A very bad embarcation process was a poor wat to start off this cruise. We found the food to be marginal and the restaruant wait staffs did not seem to have their act together, making dining time consuming and did not deliver the experience one expects on a cruise. This was our fourth cruise and we found the entertainment options on our previous cruises with Carnival and Celebrity to be much better. We expected Norwegian to be a step up from Carnival and at least on par with Celebrity, that was not the case on this cruise, perhaps it was the large size of the ship as others we met raved about Norwegian, and the couple we travelled with had an excellent prior experience on the Epic.
Embarkation
1 out of 5
The embarcation process was horrible. We stood in line for over 2 hours which is better than some, who were in line for ovr 4 hours. The cruise line blames it on the port operation but I put the blame on them. There wasn't even any ship representative present to let us know what was going on.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The food looked good but was pedestrian. We booked 4 specialty restaurants. The steakhouse was good as was the Japanese restaurant (excellent cook there), however, the French and Italian venues were disappointing. Service in the dining rooms was quite marginal with simple meals taking 2 hours, the wait staff didn't seem to have it together. We actually got tired of waiting and left prior to receiving our entrée at one meal. I didn't see a wine steward the entire voyage. There was inadequate seating for the buffet; not fun having to hunt and save a seat prior to getting your food. No cream for the coffee, nothing but milk????? I did like the breakfast omelets.
Cagney's Steakhouse
5 out of 5
Cagney's provided the best meal we had on the cruise.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
There were activities but many venues were so crowed you could not get in. The fitness center was well done. The casino was OK but we could have done without the smoke.
Entertainment
2 out of 5
We passed on the drag queen show. The dance show was good but became boring after a while. Note that reservations are required for most shows as this huge ship has a theater that seats around 700.
Service and Staff
3 out of 5
Except for the restaurants the service was fine. Our room steward was great. The security staff did a good job of handling exit and entry to the ship. This would get a 5 star were it not for the dining staff. I got tired of hearing washee washee, happy happy every time I entered the buffet.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
I missed having a walking track, if there was one I didn't find it. The ship seemed clean and well maintained.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
This indicates oceanview but was a balcony cabin. The modern curved cabin design looked good but created movement bottle necks and the room lacked drawers for storage. The bed was too short for my 6'1" frame and uncomfortable. The coffee in the room was actually good. Could not hear the PA announcements in the room, had to open the door, on the plus side, the room was quiet. The room steward did a great job of taking care of the room. The luggage process went well.
Ship tip
This was our 4th cruise and first on Norwegian. I expected better from this cruise line. My tip, think twice before sailing on the Epic.
We tired quickly of the gauntlet of people harrassing us with offers of excursion and such and returned to the ship. Book an excursion, this port area is not very nice.
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