Size: Mega
Type: Ocean
Style: Resort
Space: Spacious
Service: Very attentive
Norwegian Escape® offers the ultimate playground at sea for all ages. Take hanging out to new heights on the ropes course and dare to walk the plank, which extends eight feet over the side of the ship.
Run by Norwegian Cruise Line, Norwegian Escape is a large ocean resort ship inaugurated in 2015 and last refitted in 2022. It carries up to 4,218 guests, in 2,174 cabins, in addition to 1,733 crew members.
This size of ship focuses on onboard variety, with a wide selection of venues and activities available throughout the sailings. Norwegian Escape is an option for families with children.
Guests can choose from 18 restaurants and eating venues, including six complimentary venues and 12 available at an extra cost. American, French, Spanish cookery – and more – are all on offer. There are also 16 bars and lounges across the ship.
One of the benefits of sailing aboard Norwegian Escape is the variety available on board. The entertainment offering includes a library and an aqua park, among other options.
Norwegian Escape offers a solid mix of accommodation categories, with configurations and styles to suit your approach to travelling, plus layouts that balance comfort and practicality. That includes inside and outside options.
Overall, we loved the cruise. Staff were great. The ship was lovely, cabin was fine. Dining options good and small restaurants were great. They catered brilliantly for my food intolerances and were so helpful I couldn't fault that.
Although we had some cruise credit for a shore excursion the ship missed out one of the islands due to the weather and we were still charged for this?
On the itinerary we specifically booked this cruise because it should have been going to St Lucia and at the last minute this was taken off.
Fabulous cruise. Food was excellent both in the main dining room, buffet and specialty dining rooms. We had a drinks package which helped with value for money, compared to other cruise lines the price was excellent. Staff were amazing, friendly and provided excellent service. For us it was a more expensive holiday so not one we could do every year, have chosen to go with p&o next who have gratuities included and no single supplement - but drinks package is expensive. At times it could be crowded to get a sunbed around the pool but the bonus is you can sit on higher decks and no issues getting a bed, also there are bars on most levels making it less of a trek to get a drink. Really enjoyed night time movies in the adult only area. A separate cinema on board would have been nice. Enjoyed the slides, they were excellent, didn't get a chance to go on the high ropes course but it looked fun. Would definitely rebook in future, loved every moment of it. The only down side is that the shore excursions are very very expensive so we gave them a miss.
Cruise overall was essentially disappointing..
Transfers arranged were originally set to Private but after a lift and shift seemed this was put on a shared but we was not informed and this was not expected so wasted tme onto customer services whom said essentially ... you will not change, you will follow what we have set for you.
Onboarding was slow, disappointing and not correct. Slow due to having haven was due for fast lane but that lane seemed slower then normal lane. Disapointing due to we expected Fast access and lounge access but this was not in Rome. Had this been explained I may have not turned up on time and waited so long.
After boarding we could not use the "Haven" elevator (for embarkation day only) as our card didn't was not haven related, however after operator checked it was, this was changed (after an hour wait, man the queues with issues was not resolved quickly), NCL need to
throw more people at this ..... be this CS or Haven seems people had a lot wrong once they boarded.
To be brief ... we caught covid into the cruise and this was when measures were more strict and we was told "ship flu" we brought home tests and they indicated we more had "wuhan flu"... and the funny thing our tests results defined in 15 minutes ... on board medical ... was 5 minutes ... but informed to wear a mask in public areas.
We wore masks and did not venture out too much, I believe NCL preferred not to report the numbers, by the end of the cruise more than 70% were wearing masks
So whilst we had the a few days as soon as day 4 people were masking up. To be honest this should have been a indication we should have taken into account. Seems "Ship Flu" was common.
I will say the staff on board was lovely, Restaurant staff, my issue is related to how they dealt with the case of what we believe was Covid.
We did enjoy what we could, we did isoloate to a degree obviously more than others with "ship flu" but it to be blunt ruined our cruise.
We did speak with NCL and get a FCC (Future Cruise Credit) towards something in the future, I am not sure things have been addressed to be honest and whilst we are NCL silver members and cruise with NCL more than other lines
Entertainment was ok/good.
Casino smokers seemed to smoke in non-smoking areas and this was not checked. Whilst some smokers were thoughtful even in smoking areas some people seemed to be on the offensive whilst you past, I am an ex smoker and whilst I appreciate you are allow to smoke, some seem to make it a mission to bloke smoke towards everyone whom was passing.
I would like to hope our next NCL will be better but I am glad I am not doing a One in a lifetime cruise with them until I gain trust. Had it not been for Transfer, Covid and Smoking we may have actually enjoyed but NCL didn't seem to want us to.
3 years in the making and such a let down.
Smell of burning in the room to sinks getting blocked and "ship flu"
We had a smell of the burning in the room 3 days running (Room 9106) and we effectively had enough evenutally we were able to be moved, we had a same class room and no further issues with the smell..
Whilst the staff were good, we do feel disappointed and it didn't live up and it just seems that NCL are getting left behind and yet charging more for there offering..
Excursions were a let down and most we chatted to seemed very disappointed with the onboard offering, nothing appealled to ourselves.
Visiting the public room on deck 17 and it looked like someone aimed for the toilet and missed and a pile was sitting next to the toilet, after pretty much wretching I had to leave, I did report this to staff but never visited this again.
Disembarkation seemed to be little orgnasation on land whilst we did manage to find our bags there almost seemed to be little order at the beginning.
We used to love NCL and have salled on the the Escape 2 times previously but this time felt soulless, I suspect Alvin the Cruise Director was new to the role and unfortunately seem to be ill equiped for public speaking and conveying messages. Jeff was better but I think they need to bring in someone more dynamic. If you wish to lay on a lounger all day Alvin's a great CD for you if that is the case.
Food was great for the speciallity dining we experienced and dining venues we tried and can not complain however a small niggle would be that the Osheehans definately had the weatherspoons "sticky" to it and perhaps something could be done here.
Lastly down the the "ship flu", my wife felt unwell and luckily we took some covid tests with us. After testing positive we contacted medical and after a visit, they Antigen tested my wife and within 5 minutes we had a "negative" result. We were told its just "ship flu" and wear a mask in public areas. After checking with other staff informed the antigen test the staff take is 30 minutes for results. We saw more and more people increasingly wearing masks around the ship and aware of other people whom had seen by medical and told its just flu. We believe NCL just did not want to record or wish to deal with the cases onboard.
Do I trust NCL anymore, hell no
How much does it cost to cruise on Norwegian Escape and when should I book?
A 7-night cruise on Norwegian Escape costs from £770 per person in October, rising to £1,161 per person in the peak month of May.
What do passengers think of Norwegian Escape?
Norwegian Escape has an overall rating of 3.9/5 from 8 reviews.
What cruise line operates Norwegian Escape and when was it built?
Norwegian Escape is operated by Norwegian Cruise Line. She was launched in 2015 and refurbished in 2022.
How big is Norwegian Escape?
Norwegian Escape has a gross tonnage of 164,998 GT, measures 326m long by 55m wide, cruises at 23 knots, and has 16 passenger decks.
How many passengers and cabins does Norwegian Escape have?
Norwegian Escape accommodates up to 4,218 passengers with a crew of 1,733 across 2,174 cabins.
What facilities and entertainment are on Norwegian Escape?
Norwegian Escape features 19+ dining venues, shows and entertainment, and spa and fitness centre. This is an adults-only ship (no passengers under 18).
What type of cruising is Norwegian Escape best for?
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