This was my wife and my second time cruising (last one was 3 years ago), and I can't believe what a better experience we had on the Norwegian Escape than our previous cruise. I have to admit, we were both a little nervous prior to sailing after reading some of the reviews on this site with some complaining about the food, entertainment and services, but we found the cruise exceeded our expectations in all areas.

I will say this: The water slides and ropes course take up a lot of space on the ship that otherwise would have likely been used to add more pools and hot tubs. If you like to spend a lot of time relaxing by the poolside only, you'll find the main pool crowded, and you do have to reserve seats early to get a good spot (tip: use plastic clips to secure your lounge chairs. These can be basic chip clips or the fancier lounge chair clips you'll find at stores on the islands -- doesn't matter. The staff remove towels if the lounge chairs are vacant more than an hour, but they don't take the plastic clips).

We went with our teenage son and daughter. Our daughter didn't do the slides or rope course and she wished there were more pools, but our son loved the rope course and slides. We talked with other cruisers throughout the week and the only complaints we heard from some of the veteran cruisers was related to how congested the main pool area was. We were able to get seats each time, but people who start looking for lounge chairs after 9 a.m. are pretty much out of luck. Read more