Welcome Aboard the brand new Norwegian Escape! After planning our cruise on this new ship for 6 months, we have just returned. She is an amazing ship with 20 decks of fun, food, and plenty of things to do and see. For those already booked and waiting to step onboard this ship or those considering a cruise on this newest megaship, we have put together this Norwegian Escape Photo Tour. Touring every deck, and even getting access to some exclusive areas like the Haven and Vibe Beach club, this Norwegian Escape Photo Tour explores all of the major restaurants, bars and lounges, and entertainment venues, deck-by-deck. Be prepared, there is a lot to see on this tour. Norwegian Escape Photo Tour Deck 20 Our first stop on this Norwegian Escape Photo Tour is Deck 20, home to the top most sun deck, found forward on the ship. Plenty of deck chairs can be found here early in the morning, but on sunny days they do fill up quickly. Norwegian Escape Photo Tour — Top Sundeck Deck 19 Also forward on the port side of the ship is another public sun deck, complete with the Sundeck Bar. For this Norwegian Escape Photo Tour, we got a glimpse of this secluded area. For even more luxury, we also got a peek at the Haven Sun Deck, located forward on the starboard side. This area is available to guests staying in the Haven Suites only. You can also grab a great photo of the pool deck and lower decks by walking the little track behind the bar. Haven Sun Deck Entrance to Vibe Beach Club Vibe Beach Bar Inside Vibe Beach Club Sun Deck Bar Pool Deck View from Deck 19 To get to the aft section of this deck, you need to walk down to deck 17, and then climb back up again. If you make this journey, you will find yourself walking back up to the basketball court and sports complex. Deck 18 Those Haven Guests have it quite good on this deck. Also located here is the Haven Restaurant, open for all three meals. The menu does stay the same all week and is different than the main dining room menus. Start of the course Wide shot of mini golf There was also a small bocce ball court which did see some action during the cruise just not from us. One of my favorite features of the Norwegian Escape is the two story ropes course. Both the Princess and I explored this outdoor feature on day 3, and I returned again on day 5 for more climbing and balancing fun. Note, only wearable cameras are allowed on the ropes course. Ropes Course Entrance to Rope Course Suspension Bridge Deck 17 Heading down one deck on this Norwegian Escape Photo Tour, deck 17 is full of great venues including Spice H20 at the aft of the ship. During the day, this adult only area offers some great sun, a bar, and the grotto, a unique water feature that lets you cool off without having to hop in the pool. Teen Area Deck 17 Entrance to Video Arcade Inside Arcade Perhaps one of our favorite spots on the Norwegian Escape was Margaritaville. We grabbed a few midday snacks here as well as some drinks from the Chill Bar. Even if you do not want to eat here, you can use the at the Chill Bar to get one of the signature boat drinks or margaritas. The drinks and food are quite addictive! Chill Bar at Sea More Cocktails at Chill Bar To get to the front of the ship on deck 17 from Margaritaville, you pass the small jogging track. As we continue forward, on the port side is the Waves Pool Bar. Note, this is a smoking section. Now that you are mid ship you will find deck chairs on both starboard and port side. These are highly coveted and fill-up fast as they provide you with a nice view of the pools and some great sun. More Pool Views All the way forward on deck 17 is the Haven. Here, you have the reception area with a lounge, bar, and the Haven Courtyard with a private pool and lounge chairs. A retractable roof allows you to enjoy this pool regardless of the weather. Fitness Center and Spa Entrance Weights at Fitness Center Fitness Center Cardio Equipment Once you walk through the fitness center, you enter the Spa area. Here, you have the beauty salon as well as several treatment rooms that offer a variety of spa treatments. If you continue forward, you enter the Thermal Spa. The cruise line was nice enough to give us a guided tour of the Thermal Spa for our Norwegian Escape Photo Tour. Several different spa experiences are available including steam baths, therapy pools, both a sauna and sanarium, a salt bath, and the snow cave- kept at 17 degrees Fahrenheit with actual snow. Entrance to Thermal Spa Sauna Inside Sanarium Snow Cave Entrance Exiting the fitness center, you are at the adult pool. Honestly, this is more like the main pool area on most cruise ships where the stage is located. Many of the pool deck events like the sexy legs contest, ice carvings, and cruise director led shows occur at this pool. It is nearly impossible to get a deck chair here, but honestly, we found the best sun exposure on deck 19 forward and deck 17 in Spice H20. Here, you can also find the main Waves Pool Bar and the Marketplace. Entering the Garden Cafe Garden Cafe Bar Garden Cafe Seating Al Freso Seating Self Serve Ice Cream Deck 11 Technically, there are no public facilities from Deck 15 down to Deck 8. All of these decks consist of staterooms. Our balcony room was located on deck 11, mid-ship cabin 11782. We wanted to include some pictures of the cabin for now, but be on the lookout for a full stateroom review coming soon. Also on this deck are some studio cabins and the studio lounge. There are three decks of studio rooms Decks 10-12 , and we were able to get a tour of the area for our Norwegian Escape Photo Tour. Unfortunately, all cabins were occupied, so we were not able to see one of the rooms. Maybe I can convince the Princess to let me go on a cruise in one of these cabins to get some photos. Stateroom Bathroom Desk Area of Balcony Room Balcony View Inside the Studio Area Entering the Studio Lounge Deck 8 Continuing down to the heart of the ship, many venues are found on decks 6, 7, and 8. There are a lot of places to eat and drink on deck 8, so we took plenty of pictures on this Norwegian Escape Photo Tour. Starting at the front of the ship, you have the District Brew House-a pub with a specialty cocktail menu and a wide selection of beers on tap. Across the way, on the starboard side, is the Food Republic. Not part of the meal plan, this fusion restaurant serves a wide selection of tapas. We dined here on the last night of our cruise, and it was some of the best food we had. Both venues have specialty menus. We had some of the best service here, and all appetizers, pastas, entrees, and desserts were excellent. Chandelier Lit up at Night Chandelier Selfie Chandelier during the Day Wrapping around this circular open area are the Cellars Wine Bar and shops on the port side. Norwegian Escape Photo Tour — Some of the Shops on Deck 8 We are by no means wine connoisseurs, but we did enjoy some glasses of wine here. Crowds were hit or miss, but the times we visited the Cellars Wine Bar, it was rather quiet. There is a hallway that routinely has different sales on jewelry and other goods. As you head further aft, the Photo Gallery is on the starboard side. The Photo Gallery on Deck 8 Next up is the Bake Shop and Dolce Gelato. They are basically the same venue and are open select hours during your cruise. The bake shop served very similar treats to what you could also purchase in the Atrium Cafe. Deck 8 The Waterfront Most of the venues found on this deck offer outdoor seating on the Waterfront. This area was a great place to dine al fresco, enjoy an evening cocktail, and just relax. If you choose to dine at some of the specialty restaurants here, we suggest you give the waterfront dining a go, if they have availability. Forward on this deck is the Theater. With a very modern design, the theater is more visually appealing than some other cruise ships. If you have not pre-booked shows, you can do so at the Box Office once onboard, or use the Norwegian iConcierge app or your stateroom television. Theater Entrance Box Office Escape Theater Escape Theater Bar Million Dollar Quartet Showing in the Escape Theater are the two Broadway shows, Million Dollar Quartet and After Midnight. Both shows can be pre-booked prior to your sailing. There is a dining room area as well as a bar area with high top chairs. There are also plenty of arcade style games including pool, darts, and bowling available here, which makes for a nice break from the sun. Large panel televisions depict various city skylines throughout the day and night. This venue also offers both live music and virtual concerts. Even if you are not a gambler, it is worth checking out this bar during your cruise. Completing our Norwegian Escape Photo Tour on deck 7 aft is the Manhattan Room. Elegant and sophisticated, this main dining room offers the same menu as both Savor and Taste located on deck 6. Live music is played throughout dinner, and patrons are welcomed to use the dance floor in between courses. More Seating in Manhattan Room Deck 6 Heading down the forward stairs, there is a nice large sign showcasing all of the senior staff onboard. On the starboard side is the Supper Club, home of For the Record: The Brat Pack. This up charge dinner show was one of the highlights on our vacation. Being kids of the 80s, we thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Our Chef in Action Across from the restaurants is the Headliners Comedy club. During the day, this venue often doubled as the art auction location. On some nights of the cruise, comedy acts were featured here. We saw both comedians at the 9pm show and found them to be quite funny. Art in Front of the Venue Standby Area Entrance to Comedy Club On other nights, this venue transformed into the Howl at the Moon piano bar. The performers were pretty solid musicians, but what made this show was the banter between the performers and the heckling of the crowd. At the aft of the ship on deck 6 were the two other main dining rooms, Savor and Taste. The dinner menus are the same at all three complimentary restaurants, but these two are the only ones open for lunch and breakfast. In between the restaurants is the Mixx Bar, a great spot for a pre-dinner drink. Entrance to Savor Inside Savor More seating in Savor Taste Entrance Seating in Taste Additional Seats in Taste Nightly Piano Entertainment Photo Op with Oversized Chair Deck 5 There are only two public areas on this deck. One of them is the private room at Taste. The other public space on deck 5 is the Splash Academy. Thanks Mark for the question. Looks like Susan beat us to the punch. As she mentions, the passes are hard to come by, but do not lose hope. The few times we peaked into the area, we did see plenty of empty chairs and the day we got a tour of the small space it was not very full. There is no pool there either, just a hot tub, and we did not have issues getting lounge chairs in other areas of the ship during the sea days. Although, having a private bar that is not too crowded is a nice benefit of the Vibe. One thing we did learn on our recent sailing was you can go to guest services any day during the cruise to see if you can get a day pass to Vibe. The Hotel Director staff we spoke mentioned it might be easier to get a day pass during a port of call, as people get off the ship, but you can still try and during a sea day. You might get lucky. We just got off the ship and everything was beyond awesome. However, my absolute favorite place was the patio in our cabin, or anywhere we could look out at the sea. Watching the ship arriving to or from ports, the sunsets slept too late for sunrises , waves, stars, moonlight, clouds, seeking out other ships, photographing buildings, islands, etc. Walking out on the patio every morning and evening was beyond words! We are Don and Heidi, the husband and wife travel team behind EatSleepCruise. We took our first cruise vacation together 10 years ago and have been hooked ever since. Follow along as we share our travel tips, cruise reviews, information on ports of call, and the latest cruise news to help you plan the ultimate cruise vacation.
