Escape vs. Getaway opinions please

[jimandami]

DH and I recently cruise the GA solo and loved it...we did an upsell to the Haven, though, so I'm sure that was part of it. Anyway, we did a cruise next onboard and booked the GA in a family balcony for spring break, bringing our two kiddos age 13 and 8. I have been looking around and found that we could do the exact same itinerary on the Escape the last week of May for $1000 cheaper (same promo, same stateroom category). I understand that the Escape shows might not be as kid friendly as the GA, but are there any other negative differences? Has anyone done both with kids and have an opinion?

 

Thanks!

[blackwing]

We have done both. My kids were 7 and 5 when we were on Getaway and 9 and 7 when we did Escape this past March.

 

As far as which is better? Depends on the age of your kids. To me, the shows are a wash. My kids didn't particularly enjoy Legally Blonde and Burn the Floor on Getaway, and when we were on Escape they were treated to After Midnight and Vocal Overdrive.

 

As for activities:

 

Ropes Course: Escape is better, hands down. It has an additional level, which is amazing. It doesn't open too often because it's very windy. Best time to do this is when ship is docked in port. Escape's ropes course has three ziplines and two planks, as opposed to Getaway's one and one. When we were on, one of the ziplines (the small early one) wasn't open. One of the ziplines brings you over the ocean a little bit. Amazing. I have heard they have had issues with the ziplines lately, hopefully they fix them soon.

 

Waterslides: Both ships have the drop slides which my kids were too short/light to try anyways. Both ships have a smaller "kid's" slide. Getaway's was better. On Escape the small slide was very very slow, to the point where adults would just stop halfway down. Even kids were going slow. Maybe they have adjusted the water to make it flow better. So we compare the Getaway's corkscrew spiral slides vs. Escape's Aqua Racer. Escape is way better. You can ride a double tube, or two single tubes. The slide itself is very fun. I hated the Getaway corkscrew, I got claustrophobic and the G force was a bit much.

 

Kid's pool: Seemed bigger on Escape.

 

Aqua Park: When we were on Getaway, the aqua park still had Spongebob. I have no idea what it looks like now that they have ripped out all of the characters and the things to climb on. Escape's is very very fun... there is a rope tunnel they climb up, then a bridge to cross and a small tornado style slide.

 

Mini Golf: Getaway is pirate themed. Escape's is a lot of metal and very utilitarian. We liked the one on Getaway better, there were more "cool" things about it, like a big pirate ship.

 

Unique stuff: Getaway has a Spider Climb and a Bungee Trampoline. It also has a rock wall. Escape has none of these, because of the expanded ropes course. Escape does have Bocce, which my kids liked, but it was hard to find when it wasn't being used.

 

Arcade: same stuff on both ships I would imagine

 

 

Conclusion: My kids liked Escape better. The signature attraction is the ropes course, so if your kids loved the ropes course on Getaway, they will love the one on Escape even more.

[KeithJenner]

You're probably right about the shows, but other than that, the Escape is possibly slightly better than the Getaway for kids. The ropes course is better and our son (9 and 10 at the times he went on these ships) thought that the slides were better on the Escape.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to change to the Escape with that pricing.

[jimandami]

Thank you very much!!

[LrgPizza]

My son at age 13 enjoyed Escape more than he enjoyed Getaway (at age 11). He liked the ropes course better and thought the slides were better. He spends most of his time in the kids clubs, and rarely wants to miss an organized activity there. He also liked karaoke'ing in the evenings in the 5 O'Clock Somewhere bar along with the grown ups.

[boatseller]

Done both. Escape is an overall improvement of the Breakaway class ships.

 

One notable exception, The Illusionarium. Best show ever on a ship. The Supper Club might as well be a storage locker.