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CRUISE REVIEW


NORWEGIAN
ESCAPE


Western Caribbean cruise

Winter 2019


by


Richard H. Wagner

 This was a fourteen day Western Caribbean cruise leaving from the Passenger Ship Terminal in Manhattan and stopping in Port Canaveral, Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Harvest Caye, Costa Maya and Cozumel before returning to ​​New York City.  A scheduled stop at Norwegian Cruise Line's private island Great Stirrup Cay had to be cancelled due to weather conditions. In summary, this was a very good cruise that exceeded our expectations.

In April 2018, Norwegian Escape replaced Norwegian Breakaway as Norwegian's large New York-based cruise ship. Breakaway had been in New York for five years and had developed a large group of fans. Many of these fans had returned each year for a long winter cruise to the Caribbean. As a result, coming into this cruise, Escape had an established base of fans but faced the problem of being compared to a popular ship.

Escape met this challenge in two ways. First, the ship is similar but slightly different than Breakaway. As a Breakaway-Plus class ship, Escape has the much the same layout as Breakaway and most of the same features. However, she also has some additional features such as an additional specialty restaurant (the Food Republic) and an additional bar (the District Brewhouse). The names and themes of some of the other venues are also different than those of the equivalent spaces on Breakaway. In general, the décor of the public areas is reminiscent of Breakaway's but somewhat more sophisticated. Thus, Escape is similar enough to Breakaway for Breakaway fans to feel at home but different enough to offer variety.

Second, the crew of the Escape were both competent and eager to serve. Breakaway had good crews during her time in New York but Escape's crew seemed consistently willing to go beyond what was expected. Their positive attitude greatly enhanced the cruise experience.

Consequently, Escape did not suffer by comparison. Rather, she demonstrated that she is a worthy successor to a popular ship in one of the cruise industry's most demanding markets.

Dining

Overall, I was very pleased with the dining on Escape. I was particularly pleased with the specialty restaurants. Le Bistro, the French-inspired restaurant and La Cucina, the Italian-inspired restaurant, were so good as to warrant return visits. The Coquilles Saint-Jacques appetizer at Le Bistro and the pizzas at La Cucina were particularly memorable. The filet mignon at both venues was even better than at the Cagney's steakhouse, which was quite good.

Bayamo, the seafood venue, also deserves high marks. Originally, this venue had a Latin-theme but now it offers the same menu as Ocean Blue, the seafood venue on Breakaway and some of the other Norwegian ships. In any event, the various fish dishes were carefully prepared and had a great deal of flavor.

The three main dining rooms also were good. Their menus had variety and the food was nicely prepared. The only issue with these venues was on the first sea day of the voyage where their were substantial delays at Taste and Savor during breakfast. This may well have been attributable to the fact that the average age of the passengers was higher than normal. Mature cruisers generally prefer to be served rather than go to the buffet and so the dining rooms were overwhelmed. However, this problem had been dealt with by the next day and the service was good.

The only disappointing meal I had on Escape was at the Supper Club. At this venue, you are served a three course dinner as you watch a show. The show, rather than the food is the focus. However, there is only one choice per course and those items were not up to the standard adhered to elsewhere on Escape. Admittedly, in this instance, the show and dinner were complimentary - - the Supper Club also has evenings when there is a cover charge - - but the complimentary dinners elsewhere on the ship were much better. Indeed, several passengers I spoke with adjourned to O'Sheehan's for another meal after the Supper Club show ended.

Entertainment

Escape features two main shows in its theater. The first is “After Midnight,” which is a revue that seeks to capture the spirit of the Jazz Age in Harlem in the first half of the 20th century. This high energy show received good marks from everyone I spoke with.

The second show is “The Choir of Men.” From the title, you might get the impression that this is a chorus of stuffy men in dinner jackets singing but in reality, it is a show set in a working class British pub. The bartender and some of the patrons take turns singing and dancing to popular tunes. The show engages the audience, making them feel part of the pub atmosphere. Indeed, guests can come up on stage for beer before the show. As a result, the audience gave the cast standing ovations after almost every song. This show was originally in the Supper Club but proved so successful that it was moved to the main theater.

In addition to the ship's two shows, the theater was used for shows by visiting performers including jugglers, magicians and comedians.   The most outstanding of these was the singing group Vox Fortura who combined European classical music with Soul themes.

The comedians were stand-up comics from the Levity Entertainment Group. They also performed in the more intimate Headliners, alternating with the dueling pianos of Howl at the Moon.

We were very pleased that Norwegian had an independent lecturer on this voyage. Professor Barry Rock spoke not only about the ports that the ship was going to but also on topics such as the NASA Space Program, Mayan civilization, astronomy and the Bermuda triangle. At first, these were scheduled to be presented in the Five O'Clock Somewhere bar at 9 a.m. - - a small venue at an inconvenient time for most passengers. However, the passenger response was so positive that the lectures were moved to the main theater. Clearly, there is a demand for good enrichment programming even on mass market cruises.

Escape also had several dance and theme parties during the voyage. Unlike Norwegian Bliss and Norwegian Epic, Escape does not have the Beatles-themed Cavern Club. Therefore, to provide some Beatles entertainment, one of the deck parties in the outdoor Spice H20 area featured the music of the Beatles. However, this was not just a DJ playing recordings but also had videos of the Beatles performing on the giant video screen. Thus, there was something for people who wanted to dance and something for people who just wanted to watch the great band perform.

Passengers

It is an axiom in the cruise industry that longer cruises attract a more mature crowd. This has to do with the fact that retirees generally have more free time and the fact that young families cannot take their children out of school for long periods. In any event, although there were adults of all ages on this voyage, a large percentage were mature. There were very few children.

A large percentage of the passengers were from the New York area. However, there were also a large number of French-speaking Canadians and quite a few people from the UK and Europe.

The bigger Norwegian ships are very friendly to people traveling on their own. These ships have “studio” cabins - - efficiencies designed for one person. There is no “single supplement” charged for these cabins and while the fare is usually higher than the per person rate for sharing a double occupancy cabin, it is more affordable than paying for a second non-existent companion. In addition, all of the studio cabins are located together and share a dedicated lounge that is stocked with snacks and beverages. On top of this, a member of the cruise staff organizes dinners and activities for the solos, which passengers can - - but are not required to - - participate in.

Escape has more solo cabins than Breakaway, occupying parts of three decks. Furthermore, the cruise staff person assigned to the “solos” seemed particularly motivated and organized more activities than usual including a complimentary Valentine's Day party with wine and tasty heart-shaped cookies.

Nautical

Norwegian Escape was in very good condition. There were no signs of exterior rust, which is a strong indication that a ship is being well-maintained.

Escape encountered a storm while traversing the Gulf of Mexico after leaving Cozumel and that caused some movement. However, most passengers were out and about enjoying the public areas of the ship.

Unlike Norwegian's Jewel class ships, the Breakaway and Breakaway-Plus ships were not built for speed. Thus, when on its way home Escape had to divert to Key West due to a medical emergency, many passengers expected that the ship would be delayed in its return to New York. However, Escape confounded such expectations. Going close to her maximum speed and taking advantage of the Gulf Stream, she actually arrived in New York ahead of schedule.

FOR MORE ABOUT CRUISING ON NORWEGIAN ESCAPE

​Norwegian Escape home page

Click here for our photo tour of Norwegian Escape

Click here for our Norwegian Escape daily programs page
​
Click here for  Norwegian Escape menus page
​

Receiving enthusiastic responses from the audiences were Norwegian's show "A Choir of Men" (above) and visiting singing group Vox Fortura (below).

Cruise ship review - - Norwegian Cruise Line - - Norwegian Escape - - Western Caribbean cruise