I have been on many, many cruises and this was one of the most disappointing. It started with one of the ports we were looking forward to in France changing to one we were not interested in. When we boarded, we found a previous passenger's underwear in our bathroom, then there was a WiFi issue of the prepaid charge not going through, then an appetizer was not delivered at dinner the first night, cold appetizers were delivered in other restaurants, our unlimited internet went out Saturday night through Sunday and we were not compensated, and our steward was forgetful. I am a Gold member and got no perks at all - we weren't even invited to a cocktail party. It was nice to see the ports, but next time we go on a cruise, it will not be with NCL because of all the disappointments.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
There were a lot of lines, but they moved fairly quickly.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
I ate at the buffet. the two dining rooms, and the steak and Chinese specialty restaurants. The food was fair. In the specialty restaurants, the oysters and spring roll appetizers were cold and I had to send them back.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
Because of so many excursions, I didn't have much time to enjoy the activities on the ship. I did visit the gym, which was very impressive - the biggest I've ever seen on a ship. I enjoyed the whirlpools and the games that took place in the atrium.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
All of the entertainment was fantastic. I loved the Epic Beatles and went to two of their shows. I loved Burn the Floor and Priscilla. The dancers were some of the best I have ever seen on a cruise ship. It was nice to watch them dance in the Manhattan dining room also.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
I wasn't too thrilled with the service. When I entered my stateroom for the first time, there was women's underwear hanging in the shower. The steward apologized profusely. He was replaced by another new steward who forgot to replace towels, didn't clean glasses left in the room, and gave us departing instructions in the wrong language. I signed up for internet before embarking, but somehow the charge didn't go through even though I had a confirmation sheet. I waited in long lines for hours to discuss the issue at the front desk and internet desk, and nobody knew what happened and recharged me. The only nice person was Kim, the training manager, who offered to send a bottle of wine to our room for our trouble. We really liked the Asian girl who cheerfully greeted us at the buffet each morning to spray our hands.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
We didn't like having to go through the casino to get to other areas on that floor, but otherwise the rest of the layout was fine. The ship was usually clean, but sometimes it took a while for dishes and glasses to be cleared in dining rooms and the pool area.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
We did not like the layout of our balcony room at all. There was one foot of length to walk from the front of the room to the balcony, and my husband and I found it difficult to walk back and forth without waiting for the other to get by. We did not like the shower and bathroom in separate rooms and the sink on the counter splashing water on everything else. The bed was comfortable and it was nice to have a refrigerator in there. The coffee maker was not necessary and took up too much of the small counter.
Ship tip
Use the Splash area by the pool for peace and quiet.
We did the Exclusive Amalfi Coast & Pompeii excursion and loved it. We didn't have enough time to see much, but we loved what we saw. I especially enjoyed exploring Pompeii.
We did the Ultimate Rome tour and were impressed with everything we got to see and do. Although it was a 10-hour tour, it seems that we barely got to scratch the surface of this area. It made us want to go back.
We went on the Nice and the View from Eze excursion, and it was one of our favorites. Cannes reminded us of Florida or California. We especially loved Eze. We had a great guide named Paul who took us to eat at Pinocchio's restaurant in Eze and to gardens at the top of a mountain and we loved it.
We were exhausted from the other excursions and had no desire to visit it to begin with. We were very disappointed that the ports got changed because we had an excursion in the caves at the previous ports that we were looking forward to.
WoW. You wrote down so many negatives and yet, you still gave it 4 stars. Can you explain that? And for your info, there's no cocktail party for NCL members on board the Epic.
Wow, do you write it down whenever something doesn't go right? How can you remember that an appetizer was not the right temperature? The underwear, I would remember but what I learned is that sometimes the guests on embarkation day go in to their rooms before they are cleaned. We checked our room about noon when we boarded and it was open so we went in. We were supprised to find shampoo bottles from the previous guest. Then the steward came in to say he hadn't got to the room yet.
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