I cruised in the Norwegian Epic July 3-10, 2019. It was my first ocean cruise (having only done river cruises before), and was surprised at all the nickel and dime-ing. It is “freestyle” cruising, so if you want to be left alone, this is the CruiseLine for you. I think next time I would like to try a CruiseLine that is a little more formal. I enjoyed the itinerary of this cruise.
Embarkation
3 out of 5
Smooth
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
3 out of 5
The Manhattan is better than Taste in terms of quality of food and service.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
We enjoyed the slides, but you have to wait in line for long periods of time. The deck BURNS your feet so be sure to pack flip flops and wear them on deck.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
About what you’d expect for a cruise.
Children's Programs
4 out of 5
Our 11-year-old liked the 10:30 pm programming (pay extra) so he could compete in a Wii competition.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
All staff are super helpful, friendly, and so their jobs well. Our steward, Joseph, was especially awesome.
Ship Quality
3 out of 5
The NCL Epic is HUGE. I didn’t realize how big until we boarded. I am a smaller ship kind of gal, so it was overwhelming. If you like a big casino, then this is the ship for you.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Slept 3 people comfort, and had plenty of storage space. Our balcony was also spacious.
Ship tip
Expect to have long lines for the elevators, and expect not to get the first elevator, because it seemed that they were always full. Be ready to take the stairs.
Rome itself is very dirty and pickpockets are real. We embarked in Rome so we stayed 2 days ahead of our cruise and 2 days after in order to see more of the city.
We would have loved to have had more time in Florence, but we enjoyed every minute of our time in both Pisa and Florence. We booked the “on your own” excursion through NCL and that is worth it, because both towns are far from the port.
We did the Hop On Hop Off excursion through NCL and felt that was a very good deal. Before our cruise, we bought tickets to the Família Sagrada so we could see the interior.
We booked a private driver we read about in Rick Steves’ book. It was pricey, but totally worth it. He met us at the port and took us along the Almafi Coast for an absolutely fabulous day.
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