Quick Review of our escape on the Escape

[CruisingOnBy810]

Let me start by saying Dh and I are easygoing but do like to make our vacation memorable.. This was the first cruise bringing both our daughters age 17 and 18. I will separate everything in sections. Overall we had a nice time but we have no desire to ever cruise the Escape again.

 

Room(mini suite 14182)

Room was close to the forward elevator. I felt it was a good size room for all 4 of us and did not feel it was crammed. Loved the bathroom and shower. Perfect for 2 teenagers and their makeup. Room steward was Marissa and she was wonderful. Room was always cleaned perfectly.

 

Dining

We only ate dinner at the specialty restaurants and I have no complaints except in Le Bistro. Service was extremely slow which took away from the experience. Also Dh was really sunburnt so wearing dress pants was not going to happen so when he walked us to dinner the host very discretely advise you must have on pants. I said we are aware but he was only walking us down. I mention this because while waiting for our food they did seat and serve a gentleman in khaki shorts. We did enjoy the food but again service was super slow.

 

Margaritaville was great for lunch because we had the old UDP it was free. It was also busy on the day we went which was Tortola.

 

Food Republic was not we enjoyed. The food was ok but nothing spectacular. It was also busy but both Dh and I agreed it was not worth $35 we spent.

 

Shows

We did go to both free shows in the theater and enjoyed them although I did leave After Midnight early as I got a little bored.

 

Ship

We are big gamblers and spend a lot of time in the casino. The host was friendly but the casino was horrible. It did not have a good selection of slots and payout which it normally not so great on a ship was worse than any cruise I have ever been on. I did see one person hit $1300 but it was on a $5 max bet machine. Bar service was also hit and miss.

 

The crew was always polite and smiling. The ship was beautiful and clean but the two issues I had was the public areas of the ship seemed to be a similar size to the Getaway but a lot more crowded and rocking of the ship was horrible. I do not get seasick but it was a constant annoyance and conversation about why is it rocking so bad when the waves are small and weather was clear. I also felt we were crammed into everywhere. I still love NCL but not so much of the Escape.

[Yorkvillain]

Thanks for the review. Sorry to hear you didn't love the Escape.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for your review.

 

Keith

[BirdandBaby]

Thanks for your review. We're going on the Escape in May and it's helpful to know what to expect. Discouraging about the casino because we really enjoyed the casino on Jade - the only other NCL ship we've been on. And I'll definitely take my Dramamine now!

[CruisingOnBy810]

Thanks for your review. We're going on the Escape in May and it's helpful to know what to expect. Discouraging about the casino because we really enjoyed the casino on Jade - the only other NCL ship we've been on. And I'll definitely take my Dramamine now!

 

 

We have been on the Jewel, Sky, Epic and Getaway and still think that the Escape had the worst casino.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the review.

[Nola26]

Can you share more about the slots? What was there ? What's missing? What do you play? Any casino can be tight, so that's always a risk. I hope to win, but plan to have fun and certain machines can help the fun.

 

As for big hits, you might not see them. I hit a $500 progressive on a penny machine Day 1 on Getaway, but no hand pay nor did amount show in the win box so a passerby wouldn't know. My bet was less than $1. I saw some wins in the $1 area, but cannot say I saw hand pays on the ship, I sure didn't get one.

 

We will be on the Escape at the end of the summer.

Edited February 16, 2016 by Nola26

[derek005]

Hello! Paulette and I will be on the Escape on the 20th of Feb. We missed you guys this time, but will see you again on another one.

[punkincc]

Can you share more about the slots? What was there ? What's missing? What do you play? Any casino can be tight, so that's always a risk. I hope to win, but plan to have fun and certain machines can help the fun.

 

As for big hits, you might not see them. I hit a $500 progressive on a penny machine Day 1 on Getaway, but no hand pay nor did amount show in the win box so a passerby wouldn't know. My bet was less than $1. I saw some wins in the $1 area, but cannot say I saw hand pays on the ship, I sure didn't get one.

 

We will be on the Escape at the end of the summer.

 

 

On the Escape in January and found a couple of Quick Hit machines side by side that seems to pay off very well. I observed this while someone else was playing them and we returned to them at 2 or 3 other occasions. I hit $1,300 on one, and DH and grandson sat side by side and both hit a few hundred each when they visited, and at nearly the same time. I think these were either penny or nickle slots, but you had to play max bet in order to get the big payouts.

Edited February 16, 2016 by punkincc

[punkincc]

We had the same experience as OP in Le Bistro. Slow service I might excuse, but we were just flat out ignored. Really inexcusable since there was a head waiter and an assistant. Trying to get someone's attention was like trying to hail a cab in NYC. They flew by our table every few seconds, looking neither to the right or left. We ordered wine for the table, and after the initial pour, that was it. No checking back.

 

The food was good, but this was not a fine dining experience. If I had been paying a la carte rather than with a dining package, I would have spoken to someone. I should have in any case, but I was on vacation, traveling with family, yada yada. Same excuses people always make for letting bad service slide. We have eaten serveral times at Le Bistro on other ships and service was always good to excellent.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[BJS1218]

Going to E Caribbean on Escape May 7. Trying to get cabin changed from 10108 to something closer to midship. Cabins fore and aft tend to get more motion that those midship. Curious about whether there were a lot of lines and waiting for shows, dining, etc. Never been on a ship as large as this.

[Nola26]

On the Escape in January and found a couple of Quick Hit machines side by side that seems to pay off very well. I observed this while someone else was playing them and we returned to them at 2 or 3 other occasions. I hit $1,300 on one, and DH and grandson sat side by side and both hit a few hundred each when they visited, and at nearly the same time. I think these were either penny or nickle slots, but you had to play max bet in order to get the big payouts.

 

Thanks and glad to read about your big hit and the luck of your family! My mother would lose her mind with a $1,300 hit. She hit for $200 a couple of years go and starting screaming at me "get my money out of that machine", precious. I don't play a lot of quick hit, but thanks for the tip, I'll give them a whirl on Escape. I've started to enjoy the Wonder4 and recall playing one on the Getaway, might have been my first time playing one. I would expect to find at least a couple on the Escape.

[17cruisesnsl]

Sorry this trip wasn't all you wanted it to be, especially after all the work you did on the Meet and Greet - it was a wonderful way to meet people on such a large ship, many of whom I saw throughout the week. Great name tags from Len. Many thanks to you both and to Mary for assisting.

 

I had low expectations upon boarding, based on my 2013 BA experience, the Escape reviews and other comments; but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed the Escape. I was able to score a Vibe pass which really made the cruise - great company, sunshine and minimal noise.

 

We spent a good deal of time in the casino as well, and I was looking for you to apologize for missing the slot pull. Due to the time change, we slept too late! On the last night I won back half of my slot losses but I had to bet max to get any action. My mom did not win at all.

 

Although the slots were multi-game Konami slots, they were all the same. I happen to like China Shores but would have liked to see some of the older games like Geisha, Sun and Moon or Miss Kitty. My only complaint for the entire week was that the slot attendants were overly attentive at times - but that could be my gambler's superstition and my own fault for not telling them of my "stupidstition". They were so nice, I couldn't tell them.

 

Hopefully we'll all have better slot luck on our next cruises. The slot attendants told me there was a penny slot that paid over $9000 one night of the cruise but I am unsure if she said it was the Flintstones or around the corner from the Flintstones. I couldn't hear her as I was playing opposite Skyline bar and the band was playing. Where I had great luck was that I had only one smoker near me all week!

 

I get seasick easily but I was fine on this trip; our cabin, 12226, was a mid-ship mini and I think its location, my sea bands and the amount of time I spent outside really helped. Now if only the house would stop rocking now that I'm home!

 

Thanks again for all you did pre-cruise and on the ship to make it a memorable roll call for us all

[punkincc]

Going to E Caribbean on Escape May 7. Trying to get cabin changed from 10108 to something closer to midship. Cabins fore and aft tend to get more motion that those midship. Curious about whether there were a lot of lines and waiting for shows, dining, etc. Never been on a ship as large as this.

 

 

We were deck 8 forward and I love this location, convenient to the Waterfront and the District Brew House and all the activity on 678 Oceanplace midship. Did not notice any movement, and very quiet.

 

I would prebook the dinner show and Million Dollar Quartet pre cruise if you plan on seeing those. Also any specialty dining you might want to do. It will just make your cruise more relaxed. You can use Iconcierge to book on board or try the standby line during the last 15 minutes pre show. The theatre shows were never totally full. Lots of seats. Only lines I saw were people like us who are always early and get there before the doors open.;)

[luvcruzing]

I would prebook the dinner show and Million Dollar Quartet pre cruise if you plan on seeing those. Also any specialty dining you might want to do. It will just make your cruise more relaxed. You can use Iconcierge to book on board or try the standby line during the last 15 minutes pre show. The theatre shows were never totally full. Lots of seats. Only lines I saw were people like us who are always early and get there before the doors open.;)

 

I'm confused about the shows. On the Getaway we had to make reservations for shows in the theater. When I try to make reservations for the shows on the Escape, the only two that come up are Wine Lovers the Musical and Brat Pack. Are reservations required for the other shows and for Headliners, and if so, how do I make them?

[KeithJenner]

I'm confused about the shows. On the Getaway we had to make reservations for shows in the theater. When I try to make reservations for the shows on the Escape, the only two that come up are Wine Lovers the Musical and Brat Pack. Are reservations required for the other shows and for Headliners, and if so, how do I make them?

 

There seem to be some issues with the shows at the moment. Have a look at the other threads on here about it.

[darienill]

Confirm cabin 12222 was nice and steady. Last night in the casino we also got some payback. I played 20 and got 50 out. wife played a panda machine and had 400+ free games and $300 when I stopped by. that went on to be over 500 free gaames and $400. wound up with about $600 between the two of us about 11 PM. bedtime.