Norwegian Escape – Review & Ship Tour

We sailed with Norwegian on the Escape in November 2019 for a Bermuda itinerary. The ship left form New York from the Manhattan cruise terminal and made one stop for 3-days: Bermuda. Earlier in 2019 I claimed that our cruise on the Freedom of the Seas was the biggest and best cruise we’ve been on, but our cruise on the Escape has topped that! Here is a detailed review of our cruise.

Ship & Amenities

The Norwegian Escape is officially the largest cruise ship we’ve sailed on. The ship has a passenger capacity of 4,266, yet despite the number of passengers it never felt too crowded. With the sheer enormity of the ship, we always felt like there was space for us in the lounges, bars and restaurants. There were plenty of amenities and areas for passengers to enjoy. The only area that really felt crowded was the pool areas – but that’s the case on every ship we’ve been on. One thing that really stood out as a negative to me were the elevators. They were slow, they were crowded, and they were necessary for my husband to get around the ship due to a mobility issue. We spent a lot of time waiting. So, for anyone who needs the elevators, just know that you will need a lot of patience!

Activities & Entertainment

I found that this ship had a fantastic array of activities and entertainment to keep passengers busy and having fun. I personally enjoyed the main atrium lounge, the Brewhouse and O’Sheahan’s Pub for the drinks, dining and entertainment acts. There were lots of seats if you got there early, but once an act was underway it became more difficult.

Other indoor activities included watching a show at the theatre, bingo, karaoke, art auctions, shopping, video arcade, the spa, working out at the gym, bowling, trivia games, and many other activities found on the daily itinerary. There were so many activities taking place, I couldn’t even participate in everything I wanted to during the week. I’d definitely say the entertainment on this ship was top notch and some of the best I’ve ever seen on a cruise.

Service

The service on the Norwegian Escape was fantastic. Regardless of where you were on the ship, the bartenders were all friendly and generous with their drinks. The majority of them also remembered your drink order too. Service in the main dining room was always top notch. We only ate at the buffet once for dinner, and the crew was pretty fast to clear empty dishes and clean the tables. The crew members at Guest Services, the Internet Cafe and the Shore Excursion desk were helpful and friendly as well. Overall, I’d still say the service we had was excellent.

Our Cabin

We stayed in a mini-suite balcony cabin (check out the cabin tour here) and I loved the room. The cabin felt spacious with a seating area and natural light. There was adequate storage and closet space for all of our stuff for the week. Despite not meeting our cabin steward until the third day, he always kept our cabin fully stocked and clean. Just like on our Royal Caribbean cruise, our steward was like a ninja!

Drinks

We had the drink package as part of the “Free at Sea” promotion, so it cost less than $300 for both of us. Since we had a few sea days, and enjoy sampling different cocktails, whiskies, wines, and beers we thought that was more than worth it. After two days we already got the value out of the package. Drinks were fairly expensive and priced in US dollars. My husband is really into whiskey, so he was drinking the most expensive whiskey he could at $15 USD per drink. Wines started at $8 and ranged up to $20+ per glass. Cocktails were in the $8-15 range and beers started at about $6 – 11 USD. Some of my favourite cocktails were found in the Brewhouse, and I also enjoyed the craft beers they had on tap. Here’s a look at the brewhouse onboard the Escape.

Food

Dining Room
One of my favourite parts of cruising with Norwegian was that we could eat dinner whenever we wanted, wherever we wanted. The main dining rooms were our favourite choices, because we loved the 3-course dinner menu. I personally don’t even think the specialty restaurants are needed with the quality and variety of the food in the main dining room. Every meal I had in the main dining rooms were delicious and the desserts in the main dining room were much better than the ones at the buffet.

Buffet & Snacks
We only ate at the buffet a few times throughout the cruise, and mostly for lunch. I found the food to be ok, but it seemed like the same things were served most days. If I were to eat at the buffet again, I’d probably stick to breakfast and lunch and during off-peak hours as it gets rather chaotic in there.

Specialty Restaurants & Snack Options
This ship had a number of specialty restaurants and options for snacks that cost extra. If you opted in to the “Free at Sea” with specialty dining, some of these were included throughout your cruise. We went to the Brazilian Steakhouse and thought the food was really delicious, and the experience was also pretty fun. At almost about $59 per person, I didn’t find the food and experience to be worth it. If I cruise with Norwegian again, I probably wouldn’t select or pay for the specialty restaurants. I spoke with some of the other passengers who swear by the specialty dining, but for me it just wasn’t necessary with all the free options.

My Favourites
I loved the main dining room for breakfast and dinner. The food quality and variety was top notch for me. I also really liked going to O’Sheahan’s for breakfast and wings. The wings at the pub were fantastic, I’m still thinking about them over 2 months later!

Port of Call

Bermuda was the only port of call on this cruise, and we were there for 2 nights and 2.5 days. We really enjoyed Bermuda and despite the short amount of time, we made the most of our experience. You can check out how we spent our time in Bermuda on my Bermuda Itinerary post. The island is very easy to see on your own, and the people we met were all super friendly and helpful as we navigated the bus system and went from one end of the island to the other. I also shared some Bermuda travel tips for anyone visiting the island.

Excursions

We thought that there was an excellent choice of excursions from the ship, but as always, convenience comes at a price. Since we weren’t familiar with the island and didn’t know how much we could do on our own, we booked an island tour to capture some of the highlights. It was a 4-hour tour and was reasonably priced. We really enjoyed it and actually learned about some of the island’s history from our tour guide – which we wouldn’t have gotten on our own. I’d say if you’re feeling adventurous you can explore the island on your own and save some money.

Norwegian Escape Overall Experience

The more cruises I go on, the more I love it. My Norwegian Escape cruise experience was the best yet. I’d go back on the Escape if I had the chance, and I’ll definitely be cruising with Norwegian again. If you have the opportunity to take a cruise on the Norwegian Escape, I’d highly recommend it!

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