Overall it was good and clean by Paymybill1
Sail date: / Traveled as: Family (older children)Ship: Norwegian Epic / Destination: Europe - Western Mediterranean
There were many thing about the cruise experience that could have been better. The first is the internet café. It was over priced and the computers were slow which increased the amount of money you were charged. Secondly, we were informed that on our last day we could pay cash for our balance. However, the ATM machine was conveniently turned off. There were no power outages. The next is the Mandera Spa services that we received. Staff member Farah was exceptionally professional and my sister really enjoyed her spa time. However other staff members were not so professional. I received a hot wax of my chin which the cost was $15- that is reasonable. She said she wanted to shape my brows. She plucked a few only a few hairs of my eyebrows and charged me $50 for that. That is outrageous. It is my fault that I didn't say anything about it sooner. The receipt kind of through me off guard. Further, the spa did not inform us neither was it visibly published that if you can not keep a spa appointment you will be charged 50% for the service anyway. I know the spa is separate from "Norweigian" however, they are operating a business entity on the ship and should be more flexible to customers who have legitimate excuses for not keeping appointments. What women doesn't want a spa treatment? I had a reasonable excuse why I couldn't but the assistant manager didn't want to hear it. I was exhausted and my feet were swollen like two balloons from walking on cobble stones and hills for 4 hours. I was then told to come and speak with the manager of the spa, which I had to walk so far from my stateroom to get to. The manager and I came to a resolution and she was professional and helpful. The Assist. Manager was rude to me and my sister. Fourthly, the "washie washie" girls who sprayed you when you entered any eating establishment and at the entrance of the ship. They did not give you an opportunity to manually hold your hands under the sanitizer machines that were there. They just rudely sprayed you as you came in. Norwegian did not inform us on their website that this would be taking place. I understand that it is convenient and hygiene is important, however violating a person's personal space is unacceptable. Next I had put some items in the refrigerator. When I came back to my stateroom the refrigerator was locked and my items were left out to spoil. Why????? Again we were not informed that the cleaning staff locks the refrigerator. When booking my stateroom on that was one of my request to have a functional refrigerator so I can put my things in it. I do not drink alcohol only shifted it to make room for my things. The cleaning crew was apologetic and the manager even called to apologize and he explained that this was procedure on the last day to lock the refrigerator. Again, we were not informed in advance of this procedure. Lastly, the ship had a lot of children on it. Running into people taking over the pool area. The adult pool was so small and crowded at the back of the ship, a little tiny space you could enjoy because you had to walk between two ping pong tables and watch out for flying balls. We never got in the pool. Next, the gratuities charge. This charge should be included in the package not in addition to the total cost of the expensive cruise. We were informed of this in advance but it would have been nice to included with the package just like the insurance. No one wants to go on vacation and have additional fees added at the beginning of the trip, and then additional charges for restaurants as well. The accommodations were tight but clean. Lastly, there were some good things about the ship. The crew was excellent and efficient. Our staterooms were clean and the linen was clean and smelled good. The food was excellent, the music and performers, such as Nathaniel the piano player and singer were talented (give him a bonus), and the activities were fun and great. The cleaning crew of the stateroom always greeted you and called us by name. We were impressed that a ship can have three cruises at one time. We've never experienced that before and were impressed with that. All of the staff had smiles and were working very hard to make everyone on board's experience pleasant. In the future I will be more proactive to find out more about the policies of the ship and additional fees.