Norwegian Escape Review

4.0 / 5.0
3,047 reviews

Christmas Cruise on Norwegian Escape

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Escape
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Maverik
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

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Value for Money
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Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2015
Cabin: Inside Stateroom
Traveled with children
Welcome to British Virgin Islands
Jos Van Dyke British Virgin Islands
Jos Van Dyke
Atlantis swimming pool, Paradise Island, Bahamas
Atlantis swimming pool, Paradise Island
Paradise Island
Junkanoo floats, Nassau, Christmas Day
Jos Van Dyke
Junkanoo floats, Nassau, Christmas Day--Alien & Predator--let's just ge

This is a brand new ship and was decorated wonderfully for Christmas. Maybe they've worked out some of the problems mentioned in prior reviews, but my family of five had a blast. Yes, there were quite a few children on this cruise--after all we celebrated Christmas on board, but everyone was in a fun, festive mood. Some even wore pajamas to breakfast on Christmas Day and had many photo ops with a Christmas theme. It was clear that many extended families were on board, including at least one family "Team Trish" with a terminally ill member. Stockings and decorations were taped to many stateroom doors and Christmas music played frequently. There is an "adults only pool with two jacuzzis, but the jacuzzis were always packed with kids and teens without anyone enforcing the Adults Only rule. Entertainment was outstanding, although not all of it is free. We didn't experience the specialty restaurants, since the main restaurants had great food. We made dinner reservations months in advance, but still didn't get all the preferred time slots. Manhattan Room is the nicest of the restaurants with live music. Taste and Savor are very "tastefully" decorated and have the identical appearance, but on opposite sides of the ship. Just remember that there's a lot going on and unless you're eating at 5:00 pm or 10:00 pm, you will miss some of the fun so just take it in stride. Internet access is poor unless you're in port. Do not sign up for "pay by the minute" service or you'll spend 30 minutes every time you log on watching a little circle spin while you become agitated as dollars are sucked from your pocket. You're on vacation. Just DON"T DO IT. I sat at the internet cafe and felt sorry for the attendant as he took the brunt of the anger of cruise guests cursing the slow speed. If you want to learn about pirate lore in St. Thomas and the history of the island, go to BlackBeard's Castle (not really a castle), not BlueBeard's Castle (which is a hotel). You can walk to BlackBeard's from the port, but it's a pretty long walk, or take a taxi. We went to Jos Van Dyke Island in the British Virgin Islands and the beach was incredibly beautiful. Just wish we could have stayed there longer. In Nassau, we took a Paradise Island tour. My adult kids got on a different bus that just drove around Nassau and never even went to Paradise Island. When I complained, they did refund $25 from the cost of each ticket. Our tour guide, Garth, was a bit difficult to understand, but he took us on a 3 hour tour (was supposed to be 2 hours) gave us the history of the island and explained the unique Junkanoo celebration only performed on Christmas in Nassau beginning at midnight each year. Our cruise director, Julie, did a fantastic job of keeping us informed and entertained. There will always be naysayers, but do you want to cruise with them??

Cabin Review

Inside Stateroom

Cabin IX

We had two inside staterooms next to each other--one for my wife and another for the kids. The rooms are small, but adequate for our needs. The handicapped rooms are considerably larger. I like inside rooms for three reasons: 1) less expensive, 2) I can sleep in as long as I want since I'm not awakened by the sun, 3) I'm on a great ship with lots of beautiful spaces--why stay in my room except to sleep? We had enough outlets for our needs--had to search to find the one in the bathroom. Your room key turns on the lights when you put it in the slot as you enter, and all power goes out when you remove your key on leaving. This is a great energy saving feature (but your devices will not charge when you're gone). Only problem is, when I'm in the shower and my wife decides to leave, all the lights go out and it's pitch black in an inside state room. Solved this problem by keeping a hotel room card in the slot instead of our cabin key.

Port Reviews

Miami

Had a few days in Miami. Checked out the Vizkaya estate and mansion. Amazing. Also went to Crandon Beach park. Huge beautiful beach--very relaxing. Went to the Art Deco Museum in South Beach. Lots of history of the area. Used Uber to get around and all our rides were great.

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