After NCL ordered the ship with German shipbuilder Meyer Werft in October 2012 at an estimated cost of €700 million, her keel was laid in September 2014 and she was floated out from the building dock in August 2015.

[6] The core of the specialty dining and entertainment venues aboard Norwegian Escape lies within an expanded three-deck complex positioned in the center of the ship across the sixth, seventh, and eighth decks.

[12][13] On 12 March 2014, NCL revealed marine wildlife artist Guy Harvey would design the new ship's hull art with his depictions of various sea creatures.

[16] She was floated out from the covered dry dock on 15 August 2015 for final outfitting[17][18] before she began her conveyance along the Ems on 18 September 2015 from Papenburg to reach Eemshaven the next day.

[20][21][22] On 7 October 2015, NCL named Pitbull as the ship's godfather, making him the first man bestowed with the designation; he christened the vessel on 9 November 2015 at PortMiami.

[32] NCL had scheduled to deploy Norwegian Escape abroad for her first full season operating from Copenhagen to the Baltic region in summer 2020, but the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on tourism suspended those plans.

On the evening of 3 March 2019, the ship was struck by a "sudden, extreme gust of wind" northeast off the coast of the Delmarva Peninsula while sailing south from New York to Port Canaveral.

[39] The degree of heel caused several broken windows and made furniture and other loose items overturn in public areas and cabins.

[41][42] On 14 March 2022, Norwegian Escape ran aground while leaving Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic after gusts forced the ship to make contact with the channel bed.