Will personally avoid the Epic in the future

Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 90

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5
Verified Review
Norwegian Epic

7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 24, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Epic

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9174

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

The cruise destinations were wonderful; however, the ship does not have a well-designed layout. The crew seemed tired and sometimes so much into their jobs that they appeared less than friendly.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
The embarkation was relatively easy. The port is set up in a well-thought-out arrangement. Having selected an arrival time didn't seem to make any difference as we were never asked about it.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Food was excellent!!!

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Casino Bar

3 out of 5

O'Sheehan's Bar and Grill is dark and seems to lack the intimate character of the same location on other NCL ships. It is located above the Atrium where a large screen always seemed to be in use with the volume cranked up. We have always liked to eat our lunch at O'Sheehan's on other ships but not on the Epic.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
We used the sundeck on Deck 18; not widely used perhaps because it is hard to find.

Entertainment

4 out of 5
The stage shows were well done, and the performers put their hearts into their performances. Some of the events did not fit my taste, but there were plenty of choices.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5
Most of the time, we experienced very good service, but the entire staff appeared to be frazzled, and some even seemed disinterested. To some extent, we thought many of the servers were in training. Again, our cabin steward was top notch, helpful, and friendly as was the one just down the hall from us.

Ship Quality

2 out of 5
Cleanliness was not an issue. Design was less than desirable. The sixth floor is basically casino with smoking; however, several of the restaurant venues were also along the sixth floor. A person with respiratory problems could not easily reach those restaurants. The whole design seemed choppy, and as I phrased it: "A Giant Corn Maze."

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
The room was very clean but very narrow. The room was so narrow that two persons could not pass between the bed and counter which also held the bathroom sink. Our cabin steward was top notch and did what he could to make the cruise pleasant.

Ship tip

Make your reservations for shows, shore excursions, and eating before leaving home, and make them early. With that being said, reservations made in advance for the onboard shows did not appear once we were on the ship. Reservations for meals were quite confusing: When we called for reservations, they wouldn't take them stating that we did not need them; yet when we arrived at the dining room, there was a line for those with reservations and another for those without. Asking the host(ess) didn't clear up the matter. This complaint was heard time and time again by many passengers both seasoned cruisers and first-timers.

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5
Well planned

Nassau, Bahamas

4 out of 5
Our Sunday morning stop made the Nassau visit quite pleasant. The streets were not as crowded as on weekdays. We did our own walking tour to the Parliament, FinCastle, Queen's Staircase, and other sites along the way. Even shopped the Straw Market.

Falmouth, Jamaica

5 out of 5
Nicely designed port. We took the Martha Brae Bamboo Rafting excursion which we would highly recommend.

George Town, Grand Cayman

4 out of 5
The port is clean and friendly. Again, since we had just recently been to George Town, we did our own walking tour.

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

4 out of 5
Much more fun in the 1990's when it was more of a wilderness island. Now it is "commercialized."

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
Fairly quick. Once our color was called, it only took about an hour to process.
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2 Comments

markcross    6 years ago

Can't build a boat that fits everybodys expectations and floor plan, personally I would want more bathrooms and more smoking areas, but their not building a boat for Mark, 4000+ People on board has to make planning generic

IkeDeb    6 years ago

That's ashame.

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