We were a bit nervous before sailing as the early reviews for this new ship were not spectacular. All in all we did enjoy this cruise very much. In the past we had cruised on Royal Caribbean's Oasis and the Allure, so my comparison is really to just these two ships. The Escape is a beautiful ship but it cannot be compared to the Oasis or Allure, as these ships are so much larger and far more elegant.
What stood out for me on the Escape was the food. I did not like the food on either of Royal Caribbean's ships but the food on the Escape was phenomenal. Whether we ate at the buffet or main dining rooms the food was the best we have ever had on a cruise. We did not eat at the specialty restaurants so I can't comment on these.
The on-board water park was great and our two kids ages 9 and 11 enjoyed them very much. We also loved the aqua racer for those who weigh 100 plus pounds. It was amazing to enjoy this kind of slide on a cruise. The on-board 3 level rope course was excellent as well but you do need to get there early as the line does get quite long. If you're afraid of heights I would skip this activity, it does get very windy and parts of the course can be very physically challenging.
The cabin spacing and storage seemed to be on par when compared to our other cruises. We did have a balcony on this cruise and that was a really nice plus.
We just checked out some of the local stores.