Norwegian Escape, w/o July 23rd report

[quagmire0]

Just returned from our first NCL cruise and first cruise in about 16 years. We'd previously cruised with RCCL and Carnival. 

I'll just run through some various thoughts off the top of my head.

 

The Ship

Overall impression: I loved the ship, overall.  It had plenty for the kids to do, it was pretty easy to get from one end of the ship to another. 

Pros:

- Not a huge ship, IMO.  It was fairly easy to get from one end to the other and there was good signage throughout. 

- The interior staterooms we had were in good shape and served their purpose. Beds were comfortable enough and there wasn't a lot of noise around us (we were on Deck 13).

- Spice H2O, Taste, and Savor were all nice alternatives to have. We usually didn't have a problem with overcrowding (with the exception of the late night parties in Spice), and they were a nice getaway from the crowds in the Garden Cafe or the main pool deck. 

- Even though said pool deck was busy often, we were still able to scrounge a couple deck chairs up top, even after getting a late start.

- The waterfront on deck 8 has to be one of the best ideas in cruising ever. It was always a great respite from the crowds, plenty of places to sit, and a few outdoor bars as well. Why more ships don't have something like this on them is beyond me. 

-   Large selection of bars and restaurants.  

- Nice kids water area that kept the kids busy.

- Manhattan Room is a beautiful venue, especially when the band is playing.

Cons:

 - Main pool deck is woefully small and overcrowded most of the time.  The pool is kind of a sad excuse for a pool as well. Kind of forces more adults to hang out in the kids' pool, which is also small.  

- I found a few of the public restrooms to really have a strong odor.  It was kind of odd, because some would be perfectly fine and some would almost be hard to be in. 

- American Diner is a waste of space, imo.  Should probably be repurposed ASAP.

- Elevators are a little odd in how there are two sets.  They should probably all work together for less confusion/better service.

 

The Food

Overall impression: Food was good overall, with some disappointments.

Pros:

- We had some pretty consistently good meals in the Manhattan Room and Taste/Savor. Some things were 'okay', but a few things knocked it out of the park. 

- Had excellent experiences with Teppanyaki (man, that was so much food!) and Bayamo. 

- Garden Cafe did have a good selection.

Cons:

 - Was disappointed with Moderno, both the service (kind of felt rushed) and quality for what you are paying.  Some of the salad bar stuff was good, but most of the meat was just 'ok'. 

- Based on reviews I had watched/read, I expected more out of O'Sheehan's. Service was slow and impersonal, no matter the time of day. It also seemed like they couldn't serve food at a consistent temperature.  The appetizers, especially, would come out cold or partially cold. This one got a lot of rave reviews, so I can only assume that people were either eating it after a long day of drinking, or maybe the quality has gone downhill.

- The Garden Cafe also had a consistent temperature issue when it came to food. 

 

The Drinks

- With so many bars, there were definitely a plethora of options here.  Many of the drinks were tasty, but I'm not sure they were very potent.  That may be a plus for some and a minus for others.  To give you an idea, on our last day, I ended up ordering two drinks: a Bushwacker, and a straight dark rum.  Ended up pouring that rum in to give the drink a bit more oomph. 😄 If you're someone who wants a little bit more punch, there's your lifehack - you can get straight alcohol as a drink and it will usually (depending on brand) count as part of your beverage package. My favorite drink ended up being 'Cool As A Cucumber', which I discovered at The District Brewhouse. Also discovered a bartender there named Sydney (sp?), who was hilarious.  The drink was a refreshing counter to all the fruity drinks we were having on the pool deck. 

 

The Service

Overall, most staff were very friendly - particularly the room stewards who we'd pass by in the halls.  Speaking of room stewards, I would say one con was that we never really got officially introduced and there wasn't that relationship as I remember in past cruises.  IIRC, they'd usually do things like leaving your steward's name in the room so you know who to call and all that. It was a small thing, but something I did miss.  Part of that was probably on us, because our first encounter was kind of hectic, so we didn't have that proper introduction. On the con side, there were definitely some workers who were clearly going through the motions.  Maybe I caught them on a bad day, but I know some had a similar attitude all week. Again, didn't ruin the cruise by any means, I'm being nitpicky. The cruise director, Jack, was definitely charming and a good emcee.  His support staff that did the game shows and bingo games kept things entertaining as well. Special shout out to our favorite staff member, the cellar master, who was very fun and cool, even though we really disappointed him at the blind wine taste test. 😄 

 

The Entertainment

- Choir Of Man was as advertised and maybe better.  Such a great show that my kids ended up waiting in Standby on a later day to watch it again. Hopefully they hang onto this show.  They did mention that they'd be performing the show in Tampa in the future.  Not sure if that means it won't be on the Escape anymore.  I hope that's not the case.

- Howl At The Moon was excellent.  They have 3 really talented musicians running the thing.  I also liked that this iteration of HATM wasn't as money-grubbing as some (i.e. constantly playing games to get people to throw more money in).  Here, their primary focus is to entertain the crowd and tips are secondary (but definitely welcome and deserved). 

- Comedians/magic acts.  Very solid, but not spectacular.  I honestly thought Brett and Sarah was a better show than how the crowd reacted.  I think some of the humor goes over people's heads. 

- Music acts. Pretty good.  Really enjoyed the performances at the Supper Club.  Never had a chance to check out a Syd Norman's show, unfortunately. 

 

The Stops

- Great Stirrup Cay is a great place.  You definitely get some envy when you look over at RCCL's island, but GSC has a lot going for it.  I'd say the only downsides are probably the cost of the ziplines and the fact that the bars can have VERY long lines. Otherwise, we enjoyed our stay.

- St. Thomas was probably our least favorite stop.  It has some of the most beautiful beaches, but the cost of transportation has gone up, making what was once a pretty affordable taxi ride less affordable. Liked Magen's Bay, but it was busy.  Did the sky tram and drank a Bushwacker (best one on the trip by far).  Overall though, the island seems more run down than it was in the past.

- Tortola, I thought, was a much more organized and pretty version of St. Thomas. We ended up snagging a decent tour and the ride up the mountain was a white-knuckle ride, but we got plenty of good views and stopped at a few of the local places. Beach we ended up at wasn't as beautiful as Magen's Bay, but it had better amenities, I thought, and things for the kids to do. 

- Puerto Plata, DR - our favorite stop by a country mile.  Taino Bay has a great resort and shopping.  Got to hang out with monkeys at Monkey Island. They also had a variety of last minute tours we could choose from.  While I thought the tour we chose was a little rushed (we could have spent a lot more time in that downtown area, for example), it included some beach time and we felt like Puerto Plata was a far more authentic experience (complete with street vendors/entertainers/etc). 

 

 

Random Thoughts/Tips:

- Don't stress out too much about getting dining and show reservations.  Most shows repeat, and we didn't have any issues getting in via standby.  For those shows (i.e. Howl At The Moon) that didn't have reservations, we found we were able to stand near the back and eventually a few people would move along and vacate seats. If you have a specific meal that needs to happen on a specific day, then you should definitely book that ASAP. Otherwise, chances are you'll find an opportunity during the week to make those reservations.

- We kind of accidentally took the fast pass lane during disembarkation. We had chosen to be one of the last groups off, because of our later flight, but at some point they basically shoo you away from the restaurants to clean up, so we decided to hop in the giant line, thinking that our color would probably be called while were were waiting there.  However, they ended up redirecting us to a newly opened lane and the next thing we knew, we were whisked through customs and into the luggage area where all the luggage color groups were sorted and available.  Grabbed our stuff and off we went.  

- Not sure how other ships are, but this one was pretty aggressive with their bingo sales.  They often cross-promoted and gave out raffle tickets to get you to attend another game.  On the last game, they ended up creating a new promotion mid-game to get people to buy off the pull tabs and extra bingo cards. 

- My wife and I split up on embarkation - I went to do reservations, she went to sign the kids up for the kids' programs.  Unfortunately, the kids coerced her into taking them to the Garden Cafe to eat right away - which I had read was a big no-no on embarkation day.  It was.  A total madhouse.  Such a stressful way to start your cruise.  Avoid it at all costs, like so many people have said before. 

- Some bars end up getting hammered.  Look around, there's usually another bar within 60 seconds of walking, if that.  Sometimes a bar on top of a bar, like on the pool deck. 😄 

- Spend a lot of time on the waterfront (deck 8).  It's seriously an oasis. I only wished we had frequented it more. 

- Don't sleep on the complimentary dining (with the exception of O'Sheehan's, imo) and go too Specialty-dining heavy. 

- When the chairs on the main pool deck are taken, look up.  We found many of the walkway chairs available.  These were kind of nice, especially if you have kids.  Lets you monitor them in the water area, while also people-watching the adult pool area.  🙂

- Taxis are pretty plentiful at Miami airport, and there are vans available right outside the NCL cruise terminal (we had some people waving us down) that will get you back to the airport for a very reasonable rate.  Beats having to wait for the NCL shuttle, and it's much cheaper. 

- Don't be afraid to do local tours in these stops.  You'll end up saving a lot of money vs. the ship excursions, and usually get a similar (or better) experience. 

 

Alright, I'm tired.  If anyone is cruising on Escape soon and has questions, let me know. 

[andychris]

Thank you for the review. Sounds like you had a nice time. 

[Beer Belly]

Only been on three cruises, all NCL.....Escape, Getaway, and Prima. IMO, out of the three, Escape it is best, much better than the new ship (Prima), which I would never step foot on any Prima class again. What I would like to see on Escape is a Syd Normans Pour House, a bigger venue than on the other NCL ships though.

[shof515]

6 hours ago, quagmire0 said:

- Choir Of Man was as advertised and maybe better.  Such a great show that my kids ended up waiting in Standby on a later day to watch it again. Hopefully they hang onto this show.  They did mention that they'd be performing the show in Tampa in the future.  Not sure if that means it won't be on the Escape anymore.  I hope that's not the case.

 

Choir of man has multiple multiple casts doing shows on other ships, on the west end, down under and else where. The cast that is on the ship will remain on the ship until their contract is over and then a new choir of man cast will join the ship

[hallux]

26 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

What I would like to see on Escape is a Syd Normans Pour House, a bigger venue than on the other NCL ships though.

Are you sure you weren't on the ENCORE?  Escape has a venue called "The Pour House" which has Syd Normans branding inside (the band/cast, during one of their shows, wears Syd Normans attire and references his inspiration for the theming), it's a small venue though.  Or are you referring to the venue like on the BA/GA (I don't know which it's on or if it's both)?  The DBH on the BA+ ships kind of takes the reigns for the 'beer hall' venue and on the Escape leaves The Pour House as strictly a performance venue.

 

6 hours ago, quagmire0 said:

Howl At The Moon was excellent.  They have 3 really talented musicians running the thing.

These performers rotate, but I will agree that the performers they had on my trip were EXCELLENT!  One of the performers was only on for 2 weeks.

[RIvacationgirl]

Glad you had a wonderful cruise on the Escape. Thank you for the insights.

We were on the sailing right before yours, and our room steward introduced himself. His name and number were on the television to call if we needed anything, and we did call a few times, and he answered himself, not a message machine. He even would greet us with our names each day- don't know how they remember this each cruise!

I agree the American Diner is really just there- nothing to stand out. I think this area was a Margaritaville on the Breakaway- not sure if that still exists. We thought it might work better as a place to get ice cream sundaes, crepes and coffees.

We also enjoyed the Level 8 area, we had our own balcony, but we would go sometimes and relax on Level 8 with a drink from the Pour House and people watch. There was always a place to sit. We even said, it was a great place for people with inside cabins to hang out and relax with a peaceful view.

Happy Sailing

[hallux]

4 minutes ago, RIvacationgirl said:

I think this area was a Margaritaville on the Breakaway- not sure if that still exists.

Same space on the Bliss was also a Margaritaville but all of those have been turned into American Diner as the contract for Margaritaville ended (in 2019 I think)

[DCGuy64]

7 hours ago, quagmire0 said:

Just returned from our first NCL cruise and first cruise in about 16 years. We'd previously cruised with RCCL and Carnival. 

I'll just run through some various thoughts off the top of my head.

 

The Ship

Overall impression: I loved the ship, overall.  It had plenty for the kids to do, it was pretty easy to get from one end of the ship to another. 

Pros:

- Not a huge ship, IMO.  It was fairly easy to get from one end to the other and there was good signage throughout. 

- The interior staterooms we had were in good shape and served their purpose. Beds were comfortable enough and there wasn't a lot of noise around us (we were on Deck 13).

- Spice H2O, Taste, and Savor were all nice alternatives to have. We usually didn't have a problem with overcrowding (with the exception of the late night parties in Spice), and they were a nice getaway from the crowds in the Garden Cafe or the main pool deck. 

- Even though said pool deck was busy often, we were still able to scrounge a couple deck chairs up top, even after getting a late start.

- The waterfront on deck 8 has to be one of the best ideas in cruising ever. It was always a great respite from the crowds, plenty of places to sit, and a few outdoor bars as well. Why more ships don't have something like this on them is beyond me. 

-   Large selection of bars and restaurants.  

- Nice kids water area that kept the kids busy.

- Manhattan Room is a beautiful venue, especially when the band is playing.

Cons:

 - Main pool deck is woefully small and overcrowded most of the time.  The pool is kind of a sad excuse for a pool as well. Kind of forces more adults to hang out in the kids' pool, which is also small.  

- I found a few of the public restrooms to really have a strong odor.  It was kind of odd, because some would be perfectly fine and some would almost be hard to be in. 

- American Diner is a waste of space, imo.  Should probably be repurposed ASAP.

- Elevators are a little odd in how there are two sets.  They should probably all work together for less confusion/better service.

 

The Food

Overall impression: Food was good overall, with some disappointments.

Pros:

- We had some pretty consistently good meals in the Manhattan Room and Taste/Savor. Some things were 'okay', but a few things knocked it out of the park. 

- Had excellent experiences with Teppanyaki (man, that was so much food!) and Bayamo. 

- Garden Cafe did have a good selection.

Cons:

 - Was disappointed with Moderno, both the service (kind of felt rushed) and quality for what you are paying.  Some of the salad bar stuff was good, but most of the meat was just 'ok'. 

- Based on reviews I had watched/read, I expected more out of O'Sheehan's. Service was slow and impersonal, no matter the time of day. It also seemed like they couldn't serve food at a consistent temperature.  The appetizers, especially, would come out cold or partially cold. This one got a lot of rave reviews, so I can only assume that people were either eating it after a long day of drinking, or maybe the quality has gone downhill.

- The Garden Cafe also had a consistent temperature issue when it came to food. 

 

The Drinks

- With so many bars, there were definitely a plethora of options here.  Many of the drinks were tasty, but I'm not sure they were very potent.  That may be a plus for some and a minus for others.  To give you an idea, on our last day, I ended up ordering two drinks: a Bushwacker, and a straight dark rum.  Ended up pouring that rum in to give the drink a bit more oomph. 😄 If you're someone who wants a little bit more punch, there's your lifehack - you can get straight alcohol as a drink and it will usually (depending on brand) count as part of your beverage package. My favorite drink ended up being 'Cool As A Cucumber', which I discovered at The District Brewhouse. Also discovered a bartender there named Sydney (sp?), who was hilarious.  The drink was a refreshing counter to all the fruity drinks we were having on the pool deck. 

 

The Service

Overall, most staff were very friendly - particularly the room stewards who we'd pass by in the halls.  Speaking of room stewards, I would say one con was that we never really got officially introduced and there wasn't that relationship as I remember in past cruises.  IIRC, they'd usually do things like leaving your steward's name in the room so you know who to call and all that. It was a small thing, but something I did miss.  Part of that was probably on us, because our first encounter was kind of hectic, so we didn't have that proper introduction. On the con side, there were definitely some workers who were clearly going through the motions.  Maybe I caught them on a bad day, but I know some had a similar attitude all week. Again, didn't ruin the cruise by any means, I'm being nitpicky. The cruise director, Jack, was definitely charming and a good emcee.  His support staff that did the game shows and bingo games kept things entertaining as well. Special shout out to our favorite staff member, the cellar master, who was very fun and cool, even though we really disappointed him at the blind wine taste test. 😄 

 

The Entertainment

- Choir Of Man was as advertised and maybe better.  Such a great show that my kids ended up waiting in Standby on a later day to watch it again. Hopefully they hang onto this show.  They did mention that they'd be performing the show in Tampa in the future.  Not sure if that means it won't be on the Escape anymore.  I hope that's not the case.

- Howl At The Moon was excellent.  They have 3 really talented musicians running the thing.  I also liked that this iteration of HATM wasn't as money-grubbing as some (i.e. constantly playing games to get people to throw more money in).  Here, their primary focus is to entertain the crowd and tips are secondary (but definitely welcome and deserved). 

- Comedians/magic acts.  Very solid, but not spectacular.  I honestly thought Brett and Sarah was a better show than how the crowd reacted.  I think some of the humor goes over people's heads. 

- Music acts. Pretty good.  Really enjoyed the performances at the Supper Club.  Never had a chance to check out a Syd Norman's show, unfortunately. 

 

The Stops

- Great Stirrup Cay is a great place.  You definitely get some envy when you look over at RCCL's island, but GSC has a lot going for it.  I'd say the only downsides are probably the cost of the ziplines and the fact that the bars can have VERY long lines. Otherwise, we enjoyed our stay.

- St. Thomas was probably our least favorite stop.  It has some of the most beautiful beaches, but the cost of transportation has gone up, making what was once a pretty affordable taxi ride less affordable. Liked Magen's Bay, but it was busy.  Did the sky tram and drank a Bushwacker (best one on the trip by far).  Overall though, the island seems more run down than it was in the past.

- Tortola, I thought, was a much more organized and pretty version of St. Thomas. We ended up snagging a decent tour and the ride up the mountain was a white-knuckle ride, but we got plenty of good views and stopped at a few of the local places. Beach we ended up at wasn't as beautiful as Magen's Bay, but it had better amenities, I thought, and things for the kids to do. 

- Puerto Plata, DR - our favorite stop by a country mile.  Taino Bay has a great resort and shopping.  Got to hang out with monkeys at Monkey Island. They also had a variety of last minute tours we could choose from.  While I thought the tour we chose was a little rushed (we could have spent a lot more time in that downtown area, for example), it included some beach time and we felt like Puerto Plata was a far more authentic experience (complete with street vendors/entertainers/etc). 

 

 

Random Thoughts/Tips:

- Don't stress out too much about getting dining and show reservations.  Most shows repeat, and we didn't have any issues getting in via standby.  For those shows (i.e. Howl At The Moon) that didn't have reservations, we found we were able to stand near the back and eventually a few people would move along and vacate seats. If you have a specific meal that needs to happen on a specific day, then you should definitely book that ASAP. Otherwise, chances are you'll find an opportunity during the week to make those reservations.

- We kind of accidentally took the fast pass lane during disembarkation. We had chosen to be one of the last groups off, because of our later flight, but at some point they basically shoo you away from the restaurants to clean up, so we decided to hop in the giant line, thinking that our color would probably be called while were were waiting there.  However, they ended up redirecting us to a newly opened lane and the next thing we knew, we were whisked through customs and into the luggage area where all the luggage color groups were sorted and available.  Grabbed our stuff and off we went.  

- Not sure how other ships are, but this one was pretty aggressive with their bingo sales.  They often cross-promoted and gave out raffle tickets to get you to attend another game.  On the last game, they ended up creating a new promotion mid-game to get people to buy off the pull tabs and extra bingo cards. 

- My wife and I split up on embarkation - I went to do reservations, she went to sign the kids up for the kids' programs.  Unfortunately, the kids coerced her into taking them to the Garden Cafe to eat right away - which I had read was a big no-no on embarkation day.  It was.  A total madhouse.  Such a stressful way to start your cruise.  Avoid it at all costs, like so many people have said before. 

- Some bars end up getting hammered.  Look around, there's usually another bar within 60 seconds of walking, if that.  Sometimes a bar on top of a bar, like on the pool deck. 😄 

- Spend a lot of time on the waterfront (deck 8).  It's seriously an oasis. I only wished we had frequented it more. 

- Don't sleep on the complimentary dining (with the exception of O'Sheehan's, imo) and go too Specialty-dining heavy. 

- When the chairs on the main pool deck are taken, look up.  We found many of the walkway chairs available.  These were kind of nice, especially if you have kids.  Lets you monitor them in the water area, while also people-watching the adult pool area.  🙂

- Taxis are pretty plentiful at Miami airport, and there are vans available right outside the NCL cruise terminal (we had some people waving us down) that will get you back to the airport for a very reasonable rate.  Beats having to wait for the NCL shuttle, and it's much cheaper. 

- Don't be afraid to do local tours in these stops.  You'll end up saving a lot of money vs. the ship excursions, and usually get a similar (or better) experience. 

 

Alright, I'm tired.  If anyone is cruising on Escape soon and has questions, let me know. 

Great review. No, not great, spectacular!  Lots of insights, specifics, and recommendations. Thank you so much, terrific job!

[quagmire0]

43 minutes ago, RIvacationgirl said:

Glad you had a wonderful cruise on the Escape. Thank you for the insights.

We were on the sailing right before yours, and our room steward introduced himself. His name and number were on the television to call if we needed anything, and we did call a few times, and he answered himself, not a message machine. He even would greet us with our names each day- don't know how they remember this each cruise!

I agree the American Diner is really just there- nothing to stand out. I think this area was a Margaritaville on the Breakaway- not sure if that still exists. We thought it might work better as a place to get ice cream sundaes, crepes and coffees.

We also enjoyed the Level 8 area, we had our own balcony, but we would go sometimes and relax on Level 8 with a drink from the Pour House and people watch. There was always a place to sit. We even said, it was a great place for people with inside cabins to hang out and relax with a peaceful view.

Happy Sailing

 

Yeah, it was so often that there were very few to no people on the waterfront that it was like getting a cabin view for free.  Ended up being a little more popular as time went on, but we could always find a pretty unoccupied spot. Seemed to only get relatively busy right around meal time, as some people would be dining al fresco or just be sprawled out on the couches digesting their meals. 😄

 

[quagmire0]

Now that I've had some sleep and some coffee, an additional thought:

 

The kids program was pretty good.  Even our daughter, who was ranting about not wanting to go to it pre-cruise, ended up loving it. Was a great opportunity for the older kids to explore the ship, younger kids to have supervised fun, and parents to go do their own thing. 

[2kruzers]

We will be sailing at the end of August. Thanks for the thoughtful review and great insights! Do you happen to know if door decorating (putting magnets) on outside of cabin door is still against the rules on NCL? 

[quagmire0]

6 minutes ago, 2kruzers said:

We will be sailing at the end of August. Thanks for the thoughtful review and great insights! Do you happen to know if door decorating (putting magnets) on outside of cabin door is still against the rules on NCL? 

 

I honestly didn't realize that was a rule.  If it was, we didn't get in trouble for it. 😄 I thought I saw others on our deck that decorated their doors as well. Can't recall if it was magnets or just paper decorations, though.  I also just used some decorative, small, magnets with different designs on them to make the door stick out a little, not the bigger sail/beach-themed magnets that some people do. Not sure if linking is allowed on here, but you can just search for 'MORCART 30Pcs Colorful Texture Refrigerator and Locker Magnets' on Amazon to find what we used. 

[2kruzers]

Thanks for the quick reply - I am going to risk it but keep it simple!

[BirdTravels]

24 minutes ago, 2kruzers said:

We will be sailing at the end of August. Thanks for the thoughtful review and great insights! Do you happen to know if door decorating (putting magnets) on outside of cabin door is still against the rules on NCL? 

 

12 minutes ago, quagmire0 said:

 

I honestly didn't realize that was a rule.  If it was, we didn't get in trouble for it. 😄 I thought I saw others on our deck that decorated their doors as well. Can't recall if it was magnets or just paper decorations, though.  I also just used some decorative, small, magnets with different designs on them to make the door stick out a little, not the bigger sail/beach-themed magnets that some people do. Not sure if linking is allowed on here, but you can just search for 'MORCART 30Pcs Colorful Texture Refrigerator and Locker Magnets' on Amazon to find what we used. 

Thank you very much for the comprehensive review. We were on the Escape in May,,,, but I have still not got around to writing a review. I totally agree that the pool deck was a zoo. But, we are more Thermal Suite/Waterfront type people. 

 

When we were on the Escape, there were no written or implied "rules" about door decorations and there were a lot of them. (That is the only way we could find our way home at night... looking for specific door decorations on the neighbor's door). 

Edited July 31, 2023 by BirdTravels

[zounds]

Thanks very much for the extensive review.  We'll be on her in Sep.

[quagmire0]

One more thought on the Escape:  I noticed a lot of side to side movement on this ship, which I didn't recall happening on past cruises.  Since we were Forward, I expected that up and down movement, especially at high speeds.  But there were many times where the ship seemed to be shifting left and right, almost like there was some kind of stabilization issue.  I'm not sure if it was related, but we did have a delay leaving Miami due to some debris they were removing and needing divers to remove it.  

[quagmire0]

Ok, another thought, last one:

 

The music at the pool and at Spice H2O parties was obnoxiously loud.  I don't consider myself old yet, but it was just ridiculous.  They could easily turn it down a few notches and it would still be plenty loud enough for people to hear and maybe be able to have a conversation with the person right next to them. 😄 Inside volume wasn't too bad - even with the live bands, although we did have a hilarious moment when our elevator opened up at the precise moment that an entertainer in the Atrium was belting out 'AND IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOUUUUUUUUUUU'.  The sound travelled pretty well. 

[Beer Belly]

5 hours ago, hallux said:

Are you sure you weren't on the ENCORE?  Escape has a venue called "The Pour House" which has Syd Normans branding inside (the band/cast, during one of their shows, wears Syd Normans attire and references his inspiration for the theming), it's a small venue though.  Or are you referring to the venue like on the BA/GA (I don't know which it's on or if it's both)?  The DBH on the BA+ ships kind of takes the reigns for the 'beer hall' venue and on the Escape leaves The Pour House as strictly a performance venue.

 

These performers rotate, but I will agree that the performers they had on my trip were EXCELLENT!  One of the performers was only on for 2 weeks.

Was on the Escape in 2018....don't recall any Syds, did enjoy District Brewhouse

[TenForward]

48 minutes ago, Beer Belly said:

Was on the Escape in 2018....don't recall any Syds, did enjoy District Brewhouse

I believe Syds is post Margaritaville.  In 2018 it would have been the 5 O'clock Somewhere bar.  I was on the Escape in 2016 (first cruise ever) and again in 2017.  Still my favorite ship. 

[mking8288]

Thank you for the Escape report from last week ... was there a Meet & Greet and if you attended, would you happen to have the placard with the names/titles of the senior team, HD/GM, heads of housekeeping, guest services, F&B, etc.   Any idea if some of them are going on vacation & rotations, perhaps new assignments on another NCL ship soon ... ship is going to reposition later next month & spend time in NY until the (late) Fall.  We got the Escape on our radar ahead and starting to see if we can "home" in, always nice to get a heads up of who's who since the ones we are looking at, along with other sailings, got logistically challenges in pulling off a successful M&G gathering, the only full sea day is on the last (sea) day & inbound to come home ... port intensive itinerary with 2 tender stops.  Again, TIA. 

[wally4ever]

Thanks for the review!  I'll be on the Escape for the first time this December and I love hearing good experiences.  

 

As far as O'Sheehan's... I've always loved it, but I'm usually three sheets to the wind when I'm there, so it doesn't take much to impress me.  

[Panhandle Couple]

Oh No!

An overall positive review for an NCL cruise?

What will all the nay sayers say?

[wolft927]

We are booked on the Escape first week of January! Thanks for the review. Wife and I have been on Breakaway several times and the Joy as well the past few years, all Haven Suites. Looking forward to the Escape 2 Bedroom Haven this time around. 

[Andoria]

Thanks for the review! I'm on the Escape at the end of October. I'm not a pool person but deck 8 sounds fun.

[odie1024]

Great honest review.

 

I was on the Escape about 6 years ago and really liked it especially the waterfront area. Clarence (chocolate cowboy) was the bartender and such a sweetheart. I'll be on again in September for the NE/Canada cruise and hoping Choir of Men will still be on the ship. What night was the show as I want to be sure I have my dinner reservations planned right? It does sound like the show was more than one night which helps and do you make reservations once you get on the ship. 

 

I was on the Dawn in February on a B2B and have to say O'Sheehans on that ship was pathetic. Both the food and service were not good and we have been many times on previous ships.