Besides dining rooms, are there really only 2 free places to eat on Escape?

[mking8288]

Late night buffet food, enough for a feast (nothing fancy but) ... especially when hungry on NCL. There's a vege burger, nicely grilled - just ask for it. For a hot bowl of soup, you do need to go to O'Sheehan's or get Room Service to deliver it.

 

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[telutel]

On the Escape, isn't there any outside dining options on the pool deck?

[snoozcroozr]

The chinese restaurant is also free. It is either a formal restaurant or a quick bite eatery.

[macandlucy]

Personally, I think one O'Sheehans is worth several Park Cafes, Sorentos, the 24 hour tiny sandwich and muffins place, etc. It's 24 hours, with table service, and you can choose fajitas, or chicken wings or a hamburger or fish and chips, etc -- so much more variety is available, imo, from that one venue alone.

 

It's true there are less venues compared to the Oasis, but somehow that didn't seem to matter to me. I found Oasis, like many other non-NCL ships, had a sort of shut down after 9 pm feeling food wise. It's true, you could get a sandwich, or a slice of pizza, but can you get four different types of chicken wings and a caesar salad? Some french fries, a stew? Served up with the drink of your choice? There's something at O'Sheehans for everyone -- we just love that it's there, even if we aren't eating wings at 1 am -- we know we could be! ;)

[KeithJenner]

The chinese restaurant is also free. It is either a formal restaurant or a quick bite eatery.

 

 

 

But there isn’t one on the Escape.

 

 

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[newmexicoNita]

Do the dining rooms serve the same menu as each other, or is there a separate menu for each dining room?

 

 

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It is the same menu. We were just off the Pearl, there were at least 10 dinner choices each night. I am not quite sure how many complementary dining options anyone could want or expect? It seems to me there are plenty. I remember the days when all they had was the MDR and maybe a snack bar or small buffet out by the pool.

Along with the main dining room, the buffet and O'sheehan's there are other options for breakfast and lunch, just not for dinner. I can't imagine anyone not finding a place to enjoy your meal whether paying extra or just enjoying the complementary dining.

[mking8288]

A few more examples of what was served recently in OSH's free, late night is on a simplified menu.

 

Hungry, anyone ... don't blame me.

 

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[bren61]

For me, I will take the free offerings on the Escape over RCCL any day. OSheehans is wonderful. On RCCL you are SOL after about 9 pm unless you want Sorrrentos Pizza or those puny sandwiches at the Promenade Cafe. ( or room service). I love RCCL ships but the food on the Escape puts them to shame. Food Republic is awesome and very reasonable. Heck they even put out wings, sandwiches, etc in the casino round 11 pm. And the late night snacks at the Garden Cafe can really hit the spot after a night of imbibing.

 

I completely agree with you. As much as I love RCCL, the food is so much better on NCL. On the other hand RCCL cannot be beat for their entertainment, ice and aqua shows. We usually always sail RCCL, but our last cruise and our next 2, is with NCL and i'm already missing RCCL's entertainment (may have to book a cruise in between just to get our fix, lol!)

[Hammergirl]

Again - thank you all so much for all your help with this. We are very excited now after hearing there are many choices, just not as many venues to eat them at. Without the help of you, we would have written it off and never looked back.

 

We were going to go with RCCL as we loved the shows as well, not as impressed with the food. However, knowing that the food is better on NCL is awesome (food is a big deal to both my husband and teenage son). Also, in trying to book our cruise with RCCL, it became a huge issue when they would not honor what their website advertised. Countless people telling me they could see what I was seeing but they would not honor it. I just could not believe it. Glitch or not (mind you, this "glitch" is now going on 3 days since I have seen it) you should honor it. It put a terrible taste in my mouth and I told them I am giving my money to NCL.

[jdvmd]

I have been on the Oasis and the Allure. Unless things have changed, Park Cafe, Boardwalk Dog House, and Wipe Out Cafe are not open for dinner or late night snacks.

 

Cafe Promenade is snacks only - small sandwiches, cookies, monasteries and maybe some fruit. Sorrento is pizza only.

 

Johnny Rockets comes with a fee for anything but breakfast.

 

The only things open for dinner, for no additional cost, is main dining room and the buffet. There are are several soeciality restaurants that have additional fees.

 

Norweigen has buffet, main dining rooms and O'Shea' s.

This was our experience on Royal's Oasis and Allure as well.

[Run14]

I'm surprised I'm the first one to mention this, but for 6k across two rooms you might want to look at the 2 bedroom haven suite. It might be a similar (or cheaper) price. Maybe not, but worth a look just in case!

[Hammergirl]

I'm surprised I'm the first one to mention this, but for 6k across two rooms you might want to look at the 2 bedroom haven suite. It might be a similar (or cheaper) price. Maybe not, but worth a look just in case!

 

 

 

I looked but it was like $9200 for that room and then I had to add gratuities into that. To rich for my blood.☹️

[Hammergirl]

I looked but it was like $9200 for that room and then I had to add gratuities into that. To rich for my blood.☹️

 

Scratch that - I just looked again and it was $12,059. OUCH!

[SportsFanatic]

I don't know if NCL buffets are 24 hours, but they are open pretty much all of the hours that I am out and about while onboard.

 

 

 

RCI buffets close early. After 9PM its pretty much the Cafe Promenade and the lousy pizza on RCI.

 

 

 

You can get your pizza, cookies and finger sandwiches,sandwiches in the buffet on NCL, along with other stuff like ice cream. To me, it's not about the number of venues, it's about the number of foods that are available.

 

 

 

Very true. Sailed anthem not too long ago and very disappointed how early all the dining options close only thing open late is Sorrento's which is just pizza and the café which is just some little sandwiches

 

 

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[Nola26]

The chinese restaurant is also free. It is either a formal restaurant or a quick bite eatery.

 

It was removed to build a larger casino.

[shof515]

It was removed to build a larger casino.

I remember the Chinese resturant was called the Orchid Garden or something like that on the Gem. Is that now long gone?

[KeithJenner]

I remember the Chinese resturant was called the Orchid Garden or something like that on the Gem. Is that now long gone?

 

 

 

The Asian restaurant is still on all the other ships.

 

It was never on the Escape. I assume because it clashes a bit with Food Republic.

 

 

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[rtkenmore]

We just got off Escape Saturday and had no complaints at all about the dining options. We did have the Ultimate Dining Package as one of our freebies and that included 3 meals at premium restaurants.

 

The free dining options are Taste, Savor and Manhattan Room. They do all serve the same menu at night with Taste & Savor being the more casual venues and Manhattan Room being the more upscale option. Taste & Savor are open for breakfast & lunch with the same menu through out the week. The dinner menus change daily.

 

In addition to these three, there is also The Supper Club which offered a complimentary dinner on 4 of the 7 nights for our cruise (three were shows with The Flyboys and one was a dinner show with a member from the cast of The Brat Pack). We thoroughly enjoyed The Supper Club. There is a premium option there as well that does charge but it seems they are testing out the idea of turning it into a complimentary venue with reservations required. The dinner is a fixed menu however but the food was great.

 

The buffet, like several people have mentioned, always has a large variety of options. There are multiple stations throughout the area so that you may get 3-4 different types of cuisines at any given time. They also have a pasta station where they cook custom pasta creations as well as a salad station. We have never had an issue with the variety offered in the Buffet.

 

If you don't have the Ultimate Dining Package as an free option, I would definitely recommend looking into purchases at a minimum the 3-day package for $82/person. That gives you three meals in premium restaurants and one meal can easily be $30-$50/person depending on what you order. They do have limits as far as you are only allowed to choose one entree per person, etc. but that's understandable. Both of our meals at Cagney's & La Cucina combined for two people would have been close to $150 if we paid the a la carte price; throw in Teppanyaki and we were at a total of $210 for two people.

[rtkenmore]

I have to say the entertainment on Escape was excellent to us last week. I highly recommend The Flyboys in the Supper Club if they are still an option when you cruise and I would definitely go see For The Record: The Brat Pack. It's got a pg-13 warning for mild language/etc. but the music and everything was excellent and so much fun. I wasn't as big of a fan for After Midnight but it was still a good show. And I can't get enough of Howl at the Moon (the dueling pianos show in Headliners). They did that 4 nights of our cruise and we were there every one of them. After 11pm is the adults show but kids are still allowed... They just offer a warning that some of the humor/songs can be more on the adult side of things. There is also a decent arcade area in O'Sheehan's with Skei-Ball, Bowling, Basketball Hoops, Pool, etc. that we always saw a lot of teens enjoying... And not forget the ropes course as well that a lot of the kids were always lined up for. I think you'll thoroughly enjoy yourself onboard.

 

Again - thank you all so much for all your help with this. We are very excited now after hearing there are many choices, just not as many venues to eat them at. Without the help of you, we would have written it off and never looked back.

 

We were going to go with RCCL as we loved the shows as well, not as impressed with the food. However, knowing that the food is better on NCL is awesome (food is a big deal to both my husband and teenage son). Also, in trying to book our cruise with RCCL, it became a huge issue when they would not honor what their website advertised. Countless people telling me they could see what I was seeing but they would not honor it. I just could not believe it. Glitch or not (mind you, this "glitch" is now going on 3 days since I have seen it) you should honor it. It put a terrible taste in my mouth and I told them I am giving my money to NCL.

[LMaxwell]

NCL's food offerings have so much more variety and higher quality than RCI you have nothing to worry about. If you were happy with RCI you'll be thrilled on the Escape. Fantastic buffet, open late, and O-Sheehans menu is pretty good, more than just pub food. RCI has worst selection and availability.

[HeyYouKidsGetOffMyLawn]

And not forget the ropes course as well that a lot of the kids were always lined up for.

 

Some of those kids were around six feet tall and in their late forties, BTW. The ropes course and sudden drop waterslides were way better than I could have expected.

 

I was surprised by the zipline that curved over the edge of the boat --

 

I really loved the Escape. I'd even go so far as to say it's my favorite ship.

[Two Wheels Only]

We did have the Ultimate Dining Package as one of our freebies and that included 3 meals at premium restaurants.

Slight correction. You had the Specialty Dining Package (SDP). The Ultimate Dining Package (UDP) is the former package that is no longer offered as a promo nor is it available to purchase. The SDP promo is tied to a number of meals/uses (3, in most cases) while the old UDP could be used for an unlimited number of meals.

 

It's confusing because NCL still uses the letters "UDP" to represent the SDP but they have different meanings.

 

 

If you don't have the Ultimate Dining Package as an free option, I would definitely recommend looking into purchases at a minimum the 3-day package for $82/person.

Buying a 3 meal plan (3SDP...which is listed as 3UDP) is $69 + 18% ($81.42) if purchased online but is $79 + 18% ($93.22) if purchased on-board. There are larger plans but they are more expensive (a better per meal value, though). OBC can be used to purchase so for some, it may work out better to use OBC and not take NCL's promo which will require the 18% to be paid with "real" money before boarding.

[grandmarnnurse]

these are the free places to eat on the ship:

Taste (Main Dinning Room)

The Manhattan Room (Main Dinning Room)

Savor (Main Dinning Room)

O'Sheehans 24-Hour Eatery and Pub

Garden Cafe Buffet

 

 

 

I agree that these are all great choices, but I wanted to add that O'Sheehan's is the BEST complimentary offer I have ever had on a cruise ship! The Garden Buffet is also the best buffet food I've had at sea! And the food on NCL is superior to RCCL! I sailed RCCL Indy and Oasis before trying NCL. Not to mention, Freestyle Cruising is FABULOUS!! It will be very hard for us to go back to RCCL and Carnival after trying NCL, but we cruise whichever itinerary, ship, and price suits us at the time.

 

 

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[grandmarnnurse]

They are not. Think it’s open until 11 maybe. On our last cruise we typically had dinner around 6 or 7, went to the late show at 9, and then to the buffet for a midnight snack if we were hungry. We just caught them before they closed or ended up being past close if we didn’t go right after the show. O sheehans is the only 24 hour venue. Though, they have a bit of everything. Think there are hot dogs, burgers, sandwiches, and salads. Along with a few other entrees.

 

Agree with you that just about every type of food you can get on royal at the various eateries is available at the buffet. Pizza, sandwiches (premade and make your own), hot dogs and burgers with fries, along with the typical salad bar, pasta bar, and misc dishes from different ethnicies (always some Indian, some American, some Chinese, etc)

 

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The buffet opens back up from 9:30-11:00 for late night snacks. Quite a big variety! But my hubby's favorite spot is O'Sheehan's! Try the Thai Chili sauce on the wings! Wonderful! I've had spinach/artichoke dip with chips in there, along with fish and chips, Chicago style hot dogs, etc!

 

 

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[weltek]

One thing I remember from my cruise on the Dawn a few years ago, something different from other lines is that a lot of the different areas (grill, maybe pizza) are all included in the buffet. So while there might not be a separate grill, that type of food will probably be found in the buffet.

 

Maybe this is why people generally give NCL higher marks over RCCL in the buffet. A perceived larger selection? It's a "smash them up into one location" vs. "break it out into several restaurants" approach. The end result is pretty much the same foods, but RCCL can advertise "more restaurants" and NCL can advertise "better food selection in the buffet?"