

6 hours ago, zzdoug said:

Just off the Escape. We enjoyed it, but will choose a different ship next time. We only cruise in steerage and really would like access to a quiet relaxation pool. The only pools available to us were super loud with dj music.

 

Food was generally very good in both included and premium restaurants, and even the buffet. 

 

A transatlantic cruise probably has a different demographic from our 7-day Caribbean itinerary and may adjust music selections and volume accordingly. 

Don't sail Getaway or Joy. They both have the same super loud pool areas, with loads of people, and lots of music. Then again, every large NCL ship is probably the same. Perhaps the Jewel class ships are right for you? 

[derek005]

On 5/4/2023 at 5:26 AM, craig01020 said:

Starting to have second thoughts about my 10-day Europe cruise booked on the Escape. I've read many bad reviews citing the crowds and inability to get into shows or even elevators. Certainly there has to be some Encore lovers out there. If so, please tell me why you're a fan.

 

Thanks.

I think I do. We have been on it 7 times full and not full but had a great time every time. 

[zzdoug]

11 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Don't sail Getaway or Joy. They both have the same super loud pool areas, with loads of people, and lots of music. Then again, every large NCL ship is probably the same. Perhaps the Jewel class ships are right for you? 

Maybe.  Or another cruise line. Or another type of vacation altogether.  We really only go on cruises about once every few years.

[quagmire0]

Good to see mostly positive replies here.  The reviews for the Escape are a bit bipolar.  Lots of one stars and lots of 4 and 5 stars.  Some 4 star reviews sound worse than some 1 star reviews. Granted, it's been about 16 years since we last cruised (finally have all our kids at the right age to fully enjoy it), but I can still recognize where many of the 1 star reviewers didn't seem to have done any kind of research before going.  Not that you have to plan everything to a T, but knowing some of what to expect would have gone a long way. 

[barbuda]

We did the Escape in July 2022 in the Med/Greek Isles - it was great.  Found the ship to be somewhat busy, but never had to wait to get service for drinks, nor wait long for MDR.  Ship was about 3/4 full according to staff.  Favorite area for us was the waterfront - what a relaxing area and close to the drafthouse and a couple other outside bars along that side for your convenience.  We were so busy on shore (lots to see) that we didn't even make any shows.  My only other suggestion is if you are intending to use their shore excursions, book them early, or use the on board kiosk for shore excursions as they will tell you immediately how many spots are left (the website just throws an error if they are oversold).  We are headed out in mid Sept on the Gem - we know this is a smaller ship, but looking forward to it nonetheless as we are just happy to be cruising to some new ports.  It will be interesting to see if the ship fills up during this time frame.

[mugtech]

On 5/4/2023 at 7:03 AM, BirdTravels said:

Don’t believe everything you read on the internet. It is all Fake News.   

That would include  your post.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, mugtech said:

That would include  your post.

We sailed on the Escape and loved the cruise. The ship sailed at 110% capacity. Got a free surf and turf dinner at Bayamo courtesy of the General Manager and an invite to the masquerade ball. 
 

 

Live from the Escape  

 

[schmoopie17]

We recently canceled an Epic cruise and substituted the Escape. This will be our second time on the Escape. I guess you could say we like it.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Escape remains my favorite ship of any I've ever sailed across all cruise lines.  For every bad review you read there are a hundred good reviews that people never take the time to post.  If you are bothered by crowds and lines and making show reservations then definitely consider a much smaller ship...like the Sun.  But if you enjoy crowds for the people watching, study some videos and read some tips on how to avoid the lines, and make your show reservations when they open up in the planner, stick with the Escape!  She's a great ship!

[ashleyriley]

On 5/4/2023 at 8:15 AM, hallux said:

For a sun worshipper the Escape is a great ship!  LOTS of free-to-access deck space (if you don't mind not being near the pool all the time).

 

Yes, getting into shows in Headliners and Syd Norman's required advance planning and some extra time spent (I was about 25-30 people deep in a line at 8:15 for a 9:30 show in Syd Norman's), but the shows were generally worth the time.

 

I really liked the Bliss and Joy for having the Observation Lounge, but in general I really like this class of ship.

Hi, I didn't think the Escape had Syd Norman's? On the NCL website it says the ship has a Cavern Club. We are comtempating booking Escape. Thanks.

[hallux]

6 hours ago, ashleyriley said:

Hi, I didn't think the Escape had Syd Norman's? On the NCL website it says the ship has a Cavern Club. We are comtempating booking Escape. Thanks.

Joy, Bliss and Encore have the Cavern Club.  Escape has The Pour House, but Syd Norman seems to have been the inspiration for it so I thought that was the name of the venue.  The Pour House is in the location on the Escape that the Cavern Club is on the Bliss and Encore.

[ashleyriley]

13 hours ago, hallux said:

Joy, Bliss and Encore have the Cavern Club.  Escape has The Pour House, but Syd Norman seems to have been the inspiration for it so I thought that was the name of the venue.  The Pour House is in the location on the Escape that the Cavern Club is on the Bliss and Encore.

Thanks for your reply! 😀