Norweigan Escape

[hollon]

I'm thinking about the Escape for a new england cruise, has anyone from this group sailed on her? If so, what did you think,  I always cruise royal and like the big ships but the itineary is better on the Escape.  Yes, I'm going for scenery, etc, but still love big ships

[Tatka]

You need to be aware that NCL ships don’t have covered pools or solariums in case you go later in September or October. Also if you like traditional dining NCL doesn’t have it. They do have nice 24/7 pub style free restaurant.

[mafig]

Lots of the Norwegian people consider the Escape their favorite ship, if that matters.

 

The Haven on NCL is fabulous if you can swing it.

[BirdTravels]

58 minutes ago, hollon said:

I'm thinking about the Escape for a new England cruise, has anyone from this group sailed on her? If so, what did you think,  I always cruise royal and like the big ships but the itinerary is better on the Escape.  Yes, I'm going for scenery, etc., but still love big ships

We have sailed on the Escape 4 times (with a 5th time coming up this summer). We're Diamond members on RCCL and Diamond members on NCL (most recently sailing on the Wonder of the Seas and Quantum of the Seas last year). 

 

The Escape has a capacity of 4266 passengers, so roughly comparable to a Quantum-class ship. 

 

NCL embraces the Freestyle Cruising philosophy. All MDR dining is MyTime dining (without the need for reservations), you show up when you are hungry or when it fits your busy ship's schedule. The three main dining rooms all serve the same menu and you are seated with your party (dining rooms are predominantly 2-top and 4-top tables, but can accommodate larger groups). 

 

The Adult Beverage Package is offered for "free" on all cruises (you need to pay the gratuities on the retail price of the package). You get unlimited beverages up to $15 each morning to night (and unless you are asking for top-shelf liquor, it is hard to exceed $15).

 

And 1 or 2 nights of specialty dining are also included for "free' (you need to pay the gratuities on the retail cost of the package) - which is a great deal. The Escape features Teppanyaki, Seafood, Asian Fusion, Brazilian BBQ (all you can eat meat with a fantastic salad bar), Steakhouse, Italian, French, and Tapas specialty restaurants. 

 

The Deck 8 Waterfront offers an unobstructed view promenade around the ship with comfy sofas, chairs, and tables to enjoy your time at sea and in port. No carousels, robots, or central parks. 

 

Our two favorite bars are he Sugarcane Mojito Bar and District Brew House. The mojito bar has.... wait for it... mojitos. With the drinks package, you can start at the top of the menu and work your way to the end, then repeat. At the Brew House, they have a very wide selection of beer on tap and in cans/bottles. On most ships, you can track the number of different beers you have tasted and get your name up on the leader board for that cruise. I don't think it is possible to get through the entire menu... but some have tried 🙂 

 

It is a good ship. What people consider "good" and "bad" is totally subjective so I won't say it is better or worse than a RCCL offering. We were on 2 RCCL and 4 NCL cruises last year (unlimited drinks better than 4 diamond vouchers),,, and on a NE cruise, you will need some alcohol to keep yourself warm. And as a diamond member on NCL, we get 2 specialty dining vouchers in addition to the 2 that come with the room. 

[hollon]

thank you all - are there good shows, trivia, etc

[dexddd]

Escape one our favorites. Haven pool does have a roof.

[Bob7]

On 1/15/2023 at 9:55 AM, hollon said:

I'm thinking about the Escape for a new england cruise, has anyone from this group sailed on her? If so, what did you think,  I always cruise royal and like the big ships but the itineary is better on the Escape.  Yes, I'm going for scenery, etc, but still love big ships

We just got off the Escape.  It's a lovely classy ship but not designed for scenic viewing, as there is no upper deck observation lounge at the bow, just deck loungers or stand at a railing, and quite windy there.  The bigger entertainments, comedians and theater shows, have to be reserved, which book up quickly.  If you get in the "no reservation" line 20-30 minutes before show time you will get a seat, they start that line going 10 minutes before the show.  If you are Haven class there are theater seats reserved for you up to showtime.  Specialty dining was completely booked every day up to 9pm at embarkation.  There weren't even any staff selling dining packages b/c they couldn't be used.  Pool towels have to be signed out and back in, $25 charge if you don't sign it in.  One stack of sign out sheets, and another stack of sign in sheets ... I doubt the staff compare all those sheets at the end of the day, and from other days, it would be a full time job.  Probably a hollow threat.  If you have the Ultimate Bev Pck it does not cover bottles of sparkling water, you pay full price for that.  The one they have is San Paligreno.  And it doesn't cover bottles of regular (still) water at the bars or dining room, that brand is Flow, but you get table water from pitchers.  But on the package there will be a 12 bottle case of Flow in your cabin, and a fridge to keep a couple cold.  It takes a long time to order drinks in the buffet, butter to get your own at the bar there and then find a table.  The 15 % discount in the shops for Gold level and higher has a catch, it's only for NCL labelled items.  Good food, loved our large 04 cabin, could not get into Tiano Bay, went to Nassau, captain is a riot, quite funny, pretty good jogging track, everyone noticed the weak cocktails, no buzz from them, order a shot separately and put it in if you like a buzz, lots upset with 25 % increase in tips, from $16 to $20/day, lineups to "adjust" it back to $16 or wipe them and tip on your own, skipped Great Stirrup Cay, tenders won't operate if windy, better to pick a cruise with a Cay that has docking.

[KansasTexan]

On 1/15/2023 at 9:03 AM, Tatka said:

You need to be aware that NCL ships don’t have covered pools or solariums in case you go later in September or October. Also if you like traditional dining NCL doesn’t have it. They do have nice 24/7 pub style free restaurant.

???   There are three restaurants that offer sit-down table service dining included in the cruise. Taste, Savor, and Manhattan. I'd consider those traditional...

[ronswanson]

14 minutes ago, Bob7 said:

....

Pool towels have to be signed out and back in, $25 charge if you don't sign it in.  One stack of sign out sheets, and another stack of sign in sheets ... I doubt the staff compare all those sheets at the end of the day, and from other days, it would be a full time job.  Probably a hollow threat.  ....

We just got off Pearl and I was wondering if anyone has ever actually been charged for a missing pool towel. What a outdated system and definitely seems like a hollow threat. At least on RCL they use your room key to check towels in/out, but its very easy to cheat that system as well, if you are off on your towel count they will usually just trust you if you say you returned all your towels. No one is stealing towels off the ship in any quantities that matters anyways. They are just concerned about people returning towels for cleaning, and keeping people from using towels to reserve chairs for hours that they never use.

We went to a Jamaican resort a few years ago and they had towel cards. Each guest got one. You could get more than 1 per guest if you wanted. You could exchange the card for a dry towel, and then return the wet towel for either a dry one, or a card back. On checkout day you had to return as many cards as they gave you. Pretty low-tech but it worked. At Legoland they have a fancy towel machine that uses a chip in each towel, you scan your ke4y, take towels from the cabinet, and it tracks how many towels you took. The return chute scans the tags as the towels get dropped in. The machine's door was hanging wide open so they have some logistical problems there but it was pretty neat tech.

[Tatka]

1 hour ago, KansasTexan said:

???   There are three restaurants that offer sit-down table service dining included in the cruise. Taste, Savor, and Manhattan. I'd consider those traditional...

 

 Then you do not really understand what Traditional Dining on cruises is.

 

On RCI there is traditional dining with same time, table, servers assigned and My Time Dining (aka Free style on NCL) with any time, tables, servers.

 

NCL has only Free style unless you manage to have these arrangements.

[Tatka]

On 1/15/2023 at 12:39 PM, dexddd said:

Escape one our favorites. Haven pool does have a roof.

 

Haven is only for Haven guests. Not even all suites belong to Haven.

Unless you are in Haven you do not have covered pool.

I like NCL and had 9 cruises with them, but this is a clear con. Especially for people sailing from Northeast where NCL keeps operations whole year.

[KansasTexan]

1 hour ago, Tatka said:

 

 Then you do not really understand what Traditional Dining on cruises is.

 

On RCI there is traditional dining with same time, table, servers assigned and My Time Dining (aka Free style on NCL) with any time, tables, servers.

 

NCL has only Free style unless you manage to have these arrangements.

Gosh! You're right. I was thinking of "traditional" dining like out here in the real world. I only cruise once or twice a year. You're absolutely correct. 100%. Thanks for setting me straight. 😉

[Tatka]

I personally ALWAYS pick My Time Dining with RCI, but there are people absolutely insisting on deep connections with wait team and waiters knowing all their likes and dislikes. They prefer Traditional Dining.

 

 On the other hand NCL fans are extremely proud of Free Style which is basically My Time Dining ...

 

 I think it is good to have both for people who prefer them. I live in the real world, but observe. 🙂

Edited January 17, 2023 by Tatka