disappointing, unacceptable stateroom
Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Europe - Western Europe
10 Night Canary Islands & Morocco (Barcelona Roundtrip)
Sail date: January 03, 2016
Ship: Norwegian Epic
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 8 years ago
Review summary
The NCL Epic ship is attractive after its recent facelift. However, unfortunately, the overwhelming memory of the ship is a very negative one. The bathroom situation is utterly unacceptable. The toilet and shower are individually enclosed with a glass wall and door. You step out of both into the small room foyer entrance. There is no bathroom per se. Each component is separate. The sink is "in" the room itself. Even though there is a cloth curtain, essentially there is zero privacy to use the toilet and shower. This is uncomfortable and awkward if one is traveling with a friend as I was. But I was also traveling with a couple who has been together for years and they, too, were very upset about the bathroom (or lack thereof) in their room. The room also was tight due to the presence of a large curved couch which I assume would have served as a third bed had one been needed. It was in the way and proved to make the room much too tight for 2 adult women to share, especially when one was blow drying hair or applying makeup at the small vanity area. The shows were good, especially the Priscilla Queen of the Desert and Beatles shows. The food in the specialty restaurants was very good, especially Cagnys Steakhouse. The rest of the food options were all good, standard cruise ship fare. The onboard entertainment offerings were barely satisfactory. With so much time at sea, including 3 straight days, there should have been more fun (free) options which would not have required payment. Thw lack of options drove me to spend about $500 in spa services. I understand the passenger language barrier challenges, but would have appreciated more games or entertainment options than pay-in bingo, blackjack and poker tournaments, moreover when bingo cards were pricy at $39-59. We were unable to make our stop at Tangier due to weather, which was not NCL's fault, but many passengers were inconvenienced and no extra onboard perk was offered in exchange. The demographic was older folks, few children and virtually no 30-somethings. The passengers were mostly Russian and Asians. In short, the ship was nice, the shows and food was good, the at sea entertainment was lacking, the cabins too small even though we had a balcony, but the bathroom situation was horrible and cast a pall on the trip. I would not recommend the NCL Epic for this reason.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
16 Comments
lauren45 8 years ago
LifeofSJJ 8 years ago
Ewoodspark 8 years ago
Also look on the cruise line's Web site. Besides deck plans, they usually have 360 degree views of the cabins.
I appreciate your help but 360 degrees views are always only generic and not the actual cabin
cruznjan 8 years ago
I looked at this site for the information that you mentioned but could not find anything apart from a deck plan. Am I looking at the wrong section?
Also look on the cruise line's Web site. Besides deck plans, they usually have 360 degree views of the cabins.
tapout87 8 years ago
1shannon 8 years ago
Ewoodspark 8 years ago
You did not explore the full site. Look in the "ship pictures" area and you will see the photo's of the cabin and the diagram of the cabin layout.
OK, when you said pictures, I actually thought you meant "real" pictures of the actual cabins, not just a standard picture and a basic cabin layout. these don't show the different settings of e.g. a B6 large cabin and the position of the bed. Not to worry. Other sites do have this information if you look hard enough. Thanks for trying.
JusMe 8 years ago
I looked at this site for the information that you mentioned but could not find anything apart from a deck plan. Am I looking at the wrong section?
You did not explore the full site. Look in the "ship pictures" area and you will see the photo's of the cabin and the diagram of the cabin layout.
BDRebel 8 years ago
Usually I will book before doing the heavy research, so I could have been very easily in the OP's shoes. Thanks to reviews like this (even-handed and fair) I am forewarned about the "unusual" bathroom design.
noname111 8 years ago
Thank you for posting your well-balanced review. Despite a couple bumps you rated an overall 3 which seems fair based on the entertainment and activities issues alone.
As others have pointed out, it is really important to research before booking. Itinerary is important but so is cabin layout. Lesson learned, right?
Happy future sails!
Ewoodspark 8 years ago
The site I use Vacationstogo also has photo of the cabin and a cabin floor plan showing the bathroom and cabin lay out.
I looked at this site for the information that you mentioned but could not find anything apart from a deck plan. Am I looking at the wrong section?
JusMe 8 years ago
Sorry that your trip did not go as well as you planned. The bathroom issue on that class of ship is well known and documented in lots of reviews. Since I travel with friends I would avoid that cabin lay out unless I had a cabin to myself.
In the future I can suggest that a bit of research on your ship and your cabin can help insure you get what you want. I always have the Deck plans of the ship open on my computer as I book so I can see the location of the cabin, what is next to it, above it and below it. The site I use Vacationstogo also has photo of the cabin and a cabin floor plan showing the bathroom and cabin lay out. I have also done a google search on the ship and cabin # to get reviews and sometimes Youtube video of the exact cabin.
lauren45 8 years ago
jay1899 8 years ago
tandk0826 8 years ago
Ewoodspark 8 years ago
Interesting review of the Epic. I am pleased that in general you liked the ship, especially after the dry dock refit work. The toilet/shower set up was obviously not to your liking (like a number of other reviewers). However, as this was your 7th or 8th cruise, were you not aware of the cabin arrangements on the Epic before you booked? There has been so much written.