Norwegian Escape Review

Almost Perfect

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Escape
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marktavlan
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jan 2020

Almost everything was awesome and our 3 person group had an immensely enjoyable vacation at a very reasonable price! Once on board, the ship never felt crowded and like they say, it's "Freestyle Cruising" We enjoyed that. What was annoying, yet not enough so that we won't sail on the Escape again: 1. The cabin steward: he seemed a little lazy and not enthusiastic about his job. He didn't clean the room one day without our instruction. Also on a couple of days, we told him he didn’t have to do it, so he ended up having a very easy time doing it only a few times during the cruise. I had to "hunt" for toilet paper one day. We didn't get the final bill - I didn't pay attention until it was too late. Would have been nice to have, not that I feel the bill was inaccurate. 2. Shore excursion cancellation: cancelled at Roatan due to the weather, but Norwegian didn't help us with any advice prior to walking a long distance in the rain to the bus, where no other passengers were present. The helper was nice enough to tell us that we should cancel. I walked back to the ship in the absolutely crummy "plastic bag" to protect us from the rain that cost $3, and had to wait 1/2 hour in line before I was told I could just write "cancel" on the excursion tickets and drop them in a slot. Then I walked back in the rain to check out the shops, etc. at the port, which were kind of boring. 3. La Cuccina specialty restaurant: the food was so-so and what I ordered ("snapper") was not the real deal. The server was totally overwhelmed and could hardly manage a smile. I had to basically put the brakes on her and say, "Is it OK if I ask you a question, or are you too busy." Cagney's, Bayamo by Ocean Blue and Le Bistro were excellent! 4. Disembarkation: we left our room at the time that persons carrying their own luggage were allowed to do so. When we arrived at the proper deck, there were huge lines with no indication as to where they began. Shouldn't have paid attention to their announcement about when we could leave our cabin. After asking around, we finally were on a line that appeared endless but slowly started moving. There were very few crew members around to help out or ask questions. 5. Tendering will always suck! At Cozumel there were a total of 8 ships in port and guess what, ours couldn't get a space to dock and had to anchor. The air was like Delhi, India inside the tender with noxious fumes! If I'm ever on a tender again, which I hope never happens, I'll be outside on the top deck or wait for the next one! Or just give up and go back to the ship and enjoy the light crowds. 6. Mildly annoying, the paper straws: we had to use 3 for each drink - they need to come up with something that doesn't immediately disintegrate. 7. Not a complaint but a "warning": the high speed water slide (forgot its name) may strand you inside the tube! I was going to try it and was watching people go through the tube and I could just barely see them through the darker colored plastic as they reached the summit of the tube (traveling very slowly at that point), and then amazingly they would make it all the way out. Then one guy got stuck! I'm so glad I caught this. He was let out of an opening designed for this purpose and made to sign something ("I am OK, I will not sue...). His back was all red and he didn't try it again. Neither did I. I think they need to go back to the drawing board and rethink the physics involved. All in all, it was a very enjoyable cruise.

Cabin Review

Port Reviews

Harvest Caye

I loved seeing the Pelicans dive for fish. The pool is huge!

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