Great excursions, Ship too big
Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 47
7 Night Western Mediterranean (Barcelona Roundtrip)
Sail date: July 23, 2017
Ship: Norwegian Epic
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 11053
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
Shore excursions and entertainment were great; clearly NCL has contracted with highly efficient and organized groups. The ship organization needs reconsideration in terms of rooms, buffets/dining rooms and providing easy space for 4000+ people.Embarkation
Very organized: baggage tags attached, moved to check-in line which moved quickly, obtained onboard ID cards, and walked up to the ship.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The Epic has only one buffet: a huge one with repeating sections that wraps around the forward third of the 14th floor deck. But it didn't matter the time of day - it was as if people were running from a fire. Cutting in line, children running or yelling. The food was ok at best. There are theme nights (Italian, Spanish, etc.) but nothing to write home about. The dining rooms that are free to all are mostly ok: Taste and O'Sheehans had reasonable service but the food was not spectacular. Taste: Steak was very chewy and the Cherries Jubilee was canned cherries on ice cream - not the real Jubilee. O'Sheehans: quick seating and service. Pub food was not at all traditional; shepherd's pie came with over-cooked beef with nothing in it and topped with a microscopic layer of mashed potatoes that was likely broiled on top; nachos had a runny, processed cheese sauce and maybe 3-4 pieces of bacon on them; express breakfast had nice crispy bacon but the scrambled eggs had an odd consistency. BEST RESTAURANT: Chinese Noodle Bar. It offered slightly different menus depending on whether you sat at the noodle bar or in the table area. Fabulous & attentive service, very tasty and made-fresh food!!! I'd visit daily if I went on the Epic again.
Onboard Activities
This rating is cautionary since I travelled with another adult woman, both of us in our 50s and spent time on excursions during the day and relaxing at night. We were completely thrilled with Day 1 Promotion at the spa; $189 for unlimited access to the Hydrotherapy area: huge pool with several different areas for different needs, large indoor deck with loungers, several steam rooms and saunas, outside balcony with 11 loungers - perfect for quiet and watching the sun set! Since the promotion was only for the first 120 people, it was always quiet and peaceful. Lots of water on hand as well as towels and robes. We were also given three pots of salt scrubs which felt amazing on the skin after a shower! Well worth the money.
Entertainment
Burn the Floor: really amazing dance show - every kind of dance form you can imagine, very frequent costume changes and great music!
Christian Muro (last name?): magician/comedian was truly entertaining for all ages; we heard from some passengers that he tends to vary his shows during the same trip so you don't quite see the same thing if you see him more than once.
Cavern Club: very small and intimate club. Beatles cover band and a guitarist named Luis - totally amazing entertainment!!
Service and Staff
Our steward was beyond excellent. Any questions we had were answered with knowledge and experience. If we needed anything, he made us feel as though we were the only clients he had! Customer service people were efficient and informative and helpful.
Ship Quality
I think the ship is too big. People need to be scheduled to the buffet and there needs to be more buffets available (yes, there is the Courtyard Grill, but really, it's an extension of the Garden Cafe which creates just one long buffet that migrates out to the main pool. And there's really one pool for everyone with kids. The H20 pool is a tiny one in the aft end, but it's covered up by a floor for night shows. No other pool for 4000+ passengers.
Cabin / Stateroom
Our steward kept the place spotless!!
As the days wore on, it was clear that the cabin lacked in many areas. I'm 5'2" and couldn't really move my arms easily in the shower stall; the toilet stall was very cramped. There was adequate space to empty our bags and we could store bags under the beds (we found out on our last day that there were extra blankets and pillows under the beds!!! No one told us. The lighting seemed fine at first, but if searching for something in a backpack, etc., it was too dim. If one of us was up in the night, the light from the toilet stall was blinding. No dimmers available. There was a suggestion that we could leave the tv on to the channel that shows live Bridge View, but at night, when the view was black, the tv actually glowed too bright to sleep. Next time, I'm paying extra for a balcony.
Ship tip
Buy the water package - no free bottled water on the ship or you're charged for bottles! Bring your own insulated water bottle for excursions: it'll keep water cold for hours and you can often refill. Buy the spa package on Day 1 - fabulous way to decompress after a day's excursion and it's very peaceful; skip the overpriced treatments unless you really want one. Buy a theft-proof bag for shore excursions - well worth it.
Thumbs up
1
Ports of call
We stayed two days in Barcelona before boarding the Epic. The Hop on-off bus tour is amazing (Viator.com) and very reliable; be sure to find out in advance when the last bus leaves a given destination so that you're not stranded a few miles from your hotel! Stay away from Las Rambles - tourist trap. Even the locals suggest avoiding it. Don't believe anyone who appears in need of any kind. But we didn't encounter any trouble when away from that area. Career de Blai has a long pedestrian street with lost of cafes and restaurants. Great food!
Naples and Sorrento by bus tour. Sorrento was very busy, but to be fair, we didn't get much time to wander. I'd go again and explore a lot and further away from the main, touristy area. Naples seemed fine, but we only got out to eat Marguerita Pizza (Naples is the origin of this pizza); unfortunately the staff at Ristorante La Piazzeta made it clear that they wanted us out quickly. The pizza left much to be desired - we'd had much better in Barcelona - adequate tomato sauce, non-existent basil and just one small piece of cheese per quarter of the pizza. Pretty city, but we needed more time to explore. I would take a different excursion next time - Pompeii was beyond amazing, according to others we talked to.
Ultimate Vatican tour.
We saw the exterior of the Colosseum and the guide had copious amounts of history on it. Same with the Vatican. Lunch at Piccola Toscana was totally amazing. Very attentive staff, tasty 4-course meal, wonderful wine and coffee!!!! So very much to see - I know I'll visit Rome again and take a full day at Vatican City and see other sights in Rome. This was a great way to get a 'taste' of Rome, knowing what to come back for!
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy
Walking tour through the old city and wine tasting at a castle tour.
Suzanna was a great tour guide and gave us very reliable places to go to - places wouldn't overcharge and quality was excellent. We had a lot of history then were given a demo at one of the leather and gold shops. The restaurant that was recommended in Piazza Santa Croce was excellent - BEST ever lasagna. Ristorante Boccadama is a must when visiting. Castello del Trebbio is a 35 minute ride out of the city and gave us an intimate tour of the castle as well as information on olive oil that they make and later instruction on wine tasting. The little gift shop was packed with wines and olive oils as well as olive oil products. Definitely visiting again!
Walking tour of old Cannes and wine tasting on St. Honorat Island tour.
Very informative tour guide. The initial tour was a walk up a zigzag sloped road to the top of the hill to a small castle and church with a lovely view of the harbour and Cannes. Then we walked down another set of roads to the market which was loaded with everything from cut flowers to fish, meat, fruit and veg. Also prepared foods; we were invited to purchase items for a snack while on the ferry to the island. We had an outdoor wine tasting experience (wear a hat since we were a good 45 minutes in the sun) then guided to the old castle on the coast and then to the church in the monastery and finally the gift shop where the lovely wines are sold as well as other things. A good tour!
Palma De Mallorca, Balearic Islands
Palma on Bike tour.
Absolutely fabulous way to see the area! Our guides were very attentive - ensuring that we were always hydrated and stopped any time we needed more water or toilets. There was only one slope and no one was pressured to go quickly. Lots of history given and lots of time to stop for photos. New time, I'm renting from Palma on Bike and will take the bike path all the way to the far end of the harbour and stop here and there to explore! Love this place!!!
Disembarkation
Very easy process. A card swipe and you're done. We didn't arrange transportation from the ship to Barcelona's airport. The taxis charge 39 euros per car (not per person) and it was a smooth process, very reliable.