Norwegian Escape Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Wife and I cruised on the Norwegian Escape in late November 2022 to the eastern Caribbean. We are in our 60s and this was our 32nd cruise and 8th on Norwegian. We chose this cruise due to a different destination, Dominican Republic (Puerto Plata), and to try out the Haven on the Escape. Overall we enjoyed the cruise although we prefer cruises to Europe and the Pacific.
Embark – NCL no longer requires proof of covid vaccinations nor any testing prior to boarding for US cruises to the Caribbean. There are still a few other destinations that require this currently (Bermuda, Australia, etc) but not our cruise. The only covid question was in the health questionnaire at the pier (contact within 14 days). As we were Haven passengers, we had a separate embark line at the Port Canaveral cruise terminal which included a lounge with snacks. We had checked in online so they promptly handed us our key cards and escorted us direct to the Haven bypassing most lines along the way. I saw long lines at checkin at 11am but there were a lot of counters manned so it probably went fairly quickly although this was a full ship on the largest ship in NCL.
Cabin – We booked the smallest Haven suite, the Haven Spa Suite with Balcony. We knew we wanted the thermal spa on the ship and that was included with this cabin. The cabin was great, slightly larger than a junior suite, and furnished very nicely and with a very comfortable king bed. Bathroom was also nice size with a double sink and a large shower, no tub. These suites also include a Jacuzzi tub in the bedroom which we never used except to store the bed pillows and wet towels. Our cabin steward was outstanding.
Cabin Review
The Haven Spa Suite with Balcony
We booked the smallest Haven suite, the Haven Spa Suite with Balcony. We knew we wanted the thermal spa on the ship and that was included with this cabin. The cabin was great, slightly larger than a junior suite, and furnished very nicely and with a very comfortable king bed. Bathroom was also nice size with a double sink and a large shower, no tub. These suites also include a Jacuzzi tub in the bedroom which we never used except to store the bed pillows and wet towels. Our cabin steward was outstanding.
Port Reviews
The dock area in Puerto Plata featured numerous shops and was very nice. We took an NCL excursion, ATV Adventure. We took an open air truck to the adventure park which featured zip lining, a beach, and the ATVs. It was a good excursion but not great. The 1 hr drive was over a dirt road and was fairly dusty, as was the 1 hr spent on the ATV. The beach wasn’t great, typical Atlantic dark sand, and had no reef. Folks zip lining seemed to have fun.
St. Thomas
The dock in St Thomas was away from the town so you had to take a bus or taxi to go shopping. We took an NCL excursion, St Johns Catamaran & Snorkeling. It was also good, consisted of a 30 min drive across the island followed by a 1 hr catamaran to St Johns. We anchored off of Honeymoon Beach and snorkeled. As with the Dominican Republic, there was no reef only sea grass and sand, so the snorkeling wasn’t very exciting. We did see some sea turtles, a sting ray, and a few dozen fish.
Tortola
The stop in Tortola was only for 7 hrs so did not allow much time to see the island. The only NCL excursions were beach breaks so we instead walked a mile into town to some shopping areas to buy t-shirts and stuff. Most of the shops were cash-only and took US dollars which is the BVI currency.