We chose the Escape for its itinerary and because it was a new ship. We have been on two other cruises lines, Carnival a long time ago and Royal Caribbean more recently. We are not really cruisers and decided to give NCL a try. The best part of the cruise was the kids club, our 4 and 9 year old loved it and made many friends. It gave my husband and I some free time.

POOL - We found the deck to be overcrowded with adults and kids all over the pool and hot tub. There was limited shade on the decks and just not enough room, There are clearly not enough pools for the number of guests which is not something we have encountered on Royal Caribbean. I think a large amount of pool space is set aside for Haven guests. There was a small splash area for kids that was not too crowded.

DINING - Again breakfast was obscenely crowded. I was hip checked several times. There were two other breakfast options Margaritaville and O'Sheenan's. We did neither because of the kids and the limited menu. On other ships we have enjoyed the main dining room for breakfast which would have been nice. The specialty restaurants were really good. We did Cagney's, Moderno, Food Republic, and Bayamo. We never took the kids. They say kids are free if they eat off the kids menu which is pb&j, and other limited items. Unless you want to pay for them it's probably best to take them to the buffet and drop them off at kids club. Read more