Escape or Getaway?

Looking to take a cruise after a week at Disney in late July of 2016.

We have 4 cruises with another line so we are not new to cruising scene.

We try to cruise during the week of our anniversary.

The Getaway will dock the day after our anniversary and the Escape departs the day off. From what I can tell there will not be much difference between to the two ships other than the amount of passengers it each hold.

What choice would you make?

Will be 3 of us, me, wife and 17 year old daughter.

Pick the itinerary you prefer, Eastern vs Western

There are a lot of differences. More food options. Different entertainment.

How do you wish to spend yor anniversary DAY - on land or on a cruise ship? From there, plan your trip.

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Both ships would be great. If you can afford a suite (penthouse or above), definitely go for that. The spas on these ships are awesome. If you like going to the thermal suite and thalisotherapy pool, be sure to at least get a spa cabin. Other than that, just pick based on itinerary and where you want to be for your anniversary!

While thinking about the two ships, you might want to reconsider visiting Disney World in July. The temperatures would be in the nineties with high humidity and possibly daily rain and thunderstorms in the afternoons and evenings. Spring or Fall are much better times for Disney World.

While thinking about the two ships, you might want to reconsider visiting Disney World in July. The temperatures would be in the nineties with high humidity and possibly daily rain and thunderstorms in the afternoons and evenings. Spring or Fall are much better times for Disney World.

We are from Texas, weather is the same so not a factor for us.:D We laugh at the yankees not handling the heat and humidity.

While thinking about the two ships, you might want to reconsider visiting Disney World in July. The temperatures would be in the nineties with high humidity and possibly daily rain and thunderstorms in the afternoons and evenings. Spring or Fall are much better times for Disney World.

I would second this. We did Disney last July, never again if I can help it.

It was hot, rained almost every afternoon and it was crowded. Also, there were several groups of teens up from South America. They were typical teens and made their presence felt above and beyond their mere numbers.

The conditions mean most everyone is miserable. Disney is a lot of money to spend only to be miserable and surrounded by miserable people.

Obviously you may not have a choice at this point. If you do go, I highly recommend taking a break from about 3-5pm. Around that time is when the afternoon showers tend to happen, and it is a rather hot part of the day. Keep an eye on the sky, if it looks like rain, it probably will.

Both ships would be great. If you can afford a suite (penthouse or above), definitely go for that. The spas on these ships are awesome. If you like going to the thermal suite and thalisotherapy pool, be sure to at least get a spa cabin. Other than that, just pick based on itinerary and where you want to be for your anniversary!

I'm a guy so spas do not matter to me ;) But I am thinking I would rather us be boarding on our anniversary than getting ready to get off the ship.

I would second this. We did Disney last July, never again if I can help it.

 

It was hot, rained almost every afternoon and it was crowded. Also, there were several groups of teens up from South America. They were typical teens and made their presence felt above and beyond their mere numbers.

 

The conditions mean most everyone is miserable. Disney is a lot of money to spend only to be miserable and surrounded by miserable people.

 

Obviously you may not have a choice at this point. If you do go, I highly recommend taking a break from about 3-5pm. Around that time is when the afternoon showers tend to happen, and it is a rather hot part of the day. Keep an eye on the sky, if it looks like rain, it probably will.

Since my dear wife is a teacher we have a very limited time frame in which we can vacation. She doesn't usually get out of school till mid June and then has several teacher workshops to attend each summer.

We are from Texas, weather is the same so not a factor for us.:D We laugh at the yankees not handling the heat and humidity.

We are from Mid-South, we get much the same weather as Disney, just no routine afternoon showers. Usually a bit hotter here and not quite as humid, so works out to feel roughly the same. I'm not in a hurry to go spend all day out in it.

But I understand with your wife's schedule. I've basically decided we will do Disney during fall or spring break from now on. Not as crowded, better weather, and generally not as expensive.

We are from Mid-South, we get much the same weather as Disney, just no routine afternoon showers. Usually a bit hotter here and not quite as humid, so works out to feel roughly the same. I'm not in a hurry to go spend all day out in it.

 

But I understand with your wife's schedule. I've basically decided we will do Disney during fall or spring break from now on. Not as crowded, better weather, and generally not as expensive.

We were there 10 years ago. Our daughter could not ride most of the rides back then, but it was all about the princess then anway ;)

We were there 10 years ago. Our daughter could not ride most of the rides back then, but it was all about the princess then anway ;)

Got a son, so no princesses here. FYI, Cinderella's Royal Table is being renovated. I believe they are having it at the Grand Floridian now. I have seen comments the one in the Norwegian expo at Epcot is just as good if not better, and much cheaper.

Got a son, so no princesses here. FYI, Cinderella's Royal Table is being renovated. I believe they are having it at the Grand Floridian now. I have seen comments the one in the Norwegian expo at Epcot is just as good if not better, and much cheaper.

The food at the Norway Restaurant is better, IMO but it's not the castle for ambiance.

Having a girl the castle is a must.

A boy, not so much so.

Plenty of meet the characters all over disney, chef's Mickey, 1900 review, Crystle Palace et al...

The food at the Norway Restaurant is better, IMO but it's not the castle for ambiance.

 

Having a girl the castle is a must.

 

A boy, not so much so.

 

Plenty of meet the characters all over disney, chef's Mickey, 1900 review, Crystle Palace et al...

For character meals, we like Chef Mickey's and Donald's Tusker House. We haven't done the 1800 or Ohana character meals. Donald's has the best food of all the ones we have done, and the main characters in safari gear makes for great pictures.

We weren't impressed by the food at Hollywood and Vine or Crystal Palace. Also, we've always done character meals as breakfast. Just seems a good way to start the day.

While not a character meal, we like Boma the best as a breakfast buffet. It along with Ohana for dinner are definite must do meals for us. Very good food in both. We are going to wait for Avatar to open before going again, probably try the Ohana character meal when we do. I've heard the food is good, and those characters are hard to find. We lucked out and got some great pictures with Stitch in Tomorrowland on our last visit.

Added: And needless to say, we haven't done Cinderella or the Royal Table in Norwegian. Not really high on a boy's wish list.

Check out the itineraries and choose from there.

Also, there are different dining options on the ships, different entertainment, bars, etc. In addition, the pool deck has been revamped on Escape to be a much more open layout than on Getaway.

We loved Getaway, but I'm always more excited about a newer ship, unless there is a specific port I'd like to visit.

First time cruiser here, just off the Getaway a week ago (June 6-13) and had a FAB-ulous time!!! More to do than we had time for and already talking about our next cruise.

We had an Eastern Caribbean itinerary and in hindsight, I wish I had booked Western so that we could sail Escape next year since it will be taking over the Getaway's current itinerary (St. Thomas, Tortola and Nassau). That way we could have sailed both ships and traveled both routes. I still want to see the Western Caribbean, and probably will book that one, it just means that we will sail on the Getaway for a 2nd time which in no way disappoints me :)

First time cruiser here, just off the Getaway a week ago (June 6-13) and had a FAB-ulous time!!! More to do than we had time for and already talking about our next cruise.

 

We had an Eastern Caribbean itinerary and in hindsight, I wish I had booked Western so that we could sail Escape next year since it will be taking over the Getaway's current itinerary (St. Thomas, Tortola and Nassau). That way we could have sailed both ships and traveled both routes. I still want to see the Western Caribbean, and probably will book that one, it just means that we will sail on the Getaway for a 2nd time which in no way disappoints me :)

Well the Escape does at 8 day eastern and then a 6 day western.

Well the Escape does at 8 day eastern and then a 6 day western.

?? When, maybe once? The Escape is going to be sailing Saturday to Saturday an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. That's its regular schedule.