Not My Favorite Caribbean Cruise

Item: Norwegian Epic
Rating: 3.7
Author: lanakluke

Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

lanakluke

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 35

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

7 Night Western Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 31, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Epic

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8045

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

We booked the cruise not remembering that it was spring break. The open floor plan meant that small children were running everywhere including the bar areas of the ship. It is hard to relax with a drink when you have children climbing on the booths. This was our first time on a ship this big. We were unable to enjoy most of the entertainment options because they were sold out. Between the poor timing and the ship design we learned a lot about what we don't want on any future cruises. We made the best of it but it was disappointing on many levels. Our cabin overlooked the lifeboats and everyone else's balconies above overlooked ours. The balconies on deck 8 stick out further than all of those above. We didn't really like the cabin design with the enclosed toilet on one side of the main cabin door and the enclosed shower on the other side. It wasn't terrible but we will not cruise on the Epic again. We will also choose better dates in the future.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Everything was loud and crowded.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

The entertainment that wasn't sold out was good. It was hard to get into the shows. The waitlist option worked most of the time but was a hassle.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

We were not impressed with the open design. The ship was at capacity. We made the mistake of going at spring break. The public areas were all very loud and busy.

Cabin / Stateroom

2 out of 5

Ship tip

The lifeboats of this ship hang on the outside. If you have a balcony room on the 8th deck then not only do you view the tops of the lifeboats but they stick out further than the rest of the balconies. The people above could all look down on you as you tried to enjoy your balcony. Since it was spring break there were a lot of kids onboard. The kids threw stuff down at us on our balcony.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

5 out of 5

Ocho Rios, Jamaica

3 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

3 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

9 Comments

lanakluke 4 years ago

My husband talked me into giving the Epic a second chance. Cruising on it again this next week. Fingers crossed for a better experience.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

SueJeremy 6 years ago

When is spring break? I don’t have kids in school so I have no idea... I’m booked for April 6th, do I need to change this?

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

cece1951 6 years ago

Booking ahead of time for the things you really want to do is important!

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

doreenviv 6 years ago

We are booked for February 16 2020 which is winter school break. Has anyone sailed during this time and how was it as far as kids running around?

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Lopaka 6 years ago

Researching...

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Lopaka 6 years ago

Well if you don't do your homework before booking, you end up on a spring break cruise in an obstructed view room with a cabin design you didn't like. That's not a problem with the Epic; that's your fault for not reseating your cruise!

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

markandde 6 years ago

Pretty common theme for spring break cruises. We did the Breakaway for our school system's break last year. The kids are grown and gone but De is an aid so we're on that schedule. Our break time must not have aligned with many others, since I don't remember that many unruly children, or the mob of drunken, entitled college kids others have had to deal with for that matter. We had a great time, but our lesson from that cruise was that we would sail out of northern ports only in the summer. Southern ports for us the rest of the time.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Charlou 6 years ago

One word: research.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

gatorhotline 6 years ago

Sorry for your experience but at least you learned something and your post will help others. We were on Epic in December and our cabin flooded due to water pipe breaking in wall. We had to spend 3 days without access to our cabin except they moved a bed in so we could sleep at night. I covered the floor with pool towels. I would have loved to spend time on our balcony but during the day they moved the furniture out there. No compensation of any kind and they claimed to have no place to move us. Learned a whole lot about NCL customer service. At least we had shelter and plenty of food and drinks and were better off than the residents of the islands we visited, so we made the best of it.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

Turn this party up!!

Epic Time On The Epic

Fun on the Epic