Will we be disappointed, surprised, or ????

[klfhngr]

As you can see from my signature, we've tried several of the big name cruise lines, with the exception of NCL.

 

We are booked for a Sept. cruise on the Escape. Our concern is, what are we to expect, like, not like, in comparison to the other lines that we've cruised on?

 

We like CCL and RCCL for the fun and pool action, we loved X for the ship decor, pools and food (it was good, not great) and sort of night life. Princess we found to be boring this last Oct, and food was good. Boring during the day, boring at night, ship was blah....

 

So just curious to hear from others that cruised on similar lines as us and then 'jumped ship' to NCL.. Good choice, bad choice, etc..?

 

Thanks in advance!

[BostonGal35]

my first cruise was on Carnival and i swore id never cruise again it was so bad.

 

then i went back and forth between trying RCCL and NCL. i ended up going with NCL and we've been most pleased. we like the varying age demographic and how there is something for everyone. we opt to sail during times were there are the least amount of children on board, however. our first NCL was in July and we said never again - too many kids taking over everything!

[leaclingman]

I did a pretty extensive review at https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/ on our NCL experience in December (holiday cruise to the Caribbean) and it was amazing :). I have pictures of menus and such as well if that is helpful.

 

 

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[Two Wheels Only]

Many people graduate from Carnival to NCL or RCCL. I rarely (if ever) see someone go from NCL to Carnival and prefer Carnival. People do tend to prefer what they are used to experiencing. If going with an open mind, I think that most people would prefer NCL to Carnival.

 

Escape is a great ship despite the complaints about the size of the pools (plural), and the "bottlenecks" that occur in certain areas of the ship. They can be avoided by walking one of the alternate routes but people tend to only use the main/central route which can make the ship seem crowded. I was easily able to navigate away from the crowds to get to where I needed to go (back and forth between the Haven and aft-facing suite).

[tef43]

You need to approach with an open mind, and no pre-conceived expectations.

 

If you expect to be disappointed, most likely you will be.

[klfhngr]

BostonGal35

: I'm open to giving things a second chance also... CCL and RCCL do have lots of kids... I think that is why we enjoyed X... When my boys were younger, these lines were PERFECT! This past Oct on Ruby, they were bored to death! So were we! and they are in their 20's.... NCL sounds encouraging!

 

 

leaclingman

 

: I love reviews!! I'll check it out! And pictures and menus! Thank you!

 

 

Two Wheels Only

 

: I'd have no problem going back to CCL. On newer ships. Love the activities and pools, lol! Fun atmosphere!

Pretty much open to any line, with the exception of HAL.... At least for now.. Never say never! We did tour their ship once, it was beautiful and we loved the roomy rooms!

 

 

Yes, we keep hearing of the bottlenecks and the small pool.... We enjoy the pool, but not sure if this East Coast cruise will be a pool/sunning cruise....

 

 

So far, so good.. thank you for your responses!

[klfhngr]

You need to approach with an open mind, and no pre-conceived expectations.

 

If you expect to be disappointed, most likely you will be.

 

We're definitely open minded and hoping for a great experience!

[BirdTravels]

We like the Escape. It is currently our favorite ship in the NCL fleet. We did a cruise on her last week and the link below will give you some photos and dailies.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2624246

 

Our two prior cruises in September and March were on the Anthem of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. By comparison, service and the crew on the Escape were light years better and the crew was much much more welcoming and supportive. The RCL crew were unhappy and took to scolding passengers.

[klfhngr]

We like the Escape. It is currently our favorite ship in the NCL fleet. We did a cruise on her last week and the link below will give you some photos and dailies.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2624246

 

Our two prior cruises in September and March were on the Anthem of the Seas and Allure of the Seas. By comparison, service and the crew on the Escape were light years better and the crew was much much more welcoming and supportive. The RCL crew were unhappy and took to scolding passengers.

 

I read your entire review the other day, great info.!!!

 

I didn't really get to enjoy the Anthem, I missed the ship in the Bahamas!

 

That's exactly what happened on the Ruby.. The staff was terrible, seemed like NONE of them wanted to be there!!! Except for one cute Japanese server in the bars, she was always smiling and genuinely happy to see us! To me, this is what the majority of a cruise is all about! How you are treated!

[AshleyJax]

Many people graduate from Carnival to NCL or RCCL. I rarely (if ever) see someone go from NCL to Carnival and prefer Carnival. People do tend to prefer what they are used to experiencing. If going with an open mind, I think that most people would prefer NCL to Carnival.

 

Escape is a great ship despite the complaints about the size of the pools (plural), and the "bottlenecks" that occur in certain areas of the ship. They can be avoided by walking one of the alternate routes but people tend to only use the main/central route which can make the ship seem crowded. I was easily able to navigate away from the crowds to get to where I needed to go (back and forth between the Haven and aft-facing suite).

 

I see the comment, regarding Carnival, often. What exactly is better about NCL? I have cruised almost exclusively Carnival and have always had an amazing time. I often forget about the one time I cruised with another line, which happened to be NCL, as it was incredibly boring and uneventful. I made the most of it and it was obviously better than work/school, but was one of my least favorite vacations. I have decided to try NCL again since the dates and itinerary for the Escape work well for me this year and the ship looks much nicer than my previous one with NCL.

[klfhngr]

I did a pretty extensive review at https://gotravellife.com/2018/01/03/about-us/ on our NCL experience in December (holiday cruise to the Caribbean) and it was amazing :). I have pictures of menus and such as well if that is helpful.

 

 

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I enjoyed your review, thank you!

[leaclingman]

I enjoyed your review, thank you!

 

 

 

Thanks!!

 

 

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[BNBR]

If you like the pool action, you may or may not love Escape. The pool area is VERY small for the size of the ship and grossly overcrowded compared to other ships. However, that also means people a lot closer, more socializing and more "action" - so that might work in your favor.

 

Escape has quite a bit of "action" and things going on. You sailed Allure, and I'd say Escape will feel more buzzing and action packed than Allure. It may be a good fit for you. Go in with an open mind and realistic expectations. You will enjoy it.

[boopsahoy]

Many people graduate from Carnival to NCL or RCCL. I rarely (if ever) see someone go from NCL to Carnival and prefer Carnival. People do tend to prefer what they are used to experiencing. If going with an open mind, I think that most people would prefer NCL to Carnival.

 

Escape is a great ship despite the complaints about the size of the pools (plural), and the "bottlenecks" that occur in certain areas of the ship. They can be avoided by walking one of the alternate routes but people tend to only use the main/central route which can make the ship seem crowded. I was easily able to navigate away from the crowds to get to where I needed to go (back and forth between the Haven and aft-facing suite).

I have had offers for free cabins from my land casino on carnival. 1 perk is that their free rooms are much more "free" then Norwegian. I enjoyed 2 of 3 cruises I took on Carnival but for the money they were fine. I still favor NCL.

[foxgoodrich]

We are long time Royal cruisers (D+), we've also cruised Carnival and Disney, and we just had our first NCL cruise. I didn't see any huge differences, even given that we were sailing on one of NCL's older ships. I really liked a few things...like the fish in the carpet swimming toward the bow made it really easy to know which direction to go when you left your cabin. I liked the way NCL configured the bathroom in our mini-suite. I also enjoyed O'Sheehan's Pub very much, which was open 24/7 with food and snacks - a much better option that what's available late night on Royal. Breakfast and lunch were good in O'Sheehan's. There was a grill with burgers and hot dogs on the pool deck, but it was not as good as Guy's Burgers on Carnival and didn't offer as much variety as the food served on the pool deck on Disney.

 

In general, I think Royal's ships are prettier, with nicer art, fixtures, and furnishings in public areas, and RCI ships seem to have more comfortable public areas with views. While there was nothing really awful about our ship, some things simply were not as nice. The theater was not as nice as others we've seen, and the seating wasn't very comfortable. We only ate in the buffet one time (lunch) because it was rather unattractive and uninviting - really looked and felt like my granddaughter's elementary school cafeteria.

 

The one thing I really did NOT like on NCL was Freestyle Dining. The advertising makes it appear that you can eat dinner whenever you want, but we discovered the reality is different. Twice (out of 14 nights) there was no wait and it worked as advertised. 4 nights we ate in specialty restaurants. But the rest of the time it was a pain to show up for dinner and be told the wait time and be given a pager. The longest wait was 70 minutes. The shortest wait was 15 minutes. So 8 nights of our cruise required hanging around near a dining room for some period of time waiting for the pager to go off. Our average wait time was probably about 25-30 minutes. We even tried to make reservations in one of the dining rooms, but that didn't work. Either they don't honor reservations in the MDR or their system for recording them is bad. I also much prefer having the same waiters each night and not having to re-explain dietary needs, restrictions, or preferences every night. The waiters were also rather poorly informed about menu items and which choices had no dairy products. (Giving advance notice didn't seem to matter - it was a whole new world every day.)

 

I would probably cruise NCL again for the right price and itinerary, although I truly would much prefer a ship with a traditional dining option. Wasting all that time waiting on a table more than half the nights of our cruise just was no fun at all!

Judy

[ravenjls]

I have sailed multiple times on NCL (getaway, sun,escape), Royal (Oasis, Allure, Harmony, Mariner) and Carnival (Pride, Victory). To me, its not the line but the type of ship. I really prefer the mega ships. So much really GOOD entertainment. So many different kind of bars, eateries and things to do. Since we havent done a mega on Carnival its hard for me to compare that line but the cruises we did do were very good. Out of NCL and Royal, its very close but I prefer NCL and hubby prefers Royal.

[klfhngr]

BNBR

: We enjoy the pool, but we're thinking that because we're heading up to Canada, it's not really going to be a 'kick back by the pool' cruise... so that shouldn't be a big problem... Nice to hear that there's more to do and that it's an active cruise line!

 

 

 

 

foxgoodrich

 

: Great info... We enjoy RCCL also... Favorite ship is the Mariner.. I think the Escape is similar in size.. We are worried about the wait time, for we too are also used to traditional dining. This will be our first time doing freestyle.

 

 

ravenjls

 

: We too love the mega ships.. More to do.. More places to check out... My wife so far like X the best... I'm mixed with RCCL and X.

 

 

Thanks all!

[BNBR]

BNBR

: We enjoy the pool, but we're thinking that because we're heading up to Canada, it's not really going to be a 'kick back by the pool' cruise... so that shouldn't be a big problem... Nice to hear that there's more to do and that it's an active cruise line!

 

 

 

 

foxgoodrich

 

: Great info... We enjoy RCCL also... Favorite ship is the Mariner.. I think the Escape is similar in size.. We are worried about the wait time, for we too are also used to traditional dining. This will be our first time doing freestyle.

 

 

ravenjls

 

: We too love the mega ships.. More to do.. More places to check out... My wife so far like X the best... I'm mixed with RCCL and X.

 

 

Thanks all!

 

Embrace freestyle. It's great. They do it well and without issues with lines. If you can swing some specialty dining, it's worth doing and especially dining on the waterfront if weather is nice. Amazing and unique experience.

[klfhngr]

Embrace freestyle. It's great. They do it well and without issues with lines. If you can swing some specialty dining, it's worth doing and especially dining on the waterfront if weather is nice. Amazing and unique experience.

 

 

Thank you..! Yes, we'll be doing 3 specialty dining's! The waterfront looks awesome! Is the beer place on the WF?

[BNBR]

Thank you..! Yes, we'll be doing 3 specialty dining's! The waterfront looks awesome! Is the beer place on the WF?

 

District is "kind of" on the waterfront. It's at one of the ends of the waterfront promenade (other side is Food Republic). The area where Food Republic and District is enclosed, but huge windows and basically waterfront, yes.

[deliver42]

We've been on several cruise lines, and were on the Escape last December, and loved it so much that we are now booked on the Encore for 2020. Very good food, and excellent entertainment.

[lenquixote66]

As you can see from my signature, we've tried several of the big name cruise lines, with the exception of NCL.

 

We are booked for a Sept. cruise on the Escape. Our concern is, what are we to expect, like, not like, in comparison to the other lines that we've cruised on?

 

We like CCL and RCCL for the fun and pool action, we loved X for the ship decor, pools and food (it was good, not great) and sort of night life. Princess we found to be boring this last Oct, and food was good. Boring during the day, boring at night, ship was blah....

 

So just curious to hear from others that cruised on similar lines as us and then 'jumped ship' to NCL.. Good choice, bad choice, etc..?

 

Thanks in advance!

 

My first cruise was on Cunard ,it was a wonderful experience .My second and last ,Carnival .My third was on an HAL ship and we loved HAL but decided to try Celebrity and liked it even more than HAL.Then we tried RCI and liked that better than Celebrity .Then we tried NCL .We have been on 3 cruises and will likely do a 4th. However,NCL is not a favorite,it is just more comvenient.

[Something fun!]

I think you will love NCL. However, the itinerary you chose will certainly be an older demographic and will not be as fun perhaps as others. So keep that in mind regarding the cruise line in general.

[klfhngr]

Thanks everyone for your comments! We're stoked that we booked!

 

Something Fun: We didn't expect the demo. to be older... Not a huge issue, we get along with people of all ages... Hopefully the pool won't be packed then!! :)

 

We'll definitely keep this in mind, thank you!

[Something fun!]

Thanks everyone for your comments! We're stoked that we booked!

 

Something Fun: We didn't expect the demo. to be older... Not a huge issue, we get along with people of all ages... Hopefully the pool won't be packed then!! :)

 

We'll definitely keep this in mind, thank you!

 

 

One more thing to keep in mind....the weather. It mat be hot or it may be too cold for the pool. I hope you're cruising earlier in September if you want pool action.

Edited April 30, 2018 by Something fun!