Best Vacation Ever!

Item: Norwegian Epic
Rating: 4.5
Author: travelingtexan

Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

travelingtexan

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 60

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5

7 Night Western Mediterranean (Barcelona Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 13, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Epic

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 13078When

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

I scheduled the cruise and excursions via and am glad I did. Be sure and read the instructions for how to meet your guide for the excursions as every port is a little different. It was somewhat stressful to find our guides, some were late, but they always came and were knowledgable and really nice folks. We also tended to have some of the same people on the excursions for several days, so we made some great friends while there! Be prepared to walk a lot and bring an umbrella just in case (the ones sold on site barely lasted a day!). The Naples (Pompei), Rome and Pisa/Florence tours lasted 8-9 hours, so get some sleep the night before! Most of the excursions have some extra costs like entry fees and lunch.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Check in was easy, friendly staff. We did not have our tags stapled onto our luggage...no problem, the staff were happy to help us.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Our favorites were The Manhattan (great prime rib) and the Garden Cafe (so many choices!). Le bistro was least favorite of all the restaurants we tried.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Excellent, however, it takes awhile at first to understand the layout in terms of reaching your cabin.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

When disembarking, take care of your own luggage. I was glad I scheduled excursions via rather than NCL, groups are smaller.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Barcelona, Spain

5 out of 5

Flew into Barcelona 2 days prior to cruise departure. Saw Park Guell and Sangra Famalia (a must see!)

Thumbs Up 6

Naples, Italy

5 out of 5

Excursion to Pompei and the Amalfi Coast was excellent! Take the boat ride on Amalfi Coast (extra cost) if offered. Had a bonus stop at a factory where cameo jewelry was made!

Thumbs Up 4

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

5 out of 5

Wonderful excursion to hit the high points, lots of walking so bring comfy shoes as was suggested.

Thumbs Up 5

Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy

5 out of 5

Leaning tower of Pisa was beautiful, Florence was our favorite city of all of Italy!!

Thumbs Up 8

Cannes, France

5 out of 5

Take the Eze/Monaco exercursion - could've used more time in Monaco but it is all very beautiful. Enjoyed the perfume factory as well!