dolita22

There are angled balconies and the M6 cat have larger balconies.

To add on to this, angled balconies are typically the same price as regular balconies.

OP, check out angled balconies if you want a little bigger balcony! The room will be the same size as rooms with standard balconies, however.

We kept the angled balcony, but I was able to get one on deck 12 (12180), so same spot at your 14176 and I'm really happy with this! It was $46 more for the higher deck, but that won't break the bank. And yes, we'll be using the money saved from not going with the mini suite on lots of other great things!:)

Nice work! Have a great time on the Escape!

Sailed in angled balconies twice on the Escape now (12272 and 14176) and really liked them! We've never had a mini-suite, but it's just my DH and I sailing and we've never justified the additional cost for just a larger bathroom. I'd keep the angled balcony. Use the money you'd spend on the mini for a fun 30th birthday shore excursion or something else on your trip.

I was never asked to pay the fee. It was in plain sight for the security to see in my carry on and not once has anyone told me to pay it. But I only bring one bottle. If they see more then one then they will tell you to pay corkage on all.

We have carried one bottle on and have been taken directly to the table post-security to pay the corkage. We have seen others take one bottle on and also be taken to the table to pay the corkage. Someone at the port must have not been paying attention, because your experience is not the norm, I hate to say.

Most people who brag about NCL are often booked in the Haven, which is really just a different experience in general.

Disagree. We have never stayed in the Haven and probably never will. While it sounds pretty amazing, being on the ship is enough for us. We've only stayed in balconies and been very happy with all of our NCL cruises.

Posting at the same time as KeithJenner!

Have not read all of the responses in this thread (so as not to sway my opinion), but DH's and my top 3 favorite things about NCL:

1. Freestyle dining. We don't like dressing up, don't like having assigned times to dine, don't like dining with others (we're not super introverted; just like to be with each other), and we really don't mind not having the same wait staff each night. All of the wait staff we've ever had on NCL have been nothing but friendly and attentive. Compare that to Anytime Dining on RCCL (or do they call it MyTime Dining?), where one of the waiters couldn't have cared less about us...

2. That leads me to the staff. Love NCL staff. We've always had friendly room stewards, bartenders, waiters and waitresses, etc. I cannot recall any staff member we've encountered being anything but friendly and helpful. Earlier this year on the Escape, we were walking down the hallway to our cabin. One of the room stewards (in a cabin nowhere near ours) was in the middle of cleaning a room, and must have heard us talking as we walked down the hall. As we got nearer to the room, we saw him stop cleaning and walk to the hall to say hello to us. That stood out to us.

3. The UBP. We've had it on some cruises and not others. Will have it, plus the UDP, on our next cruise. I like going to a bar and not thinking about how much a round of drinks will cost. Just wish they'd include bottled water in the UBP now.

Enjoy your NCL cruise! And thanks for posting a thread on positivity. :)

We just sailed the Sky in June on the 4-day cruise and did not encounter anyone who was completely out of control at all. It was a very nice cruise and everyone was well behaved. Perhaps the 3-day will be somewhat different, but if we ever did the 3-day (with the exception of spring break), I'd expect it to be similar to the 4 day in terms of people's behavior.

OP, there were a variety of ages on our 4-day cruise, though the majority of people seemed to be on the under-50 side. In our group, we had age range of 28 to 71 and everyone had a great time.

No formal night, but it is NCL so you are free to dress up or not. There was a Dress Up or Not night, so some people were a little dressier, but I don't recall seeing anyone dressed in tuxes or anything.

Have a great time!

Thanks for your review! We sailed the Sky in June with a group ages 28 to 71 and everyone enjoyed themselves. The Sky is a great ship!

We toured the spa on the Sky when we sailed back in June, and I don't recall any pools/thalasotherapy pools or saunas in there. Someone else will correct me if I'm wrong, but it's a pretty small spa given the small ship size.

Enjoy the Sky! It's fun getaway. :-)

Sailed the Sky in June on the 4-day cruise. Overall, I didn't find it to be any more of a party ship than any of the other 7-day (or more) cruises we've been on. Easy to get drinks, bartenders were all friendly, and we were actually surprised that there were so few kids on board considering it's summer. Not sure if the idea of it being a booze cruise (it wasn't) holds people back?

We had a group of 10, ranging in age from 28-71. (I'm 36.) People of nearly every age range were on board the week we were on.

Since everyone has the beverage package, there was no additional tipping (besides the DSC) if you didn't want to. The cost of the package is included in your fare, so there's no service charge on top of what you pay like there is with the Free at Sea promos. If they did get a tip, the bartenders made a big deal out of it by hooting and hollering if someone tossed a dollar or two into the bucket on the bar.

As for activities, we spent much of our time by or in the pool, and there were plenty of poolside activities. IIRC, there were plenty of activities in the indoor areas of the ship, too, though we did not seek them out. Easy to find deck chairs all over any day.

Didn't see any shows, but the typical shows were offered (Welcome Aboard, Farewell, etc.). The Glow party was fun!

We had a very enjoyable experience on the Sky, so I say go for the B2B! Except avoid in March; I've heard it's awful because of spring break crowds.

We never made reservations for the MDR on either of our Escape cruises, and only one time in January did we have to wait for about 10 minutes. The Mixx bar is between Taste and Savor, so we enjoyed a drink before dinner there. :) Can't recall if there's a bar outside the Manhattan room.

If you stick with a midship balcony, look at the angled balconies. They're the same price as other balconies in their categories, and with the angle you get a bit more space on the balcony. We've had two on the Escape and liked them both! That's what we'll go for in the future if they're available.

Great review! Thanks for sharing your experiences. We've sailed the Escape twice now and loved it. Nice upgrade!

Interesting about the movement of the ship. Never felt many movement on either of our Escape sailings either. Seas are different every day day, but I always wonder what people are talking about when they say they really felt the ship move. In comparison, I sailed the Sky for the second time last month and we had pretty rough seas sailing out of Miami and for the first night. Didn't experience that on our first Sky sailing in 2011 and that sailing was during the week in September with the highest probability of hurricanes hitting. Who knew?

Glad you had a good cruise!

Thanks so much for the help. That does answer some important things. I wasn't sure of the layout of these ships or how all the restaurants worked. On Royal ships everything is included except a few up charge venues but even like ice skating and all is all included but they are more expensive so that makes sense.

 

Still wondering if anyone out there specifically has done the Escape or the Gataway with young kids. Are there parades or pool games of any kind? Are there any shows at night that kids could also go to? I know on Royal ships there are ice cream machines out on the pool decks all afternoon. Anything like that???

 

Thanks! for any insight!

There are soft-serve ice cream machines on the pool decks on NCL ships. Generally, they're right outside the buffet areas.

For those who have brought wine aboard for corkage, do you just bring it in your carry on and declare as you board the ship?

 

 

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You'll carry it on. If sailing from Miami, right after you go through security, security personnel will direct you to a table, where they'll take your name and stateroom number, then put stickers on the bottle stating that you've paid the corkage. The corkage will show up as a charge from one of the dining rooms (at least that's how it's showed for us the last few cruises).

Definitely carry it on vs. putting it on your luggage that goes with the porters. If it goes in luggage, you'll be called to the naughty room to retrieve it (and probably pay the corkage then or they'll hold it for the week. Not sure which).

Sailed the Sky on a 4-day on June 20th, and a friend who sailed with me bought one of the internet plans. Said the internet was quite slow and ended up losing some minutes due it connecting then disconnecting right away. She knew it would be slow, but was a bit annoyed with the connecting/disconnecting and using up minutes.

We are thinking of going on the Norwegian Escape in Feb. We have cruised many times with Royal Caribbean but are taking our kids for the first time and found better deals price wise over here. My kids will be almost 8, 6 and 3. I have some questions if anyone can help!!

 

Is this a good ship for little kids?

 

Is there a lot of entertainment and activities during the day and at night that are kid friendly?

 

Are the activities like bowling and rock wall included or an added charge?

 

We are new to the free style dining so wondering how many restaurants are included in your cruise fare and how many are up charged?

 

As for the Waterfront dining venues are they included? Are some included or all upcharged?

 

Thanks so much for any help and tips. I really appreciate the help!!

I've cruised the Escape twice, but my DH and I don't have kids (but may start that adventure sooner rather than later). I'll try to give you some help. :)

IMO, of the 3 NCL ships I've been on, it seems to be one of NCL's best ships for kids. There's quite a lot to do for all ages - the ropes course (there's a smaller version of the larger one for smaller kids), kids' club activities (pirate shows, cupcake making) and other activities, shows for the adults, etc. Don't recall a rock climbing wall on the Escape.

Not sure of the age ranges for NCL's kids' club program, but I've read they're very strict about not letting kids join their brothers' or sisters' group if they don't fall into the same age group. You may want to check that out if your kids will want to do club activities.

Bowling is an extra charge on all NCL ships. IIRC, we paid $7 per person for each game on the Epic last year. Didn't bowl on the Escape earlier this year or last November, so I'm not sure if the price has increased since then.

There's are separate adults and kids' pools, and the kids' pool seemed quite deep. Someone else may know the exact depth. I remember thinking it was really deep, especially for young kids, when we wandered by it. There's a water/splash area with a smaller slide right next to, though.

As for dining, the complimentary restaurants are the 3 MDRs (Taste, Savor, the Manhattan Room), O'Sheehan's, and the buffet. With the exception of Food Republic and Margaritaville, we've only ever eaten at the free dining options. We really enjoy NCL's food. Food is subjective, though. :)

Restaurants along the Waterfront are all upcharge restaurants. If you do by chance get an adults-only meal, check out Food Republic. My DH and I spent $27 there and it was fantastic.

Hope that helps! Enjoy your cruise on the Escape!

That's assuming they identify the bottle in your luggage: of so, they ask if you want to pay $15 per bottle, and you can then drink it wherever you want. If they don't, you can drink it in your room or on the ship, but I suspect you can't have the bottle served to you in a restaurant. BTW, if they identify a bottle or bottles in your luggage and you don't want to pay the $15/bottle corkage fee, they store the bottle(s) for you and deliver it to you room the night before arrival.

They will actually serve your carried-on wine/sparkling wine/champagne to you in restaurants on board. We take on sparkling wine and have brought our bottle to dinner and it's been served before. :)

If you don't want to pay the corkage, I have only seen discarded (full) bottles of wine at the table (in Miami) where you pay the corkage. Someone will correct me, but I don't believe they store it for you until the last day. Maybe some ports are different, but we typically just sail from Miami and that's what we've seen. (ETA: I see you're talking about putting wine in your luggage, not carrying on. I'd think they'd store it then. Sorry!)

My DH and I are both runners and workout while on cruises. We take a small packet of Tide along and rinse our workout clothes in the sink, then clip them to the back of our balcony chairs to dry (only when docked; we remove the clips for sailing!). If not in a balcony, there is the clothesline in the bathroom, though we've found clothes never fully dry when we hang them from there. Hence the deck chairs. :)

We've sailed the Epic twice and thoroughly enjoyed it. Last year, we brought some friends of ours on it for their first cruise ever and they loved it. It really is a great ship.

One thing to be aware of is that March is prime spring break season. I've heard sailings on the Sky during that month are not the most pleasant. Since the Epic is just starting those 3/4 day sailings this fall and winter, the jury may still be out on if it turns into a party crowd or not.

Another thing is the bathroom setup. We like it, but it's just me and my DH traveling. The sink, toilet, and shower are all separated, so I can brush my teeth while DH is showering. Do a search on these forums if you haven't already; there's plenty of discussion around it. :)

There are a bunch of apps that will give you white noise.

No breeze though...;)

 

Might be easier than hauling a fan.

 

"White noise free" is what we use when we travel, and it works in Airplane Mode.

 

Have a great cruise!

This is what we've done using my husband's iPad. Works great in airplane mode, was free, and no need to haul a fan!

Thank you.

We were also on the Sky 6/20 sailing. Did not rent a cabana, but seriously considered it as we had a large group. The price was $299 for the large one. I can't recall what the small cabanas cost.

Just did it on the Sky last week and have done it on previous cruises as well. No issues. Just taped a luggage tag on the case and it arrived after all the luggage was delivered to the rooms, so bear in mind that it may arrive in the evening after you've sailed.

In our case, we were sailing from Miami, and as another poster mentioned, some porters won't take them at certain ports.

Our waiter in Cagney's on the Sky last week used the crumber, and I believe at least one of our wait staff in the MDRs one night used it, too.

Thoroughly enjoying your review! I love your sense of humor and way of storytelling. We sailed the Escape twice, so your review is taking me back. Thanks for doing it!

Cruised the Epic twice, so those that have sailed more often may have other input.

By large balcony room, are you talking about the B6 rooms? Only the balcony is larger; the room itself is the same size as other balconies. (My parents had a B6 on deck 12, and it was the same size as our B3 on deck 11.)

With 5 people, I would go with two cabins - either the two midship balconies or balcony + inside across.

With the elevators forward and aft, if you have any room midship, you won't be close to them.

We've stayed in balconies on decks 11 and 12 and both were in good locations. Anything up to deck 13 is fine, because you have rooms above and below. Deck 14 is just below the pool and Spice H20.

If you want avoid the enclosed balconies, avoid the ones at the very front of the ship. Search for reviews by sdmike; there are (or at least were) links in his signature about enclosed balconies.

Hope that helps some!