CamaCama's Family Vacation on the Escape 11/21/2015 (Detailed PICTURE Review!!!!!!)

[Nolefan95]

Great review. Thank you for taking the time to do it!

[gambee]

Great review, I enjoyed reading your final thoughts. I have decided to keep my reservation, at least until the remainder of the $ is due.

 

The ship seems to be at a steady 38% with over 100 reviews. That is kind of scary, especially considering that the main concern are crowds. We will see, I got such a great deal, that even at 38% it is hard to cancel. Not to mention that it has been a while since I cruise NCL.

 

Once again thank you :)

 

By the way, I loved their matching sailboat outfits of the last day.

[ilovetotravel1977]

Then it was on to our rooms!!! Like I said earlier, we originally had inside rooms but just under two weeks before we were able to upsell to balconies (connecting!!)

 

How did you get the upsell? Did you call NCL to see if anything was available? When you do an upsell, do they cancel your current reservation and rebook you, or do you just pay the amount they are offering? What is a typical upsell charge from insides to balconies?

 

We have an inside for 3 adults and one child, and would LOVE a balcony!

[destaw7182]

This was a really great review.

[Minndog]

I had to come out of lurkdom to say thank you! You've given so much helpful information, can't wait for our Feb Escape cruise!

[blueclawfan]

This truly is how a review should be. You were honest and touched upon everything. Though I have no kids I would want to view your reviews anytime. I will not like the smoke but what can I do. Probably better smoke eaters on the ship would do it . Thanks again GRREAT JOB !!! as Tony the Tiger would say

[slmorange]

Excellent review! Thank you so much for all the time you put into such an informative review! You have me so excited for our April cruise - a Christmas gift for our kids - I can barely keep the secret any longer (but I will)

[cincicruisers]

Really enjoyed your review. Your girls are very cute.

[VacayVik]

Thank you SO much for this review! We are going to be booking the Escape for a sailing in May and are so excited!

[17cruisesnsl]

Your review and photos were excellent. Thank you for taking the time to do this; it is a time consuming task. Best wishes to you and your beautiful family for the New Year and continued Happy Cruising!

[zlacruising]

Great review!!!!!

[Cruzinbabe06]

Thanks so much for the review.:)

[CamaCama]

Great review, I enjoyed reading your final thoughts. I have decided to keep my reservation, at least until the remainder of the $ is due.

 

The ship seems to be at a steady 38% with over 100 reviews. That is kind of scary, especially considering that the main concern are crowds. We will see, I got such a great deal, that even at 38% it is hard to cancel. Not to mention that it has been a while since I cruise NCL.

 

Once again thank you :)

 

By the way, I loved their matching sailboat outfits of the last day.

 

Thanks, I would definitely 100% still go! There were crowds of course around the pool on sea days and in the buffet at prime times but honestly we never waited on any lines except the ropes course! And even the water slides that did have lines, went SUPER fast and we never stood in one spot for very long. I feel like being a cruise (except if you're in haven or a high level suite area) you have to expect crowds, that's part of cruising IMO.

[CamaCama]

How did you get the upsell? Did you call NCL to see if anything was available? When you do an upsell, do they cancel your current reservation and rebook you, or do you just pay the amount they are offering? What is a typical upsell charge from insides to balconies?

 

We have an inside for 3 adults and one child, and would LOVE a balcony!

 

I called about 12 days out and kept calling each day until our cruise to see if rooms opened up next to eachother (and they eventually did), it's a different number than regular NCL customer service... Wait until 2 weeks out or sooner... no rebooking or anything. You keep your reservation and they just charge you the additional upsell amount. Ours was $250pp and I just gave them my cc to charge.

Upsell # 1-800-625-4309

Edited December 21, 2015 by CamaCama

[CamaCama]

THANK YOU

Thank you so much for all your kind words and I'm glad I ended up doing this review. I know how hard it is to find reviews with young families/kids on any ship, but especially Escape since it's so new. Happy I could help!

 

Any specific questions just post here!!

[juksing]

Thank you for the great review and the wonderful pics. Our Bella will be just turning 6 when we go in August so it was great to see a review from the perspective of a family with young kids. You put so so much work into it and it is greatly appreciated! The only bad thing is I have to wait 8 months before our cruise on the Escape!

[CamaCama]

Thank you for the great review and the wonderful pics. Our Bella will be just turning 6 when we go in August so it was great to see a review from the perspective of a family with young kids. You put so so much work into it and it is greatly appreciated! The only bad thing is I have to wait 8 months before our cruise on the Escape!

 

PERFECT age! She will love splash academy!! We booked this last one 10 months out so I know how long the wait is... but it seems you have another one booked in between so that's great!

[wrcjr98]

I called about 12 days out and kept calling each day until our cruise to see if rooms opened up next to eachother (and they eventually did), it's a different number than regular NCL customer service... Wait until 2 weeks out or sooner... no rebooking or anything. You keep your reservation and they just charge you the additional upsell amount. Ours was $250pp and I just gave them my cc to charge.

Upsell # 1-800-625-4309

 

Had you booked through NCL directly? I have booked thru a travel agent, and I am led to believe that this is pretty much not an option for us!

Thank you for taking the time to provide such a detail oriented review. We have an upcoming "multi-generational" cruise coming up, and you have given us so much information! You have a beautiful family! I feel like I know you all now!!

[CamaCama]

Had you booked through NCL directly? I have booked thru a travel agent, and I am led to believe that this is pretty much not an option for us!

Thank you for taking the time to provide such a detail oriented review. We have an upcoming "multi-generational" cruise coming up, and you have given us so much information! You have a beautiful family! I feel like I know you all now!!

 

Nope I went through a TA! They don't care. :) Try it... you never know!

 

Aww thanks, you're going to have a great time!

[juksing]

We will probably have to cancel our princess cruise in March; just cant justify (its the principal) spending 2400 CAD on airfare when our cheapy inside cabin is just 1500 CAD; so instead of a sunny Caribbean cruise in March we will probably spend a few days at Le Westin in Cold and probably Snowy Montreal; Yes first world problems! I am holding out hope for some Boxing Day airfare special but don't see it happening; my wife keeps telling me just cancel the darn thing so stop thinking about it.

 

But we still have our Escape cruise in August 2016 which we booked way back in March 2015; it is a looong wait; I will probably be re-reading your thread about a dozen times over the next half year.

 

Your family looks like it stepped out of some Vanity Fair spread; pics are great!

[blueclawfan]

I called about 12 days out and kept calling each day until our cruise to see if rooms opened up next to eachother (and they eventually did), it's a different number than regular NCL customer service... Wait until 2 weeks out or sooner... no rebooking or anything. You keep your reservation and they just charge you the additional upsell amount. Ours was $250pp and I just gave them my cc to charge.

Upsell # 1-800-625-4309

 

any reason why you picked 12 days ? also think they would upsell me from balcony to mini suite ? haven sold out

 

Also did you book directly.. I booked thru internet travel agent i have always used and wonder if that might present a problem on the upsell

Edited December 21, 2015 by blueclawfan

[CamaCama]

any reason why you picked 12 days ? also think they would upsell me from balcony to mini suite ? haven sold out

 

Also did you book directly.. I booked thru internet travel agent i have always used and wonder if that might present a problem on the upsell

 

That's when I found out about the upsell dept so I called right away. I think they will definitely offer you an upsell it's just a matter of if it's a good deal or not depending on availability, etc.

 

No, I booked through a travel agent. They didn't even ask me anything about how I booked.

[CamaCama]

We will probably have to cancel our princess cruise in March; just cant justify (its the principal) spending 2400 CAD on airfare when our cheapy inside cabin is just 1500 CAD; so instead of a sunny Caribbean cruise in March we will probably spend a few days at Le Westin in Cold and probably Snowy Montreal; Yes first world problems! I am holding out hope for some Boxing Day airfare special but don't see it happening; my wife keeps telling me just cancel the darn thing so stop thinking about it.

 

But we still have our Escape cruise in August 2016 which we booked way back in March 2015; it is a looong wait; I will probably be re-reading your thread about a dozen times over the next half year.

 

Your family looks like it stepped out of some Vanity Fair spread; pics are great!

 

LOL thank you so much!! What a compliment!

 

I feel super lucky to live in FL when people post what they pay for airfare just to get here. Cruising is such an inexpensive trip for us!

[Mrs.C05]

Len hit the gym and we waited for him to get back then went up to Garden Café for breakfast. Mila was feeling 100% again (thankfully it was only a 24 hour fever bug) but she did get some kind of rash that must have appeared when the fever broke, it only lasted a few hours that morning (you can kinda see it in this picture below...

 

 

Sounds like she had roseola, but glad she is much better after 24hours. It spreads easily, common in 6mo-2yr, etc. It passes pretty quickly though.

[Mrs.C05]

Great review!!! We'll be sailing on NCL for the first time in March 2016 with our then 4yr old. He's been on more than he's of age, but he loves it. Thanks for your review. Sorry to hear of the storm you went through. We were on a cruise Thanksgiving Day (during that same storm) going to Nassau, and I was sick. I have never gotten sick in all the cruises we've been on.