Not festive!!!

Item: Norwegian Epic
Rating: 3.8
Author: arllov4830

Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

arllov4830

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 6

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Mediterranean (Barcelona Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 13, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Epic

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: GTY

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

This was a disappointing cruise for me, with all of the onboard extra expenses for activities.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

2 out of 5

The reservation ordeal was horrible to eat at a restaurant. WHY just why. If no space the Garden Cafe again.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

rock climbing, you paid for; Bbowling you pay for, what is going on. No theatres, the one really good show you paid for.

Entertainment

2 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

Don't get hyped for festive activities that you don't gave to pay for.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Barcelona, Spain

5 out of 5

Naples, Italy

5 out of 5

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

4 out of 5

A bit far for Rome, and expensive to get there.

Thumbs Up 1

Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy

5 out of 5

Cannes, France

5 out of 5

Palma De Mallorca, Balearic Islands

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

6 Comments

markandde 6 years ago

Perhaps a bit more research and planning is in order for your next cruise. You'll find things work much the same on all NCL cruises, although there are a few differences in the way the larger vs smaller ships do things. There is lot you CAN do for no additional cost. You listed a couple of the things that DO cost extra. Between the website and forums like this you can get a pretty clear picture of what is available and whether or not it is included in the base fare before you set foot on the ship. We prefer the other eating venues over the Garden Cafe unless we're in a hurry, and usually choose a complimentary venue. The 'why' on reservations is quite simple: Feeding 4000 people in a "Freestyle Dining" arrangement is a logistical challenge. NCL has it down to an art and, for those cruisers that want to plan for a specific meal time, offer reservations in most venues as a convenience. Even as a walk-in at the most popular venue (Manhattan room) during the busiest time we've never waited more than 45 minutes. We met some really interesting fellow travelers while we waited. Had we made reservations that would have been no more than 15 minutes and we would have missed out on new cruise acquaintances. Glad you still had a 4 star cruise.

Thumbs Up 2

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