Last time with NCL
Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 45
7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)
Sail date: December 16, 2017
Ship: Norwegian Epic
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
I was aboard the December 16, 2017 sailing on the NCL Epic. What started out as a promising trip became the worst, not only cruise, but vacation experience I have had. On Thursday night of my sailing, I slipped and fell off of a step near the bowling alley and fell flat (no, alcohol was not involved). The crew member behind the alley desk ran to pick up the cup I dropped, not me - the cup, and the other employees in the vicinity just left. Luckily there were 2 guests there that helped me up and one of the guests ran and got some ice for my ankle and knee. The alley worker just returned to his desk without saying anything to me. I went to my cabin, laid down with my foot propped and ice on my ankle and stayed the rest of the day there. When I awoke in the morning, my left ankle/foot and right knee were severely swollen, my chest and right elbow were scraped and bruised. I went to the medical center, but it was closed so I went to guest services to see if I could obtain medical attention. I was told that there was no one available until 7pm. I asked if I could at least get an ace bandage bolster my ankle a bit. I was told that I should check the vending machine near medical (I had, it basically just contained aspirin, motion sickness tablets and prophylactics) then I was told that they didn't have any type of bandage and was summarily dismissed. Not being able to walk but a very short distance at a time with my injured foot and knee, I went back to my cabin to prop my foot for the remainder of the cruise. Missing Thursday's activities and the private beach port on Friday were disappointing, but not as much as they way I was treated by the ship's crew. I have never felt such a lack of concern from others. To leave someone lying on the floor and not even attempt to assist them up is not just bad customer service, it reflects a deficit of human decency. When I arrived home, I wrote a letter to Guest Services and received an email (1/9/18) saying that my letter was sent to the Claims department for review and I would hear from them within 8-10 weeks. 3 months later (3/9/18) I finally received a letter from them stating – “We are certain that had you visited the medical facility, proper care and treatment would have been provided.” So, basically they didn’t even read my complaint, as I had stated that I did visit the medical center and I did ask for medical assistance. Since this type of uncaring is tolerated within NCL, I cannot imagine cruising with them in the future and would recommend others not to, for their own safety and well-being.Embarkation
Embarkation was extremely busy and took a long time, but I was okay with that.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Food was just okay, nothing special. The small pub (O'Sheehans) midship had better food than the dining rooms.
Onboard Activities
The activities director for the solo cruisers was a nice touch, we had Clarissa who is no longer with the Epic.
Service and Staff
Some of the staff were nice, some of the staff were grossly negligent.
Ship Quality
Older ship, but seemed in good shape
Cabin / Stateroom
I liked the solo cabins, perfect size. Hallways were a bit small, but I would stay in one again if NCL customer service were not so abominable.
Ship tip
Be safe - Sail with Royal or Disney instead.
Thumbs up
0
Disembarkation
Disembarkation has never been good any of the times I've been on NCL, but it was a little better in Port Canaveral than Tampa.
9 Comments
katalina 6 years ago
I agree with you. I understand what you are trying to say as the humane element is missing. I with 7 family members were on the Carnival Conquest Jan 7-13 2017 cruise which followed the Fort Lauderdale airport shooting leaving 5 dead and 6 injured. We were on same flight as shooter and had gotten our luggage were sitting in the chairs some of the people were killed in then moved outside doors to wait for van when shooting took place 2 minutes later. Our luggage had been loaded into van and our driver heard of shooting and went into airport never to return as he was shot. We later found out shooter was just on other side of door reloading and was coming out our door when he was held at gunpoint and detained. There was a man outside with us bleeding out and an ambulance was not allowed to come in and assist him for close to an hour. We were then held at airport for 13 hours without explanation with 200 other travelers. There was a fellow cruisemate a woman we met in dining room who was shaking for 7 days. She was standing between 2 couples who were shot and killed randomly but she was spared. No matter what cruiseline you travel there is no cruiseline equiped to handle the emotional trauma of being caught in crossfire of bullets and witnessing the senseless death we did that day. We chose to take our cruise the next day thinking all would be well. My 13 year old son still is shaken by loud noises. I remember telling a few employees onboard of my experience and was met with cold stares and a "that's unfortunate" response. I have never contacted carnival for anything since as it was no ones fault but the man awaiting trial. Delta to my surprise refunded 7 fares to my card without question. The human element or empathy is gone from our society. No matter what anyone says unless you have lived my experience you wouldn't even think of the profound impact it has on a person. It was unfortunate but I felt terrible for the people who were shaken as the woman I met in the dining room. There was no fault by Carnival and likewise no empathy by anyone who encountered her. My family and myself walking through 7 days of a cruise in a zombie state having witnessed the blood and death the day before boarding. I will never sail Carnival again. I'm sure it would have been same with any cruiseline but the memory of the lack of compassionor empathy and cold stares stay with me. In the end we were lucky we were able to walk away from it.
tekmantn 6 years ago
As a former employee of the hospitality industry we were directed to not interfere when someone has an accident as any action from the employee could be construed as reason for further damage to any injury obtained during your accident. Unless the employee near you was a medical professional there was no reason for them to assist you. You'll find this to be true also at hotels and restaurants. In fact, in any business the same applies. Sorry you had an accident. Sorry you didn't feel it necessary to revisit when the medical center terminal was open. By far was this no reflection on NCL as the employees were doing only as any would. Hope you're well.
ramona010817 6 years ago
Sorry you had such a bad experience, but I was just on the Epic March 24, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I also had a studio cabin and the Stewardess Julie was extremely polite and helpful.
As far as the dining venues, we enjoyed O'Sheehans, the taste dining room, the noodle bar, Buffet etc. Never once did we encounter anyone not helpful or polite...loved the epic as good, just booked another....
sgtallen 6 years ago
I'm sorry YOU injured yourself on vacation.. So let's see if I got this right... Your letter was sent to the claims department..... Which means you were asking for something in return. Why else would you put them on blast. As far as your injury... Let's see was it life or death? No. was it life over limb? No. So why didn't you go at 7 pm? OK second thought... did you think the ship doctor was some type of miracle worker they can instantly put some type of cream on your ankle to make you walk. No you injured yourself the body must heal. This is the type of person that could hide their own Easter eggs and spend two weeks looking for them.