Norwegian Epic Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Did two pre-nights in Barcelona which were great and gave the group of 12 a chance to visit Montserrat; it's a must see.  If you need some relaxation time 7 day is too short, except for one day at sea you are on the move all the time.  Ship was clean, friendly staff.  However, not sure why they charge for entertainment.

We would like to say many thanks to the Norwegian Epic for making our first cruise so memorably. We  will for sure be back. Food was great with a lot of things too choose from.

The service staff (housekeeping and waiters) were great and worked hard. the rest of the staff in tours in so called "customer service" were really RUDE, snarky and ignorant. Communication was horrible, they nickel and dime you to death, and the food was only so-so. Having been spoiled by Celebrity and Holland America cruise lines, The Norwegian EPIC was an EPIC FAIL!  

I've been on several Carnival cruises but this was my first Norwegian cruise. I was expecting better food and service but was disappointed that neither measured up to my previous experiences. The amenities were superior - we booked a junior balcony suite that was comfortable and well appointed. The bathroom accommodations aren't too private but shouldn't be a problem if you're familiar with your traveling companion. The entertainment was superior - 2 of the 3 theater shows were Broadway quality (only the Legends show faltered). We did not pay the extra fee for Cirque de Soleil as I'm from Las Vegas and have seen most of their shows. We paid the $20/person extra to try the Ice Bar - didn't compare to the 5 Below bars in Las Vegas and the room was uncomfortably cold - we couldn't finish our second drink we were so uncomfortable.  The food was the biggest disappointment. Unless you pay extra to dine in the Bistro, Teppan or Steak restaurants the food doesn't compare to other cruises. Also I found many of the sauces they added to entrees or desserts detracted from the final product. If you're not sure you're going to like it - order it without or on the side. Most disappointing was the restaurant service. Most servers didn't seem to be enjoying their jobs and rarely smiled seeming more interested in talking to each other rather than the guests.  Of course the star of this cruise are the ports of call and they didn't disappoint. Even when we had a poor tour guide on one of our excursions - the staff discounted the excursion on our bill. Overall I enjoyed this cruise most for the places I visited and if I travelled this area again I think I would experiment with another line. 

We compared this cruise with NCL to three competitors with whom we have traveled.  On balance the accomodations were by far the best.  This was a good start, however there were inconsistencies in other aspects of our cruise that dissapointed.  The primary area was in food and beverage service. While two premium meals were excellent, the dining rooms were erratic with repsect to presentation and service.  Although we were assured by a manager hat bar drinks were prepared to a standard shipwide recipe, we found some drinks dissapointing in some venues.  We have also been left with the impression that scotch sours ordered by my wife were "watered down" and failed to deliver a satisfying drink even after beign returned to the bar for repair or replacement.

The ship was very nice and clean. The mini suite was excellent. We had a high floor forward. We had a few stops before Barcelona which were great. It was busy but not overcrowded. After Barcelona the ship was well over capacity. Elevators were always packed and hard to move around the ship even though how large it was. In fact there were no chairs to be found anywhere on the pool decks. We asked about the number that came on at Barcelona and were told that 3500 new people came on and they had over 5300 on board including a lot of children. This was just too many people and ended up being to much for all of the crew as well. I doubt we would take this again if Norwegian is going to sell the ship.

I was totally speechless when the captains wife/girlfriend won the diamond ring at the jewelry store. It was fixed from the start and he even came with her. Of course he did not look surprised.  Food was good. At customer service crew was not well informed. I received conflicting information, incorrect information, and put in the wrong lines which was frustrating.    

Efficient check in, Great accommodations, The best food on any previous ships that I have cruised with.

Entertainment was abundant and of excellent quality.

Ship staff was very attentive and welcoming!  

I thought the experience was fun, educational, and exciting. For me, the excursions made the trip. Best time: bike riding in Palma, followed closely by the excursion to the Amalfi Coast & Pompeii. The buffet was pretty good but the free specialty restaurants are much quieter and less chaotic. I did not care for the people coming into the buffet area fresh from the pool deck dressed in bathing suits with cover-ups, plus kids running around. The shows were fun and they have lots of onboard activities, especially for kids. "Howl at the Moon" dueling piano bar was the BEST! I liked the running/jogging area on the port side. Staff are all friendly and eager to help. We got a balcony room which I would highly recommend. It was beautiful at night watching the full moon on the water.

This was our first cruise with Norwegian.  We have previously gone with Princess on three other cruises and once with Royal Caribbean.  Free Style Cruising with Norwegian is not the way to go.  We felt as though we were "nickel and dimmed to death", with all the "extra charges" for the "upscale restaurants" and shows!

The corkage fees for drinking a bottle of your own wine in your state room is ridiculous.  

it was a wonderful experience, the cabin was excellent, the service on board also, the restaurants excellent, excepting the 15th floor garden which was too noisy, too crowded and too far away i

, the itinerary wonderful, only disliked two of the guides of the ship cruises

ship facilities (room,food) are very good

The entertainment was in low level. some of the show were without full translation to English.

the activities in general were not so good.

See my notes below.  Rarely do I leave reviews on travel but felt this was important based on my initial expectations from traveling many other times on Cruise ships and this being the first experience on Norwegian.  My wife and I don't have kids currently and won't probably try the Norwegian line again at this time.  I gave it a poor experience based on expectations and the fact we felt like this was a Disney Cruise without the "WOW".  The destinations however were wonderful and we got to experience great cultures, food and more during this trip while off the boat.

Beautiful, huge, ship. Hard to even notice when the ship is underway. Excellent condition of every part of the ship. Magnificent support from the ship's staff of 1700. The food was so good, that I gained 4 pounds during the week long cruise. Excellent, very professional entertainment shows...as good as some I have seen in Las Vegas. Very well designed cabins (except the prior occupants smoked in our cabin). Don't know general pricing of Internet access on other ships, but I consider their lowest rate of $25/day for the whole cruise... to be too pricy for me. But all in all, a magnificent experience. I would have no qualms at all to take another cruise onboard the Epic. VERY well done.

In spite of a few mishaps, our trip went well. After cruise day 5, the drink package issue was brought to Dawn Blue's attention, which we tried to addressed. There was absolutely no type of assistance from Norwegian even after receipt of documentation we provided, which the Guest Services Manager agreed with.  Definitely no type of compensation on charges that were already incurred.  Even though, we brought this issue to their attention.  This is a first in my lifetime of traveling where spending over $24,500 for our group trip, something as simplistic as a drink package is not acknowledged.  I find it truly amazing & even more so when you do not honor charges that was incurred of $53 as well as a speciality restaurant charge of $15.  There was way too many funds spent, for something so small to become an problem.  I handled the situation  to the best of my ability without making continuous calls to just anyone which would continue to take to away the time I paid for as well as the services.  I took care of these charges and hope I can receive compensation for something so small. Disappointed with the administrationton, the guests you say you trying to take care of ... you did not!

This is the cruise that puts all other cruises to shame. Not only are the port destinations amazing and much sought out for its the boat and crew that make this unforgetable. I don't think I ever encountered a rude or mean crew member, on the contrary everyone was always willing to help and smiling. The boat itself is larger than life and has so many things to do. Our room was the largest I have ever stayed in. The food is something also to take note of, every meal felt very well done and planned out. Thank you for such a wonderful experience!

Overall Norwegian Epic is a great new ship. I did like the freestyle cruising concept, my whole family enjoyed their swimming pool, food, and their activities.  

The ship was very crowded but overall we enjoyed meeting people from different countries. Maybe it was the fact that this ship actually runs 2 cruises at once with one group departing from Rome and the other departing from Barcelona which is good and bad . Also, the food quality in their different restaurants was very good.  Regarding ship staff , they were effective and friendly. I recommend this trip to everyone even the families with small kids . nice ship, great food, fair activities, overall, I have no complaints.

This is the largest ship I have ever sailed on (19 prior cruises) and I will never go this large again. NCL is getting so that one price no longer takes care of all but your beverages. There were extra fees for everything which was available, and reservations needed for the shows which are "drop-in" on all other vessels. I had an aft balcony and the view was amazing but the distances required to get anywhere were daunting. When going into port in the early morning hours the vibration and noise from the engines was incredible even on the 13th floor deck. It was impossible to use the swimming pools because of the number of people aboard. The water park was fun for the kids but it consumes a lot of space. It was not possible to find empty deck chairs. Food was marvelous, as a plus. Embarkation and debarkation were handled very well considering the number of people. Did not care for the separate bathroom configuration.

Very good experience, on and off ship was easy. All Epic staff were nice and friendly.  Food was great!  Entertainment at night could use a little fine tuning.  If you didn't want to pay for entertainment, there wasn't much to choose from.  We traveled with a 16 yo and 18 yo.  The teen center was great for the 16 yo but not much for the 18 yo to do at night.  

Got on in Civitavecchia which is not the main embarkation or debarkation port the whole setup was a mess from the lack of free shuttle to/from the train... to unmarked crusie area and no prior directions. Made it to the port and have no clue where our ship was.. wandered until we found a shuttle bus stop waited 20min to be driven in circles had there been a map or something we would have just walked.

Checked in and our room was ready yay except our luggage took another 2 hours to arrive and then it was only one of the 2 got a little anxious but decided to be patient, the other finally arrived in time for sailing off.

Our mini suite was oddly designed.  In the shape of a wave with restrooms upfront followed by a couch then bed. The privacy issue as many people have mentioned is there... and the room was dirty there were crumbs all over the floor and there were screws loose all over the place. The mini fridge shelf originally was a cabinet but i guess they rethought that one and ripped out the door. Btw they lock the mini fridge the night before you get off and put all your stuff on the shelf in which case all my produce spoiled while I was on my tour.

The room was dirty when we got in but the linens were clean and we were too tired to care. There were crumbs all over the floor bits of food and a thick layer of dust on the coffee maker.  The room steward was great and did everything with a smile even managed to get us towels for the pool well ahead of time. 

The ship is much like the breakaway in terms of layout. 

My issues with NCL were this one they nickel and dime you on everything. Juice is not included only the chemical stuff.. fresh pressed is extra. Every little thing seems to be extra. They even changed the daily service charge mid cruise.

The pools were like hot tubs small and over crowded for the amount of ppl on board it was just not ideal. I tried the slides one night around 7pm aside from the ton of kids and long lines they are poorly made and bruised my back. As for the pools well major let down I came back from an excursion and was looking forward to a cool dip only to get into what looked like a kiddie pool under the big screen in the adults only section and it was warm and filthy and with 10 ppl it was so crowded you couldn't even really move around just stand there in tepid water. The one day at sea was so crowded on deck there was not a single chair available anywhere.  Honestly if I didn't have a balcony to retreat to I would have killed myself in that heat that day. 

The spa fee to use the indoor amenities is $40 per person per day...absurd. They try to up-sell you on their products for 20 min before your massage cutting into the time and after they push it again.. what a pain. Also I took one of their spa deals and they charged me for the wrong promotion and I got sub par service so make sure you bring the flyer with you and they ring you up correctly. No robes are provided either which i think is lousy nor can you use the facilities after to soak you would still need to pay the $40.

Seems the on-board activities are always the same towel folding.. .drink tasting... bowling and pool at the bar at  $.

Unlimited drink package wasn't very useful as had to pay the difference for certain glasses of wine and what not at the bars and dinner. Did not include the coffee and was barely utilized if you want to see the ports then i suggest the dinner package. Although that would require reservations which is tough to do when you are unsure of how exhausted you will be from your day trips.