Cruise Spotlight
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MSC World America vs Norwegian Escape
The MSC World America is a fairly new ship, being built in 2025. The World America was built specifically for the American market with customized venues like MSC's first sports bars and an onboard brewery. The ship is split into seven districts that provide unique restaurants, bars, and attractions; helping to reduce crowding. It's 10 years newer than the Escape, which was built in 2015 and renovated in 2019.
Comparison Overview
- Ship Size
- Number of Passengers
- Food and Restaurants
- Bars and Drinks
- Pools and Hot Tubs
- Ship Features and Activities
- Cruise Costs
- Onboard Costs
Ship Size
The World America is considered an extra large size ship. Coming in at 1,093 feet long and 154 feet wide, it's roughly the length of 3 football fields, as wide as 2.9 tractor-trailers and the same height as a 16-story building. Compared to the Norwegian Escape, the World America is 31% larger in terms of overall tons.
Number of Passengers
MSC World America holds 59% more passengers than the Escape based on double occupancy (two people per room). When you look at the "Space Ratio," or the total tonnage of a ship compared to the number of passengers, the World America has less space per person compared to the Escape.
| MSC World America | Norwegian Escape | |
|---|---|---|
| Class | World | Breakaway Plus |
| Gross Tonnage | 215,863 | 165,157 |
| Length | 1,093 | 1,069 |
| Beam/Width | 154 | 179 |
| Passenger Decks | 16 | 15 |
| Passengers (double occupancy) | 6,762 | 4,266 |
| Crew | 2,138 | 1,733 |
| Passenger to Crew Ratio | 3.2 | 2.5 |
| Space Ratio (tons of ship per passenger) | 32 | 39 |
Food and Restaurants
Food is a big part of any cruise, and the ship you choose can make a huge difference in your food experience.
The World America has eighteen different dining options like Il Mercato, Luna Park Pizza & Burger, and Butcher's Cut. Of those options, twelve are complementary, or included with your cruise fare. The other twelve options have an additional fee.
The Escape has one more dining venues. Some of its popular venues are Cagney's Steakhouse, Moderno Churrascaria, and District Brew House. ten of these restaurants are complementary and the other sixteen have an additional fee.
The MSC World America has about the same number of dining options as the Norwegian Escape.
If you're looking to avoid extra money while on board, the World America might be a better choice then the Escape. More of the dining options are included in the base cruise fare, potentially saving you money.
| MSC World America | Norwegian Escape | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Dining Options | 18 | 19 |
| Complimentary Dining Options: | 12 | 10 |
| Additional Fee Dining Options: | 12 | 16 |
| % of Included Options | 33% | 16% |
| See the options | See the options |
In terms of drinks and cocktails, you have a variety of choices. Both ships serve the Coca-cola family of products. That means Coke, Diet Coke, Sprite and Barqs Root Beer, although the selection can vary by ship.
There are also plenty of bars available on these ships. You can check out recent the bar menus for the Escape below.
Pools and Hot Tubs
Nothing beats relaxing by a pool with a nice drink in hand as you feel the fresh sea breeze pass by you. The MSC World America has a total of 7 pools and 13 hot tubs. 1 of the pools and 3 of the hot tubs are exclusive access, which means there's either an extra charge to access them or you need to book a certain class of cabin to have access to them.
Norwegian Escape has fewer pools than the World America and fewer hot tubs. There are more exclusive pools and hot tubs on the Escape. If you don't mind paying for exclusive access to areas in order to have less crowds, this might be a better choice.
Tired of loud kids and splashing? Two of the pools are adults only on World America.| MSC World America | Norwegian Escape | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Pools | 7 | 4 |
| Pools - General Access | 4 | 2 |
| Pools - Adults Only | 2 | 1 |
| Pools - Exclusive | 1 | 1 |
| Total Hot Tubs | 13 | 10 |
| Hot Tubs - General Access | 10 | 4 |
| Hot Tubs - Adults Only | 2 | |
| Hot Tubs - Exclusive | 3 | 4 |
Ship Features and Activities
Both ships have lots of activities to keep you busy throughout your cruise. Below you'll see a list of some of the major features on these ships. You might up paying more while on board the World America. Only 50% of the activities below are included in your cruise fare. On the Escape, 60% of the activities are included at no additional cost.
| MSC World America | Norwegian Escape | |
|---|---|---|
| Adult Only Relaxation Area | ✓ | ✗ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (extra fee) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Adult Only Relaxation Area (free) | ✗ | ✓ |
| Adventure Trail | ✓ | ✗ |
| Arcade | ✓ | ✓ |
| Basketball | ✓ | ✗ |
| Bumper Cars | ✓ | ✗ |
| Casino | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cliffhanger | ✓ | ✗ |
| Comedy Club | ✗ | ✓ |
| Escape Room | ✗ | ✓ |
| F1 Simulator | ✓ | ✗ |
| Fitness Center | ✓ | ✓ |
| Interactive XD Cinema | ✓ | ✗ |
| Mini golf | ✗ | ✓ |
| Production Shows | ✓ | ✗ |
| Ropes course | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - Broadway play | ✗ | ✓ |
| Shows - musical review | ✗ | ✓ |
| Spa | ✓ | ✓ |
| Splash park | ✓ | ✗ |
| Sports Square | ✗ | ✓ |
| Thermal Suites | ✓ | ✓ |
| Thrill Slide | ✓ | ✗ |
| VR Arcade | ✓ | ✗ |
| Water slides | ✓ | ✓ |
| Zip Line | ✓ | ✗ |
| Learn more | Learn more |
Cruise Costs
MSC and Norwegian are both considered "Mainstream" cruise lines. Mainstream cruise lines cater to a variety of guests, hoping to provide something for everyone. These typically cost about $100 - $350 per person per day.
Cruise pricing is dynamic and varies for each specific sailing based on factors such as departure point, ports of call, and time of year. Typically newer ships cost more, so a cruise on MSC World America will likely be more expensive than on Norwegian Escape.
Onboard Costs
Another way to gauge the cost of a cruise is to consider how much you'll spend on board. Even though a lot is included in the base cruise fare, you may still spend money on things like spa treatments, specialty dining, drinks, and excursions. In addition, guests can also have to pay for things like gratuities and tips.
Typically guests can expect to spend about 25 - 40% of the cost of the cruise on onboard expenses. In other words, if the cruise fare is $1,000 per person, you might spend between $250 and $400 on extra expenses.
The table below will help you compare onboard prices to see if you might spend more on a specific ship.
| MSC World America | Norwegian Escape | |
|---|---|---|
| Base Daily Gratuities* (Per Person Per Day) | $16.00 | $20.00 |
| Tip added to drinks & services | 18% | 20% |
| Soda Price | $3.50 | |
| Domestic Beer Price | $7.50 See drink menus | |
| Drink Package Price | $46 - $85 | 106 Learn more |
| Internet Plan | $17 - $27 per device per day | $29.99 - $39.99 per cabin per day, with $5 for each extra device |
| *Daily gratuities for a standard cabin. Suites or specialty rooms may have higher rates. | ||
Norwegian Cruise Line offers a More at Sea fare. Through this program, guests receive open bar, a discount on excursions, some free internet, and some meals at specialty restaurants. If you book using this promotion, you'll be responsible for the gratuities on the dining and drink package. If you won't be using these options, booking a "sail away" rate that doesn't include the More at Sea benefits is considerably cheaper. Also, most of these benefits are the base packages; you can spend more to upgrade to better alcoholic drinks or faster/more wifi.
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