My husband & I are in our mid-50's and we brought our 2 sons with us (22 & 25) as a gift for my youngest son graduating from college. I have been on 30+ cruises on various cruiselines (Royal Caribbean, Disney, Holland America, Princess, Carnival). We decided on the NCL Escape because of the itinerary, the deal we received, and the fact it was a new ship. We sailed on May 14 to St. Thomas, Tortola, and Nassau. We were in a standard balcony and my sons were in an inside room. We flew into FLL the morning of the cruise. We usually like to get there the day before but all our schedules wouldn't allow that. We took an XL Uber to the port which was very easy. It was my first time using Uber but my oldest son takes Uber all the time. I would definitely do it again. We had no issues coming in the day of sailing but it was actually nice that the ship wasn't sailing until 7 so we really didn't stress about flying in the day of departure. The ship is BIG but well laid out. We have been on the Breakaway 2x and the Escape is very similar just bigger. We all opted for the free beverage package and Speciality Dining Package (which let us eat 4 meals in the specialty dining venues). We never had an issue getting a drink at any bar as some have said but we rarely went to the main pool bar. One thing to note is you do get charged tax when you are in the ports and in Fort Lauderdale.

Sun deck/pools: We never even tried to get seats around the pool or even the deck above on sea days. That area was packed and just not worth the hassle of searching for chairs. We loved being in the front of the ship on Deck 19. There were always plenty of chairs as long as you got there before 11am. They had 2 hot tubs, a misting station, and a bar....what more could you ask for....oh yea music. We brought a portable speaker and played our own. Before anyone gets upset, we kept the sound pretty low but made sure to check with people around us if they had any problem with it. One woman asked if we could turn it up.

Speciialty Dining: We went to: Teppanyaki, Cagney's steakhouse, Bayamo, and La Cucina. Teppanyaki is always a favorite for us but it just is alot of food so go hungry. Cagney's was excellent both in service and food. My son had a Tomahawk steak which was huge and he loved it. I had the steak and lobster which was wonderful. The 3 guys went to Bayamo, we were in Tortola that day & I was tired so I just hung out on the balcony while they went to dinner. They loved it. They give you a card with a green side and a red side. Want more show the green side; want to stop show the red side. Well at first they thought if they showed the red side, they wouldn't be able to put it back to green so they kept piling on the meat until finally a waiter told them they could go back and forth. La Cucina was also very good; typical Italian fare. Because I didn't go to Bayamo's I was able to check into the dining desk the next day and I still had a specialty credit. So I went to Margarittaville for lunch and got take out. I got a quesadilla and nachos that we shared back in our stateroom. Takeout was easy and they wrap it all up in plastic wrap for you. Read more