Escape Review- June 25-July 2 and Comparison to other Cruise Lines

[StephC1217]

I usually plan my cruises about a year in advance and spend that entire year stalking cruise critic and doing research so I thought I would thank everyone for their help by writing a review that is hopefully helpful to others. Sorry for the lengthiness!

 

Background Info:

This is our 4th cruise in 4 years. We did Disney Fantasy in June 2013 and June 2014 followed by Oasis of the Seas in August 2015. I am 35 and traveled with my 35yr husband, our 10 year old son, and my parents who are in their late 70s (and have cruised with us 3 years in a row now)

 

We booked last October Family Inside Cabins and took advantage of the promotion of Ultimate Beverage and Specialty Dining. We ended up calling back and downgrading ourselves to regular Inside Cabins to save about a thousand dollars or more. We knew we were downgrading to tiny rooms but we would rather spend the money on having fun because how much time did we really spend in the room anyways??

 

Well, I read on here to call the upsell phone number 2 weeks prior to see about upgrading. We decided to try to upgrade my parents as a surprise. My husband called and they said there was nothing but we could try calling closer to the cruise. Well, I almost didn't. What are the odds that I would get two upgraded rooms close to one another?? But the day before we left for Miami (Thursday), I was home and thought what the heck? I called and they said we could upgrade to a balcony for $100pp or a mini-suite for $200pp. I was so caught off-guard I didn't know what to pick! I went with the balconies and they had two next door to one another! So I upgraded both rooms for a total of $400! I second-guessed my decision to my husband after- wondering if we should have gone with the mini-suite but he said to just be happy with what we got....and I was.

 

Well, on Friday, while we were walking around Miami, my husband got a phone call from NCL. They had been trying to reach us at home and finally called our cells. The family who had our balcony rooms before us had upgraded to two spa mini-suites and changed their minds. They wanted to go back to their balcony rooms and it would really really help NCL out if we would consider being upgraded to the two spa mini-suites for free so they could have their rooms back. Well, twist my arm. So for $400 total, I ended up upgrading both my parents and I from inside staterooms to side by side spa mini-suites!! Amazing luck on our part and I couldn't wait to surprise my parents!

 

Pre-Cruise:

We flew into Miami the day before the cruise and stayed at the Intercontinental- highly recommended! I joined their loyalty program so that I could get a good price on a hotel. Yes- a little more expensive than other hotels in the area but I was looking for a hotel in a good area, close to the port, and with a good sized pool for my son. Joining the loyalty program also gave us access to the Lounge (which we didn't use) and free Breakfast (which would have been like $80!!!:eek:) The service at the hotel was stellar, the pool area was perfect for my son, and it is walking distance of many stores and restaurants. We walked to the Bayside for lunch at Hooters. We also realized that my son's sandals were too small and wouldn't work for the Baths in Tortola so we stopped at the Crocs store and bought him a pair and got my dad a pair for half off. There is also a Walgreens close by, which we stopped at to buy snacks and a million other little things that I realized I forgot to pack while in a hurry at 3am :cool:

 

Transportation:

To get from Miami airport to Intercontinental, we just walked outside and had them get us a taxi/shuttle. It cost like $15 pp or something for the 5 of us and only took like 10 minutes to get us. Very easy. We maybe could have Uber-ed for cheaper but there were 5 of us, 5 suitcases, and 5 carry-ons. In the morning, we had the concierge in the lobby of the Intercontinental call us a taxi van- it cost like $7 plus tip to take all 5 of us to the port. We had transportation back to Miami through NCL for $16 pp and it was very easy.

 

Embarkation:

The easiest I have experience in 4 cruises! We got to the port at about 10am. Gave our luggage to the porters outside with some money. We walked inside to NO line. We filled out the health surveys and walked right up to the counter. In fact, there were so little people there that I was able to run ahead of my parents and tell the people at the counters not to mention to my parents that they were in a spa mini-suite so we could surprise them!! We were done in less than 5 minutes and went upstairs and were given Group 3.

So easy....we got to Oasis and DCL early too but always had to wait in a long line to check-in. This time, we went upstairs and waited in the lounge until about 11:20 when they started letting us on board. It was a little weird because they called Groups 1, 5, and 7 first. We questioned why they weren't calling Group 3 since we were there BEFORE the people in groups 5 and 7. At first they kind of mumbled something about letting odd numbers on first but then just told us to go. We were on our way!

 

Once on Board, we went right to the Box Office to plan the shows that we could not plan in advance (Comedy shows, Oh What a night!). We also found out the days of the Brat Pack had been moved and therefore our ressie changed. In hindsight, I would have avoided going to the Box Office first and would have gone straight to Headliners to re-book my specialty dining first. The Box Office couldn't let you see your other reservations and it is much easier to do that on the screens around the ship. We ended up running to Headliners and rebooking our specialty dining. Although it was early, everything was already getting very booked up and I was already having trouble getting the times I wanted (and it was only noon!)

 

*Tip: If you have dining reservations to make/change- get to the ship early and go directly to Headliners. Book the shows after around your meals using the TV or interactive screens*

 

Embarkation Lunch: We went to the Garden Cafe Buffet. It was crowded but no more than I would expect on the first day.

 

Rooms

Our spa-mini suites were on Deck 15-super convenient location right under the buffet, pool, and fitness center/spa. Also they were mid-ship and right near the stairs/elevators. Rooms were a good size. The bathroom was huge for a cruise with a big shower with lots of shower heads and sprays. The bed was very comfy, although my son did not like sleeping on the open-up sofa. He said the mattress was not comfy. Our room steward Richard was awesome and left us towel animals every night, as well as my parents. The balcony was nice although we didn't use it much.

 

Pool

Yes- the pool deck was crowded and loud. But it was nothing that bothered me. I had read so many things about it that I was terrified that we would be miserable without Vibe passes (which we didnt try for since we have a young son). We had a great time! I set my alarm every morning for 7:30 and would go up to the pool deck by 8. I would lay out our stuff on a few chairs. There were always plenty at 8am, especially on excursion days. By 8:30-9, most people had claimed them with their stuff. I would lay out in the sun while my parents, husband, and son ate breakfast and then they would join me. I don't count that as chair-hogging since I was there and they had joined me by 8:30 or so. The music was loud but it didn't bother me...and it didn't bother my almost 80 year old parents either. We would just people watch. The only complaint is the same as everyone else- there is not enough pool for the amount of people. Only 2 small pools. The kids can only use 1 of them, which I didn't realize at first. I thought that it was kind of crappy that one of the pools was adult-only until 5pm since adults also have their own pool in Spice H20. That being said, it didn't bother me that much. My son and husband used the kids pool and water spray area. I people watched the millions of adults drinking in the adult pool. We listened to music and had a great time. We usually gave up our seats by noon to families looking for chairs.

 

A couple of times I went up to Deck 19 when I wanted to read outside and there were no chairs by the pool in the afternoon. You could still hear the music but I still managed to relax, read, and nap out there.

 

Entertainment

 

Comedy Shows: We went to two. We went to a 7pm family-friendly show with my son. The comedian was great. We also went to the big comedy show in the theater with all 3 comedians mid-week (no reservations needed for that one). That was also very funny. I recommend making reservations early as they did sell out. My dad wanted to go to the adult one at 11pm and people were already in the stand-by line at 9:45!

 

Oh What a Night: Definitely book this one early if its on your cruise- it plays in the Supper Club so it sells out and it was great! Franki Valli tribute band. We went the first night when you didn't need reservations and no dinner was served, as we were not interested in that menu. We got there about 20-30 minutes early and had no problem getting close seats. It was great!!!

 

For the Record: We LOVED it! My husband and I are from the 80s so we grew up on this. The actors/actresses are very talented singers. My parents enjoyed it too, as did my 10 year old son. It is a 16+ show but we went at 7pm and there were quite a few kids. Good to know that we weren't the only bad parents :D I knew there was swearing and some underwear scenes and that didn't bother me so I brought my son. He is pretty mature for his age. The only thing I don't like him being exposed to is sex scenes and I was pretty sure that wasn't going to be happening on stage!! (and it didn't). There is a good amount of swearing so if you don't want your kids to hear that, be aware. My son has probably heard worse driving in the car with me or my dad! And yes- there was some sexual references and running around in underwear. The swearing and underwear scenes (and when they have bras on their heads) was his favorite part :roll eyes:

 

Hypnotist (Brenda Kaye): That was a lot of fun to watch. We went to the family friendly version and had a lot of laughs.

 

We didn't see After Midnight- just not enough time to fit it into our schedule. There is so much to do, you should not be bored!!

 

Kids Club

As you can probably tell by now, my son is ALWAYS with us. He never went to the Kids Club so I cannot report on it. He did not go on the Oasis either. He did spend "some" time there on DCL but that was because they had computers and video games in there, which caught his interest. If we went with other kids he knew, he would probably go in and have fun. But he is shy and doesn't like spending time with kids he doesn't know, so I don't even ask anymore!!

 

Food

This is the most important part, right?

 

Garden Cafe Buffet: This was one of the better buffets I have been too. We liked everything. We thought the breakfast was really good- waffles were delicious and lots of fruits and whipped cream to choose from as toppings. French toast was yummy and my husband loved the pancakes. My parents got omelets most mornings and said they were great. I loved the little hash browns too. We ate lunch there a couple of times- my dad loved the french fries and ate them everyday. Lots of ice cream to choose from (although we ate it less than we did on DCL!) I read so much about buffet crowds. Sure there were lots of people there but we never had to look for a table and never had to wait more than a minute in line for food.

 

Margaritaville: My husband, son, and I had lunch here one afternoon. It wasn't crowded but it wasn't a ghost town either. We split the Volcano nachos which was more than enough for the 3 of us and a steal at 6.99. My son got a big cheeseburger. We made sure to specify that we wanted to pay out of pocket and NOT use a dining plan credit. I thought it was really good and worth a stop there.

 

O'Sheehans: We only ate here once- for the prime rib special night. The prime rib was good, but I probably wouldn't do it again next time. I would try something else. I wanted to go for the ice cream sundaes but never made it.

 

Main Dining Room: We ate at Taste one night and Savor one night. We did not have reservations either night and tried to do it "freestyle". The first time, we got there at 5pm because we had Brat Pack at 7pm and wanted to be out by 6:30pm. That is when we learned it doesn't open until 5:30. But we waited until 5:30, was seated right away, told our waiter about the show, and he made sure that we were out by 6:40pm for the show. The second time, we went AFTER the show. We got there at 8:30 and had a half hour wait to be seated. We sat down with drinks and the menu and were seated in 20 minutes or so. The service was very good both times. Our meals were good but I did not find the menus to be as enticing as the MDR menus on DCL and Oasis. Don't get me wrong- the meals were good. The chocolate lava cake was yummy! But we ate in the Main Dining Rooms almost every night on DCL and Oasis and could never decide what to order. I wasn't as enthused by NCL's menu on the two nights I was there. Next time, I would probably mostly stick to specialty dining (you cannot beat the promo of 4 meals included!) and just go to the Buffet on the other nights.

 

Teppenyaki: We really enjoyed this- both the show and the food. We booked it for the first night and it was a fun way to start the cruise. I was nervous about what my son would eat. He can be a picky eater. Of course, he could have ordered off the children's menu but he wanted to try "Japanese" food. He hates rice....like any rice: white, fried, cheddar, rice pilaf. He refuses rice at home. Teppenyaki let him order noodles instead. The chef gave him a bowl of rice by accident....and he ate the WHOLE thing! He loved it! (So did we) In fact, he filled out the comment card at the end and wrote that all restaurants should serve it. :D And he ate the noodles too. I was afraid that we would not have enough food and leave hungry. I was wrong. The meal started with edamame, which I didn't eat but my husband liked. Then there was a soup that we all enjoyed. Next was the delicious rice. Then came the main meal. I had ordered filet mignon and lobster....they also gave me shrimp and chicken too. Basically they said that they had to cook ALL the food that is brought out and cannot send any back. So any extras were given to everyone despite whether they ordered it or not. We were all too full for dessert, which was ok because the desserts weren't super appealing. I had the fruit sashimi which was good if I could eat it. My husband had the green tea cake and ice cream and didnt care for it. We had a great time though and would do it again.

 

Bayamo: We planned this one on Formal night (second night) since you have to dress up for it anyways. We booked this one last minute instead of La Cucina because we decided we should try something new and eat Italian all the time at home. We decided that was a good decision! The service was top notch. We are not big drinkers but decided to have some wine with our meal since we had the Ultimate Beverage Package and it was a nice beginning to our cruise. We enjoyed the many courses. They start everyone with the same appetizer- a little pastry with caviar on it. My husband and I are picky eaters- my parents are adventurous. All of us enjoyed it even the 10 year old! My husband and I being picky had trouble finding appetizers we would eat but I had cerviche and it was very good. I had the Wyagu beef for an entree and it was also very good. Anyways, this meal was very good and worth the $15 up charge- we were glad we tried it. However, being the picky eaters that we are- next time, now that I have tried it, I would probably try La Cucina with food that I am more comfortable with!

 

Cagney's: Most likely our best meal. Very comparable to Chops on the Oasis. In fact, my family and I cannot agree on which one is better. We loved both of them. The appetizers at Cagney's were AMAZING. They encouraged us to pick two each. My dad got two orders of Oysters Rockefeller and enjoyed them. My mom and I had the crab cakes and they were AMAZING. The best crab cakes we have had. We also had the shrimp cocktail which was delicious. We all had the filet mignon, including my son. It was delicious and cooked perfectly. I had a chocolate brownie thing for a dessert and OMG!! Soooo good! My husband had an amazing 7 layer chocolate cake. Everything was amazing.

 

Le Bistro: We had a very good meal here tarnished slightly by an incident that I described later in the review. However, the service was good and the meal was delicious. My parents said it was the best french onion soup they have had. They also had the meat for two dish that is carved at the table. My husband and I had the filet and it was delicious and cooked perfectly as well. My husband even liked it slightly better than Cagney's. I wanted the chocolate fondue dessert for two but my husband was done with chocolate after his Cagney's dessert the night before so I reluctantly ordered creme brulee- which was still good!!

 

Drinks

We had the Ultimate Beverage Package although we are not big drinkers. It came free so we took it since we do like to drink soda while away. It was nice to have the option to get some drinks when we wanted too. I had a delicious frozen mudslide and we had some really good BBCs (Banana Bailey's Colada). My dad had a few beers in the Atrium Lobby bar each night. No matter where we grabbed a drink, we never had to wait more than a few minutes. We also never had to look far for a waiter on the pool deck. I don't know what everyone always complains about!

 

 

Activities

 

Water Slides: My son loved them. He didn't weight enough to do the drop one but went on the blue (tube) slide and yellow slide a lot. Be aware, the yellow slide is slow for adults and you get stuck a lot...I got to watch my husband try to squirm his way down multiple times. The blue tube slide was great. I am not a huge water slide person and I went down 5 or 6 times with my camera. My almost 80 year old parents both went on it too and loved it.

 

The water slides and spray area was just as awesome as Disney Fantasy and better than what the Oasis had to offer.

 

Ropes Course: I have a fear of heights so I didn't go up but my husband and son did. They really enjoyed it. Be aware that you need to have sleeves and closed shows- we had to run back to the room and grab a pajama shirt for my son since he only brought sleeveless shirts for the most part). It was really windy up there and the course was closed the other 2 times they tried to do it because of wind. Even the day they got to go up, half the course was closed because of wind so they never got to do the plank :(

 

Basketball: There was a big netted area for basketball and my son had a lot of fun shooting hoops a few times. We also saw a bunch of people having a game.

 

Mini_golf: It was really crowded when we went up there. If you can try to do it while people are on excursions. We had to wait like 20 minutes for balls and clubs. This was the only experience I really had when I realized people are like animals. They cut in front of us in line to grab balls, kids were running wild and trying to play at same hole at the same time as you, adults were repeatedly hitting the ball so hard that we got hit with a golf ball once....like two holes away. It was chaos. The only time I saw people being less than courteous all week. We liked the mini-golf on Oasis and DCL better but it was still fun to try out.

 

Activities: There were so many activities going on all the time- we had a blast. In my opinion, the Escape had better activities than both Oasis or Disney. There was more to choose from and they were always in the Atrium Lobby which made it exciting. Oasis' activities were all over the place so sometimes there would only be a few people there. People were constantly in the Lobby which made it fun and exciting and a great place to hang out. We watched Deal or No Deal twice, the Newlywed Show (very funny although my husband liked it better on the Oasis- it just depends on who you get for volunteers), Dancing with the Crew (hilarious), Harry Potter trivia, Big Bang Theory trivia, and there were a bunch that we wanted to go to but just never made because so many other things would be going on.

 

Casinos

My 79 year old mother is a big fan of penny slots. She hit for $1000 on the first day....she went back and played the same machine later that day and hit for another $1000. Her and my father kept playing all week and always came out at least not losing anything if not winning. My husband and I played a few times and lost all of our money within minutes each time....:roll eyes:

 

I read a lot about the smoke in there. We are all non-smokers. We played towards the open lobby and it never bothered me. Smoke was a little worse as you went down the hallways but not enough to keep us away haha

 

We also played Bingo a few times although we never won. It was fun but DCL is my favorite Bingo experience (and also most expensive). One thing I did like on NCL was that kids played free when adults bought a package. We also got hooked into these Instant Win cards that you could buy constantly, in which you could win money. It was like scratch tickets without having to scratch anything. We would hit for $1, $5, and $25 a couple of times but never any more than that although someone hit a card for $2000 one day.

 

Excursions

 

St Thomas: I researched Tours and was going to book one but then decided to just do it on our own instead. We got off the boat early and first, we walked to Paradise Point. It was an easy walk and we ran into 10 million people who wanted to bring us on a tour and drive us to the top. My son really wanted to ride the gondola though so we politely passed and no one was pushy. We rode the gondola to the top. On the way up, we had someone who worked there in our gondola on his way to work. He was talking on his phone to some girl and we got to hear his whole life story and listen to him hit on her. BONUS!! haha. The view was great and we drank some banana daiquiris at the tops. We also took photos with a bunch of parrots and birds. I love stuff like that! The lady who runs it though just got a job at the new Jimmy Buffet hotel though so she will be taking her birds away in the upcoming weeks. :( We rode the gondola back down and grabbed a taxi to Coral World, where we spent the rest of the day feeding lorikeets and touching starfish. It was nothing spectacular but we knew that going in. We were just looking for something fun to do and my husband didn't want it to include the beach or snorkeling so that was limiting! It was a nice day and we had a lot of fun.

 

Tortola: We did the Baths excursion through NCL. I thought about doing it on my own but didn't want to chance it since it was such a short day in port. We did the 7:15 excursion. We had to meet in the theater at 7 and within 15 minutes, we were on our way. A lot less waiting around than the shore excursions through DCL and Oasis. We took a ferry over which was not my favorite part, as someone who gets seasick. I didn't get sick but it wasn't an easy ride either. Luckily I had a patch on and closed my eyes. A few people did get sick- mostly kids. They handed out some nice paper bags. Once we got there, we headed down to the Baths. My dad had hurt his back the week before we went and was nervous about doing the excursion. He was also nervous about my mom since she is almost 80. (Yes we knew what we were getting in to before we signed up. My parents are a young 80 and thought they could do it until my dad hurt his back at the house). The guide was awesome and walked them down an easier path to the beach. My dad said he even carried their bags for them. When we were down climbing through the rocks, the guide came and found us to let us know that my parents made it safely to the beach, they were the first ones there and waiting for us. They really went above and beyond. My husband, son, and I had a great time climbing through the rocks. There were a couple of semi-difficult parts- mostly just 1 part where we had to use a rope to climb up a rock and then had to climb down (there was someone at the bottom to help us). Other than that, it wasn't bad at all! The beach when you get to the bottom is gorgeous- the most beautiful blue ever. It was really hot in the sun there so an hour in the ocean was enough and we were ready to head back up the trail. Honestly the rocks were not too much more difficult than the "easier" trail.

 

Bahamas: We never ended up getting off the boat. =( We had day passes for Melia but the day before, our ship had to unexpectedly stop in the middle of the ocean and wait for the coast guard to evacuate someone with a medical emergency. We had to wait about 5 hours, which made us get to the Bahamas LATE. Since we already weren't scheduled to get there until 12pm, we weren't cleared to get off until 3pm, so it wasn't worth it. I have to try to contact the company and see if I can get my deposit back. I didn't mind because I knew it was an emergency. However, I wish NCL had handled it a little differently. Once the person had been safely evacuated they made an announcement that we would be speeding up to make up the time and we would still get to the Bahamas on time. However, I am sure they knew by the next morning that we weren't going to make it on time but they never changed the announcement. So we went to the pool deck in the morning and then gave up our coveted chairs to get ready for Bahamas. At noon, I noticed we were not there but they never made an announcement explaining. We heard it through word of mouth that we would not be getting there until 2pm. So we tried to go back up to the pool deck but no chairs were available. We hung around until 2pm, then went back downstairs. By then, everyone was itchy to get off the boat since excursions were 2 hours late. We went down in the elevator to Deck 5 (the gangway was not open yet) and it was so crowded you could not get off the elevator. We went up to Deck 6 and it was crowded there too. There was crew everywhere telling passengers to get way from the stairs and people everywhere. We waited and waited and at 3pm, we still had not been cleared so we decided to just call it and go back up to the pool. The Melia daypass ends at 5pm anyways so it wasn't worth it by the time we would get there. We went to the pool deck- found lots of chairs since everyone was trying to get off the boat! and watched and Grease on the big screen. It was a little disappointing as it was our last day. I wish NCL had just made an announcement from the beginning saying that we would be getting there late and my expectations would have been different. Oh well! Laying by the pool with a mudslide watching Grease wasn't a bad way to spend the day either.

 

Spa

Since we had spa mini-suites, we had full access to the spa and Thermal suite everyday. It was amazing and I wish I had discovered it earlier in the week. We didn't check it out until Thursday so we only got to use it twice. The heated loungers were amazing. I read (and napped) on there for awhile. My parents loved the pool with massagers. If not for the mini-suites, I don't think I would have ever bought a pass but now that we have been spoiled, I don't think I could do without it!

 

Service

We never experienced bad service or unfriendly staff. Everyone was smiling and went out of their way. NCL Escape service was on par with Oasis service, and almost as good as Disney. Disney is Disney and does go above and beyond. No one can beat that. Disney also would have cost us almost $8000 to sail the same week, as opposed to the $3700 I paid. For the savings, I will take a little less service. It was still amazing. We loved the Washy Washy guys, our room steward, awesome service in every specialty dining restaurant as well as MDR. The ONLY instance we had of not good service was our very last night at Le Bistro. The service IN Le Bistro was fine but the hostesses were rude. When they scanned my card, the hostess told me that I already used my 4 free dining so I would be charged. I told her that I had only used 3 and she shook her head at me and said no- I used 4. This went back and forth to my complete frustration. She scanned my husband and parent's and theirs were fine. So apparently I ate at Teppenyaki a second time by myself, which is what she told me. Honestly, the computer glitch didn't bother me- it was annoying but it happens. And the fact that the two hostesses questioned me didn't bother me either- I understand that they go by the computer. But it was the way they treated me- instead of saying "gee- I don't know whats going on- let me look into this for you", they treated me like a criminal and a liar- telling me that I was wrong and that I had used them all up. They made us wait 45 minutes looking into it and at one point, they made me step aside "for people with actual reservations" I DID have reservations (which had gone by a half hour ago while they looked into it). Even when the Asst Maitre'D finally let us be seated, the hostesses were still looking over at me. It really ruined our last night and I don't say that lightly. I am a laid back person and not much bothers me. We did eventually enjoy our meal and put it behind us. I would still give the ship 5 star service. It was just one instance but it was a blemish on an otherwise perfect cruise.

 

Sea-sickness

I wanted to touch on this because I was REALLY nervous from reading reviews about all of the motion people felt. I always wear a patch when I go but I was still nervous, especially since I had a bad reaction to the patch last year and wasn't sure if I would want to keep it on. I had nothing to worry about. I felt the Fantasy moving although I didn't get sick. Last year, I felt the Oasis move a lot. Funny enough, I felt the Escape move the LEAST of my cruises despite what everyone said. I felt it a little but nothing compared to what I was expecting. My mom was nervous too but did fine with just the sea bands I bought her. We stayed on Deck 15 and I was nervous because it was so high- we were fine! No worries my fellow motion-sickness prone friends!

 

Debarkation

Also, super easy. We went to the Breakfast Buffet on our last morning (the only cruise to offer a FULL breakfast on the last morning and not just continental). Walk-off with your luggage was 7:45-8:45. People with NCL transportation started at 8:30-8:45. So we walked off with our luggage at 8:45, which kept us from having to put it out the night before. We easily (and sadly) walked off with our luggage and down the escalator. My mom was having trouble navigating the escalator with her suitcase, so she took the elevator done. We walked right out and through customs with a maybe 15 minute wait and was sent over to a bus to take to the Miami Airport. We were at the airport by 9:30.

 

Well, that's it for now. We loved our cruise on the Escape. We were nervous at the beginning because of the reviews but I don't know what people were complaining about. Everything was amazing. Yes, there were some crowds (there are like 4000 people on the ship) but we never had to wait long for anything, never had trouble finding chairs or doing what we wanted. The food was great, as was the service. I never found smoke to be an issue or noise. Maybe we are just super laid back people but we had an amazing time. It is what you make of it! Don't look for problems!

 

As compared to my other cruises, we have liked them all for different reasons. Disney has outstanding service and we loved the food in Main Dining Rooms (despite those reviews). But it is also more than twice the price at this point and as much as I love it, I would rather be able to vacation more often. Oasis of the Seas- I did miss the Promenade area. It was so great for people watching and I missed how many options there were for free. We were always stopping to grab a slice of pizza or some cookies from the cafe. However, the Escape had the best entertainment and activities we thought and I loved that everything was located in the Atrium so you always had a place to hang out (Tip: Get there WAY before an activity to get a chair!) We tend to choose our cruises based in itinerary and activities on board for our son. I would gladly do the Escape again if it went to some new places for us or another similar NCL cruise!

 

Feel free to ask any questions!

Edited July 10, 2016 by StephC1217

[LuCruise]

Great review and comparison. I've sailed Disney Magic and 3 ships on Royal but do keep my eye on NCL, with the Escape being one of them.

We were just on Allure in April and I'm surprised that you felt Oasis move so much. We only felt it one day, and that was only for a short time. Also interesting about entertainment. It's great to hear that you loved it so much on the Escape as I thought Allure was fantastic with the Broadway show (Mamma Mia instead of Cats) , the ice show and the Aqua shows. So great to hear its really good on Escape too.

 

So overall, do you have a favorite ship between them?

[StephC1217]

Great review and comparison. I've sailed Disney Magic and 3 ships on Royal but do keep my eye on NCL, with the Escape being one of them.

We were just on Allure in April and I'm surprised that you felt Oasis move so much. We only felt it one day, and that was only for a short time. Also interesting about entertainment. It's great to hear that you loved it so much on the Escape as I thought Allure was fantastic with the Broadway show (Mamma Mia instead of Cats) , the ice show and the Aqua shows. So great to hear its really good on Escape too.

 

So overall, do you have a favorite ship between them?

 

Thanks! I did feel the Oasis move a lot but I may have been slightly biased as I think I had a bad reaction to the patch that cruise and I think I was dehydrated. So my not feeling well may have been combination of things! I would still try it again!

 

I am glad you had a great time on the Allure! We had planned on doing the Allure too and then they sent it to Europe when we were going and brought the Oasis instead. Mamma Mia vs CATS was one of my disappointments! I would have loved Mamma Mia (or Hairspray which was on the Oasis previously) but had no interest in Cats. We did like the Aqua show a lot but never got a chance to see the ice show.

 

I honestly can't decide on a favorite- We liked them all for different reasons. Disney for the top notch service and restaurants, Oasis for the Shows and the many restaurants/stores/places to go (Boardwalk, Promenade, Park), and Escape for the activities and fun factor with all the gameshows, etc. I completely recommend trying the Escape if you get the chance! We liked it as much as the Oasis!!!

[ttnc4me]

Interesting that you had a medical emergency as we did on ours as well. I have to wonder if the new UDP has something to do with that? I've never heard so many distress calls (4) as we had on our recent sailing!

[Cafedumonde]

I usually plan my cruises about a year in advance and spend that entire year stalking cruise critic and doing research so I thought I would thank everyone for their help by writing a review that is hopefully helpful to others. Sorry for the lengthiness!

 

Background Info:

This is our 4th cruise in 4 years. We did Disney Fantasy in June 2013 and June 2014 followed by Oasis of the Seas in August 2015. I am 35 and traveled with my 35yr husband, our 10 year old son, and my parents who are in their late 70s (and have cruised with us 3 years in a row now)

 

We booked last October Family Inside Cabins and took advantage of the promotion of Ultimate Beverage and Specialty Dining. We ended up calling back and downgrading ourselves to regular Inside Cabins to save about a thousand dollars or more. We knew we were downgrading to tiny rooms but we would rather spend the money on having fun because how much time did we really spend in the room anyways??

 

Well, I read on here to call the upsell phone number 2 weeks prior to see about upgrading. We decided to try to upgrade my parents as a surprise. My husband called and they said there was nothing but we could try calling closer to the cruise. Well, I almost didn't. What are the odds that I would get two upgraded rooms close to one another?? But the day before we left for Miami (Thursday), I was home and thought what the heck? I called and they said we could upgrade to a balcony for $100pp or a mini-suite for $200pp. I was so caught off-guard I didn't know what to pick! I went with the balconies and they had two next door to one another! So I upgraded both rooms for a total of $400! I second-guessed my decision to my husband after- wondering if we should have gone with the mini-suite but he said to just be happy with what we got....and I was.

 

Well, on Friday, while we were walking around Miami, my husband got a phone call from NCL. They had been trying to reach us at home and finally called our cells. The family who had our balcony rooms before us had upgraded to two spa mini-suites and changed their minds. They wanted to go back to their balcony rooms and it would really really help NCL out if we would consider being upgraded to the two spa mini-suites for free so they could have their rooms back. Well, twist my arm. So for $400 total, I ended up upgrading both my parents and I from inside staterooms to side by side spa mini-suites!! Amazing luck on our part and I couldn't wait to surprise my parents!

 

Pre-Cruise:

We flew into Miami the day before the cruise and stayed at the Intercontinental- highly recommended! I joined their loyalty program so that I could get a good price on a hotel. Yes- a little more expensive than other hotels in the area but I was looking for a hotel in a good area, close to the port, and with a good sized pool for my son. Joining the loyalty program also gave us access to the Lounge (which we didn't use) and free Breakfast (which would have been like $80!!!:eek:) The service at the hotel was stellar, the pool area was perfect for my son, and it is walking distance of many stores and restaurants. We walked to the Bayside for lunch at Hooters. We also realized that my son's sandals were too small and wouldn't work for the Baths in Tortola so we stopped at the Crocs store and bought him a pair and got my dad a pair for half off. There is also a Walgreens close by, which we stopped at to buy snacks and a million other little things that I realized I forgot to pack while in a hurry at 3am :cool:

 

Transportation:

To get from Miami airport to Intercontinental, we just walked outside and had them get us a taxi/shuttle. It cost like $15 pp or something for the 5 of us and only took like 10 minutes to get us. Very easy. We maybe could have Uber-ed for cheaper but there were 5 of us, 5 suitcases, and 5 carry-ons. In the morning, we had the concierge in the lobby of the Intercontinental call us a taxi van- it cost like $7 plus tip to take all 5 of us to the port. We had transportation back to Miami through NCL for $16 pp and it was very easy.

 

Embarkation:

The easiest I have experience in 4 cruises! We got to the port at about 10am. Gave our luggage to the porters outside with some money. We walked inside to NO line. We filled out the health surveys and walked right up to the counter. In fact, there were so little people there that I was able to run ahead of my parents and tell the people at the counters not to mention to my parents that they were in a spa mini-suite so we could surprise them!! We were done in less than 5 minutes and went upstairs and were given Group 3.

So easy....we got to Oasis and DCL early too but always had to wait in a long line to check-in. This time, we went upstairs and waited in the lounge until about 11:20 when they started letting us on board. It was a little weird because they called Groups 1, 5, and 7 first. We questioned why they weren't calling Group 3 since we were there BEFORE the people in groups 5 and 7. At first they kind of mumbled something about letting odd numbers on first but then just told us to go. We were on our way!

 

Once on Board, we went right to the Box Office to plan the shows that we could not plan in advance (Comedy shows, Oh What a night!). We also found out the days of the Brat Pack had been moved and therefore our ressie changed. In hindsight, I would have avoided going to the Box Office first and would have gone straight to Headliners to re-book my specialty dining first. The Box Office couldn't let you see your other reservations and it is much easier to do that on the screens around the ship. We ended up running to Headliners and rebooking our specialty dining. Although it was early, everything was already getting very booked up and I was already having trouble getting the times I wanted (and it was only noon!)

 

*Tip: If you have dining reservations to make/change- get to the ship early and go directly to Headliners. Book the shows after around your meals using the TV or interactive screens*

 

Embarkation Lunch: We went to the Garden Cafe Buffet. It was crowded but no more than I would expect on the first day.

 

Rooms

Our spa-mini suites were on Deck 15-super convenient location right under the buffet, pool, and fitness center/spa. Also they were mid-ship and right near the stairs/elevators. Rooms were a good size. The bathroom was huge for a cruise with a big shower with lots of shower heads and sprays. The bed was very comfy, although my son did not like sleeping on the open-up sofa. He said the mattress was not comfy. Our room steward Richard was awesome and left us towel animals every night, as well as my parents. The balcony was nice although we didn't use it much.

 

Pool

Yes- the pool deck was crowded and loud. But it was nothing that bothered me. I had read so many things about it that I was terrified that we would be miserable without Vibe passes (which we didnt try for since we have a young son). We had a great time! I set my alarm every morning for 7:30 and would go up to the pool deck by 8. I would lay out our stuff on a few chairs. There were always plenty at 8am, especially on excursion days. By 8:30-9, most people had claimed them with their stuff. I would lay out in the sun while my parents, husband, and son ate breakfast and then they would join me. I don't count that as chair-hogging since I was there and they had joined me by 8:30 or so. The music was loud but it didn't bother me...and it didn't bother my almost 80 year old parents either. We would just people watch. The only complaint is the same as everyone else- there is not enough pool for the amount of people. Only 2 small pools. The kids can only use 1 of them, which I didn't realize at first. I thought that it was kind of crappy that one of the pools was adult-only until 5pm since adults also have their own pool in Spice H20. That being said, it didn't bother me that much. My son and husband used the kids pool and water spray area. I people watched the millions of adults drinking in the adult pool. We listened to music and had a great time. We usually gave up our seats by noon to families looking for chairs.

 

A couple of times I went up to Deck 19 when I wanted to read outside and there were no chairs by the pool in the afternoon. You could still hear the music but I still managed to relax, read, and nap out there.

 

Entertainment

 

Comedy Shows: We went to two. We went to a 7pm family-friendly show with my son. The comedian was great. We also went to the big comedy show in the theater with all 3 comedians mid-week (no reservations needed for that one). That was also very funny. I recommend making reservations early as they did sell out. My dad wanted to go to the adult one at 11pm and people were already in the stand-by line at 9:45!

 

Oh What a Night: Definitely book this one early if its on your cruise- it plays in the Supper Club so it sells out and it was great! Franki Valli tribute band. We went the first night when you didn't need reservations and no dinner was served, as we were not interested in that menu. We got there about 20-30 minutes early and had no problem getting close seats. It was great!!!

 

For the Record: We LOVED it! My husband and I are from the 80s so we grew up on this. The actors/actresses are very talented singers. My parents enjoyed it too, as did my 10 year old son. It is a 16+ show but we went at 7pm and there were quite a few kids. Good to know that we weren't the only bad parents :D I knew there was swearing and some underwear scenes and that didn't bother me so I brought my son. He is pretty mature for his age. The only thing I don't like him being exposed to is sex scenes and I was pretty sure that wasn't going to be happening on stage!! (and it didn't). There is a good amount of swearing so if you don't want your kids to hear that, be aware. My son has probably heard worse driving in the car with me or my dad! And yes- there was some sexual references and running around in underwear. The swearing and underwear scenes (and when they have bras on their heads) was his favorite part :roll eyes:

 

Hypnotist (Brenda Kaye): That was a lot of fun to watch. We went to the family friendly version and had a lot of laughs.

 

We didn't see After Midnight- just not enough time to fit it into our schedule. There is so much to do, you should not be bored!!

 

Kids Club

As you can probably tell by now, my son is ALWAYS with us. He never went to the Kids Club so I cannot report on it. He did not go on the Oasis either. He did spend "some" time there on DCL but that was because they had computers and video games in there, which caught his interest. If we went with other kids he knew, he would probably go in and have fun. But he is shy and doesn't like spending time with kids he doesn't know, so I don't even ask anymore!!

 

Food

This is the most important part, right?

 

Garden Cafe Buffet: This was one of the better buffets I have been too. We liked everything. We thought the breakfast was really good- waffles were delicious and lots of fruits and whipped cream to choose from as toppings. French toast was yummy and my husband loved the pancakes. My parents got omelets most mornings and said they were great. I loved the little hash browns too. We ate lunch there a couple of times- my dad loved the french fries and ate them everyday. Lots of ice cream to choose from (although we ate it less than we did on DCL!) I read so much about buffet crowds. Sure there were lots of people there but we never had to look for a table and never had to wait more than a minute in line for food.

 

Margaritaville: My husband, son, and I had lunch here one afternoon. It wasn't crowded but it wasn't a ghost town either. We split the Volcano nachos which was more than enough for the 3 of us and a steal at 6.99. My son got a big cheeseburger. We made sure to specify that we wanted to pay out of pocket and NOT use a dining plan credit. I thought it was really good and worth a stop there.

 

O'Sheehans: We only ate here once- for the prime rib special night. The prime rib was good, but I probably wouldn't do it again next time. I would try something else. I wanted to go for the ice cream sundaes but never made it.

 

Main Dining Room: We ate at Taste one night and Savor one night. We did not have reservations either night and tried to do it "freestyle". The first time, we got there at 5pm because we had Brat Pack at 7pm and wanted to be out by 6:30pm. That is when we learned it doesn't open until 5:30. But we waited until 5:30, was seated right away, told our waiter about the show, and he made sure that we were out by 6:40pm for the show. The second time, we went AFTER the show. We got there at 8:30 and had a half hour wait to be seated. We sat down with drinks and the menu and were seated in 20 minutes or so. The service was very good both times. Our meals were good but I did not find the menus to be as enticing as the MDR menus on DCL and Oasis. Don't get me wrong- the meals were good. The chocolate lava cake was yummy! But we ate in the Main Dining Rooms almost every night on DCL and Oasis and could never decide what to order. I wasn't as enthused by NCL's menu on the two nights I was there. Next time, I would probably mostly stick to specialty dining (you cannot beat the promo of 4 meals included!) and just go to the Buffet on the other nights.

 

Teppenyaki: We really enjoyed this- both the show and the food. We booked it for the first night and it was a fun way to start the cruise. I was nervous about what my son would eat. He can be a picky eater. Of course, he could have ordered off the children's menu but he wanted to try "Japanese" food. He hates rice....like any rice: white, fried, cheddar, rice pilaf. He refuses rice at home. Teppenyaki let him order noodles instead. The chef gave him a bowl of rice by accident....and he ate the WHOLE thing! He loved it! (So did we) In fact, he filled out the comment card at the end and wrote that all restaurants should serve it. :D And he ate the noodles too. I was afraid that we would not have enough food and leave hungry. I was wrong. The meal started with edamame, which I didn't eat but my husband liked. Then there was a soup that we all enjoyed. Next was the delicious rice. Then came the main meal. I had ordered filet mignon and lobster....they also gave me shrimp and chicken too. Basically they said that they had to cook ALL the food that is brought out and cannot send any back. So any extras were given to everyone despite whether they ordered it or not. We were all too full for dessert, which was ok because the desserts weren't super appealing. I had the fruit sashimi which was good if I could eat it. My husband had the green tea cake and ice cream and didnt care for it. We had a great time though and would do it again.

 

Bayamo: We planned this one on Formal night (second night) since you have to dress up for it anyways. We booked this one last minute instead of La Cucina because we decided we should try something new and eat Italian all the time at home. We decided that was a good decision! The service was top notch. We are not big drinkers but decided to have some wine with our meal since we had the Ultimate Beverage Package and it was a nice beginning to our cruise. We enjoyed the many courses. They start everyone with the same appetizer- a little pastry with caviar on it. My husband and I are picky eaters- my parents are adventurous. All of us enjoyed it even the 10 year old! My husband and I being picky had trouble finding appetizers we would eat but I had cerviche and it was very good. I had the Wyagu beef for an entree and it was also very good. Anyways, this meal was very good and worth the $15 up charge- we were glad we tried it. However, being the picky eaters that we are- next time, now that I have tried it, I would probably try La Cucina with food that I am more comfortable with!

 

Cagney's: Most likely our best meal. Very comparable to Chops on the Oasis. In fact, my family and I cannot agree on which one is better. We loved both of them. The appetizers at Cagney's were AMAZING. They encouraged us to pick two each. My dad got two orders of Oysters Rockefeller and enjoyed them. My mom and I had the crab cakes and they were AMAZING. The best crab cakes we have had. We also had the shrimp cocktail which was delicious. We all had the filet mignon, including my son. It was delicious and cooked perfectly. I had a chocolate brownie thing for a dessert and OMG!! Soooo good! My husband had an amazing 7 layer chocolate cake. Everything was amazing.

 

Le Bistro: We had a very good meal here tarnished slightly by an incident that I described later in the review. However, the service was good and the meal was delicious. My parents said it was the best french onion soup they have had. They also had the meat for two dish that is carved at the table. My husband and I had the filet and it was delicious and cooked perfectly as well. My husband even liked it slightly better than Cagney's. I wanted the chocolate fondue dessert for two but my husband was done with chocolate after his Cagney's dessert the night before so I reluctantly ordered creme brulee- which was still good!!

 

Drinks

We had the Ultimate Beverage Package although we are not big drinkers. It came free so we took it since we do like to drink soda while away. It was nice to have the option to get some drinks when we wanted too. I had a delicious frozen mudslide and we had some really good BBCs (Banana Bailey's Colada). My dad had a few beers in the Atrium Lobby bar each night. No matter where we grabbed a drink, we never had to wait more than a few minutes. We also never had to look far for a waiter on the pool deck. I don't know what everyone always complains about!

 

 

Activities

 

Water Slides: My son loved them. He didn't weight enough to do the drop one but went on the blue (tube) slide and yellow slide a lot. Be aware, the yellow slide is slow for adults and you get stuck a lot...I got to watch my husband try to squirm his way down multiple times. The blue tube slide was great. I am not a huge water slide person and I went down 5 or 6 times with my camera. My almost 80 year old parents both went on it too and loved it.

 

The water slides and spray area was just as awesome as Disney Fantasy and better than what the Oasis had to offer.

 

Ropes Course: I have a fear of heights so I didn't go up but my husband and son did. They really enjoyed it. Be aware that you need to have sleeves and closed shows- we had to run back to the room and grab a pajama shirt for my son since he only brought sleeveless shirts for the most part). It was really windy up there and the course was closed the other 2 times they tried to do it because of wind. Even the day they got to go up, half the course was closed because of wind so they never got to do the plank :(

 

Basketball: There was a big netted area for basketball and my son had a lot of fun shooting hoops a few times. We also saw a bunch of people having a game.

 

Mini_golf: It was really crowded when we went up there. If you can try to do it while people are on excursions. We had to wait like 20 minutes for balls and clubs. This was the only experience I really had when I realized people are like animals. They cut in front of us in line to grab balls, kids were running wild and trying to play at same hole at the same time as you, adults were repeatedly hitting the ball so hard that we got hit with a golf ball once....like two holes away. It was chaos. The only time I saw people being less than courteous all week. We liked the mini-golf on Oasis and DCL better but it was still fun to try out.

 

Activities: There were so many activities going on all the time- we had a blast. In my opinion, the Escape had better activities than both Oasis or Disney. There was more to choose from and they were always in the Atrium Lobby which made it exciting. Oasis' activities were all over the place so sometimes there would only be a few people there. People were constantly in the Lobby which made it fun and exciting and a great place to hang out. We watched Deal or No Deal twice, the Newlywed Show (very funny although my husband liked it better on the Oasis- it just depends on who you get for volunteers), Dancing with the Crew (hilarious), Harry Potter trivia, Big Bang Theory trivia, and there were a bunch that we wanted to go to but just never made because so many other things would be going on.

 

Casinos

My 79 year old mother is a big fan of penny slots. She hit for $1000 on the first day....she went back and played the same machine later that day and hit for another $1000. Her and my father kept playing all week and always came out at least not losing anything if not winning. My husband and I played a few times and lost all of our money within minutes each time....:roll eyes:

 

I read a lot about the smoke in there. We are all non-smokers. We played towards the open lobby and it never bothered me. Smoke was a little worse as you went down the hallways but not enough to keep us away haha

 

We also played Bingo a few times although we never won. It was fun but DCL is my favorite Bingo experience (and also most expensive). One thing I did like on NCL was that kids played free when adults bought a package. We also got hooked into these Instant Win cards that you could buy constantly, in which you could win money. It was like scratch tickets without having to scratch anything. We would hit for $1, $5, and $25 a couple of times but never any more than that although someone hit a card for $2000 one day.

 

Excursions

 

St Thomas: I researched Tours and was going to book one but then decided to just do it on our own instead. We got off the boat early and first, we walked to Paradise Point. It was an easy walk and we ran into 10 million people who wanted to bring us on a tour and drive us to the top. My son really wanted to ride the gondola though so we politely passed and no one was pushy. We rode the gondola to the top. On the way up, we had someone who worked there in our gondola on his way to work. He was talking on his phone to some girl and we got to hear his whole life story and listen to him hit on her. BONUS!! haha. The view was great and we drank some banana daiquiris at the tops. We also took photos with a bunch of parrots and birds. I love stuff like that! The lady who runs it though just got a job at the new Jimmy Buffet hotel though so she will be taking her birds away in the upcoming weeks. :( We rode the gondola back down and grabbed a taxi to Coral World, where we spent the rest of the day feeding lorikeets and touching starfish. It was nothing spectacular but we knew that going in. We were just looking for something fun to do and my husband didn't want it to include the beach or snorkeling so that was limiting! It was a nice day and we had a lot of fun.

 

Tortola: We did the Baths excursion through NCL. I thought about doing it on my own but didn't want to chance it since it was such a short day in port. We did the 7:15 excursion. We had to meet in the theater at 7 and within 15 minutes, we were on our way. A lot less waiting around than the shore excursions through DCL and Oasis. We took a ferry over which was not my favorite part, as someone who gets seasick. I didn't get sick but it wasn't an easy ride either. Luckily I had a patch on and closed my eyes. A few people did get sick- mostly kids. They handed out some nice paper bags. Once we got there, we headed down to the Baths. My dad had hurt his back the week before we went and was nervous about doing the excursion. He was also nervous about my mom since she is almost 80. (Yes we knew what we were getting in to before we signed up. My parents are a young 80 and thought they could do it until my dad hurt his back at the house). The guide was awesome and walked them down an easier path to the beach. My dad said he even carried their bags for them. When we were down climbing through the rocks, the guide came and found us to let us know that my parents made it safely to the beach, they were the first ones there and waiting for us. They really went above and beyond. My husband, son, and I had a great time climbing through the rocks. There were a couple of semi-difficult parts- mostly just 1 part where we had to use a rope to climb up a rock and then had to climb down (there was someone at the bottom to help us). Other than that, it wasn't bad at all! The beach when you get to the bottom is gorgeous- the most beautiful blue ever. It was really hot in the sun there so an hour in the ocean was enough and we were ready to head back up the trail. Honestly the rocks were not too much more difficult than the "easier" trail.

 

Bahamas: We never ended up getting off the boat. =( We had day passes for Melia but the day before, our ship had to unexpectedly stop in the middle of the ocean and wait for the coast guard to evacuate someone with a medical emergency. We had to wait about 5 hours, which made us get to the Bahamas LATE. Since we already weren't scheduled to get there until 12pm, we weren't cleared to get off until 3pm, so it wasn't worth it. I have to try to contact the company and see if I can get my deposit back. I didn't mind because I knew it was an emergency. However, I wish NCL had handled it a little differently. Once the person had been safely evacuated they made an announcement that we would be speeding up to make up the time and we would still get to the Bahamas on time. However, I am sure they knew by the next morning that we weren't going to make it on time but they never changed the announcement. So we went to the pool deck in the morning and then gave up our coveted chairs to get ready for Bahamas. At noon, I noticed we were not there but they never made an announcement explaining. We heard it through word of mouth that we would not be getting there until 2pm. So we tried to go back up to the pool deck but no chairs were available. We hung around until 2pm, then went back downstairs. By then, everyone was itchy to get off the boat since excursions were 2 hours late. We went down in the elevator to Deck 5 (the gangway was not open yet) and it was so crowded you could not get off the elevator. We went up to Deck 6 and it was crowded there too. There was crew everywhere telling passengers to get way from the stairs and people everywhere. We waited and waited and at 3pm, we still had not been cleared so we decided to just call it and go back up to the pool. The Melia daypass ends at 5pm anyways so it wasn't worth it by the time we would get there. We went to the pool deck- found lots of chairs since everyone was trying to get off the boat! and watched and Grease on the big screen. It was a little disappointing as it was our last day. I wish NCL had just made an announcement from the beginning saying that we would be getting there late and my expectations would have been different. Oh well! Laying by the pool with a mudslide watching Grease wasn't a bad way to spend the day either.

 

Spa

Since we had spa mini-suites, we had full access to the spa and Thermal suite everyday. It was amazing and I wish I had discovered it earlier in the week. We didn't check it out until Thursday so we only got to use it twice. The heated loungers were amazing. I read (and napped) on there for awhile. My parents loved the pool with massagers. If not for the mini-suites, I don't think I would have ever bought a pass but now that we have been spoiled, I don't think I could do without it!

 

Service

We never experienced bad service or unfriendly staff. Everyone was smiling and went out of their way. NCL Escape service was on par with Oasis service, and almost as good as Disney. Disney is Disney and does go above and beyond. No one can beat that. Disney also would have cost us almost $8000 to sail the same week, as opposed to the $3700 I paid. For the savings, I will take a little less service. It was still amazing. We loved the Washy Washy guys, our room steward, awesome service in every specialty dining restaurant as well as MDR. The ONLY instance we had of not good service was our very last night at Le Bistro. The service IN Le Bistro was fine but the hostesses were rude. When they scanned my card, the hostess told me that I already used my 4 free dining so I would be charged. I told her that I had only used 3 and she shook her head at me and said no- I used 4. This went back and forth to my complete frustration. She scanned my husband and parent's and theirs were fine. So apparently I ate at Teppenyaki a second time by myself, which is what she told me. Honestly, the computer glitch didn't bother me- it was annoying but it happens. And the fact that the two hostesses questioned me didn't bother me either- I understand that they go by the computer. But it was the way they treated me- instead of saying "gee- I don't know whats going on- let me look into this for you", they treated me like a criminal and a liar- telling me that I was wrong and that I had used them all up. They made us wait 45 minutes looking into it and at one point, they made me step aside "for people with actual reservations" I DID have reservations (which had gone by a half hour ago while they looked into it). Even when the Asst Maitre'D finally let us be seated, the hostesses were still looking over at me. It really ruined our last night and I don't say that lightly. I am a laid back person and not much bothers me. We did eventually enjoy our meal and put it behind us. I would still give the ship 5 star service. It was just one instance but it was a blemish on an otherwise perfect cruise.

 

Sea-sickness

I wanted to touch on this because I was REALLY nervous from reading reviews about all of the motion people felt. I always wear a patch when I go but I was still nervous, especially since I had a bad reaction to the patch last year and wasn't sure if I would want to keep it on. I had nothing to worry about. I felt the Fantasy moving although I didn't get sick. Last year, I felt the Oasis move a lot. Funny enough, I felt the Escape move the LEAST of my cruises despite what everyone said. I felt it a little but nothing compared to what I was expecting. My mom was nervous too but did fine with just the sea bands I bought her. We stayed on Deck 15 and I was nervous because it was so high- we were fine! No worries my fellow motion-sickness prone friends!

 

Debarkation

Also, super easy. We went to the Breakfast Buffet on our last morning (the only cruise to offer a FULL breakfast on the last morning and not just continental). Walk-off with your luggage was 7:45-8:45. People with NCL transportation started at 8:30-8:45. So we walked off with our luggage at 8:45, which kept us from having to put it out the night before. We easily (and sadly) walked off with our luggage and down the escalator. My mom was having trouble navigating the escalator with her suitcase, so she took the elevator done. We walked right out and through customs with a maybe 15 minute wait and was sent over to a bus to take to the Miami Airport. We were at the airport by 9:30.

 

Well, that's it for now. We loved our cruise on the Escape. We were nervous at the beginning because of the reviews but I don't know what people were complaining about. Everything was amazing. Yes, there were some crowds (there are like 4000 people on the ship) but we never had to wait long for anything, never had trouble finding chairs or doing what we wanted. The food was great, as was the service. I never found smoke to be an issue or noise. Maybe we are just super laid back people but we had an amazing time. It is what you make of it! Don't look for problems!

 

As compared to my other cruises, we have liked them all for different reasons. Disney has outstanding service and we loved the food in Main Dining Rooms (despite those reviews). But it is also more than twice the price at this point and as much as I love it, I would rather be able to vacation more often. Oasis of the Seas- I did miss the Promenade area. It was so great for people watching and I missed how many options there were for free. We were always stopping to grab a slice of pizza or some cookies from the cafe. However, the Escape had the best entertainment and activities we thought and I loved that everything was located in the Atrium so you always had a place to hang out (Tip: Get there WAY before an activity to get a chair!) We tend to choose our cruises based in itinerary and activities on board for our son. I would gladly do the Escape again if it went to some new places for us or another similar NCL cruise!

 

Feel free to ask any questions!

Thank you for taking the time to write this. We are going on our first ncl this december and love reading reviews. We have only been on dcl, so not sure what to expect. Reviews help!

[deliver42]

Thank you for your thorough review. We are booked on the Getaway because of the itinerary and hope our cruise is half as good. 1st time on NCL in 21 years.

[TenForward]

Thanks so much for this review! Today I'm officially 90 Days out can finally book the "fun" stuff for my first cruise ever! :)

 

I do have a question - is the Supper Club offered more than one night? I'm trying to book that online today and it's only showing 1 night available. It also wants to book my husband as a child -- but that's another issue, lol.

 

 

I thought that it was kind of crappy that one of the pools was adult-only until 5pm since adults also have their own pool in Spice H20. That being said, it didn't bother me that much.

 

Actually, Spice H2O has the Grotto (misting type water feature) and hot tub, but no pool. That would be nice though! Like you before your cruise, I'm nervous about finding a quiet place after all the reviews on Escape's pool area. We're hoping for Vibe but certainly can't count on on it. No pool there, either but looks to be more laid back.

 

Thanks again for taking time to post your review!

[LuCruise]

Thanks! I did feel the Oasis move a lot but I may have been slightly biased as I think I had a bad reaction to the patch that cruise and I think I was dehydrated. So my not feeling well may have been combination of things! I would still try it again!

 

I am glad you had a great time on the Allure! We had planned on doing the Allure too and then they sent it to Europe when we were going and brought the Oasis instead. Mamma Mia vs CATS was one of my disappointments! I would have loved Mamma Mia (or Hairspray which was on the Oasis previously) but had no interest in Cats. We did like the Aqua show a lot but never got a chance to see the ice show.

 

I honestly can't decide on a favorite- We liked them all for different reasons. Disney for the top notch service and restaurants, Oasis for the Shows and the many restaurants/stores/places to go (Boardwalk, Promenade, Park), and Escape for the activities and fun factor with all the gameshows, etc. I completely recommend trying the Escape if you get the chance! We liked it as much as the Oasis!!!

 

Thanks so much for the feedback. Yeah, I agree that I wouldn't have been that excited for Cats. When we booked Allure, Chicago was playing and then shortly after I found out that Mamma Mia was coming. It was so ironic as Mamma Mia is my all time favorite show. It was a great performance.

Too bad you didn't get to the ice show as that was impressive (at least on Allure but I assume on Oasis too). The different neighbourhoods are really unique and fun.

 

We'll probably do another cruise at some point in the future as our kids loved the Allure. I'm biased to Royal since that's what we've sailed, but do always eye the Escape as it looks like an amazing ship too. And we like participating in the activities as we're not 'lounge around the pool' people (except when our kids want to swim in it and play around).

 

Thanks again for your comments. Sounds like you had a great time.

[kackles]

Thanks for the review! Great information. I appreciate the info about the movement of the ship...I am also nervous about being seasick and other reviews have increased that anxiety. I'm glad you didn't experience that!!

[cruizinwithkids]

 

As compared to my other cruises, we have liked them all for different reasons. Disney has outstanding service and we loved the food in Main Dining Rooms (despite those reviews). But it is also more than twice the price at this point and as much as I love it, I would rather be able to vacation more often.

 

Thank you for the great review. Great detail and very organized.

 

I came upon a special on Disney the other day and really struggled with what to do. Luckily my dates are very flexible.

 

We are sailing on the Escape in October in a spa balcony. For the same price we could sail the Fantasy in September (Halloween theme) in a verandah room. September is also a bit more likely to encounter tropical storm weather.

 

We are an older couple (50's) with no kids and have sailed the Fantasy twice and LOVED it. We are also Disney freaks. We have never sailed the Escape.

 

If you were us, which would you choose?

[Sauer-kraut]

Thank you for taking the time to write this. We are going on our first ncl this december and love reading reviews. We have only been on dcl, so not sure what to expect. Reviews help!

 

There is no reason to quote the entire review in your post, was there something you were trying to pinpoint in the quote? :rolleyes:

[Clarea]

Outstanding review, thanks!

[StephC1217]

Thank you for the great review. Great detail and very organized.

 

I came upon a special on Disney the other day and really struggled with what to do. Luckily my dates are very flexible.

 

We are sailing on the Escape in October in a spa balcony. For the same price we could sail the Fantasy in September (Halloween theme) in a verandah room. September is also a bit more likely to encounter tropical storm weather.

 

We are an older couple (50's) with no kids and have sailed the Fantasy twice and LOVED it. We are also Disney freaks. We have never sailed the Escape.

 

If you were us, which would you choose?

 

That is such a hard choice!! I think you will have a great time no matter what you choose....I might be tempted to do the Disney, knowing that great deals can be few and far between plus the Halloween theme might be fun. However, I think trying the Escape and something new would be fun too. I think you will be happy with either choice!!

[StephC1217]

Thanks for the review! Great information. I appreciate the info about the movement of the ship...I am also nervous about being seasick and other reviews have increased that anxiety. I'm glad you didn't experience that!!

 

That was my number one fear! I am very sensitive to movement but it didn't bother me at all! My mom was nervous too- she felt the boat move but didn't get sick. She also just wore a sea band and took Dramamine a couple of times. I wore a patch the whole time just to be safe. I think you will be fine!!!

[StephC1217]

Thanks so much for this review! Today I'm officially 90 Days out can finally book the "fun" stuff for my first cruise ever! :)

 

I do have a question - is the Supper Club offered more than one night? I'm trying to book that online today and it's only showing 1 night available. It also wants to book my husband as a child -- but that's another issue, lol.

 

 

 

Actually, Spice H2O has the Grotto (misting type water feature) and hot tub, but no pool. That would be nice though! Like you before your cruise, I'm nervous about finding a quiet place after all the reviews on Escape's pool area. We're hoping for Vibe but certainly can't count on on it. No pool there, either but looks to be more laid back.

 

Thanks again for taking time to post your review!

 

 

Thanks for the feedback- as you can see, we never made it to Spice h20, not even for a look! My son was attached to my hip, haha. The noise didn't bother me at all and I managed to read and fall asleep a few times.

 

The Supper Club was offered every night I believe. The first night, the show was late (I think 10pm) with no reservations needed. After that, it was offered every night with dinner at 6pm I think.

[VideoTech]

There is no reason to quote the entire review in your post, was there something you were trying to pinpoint in the quote? :rolleyes:

 

The main reply button on these forums, "Quote," automatically quotes the whole of the post being replied to. Many people do not realize that they can go in and shorten that quote, or even delete it entirely.

 

It would be better if the main button offered was the "quick reply" button...but that's the third and least obvious method offered by the software.

Edited July 10, 2016 by VideoTech

[kimala]

Thanks so much for this review! Today I'm officially 90 Days out can finally book the "fun" stuff for my first cruise ever! :)

 

I do have a question - is the Supper Club offered more than one night? I'm trying to book that online today and it's only showing 1 night available. It also wants to book my husband as a child -- but that's another issue, lol.

 

 

 

Actually, Spice H2O has the Grotto (misting type water feature) and hot tub, but no pool. That would be nice though! Like you before your cruise, I'm nervous about finding a quiet place after all the reviews on Escape's pool area. We're hoping for Vibe but certainly can't count on on it. No pool there, either but looks to be more laid back.

 

Thanks again for taking time to post your review!

I've read that the waterfront on deck 8 is a great quiet place with comfy chairs to go and relax and read during the day.

[cincicruisers]

Thanks for sharing your review with us.

[Sand and Seas]

Great Review! And congratulations on the fantastic upsell. You must live right:D

[floridian1]

LOVE your review. We will be sailing with our 8 and 5 year olds. The 5 year old is picky and will be sticking with the kids menu but my 8 year old likes more adult foods..but not at the $29 speciality price for teppanyakki (i cant believe they dont offer half off for kids)

 

We have the 3 specialty dining package for me and my husband part of our "FREE" promo. did you buy the dining package for your 10 year old son for when he ate at teppanyakki and cagneys or did they just let him order off the adult menu?

[sctexan]

I've read that the waterfront on deck 8 is a great quiet place with comfy chairs to go and relax and read during the day.

 

 

I found that to be true during the day and at night. I found that the busiest two days of the entire cruise were the first two sea days. Everyone was out exploring and doing and it seemed so crowded after St. Thomas it quieted down and didn't seem like everyone was on top of each other.

 

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk

[Two Wheels Only]

Pool

I set my alarm every morning for 7:30 and would go up to the pool deck by 8. I would lay out our stuff on a few chairs. There were always plenty at 8am, especially on excursion days. By 8:30-9, most people had claimed them with their stuff. I would lay out in the sun while my parents, husband, and son ate breakfast and then they would join me. I don't count that as chair-hogging since I was there and they had joined me by 8:30 or so.

 

There are often "debates" on CC about chair usage vs "chair hogging". :p

 

I have no problem with what you did because you were actually there as opposed to dropping off your stuff and everyone leaving the area.

 

Some might see it as "chair reserving" (which isn't allowed, btw) but I see it as chair usage since everyone was using the chair within 1 hour. NCL rules are stated that chairs can be unoccupied for up to 1 hour before NCL staff will remove the items. Based on your post, the items were on the chairs for less than 1 hour.

 

Only 2 small pools. The kids can only use 1 of them, which I didn't realize at first. I thought that it was kind of crappy that one of the pools was adult-only until 5pm since adults also have their own pool in Spice H20.

As noted, Spice doesn't have their own pool.

 

 

A couple of times I went up to Deck 19 when I wanted to read outside and there were no chairs by the pool in the afternoon. You could still hear the music but I still managed to relax, read, and nap out there.

The Waterfront would have been a better option (outside) or the Spa (inside) to relax/read/nap as you later discovered.

 

Activities

 

Water Slides: My son loved them. He didn't weight enough to do the drop one but went on the blue (tube) slide and yellow slide a lot. Be aware, the yellow slide is slow for adults and you get stuck a lot...I got to watch my husband try to squirm his way down multiple times.

 

The trick for adults is to lay down and have as little body contact with the slide as possible. Heals and shoulders or heals/butt/and shoulders work the best :D (arch your back, lift your knees kind of thing).

 

I would gladly do the Escape again if it went to some new places for us or another similar NCL cruise!

 

Check 2017 for Escape doing Western Caribbean.

 

Thanks for the review.

Edited July 11, 2016 by Two Wheels Only

[Keith1010]

Very well organized, written and comprehensive review.

 

Keith

[dolita22]

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!

[TenForward]

I've read that the waterfront on deck 8 is a great quiet place with comfy chairs to go and relax and read during the day.

 

Thanks. I've heard this too and looking forward to that as well. :)