I was with a party of 8, most of whom have cruised at least 6 times or more. We were interested in the Escape because it was the premier ship of the NCL. It is an amazingly large vessel with many choices in dining, drinking, entertainment, etc. However, we were very disappointed in the size of the adult pool. There was very little space for the number of people wishing to use it. Also, the music at the pool was so loud that you couldn't have a conversation with someone standing next to you.

The food was very good but not as many choices in the Café as we've seen on cafeterias on other ships. Also, if you were a first time cruiser, you may have missed out on the specialty restaurants as it was difficult to get reservations once on board. The same is true of the shows. There is truly not a level playing field for all guests with regard to those options.

The captain and chief engineer took time out of their busy schedule to answer questions from guests regarding the technical side of the operations, quite remarkable. And, we were very favorably impressed with how organized embarkation and disembarkation went at each port of call as well as in Miami, departure port. Staff in restaurants seemed a bit overworked.