Fun Cruise...will never cruise NCL again

Item: Norwegian Epic
Rating: 3
Author: JoyB

Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

JoyB

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 0

Helpful Votes: 2

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

invalid-33450

Sail date: February 11, 2012

Ship: Norwegian Epic

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 12 years ago

Review summary

This ship was for people that didn't want to be on a ship. There was absolutely no access to the bow or the aft. With the exception of staring out of a glass wall. There was plenty of top notch entertainment and the food was excellent as was the service. But being the 3rd largest cruise ship in the world and holding 4100 passengers and 1708 crew members made it like being in New York City and trying to make friends. I never even got in the pool or the hot tubs because they were always so crowded. I will probably never cruise with NCL again or at least this ship. Another aspect I didn't like was their "freestyle" dining. They make it sound like its open and your choice on what to eat and how to dress but they also have used it to create a "spend more of your money on food and entertainment" environment. Over half the restaurants they offered charged a $10- $25 dollar cover charge per person. Sure, if you wanted to not spend any extra money on anything once there you could but then eating would get pretty repetitive. I definately liked my past cruises where you paid once and everything was included with the exception of alcohol.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food was top notch as well as variety. But the freestyle dining was another gimmick to get more of your money.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Best entertainment I've ever had on a cruise ship.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Staff spoke very good English and was wonderful.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

To be truthful this ship was amazing. It's only 2 years old and well designed. BUT there is no access to the bow or the aft. It's for people that don't really want to be on a ship. It's size was a drawback simply due to the amount of people. It was like New York City. CROWDED. We would have to wait for an elevator for like 10 minutes sometimes because they were so packed like sardines that no one else could fit on. When we disembarked we had to carry our three suitcases (one full and two carryons) down 5 flights of stairs because we couldn't fit on any elevators.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Well designed and very nice BUT the way they had the bathrooms was a drawback. the shower and toilet were only divided from the rest of the cabin by a curtain. If someone stunk it up, the whole cabin stunk. There was no noise reduction either. Cruise ship toilets are LOUD. So flushing in the middle of the night wasn't an option unless you wanted to wake the other person/people sleeping.

Pros: The shows and the service

Cons: The ship was so big and crowded that it was hard to make personal connections.

Recommends Norwegian Epic? No.

Be the first to comment

Other reviews of this sailing

great cruise