Great itinerary, not so great ship

Item: Norwegian Epic
Rating: 3.8
Author: DCMii

Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

DCMii

Contributor Level: Purser

50 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

7 Night Eastern Caribbean (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 15, 2018

Ship: Norwegian Epic

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Would not recommend Epic. The ship is designed poorly with the casino at the center and no barriers to the smoke and noise.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Long line, but alright.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food was good, not as great as we have had in the past on Norwegian. Service wasn’t quite as attentive, felt a little rushed.

Maltings Whiskey Bar

5 out of 5

The three regular bartenders and the wait staff here were excellent, funny and entertaining. This bar is in the middle of deck 7, so they see a lot of traffic and they keep up with all the orders. They recognize and remember the guests. We hung out here every evening.

Teppanyaki

5 out of 5

Great food, very entertaining. So much food couldn’t finish it all.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Epic Casino

1 out of 5

Awful for a non gambler. The casino is spread out on the entire 6thdeck, smoking everywhere. It is open th the floor above, so the smoke and noise are also on 7. Problem is that you have to walk though this to get to any of the restaurants, bars, theaters and lounges on the ship, so you can’t get away from the smoke and noise.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

No kids with us

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

The entire 6th deck was the casino, so we were forced to walk through it and all the smokers whenever accessing the bars and restaurants on that floor. Plus, it was open to the floor above, so the smoke smell drifted up. Couldn’t get away from the noise or the smoke. Very disappointed.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Small, and odd layout with the “open” bathroom. But there was a lot of storage.

Ship tip

Looked for a different ship for your itinerary.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5

No Excursion

Thumbs Up 0

Tortola, British Virgin Islands

4 out of 5

Beautiful port and island. We took the excursion to Virgin Gorda and the Baths. It was way too crowded and we didn’t see half of it. I would not recommend that excursion.

Thumbs Up 2

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

4 out of 5

Very pretty island. We went snorkeling, it was a good excursion.

Thumbs Up 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas Did not visit port

Weather.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Easy and fast

4 Comments

Deleted2 5 years ago

I hate ships too big.. casino is not my thing, nor are massive kids zones. Epic has all that water slide action that is a must for families . . but not for me. I prefer smaller ships up to max 2,500 passenger.

Thumbs Up 0

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znv3952 5 years ago

People make you own decisions. My opinion, I was on Epic 11/24-12/05 excellent, have a great time, meet lots of nice people, that’s what makes cruise good. About casino smokers didn’t notice any smell. Yes, sink was to small and inside the room, but it didn’t make my cruise great!!!

Thumbs Up 2

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brockandmary 5 years ago

Agreed, the escape is much better!!

Thumbs Up 0

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ramona010817 5 years ago

Can't do anything about the noise, but I guess they could install a glass partition and inclose the smoking area!

Thumbs Up 0

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Other reviews of this sailing

nice ship

Fun Times! Our first time with Norwegian!

The Epic is much too large and the crowds were unbelievable.