We decided to give Norwegian a try after being long-time Royal Caribbean cruisers. We went on the Escape as a family trip with two other couples. We were not impressed at all. The ship was ridiculously over-crowded. You couldn't go anywhere without having to weave through a ton of people and fight line-ups. A few of us also encountered some very discourteous staff on more than one occasion. We have never experienced such terrible service on a cruise. We didn't even meet our cabin steward once.

The decor of the ship is beautiful, but the common areas were pretty dark and as one reviewer mentioned, the smoke from the casino wafts through a few floors.

The food in the main dining areas are average at best. The Manhattan room was good, but taste and savor were not that great. We had a specialty dining package so we were able to try out three of the restaurants; Cagney's, The Bistro and Moderno. All were much better than the dining room, but not spectacular. We also found the buffet to be much more limited in selection than previous cruises and of course, massively busy at all times of day. Read more