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I'm really looking forward to the Escape. I recently saw the Norwegian Viva in port as I'm currently in Las Palmas, and apparently the Escape is bigger (albeit a bit older). Though the traditional 'gross tonnage' method of comparing ships can yield strange results because the Sky Princess was in town that same day and visually it looked a lot bigger than the Viva. Covid really turned the world upside down for a prolonged period of time. Nowadays I really look at that balcony cabin in a different way... I'm booked on deck 11 but because we also have the inlaws and three cabins in total I think I'm going to leave those cabins as they are, but when we cruise alone again it would be great to upgrade to a bigger balcony (one where sitting isn't the only position possible). I'm looking forward to checking out the District Brew House and what a bonus it must be to have a cabin located close to it. 🙂 Good point. One of the side reasons I chose NCL was because our itinerary has some new places that we haven't been to before, whereas a RC cruise I looked at was literally a boring 7-day Barcelona to Barcelona cruise which was never going to get anywhere if it's coming back to the same port in a week's time. As for noise, I don't mind it on the ship itself (as long as it's reasonable and not annoyingly loud, which can happen in the pool area), but I certainly wouldn't want to hear anything from my cabin. No formal nights on NCL? Was never a fan of them on RC though they were nice for photos. 🙂 But when you're then heading to see a film outside from the position of a deckchair you have to go back to your cabin and change anyway, As for itineraries I know that NCL like to do sudden changes, but if they happen to our cruise then hopefully it will be one of the Italian ports that I have visited before and not a new place that I'm really looking forward to like Dubrovnik or Corfu.

On Royal we had a certain hour but what was nice is that it was always the same table and staff. A lot of the dishes could also be found in the buffet though, and with kids it's just so much easier when they can SEE the dishes beforehand. I have heard that food in the main dining rooms/buffet is generally better on NCL than on Royal. I'm hoping to be very positively surprised, especially since our previous two cruises have both been the only non-Royal cruises we've done... with the very last one on Costa. My only worry is that it won't have the same vibe, but then the itinerary might have a lot to do with that too and my RC cruises have all been to exotic locations like Vanuatu, New Caledonia or Bali. So my memories might have been skewed by this. Which Royal ship were you on? Was it the ship you didn't like or lots of other things as well? I too recall dining on RC to have messed with out show plans, not to mention kids club opening during our meal time so the kids were eager to get taken there asap. We just switched to the buffet restaurant from the next cruise onwards. Yeah, the drinks packages are through the roof on Royal. Back in the day it wasn't a requirement that everyone in the cabin needs to purchase a package but that's changed... With NCL this 'Free at Sea' offer has really surprised me and is probably why I concentrated so much on finding a NCL cruise this summer. When my mom and her friends booked theirs (which she is currently on somewhere in the Med on the Norwegian Dawn...) I literally couldn't believe she had a drinks (and two meal) package included, along with a few other bonuses too. Well, this was too good to miss out on so here I am with a reservation on the Escape in several weeks. 🙂

Good point. The biggest RC ship I have been on is the Voyager of the Seas (on multiple occasions in fact) and it was perfect. I have heard great things about the Oasis class though and would gladly try it, though the newer (albeit smaller than Oasis) Quantum class I'm told has an aura of overcrowding which you never quite felt on the Voyager. I recall the Radiance too but I don't like small ships overall. My upcoming cruise on NCL is on the Escape so I hope it's a decent pick, even though I really didn't have a choice because I was targeting a particular cruise date within a very tiny window. Ironically my mom is currently on a NCL cruise on the Dawn for a couple more days, but when she sent me pictures of that vessel it didn't look like my sort of ship... Category-wise I'm in a Balcony cabin on the Escape. I've never done an inside but I have done oceanview before (on RC) and actually liked it. I've also tried mini-suites and a 2-bdr suite on the back of the Radiance once, but at the end of the day I'm not that picky. Oceanview is fine for me but if a balcony cabin is available for just 10% more then it's a no-brainer. What I enjoyed most about Royal Caribbean... - the general vibe onboard, fun, casual, exotic, interesting and exciting - great entertainment, both in the theatres (the one on the Voyager is impressive to say the least) as well as parties on the promenade like the 80's night (or maybe it was 70's/80's/90's) - probably the best cruise party I have ever had the pleasure to witness - incredible staff from so many different countries that share that positive RC energy - the main "traditional-looking wooden pub/bar" has a musician performing live each evening with a huge repertoire of songs, also on demand ("great things happen to those who come bearing gifts..." if you know what I mean, liquid form of course 🙂 ) - best steak I have had anywhere in the world, including on land - on some days at sea they'll set up a huge bbq in the pool area and serve grilled food and special drinks there - movie nights on the deck, it's how I saw "The Martian" What I'm looking forward to (pre-cruise) on NCL for the first time... - the Escape looks like a big ship with lots of options. My daughters (teenagers) have done their research and are impressed with the ship so that's a good sign... - included drinks package, what a bonus! I must admit this is what got me interested in the first place because on RC you unfortunately feel like it's a massive wallet grab (especially since my better half won't consume as much). Is this 'Free at Sea' deal something that has been regularly offered over the years? - 2 included dinners in specialty restaurants. Nice surprise as well! Might purchase more which would make it clever marketing... - O'Sheehan's, 24/7 with some pub grub included without getting billed additionally? Don't recall something like this on RC. - Comedy club? This will be my first time on a ship with such an establishment. - Mojito bar - I could tell my elder daughter was hiding a smile when she saw this but no, her card won't work there, at least not on this cruise... 😉

Thinking of doing the same, which leaves me considering the following choices: - Dover sole - Lamb shank+chop - Seabass Has anyone tried the above? Thanks for the pics - DEFINITELY getting the steak tartare as a starter! 🙂

Do you know if the Escape does? By full-service do you mean a wide range of options that go beyond the traditional menu, such as all these trendy ice matcha drinks for instance? Our teenage daughters will be cruising with us and they're eager to find out what the drinks selection is like. They're at the age where the mojito bar is still (luckily) out of reach so they have to settle for some weird concoction from Starbucks...

Just curious if there are some Royal Caribbean faithful here who have chosen a NCL cruise for the first time and what your experience was like? What differences instantly stood out in your eyes? What came as a positive/negative surprise, if any? Any pro and cons between the two that stayed in your mind after you had completed your first NCL cruise? Would you cruise with NCL again (or possibly "defect" to them completely 🙂 ) or are you doing a 180 straight back to Royal Caribbean? Personally I've really gotten used to Royal Caribbean (since my first cruise) and to this day I haven't had as much fun or satisfaction with any other cruise I have taken. Granted there haven't been many others, just a single Princess cruise (decent, but not quite the same) and a single Costa cruise (let's just say I never looked into their loyalty program after that...). What will the NCL experience be like? 🙂

The fois gras element doesn't sit well with me either, but I assume you can just ask for your steak without it, no? I'm actually looking forward to the steak tartare (raw) the most, but as it's a starter I just hope it's not a really tiny portion... This is the biggest question that was looming over me... at Food Republic can you use 1 FAS meal but have 2 or 4 people share it? There might come a day when all four of us might just want a simple pho soup and it would be great if it was possible to use just one of the included FAS meals for four soups...

Many thanks everyone. Reading the reviews it seems that there is a lot of inconsistency between ships when it comes to the same restaurants. So it seems that even the Carney's experience can vary greatly. Definitely going to book ahead for the Teppanyaki. For our second meal we'll probably select Le Bistro though I am still waiting to hear from friends who are currently cruising on NCL and have booked a table there. 🙂 How does Food Republic work when it comes to the 'Free at Sea' included dinners? Is it any 4 items from the entire menu?

Which restaurant/s are the ones (near) impossible to get a table at once the ship sails and you don't have a prior reservation?

I've never been with NCL before but I have this 'Free at Sea' package with two meals (dinners?) included that I will eventually have to make use of. Do I need to look into what restaurants are available on my ship (Escape) and make some reservations in advance or is it relatively easy to get a table at certain times (like right when a restaurant opens)? Do some restaurants get so busy with reservations that if you don't book ahead or right after boarding then you'll never get in? 🙂

I wouldn't skip any of the ports mentioned if it's your first time there. For a second visit I would probably skip Marseille, especially since you're being shuttled into town and back. Once you've seen the tower in Pisa you are obviously not heading there again either. You're disembarking in Civitavecchia (Rome) so that's not an issue, but if you were merely stopping there then I would recommend either actually going to Rome or visiting some of the nice, nearby villages. Otherwise Civitavecchia itself is one of those places not even worth disembarking for. In Mallorca you can always take it easy by just strolling off the ship and heading in a westerly direction towards a big shopping mall nearby. The kids will surely love it and you can stock up on snacks and all sorts of stuff whilst enjoying a nice walk there and back.

So technically you could add those promo codes yourself when making a booking? And several promo codes are allowed simultaneously? 🙂

I'll be looking for some offers with various operators, including Princess (really nice cruise from Southampton that covers Iceland and Greenland), but for starters I'll be aiming for "kids sail free" offers. Does anyone know until what age Princess will treat them as "kids" when making a booking? I know RCI is up to 12 y.o. and Celebrity under 17, but I can't seem to find Princess' policy...

I've been looking into Celebrity for this very reason (already have Diamond status on RCI) but at the same time I wouldn't be progressing further up the loyalty ladder as the nights onboard would not count. This has got me thinking though that if I was to sign up to Celebrity's loyalty program to register nights there as well, could any future merger of the two programs combine all nights into one account?

Is there a list of loyalty programs where you can build up your status/lifetime points in the long term without having your status or nights expire? I've managed to get Diamond on RCI and even though I haven't been with them for several years my status is still intact. But when I went on Costa I didn't even bother signing up to their program because I saw something about collecting points in a limited timeframe (much like airline FFPs). Is there a list of programs where you can only go "up the ladder" and never get knocked back down for not travelling with them enough?