Multi-generation Thanksgiving Week Escape Review

[aslaw]

]We are a multigenerational family of 11 - 2 grandparents in their 60s, 4 parents in their 30s and kids age 12, 7, 6, 4 and 4. We booked this ship because it had activities for kids and adults. We all had an amazing time!! Because it was Thanksgiving Week, there were 1600+ kids and the ship was probably booked to capacity. It did feel crowded but not overly so and that is what we expected on a holiday sailing.

 

The Pros —

—The ship is beautiful with lots of different dining and entertainment venues.

—We were always able to get tickets to the shows we wanted.

—We also never had a problem finding seats at the Garden Cafe or lounge chairs at the pool. The food was generally good and better than some cruise ship buffets.

—The children had a fabulous time at Splash Academy. They wanted to rush through dinner to get there for the 7:00 session.

—The kids loved the water slide, pool and water playground.

—The specialty restaurants were as good as you could get on land. We had the 4 dinner package. We went to LeBistro, Cagneys, Moderno, & Teppanyaki. Our favorite was Cagneys because the service and the food was the best on the ship. The children were enthralled with the “show” at Teppanyaki.

—Howl at the Moon. The performers were engaging and fun!!

—Waterfront is a great idea and the perfect place to sit at night after an early dinner and before seeking entertainment.

—iConcierge was about 75% effective and working. We put the app on 3 phones and generally it helped us stay in touch with our group. But there were times when it just didn’t work — the message we were trying to send said “sent” instead of “delivered.” Delivered meant it was received by the addressee. Sent was somewhere in cyberspace. Because it worked most of the time, I put in in Pros.

—Service was exceptional except for The Manhattan Room.

—“Washy Washy” (don’t know his real name) a crew member responsible for providing hand sanitizer at the buffet. He apparently loved his job because he sang “washy-washy” hands, etc. The grandchildren at every trip to the Garden Cafe had to see Mr. Washy Washy. NCL knew his appeal as he was entertaining the folks in a rather long line at the Manhattan Room on Thanksgiving Day rather than working in the restaurant. He was also entertaining as we were disembarking the ship.

 

The Cons

—The Manhattan Room — Because we were a party of 11, our only complimentary dining choice was The Manhattan Room as Savor and Taste don’t have large tables We ate there 3 times, including Thanksgiving Dinner. We always had reservations. The food and service were abysmal. They probably were not equipped to handle the number of diners on a holiday sailing. We observed other large intergenerational families in The Manhattan Room. One night, we were shown to our table minus dining chairs on one side. Staff disappeared and we were left to move chairs to our table. On Thanksgiving, one of our 4 year olds was out of her seat, but next to it; one of the servers, bopped her on the head with his tray (gently) and said “in my way” not so gently. The traditional Thanksgiving dinner reminded me of the Thanksgiving meal that my work cafeteria prepared for employees a few days before Thanksgiving.

—The kids pool and water playground area were next to the adult pool. So the raunchy humor from the bandstand wafted to the kids area. Some of what was said was vulgar and not appropriate for children.

—The room steward refused to open the balcony dividers between our 3 rooms because it was “dangerous” as per NCL policy.

 

The Ports —

St. Thomas — We privately booked the Godfrey tour for shopping and beach. With a party of 11, we wanted to make sure we had transportation throughout the day. We did some shopping in St. Thomas and then went to Sapphire Beach. Weather was spotty — rain, no rain, rain. But who can complain about being at Sapphire Beach?? Godfrey contracted our transportation to Sapphire Beach and back to the ship to Anthony. His vehicle was an enclosed van with air conditioning!! After getting back to the ship, my son and I walked to “Al Cohen’s Discount Liquors.” Some of the liquor was truly discount and of course, left with some bottles.

 

Tortola — Months ago we booked the ship’s excursion to the Baths in Virgin Gorda Other than the ferry ride to Virgin Gorda when the 7 year old had motion sickness, this was an outstanding excursion. It does require some exertion and balance but we, the grandparents, are in reasonably good health and are active. We were able to do it!! We are travelers (this was our 20th cruise) and have never seen rocks on the beach like this. Perhaps because we booked early, we had the 7 am assembly time. We were able to do The Baths before it became really hot. There were 8 am and 9 am assembly times for this excursion also

 

Nassau — We walked to Lighthouse Beach (Junkanoo). Our family had a blast!! The kids and their parents loved it. There were 4 or 5 ships in port and it was crowded but we found our spot of sand. On the way back to the ship, we shopped at the stalls in a market near the port. While reviews generally disparage Nassau, we had a great time.[/size]

[Jim The Lizard]

Hopefully, you have some great memories of your family together at the holiday. Sounds like a great trip!

 

 

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[Two Wheels Only]

Although many stewards will open the dividers, the opening of dividers is a safety violation. It's not the steward's decision. The captain and NCL are following a SOLAS requirement. The fact that the dividers can be opened is for maintenance and not for passenger enjoyment.

[easyboy]

Thank you for your honest and objective review.

[snorklinbarb]

Always fun to read when several generations sail together and all manage to have a great time!

 

One of the successful innovations on Escape is the DR below Savor or Taste (can't recall which one) that accommodates larger parties. Seems like your Thanksgiving dinner experience could have been much better with that rather than Manhattan Room. It's great for those diners because they are specifically focusing larger tables. Maybe it was already full there when your group arrived. But that is a nice option.

 

Sounds like you experienced a lot from dining to entertainment to shorex. Whoever was the planner/coordinator for all of that deserves a salute!;):)

[dshefter]

Thanks for your review. We are on this same cruise for Thanksgiving week in 2017.