First transatlantic cruise

Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Transatlantic

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 47

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Epic

13 Night Transatlantic (Barcelona To Port Canaveral)

Sail date: November 05, 2017

Ship: Norwegian Epic

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 9140

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

We had an outstanding time on the cruise. But we may never book with again as we learned that most, if not all, passengers paid much less than we did and got more (balconies, premium meals, etc.). We called United prior to sailing and inquired about a price guarantee but got nowhere since we had already paid in full. Lesson learned here.

Embarkation

3 out of 5
Long lines at Port Canaveral but the process was smooth.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5
The activity selection was wonderful, probably the best we will ever see on a ship. The only reason we did not rate a 5 is because some of the activities included a charge, like the bowling alley, pool tables. We think that these should be complimentary.

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Outstanding entertainment! And having the booking system allow for standby was a great idea, we used that several times and got in every time.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The staff was friendly and courteous. And the ships officers had a Q&A session for the Epic's technical attributes, this was well done.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
NCL has always done a good job at keeping their ships clean and shiny.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Comfortable bed, great soundproofing, we rarely heard the neighbors.

Ports of call

Barcelona, Spain

5 out of 5

Malaga, Spain

5 out of 5

Ponta Delgada, Azores

4 out of 5

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
We lined up at 7am to walk off with our luggage. Then US customs told the ship to stop allowing people to leave, they couldn't handle the big crowd. We finally cleared customs at 9:30am, 2.5 hrs later. Customs had only 50% of their booths open (6 of 12) to process 4100 passengers. The Canaveral port authority needs to get their act together and NCL needs to better understand how to help the port authority be successful.
Was this review helpful? 47

3 Comments

Charlou    6 years ago

Sorry you paid more then others. Next time, If you already paid in full and the price dropped, I would call NCL directly. They, or your TA, are the one who will be able to do something. And why not book the same ship again if you enjoyed yourself? I understand you paid more then others but that’s not the ship or the cruise line’s fault. Suggestion: when I book a cruise, I keep an eye on the price and/or promos in the cruise. If the final paiement is not made, it’s easy to have it adjusted. Hope your next cruise is better.

LobsterPot    6 years ago

I take it this was for the Transatlantic... We’ve booked it for next year at the beginning of this year, the price for our cabin is now about 20% higher than we paid but we have no doubt it will fall in the last few weeks. Swings and roundabouts... We’ve booked the upcoming Bliss Inaugural TA at a rate way below the current quotes and it’s now pretty much a sell out so booking very early worked well on that one... Glad you enjoyed the Epic..

edrosenberg1    6 years ago

Regardless of what others paid, did you enjoy yourself and the experience? That is the thing to consider

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