Dec 7th Escape review

[omc329]

Went on this cruise with dh, sis and son. We booked an angle balcony. Overall, had a good time, but don't think I would book this ship again.

 

The bad -

 

Smoke was horrific on this ship. It might've had to do with a slot tournament that was booked on that particular cruise, I don't really know, but it was BAD!!! It permeated decks 6,7 and 8. Coming down the rear steps it would begin engulfing us as we approached 8, swamp us at 7, and begin letting up at 6. That was at the steps. All three decks were bad. My sis refused to dance in the atrium area until the last night when the smoke finally let up a bit. On the positive side, never had an issue with smoke on our balcony.

 

The good AND bad -

 

Service on the ship, after one incident, was FANTASTIC! The one incident?

 

We went to Osheehan's for lunch the first sea da. We were seated immediately, no problem. And we sat, and sat, and sat. Others were seated, others got menus, others had water. Finally I stood up, attempting to get someone's attention. I got a nod, and we sat. I stood up again and waved, got another nod and someone finally came over for our order.

 

Now, here was our big mistake. We ordered drinks as well and they took away our cards.....

 

And we sat. Others were seated. Other orders taken. We did finally get some water....Our drinks showed up on the concierge on the iphones, but no drinks at the table...... And we sat....

 

I finally went up to the podium and asked for help....ANd we sat...

 

I went to the restroom, sure that we'd have something by the time I got back. We couldn't leave at this stage. They still had our cards!!!

 

I got back, and nothing. We had been sitting there at this point, for FIFTY-FIVE MINUTES!!!! :eek:

 

I gave up. I took the napkin that we had finally gotten with the water around the half hour mark, stood up and waved it like a white flag!!!!

 

I've got to tell you, EVERYONE cracked up! Most the folks in our section had been watching all this go on as they were served and eating. Folks leaned over from the next booth and asked where we were eating supper, as they wanted to avoid it, as we were obviously jinxed!

 

Ok, we got their attention!!! I think they marked us somehow in the puter as troublemakers or something. We had outstanding service all the rest of that cruise no matter where we ate.

 

For the record, we finally left there an hour and a half after sitting down. Dh saw FOUR couples come and go from another table in the time we were there.... We laughed over this rather comical situation for days. It was so sad, it was simply hilarious.

 

The mediocre -

 

The food. I'm sorry, but mediocre describes it. The sheperd's pie at Osheeans was HORRID. Picture bad sloppy joe mix added to instant mashed potatoes. YUCK! The vegetable lasagna in the dining room was awful and the spinach lasagna in the buffet was almost as bad. The garlic steak in Cucina, in my book was inedible, as in I took 2 bites and gave up on it. The fish & chips we used to love at Osheehans have been changed to something resembling fish sticks vs filets.

 

On the other hand, the beef wellington in the Manhattan was fantastic. The tuna salad at Savor for lunch, when served on a bed of lettuce, is delicious. And though their philly steak is made with cheddar instead of swiss, it is still good.

 

Cheesecake was abundant throughout the ship as a standard, though if you go to Cucina without a dining plan, they will charge you 4 BUCKS! Dh gave ds his, and that is what they TRIED to charge ds. We insisted it was dh's and they did not charge, but honestly, 4 dollars for a cheesecake served all over the ship???!!

 

The minestrone and fresh baked breads at Cucina were delicious. Fortunately I don't need a lot, because that and my cheesecake were all I ate there.

 

I never went hungry, but imo, the food quality has REALLY dropped.

 

Entertainment -

 

Bocci was a huge hit on this ship. ALWAYS busy. Ds and I used it a lot too. Shuffleboard, surprisingly, was very busy as well. Noone in my group was interested in the ropes course, but it was always busy.

 

Dance music was hit and miss. I LOVE to dance, morning, noon and night. There was a band at Margharitaville that I enjoyed, a pianist in the atrium the last night, a band at the latitude party I thoroughly enjoyed, but at other times it could be really hard to find a place to dance. A lot of the music was in smoke infested areas.

 

We saw one of the Levity shows and enjoyed it. Missed the opportunity to see another as it was booked out when we tried again.

 

Howl at the moon we couldn't even get into.

 

The pay show I didn't bother with. When I start paying for entertainment on a ship, it will be time to give up cruising.

 

After Midnight sis and I LOVED! And ds, who didn't love the genre, enjoyed the show enough to respect it.

 

Million dollar quartet was ok, but I felt like it dragged a bit.

 

All in all, I was satisfied with the entertainment.

 

Itinerary -

 

Weak, but I knew that going in. Had a great time at Coki beach! Enjoyed the Virgin Gorda baths. Nassau, blah.

 

Our stateroom was an angle balcony. FANTASTIC! Dh, because of medical issues, spent a LOT of time on that balcony. Our fantastic steward arranged a lounger for him, (kudos to him as it appeared to be a stretch for some reason), and dh's butt prints are probably still on that brand new lounger, and I mean BRAND NEW! Dh actually pulled a small bit of plastic off a leg that was missed! *L*

 

All in all, we were satisfied with our cruise. We came back thoroughly relaxed and 2 pounds up. Would I sail the Escape again???? Perhaps, if the price were fantastic, but likely not. There are less smokey ships and better values out there to be had. We are trying our first Princess cruise this fall. Del Rio is tarnishing our love for NCL. We are ready to reach out and try something different.

[SeaWatcher65]

Thanks for the honest review! How did you like the other food in the Manhattan Main Dining Room and the Garden Cafe buffet? We are thinking about skipping the specialty restaurants this time. Did you try the new places - Food Republic, Pincho Tapas Bar, or Bayamo?

[omc329]

Thanks for the honest review! How did you like the other food in the Manhattan Main Dining Room and the Garden Cafe buffet? We are thinking about skipping the specialty restaurants this time. Did you try the new places - Food Republic, Pincho Tapas Bar, or Bayamo?

 

The only other pay restaurant we used was Le Bistro. Food was very good and service excellent.

 

In the Manhattan, the only other dish that comes to mind was the lemon chicken, which was decent. Sis ate there one night without us and had an excellent meal there. I would say it is hit or miss. Some good things, some not so great.

 

On the digression of the quality, example again in O'sheehans. We had ribs there on the Getaway in May. Delicious. Fell off the bone tender. On the Escape you fought to get the meat off the bone and the meat was tough and lacked the same flavor. It just felt like they were cutting the quality of the food all over the place. It was the same with the steak in Cucina. Aside from the garlic stuff ruining the flavor, it was tough and the flavor, (what I could get of it through the garlic), wasn't there.

 

Garden café we seldom used. We used them mostly for fillers. The carrot cake was great, and the crepes are still a treat. The one lunch we got there, aside from the spinach lasagna, was ok. Lots of good stuff to choose from. I'm just not a cafeteria style gal, so didn't use it much.

[JOLTnPEST]

The bad -

 

Smoke was horrific on this ship. It might've had to do with a slot tournament that was booked on that particular cruise, I don't really know, but it was BAD!!! It permeated decks 6,7 and 8. Coming down the rear steps it would begin engulfing us as we approached 8, swamp us at 7, and begin letting up at 6. That was at the steps. All three decks were bad. My sis refused to dance in the atrium area until the last night when the smoke finally let up a bit. On the positive side, never had an issue with smoke on our balcony.

 

We were on the same sailing and felt the same about the smoke. We even smelled the smoke while eating inside le bistro. Having a smoking casino around an atriums has to be one of the worst design plans ever.

[SeaWatcher65]

We were on the same sailing and felt the same about the smoke. We even smelled the smoke while eating inside le bistro. Having a smoking casino around an atriums has to be one of the worst design plans ever.

 

I was wondering about the smoke smell in LeBistro. On NCL Getaway, I thought it was a bad layout with LeBistro facing the Atrium and tables outside in that area too. The Atrium area was often very, very noisy from game, shows, events, people passing by... it reminded me more of dining in a shopping mall food court than in a French outdoor cafe. We liked Cagneys much better and Ocean Blue too with outside seating. Hoping for warm weather and some outdoor dining at the specialty restaurants - Cagneys and Bayamo.

[JOLTnPEST]

I was wondering about the smoke smell in LeBistro. On NCL Getaway, I thought it was a bad layout with LeBistro facing the Atrium and tables outside in that area too. The Atrium area was often very, very noisy from game, shows, events, people passing by... it reminded me more of dining in a shopping mall food court than in a French outdoor cafe. We liked Cagneys much better and Ocean Blue too with outside seating. Hoping for warm weather and some outdoor dining at the specialty restaurants - Cagneys and Bayamo.

Who ever thought about putting howl at the moon directly across from the fanciest restaurant on the ship should be fired.

[HowardK]

Why would a Philly steak have Swiss? It's never been done! Cheeze Whiz is the way to go LOL.

 

All kidding aside, I have found in the past that it does get busy at OShennans and sometimes I have had to call to get their attention. I am wondering if Howl at The Moon is super crowded on this ship as there is no Fat Cats?

 

I haven't read much about the music at 5 O Clock Somewhere and the District compared to Fat Cats.

 

 

I thought the food was excellent October 2014 on the Breakaway- but this was before Del Rio joined and as you said I wonder if this has something to do with it.

 

I am planning on going on the Escape in December for something new, as opposed to the Breakaway the third time straight (leaving in colder weather as well up here at that time of course)

[MalervyC]

As a Philadelphian born and raised...I've never heard of nor seen a cheese steak that has Swiss cheese. I don't trust any "cheesesteak" unless it's from a 19*** zip code...but surprised to hear you thought NCL's was good. They should make for an interesting lunch...thanks for the tip!

[Sotermarler]

I was on the inaugural 7 day, and you are right the smoke was really bad.

[Macadian]

This smoke issue is really disconcerting.....I thought it had all been sorted out. Seems this will be my first & last mega ship cruise. I am hoping I can get everywhere I need to go on the ship without going anywhere near the casino!

[SNJCruisers]

As a Philadelphian born and raised...I've never heard of nor seen a cheese steak that has Swiss cheese. I don't trust any "cheesesteak" unless it's from a 19*** zip code...but surprised to hear you thought NCL's was good. They should make for an interesting lunch...thanks for the tip!

Swiss on a cheese steak.....blasphemy! Provolone, american or whiz and of course, wit.