Nice Hotel

Item: Norwegian Epic
Rating: 3
Author: drbilljones

Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

drbilljones

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 116

Overall rating:

3 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Mediterranean (Barcelona Roundtrip)

Sail date: July 17, 2016

Ship: Norwegian Epic

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 13224

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 8 years ago

Review summary

This is a big ship that takes on and lets off passengers in three different cities in three different countries over the course of the 7 day cruise. As a result, it feels more like a floating hotel than a cruise experience. It is a nice hotel to be sure, but it just doesn't have the feel of a cruise. The food is good, nothing really spectacular, and we always enjoyed it. The real bright spot on this trip was the entertainment. It was absolutely first class. It would not have been any better in NYC or Vegas. Very impressive. The shore excursions were terribly overpriced. While Naples was readily accessible from the port, Rome and Florence were 1.5 to hours away. Subtracting the going and coming time left very little time to see everything even with a 10 hour day. If you really want to visit these Beautiful cities, I recommend a land based tour.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

This was the highlight of the cruise. Absolutely first class.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

I rather liked our cabin. I had been warned about the sink in the room, but it was fine. It was hard to watch TV from anywhere but the bed. Plenty of storage space.

Ports of call

Barcelona, Spain

5 out of 5

Come ahead or stay after the cruise. This is a beautiful city with some of the nicest people in the world.

Thumbs Up 6

Naples, Italy

5 out of 5

The trip to Pompeii was really worth the effort. If you have a sense of history you will be overwhelmed here. It is a bit "R" or even "X" rated for the children. Do your homework before you decide to take preteens or even young teens through the brothels, etc.

Thumbs Up 4

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

3 out of 5

Big, hot and lots of tourists. It is so far from the port that it leaves little time to see so much.

Thumbs Up 3

Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy

5 out of 5

Be careful wandering around. The streets go off in all directions, no grids here! I have a great sense of direction and I got lost at least once. Ask for directions quickly before you get too far away, especially if it's getting close to time to be at the meeting place to return to the ship.

Thumbs Up 3

Cannes, France

1 out of 5

Why were we there? I suppose the film festival would be a reason. Other than that, it was like Miami Beach in French with hills, rich tourists, fancy cars and lousy beaches. Oh well, I will never have to go back.

Thumbs Up 0

Marseille (Provence), France

5 out of 5

Everything that Cannes was not. Beautiful city.

Thumbs Up 2

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Other reviews of this sailing

Food was good, at best