Nickel and Dime

Item: Norwegian Epic
Rating: 2.8
Author: brandx

Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern

brandx

Contributor Level: Deck Hand

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 18

Overall rating:

2.8 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Caribbean: Great Stirrup Cay & Dominican Republic (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 25, 2024

Ship: Norwegian Epic

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 13011

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 8 months ago

Review summary

You offer "free at sea" but didn't honor that. Even when it didn't cost any more at booking for this selection. I paid almost $2100 for the cruise. Free at sea should've been included for no additional cost, but it was not. So, I had to spend an additional $1900 for a drink package. And to take it a step further, the drinks my husband and I drink ran our frequently throughout our trip. WORST CRUISE EVER.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Fine

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Food is the same every day, bland, unless you pay extra for the specialty restaurants. The lines for alcoholic drinks were ridiculous for paying $1900 for a drink package that should have been included in our booking. "Free at Sea"??

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5

Pools were over-crowded and the adults only pool is so small.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

The bar staff were so slow and not friendly. The folks that cleaned our room every day and greeted us in the hall were stand-up! So friendly!

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

The ship was relatively clean, but the "adults only" area at the back of the ship needs help!

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Obviously with 2 full size suitcases, it was cramped. It would be nice to be able to store the suitcase somewhere (under the bed??) so we could have had a couch to sit on.

Ship tip

Treat your customers better. Your guest services staff is cur and unfriendly.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Port Canaveral, Florida

4 out of 5

Great Stirrup Cay (Cruise Line Private Island), Bahamas

3 out of 5

San Juan, Puerto Rico

4 out of 5

Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas

4 out of 5

Amber Cove (Puerto Plata), Dominican Republic

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

3 out of 5

Slow

13 Comments

IzzyW 8 months ago

Cruised 3 times on the Epic. I agree with the other comments; we always put our suitcases under the bed. Free at sea is included unless you choise the sailaway cabin.

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montanaman 8 months ago

Free at sea is always included in your booking except in two situations. You either unselected those options when booking or you booked a sailaway category cabin. The sailaway category (when available) is the cheapest rate and comes with no perks. You also don't get to pick your cabin.

Thumbs Up 3

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HeavySeas 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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1960cruiser 8 months ago

A very suspicious review. Free at sea is usually automatically added and all yiu pay is the gratuities on the drink and dining portion, which would come to about $200 for the 7 day cruise per person. There is no way that 2 people were charged $1900 for drink package. Either you did something horribly wrong when booking, or you are exaggerating your prices.

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Gwbigdog 8 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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javawoody 8 months ago

$ 1900 drink package for how many people?

Thumbs Up 1

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cruising2004 8 months ago

According to your cruise list, this was your first cruise. I do recommend booking through a travel agent or calling NCL if you decide to cruise again. They can assist you with all the details. Sorry you were disappointed with your cruise.

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outtoseapatty 8 months ago

Sorry you were unhappy. I can't imagine a drink package that expensive

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Jerrec 8 months ago

Clearly you made an error in booking and didn’t select the free at sea, or if you went through a travel agent, they messed up. As others have said, suitcases go under the bed.

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crusin4gramma 8 months ago

NCL cruises are "free at sea" and the drink package us included! Not sure who you booked through if you payed extra like you said! But, even if you paid for a drink package, you did not pay $1900 unless you paid for 4 people. Did you look under the bed?? All of our luggage always goes under the bed!

Thumbs Up 3

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nclcruzr 8 months ago

Suitcases fit under the bed. We have 2 very large ones that fit. As far as free, yes you get to select the free at sea drink package as your choice but you pay for gratuities. If you pick the internet or shore excursion, you don't pay for gratuities like you do for the drink package and dinners. It's all on the website.

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jallaway 8 months ago

I don't get it. From what I've been dealing with, it's actually difficult to book a room without Free at Sea.

Thumbs Up 3

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AuntPinkie 8 months ago

Appreciate your details. Sorry this cruise didn’t meet your expectations.

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Other reviews of this sailing

Great trip!!

first of many

great cruise, watch out for offers, they never happened.