Our first NCL cruise was on the Pride of America and I was really disappointed in the ship, the tiny staterooms, and the food. The ports made it worthwhile - but it left a bad taste in my mouth regarding NCL. However, my experience on the ESCAPE left me wanting more.....

Let me start by saying that we were able to upgrade to a Haven spa suite from a large balcony stateroom. The Haven really does make for an incredible experience.

Dining:The Haven restaurant was wonderful and the food was always hot with excellent flavors and presentation. The hostess knew us by name and always tried to get us a window seat as she knew that we preferred one. The waitstaff in the haven went out of their way to be accommodating. We never wanted for anything, in fact one night I was hungry for french onion soup and they went to the Bistro to get it for us. The only drawback is that the menu does not change, but with other dining venues available it is not a huge problem. We didn't really use our butler because we just didn't need to. One morning we did get a room service breakfast (price included in the haven and it was hot and delicious) The concierge and his assistant went out of their way to help us, we had to reschedule Cagneys 3 times and they did it gladly. Cagneys was one of the best meals that we have ever had on a cruise ship. We were not impressed with Teppanyaki, the food was tasteless. The table show was only adequate. We have had much better Japanese experience on land. Personally, I wouldn't waste my time or money. Food Republic was ok, but very expensive for what you got. The bill adds up very quickly and several times we had to ask where our food was because it never came. Moderno was quite good and the salad bar was especially nice. La Cucina was ordinary and nothing really special. We did not eat at the buffet so I cannot speak to that. Read more