After two Carnival cruises in 2015 and 2016 we decided to give Norwegian a try. My wife selected the Western Caribbean because it went to Roatan, Belize and two stops in Mexico from Miami. Driving to the port from South Beach, where we spent the night prior, the ship impressed. It dwarfed the others in port. Right then we were excited about the cruise and got in full blown "vacation mode"! Embarking was a little less chaotic than Carnival had been so right away that was a big difference. Our room was clean, smelled fresh and we had a great balcony view from the 10th Floor Port side of the ship. The Escape is massive! So much there! The main floor is floor 6 where Guest Services and the main "go to" area is. There are also restaurants on 6 as well as the Comedy Club (which we never got to go to but that was our fault). Level 7 had the Casino and the Manhattan Room which we ate at one night. Level 8 is the "go to" area for the "good stuff" like the Mojito Bar, Cagney's Steakhouse and the Moderno Churrascaria. We spent a lot of time on Deck 16 at the Adults Only pool (until 5:00 pm) without having canon balling kids peeing in the pool. Our room steward Yenie was sweet as honey and so eager to make sure we had everything we needed. We took care of her at the end with a fat tip because she was awesome! The staff was mostly friendly and accommodating. What I noticed right away is there are not bar waiters all over the place trying to sell drinks to the guests. That was a welcome change from Carnival where they put a tray in your face every time you turn around asking if you want a specialty drink. LOL!!!!!

We made it to two shows which were spectacular! The After Midnight Cotton Club show was Broadway quality. The band, dancers and performers excelled and you could see they love what they do. The songs ranged from free spirited to sexually provocative but were clean and many of the puns would go over most kids' heads anyway. The Brat Pack show was stellar. Being 43 years old I grew up with John Hughes movies and other teen classics. This show brought them all together into one hell of a show although the guy playing Mr. Vernon looked more like Lumbergh from Office Space but he did a great job being the "adult" in the show.

The dining was fantastic at Cagney's and Moderno. I highly recommend them for anyone cruising on the Escape. Food Republic's sushi was surprisingly tasty and inexpensive. The Irish place was not so spectacular but in its defense we ate there after a spectacular lunch at Xcaret earlier that day so our pallets may have been a little unforgiving of Irish fare that evening. Taste, Savor and Manhattan Room served the ship's menu but they did it with style and efficiency. The ambiance in all places was welcoming and you felt like you were in an actual restaurant not a glorified cafeteria. The only knock on Norwegian's dining style is you never get to know the servers like you do on Carnival which kind of sucked but the variety more than made up for it. Read more