Norwegian Escape Review

4.0 / 5.0
3,047 reviews

Second leg of B2B on the Escape

Review for the Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Escape
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silverc243
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jan 2019
Cabin: Family Inside Stateroom

This cruise was the second half of my B2B on the Escape, the first was the 14 day Western Caribbean, 1/6 - 1/20;2019. I've already submitted my review for the first leg.

Since I was on the previous sailing I was aware of the issues they had with the noro virus and I was prepared for the sanitary procedures that would be in effect at the start of this cruise (see my previous review for the details). For many, embarkation for this cruise was not as smooth as normal. The plan was to have all passengers disembark with the last group called at 9:30 AM so they would have time to do a thorough cleaning of the ship before passengers for this cruise could board. NCL even sent notices out not to come to the pier before 10 AM. Unfortunately the last passengers did not disembark until after 12:30. This caused a large backup in the cruise terminal which was never designed to hold 5000 passengers. Since I was B2B it didn't affect me since once the ship was cleared I was allowed to go directly to the boarding door (normally on a B2B in NYC you no longer have to get off the ship, they bring customs onboard to clear you for the next cruise, but because of the cleaning I had to disembark this time). I can understand the frustration of passengers waiting to board, but these things happen. Once onboard we were told that due to the extreme cleaning going on, cabins would not be ready at 2 PM as usual. Later in the afternoon we were allowed to drop off our carry on luggage, but many cabins were not ready until later in the evening, since I had the Ultimate Beverage Package, it didn't bother me! The ship was delayed in departing because the CDC was onboard and had to clear the ship before she could leave. Again many passengers were upset, but since I was aware of all going on I was fine and felt sorry for the crew that had been working so long and hard to get the ship ready.

We arrived at our first stop, San Juan, a little late, scheduled for 3 PM but arrived around 4:15. Some excursions had to be cancelled. My plan was just to walk around the Old City and hang out at Senor Frog so I had no issues. I went snorkeling in St. Thomas, Barbados, St. Kitts and St. Lucia, all with NCL excursions and had a great adventure each time. The other ports I just walked around and stopped at local pubs.

Cabin Review

Family Inside Stateroom

My inside cabin was fine for me as a solo. I spend little time in the cabin so the size doesn't bother me. Enough storage for one person but I can see how it would be tight for more. Since I was in a family cabin there were two bunk beds folded up against the wall, I have no idea how a family of four could stay in such a small cabin. The cabin was clean and everything worked properly. My cabin steward was great.

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