Cruise Ship Review: Norwegian Escape

Another Home Run From NCL 

Norwegian has done nothing but impress me with its newest flock of ships, well maybe with the exception of the Norwegian Epic weird bathroom scenario.  My trip on the Escape to the US Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, and Bahamas was another trip where I found a desire to spend my time in port on the ship just so I could try out all the ship had to offer.

I enjoyed this slide on the escape I rode it ten times in a row.

Probably my favorite single attraction on the Escape was the tubing water slide.  Built in a fashion to encourage racing, patrons slide down the prismatic tube aboard an inflatable singles or doubles tube.  In addition to an array of bright shifting colors and scenes, the slide features a section of completely clear tube hanging over the side of the ship, and wider portions where one tube in a race might just be able to slide past another.  I rode the slide in port, and the line was so short, and I enjoyed it so much, I rode ten times in a row.  The entrance to the slide is plenty wide for two tubes to lay side by side while the prospective riders maneuver into position.  A yellow bar is suspended along each wall that riders upon hear go can use to pull themselves into the current in a race before their partner.  The winner usually gets an unobstructed view on the ride down.

I recorded this video on one of my rides down the Escape's awesome tube slide.

Also amongst my favorite water features was the grotto located at the stern of the ship.  This cave like structure abundant with waterfalls, is much larger than any of the other Norwegian ships and offers an easy opportunity to cool off from the heat or the hot tubs.  I dipped in and out of the grotto several times while enjoying the adult only hot tubs in the area.

Another water feature to love: the extensive grotto.

For the more adventurous, the Escape offers a three-story ropes course.  That’s right the ropes course includes and extra level extra high above the deck.  I tried the ropes course as I have on other ships, but it was so windy I did not last nearly as long.  It was so windy in fact the top level of the course never opened up.  Maybe next time I go for a ride on the Escape it will be, and I can give it a try, only if it’s not too windy of course.

A whole other are of the grotto.

Of course as with all of the Norwegian ships in its class, the Escape also includes the beloved waterfront that wraps around the berth of the ship, dotted with bars and specialty restaurants.  Our beloved Irish bar and restaurant was another repeating feature of the ship, although the menu was a bit more extensive than the others of the fleet.  A wine bar on the Escape has replaced where the ice bar is on other ships, making another bar available to us on the beverage package. 

The top deck of the escape has a three story ropes course, and several slides.

Unfortunately the wine bar did not seem to be very popular, unlike the craft beer bar conveniently located near our stateroom.  Norwegian listens to what the people want, and on the Escape placed an entire bar dedicated to beer, featuring a long list of microbrews, especially abundant with microbrews originating from Florida, and again most of which were on the beverage package.  We made friends in the pub playing pub trivia and mini beer pong.  I wish all Norwegian ships had such a bar. 

Another unique aspect of the Escape is the Guy Harvey artwork that adorns the bow.  Guy Harvey is actually featured all over the ships, with artwork in the gallery, t-shirts in the gift shop, and even his own conservation TV channel. 

The irish pub on Escape offers a variety of tasty bar food, our favorite restaurant on the ship.

Now for a few less than awesome aspects of our trip, since we booked a balcony we got a beverage package and a meal package.  The meal package we found to be a bit of a bust.  The food was marginally nicer, but that’s only because Norwegian has consistently great food to begin with.  The tuna steak I had in the steak house was one of the best I’ve had, but in reality I would have been just as happy with a crepe from the buffet.  Given the choice of multiple packages again, we’ll be choosing something else.

David reviews the options of the wine bar on a tablet filled with descriptions.

The shows on the Escape were also sub par, with the typical random singing and dancing.  That is, except for the Million Dollar Quartet, which is a musical based on a recording session including Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Carl Perikns.  Million Dollar Quartet was an awesome show with actors actually singing and plying their own instruments.  The only problem with this awesome show is that it is no longer on the Escape.  The company that brought the show to Escape chose not to renew its contract, and the cruise we were on was the last to see the show before it was off loaded.  The glimmer of good in this is that the next time I go on Escape, because I certainly will is that a new show will be on board for me to see. 

A Guy Harvey mural adorns the bow of Escape, one of the many Guy Harvey touches that can be seen all over the ship.

By far the most unfortunate part of our cruise was that we contracted norovirus.  This is the intestinal virus known to proliferate in cramped environments like cruise ships.  We definitely contracted it on board since we did not get sick until a few days into the cruise.  Thankfully we had mild cases, so mild in fact for the first whole day we thought the effects were a result of indulging in the beverage package too much.  We are incessant hand washers, and wash our hands before every meal, and on cruise ships use hand sanitizers after washing just to be sure.  We got sick anyways, probably from some dirty hand using a common serving spoon at the buffet.  It happens, and we hold no ill will against Norwegian against it.  Out of the near twenty cruises I’ve been on this is the only time I’ve gotten sick from a food-borne pathogen.  It’s also not like I haven’t gotten sick while traveling across land either.  Just a few months prior I contracted food poisoning from a bad anchovy at a restaurant in Barcelona.  The sickness did put a damper on our trip though, making our dinning and beverage packages all but useless.  Still this small hiccup won’t keep me from cruising or even from Escape.  I’ll be back.

Above the waterfront hangs the clear tube part of the slide.