Biz64

Just some quick background and info before I get into some thoughts on the cruise. There were 5 of us in the family OV cabin including myself, my wife, and three children ages 10, 8, and 5. Also traveling with us were my brother and his family, and my sister and her family, they were in balconies (4 people each). My family has cruised on Carnival Legend (my wife and I), Disney Dream (with kids), Allure of The Seas (with kids), and my wife and I did a Princess cruise about 13 years ago but I can't remember the ship lol. I don't really have a loyal following to any cruise line, usually we pick based on ship, itinerary, and price. Also, please keep in mind this review is based solely on our experience cruising with younger children, others on the same cruise may have had a completely different experience. Ok, here we go:

The ship overall grade: C

The good: very clean, the ship is in great shape (not surprising since it's so new). Everything we encountered worked. The room was one of the roomiest we've had, especially with the kids. The waterfront is nice concept, great place to relax and unwind.

The bad: The most movement we have felt on any ship we've been on! It was swaying, rocking, vibrating, and jerking from the time we departed Miami until we got back, and this was in good weather! I would hate to feel what it would be like in bad weather :eek:. The pool deck is the worst of any of the ships we've been on. One small adult pool that was packed on sea days. The kids pool is 5ft deep at it's shallowest point and there is no seating area around it. My kids basically didn't swim in the pool because it was too deep for them to be able to stand and play in and the water was too wavy from the movement of the ship. Finding a place to sit on sea days is near impossible unless you reserve a chair by 7am. Spice H20 has a nice grotto, but really could use a pool back there. The ship could have also used a pool somewhere on the forward deck as those people that were laying out there were so far away from the pool. Who ever designed the deck areas on this ship needs to be fired :D.

Service overall grade: B

Service overall was good to sometimes very good with the only great service being a couple of waiters in O'sheehans and our room steward. Dining room service was probably the worst of the cruises we've been on, not great but not terrible either. For instance we made reservations at the Manhattan Room for the 13 of us to sit together and when we showed up we were split into two tables and basically told "sorry we will try again tomorrow ". The dining service was also very slow, about 2 to 2.5 hours on average, regardless of how many of us there were.

Entertainment: B

This one was a tough one to grade. Million Dollar Quartet was awesome! One of the best shows I have ever seen on a cruise and the cast was incredible. After Midnight was not really my thing, but my siblings and their spouses really like it too. My wife and siblings also checked out the comedians and thought they were good. I also really liked Howl At the Moon, they were very good. The cruise director and his crew were all very good and very funny, especially Paquito and Romel.

The main issue I had was that there were not any shows geared toward families with younger kids. The Allure, for example, had How To Train Your Dragon, Monopoly, and a few others. The Escape had nothing.

Food: B+

The buffet was very good with lots of choices. The dining rooms all were very good with great desserts, with the only problem being that the menu didn't really change a whole lot. O'sheehans was great! The drinks were very good with lots of top shelf included in the UBP. One thing I wish they had was some type of grill poolside. They had hot dogs, but nothing else. We didn't try any pay restaurants.

So overall it was an ok cruise, not my favorite but still better than being at work :D. I don't think I will sail it again, especially not with kids. I really didn't find it to be ideal for a family with younger children. I hated the pool deck, and found the entertainment lacking for families with younger children. It's kind of hard to explain, but it's like they built a big ship with a small ship design :confused:

Hi, We are planning on seeing the baths when we visit Tortola next week on the NCL Escape. The ship will be there from 7am to 3pm and we are planning on going on our own as opposed to booking an excursion. My question is, if we take the 1240pm return ferry fron Virgin Gorda to Road town, will that be enough time to get back to the ship? We are also planning on taking the 745am ferry to VG, I'm assuming this is doable if we try and get off the ship right around 7am. Lastly, please let me know if I have this planned correctly: We get off the ship and take the short walk to Speedy's to catch the 745 am ferry. Then after the ferry take a taxi to the baths, when donetake the taxi back and then another ferry ride correct? When do you think we should leave the Baths to get back in time to catch that 1240pm ferry? Thanks so much ahead of time for any help...btw there will be a group of 13 of us lol.

You can hire a driver at the cruise port for considerably less money and explore the island.

Is this pretty simple to do? There will be a group of 13 of us and was wondering if we could do that?

Thank you so much for the info everyone! I guess I will be leaving the suit behind lol. We were on the Allure last January and some men were in tuxedos on formal night, so I just didn't want to be underdressed :D

Hello all, my family and I will be sailing the Escape on the 20th and I was wondering if NCL has any formal nights? This will be our first time on NCL so I'm not sure.

So a group of us (8 adults and 5 children ages 5 to 14) will be in St. Thomas from 8am to 6pm aboard the NCL Escape. What we are looking to do is some sight seeing and then heading to Magen's Bay for some beach time ( maybe some shopping). My question is will we be able to just get a taxi by the ship and have him take us around and then bring us back, or do we need to find a tour company to book a private tour? If we can just do the taxi on our own, any idea of the cost? Thanks for any info.

We did the Allure last January and are booked on the Escape for February. The escape will be our first NCL cruise, but we have been on disney, carnival, and princess. For me, the Allure was best with Disney coming in a close second. The entertainment was awesome (the ice skating show was so fun). Food was good to very good. The different neighborhoods really make you feel like you're on different ships, all with different atmospheres. There was just so much to see and do! We are planning on sailing the new Harmony because we enjoyed the Allure so much, but are really looking forward to the Escape too. As for the kids club, my kids (ages 5, 7, and 9) only went there for like 3 hours and said it was ok. They loved the ship though lol.

We have sailed Disney, Carnival, Royal, and are sailing the new Escape from NCL in February. My kids are younger than yours, ages 9, 7, and 5. They loved Disney, but I think they may have liked the Allure of The Seas even more…especially my older son. I would think your older kids would love the Oasis class on Royal. There is just so much to see and do on those ships. I'm exited to try NCL, but I have a feeling we will be sailing the Oasis class again soon.

Sailing on the Sky out of Miami, and we have an 1130 flight back home. Just want to make sure that we will be able to get to the airport in time. What do you guys think?

Really? :rolleyes:

What?? I'm curious lol :D

I don't have to worry about it because my kids are under 10 years old, but I can still wonder lol:D:D

What if there are 3 adults in one room? With the promo, only the first two get the alcohol package. Would the third person be able to take one of the others card and get a drink from the bar, or does it show your photo when they scan it?

Well, now we are thinking of booking my 4 year old daughter in my sister's room. They may only have three people if her son can't go. So maybe we will change to a balcony, if my daughter still wants to sleep with us maybe we can fit her on the floor next to the couch. She loves to sleep in a sleeping bag anyway lol

I know the mini suites only sleep four, but would a 4 year old have room to sleep on the floor next to the couch when its converted to a bed? This would be on the Escape, so if anyone has cruised in a mini suite on the Getaway/Breakaway let me know what you think.

There are five of us, but we are thinking of booking my daughter in my sisters room next to us so we can get a balcony, but I'm worried that she may still want to sleep in our room with us.

Cool! Thanks kj! So looks like the couch turns into a bed that sleeps 2 kids. So I wonder if the couch is smaller on the balcony cabins that sleep 4? Cause that room has a pullman bed also, but only sleeps 4. Bummed that we couldn't get a balcony to sleep 5. I wonder why NCL would not offer this on their new ships? We sailed in a balcony with the five of us on the Allure, and on Disney Dream too. It was nice having some extra space.

Does anyone have any photos of the Family OV rooms that sleep 5 on the Breakaway/Getaway? We are booked in this type of room on the Escape with kids aged 9, 7, 4, and I just want to see how the beds are made to fit 5 people. Photos of when the beds are prepared in the evening would be great.

Just put a deposit on the Escape sailing in February 2016. My question is are all of the shows and entertainment included besides the dinner shows? We just got off the Allure last month and we have sailed Carnival and Disney in the past, but have never sailed NCL. Also, are there usually any kid shows or entertainment geared toward children. We will be cruising with our kids ages 9, 7, and 5. Thanks for any info.

so the UBP doesn't cover the drinks in your fridge? What about bottled water?

We just got off the Allure with 3 of our kids and 3 of their cousins. We had MTD and it worked out great for us. When we had a show after dinner, we let the waiter know and we were done with dinner in about 1.5 hours or less.

ok, just booked a couple of rooms at the Bahia Mar. I think this is very convenient location, across the street from the beach, a stop for the water taxi near by, and within walking distance to some restaurants and shopping around Las Olas. Is this a pretty good area? Pretty safe to walk around with kids? We are skipping the car rental.

My suggestion would be, skip the rental, stay at the Embassy Suites, your get two rooms and a bunch of amenities, then take the family to Hollywood via Water Taxi.

Just checked out the water taxi…looks like a lot of fun! I think the kids would really like that.

Any of those hotels will be great.

 

My husband makes the commute from Fort Lauderdale (Las Olas) to downtown Miami five days a week at different times a day. He never makes it in under an hour and South Beach is further.

 

How old are your kids?

 

Fort Lauderdale Beach down on A1A is wonderful for families.

Kids will be 9, 7 and 4 when we are there. We may consider just staying in Ft. Lauderdale if it's that long of a drive. Thanks for the info!

I'm confused, are you staying in Miami or Fort Lauderdale? If Fort Lauderdale I certainly would not drive to Miami for the day.

 

With three kids, I would just head to the beach.

 

Your budget may be impractical for a hotel over a holiday weekend. I would up your budget for five to $200.

 

As CruiserBruce stated, you are a little late in the game to be bargain hunting. Book something NOW.

Staying in Ft. Lauderdale, flying out of there on Monday the 19th. Why not drive to Miami? I thought it was only about 30-45 mins drive? I thought maybe we could check out South Beach for the day.

Some of the hotels we were looking at are :Comfort Suites Airport & Cruise Port, Hyatt Place Ft. Lauderdale 17th Street Convention Center, Holiday Inn Express Ft. Lauderdale Cruise-Airport, and Holiday Inn Express and Suites Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport. All are under $200 for the night.

Still trying to figure out the car rental. I want to be able to return it to the airport when we fly out, but not sure if we should take a cab to the airport to pick it up, or if any rental places offer to pick us up from the port. I will have to make some phone calls to get some info.

Staying one night after cruise on Jan 18th in Ft. Lauderdale. We want to rent a minivan and maybe head to Miami for the day. Whats the best way to get the car rental after leaving the port? Should we take a cab to the airport or will any rental companies pick us up from the cruise port? It will be my wife and I, and 3 kids. Also, any recommendations for hotels? trying to keep it around $150, nothing fancy just someplace clean where we can sleep and shower before flying out the next day.

We are sailing with you on this cruise and are looking forward to a great cruise no matter what happens.

We are also on this same cruise! Hopefully all goes well, we are with the kids, in laws, and brother and sister in law and their kids!

As much as I love Oasis and am a huge cheerleader for Oasis Class ships, for $2000 difference, I would take the Princess cruise and put the $2000 difference toward the children's college funds or save toward another cruise.

 

Oasis Class ships are amazing, but I don't know if they are $2000 more amazing.

The other cruise is Carnival Breeze, not the Princess. :)