Last week Norwegian was kind enough to invite us for the day on their newest ship, Norwegian Escape. Today, as we continue to share our thoughts on this ship, I wanted to share with you a space that left me wondering why every room on a ship isn't this gorgeous - The Manhattan Dining Room.
On our short visit we didn't have the opportunity to eat in the wide-open and traditionally appointed venue, but we certainly felt out the space. Located on deck 7, this is the largest dining room on Escape (the others being Taste and Savor), with two levels of seating and a stage equipped and ready for the evening's live entertainment, presiding in front of a large wood dance floor. The second level of seating wraps around the top of the venue without covering the center, which, combined with the large aft-facing windows adorning the entire back of the room on both levels, contributes to a very open feeling. The decor is simple, creams and dark blues with various shades of wood, a theme present not only in the furniture, but echoed throughout the architectural accents as well. For our visit, there were tables and chairs across the dance floor, which I'll admit did likely take away from the openness a bit compared to the photo above, but didn't dull the luster at all.
Over the years main dining rooms on cruise ships have gone from relatively simple rooms, brought attention primarily by wall coverings, fancy plates, and sometimes gaudy chandeliers over the captains tables, to much larger spaces with high ceilings and a ballroom feel. This improvement over time however, has lead many of these spaces to feel very similar from one ship and even cruise line to the next. Not The Manhattan Dining Room. The simplicity combined with the layout, and views, and the promise of a full live band playing through your meal with the ships prop wash behind you (and perhaps the sunset, because, in my dream right now, we're sailing east) leaves me wondering why so many other ships, beautiful as they are, haven't created a space that gives me this feeling.
I know I've been gushing a bit much, so I'll leave you with a few more pictures below, and assure you that I will be dining here some time, I might even tuck in my shirt for the occasion.
