Jaowel Cruise Review on Norwegian Epic on Mar 30, 2019

Norwegian Epic Cruise Review

Jaowel

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 118

Overall rating:

4 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 30, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Epic

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Whenever we book a cruise, I always do my homework and research the ship and ports like crazy. To be honest, I would not have booked this particular ship based on the reviews however, we were asked to join our niece and other friends on this cruise for their “Senior Spring Break”. We were able to select the UBP and Specialty Dining for 4 nights as a perk when we booked. I knew enough from reading reviews to pre book our shows and dining reservations prior to boarding. If it says that reservations are not available, call them directly and make them. I had no problem doing that over the phone and they were very nice. The only thing I didn’t pre-book (or couldn’t) was the tendering to GSC or the main dining room. EMBARKATION: A hot mess! Unless you had priority boarding, you waited hours to board. Don’t get there early thinking you’ll get on sooner. SHIP: At the beginning of the week, I didn’t like the ship layout at all. But by the end of the week, it grew on me. It is the largest ship we’ve ever been on and I thought it felt a little closed off. The use of space could have been better, but it is what it is. I wish they had more outdoor space to view the water. There always seemed to be an obstructed view unless you were on the very top deck (forward on deck 18). POOL AREA: The “Adult Only” area had no music, but it had a bar, so pick your battles. Lol! The main pool area was packed!! If you want a chair on the deck or by the pool you have to be up before the sun, or forget it. I was up and in my chair by 6:45am every sea day and more than half were already claimed. They are good about putting stickers on chairs that aren’t occupied. They do not allow drinks around the pool, so if you want to grab a cocktail and stick your feet in the water, you can’t. The other issue was the bar in the pool area. With so many adult guests selecting the beverage package, they really should have more than 3 bartenders. Some people waited 30 min or more for a drink. Kids wanted soda, so they had to either wait at the bar or walk to the buffet to the soda station. We saw, maybe, 3 waiters taking orders on the pool deck over the course of the 3 sea days. We are very laid back, so knowing there would be lines, we always ordered 2 drinks at a time. STATEROOM: We always book an interior room and this was the smallest of all our cruises. The layout is goofy because of the bathrooms, but we knew that going in. You can absolutely hear everything through the frosted glass doors, so keep that in mind if booking a room with friends! The room was always clean and our room steward was great! DINING: The food was great! There are a ton of options at the buffet. We had the 4 Night Specialty Dining, so we went to La Cucina (good but not great), Teppanyki (awesome!), Moderno (very good) and Cagney’s (delicious!). We also ate at the Sushi place and it was great! We ate 2 nights in the Taste Dining Room and never had to wait. We did go around 5:30, so that might be why. The food and service were wonderful! SHOWS: Burn the Floor was great! It reminded me of Dancing with the Stars, so if you like that, you’ll love the show. Priscilla was good. The acting was great, but this is absolutely not meant for kids. With all the Broadway shows out there, I think they could select something that would appeal to all age groups. My husband did not enjoy it at all. Cirque Dreams was very good! Dueling Pianos was our favorite! They were awesome! The 80’s dance party was so so fun!!! Don’t miss it! The Glow Party was fun too, but the techno music was too much for some of the older crowd. The younger kids love it! PORTS: Tortola - we chartered a private boat and island hopped. Very fun! Waves were crazy though! St. Thomas- time in port was too short so we shopped and went to Paradise Point. It was beautiful! GSC- The Island was nice but again, they were short staffed and it took forever to get food and drinks. Book you tender at one of the kiosks instead of your stateroom tv. There will be more slots available. Over all, we enjoyed ourselves very much! We are always grateful to be on vacation, so we don’t let little things bother us. We can’t control a lot of things, but we can control our reaction to them. I would say it the price was right and the ports were good, we’d sail on the Epic again. It was our first time on NCL and I wouldn’t say that I’d base my opinion of the company on this sailing. There’s been too many friends that have sailed other NCL ships and loved them. I think it’s just an issue with the Epic. A “love it or hate it” mentality. We are right in the middle....didn’t love it or hate it. Happy Sailing!!

3 Comments

Other reviews of this sailing

i hated this ship it smelled of alcohol and cigarettes their was a drunk person everywhere and the pool was closed for half of the time we were on the ship

Awesome Eastern Caribbean Cruise!

Amazing cruise!