Great Itinerary but Ship and Service Below Standards

Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

mdunbar4262326

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 48

Overall rating:

3.5 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Mediterranean (Rome Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 12, 2019

Ship: Norwegian Epic

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 13080

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

You do this cruise because of the ports not because it is a great ship. The ship was just ok. We traveled on the Epic in the Caribbean several years ago and you can see that the ship has become a bit dated. The ports were excellent but make sure you have plan in advanced your excursions. We did not do this for a few ports and did not have great experiences. In Mallorca we planned to do the Hop On Hop Off bus but there were literally 75-100 people in line to get on the bus so it would have taken over an hour. We ended up using a taxi to tour and they charged $120 euros for 2 hours. Most of the excursions are expensive and you have to travel significant distances because of the nature of these European ports but the experiences were incredible.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Garden Cafe always good but speciality restaurants were not good with the exception of the Japanese restaurant (Teppanyaki).

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

1 out of 5

The shows were terrible.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

The service from the room steward was exceptional. The waiters were not always attentive and some protocol/attitudes that you expect were not present such as handing plates of food to one end of the table and to be handed from person to person.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

This ship is getting dated and worn.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5