Norwegian Escape cruise review March 3-10 Western Carribean

Hi everyone,

I really appreciated using these boards while researching my cruise (2nd time with Norwegian), so I thought I'd at least provide some feedback on how everything turned out. Feel free to ask any questions, be happy to provide additional details if necessary.

We (myself, wife, 14 yr old son and 11 yr old daughter) were booked out of Miami on the Norwegian Escape on March 3, and were scheduled to fly out of Newark on March 2 (drove down from Montréal, I need to do a better job of booking flights earlier instead of waiting too long and driving down to the US to get cheaper fare!). As some of you may recall, there was a severe storm on March 2, and ultimately our flight to Miami was cancelled. I'm obviously panicking and trying to find another flight (1,400 flights out of the East Coast were cancelled that day!), and United finally found me an alternative: Newark-San Francisco-Houston-Miami! Yup, flew to the West Coast to get to Miami! Won't bore you with more détails, but we made it, exhausted, with plenty of time to spare!

On to the cruise:

Room: 13284. Nice room with a balcony, situated more towards the back of the boat. Storage was fine, even with two older kids, and we slept very well during the trip (kids were in bunk beds which they loved).

Food: breakfast and lunch was at the Garden Café. We found the choice and quality of food to be excellent, always a great variety to choose from. In the evening, we tried Taste once (good), Manhattan (good) and booked three specialty restaurants: Teppanyaki (great food, lots of fun), Moderno (Brazilian-style steakhouse, amazing. Not for vegetarians!), and Food Republic (excellent, tapas-style choices).

Entertainment: we didn't try many shows. We went to see the juggling / comedy act that was very good, tried the Escape room (average, thought the setup was a little confusing and disorganized) and a couple of acts in the Atrium.

Pool / waterslides / rope course: pool was very crowded at all times, so often difficult to find a chair. That was the part that annoyed us the most, but no big deal, we always ended up finding seating somewhere. My kids and I spent alot of time doing the waterslides, rope course (awesome) and playing mini golf.

Fees: charges add up very quickly on the boat, whether because of drinks (and we didn't drink that much), internet package (connection spotty at best) and arcade (kids). You pretty much need to pay for anything extra (unless you took a separate package, which we didn't).

Stops / excursions:

1st stop: Grand Cayman. We booked an outside tour with Moby Dick Tours, to see Stingray City. Good operator, had fun seeing the stingrays and snorkeling after, and the best part was that he dropped us off at Hemingway Beach on the way back where we spent the rest of the day at a gorgeous beach (Private Club). You're allowed to use their facilities if you spend at least $25/person, and we had lunch (very good) that cost us around $100, so a great day.

2nd stop: Falmouth, Jamaica: I had done some research and decided to go for a Resort for the Day pass. We were taken to the Jewel Runaway Bay Beach resort about 45 minutes from the Port, and spent the day there. The resort has a cool waterpark and we're allowed to use the dining facilities onsite. Weather began as average (rained for about 20 minutes), but then it cleared up and we enjoyed another day in the sun!

3rd stop: Norwegian private island (Great Stirrup Cay): stop was cancelled as apparently the sea was too rough for the tenders to take us to the island. Found that hard to believe as sea seemed relatively calm, but oh well, if the Captain says so...another day at sea it was.

4th stop: Nassau. We booked the Blue Lagoon excursion through Norwegian. Unfortunately it was cloudy all day and rained afterwards, so we didn't get to fully take advantage of the site, but the island was beautiful, water was crystal clear and I can imagine it would have been even more fun on a sunny day.

Overall experience: we were very happy with how this cruise turned out. Norwegian Escape is a beautiful boat, staff are amazing, always smiling and looking to help, and facilities were top notch. Yes, there are alot of people onboard and it can seem crowded at times (especially outside in the pool area), but it didn't bother us that much and we had a blast.

Happy cruising everyone!

That was an enjoyable read. Glad you and your family had a good time.

I'm happy to hear that you had a good cruise! My wife and I were on the same cruise and had a fantastic time. With all the recent "OMG Spring Break!" posts, its good to see that some groups had fun.

And Moderno really is amazing, isn't it? Though it was cruel of those last waiters to keep coming by with tasty meatness that I KNEW I shouldn't try to eat...but I did anyway.

Thank you for the wonderful review. Glad to hear you enjoyed the Escape. We will be on her in a few weeks. Can’t wait.

What were the arcade prices like?

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Happy Cruising too.

I enjoyed your report/review.

Keith

What a rough start to your cruise. Glad you had a great cruise. Thanks for posting.

Thanks for the info. Going on Escape in a few months.

We too have done Jewel Runaway in Jamaica and thought it was pretty good. The last time we didn't though as the price went up about 20% over one year.

Did you not take any of the Free at Sea perks?