Next weekend, I’ll be making the drive to New Orleans for something that always gets my pulse racing: a ship inspection aboard the Norwegian Escape. While most cruisers experience these magnificent vessels as passengers, ship inspections offer a rare behind-the-scenes look at everything from galley operations to bridge technology—and right now, there’s no better time to get an up-close look at this particular ship.
What Exactly Is a Ship Inspection?
For those unfamiliar, a ship inspection is quite different from a typical cruise or even a fam trip. This is a dockside tour hosted by Norwegian Cruise Line, where travel professionals, journalists, and industry specialists get an in-depth look at the vessel while she’s in port. Unlike passengers who experience the ship while sailing, we’ll have the opportunity to examine facilities with a critical eye, ask detailed questions, and gather information that helps us better advise clients.
During this inspection, I’ll walk miles of corridors, climb numerous decks, peek into various cabin categories, examine restaurant layouts, and meet department heads who can answer technical questions that typical guests might never think to ask. It’s exhausting, exhilarating, and absolutely essential for anyone who recommends cruise experiences professionally—especially when there are recent operational issues that need context and explanation.
The Norwegian Escape: A Breakaway Plus Success Story
The Norwegian Escape holds a special place in NCL’s fleet history. As the cruise line’s first Breakaway Plus-class ship, she represented a significant leap forward when she debuted in 2015. Built by Germany’s renowned Meyer Werft shipyard at a cost of approximately €700 million, the Escape stretched the limits of modern cruise ship construction with her impressive 164,998 gross tons and 326-meter length.
What makes her naming particularly memorable is that it came from an online Facebook contest—a bit of crowd-sourced marketing that Norwegian executed well. The ship was christened by Pitbull in November 2015 at PortMiami, marking the first time the cruise line designated a man as godfather for one of their vessels.
With capacity for 4,266 guests and a crew of 1,733, the Escape brought Norwegian’s signature “Freestyle Cruising” concept to a new scale, featuring innovations that would influence subsequent ship designs across the industry. Her five MAN engines generate a combined 76,800 kilowatts of power—which brings us to why this particular inspection visit is especially timely.
Recent Challenges: When Speed Matters
The Norwegian Escape has faced some technical difficulties recently that make this inspection particularly relevant. In September 2025, the ship experienced propulsion problems that significantly affected her performance. Instead of her typical top speed of 23 knots (about 26 mph), the Escape was reduced to approximately 16 knots (18 mph).
This speed reduction had real consequences for passengers. During her 14-night repositioning cruise from New York to New Orleans—the voyage that brought her to the Gulf for her winter season—the compromised propulsion forced Norwegian to drop two popular ports from the itinerary: San Juan, Puerto Rico, and George Town, Grand Cayman. When a ship can’t maintain normal cruising speed, the mathematics of port-to-port travel simply don’t work, forcing difficult decisions about which destinations to cut. The slower cruise speed has persisted into the winter season, with every itinerary altered and most departing and arriving late.
The ship’s arrival in New Orleans on October 25th was also problematic, though for different reasons. While scheduled to dock at 8:00 AM, passengers reported they couldn’t disembark until after noon—not due to mechanical issues this time, but because of river congestion. Missing a four-hour window can mean missed flights, disrupted travel plans, and significant frustration for guests trying to get home.
And the delays continue. Just today, the Escape experienced approximately three-hour delays for both arrival and departure in New Orleans, with no official explanation provided. The pattern of operational disruptions is becoming concerning for both passengers and those of us who book clients on this vessel.
What Passenger Reviews Reveal
Having sailed on the Escape myself and enjoyed the experience, I was curious how recent passengers were reacting to these operational challenges. A look at passenger review data paints a concerning picture of declining sentiment.
In May 2025—before the propulsion issues surfaced—Norwegian Escape passenger reviews averaged 4.5 out of 5 stars with a sentiment score of 0.83, indicating strongly positive experiences. Fast forward to October 2025, after months of mechanical problems and schedule disruptions, and we see a dramatic shift: average ratings dropped to 4.0 stars with sentiment plummeting to just 0.30.
That’s not just statistical noise. It represents real passengers dealing with missed ports, delayed departures, and the frustration of a vacation that doesn’t go according to plan. Out of 10 reviews posted in October, only 4 were genuinely positive, with 1 distinctly negative—a far cry from the enthusiastic responses the ship generated earlier in the year.
The September data is particularly telling, capturing reviews from passengers who sailed during the initial propulsion problems. While ratings held relatively steady at 3.83 stars, the experiences described reveal the impact of itinerary changes and operational uncertainty.
The New Orleans Factor
Speaking of New Orleans, the reports I’ve been hearing about Port NOLA’s cruise terminals are worth noting. Despite the port setting a passenger record in March 2025 with 165,000 cruise movements in a single month, the infrastructure apparently hasn’t kept pace with demand. Multiple sources describe the terminal experience as “small, poorly organized, and a bit chaotic”—and that’s during normal operations.
When you factor in the massive passenger volumes (New Orleans is now the sixth-largest cruise port in the United States), the relatively compact Julia Street and Erato Street terminals, and the occasional river traffic delays that the Escape experienced, it’s easy to see why embarkation and debarkation can become bottlenecks.
This context makes my upcoming inspection even more interesting. I’ll be looking not just at the ship’s amenities and passenger-facing features, but also at how the Escape’s operations integrate with Port NOLA’s facilities. Has Norwegian implemented any procedures to smooth the chaotic terminal experience? How have the recent propulsion issues been addressed? What reassurances can the crew provide about reliability for the remainder of the winter season?
Looking Forward
The drive to New Orleans next weekend promises more than just a routine ship inspection—it’s an opportunity to get straight answers about a vessel that’s facing serious operational challenges. I’ve sailed on the Norwegian Escape myself and enjoyed the experience. She’s a remarkable ship with outstanding amenities and delivers the signature Norwegian Cruise Line experience when everything is working as it should.
But “when everything is working” is exactly what’s in question right now. The propulsion issues, the ongoing delays, the declining passenger sentiment—these aren’t minor hiccups. They’re patterns that demand explanation, especially for travel professionals who stake our reputations on the recommendations we make.
During this NCL-hosted dockside tour, I’ll be looking not just at the ship’s amenities and passenger-facing features, but seeking answers to the hard questions: What’s really going on with the propulsion system? Have the repairs been completed? What contingency plans are in place if problems persist? Norwegian assures us the ship’s safety is not compromised, and I believe them on that. But how is Norwegian supporting passengers when delays and itinerary changes occur? From what I’ve seen it hasn’t been very well.
The Norwegian Escape has the potential to deliver exceptional vacations. The question is whether she can consistently do so right now, or whether clients are better served by considering other vessels until these issues are fully resolved.
I’ll be documenting everything and sharing a detailed report after the inspection. Stay tuned for an honest, unvarnished look at what’s really happening aboard the Norwegian Escape.
