Three and a half years after we last sailed NCL with friends, my family and I returned to the cruise line for a summer getaway. Initially we booked one week onboard using a 20% discount (not just one of the advertised “sales”) and then added a second week as prices kept dropping and our summer schedule changed.
I was truly excited to return to a Breakaway Plus class vessel. These were some of our favourite ships before having children. We’d also accumulated perks with the Norwegian Latitudes program, like specialty dining and send-away laundry, that would be nice to try again. Norwegian Escape, while missing the Observation Lounge from newer ships, still has one of my favourite onboard venues (District Brew House) and all the great features from Breakaway and Getaway.
Our 2023 sailing on Bliss had a few drawbacks, so my excitement was balanced with reservations about the level of service, food quality, and how our kids would like a different youth program. Norwegian has also put their marketing efforts squarely into Prima-class since it launched in 2022, so I had hoped the conditions on the previous-generation ships hadn’t suffered as a result.
After two weeks onboard, Escape was a substantial improvement over our 2023 cruise on Bliss. Bar, restaurant, and cabin service staff were friendly, quick, and professional. Food was generally good, although the same base ingredients appeared conspicuously often across days, venues, and even dishes on the same menu. The ropes course at the top of the ship was a highlight for our kids, and the Waterfront – with convenient access to drinks at Tobacco Road/Pour House – continues to be a top onboard venue.
For our family, though, NCL still didn’t offer as much value as our recent Princess sailings. In what I considered a major downgrade, the Splash Academy supervised kids’ program had no morning or afternoon sessions on port days. One of the two pools was exclusively reserved for adults, and the one designated for families was too busy and had no real shallow section. The surrounding deck was perpetually slammed with guests and blaring music. And while I love O’Sheehan’s, the quick grab-and-go options at the International Cafe on Princess rather than full table service on NCL are much more practical for late night dining.
Disclosure: I did something new and used Microsoft Copilot to edit this post, but reviewed each of its suggestions before making adjustments. I also did not have it write new material or rewrite substantial sections. This is for your own benefit as I was able to remove about forty occurrences of the word “option” as a result.
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