Most of my cruises have been on Royal Caribbean. I had never cruised on Norwegian and a friend recommended it to me. I decided to try one of their newest and largest ships. I have cruised on RC Oasis and Allure and never felt as though it was crowded. The Escape, however was quite different.
It began with embarkation. I was reminded of my 10AM check in time. It seemed early but I figured they must know what they are doing. WRONG! When I showed up at 10AM, hundreds of people who were told to show up at 9:30AM still had not been let through the scanners. They finally opened the scanners and security at 10:30 and we were then moved to a "holding area" until 11:30. Why not just tell me to be there at noon?!?!?!
With the Atrium area as a focal point, most guests are drawn to it. As a result, most times, especially at night, it is very hard to walk through and/or find a place to relax. The pool is the size of a postage stamp, and therefore very crowded. Quite often you needed to let several elevators go by as they were completely full.
The bathroom was nicer than most other cruises, but other than that I would not call it a "mini-suite". It was similar to most regular balcony rooms but with a tiny balcony