We had never done a transatlantic before and we're not getting any younger, so we figured now or never...and never wasn't an option. We had a Mediterranean cruise on the Escape canceled in May, 2020 and were determined to do this one.

The ship itself was practically spotless. The crew was extremely friendly, always smiling and greeting you in the hallways. Our cabin steward, Ryan, was superb. Eternally cheerful, hard-working and helpful...probably the best cabin steward we've ever had, attentive to our every need (including some we didn't even know we had).

The captain was great...taking the step of eliminating one of our stops in the Azores due to high winds which would have put the ship (and all of us) in jeopardy. Kept everyone informed daily, and with a sense of humor, as well. While others on board complained of high seas throughout the cruise (including six straight sea days heading to New York), other than a handful of rocky moments, we didn't think it was bad in general. But we did have a cabin smack-dab in mid-ship, which probably helped. Read more