Review of Escape 4/21-18 Bermuda (and compared to RCL Allure/Anthem)

[will88]

23 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

though I may not totally agree with you on some of your opinions I think you did a great job of giving an objective review as you saw it. I wish all reviews were as honest as yours. Thanks, it will give others some idea of how one person sees the 2 lines. As I said, this doesn't mean I agree but that is what this is all about: opinions As for internet I really am not sure too many who cruise have issues with or a reason to have outstanding internet service. Except for those who have to use it for work related issues, as long as there is service that is the important thing. 

 

Thanks! That's what I tried to achieve and I understand that others' opinions are likely different even for the same experience - for example the Premium Internet, for work reason I need low latency apps and Norwegian's was bad, but for others who just wanted to watch Youtube etc. it should be fine, as I noted in my review. I know on this board some say "why work when you cruise?", but one books cruise much ahead of time and things just might come up when you actually cruise...

[will88]

23 hours ago, EllieinNJ said:

Hope I'm not too off topic but I have been contemplating booking either the Bliss or the Anthem next winter.  Can you get Anytime dining on the Anthem or just the scheduled dinner seatings?

 

Anthem offers anytime too, which I didn't use. On every cruise I've been, we've seen people with anytime waiting for 0-30 mins to get into MDR (most often 10-20 mins I think unless they're lucky/unlucky). We used anytime before too, and think fixed time just works better and book shows around our chosen dining time. It worked very well, we almost never had to wait for more than 5 mins before getting in on Celebrity or RCL ships (we always choose the earlier fixed time dining like 6 or 6:30 pm. 8 or 8:30 might wait longer). You get the same table, same waiter as well and it feels better.

 

But note - even if you use fixed time dining, you can still do anytime any time! I think you don't even need to notify them that you'd change to any time unless you dine earlier than your fixed time dining spot. So I recommend always choose a fixed time dining unless you anticipate missing that slot a lot (I don't think they'd like it if you're always not there at the time slot, although I'm not certain).

[newmexicoNita]

4 minutes ago, will88 said:

 

Thanks! That's what I tried to achieve and I understand that others' opinions are likely different even for the same experience - for example the Premium Internet, for work reason I need low latency apps and Norwegian's was bad, but for others who just wanted to watch Youtube etc. it should be fine, as I noted in my review. I know on this board some say "why work when you cruise?", but one books cruise much ahead of time and things just might come up when you actually cruise...

Well I am one of those who might say, why work, but then again, I realize some have to. I guess, my age is showing. When we first stared cruising my husband actually was working for one of our presidents so he certainly had a demanding job. He was still able to turn work off when we got to the ship. It was a good thing, as ships didn't even have anything called an inter net. I don't even know if we had phones in our cabins except to call people on the ship. Now, I know I am going way back. 

[will88]

21 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Will....best of luck to you in any cruise choices you make.  I’ll just leave you with the idea that NCL probably isn’t the right cruise line for you.  NCL is all about FreeStyle.  If you want set dining times, NCL isn’t going to be to your liking.

 

Clearly, you had issues with the cabin lay out and where some of the cabin’s features are located.  So, it sounds like you’re used to the cabin layout with Royal.  Best to stick with them if that’s important to you.

 

Happy cruising!

Yes, I think even for those reading my review, they might disagree with many things I said (including where the pinkest sand is in Bermuda) and make different choices, that's perfectly fine. As long as my tips and experience help some, I'm happy.

[will88]

1 minute ago, newmexicoNita said:

Well I am one of those who might say, why work, but then again, I realize some have to. I guess, my age is showing. When we first stared cruising my husband actually was working for one of our presidents so he certainly had a demanding job. He was still able to turn work off when we got to the ship. It was a good thing, as ships didn't even have anything called an inter net. I don't even know if we had phones in our cabins except to call people on the ship. Now, I know I am going way back. 

That must have been a cool experience working for the president! Yet indeed, when there's no internet, you really are not expected to work on ship. Nowadays, depending on your line of work, you could be expected to work wherever you are. This makes taking time "off" easier, but your time "off" might include dealing with urgency that arises.

[newmexicoNita]

1 minute ago, will88 said:

That must have been a cool experience working for the president! Yet indeed, when there's no internet, you really are not expected to work on ship. Nowadays, depending on your line of work, you could be expected to work wherever you are. This makes taking time "off" easier, but your time "off" might include dealing with urgency that arises.

very true.. and yes, it was an exciting time for us...He worked for him for 7 years in DC and for him while he was governor as well.  Those days will always be full of memories.  

[luv2cruise523]

On 4/30/2019 at 7:14 AM, thistimeplease said:

I hope you're right about the RCL.  Just booked our first cruise to Bermuda on the Anthem and we are already concerned after reading the RCL boards.  It will be tough to beat our outstanding cruises to Bermuda on the BA but the price was right with RCL so we are giving it a try.  Hopefully we will enjoy as much as you do.  Thanks for the review on the Escape, I enjoyed reading it.

I loved the Anthem. I would take RCCL over NCL every time,  if cost was comparable.

i just can’t justify paying 1K or more for a similar itinerary. The 3-4 passenger “Free” perk on NCL keeps us coming back.