I have been on a number of different cruise ships with various cruise lines. My family and I decided to try the Norwegian Escape and we were very disappointed with various aspects of the cruise. The ship is new and lovely, but very compartmentalized. It is very hard to find various venues and certain entertainment. The areas for shows are small and fill up quickly.
The food is good, but the service is terrible. We were a group of 12 and rarely were we able to eat at a table together. We usually were split up. It often took up to 3 hours to have dinner. At breakfast one morning it took 40 minutes to receive an espresso that was ordered. We often had to repeat requests 2-3 times before we finally received an item we ordered. We spoke to many people who told us they were skipping the restaurants to dine at the buffet otherwise they missed the shows. Give a pass to After Midnight, but the Brat Pack and the Fours Seasons tribute were good. The crew have very poor communication skills. There is an air of indifference among the staff at all levels and the servers often border on rudeness. We had several issues that we spoke to management about. We were told that they were picking up our meal at one of the specialty restaurants. There was no explanation as to how the ship was going to pick up a meal we had made reservations for and paid for on our upgraded meal plan and on our beverage packages.
Beware if you are overweight, they will weigh you like a slab of beef in a very public area at their own discretion without even asking if you are within their restrictions or giving an explanation. No attempt at sensitivity. The staff do not seem to have any customer service training.
My favorite beaches in the Caribbean.
We did a private tour with a local operator. Beautiful island.
Very crowded port.