Enjoyed the cruise but wish a few things had been different
Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
7 Night Western Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: April 12, 2015
Ship: Norwegian Epic
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 9 years ago
Review summary
First off, let me say that my wife and I have been on 3 previous cruises together, all on Holland America ships. So a number of things were different, some good, some not so good.
On the positive side, we did enjoy the wider variety of food options, and having the option to dress up or go casual was nice. We hadno complaints about the food, although we both felt that the food in our previous Holland America cruises was a little better.
We also liked having more entertainment options and, in general, the entertainment was good. The tribute to The Four Seasons was great, although we both felt that the Second City performance was just so-so.
The service we received from our cabin steward and in all of the restaurants was good. We had no complaints. However, this was another area in which we both felt that the service aboard Holland America ships is a notch above what we experienced on the Epic.
My wife and I are middle-aged (late 40's and mid 50's) and we both prefer a more subdued atmosphere, but of course that's not everyone's preference. There were a lot of activities available, many of which cater to a younger clientele, and I'm sure that a lot of folks were happy with that aspect of the cruise.
For us, there were 2 things that we really wish we could have changed.
The first was the crowds. The Epic is a very large ship with about 4,000 passengers. At times, you had to fight the crowds for seating by the pool or in the restaurants. And it seemed like the elevators were usually crowded. The Holland America ships that we had cruised on previously were nearly as big as the Epic, but with only about 1,900 passengers. So they were much less-crowded.
The second was the lack of smoking areas. We both understand the health concerns of non-smokers and very much respect the rights of non-smokers. However, there were only a couple of areas on the ship in which smoking was allowed. As a result, they were just about always crowded. On our previous cruises, we had made use of our balcony to smoke, which made it convenient and private for us and also minimized any impact to non-smokers. I had booked a Balcony stateroom on this cruise, primarily to be able to use the balcony to smoke. However, prior to the cruise, Norwegian changed the rules so that smoking on balconies was no longer allowed. We both wish that Norwegian would have given us the option to switch a cabin without a balcony at a lower cost.
All in all, we enjoyed the cruise. As far as recommending the Epic, I think it really depends upon what you're looking for. If you want a big ship with lots of different dining and entertainment options and a party atmosphere, and you don't mind the crowds, then I think that you would enjoy the Epic. However, if you would prefer a less crowded environment with a more low-key atmosphere, then I think that either a smaller ship or a cruise line such as Holland America would be a better option for you.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
8 Comments
Byrnath 9 years ago
Crowds on the bigger ships are inevitable. Consider less popular travel dates. Such as after holidays, mid-week cruises and longer duration. I have been on Princess, Carnival, Norwegian and Celebrity. (With more than a dozen total cruises so far and have been on 2 cruises this year with another scheduled in October and next January and a possibility of another this summer... not bragging, just giving you a frame of reference.) I like smaller ships for the smaller crowds, but also enjoy the opulence on the mega ships. (My personal favorite thus far is the Celebrity Reflection). Cruise On !!
glomarrone 9 years ago
Thanks for posting your first review on this site. Please visit the Forum and contribute to our discussions. See you on the site.
JusMe 9 years ago
There are different types of Mega ships. RCI, NCL and Carnival have the mega ships with all the latest and greatest things to do on them, Water slides, rock walls, sky diving simulators, surf simulators, bumper cars and what not. They have greater selection of entertainment but the venue's are smaller so not everyone can go. On some of the new ships you have to scheduled and make reservations for shows and activities.
Celebrity and HAL also have large ships that are not floating amusement parks (Solstice Class ships) That have lots of space per passenger so you do not feel packed in like a Sardine by the pool or going to the MDR.
Cruisingaddicts hit the point, # of passengers for the size of the ship. for example
¢Quantum of the Seans 167,800 tons 4905 passengers = 34.02
Celebrity Equinox 122,000 tons 2850 passengers = 42.81
NCL Epic 153,000 tons 4200 passengers =36.43
Carnival Dream 128,000 tons 3646 passengers = 35.14
HAL Eurodam 86,000 tons 2044 passengers = 42.074
HAL Ryndam (old ship) 55,451 tons 1266 passengers = 43.80
The ship you pick will dictate the vacation you will have, high energy crowded or relaxed and spacious. I can appreciate both and have had good times on both. I will say for a short trip 7 night or less the high energy crowded ship is fine, for longer cruises I prefer the more relaxed spacious ships.
HMDowney 9 years ago
I think a better compromise can be made re smoking (and I say this as a non smoker). Rather than making ALL balconies non smoking, you could possibly make a section of balconies smoking (in one area) that way if you particularly want to smoke on your balcony you choose one of these.
glomarrone 9 years ago
Bubba54, you will not really know if a larger ship is for you unless you take a cruise on one. I love large ships but understand that many others do not. What is good about the mega ships is the greater variety of entertainment - more elaborate too - especially the theater shows. Some of them blew away my mind. There are more things to do on the ship and you will find that there is not enough time to do everything. I suggest that you plunge on in and book on one of them. If you do, be sure to post a review. I would enjoy reading it to be sure.
glomarrone 9 years ago
My favorite cruise line is HAL. Although I am a non-smoker, I appreciate that smokers have rights, too. HAL is the only cruise line that permits smoking on balconies. I have the feeling that another HAL cruise may be in your future. The ms. Amsterdam may be the perfect sized HAL ship for you.
Bubba54 9 years ago
thanks for the review, I appreciate the comparing of larger ship to the smaller ones. I have not done a mega ship yet. I keep looking and thinking about it.
Johngold 9 years ago
Thank You for your review. I see you noticed the difference from the mega ships like the Epic compared to the smaller "?" cruise ships.There have been many discussions regarding the size and the amount of passengers on these large ships. HAL usually cost more and therefore moves it notch above the standard NCL package. I've been on Princess and NCL and I do expect better on Princess than NCL. I trust that you will keep cruising now that you are aware of the differences between vessels.