Norwegian Epic Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We just wrapped up our visit to Europe including 10 days aboard the Norwegian Epic. We were cruising with 2 16 year old girls, and there was plenty of storage for our clothes and shoes and luggage. We each had a carry-on and backpack for our trip. While there was plenty of storage, the room to move around the cabin and get ready all at once...including showering and using the restroom required a little planning! Haha. We knew that the toilet area and shower area was a little see-through, so we planned ahead with 2 black shower curtains and command strip hooks to add a little more privacy. The best part of our cruise was the ease of getting a place to eat--our favorite breakfast place--the pub! They had an amazing fruit plate and breakfast sandwich! We also enjoyed Moderno's "salad bar" and Cagney's steaks! We never waited more than 3 minutes to be seated in the dining room, and we needed a table for 6! We were not a fan of the coffee served in the dining room or at the buffet. The only coffee we enjoyed was the Starbuck's coffee. The ship had plenty of options for activities and places to relax once back from exploring the ports, but shade wasn't always easy to find. Tip-deck 15 had an area that frequently had space to enjoy the view under cover, but sometimes the deck chairs were stacked up and stored when it was rocky or too windy. While we definitely enjoyed our cruise and the ports we visited, our room definitely was in need of a refresh. The restroom always had a urine smell, the balcony (including the table and chairs and railing) and the drawers definitely needed to be wiped down when we arrived, and there was a need for a deep clean of the carpets and better cleaning in between sailings...our room had a leftover "snackle box" above the closet area, and some notes found in between the pullout bed and the balcony door. We the bedside reading lamps didn't work, and one of the lights above the couch area was burnt out. We also had several days that our room was not cleaned until well into the afternoon--even when we had been in port all day! Time to do some deep cleaning and better housekeeping checks, Norwegian.

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.

It was an okay trip as this was a first time on NCL. May be only time as we were not impressed. I had better on Carnival. Several issues with NCL main especially the Airgroup. The Customer service is pathetic. A huge waste of time as they are to prone to tell you No to everything. They lie to you about everything and are unprofessional But when you as the customer get upset they use it against you to not have to solve any issues which they were not going to anyway. So if you have to deal with customer service don’t expect to get anything resolved Becouse the robots they hire read a script which all lead to “no”, sorry you should have read the terms, nothing we can do, sorry you can’t speak to a manager, we don’t have a Custer Renton or dispute resolution desk etc etc. they lie and are willing to help. I had to email the CEO and VP who runs the customer retention and resolution desk after being lied to that they didn’t have either. Got some resolution but nothing satisfactory to having to call multiple times, being lied to, hung up on and given misinformation.

It was a dream come true. So much history and beauty. Working with Cruise.com made it possible. Great pricing.

Great Ship, Great staff, Great Ports... the food was just OK

Beautiful cities. The crew was excellent. Food was amazing. Cruise ship is lacking on updates and the layout is horrible in cabins. Port times are constricted with means longer time on buses and less time exploring the cities. Shore excursions are lacking compared to pre-covid excursions.

We were celebrating my husband's and our friend's 70th b-days. Had a great cruise, no issues. Lovely weather and many beautiful sunrises/sunsets!

The loss of the Gibraltar excursion and the lack of diversity of entertainment were the biggest negatives. The foot and service were the highlights. Overall I'd give the cruise a "good" rating.

The cruise was great. It was chilly and windy and the seas were a little rougher than I expected, but all was good. We missed Gibraltar due to a motor/engine issue, but it was okay. They do need more seats in the Atrium, or use the Theatre more for the "demos" and little shows they put on during the day because the microphone narrations can be heard far and wide on the ship .... not pleasant

As almost everyone states in reviews of NCL Epic, the lines for everything are God awful. We never ate in a main dining room because of the lines. The service in the Whiskey Bar for drinks was the one good thing with regards to service. Easy to get drinks there and wait staff was present and good. And the cabins are as most comment, really odd. And cramped. Great steward though. The fact we missed our port call in Gibraltar due to an engine being down was truly disappointing. And do not get a steak in the Cagney's Steakhouse. Both my ribeye and my wife's NY Strip were over 30% fat and really tough. The Le Bistro specialty restaurant was wonderful as was the Moderno Churrascaria. While the food on the buffet was ok there was a welcome surprise on the last night of the cruise when they served up a wonderful prime rip. The concept of Freestyle Dining sound good, it really isn't. Because NO reservations were accepted, the lines were crazy. All in all...We will not sail on this ship, or any NCL ship again. The aggravations simply aren't worth it.

Frustrating at times no information on Gibraltar port change credit

We sailed past Bermuda.....no stop....the Azores......no stop......Malarga.....no stop.....Gibraltar.... no stop......Corsica and Sardinia....no stop. Cold, rainy and rough Cruise with no stops.

This was a very economical way to get to Europe. Not sure if we would do it again unless more ports were visited.

Great staff. Party atmosphere during entire cruise. Food was very good. Cheaper than staying home.

Worst cruise ever - way too crowded, long lines everywhere, tenders/excursions were a cluster of unhappy people. Spoke to many people who said they will never cruise EPIC again. The staff tried so very hard, but there just weren't enough of them. Ship layout was just horrible. Two tiny pools, no wading/siting pool and the H20 pool was also tiny and always filled with diesel smoke.

I hated how this ship was more crowded than pre-pandemic times. The noise and crowds, amplified by the scarcity of staff and entertainment, made this the worst experience we have ever had on NCL. We shouldn't have to pay to find a quiet spot to enjoy a drink and conversation, but there certainly weren't many of those in the common areas. And, the lack of information regarding most activities - no price, no place to sign up online for small events was ridiculous in this day of apps - you have an activity with a fee - have a link to find out the specifics and the amount of the fee.

The food and the free drinks were amazing. The specialty restaurants were especially good. Will definitely cruise Norwegian again.

A few things nobody will tell you about this cruise: 1. They don’t really go to the Bahamas - just a glorified sand bar a few miles off into the water. 2. Multiple days, the ship leaves the port EARLY EARLY EARLY in the afternoon. 3. Only a few hours in St. Thomas, the orettiest island in the whole Cartibean, but then a long, full day in the brackish muddy waters of the Dominican Republic where you can choose between which of 6 identical jungle tours you want to purchase or take your life into your hands by venturing out on your own. Instead, do what the vast majority of passengers on our cruise did—just stay on the ship. 4. Perhaps we went the week of an AARP discount, but the average age of the passengers had to be 80. Not a problem unless you are not facile at laying Frogger as you duck and dodge around the horde of electric scooters that clog up every single passageway and corridor. Not my first cruise. Not my first NCL cruise. Definitely my last NCL cruise and likely my last overall cruise. What a waste of money and worse yet, a waste of a week of my life.

First time cruising with Norwegian, would cruise with them again on a newer ship and not during spring break.

Food was very good in the main dining rooms. Entertainment was excellent. Had a great time.