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Escape Review - 8-15 Oct 2017 - NCL vs RCCL Comparison Review


Deptacon
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Cruised the Escape October 8th -15th with friends. This was our first NCL cruise and it was after several Royal Caribbean Cruises. We often compared our NCL experience throughout the cruise since we have have cruised RCCL so much. Throughout the review I will compare our experience to our experiences on Royal.

 

We choose NCL and the escape with this cruise with friends from several reasons. We are young (in our 30's) and the included drink package in the price came out substantially cheaper to Freedom of the Seas with the cost of the drink package. Also, Escape is still pretty much "Brand New' and the variety of restaurants, bars, and other experiences made use to decide to go with Escape.

 

Bottom Line up Front: I enjoyed NCL Escape MORE than most of our Royal Cruises. I liked the large variety of bars and venues, I found the food (which is subjective) to be SUBSTANTIALLY better in the buffet, and entertainment / events which much more lively and fun. The nightly parties at Spice H20 (Glow, 80's party, etc) on the top deck were awesome and we never had an experience like that on Royal, not even close. The nightlife experience on NCL makes Royal feel like a retirement home to be blunt. If I were to cruise again with friends, in our age group, I would recommend Escape over a Royal cruise....and we are pretty "loyal to Royal".

 

Ship - I like the layout and design on Escape. The look felt well lit and open as well as modern. It was easy to get around nothing was hard to find. the public areas were always extremely clean. Something I noticed. Now, the ship is pretty new but I didnt see any wear and tear in public areas after the ship sailing for a year. Something I always noticed on my last few royal cruises was wear and tear.

 

Bars - Mojito Bar was amazing and the bar tenders were exceptional. Also like how the 5 oclock somewhere bar is Karoke ALL night EVERY NIGHT. Royal never does this. They do Karaoke for like an hour and its over before it even gets started. Bars were usually well staffed and the bartenders knew what they were doing. Our last royal cruise was understaffed on bartenders and it was annoying.

 

Food - Some was better on NCL, some on royal. We didn't try the main dinning room on Escape. There are SOOO many food options (which is awesome) that we literally didn't eat everywhere in a week. The buffet was HANDS DOWN better on Escape than on royal. I know its subjective but it stood out to me. Italian specialty on Royal is better than NCL's, but Cangey's steakhouse is better on NCL than Chops on RCCL. I like the simple food and options at Osheahans...just dont go at lunch on sea days, its too busy.

 

Entertainment - We didnt go to any shows (not sure why we usually do) but we did do all the nightly events at Spice H20 as well as Howl and the Moon, Comedy, etc. The little bit of live music we did catch was good. Trivia was great, very fun. The cruise director staff did a great job with activities throughout the day and night that didn't cost extra. Another pet peeve of mine with royal lately. Oh, and there is actually night life. The atmosphere at night makes royal look like a retirement home after 10pm.

 

Casino - Casino was large and had a good variety of table games and slots. Poker Tournaments are cash pool which is nice. 3 Card, Blackjack, Ultimate Holdem , Craps, Roulette. No Stud.

 

Staff - I found the staff a little less personable on NCL than on RCCL. not a big deal but I did notice it. Its not that they weren't friendly, they were just more friendly on RCCL. Now, the exception is the cruise director staff on escape is the best I have encountered compared to any other cruise I have been on.

 

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Travel to the Port: This was the "Get through the Hurricane to Depart Cruise". Hurricane Matthew hit Florida the day before boarding. Our flights from Nashville to FLL on Thursday night were cancelled. We elected to drive on Friday instead of take the chance on a 2nd cancellation on Friday and then lose our driving day. We have driven to FLL and Port Canaveral before so it wasnt a big deal. We always cruise in Hurricane Season due to how cheap cruises are once school starts. Its a substantial price difference. This is the first cruise that we ran into an issue but it still worked out. I would recommend cruising this season but I know some people avoid it. Just make sure you have travel insurance.

 

We stayed in FLL the night before and parked at the port. Parking is high at Miami but its easy. It is what it is. Parking is setup where you drive by the bag drop-off prior to going to the parking deck so its easy to drop your bags with the porters then park your car and walk into the Terminal. Check-in was easy and seemed to move faster than on Royal. I recall longer lines and waits for Royal than on NCL. We arrived at about 1130, 10 minutes for security, 10 minutes or less in line, 5 minutes at counter... and no wait upstairs... right on the ship.

 

Upon boarding we walked through the Casino and stopped at the Skyline bar to get our first UBP drinks. We then made our way up to the Garden Cafe for Lunch. It was busy but not as "crowded" as Royal's buffet seemed at boarding. One of my biggest observations on the Escape was how much better the buffet was. The variety of options was better, the quality of the food was better.... and the Pizza on board (which is in the Buffet) was HANDS-DOWN better than Royals cardboard pizza. It seems simple to talk about Pizza and the buffet when reviewing a ship with so many food options but honestly, when you have a lot to drink one night or during the day you just want easy food and a quick bite sometimes and the Garden Cafe always did a great job. They also have scooped ice cream on-board in the buffet instead of cheap and crappy soft serve Royal has.

 

The rest of the day we checked out the Brew House, walked around some of the ship (the spa, etc) checked in our rooms, went to the Spice H20 Bar, then went to sail-away on the top deck (which was packed). I will mention this later but one downside to NCL is how small the pool, pool deck, and deck area is. This is due to the Haven taking up so much space. It is what it is. We still enjoyed it is just small.

 

We checked out Howl at the Moon that night then hit bed early because we had been drinking all day.

 

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Day 2 - Sea Day 1: I went to bed early (10ish) the night before so I hit the gym in the morning. I liked the gym on NCL. Gym's are always a little small especially during peak time but I never had any issues. The free weights were adequate. My wife used the side exercise room for Yoga and liked it. One ANNOYING thing I observed on this morning: if you are in an AFT room you obviously use the AFT elevators. Well, the AFT elevators on Deck 16 (pool, gym, buffet) empty INSIDE the buffet on Deck 16.... so if you go to the gym and go to your elevators you have to walk THROUGH the buffet all sweaty to get to your elevator. Same thing with going to and from the pool. You have to walk THROUGH to buffet to get to you elevator. Makes me want to avoid an AFT room in the future. Was really convenient when you wanted a quick snack though.

 

We spent some time at Spice H20 for some Sun after observing the MADHOUSE of the pool-deck. We arent pool junkies but have used the pool more and more on recent cruises. Getting a chair, especially on a sea day, requires putting towels and stuff down between about 8-930am or your out. Often 2 chairs can be found if you look around but more than that its not going to happen until later when some start to leave. I get up early so putting some towels, a book, and some other items down wasn't a problem, just something to keep in mind. The pool is also 6ft 8 inchs deep which means you cant stand in it...so everyone hangs on the side. The could have made it shallower and ran a bar down the middle and it would have had more capacity but whatever. We still used it and enjoyed especially later in the week.

 

Lunch was at Oshean's the first Sea Day. mistake. It is packed at lunch on Sea Days and they didnt have enough staff. The food was fine, I liked what was on the menu and ate there later during the week "off peak" and service was super fast. Avoid at peak lunch during Sea Days. We hit our first Trivia on Sea Day 1 which was great and we ended up going to most of them. Andre the asst Cruise Director was the first person from a cruise director staff who's name I ever remembered... He was that good and that entertaining.

 

We had Teppenyaki for Dinner and it was great. Hibachi is Hibachi and you can get it at home but it was very good. The staff were exceptional. Sake was included in the UBP.... we had too much Sake. We had show reservations but skipped the show.

 

That night we hit up the Nightly party at Spice H20 on the top back deck and it was a lot of fun and very lively. The night parties on the top back deck in Spice H20 were a lot of fun....Royal has nothing like it. Dancing, music, drinks, good times.

 

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Day 3 - Sea Day 2 - On Sea Day 2 we got some pool chairs but I then went to the Poker Tournament....and won it. This was the beginning of a very good winning week in the Casino. More Trivia on Day sea day 2 which was very fun and hosted by Andre.

 

We ate at the Italian Restaurant that night which was good but not amazing. I found the specialty Italian on Royal to be better. We went to the Comedy Club that night.... for 18+ Adult comedy.... and people brought their kids. Look, I get it. You brought your kids on the cruise and you want them to have fun with you and the family. Don't be stupid... Don't ruin Comedy for all by bringing your 12 year old daughter and sitting her in the front row of adult comedy that talks about sex, drugs, etc. First, the comedian WILL change his jokes based on the crowd and he noticed all the kids and had to change it up... and you could tell he was struggling. Those parents basically ruined the comedy show for everyone.

 

Day 4 - St Thomas: We have been to St Thomas before and we went on a dive while our friends went snorkeling that morning. Went diving with blue water divers St Thomas and they were exceptional. If you dive, dont book a dive through the cruise. Find a local dive boat and book direct. Less people, better dive sites, better service. We met back on ship at noon with our freinds after a quick shower then got back off the ship, hopped a taxi and went downtown to eat and shop. Took a cab back around 330/400 and then went to the Port of Sale Bar in the port (Formerly Mojo's) to have some drinks on the swings. Great place and great drink prices and specials. quick 5-10 minute walk back to the ship for sail-away.

 

We had dinner reservations at the French Restaurant but cancelled. We just weren't feeling the menu options. Mojitos at Sugarcane (became a constant spot for us) and then went to Food Republic instead and it was exceptional. Really was the best food on the ship but can get pricey if your not careful. UDP is not included. We gambled some more and went to the Spice H20 Party and karaoke again which was a lot of fun.

 

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Day 5 - Tortola. First time on Tortola. Only a little bit more than a half a day which we made the best of. We got off the ship at about 8am after breakfast. We took a taxi to Canes Bay Beach ($16 per person round trip - some with kids stated kids were half price if negotiated). This is the main beach most go to. The other option was another beach (cant recall the name) that was not as busy but only had one restaurant or bar. Canes Bay was busy but not crowded. No issue getting a chair and plenty of beach bars. The taxi ride is about 20 mins up and over the mountain. The taxi company has multiple taxi's and the tell you the departure times from the beach back to the ship so its really easy. We went to Cal wood Distillery upon arrival (its nearby - taxi will take you after dropping the beach people) sampled some rum and bought a bottle. Not much to the place, its a one room place but it was cool and we are glad we went. 5 minute walk back to the beach and got chairs ($5 each, plus another $5 for an umbrella). Beach was a lot of fun. We walked around some of the setup shop stands and got our taxi back at 1:15. Walked through the shops in the port then back on the boat.

 

After being back on the ship we went right to the water slides as we were still in port and they were not busy. Slides were a lot of fun. Dont miss them. We just kept going on them over an over for awhile. We hit the pool which was packed after sail-away and enjoyed some drinks and the pool band. That night we gambled some more and continued to take NCL's money from the Roulette table and slot machines. Cagney's for dinner was EXCEPTIONAL. our waiter was one of the best waiters I ever had on a cruise ship. Some have complained about slow service in Cagney's.... this was not the case. It moved along and the food was exceptional. Cagney's on NCL was BETTER than CHOPS on Royal. Karaoke then Spice H20 nighttime was 80's night....lot of fun.

 

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Day 6 - Sea Day 3 - We hit the pool and water slides again, as well as the ropes course. NOTE ABOUT THE ROPES COURSE ON SEA DAYS - ITS WINDY!!!. I have a mild fear of heights but the ropes course didnt bother me...but the ropes course with 40mph winds up high did a bit. Once I did the one side then took the zipline to the otherside it was fine. If heights are a thing for you, I would recommend ropes course after getting on the ship in a port but before departure. Anyways, the ropes course was impressive, it was more than I expected.

 

More Trivia with Andre, Gambling (won...again), and we had Teppenyaki again on this day. Again great food and service. The Glow party is on this 3rd Sea Day... Lot of Fun but another point about KIDS. Look, they have a family glow party from 745-1030. Thats for kids. I saw people bring their 6 year old kids to the GLOW party after midnight. Its annoying... You try to have adult fun with other adults and you have kids bumping into you. Its more of an adult party(the later GLOW party) so if your child isnt in high school, dont bring them to the late one. I also saw another 6 year old girl curled up on a chair at midnight with music blaring as her parents danced on the floor. Congrats...parenting... you suck at it. You kids will go to parties, raves, etc when they grow up...don't feel

 

Day 7 - Nassau - I really like the afternoon stop here as opposed to Royals morning stops. It allows you to sleep in, get lunch, then sail in and enjoy the afternoon. I did some morning reading on the waterfront (great place to read during the day btw) and then watch us sail in. We have been to Nassau many times but we still walked around the shops. We went to the bearded clam which is a great bar in one of the alley's. Fun place and great prices for drinks and good. Highly recommend it. We were back on board by about 5 and we hit the pool before we hit port. Pool was not busy before and even during sailaway. It was nice for it not to packed for once. Enjoyed many drinks at the pool before getting a bit to eat at the Garden Cafe and hitting up the Casino one last time. We literally didnt pack anything until 10 that night and then went to bed.

 

Disembarking was easy. We did the bag drag since we were driving but it didnt take long.

 

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Thanks for your review.

 

I have sailed RCCL the most, NCL a couple of times and I agree the NCL pools could be improved, almost feel like an after thought. We haven't done Escape yet, I wish they would offer a 9 or 10 day cruise so you could enjoy all the onboard stuff that they have.

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Thanks for a great review. We cruise more RC than NCL and I've been looking at Escape. With your positive review, I think this may be the ship we should go on. We've only been on older NCL ships, but had a good time. Would love to try out the ropes course and the slides.

 

We like to change up cruise lines for variety.

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Thanks for your review! We are on our 2nd NCL cruise next year on the Escape and after that I was considering trying Royal so your opinion was very interesting!

 

 

Dont get me wrong I still love Royal. Escape is still new and garners and advantage because of that. Royal has some things we missed on this cruise like the Promenade and much better pool areas.

 

 

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Thanks for a great review. We cruise more RC than NCL and I've been looking at Escape. With your positive review, I think this may be the ship we should go on. We've only been on older NCL ships, but had a good time. Would love to try out the ropes course and the slides.

 

We like to change up cruise lines for variety.

 

 

I would highly suggest it. Make sure you look into the spa suites, haven, and the ViBE beach club. 3 options we didnt use this time but I am strongly considering for next time.

 

I would also recommend the cree gratuities instead of 3UDP as a freebie... I did some math and it makes more sense to me.

 

 

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Thank you for your review. We have sailed Disney twice ( we loved Disney) and royal once (we enjoyed but not as much). We are booked for the escape in February so I was thrilled to see your comparison

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My last two cruises on NCL were packed with elderly people. What was the age demographic on this ship? Just looking for a general idea of the crowd. I keep hearing the entertainment is great. Did you party at Skyline Bar?

 

It was a mix but our cruise had what appeared to be more of a younger crowd than I have seen. Still the fair share of retires but not as many as I have seen on previous cruises.

 

Spent sometime at skyline but not much. Thats the casino bar. Has live music.

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