Awesome trip; so so cruise
Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean
7 Night Western Mediterranean (Barcelona Roundtrip)
Sail date: September 14, 2014
Ship: Norwegian Epic
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 12001
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 10 years ago
Review summary
This was my first Norwegian cruise. I have only taken Carnival cruises before and in general, I preferred Carnival. One thing Norwegian gets right is crowd control; I never had to wait in a line my entire cruise, including embarking and disembarking. Other than that, I was not really impressed with Norwegian. The food was so so and heavy. I did not think the pay for restaurants were all that special. My cabin was very small and the bed was excruciatingly uncomfortable. I really hated my extra large balcony I paid extra for; it should have been sold as an obstructed view due to the fact that instead of a glass enclosure, we had a steel bulkhead. It was impossible to sit on the balcony and see water; that has always been a favorite part of cruises for me. However, we took this cruise to see Europe and it was wonderful to awake in a new country/city each day. We took the Capri Island of Romance, Ultimate Rome and Pisa and taste of Tuscany tours and thought the tour guides were phenomenal (and I am not a tour taking kind of person). Our Capri tour started late and uses were not ready when needed so that was a drag. But our lunch and the tram to the top of Capri were amazing. I thought I had purchased exclusive Rome, vs Ultimate Rome but turns out they were the same price so maybe I picked wrong. The difference seemed to be lunch. But our tour guide Elinora was excellent and enhanced the tour immensely; she made the long day ad crowds worthwhile. Pisa and a Tuscan winery were a nice respite the next day; once again, we loved our guide Laia. The winery was delightful and picturesque and Laia showed us parts of the town of Pisa we would not have normally visited. We had enough tours by Cannes and Palma so we just bummed around on foot. I recommend taking the shuttle to the center of Palma since it is a long walk into town with little to look at. All in all, I am glad I went but if I go back, I will probably not cruise Norwegian.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Don't get the front extra large balcony rooms - you have a steel bulkhead blocking your view. The Capri Island of Romance, Ultimate Rome and Taste of Tuscany tours were great.
Ports of call
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy
Palma De Mallorca, Balearic Islands