Norwegian Epic Cruise Reviews - Reviews

The cabin was clean, food was overall good but even with all the specialty restaurants, nothing memorable. Service was polite friendly but not too personable. It's not the crew's fault....there is just a lot of passengers - 4100 is A LOT! Lines for buffet and lines for everything if you don't have a reservation. The 2 major complaints we had were in regards to tendering in port at Cannes, and the other was crowd control. In Cannes, you had to make a tender reservation...which we didn't find out about until the day prior from the TV. We got lucky and were off the ship only 30 minutes later than I had expected, but there were not enough tenders to move the number of clients, and many did not get to shore until 3 hours+ after arrival in port, which meant they lost half a day. The process was very disorganized. The 2nd complaint was crowd control and the issues with certain misbehaving clients. We had people push out of queue getting off/on the ship with no regards to others. We watched in horror as families let their children throw ice cream wrappers straight on the ground after eating them (this was while lining up to get back on the ship...the same with the hand towels being tossed on the ground or trash cans instead of the proper bin. These incidents require staff to be polite but firm....instead of being afraid to say something to these clients. 

Our least favorite ship.  Our balcony room had a poor layout compared to others.  Our bed was near to door instead of the balcony and hard to pass through.  It did have sufficient storage.  As usual our stewardship was great.  Many of us passengers missed an excersion because they changed the time without adequate notice.  So glad we visited Barcelona three days earlier.  Long bus rides to most destinations took time away from most sights.

The staff and crew of the EPIC was way below what i have expected from NCL, their attitude and level of service was way below expectations. The food in all but the specialty dining location was usually cold and lack flavor and quality. Cruised last year on the ESCAPE and this crew/staff could take lesson in how to treat customers, the one bright spot was our cabin steward Patrick who was amazing, i have been on more than 15 cruises with a number of lines and this was by far the worse cruise i have ever been on. i seriously considered getting off in Cannes and flying home from there, it was that bad

extremely disappointed in NCL  all round from the way they handled my reservation and cabin to the actual on-board ship experience. I doubt i ever cruise with NCL again. I will never get on the EPIC that's for sure

This was an amazing trip. The schedule was great and the ports fantastic. The ship however left some to be desired. I have sailed with NCL before and had great experiences. This trip I was disappointed with the ship and service.  The food was good, but often restaurants had long lines and poor service, reservations were not accepted for the included restaurants. Shows and entertainment were often booked up.  Everything seemed crowded. Felt like too many people on the ship for the amount of space and service.

Guest relations is always top-notch with NCL! From the minute you board to the minute you disembark, the NCL staff is right there, making sure your experiences are positive. My husband and I both loved the shows! The first night was a dinner show and I had the best steak of my life - plus the show was spectacular! I don't think we had any negative experiences at all. Our room was perfectly cleaned, the food was plentiful and accessible. The excursions were good, but we really enjoyed the restful and relaxing environment on the ship.

Thanks, Norwegian Cruise Lines! We will see you again in the near future!

I have traveled using other cruise lines such as: Princess, Royal Caribbean, Big Red Boat, etc. But my experience with NCL was most disappointing. Just a few highlights: Their crew member stole my wife's jewelry and $600 cash from safe vault in our room; They were charging nickels and dimes for everything, no laundry machines or ironing facilities on ship, medical center was out to get you (gave me 6 pain killer tablets for $364), and entertainment programs were just average with ridiculous prizes meant for babies. I will have to think twice before I use them again.

Very disappointed. Very friendly crew, but food was not very good. I won't even say what was in my salad on day 1, bones in my fish filet on day 2; specialty restaurants were better than the regular dining rooms, but not great. Entertainment was good. but you needed to get tickets (no charge) in advance for the main shows. Not enough time in the ports- everything was rushed. I've been pn several cruises, and this was the most disappointing.

The tour guide on the Rome/Coliseum excursion was dreadful!  She could not speak English very well at all.  We were on Bus #9, Shore Excursion #CIVF5611.  Her name was Flavia.  in fact, we had to pick her up at the train station in Rome.  She was not very knowledgeable -and we couldn't understand her.  There will be more reviews on this from the passengers on this excursion.  We also had another lady named Daniella on the bus--but she did not do the tour.  We also had to walk through a  very long dark tunnel to catch the bus at the end of the tour. Cars were speeding through the tunnel and we had to walk through it in a single file.  It was not the safest or smartest thing to do!  

The favorite part of the cruise for me definitely were the excursions. I would improve on the number of passengers on board a this ship stopped two times on a Sunday in Barcelona and on a Wednesday in Rome to embark and disembark passengers.

My fiancé and I realized that, after this first cruise for each of us in over 20 years (our first together), we'll never be that typical Caribbean cruiser. Going from beach port to beach port isn't really our thing. So with that, this was a great cruise. A good amount of planning on our part is what made it really good. The experience on the Epic made it great. Our cabin (8219) was amazing for the price. An aft-balcony room that was handicap accessible (we're not disabled) gave us a room that felt the size of something even larger than a mini-suite. The huge balcony that easily fit two chaises, two chairs and a small table made "outdoor" time truly wonderful.

The entertainment on board was stellar. Priscilla-Queen of the Desert was phenomenal. We had seen the play on Broadway and were quite flabbergasted at the ability of this production to be put on so well on a ship. A must see. (Admittedly, a small part of the entertainment of the show was watching ignorant buffoons who were told multiple times of the show's content walk out in disgust. Apparently ignorance is not always bliss.)

The service was terrific. Everyone (with one glaring exception) was always ready with a "good morning," a "hello," and a smile on their faces. Our cabin steward Ryan was great and always helped out with our silly requests (Tony takes a lot of sugar in his coffee, I use extra pillows while sleeping, etc.).

The only "complaint' that I have to say would be the food. It wasn't horrid, but the

complimentary dining areas were okay.... nothing special. The Garden Cafe was usually a zoo and I literally avoided going there. Taste for breakfast was good, and the dinner we had in the Manhattan Room was good as well.  The specialty dining (we did all of them except for Le Bistro) were a step above the regular dining with La Cucina, Teppanyakia, Cagney's, and Moderno being preferred in that order. Embarkation and debarkation were a breeze. Barcelona and NCL have their act together with regard to this. It was a simple process even for us relative first-timers.  The ports (especially the Italian cities) were amazing. It's unfortunate we didn't get to spend enough time in each location.  Our next adventure will be on Norwegian (we were so impressed, we put deposits down on two more cruises with them). We just have to figure out where to go.  

The haven is the best part of the Epic.  I love the staff, the details, the gym, the food everything!  This was my first trip on a large ship.  I was afraid that I was not going to like it.  I loved it.   It is so well laid out and organized!  Everything was perfect.  Even the weather.

From start to finish absolutely awesome  cruise this is must cruise i gave this cruise as Mothers Day Gift to my wife and she can not stop talking about it to all her friends the views the stops the food the people the ship and crew. we are already planning next years trip

The excursions were pricey (which I didn't mind paying the price), but my daughter and I were in the very last row seat on the bus with an elderly couple sitting next to us who talked on their cell phones and then yelled at the tour guide.  We spent most of the bus tour listening to this couple.  I really don't think we should have paid the same amount as everyone else when we were packed in the last seat with two other people.  They shouldn't sell those back row seats -- couldn't get any pictures and couldn't hear the tour guide. 

The food was very good with a great variety of dishes to choose from.  The waitstaff was very friendly in the restaurants however I thought the bartenders seemed stressed and never smiled.  Not sure if that was because their tips were prepaid.  ??? 

I think Royal Carribean is a better cruise line than Norwegian but we did enjoy the week and would probably go on another Norwegian cruise again.

The night entertainment was good. Food was good as well, except the service at the Manhattan room was unbearably slow. The cabin was good. The guppies program for 6-36 months old was just okay. The shore excursion was too expensive. 

The destinations were fabulous. The ship was nice but the design was not great. Could not access one end of the ship from the other without going through the casino which reeked of cigarette smoke, even when it was not open..

We selected this cruise as a college graduation gift for my daughter.  We were interested in visiting the Mediterranean and were very happy with the ports we visited.  I was not a fan of the ship itself (Epic)  First, the bathrooms had no real doors, just a smoked glass slider that did little to insulate from sound or sight.  

Also for such a large ship, I was surprised there were not any large swimming pools, just a few tiny pools.  Not nearly enough pool space for the number of passengers.

We did enjoy the food & service in the main dining rooms.  Did the buffet most mornings for breakfast, good assortment and better than average for buffet style food.

Booked our excursions through private companies with information found on Cruise Critic.  Much cheaper than excursions booked through cruise line.

The Epic was a good experience.  The ship is awesome, but the food could use some work.  The workers do a good job, but are not as personable as on other cruise lines.  The entertainment was good, but once again, not great.  We are used to more of a party atmosphere.

The worse part of the cruise was the food, the so called specialty restaurants aren't worth the time or money, flavorless food, not one meal in these restaurants were exceptional in any way. I always look forward to great meals when I cruise and I was totally let down,  cruising the Mediterranean Sea, some the best known seafood in the world and we couldn't be provided a decent seafood meal, BAD BUISINESS!!

 This was our 2nd cruise on NCL, yet 1st NCL cruise in Europe. Our party of 4 adults (2 rooms) was very pleased with the NCL Epic for our sail out of Rome (Rome to Florence to Cannes to Palma Majorca to Barcelona to day at sea to Naples and back to Rome) area on 5/3-5/10/17. We arrived a few hours ahead of departure and had no problems with embarking, quickly grabbing a couple of Prosecco's in the bar for a toast.

After about an hour, our balcony rooms were ready (11175 & 11179), which was nice. My initial thought was the room was very nice and I didn't see any issue with the bathroom toilet/shower arrangement. However, I did have an issue with the very tiny sink/sink area and the limited and dim lighting, which took some time to figure out which switch controlled what. The bed was comfortable but the curvature at the foot of the bed was tolerable. I was very impressed with the significant amount of storage space (2 large closets, 3 large drawers, hidden storage behind the sofa and other areas, medicine cabinet space and large area under the bed to stow away empty luggage). HINT - the electrical outlet is hidden away under the middle mirror area beneath the counter (as is the hair dryer). Look for the hole in the counter top to fish your electrical cord.

We were told the ship was full, which I didn't believe as at no such time did it ever feel as if it was. Maybe the only time would have been during breakfast time when the buffet got very crowded. HINT - get your breakfast and head down to La Cucina. We had the UBP and UDP and we were very pleased with our cocktail and dining choices (Teppanyaki was fantastic, as was Moderno, but the best was Le Bistro where the food was outstanding and the service was even better (thank you Ronie and April Joy!). Since we had a busy day on excursions (we booked ourselves and not via the cruise line - & saved significant $) at each port. We only had 1 day at sea where we just chilled and hung out at Spice H2O for the majority of the day where food and drink were available. We really enjoyed Howl at the Moon, where we spent quite a few hours during the week. We also enjoyed Burn the Floor but were so so on Priscilla Queen of the Dessert show.  We were looking forward to dancing a bit more at the Glow party and other dance areas (Bliss) but there was too much techno beat music, which just didn't quite fit the age demographic of most travelers that I saw. Needed more 70s-present era music. 

All in all, it was a fantastic cruise, great weather, calm seas, wonderful ports (although Palma Majorca was very so so), friendly staff, great customer service, and plenty of things to do. HINT - please don't believe all of the negative reviews that many people post as we thoroughly enjoyed our cruise on the NCL Epic.

It was nice to cruise overnight each day and be in a new port in the morning.

Transportation shuttles from ship to get out of ports was not good at all.

Coordination and directions were awful.

Tender system in Cannes was more than awful. Why should someone wait over an hour for a scheduled tender?