My friends and I boarded this ship on 7/22/18 going to Bermuda, this was a vacation we were looking forward to. And as we made the best of it and has some great and funny moments there were some moments that stood out. Boarding a cruise ship usually means endless possibilities, meeting nice people, and having amazing food. When we boarded The Escape it felt like walking through Time Square during holiday season, waiting over 20-30 minuets for an elevator that you have to squeeze on to just to get to you room was not my idea of a way to kick off our vacation. I didn’t see the fun party vibe welcome that usually happens when you board a cruise either or was just a walk on to this busy cruise ship and no one seemed to know what to do. Upon arriving to our cabin I will say the maintenance team on this boat was very kind to us through out the entire cruise. We finally went to the buffet and the food was sub par some of it was ok but a lot of it I couldn’t stomach. One day my friend had some kind of chicken that she bit down and nearly broke her tooth on a very sharp bone left inside. On more than one occasion we encountered staff that were just down right rude. Call the costumer service desk and get an attitude and basically hung up on. I didn’t find most of the staff to be friendly and kind except for the maintenance and a few waiters that did go out of their way for us. But with the exception of 5 people I didn’t feel welcome at all. Throughout this cruise I felt like I had to fight a battle. Another big issue I had was that for over 4,800 people there was one tiny pool and when we went to try the water slides it was yet another battle. Two of the three slides the employees told the line that they would be right back and left us standing there for over 30 minuets that I then was directing other passengers as to what was going on and I think I handled the passengers better than the cruises employees. In addition I’ve never been on a cruise where there was literally nothing exciting offered in the itinerary. The fact that one of the more exciting things to do is learn how a wrist watch works and how the engine works is pretty boring to probably most people on board, and the entertainment was that of something I would see at a child’s birthday party. And the best thing I enjoyed was Howl At The Moon which was also ruined for me when my friend asked the one worker Laura if I could sing one song with them to have fun and end the cruise with some kind of bang she said yes my friend proceeds to give her a tip. Laura takes the money looks at the five dollars and says no it needs to be 20 and I’ll let her sing..... I never in my life have been asked for more money in a situation as such. How dare your employees do that and ruin the end of our experience on this ship. The audacity! I’m a preformer and I sing in night clubs if someone comes up to me and asks if they could sing a song I just say yes without saying oh 20$ to sing. That absolutely ridiculous and put a very bad taste in my mouth I will think twice next time I book a cruise.