Europe - Western Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

This was our 18th cruise,we have been on most all of the major cruise lines even Norwegian 16 years ago,as of now this will be the last time we use Norwegian....

 Let's start with the room design,worst I have ever been in,no  privacy whatsoever. While cruise ships bathrooms are well known for being small most do offer a much higher level of function and privacy,I don't like the fact of having to shave and finish getting ready in the middle of the bedroom that's where the sink is....our room steward was great.

Worst service we ever had in the main dining room and food not any better,we did find one of the secondary restaurants that the food was better,and service also.Be prepared if you go to the specialty dining restaurants we paid $29.95 per person for one of the  specialty restaurants which thay added on 18% gratuity a 10% value added tax and thay had a place on the bill for more  gratuities  and we have already paid $180 in prepaid gratuities our 59$ dinner came to 79 dollars..

 We have also never been on the ship where you've had to pre-book all your entertainment  there are too many people on that ship so they can't handle open seating which most cruise lines do.

I will say thay kept the ship very clean and it is nicely decorated,the  itinerary was wonderful but in general the service was terrible and the food not so good and it feels like they're trying to ding you for every thing thay can...

This was our fifth cruise but the first on Norwegian and hands down the best cruise ever.  The food was excellent and the ports of call were just great. The most outstanding was the crew they went above and beyond  on every aspect of service.  I would recommend Norwegian cruise in Europe to all my friends.  

Just returned from a fantastic cruise on the Norwegian Epic.  Clean comfortable ship, friendly crew, great food, interesting itenery.  Called Norwegian direct and did noot like the quote.   saved me over $400.00.  

Arrived 2 days before the cruise and visited monserat.Embarkation was very quick on the ship to our inside cabin ready done [Here i must thank Richie Malik for his choice of my cabin as usual.This was my 2nd time on epic].Left our hand laguage and to the garden cafe.Had lunch to reception to deposit on my account.Unpacked and back to deck 15 to relax.Ship is spotless,friendly staff and met the cruise director Pedro from theJade.very nice guy.Variaty of food at the garden cafe and taste restaurant,entertainment, comedian,and bands are all excellent.Done already 2cabin deposit for the next cruise.

The cruise was one of the most memorable vacations I have taken.  The food and service was excellent.  The shore excursions were very educational, using local your guides.

My wife and I travel a lot and this was one of our favorite vacation trips. We have done all the eastern and western Caribbean Cruises. After our last one we decided we would only cruise where the ports were independently places we would go to as a destination place. This Norwegian Western European Cruise fit that criteria.The ship was really nice and the food and entertainment was high quality. We would definitely cruise on that ship again with different port tours.

This had to be one of the best cruises I've ever been on!  I must say I was not onboard the ship much but the shore excursions were the best!  The architecture in Spain and Italy is mind boggling to say the least!  To think how long ago these buildings were built without the aid of all the tools and machines we have now, well it's amazing!  I was asked what my favorite part of the cruise was - I don't think I can pick one part, it was all beautiful!  The Amalfi Coast was beautiful - the Vatican & the Sistine Chapel was a sight to behold - Monaco was gorgeous - I loved every excursion we took!  I would take this cruise again in a heartbeat!

I have been on several cruises before (all Disney/Big Red Boat and Royal Caribbean) and really enjoyed this cruise. The multiple areas, activities, bars, and restaurants were a real treat for us in regards to taking care of our "down time" onboard between cruise locations. 

The staff was friendly, but there were few that were really excited to be helping us it seemed. The food was ok, but there were a ton of choices, and the locations and excursion choices were great. 

Our biggest issue was the lack of communication or knowledge of what was going on. Here are a few instances: 

1. We had the UBP (Ultimate Beverage Package) and you still get a receipt with a "charge" on it after every drink you order... when you arrive and get your first drink, you feel like you're getting charged and your UBP isn't working-- causing some worry on my part. 

2. We have the 4UDP (4 Meal Ultimate Dining Package) as well and did not get an itinerary or list of the restaurants and times we had pre-chosen before arriving on the ship.

3. To compound with #2 above, when we arrived on the ship, everything stated that we were on the 5th day (even though we were on our first, essentially giving us the exact same information as the Barcelona boarders) and the information provided on the APP and through the team was only good up until that last date and then started over with the rest of the information on the next boarding of the Barcelona group. This really made us feel like we were second class to them. Cruise experiences (especially free-style cruising) should feel like it's tailored to each group of people arriving on board. 

4. Departing was difficult in Rome if you wanted to do an excursion as well. The staff wasn't quite sure how to handle this (since we weren't doing an excursion that had a set non-port drop off location) and the information provided on getting to the train station from the port was also unclear. We had to go through 3 different people to figure out what luggage tags we needed and we ended up having to talk to our tour guide and porters in order to really figure out what we needed to do in order to get to where we needed AFTER the excursion. 

5. The app/TV was helpful on what was going on onboard and with your account, but again, like #3, only gave you the Barcelona timeline information. 

6. The additional gratuities and service charges for meals/drinks/shows were not conveyed and described as well as they should have been ahead of time. When choosing our meal package, we were not fully aware that there would be an additional service charge billed with each meal we sat down to be served for (including "free" meals at TASTE & Manhattan Room) and the additional 18% gratuity already included in drink costs/meal costs was also quite confusing as to whether we should tip additionally or not and felt like we were obligated to anyways. 

Overall, we'll definitely cruise like Norwegian's again (it was awesome and we love the fast you wake up in a new location without the hassle of traveling via air/rail/bus)-- but I really think the communication level needs to increase between the cruise line and it passengers on what is to be expected in terms of costs, process of boarding and disembarking, etc. 

Nice Itinerary and port stops

Service was fair at bars but poor when it came to waiter/waitress (especially pool side).

Guest services wait lines was terrible (2x over 24 min).

Food was good, but not great.

Entertainment was poor (sold out shows and charging for shows).

Very big ships = long lines.

Staff was friendly but seemed overwhelmed.

Management was very effective in hiding when needed.

This was our first cruise and we loved it! Norwegian Cruisr Lines does a wonderful job of planning activities throughout the day and night, as well as shore excursions. Our cabin was clean and spacious and we loved having a balcony. 

Overall it was a nice cruise but not the best I've been on. Did not like that there was only one dining option at 10pm. One restaurant with about 5 menu choices. It was a newer ship which was great. We had a balcony room which was nice and spacious. Our housekeeping lady was the most helpful and pleasant. Other workers we dealt with were not as knowledgeable or helpful. Some of the activities did not go as planned or did not commence at the times listed on the schedule. The food was okay. Ship was clean. Ports of call were great.

My wife got really sick while on the cruise. To make a VERY long story short- she was asked to leave the ship because the ship didn't want to treat her, and it was easier for them just to dump us in a foreign non-english speaking hospital- so the moral is just don't get sick on a cruise!!!!!!!

We were hesitate about this vacation after it was rescheduled and several changes to entertainment but  enjoyed every minute! We started with the 7 day land tour by Gate1 Tours. Our tour guide, Emanuela, was number one in her field!  She spoiled us all week by escorting us from Venice through Florence and Rome. She scheduled all tours, some lunches and dinners. We saw everything Norwegian advertised. The tour guides for our excursions on Norwegian Cruise were good but found they gave us a lot of facts and information but generally left us at the location to tour by ourselves and then brought us back to the ship. All the specialty restaurants were included for us and we enjoyed all of them. The were excellent!

Let me start by saying that overall my experiences at each Port was incredible.  The guides for the tours were very knowledgeable and made the Cruise experience tolerable.  Norwegians Free Style Dining means that unless you are willing to pay extra you only have 2-3 options for eating and only at select times.  Also the food is mediocre at best.  Also if you book the spa they automatically add a gratuity fee before you even have service.  My appointment started late and I did not get the full 50min I paid for. Don’t waste your money on this.  Also if you call for Room Service the on-hold message is “You will be DEALT with shortly”.  The crew was not knowledgably overall and very rude most of the time.  Also if you try to exchange US Dollars for Euros they first off turn your $400.00 US into $396.00 + charge a fee and the exchange is well below the current rate – best to either use your bank before or go to an exchange at any port city. Also we met several people that had even worse experiences than ours and were not happy either.  I will NEVER cruise with Norwegian again.

Had an awesome experience on Norwegian Epic and met a lot of great people. It was a beautiful modern ship and clean!

The staff is wonderful and very very friendly. The only drawback is that there were a lot of people due to a couple of weddings. Ohh and the food in the Manhattan Room was not great but whatever, there are plenty of other restaurants that you can choose from.

If you are a young couple or enjoy a big party, than this is the ship for you. I felt like we were at one big party and everyone was involved and enjoying themselves. I particularly enjoyed how the staff decorated the ship for Halloween and some of the staff were dressed up...this made me smile.

The sites were amazing but I highly recommending doing your research for the best excursion deals and do not book an excursion everyday, try doing Hop on Hop Off tours in between. If you do an excursion everyday you will be exhausted and wont enjoy the ship that much...that's my opinion of course! :)

NCL Epic tendered in Cannes, France.  

Me and my boyfriend went on this cruise and I felt that it could have been better.  This was my first time sailing NCL.  I have sailed on Disney before and Disney was way better than this one.  For one, there were not enough activities on the boat.  I am an African American and I did not find the entertainment to be diverse enough or the food.  I found every ethnic dish except the ones that cater to African American and West Indian cuisine.  There was Asian, indian, French and every other food imaginable, except ours.  The live band played latin music almost every night and it was nice at first, but redundant by the end of the trip.  I also did not like some of the staff at the Craps table in the casino.  There was a young man there who didn't watch the table closely and if we weren't paying attention, we would have lost our money.  We had to keep reminding him to pay us every time we won.  I also did not like the fact that our time spent our Palma de Mallorca was cut in half.  I feel that NCL needs to let people know about hidden fees and shuttle fees and any other itinerary issues at the ports, before hand.  When we arrived to Cittivecchia, we had to catch a train into Rome. The train ride was over an HOUR long! I also did not like the mandatory gratuity service fee that we have to pay every day.  I will tip for good service, but I don't want to be forced or told what to tip, especially for services that have yet to be tendered. I don't think it's fair.  I may want to tip more than the mandatory $13.50 daily fee, but because I'm being forced, I'm turned off from tipping additional money.  I don't remember Disney doing this ever!  If it weren't for the port stops in the other cities, I wouldn't have enjoyed this cruise.  The ship lacks diverse entertainment and activities and music.  There is a lack of comedy shows and live performances.  However, they will find any and every reason to charge you for all sorts of hidden fees.  I don't think I will be sailing with NCL again.  They have to improve greatly in all of the areas I mentioned in order for me to return again.  Not pleased at all... Not diversified enough.

This was my first cruise and I was very impressed by the ship and the excursions. It was hectic but we did get to see many beautiful places.  I was a bid overwhelmed by the ship and all the people aboard and would probably next time choose a smaller ship and maybe not so hectic a schedule.  However, there was always plenty to do and the shows were very good as well as the places we ate at. The crew members were extremely polite and accommodating.  I was extremely impressed by them. 

Most enjoyable! The Marina is one of our favorites. The Oceania suites are very comfortable. Enjoy the Ships Art collection. It is beautiful. The French  restaurant on this cruise was outstanding!

Very Disappointing! The change of itinerary changed the trip to not what I wanted to do and the compensation was not adequate. Not getting Latitudes credit of benefits was puzzling. The overall experience was disappointing.  The cabin did not meet expectation because of the balcony impairment. Service from our Cabin attendant was the high point of the cruise. The food was cold when served as a rule. Lines and waiting for everything is not a vacation. The shore excursion was OK but lacked value. The staffing, organization, and systems did not seem adequate for the number of passengers.  The rude and not helpful interaction with half the staff offset the other half's great service. The whole thing was not what I expected from Norwegian. It was a great disappointment which was matched with an indifferent response on every level. Hard to understand the marketing for return business.

Very disappointing.It started at Souuthampton,we had ordered three .wheelchairs,we sat in the lounge for ninety minutes.It took another thirty minutes to take us to the cabin.We next had a lifeboat drill,without life jackets.After travelling from London we were all Hungary.This proved too be very traumatic,with one blind passenger and two who are informed it was impossible for us to get a seat.The service in the Taste restaurant was poor,we were served coffee and on many occasions we would wait five minutes for milk.My friends and ourselves have travelled with Orient Lines and Norwegian Cruise Lines many times and this was nowhere near your usual high standard.Our overall impression is the ship is too big and is not suitable for disabled passengers.