Europe - Western Mediterranean Cruise Reviews

Positives: New ship, clean and very good service from employees. All though sometimes look stress due to the ship taking passengers in every port.

The food very good. Lunch Buffet a lot of alternatives, beef,chicken, pasta,Chinese, great desserts. Dinners good and with alternatives just in case you didn't like the menu, but no dinner buffet.

Ports great with shuttles to go on your own. Ship with mostly European's not to many English speaking passengers. Overall a good cruise!

My husband and I just returned from an 11 day Western Mediterranean cruise in NCL Jade.  We loved the itinerary and the ship itself.  We highly recommend this cruise.

The only saving grace regarding this cruise was its itinerary and price. Otherwise, this rating would be much lower. Eight stops over an 11-day time period with only two days at sea was extraordinary. Although, there were some stops that were much better than others which is typically the case. The service aboard the Jade, and in particular in the main dining areas, was lacking.  This is the direct result of an organizational change that has removed the Head Waiter from a previous team of three and replaced them with another Maitre D'.  Thus, the service team has been reduced to a team of two with the same amount of tables.  Many times, drinks from the bar were delayed, in addition to the wait staff not being able to spend personable time in getting to know their staff.  If you do happen to find a good waiter or waitress make sure that they are requested every time that you attend dinner.  In our case, we requested Maddlyn Padilla in the Grand Princess dining area who was EXCELLENT. In addition, the execution of ship policies was extremely inconsistent at the different bars. We had the Ultimate All You can Drink package in which case only one drink at a time could be ordered on a ship card at a time whereas at other bars they honored up to four drinks for our entire group at a time.  Instead of disputing the inconsistent use of the rules, we simply agreed to whatever was requested by either the bartender or the waiter.  The ships' on board was poor.  We only attended four of the evening's shows in the Stardust Theatre the entire cruise.  The best show of all was the Tenors of Power which is not to be missed.

Norwegian "got it right" with freestyle dining and smooth boarding and debarking, but let's see if they are willing to take the next step and make "freestyle excursions" or at least–"freestyle information"–a part of there signature. So far, my experience with all cruise ships has been the same when it comes to helpful information for shore excursions: The "suits" are rude if you ask them about shore information. They say:  "No information" unless you sign up for a "ship" excursion. But here's the deal, to many of us, "freestyle excursions" are the most important part of the trip. Like others, I spent a lot of time researching, reading, checking Trip Advisor, and watching videos etc. but I needed a city map of each port which was not attainable until I left the ship. Norwegian could take a step forward and have those maps available on board, or at the very least, they could have one "displayed" so people could look at them the night before reaching each port. I realize the cruise is trying to sell "their" excursions, but I they would sell more once some people see the difficulty in getting around. Those of us determined to walk would be happy to see the layout of the city in advance so we could plan ahead. It's a small request that would go a long way. If you want five stars, offer what no one else does: "Freestyle Information."

The employees and staff are the most untrained and uninformative individuals  that we have encountered with Norwegian. The food was very bland and tasteless and food servers are lacking in orientation training. I believe it is a lack of management problem. Poor management

The ship was immaculate, attentive but not annoying staff, food good to very good in the dining room, good in the buffet( too much chais, not enough seating), the ports were wonderful, the captain in bad weather did an excellent job keeping balance ont he ship and maximizing better weather.  My only complait.....NCL needs to be helpful in either giving FREE shuttles to the heart of the townsd they advertise visiting.

The Jade is an older ship that is still decorated for Hawaii -- rather gaudy for the Mediterranean.  However, the food was good (just no lobster), shows great, and ports exceptional.  Since the weather was cool, everyone stayed inside on "at sea" days.  The Card Room really needs to be restocked with games as there were very few available.  Movies and crafts (which most other ships no longer offer) were fun.  When the weather was too rough to go to Palermo, the captain sent many waiters around distributing free rum punch for about an hour.  The NCL excursions were very nice as long as you can understand English.  All in all, it was a very wonderful trip.

1) felt like my pocket was constantly being "picked" for added charges...eg..bottle of water?!, transportation to the cities visited, pay for coffee outside of "restaurant" venues.

2) food quality was terrible...I can understand sub standard quality at the buffet, but I had biscuits and gravy in Alizar dining room...HORRIBLE.  Biscuit was stale and gravy tasteless..I would NEVER serve that to my family.  At the Blue Moon I had a brownie that could sub as a hockey puck.  Had dinner at the Brazilian restaurant all the meat was overcooked and dry.  Had dinner at the French restaurant, what was supposed to be a "lobster" tail was actually about 5 pieces of overcooked lobster in a burned shell with some artichokes.  And tor this an extra $10?  Cagney's steak house was ok, but my NY strip had a "mealie" texture. Best meal was breakfast at the Blue Moon....bacon (have to ask for it crisp) and eggs.

3) Service in some places was awful:  visited Medusa lounge nearly every evening with friends (10) and as the week progressed, service went down hill.  apparently the servers expected tips in addition to the 15% charge included on the bill.  It was like they were doing us a big favor.  One night at the Spinnaker, I had to hunt down a waiter to serve drinks, i found him happily spinning his tray and wandering aimlessly. And...don't ever get to the buffet within 10 minutes of closing...they'll practically grab the food right out of your hand...it was a race to the salad bar (I lost) and I won the chocolate pie tug o war.  Some of the "greeters" at individual restaurants were really cranky...I must say that ALL of thw waiters at Blue Moon were friendly and attentive...great group of fellows. Our cabin Steward was very nice and did a great job..friendly and attentive, but not pushy.

4) Entertainment:  Cruise workers put on a fabulous afternoon show..kudos to them.  But 50+ year old singers in the lounge?  Magic tricks?  aghghhg. hokey and felt like shows for OLD people. Smoking in the casino? Schmaltzy and amateurish

5 Miscellaneous:  And then $12/person daily service charges?  You pay your employees...I'll tip who I want to.  and finally...diembarking at the end of the cruise: AWFUL!!  disorganized, felt like being in a cattle car, arguments all over, people pushing, jumping line and being rude.  So...It felt like you were done with us...had made as much $$ at that point as you could and let's get these money machines off the boat and get some new ones on asap

ADDITIONAL CHARGES, FEES, SHOULD ALL BE CHARGED UP FRONT..NOT AT THE END OF THE CRUISE.

I'd suggest that you have somebody from a successful entertainment company advise you on how to do things right.  I've spent hours in queue lines at Disney and never realized it took so long, You want good food?  Get a good Director of Food services and a real chef to oversee your operations.  ...I would never recommend your line to anyone.

Although the itinerary of ports was great, there were many disappointments with this cruise.  The organization, or lack thereof, for getting people off the ship for the particular day tours was horrible.  Most people did not know what to do or where to go.  Also, the fact that there is no assigned seating for the dinning rooms is an unpleasant experience for a solo traveler, particularly the first few days until "friends" are made.  The room:  noise from a trombone practicing on a daily basis was disturbing; no lotion, no pen to write out the Room Service order; no pad of paper to jot down a note; queen bed had a crack down the middle for days until I complained; room service arrived 10 min. after the requested window, which made me late for assembly time for day tour; etc.  Back to the day tours:  most of the time there were no headsets, so only a few people were able to hear the guide.  Several times the guide did not have a proper "lolly pop" which caused people to lose sight of guide.  In Barcelona several elderly people were very distraught at being lost.  I happened to be "lost" as well and managed to get us all back to our tour guide.  I do not have pleasant thoughts when I think of Barcelona.  What a shame.  In Valencia our guide's English was so poor we gave up and tried to at least enjoy the beautiful scenery.  She should never be hired again.

I will not be traveling on Norwegian again, even if it were with another person. I will go back to the other cruise lines I have been on in years past.

The cruise was wonderful.  Not too long (7days) and not too short (4days).  The 5 day cruise introduced us to Marseilles, Savrona, & Rome.  Plus a day at sea.  We love cruises with a day at sea to sleep in, go to the gym, participate in a couple of dance lessons (fox trot, salsa) and just enjoying the day.

The food was very good.  Dinners in the dining room was wonderful; the buffet was also very good.  Didn't enjoy breakfast in the dining room; only the buffet. 

The entertainment was not as good as we thought it would be for us.  We don't gamble and the 4D theatre showed only 3-4 movies that did not appeal to us.  But some of the night time entertainment at the main bar was very funny. 

Overall, a wonderful way to celebrate our wedding anniversary.

First, we are veterans of about 20 cruises. This is the first time I have been motivated to post a negative review. As hard a lot of good people tried to make this a nice experience, NCL management's attempts to squeeze bucks could not be overcome.

We choose a travel agent offering a $450 on board credit. Upon boarding, our account showed a $50 credit. We immediately brought it to the attention of the ships help desk who explained they had to e-mail their offices in Miami and an answer would take 2-3 days. This caused concern as not all on board credits are refundable. A substantial sum might prove difficult to spend in the remaining 4-5 days. After 4 days, NCL still could not come up with an answer. Finally, I purchased Wi-fi time, located my original reservation and provided NCL with the proof they couldn't come up with on their own, and ended up with an additional $400 in my account on the 5th day of the cruise. Luckily it was refundable. The whole process weighed negatively on our entire cruise. The refund was sent in 30 days, the maximum the cruise line guarantees to the day.

The food as a whole was mediocre. Food in the main dining rooms was not the least bit interesting and repetitive, probably to drive you to the "specialty" restaurants. We always try a steak house on board, in this case Cagney's I believe. This is the first time in 20+ cruises we had a bad meal, all for only $30 each! These idiots could not cook a steak. My wife orders Medium Well, I order Medium Rare. The first time both came out cold in the middle, literally. Their second attempt was equally as futile. After an hour of bread and water we finally called it quits. To their credit? They offered us a free bottle of wine from their "complimentary" wine list (No doubt worth about $5.00) but still charged us a total of $60 for their incompetence.

We looked forward to their centerpiece Blue Man Group show, it was great four years earlier our first time on the Epic, we needn't have wasted the time, it was exactly the same show.

All in all, the efforts of some really good people, Ou cabin stewards, the casino people and about half the waiters waitresses were ruined by horrible management from NCL Miami on down. We have already turned down an invitation to cruise with NCL again with friends next year.

NCL is my favorite cruise line....but something was definitely wrong the rice and risotto was under cooked also the fish told the chef in charge but believe it was a whisper against the wind.

Moderno  Great salad bar I believe they ran out meat for some reason when my son asked for a tipe of meat they stated the did not have any more also they only have one meat server, after paying extra to go to a specialty restaurant it was not what was expected.

The service at the Haven was great couldn't ask for better team.

Planning to take my grandkids in April hopefully the food with be a bit better

Brenda mishaan

The Norwegian Epic is the third largest cruise ship at the time of this writing (November 2014),  The amenities on board are excellent and the staff is very friendly and always eager to help with a smile.  Food in the restaurants are very good and the quality of the buffet is about average.  The interior cabin, where we stayed, was small but stylish.  The major complaint about the cabin is that there is no proper washroom.  The sink and the shower are inside the bedroom area.  The toilet is in a "stall" with a sliding glass partition.  Far from being private.  However, the rest of the cabin very comfortable.  The itinerary is excellent with the ship departing from Barcelona followed by Naples, Rome, Florence, Cannes and Palma Mollorca.  We did not land in Florence on this trip because of the high winds which did not permit the tenders to dock on shore.  However, the rest of the ports-of-call and excursions were excellent.  I would recommend this itinerary to anyone wishing to visit the Western Mediterranean.  While the ship is relatively new and has  lot to offer, I would suggest not opting for an interior room assuming the outer cabins or suites have their own private bathrooms.

Too many people to entertain, serve food and tender into port. No free shuttle service to airports or train station, where other cruise lines provide.

Too many people to entertain, serve food and tender into port. No free shuttle service to airports or train station, where other cruise lines provide.

We took a Western Mediterranean cruise on Norwegian Epic in October 2014.  While we were initially excited to start our cruise on such a big boat, we soon started experiencing some headaches that had not been a problem on previous cruises.  With so many people and a limited amount of space for shows and other entertainment, we only got to see a total of 3 shows in 7 nights.  Also, one of the complimentary restaurants on board was always full and required a substantial wait time.  By contrast, on previous cruises (including Norwegian), we were able to dine whenever and wherever we pleased, and we could see great shows in the theater every night.  We were also surprised by the complete lack of organization in getting people off the boat for an excursion or a tender to shore.  One morning they almost put us on the wrong bus.

All in all, it just felt like there were more people competing for fewer entertainment & recreation options.  The cruise director was rarely seen and didn't seem overly welcoming when he was seen.  We will probably opt for smaller cruise options in the future.

My review is all about the ship. The ports of call and tours are up to you but we all share the same ship.  First the good, the staff and service is of course excellent as one would expect. The food was good but not superb. They did away with the traditional lobster night but you had plenty of variety.  The entertainment was also very good and the othe amenities was also as,you would expect very good.  My problem with the ship was the room. We had an upgraded balcony which was as they put it enclosed which I never did figure outhouse what that meant but it was very cramped and tight.  They took away the bathroom and separated the toilet from the shower for the sink area which wound up in the room. I absolutely hated it.  Then they moved the bed forward so you were up close to the toilet and when someone flushed the loud noise was enough to wake you. Then the shower was on the other side and the sink In The room.  I will not go back on that ship for that reason alone.  Also, the elevators were always full and busy, I quite often had to let several go as the y were always full. I had to go down to go up and they were awfully slow. Very very disappointing.  In summary, beautiful shop, engineered awfully.

THE WEATHER WAS GREAT. THE CABIN WAS LARGER THAN OTHER SHIPS WE HAVE BEEN ON AND THERE WAS A LOT OF STORAGE SPACE. SERVICE ON THE SHIP WASN'T GREAT. THE CABIN STEWARD WAS VERY NICE BUT THERE WERE 5 OR 6 DIRTY TOWELS IN OUR CABIN WHEN IT WAS SUPPOSE TO BE READY WHEN WE GOT ON. ONLY ONE TIME OUT OF THE 7 DAY CRUISE DID WE GET ALL OF OUR TOWELS WE WERE ALWAYS SHORT TOWELS. WHEN WE LEAVE IN THE MORNING AND COME BACK 2 1/2 HOURS LATER THE ROOM WASN'T CLEANED UP.

WE WOULD GO TO THE MAIN DINNING ROOM FOR DINNERS THE FOOD WAS AVERAGE. NORWEGIAN LIKE THE OTHER CRUISE LINES HAVE NOW ADOPTED THE ADDED RESTURANTS WHERE THE QUAILITY OF THE FOOD IS TO BE BETTER. IT'S A SHAME THAT YOU HAVE TO PAY AND ADDITIONAL $30 AND UP MINAMAL TO GET A GOOD MEAL.

GOING TO THE BUFFET FOR BREAKFAST AND LUNCH WAS GOOD BUT CROWDED THE SERVICE WAS NOT GREAT AROUND THE TABLES. I SAW MANY TIMES PEOPLE GET UP FROM THEIR TABLES AND THE STAFF WOULD PICK UP THE DISHS AND LIGHTLY IF AT ALL WIPE THE TABLE. I SAT AT MANY A DIRTY TABLE AND ASKED IF IT COULD BE WIPED DOWN . THAN THEY WOULD WIPE IT A LITTLE AND START TO WALK AWAY. I WOULD HAVE TO SHOW THEM WHERE FOOD WAS ON THE TABLE. NOT VERY CLEAN.

TOURS TO ROME $389 EURO'S PER PERSON THAT IS $505.70 PER PERSON US DOLLARS FOR 9 1/2 HOUR TOUR. WOW IS ALL I CAN SAY. BUS DRIVE OVER AND BACK A GUIDE FOR THE 40 OF US. WE TOOK TOURS EVERYDAY OFF OF THE SHIP. THE TOURS WERE NICE BUT VERY EXPENSIVE AND IN EURO'S AFTER ALL WE WERE IN EUROPE.

ENTERTAINMENT WAS NOT AUTOMATIC AFTER YOUR MEALS (BECAUSE MEALS ARE FREE STYLE). YOU HAD TO SIGN UP FOR SHOWS WHICH WE NEVER WERE ABLE TO GET TO SEE A SHOW THEY WERE ALL FILLED. I

IN THE END I WOULD NOT DO THIS TRIP AGAIN. I WOULD TAKE A RIVER CRUISE OR A BUS TOUR. IF YOU ARE GOING FOR THE COUNTRIES AND THEIR HISTORY AND CULTURE AND SCENERY YOU WILL GET MUCH MORE. IF YOU ARE GOING FOR THE SHIP EXPIENCE STAY HERE IN THE STATES AND TAKE THIS SHIP IT WILL COST YOU A LOT LESS IN THE CARRIBEAN.

Hi, my wife and I enjoyed the Epic very much.  We had a great time and enjoyed every part of the boat.  The only thing that was a little skeptical, was the small rooms or cabin.  Although we had an inside, compare to the other boats or cruises we been on, it was def the smallest.  Other then that, Maggie and I enjoyed ourselves, from the 24 hour food availability to the rides on the tube.  Thumbs up for sure!!!!

ship was clean, staff friendly and respectful and efficient  in all services from shore excursions to embarking/ disembarking .

There were enough activities / entertainment that every age group can avail of from kids to young adults and senior citizens 

The ship  have good variety of goods in their gift shop but wished they sold more food items like biscuits / chocolate to take back home to give as gift like in Rome airport 

They could have offered better shore excursions in terms of pricing and choices of tourist area to visit