Back from the Escape!

[michelle028]

Just got back from the ESCAPE yesterday. Wanted to write a quick review.

 

I went on the NCL Escape because it was visiting the Port of Tortola which was an island that we haven't been to. I travelled with my sister. We are in our early 30s and together we have been on over 10 cruises - on all the major cruise lines.

 

Escape was a beautiful ship and the crew was fantastic. We had great weather on this cruise. For March it wasn't super hot but comfortable. I had high expectations based on the Escape being a new ship.

 

It didn't feel as crowded as I thought it would be. We stayed in a balcony cabin on the 9th deck. It had enough storage space and I thought the balcony was large enough.

 

Our cabin steward was great - very friendly. My biggest complaint was the food for dinner in the MDR - Manhattan restaurant. We ate there every evening and the food was not tasty at all. And we always asked to try extra dishes like ordering extra appetizers and entrees so we could try different foods but it was lacking in flavour. however, the desserts were excellent. We loved the music in the evenings during dinner. That made eating dinner there fun.

 

We also ate at OSheehans for lunches/snacks in between and we really enjoyed it. We also ate in the MDR for lunch at Sea Days and it was really good. Highly recommend lunch in the MDR for Sea Days to eat peacefully and enjoy your meal.

 

We also had breakfast in the MDR everyday which had a lot of choices and we enjoyed eating at the tables by the windows and watching the sea.

 

We noticed that NCL Escape had a smaller buffet - so less choices as compared to our last cruise (NCL Epic) and to be honest the buffet didn't look good at all. We only had it only once on embarkation day.

 

We enjoy the Asian section of the buffet on cruise ships but on this ship it was really limited to 3 dishes mostly vegetarian- and no Asian choices on the MDR dinner menu.

 

We went to the Comedy shows - Dean Edwards and Lucas Bohn were great. The shows were repeated throughout the cruise. You had to reserve all the shows (we booked on the first day at the Box Office on the ship) or wait in a stand by line. We didn't see any other main theatre shows. So I can't comment on them.

 

We didn't go to any "a la carte" restaurants. We paid a lot of money for the cruise and didn't want to pay to eat at any of the other restaurants.

 

Sea Days were great to relax - we spent a lot of time lounging at the WaterFront on Deck 8. There were enough seats throughout the ship.

 

Our ports were amazing. Loved St Thomas - we went to Coki beach and Brewers Bay (by the airport) and in Tortola we went to Smugglers Cove - very secluded but full of natural beauty. I had friends in both islands so they took us around which made planning easier.

 

Nassau was ok. It was very windy so we didn't go to the beach just shopped at the Straw Market. We didn't do any ship excursions - very overpriced.

 

Overall, I wouldn't go on the NCL Escape again. Even though the crew went above and beyond to help you (they were simply amazing!), the food in the MDR for dinner/buffet was a real disappointment.

 

Feel free to ask me any questions. Happy Cruising!

[Jeannine1026]

Hi do you still have the shopping guide from st Thomas