Disappointed - Get the same thing on Carnival for much less cost.
Norwegian Epic Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean
![Norwegian Epic](https://cruiseline-shipmedia.imgix.net/ship/norwegian-epic/0cc6995c-41f7-4599-a323-c6ec0a24ab17-C6XP7_1_600x400.jpg?auto=format,compress&w=160&h=120&)
10 Night Greek Isles: Santorini Athens & Florence (Rome Roundtrip)
Sail date: June 08, 2024
Ship: Norwegian Epic
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: 13047
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 2 months ago
Review summary
These mega-ships are too large to provide the necessary infrastructure to accommodate so many people adequately. We pulled up to Santorini, a very small island, along with 4 other cruise ships in for the day. That's approximately 10 to 15,000 people flooding the island. Little did we know that if you just want to get off the ship and explore the island, you will not be able to tender to the island until everyone who booked an excursion gets off in front of you. We anchored at Santorini at noon and were not able to get off the ship until 4:00 PM. We missed the luxury restaurant reservation we made 6 months in advance, spent two hours on the island, and then spent another two hours walking down a 3000 foot cliff (about 1800 steps), only because the cable car line was about two miles long. It can only carry about 20 people up or down at a time. As I said, there is an infrastructure problem when these mega-ships pull into these small ports. We were extremely disappointed that we did not get to spend the day seeing Santorini. Excursions that I booked through Viator were of higher quality than anything we booked through the cruise line. It's obvious that the cruise industry to mega ships is to heard you around like cattle for as cheap as possible, while you pay out the nose for it. I will not do this again.Embarkation
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Expect to be charged for everything. $10 for someone to bring a bottle of wine to your room is ridiculous. I'm surprised (not really) that they would actually create a line on your receipt for tips when they already charge you $20/day for "gratuities" and also charge you a gratuity every time you order room service.
Ports of call
Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy