Norwegian Escape Cruise Review
I’m going to start this review by saying, your travel partner(s) can make or break your experience. This was a girls’ trip, a celebration of turning 40(yikes!), a chance to get away with one of my best friends in the entire world, and an opportunity for a 7 day open bar experience. Was it all of those things? Yes. Was it a bit more than all of those things? Definitely yes!
Embarkation
To start this adventure…
My friend’s husband was gracious enough to drive us into the cruise port in Manhattan so we didn’t have to worry with parking. Just a quick haul of our suitcases across the street to the longest security line I’ve seen in my life! Mass chaos all around. Where do we drop our luggage? IDK! What line are we currently standing in? IDK! Is this even the right ship? Lawd, I hope so. The guy passing us while we wait in the line that we aren’t sure is for us, saying this was the worst cruise he’s ever been on? Seriously?! Me woofing down my snack before we reach TSA only to have a man try and reach his hand into my goldfish bag? WTF? But, hey, once we were through security and confirmed we were in the right place, my friend found free danish!
Fast forward 1.5 hours later and we are aboard the Norwegian Escape. Unlike my previous experience of walking directly into the ship’s exquisite foyer, we walked into the elevator landing platform and were immediately directed to our muster station where we presented our boarding pass to the crew member who simply confirmed that we showed up where we were supposed to.
Food/Drink
Now, on to O’Sheehan’s Bar & Grill (one of the complimentary dining locations) for the best reuben sandwich I’ve ever eaten followed by a bunch of people watching while we waited for our room. Now, while we are on the subject of food; the food on the Escape was definitely hit or miss. The best food we ate was definitely at O’Sheehan’s and we ate there several times. The food at the buffett was okay if you aren’t looking for anything special. The food in the main dining rooms (Taste and Savor) was just meh. In fact, as I’m writing this – I can’t remember a single thing that we ordered in the main dining rooms. I don’t have high food standards but was incredibly underwhelmed on this trip.
But, let’s talk about the open bar. We got the “Free At Sea” promo for this trip which included unlimited open bar access to wine, beer, cocktails, and soda. I am an American-beer drinking gal – but mudslides, cannonballs, and the entire selection of draft beer at the piano bar were the perfect addition to each day. Especially the cannonball. You MUST try the cannonball.
Entertainment
I give Norwegian a ton of credit here – there is ALWAYS something to do. From dance parties, to game shows, to comedians, to mentalists. If you are bored, it’s by your own choice. Highlights for me include Choir Of Man (which we saw twice because it was so freakin’ fantastic) and the Elton John Tribute Band (because you know, Elton John….swoon….).
And now for a touch of honesty. We sailed in mid-September to New England/Canada. I knew going into this trip, it would likely be an older crowd. However, I was not expecting to be one of the youngest people on the ship (remember when I said this was a 40th birthday celebration?). By the time we made it back to New York, I’d had my fill of Sweet Caroline, casino smoke, and geriatric bumping and grinding. No hate, just very ready to be back among my own generation.
Excursions
Newport, Rhode Island: Rain, rain go away…I’m trying to see the Vanderbuilt’s summer cottage and didn’t bring my galoshes.
We took a quick (free) trolly ride to the stop closest to The Breakers where we hopped off, walked two blocks, bought tickets, and toured the incredible waterfront home. Our tickets included access to a self-paced audit tour of the house as well as access to the garden.
Newport was quaint, felt safe, and was easy to navigate. Getting back to the ship, on the other hand, took sooooo long. And the offer of hot chocolate and warm (damp) towels while waiting in the pouring rain seemed a bit absurd. But again, the company you keep makes the experience!
Portland, Maine: Train rides and lobster rolls!
Portland has a big city feel with a sea-side attitude. The streets are walkable, there is great shopping, and the water front is packed with boats and seafood restaurants. We spent the morning exploring and souvenir hunting and then took a pit-stop for a lobster roll at Portland Lobster Co.
Since the weather was finally gorgeous, we headed back to the port entrance area where the Maine Narrow Gauge Railroad Company and Museum is located. Here we bought tickets for the scenic train ride, a narrated 40 minute round trip ride along the Casco Bay.
Bar Harbor, Maine: Where have you been all my life?!? Holy moly this place is beautiful!
Bar Harbor was by far my favorite stop on this entire trip. We arrived on the island early and were able to disembark before the town was awake. The streets were quiet and the shore was calm. We found a coffee-shop, browsed a few gift shops, checked out possible lunch options, and then headed back to catch Oli’s Trolley to take a narrated trolley tour of Cadillac Mountain and Acadia National Park. 10/10 – highly recommend! And if you luck out and get Jim as your tour guide – that’s all the better!
Now lunch. Let me tell you about lunch. We got a patio spot at Galyn’s and kept with “eat local” theme except not lobster. This time it was BLUEBERRIES! And oh my goodness was it delicious.
Saint John, New Brunswick: Oh Canada…
Ok, if we were going to skip a stop, this one should have been it as I’m not sure what the appeal of Saint John is, but I definitely wasn’t feeling it. We had an excursion booked through NCL to tour the area. It was nice, but nothing super fun except for learning that street signs are printed in both English and French and that Moosehead Brewing is located in the area. The tour ended at the Saint John City Market. Again, it was nice but nothing exceptional. So, we wandered, found a used bookstore, and some coffee, and sat on the steps of a local school until we thought better of it and worried we might get busted for trespassing. So, back on the ship we went to spend the day enjoying Deal Or No Deal, naps, balcony reading, and mudslides.
Halifax, Nova Scotia: Home of the Titanic Museum and Cemetery…that we didn’t get to see.
Did I mention we were sailing in mid-September which also happens to be hurricane season on the east coast? Well, we were lucky enough to sail out of New York following one tropical storm but were rerouted back to the US to wait out a second tropical storm in the New York Harbor.
To wrap up (and lessons learned):
- September comes with the chance of hurricanes and tropical storms, even when you are headed north. Be sure to pack an umbrella, poncho, appropriate shoes, and the seasickness meds just in case!
- An older crowd likes to sail north in the fall and most (if not all) onboard entertainment will be tailored toward that crowd. Be ready, or plan to make your own entertainment.
- If you book excursions outside of the cruise line, reputable companies have experience working with cruisers and know the importance of getting back on the boat at the designated time. Do your research and you could save substantial $$$.
- Maine is the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen! I’m hoping to take my family back and stay for a few days in the near future.
- Whatever comes….roll with it. That’s how memories are made (I’m looking at you Mr. Attempted Goldfish Stealing man!).
The Packing List
Things we were VERY glad to have and recommend for future cruises:
- Seasickness Meds
- Rain gear
- Portable phone charger
- Packing cubes (to get max capacity in your suitcase)
- Waterproof sling-back bag
- Pocket organizers (because two women in one room results in a lot of product to keep straight)
- Airborne (because…it can’t hurt!)
- Goldfish Crackers
- Patience (can you get that on Amazon??)