Norwegian Epic Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Ship was in great shape as always, I've been on this ship 4 times. I was disappointed in the food quality compared to my other cruise ( I wrote it off to the Europian suppliers, it was not the making or presentation but the taste and quality of the food). Also the entertainment was changed from the Carribean, ( Fat Cats) was not blue or jazz, which we enjoy.

A quick review.  I give our cruise a 3.5 out 5.   The room was exactly what we expected but could have been about 2 feet wider. The bed was curved to save space I am 6 foot 4 inches tall and my feet hung over the edge of the bed.   The view from the balcony was awesome, but who can complain about the french Rivera.  But the room was always tidy and the staff were wonderful.  

The ports were mostly easy to navigate and whenever there needed shuttles to the city they were available.   However, most of the time these shuttles cost between 10-15 Euros and I feel should have been included in the cost of the cruise.   Citavetchia (Rome's port) was a massively horrible port (this is where we embarked on the boat) at the train station there was no signs to the shuttles.  We walked about 20 minutes to the port with our luggage.  We could see our ship but we could not for the life of us figure out how to get there.  Finally we found a free shuttle several blocks from the port terminal that took us to the ship.  Very confusing and a big pain. 

The on board entertainment was good, and I highly recommend the Circque Du Solei dinner show, it was the best on the ship.   If you like to gamble the cruise had a nice casino but like all casinos has a haze of cigarette smoke filling the air. 

Finally the food.   In comparison to other cruses I have taken the food was adequate and gets no more than a 2.5 out of 5 stars.  Cagnigy and Circque du Solei were great.   Moderno was terrible, the two included sit down restaurants "Taste and the Manhattan Room" had the exact same menus which was disappointing.  The buffet the Garden Cafe was nourishing but selection was okay but there was no wow factor.  Disney cruises blow them out of the water with their food.  Also they tried to push upgrades with the food.   I mean food was included but soda wasn't you needed to pay per cup or by a 7 dollar a day per person upgrade for soda, this felt completely out of place for a the cost of the cruise.   I understand alcohol but soda come on, and the booze was out of control expensive, you could easily spend $10.00/ drink.  

Overall I would sail with them again and use it to explore the wonderful destination but I think there could be some improvements to make the ship a little better of an experiences.    

The reason we chose NCL was first for the ports of call and second for the timing of the cruise. May was a great time to go the weather was superb!

The ship itself was very nice, the bed was comfortable.

The ports of call were great. Enjoyed all of them. Unfortunately at the very last minute NCL informed us that the Palma times were shortened and changed. That would have been a nice port to spend a longer time in.

The staff was adequate for the most part. They did not go out of their way to be helpful. Our room steward was OK, cleaned very late at night. He did not attend to the balcony area at all or take away any dirty glasses or dishes.

The Burning up the Floor dancers were fantastic! They  were so good we went to watch a second time. The cruise ship should promote them more. We did the Legends, and the were OK but nothing fabulous. We had booked the Supreme dream but again were notified on ship that they had canceled that show and were booked into another show.

We have cruised on Holland America and Princess. The level of service was higher on both of those lines. 

the sites were nice, the weather not so nice, the passengers not so friendly, some rude people, and hard to find English speakers. possessive, or jealous boyfriends, and husbands! sometimes the buffet was pretty crowded, and rude orientals who don't understand what waiting in line means.

We have cruise NCL in the past. We had a mini-suite balcony. The room had loads of storage and our steward Jose was there for anything we needed. The shows were good, especially the circus solei and we love Howl at the Moon. We ate in all the specialty restaurant's expect Moderno. All were very good and also the main dining room Manhattan. We did arrive in Barcelona 2 days before the cruise to get used to the time change and to explore Barcelona. Would highly recommend going a day or two early. Arriving & departing the boat went very smoothly. This was our first time to Europe and we enjoyed all the ports. We only used NCL excursions to tour Antibles out of Cannes. Otherwise, in Italy we used a private van with just the two of us from All Around Italy. The drivers and guides were wonderful. They got us back to the boat in plenty of time. They were 9hr tours out a 8am and back by about 5pm. Did a lot of walking but the sites are just amazing. We had a great time and cant wait to book our next NCL cruise. We are thinking of Greece or Norway. 

We enjoyed Ballroom and Latin dancing nightly on the cruise.  The Music Maker Duo (Ray and Michelle) played the best dance music.  The Atrium has the best dance floor.  The Manhattan dining room has a larger dance floor, but it's a bit sticky and the band plays only for a limited time.  The Bliss lounge dance floor is very sticky.  Bring jazz dance shoes to dance in the Bliss lounge or on the pool decks.

The cruise was delightful, but the people who work customer service were not. We ordered the unlimited internet service that NEVER worked. We complained to the person in charged, and with attitude dismissed our complaint. We then told customer service about our experience with this employee and complained our internet was still not working. We were told they would get back to us AFTER verifying it with the person who we were unsatisfied with..in other words, they were telling us leave us alone. They never got back to us. We paid 25.00 a day for service we never received unless we were in the Internet cafe! 

Enjoyed our crossing.  Only negative was that the activities were minimal.  The weather was a little chilly for me so I was not able to hang out by the pool.  This caused a lot of down time due to either no activities or only activities that you had to pay for.  Thankfully I was able to fill the time with the spa and fitness center.  

Minor Issues:  Lackluster and downright limited room service menu, only one dining venue open 24 hrs, small terrible library and buffet closed in the afternoon.

Aside from above listed items cruise was excellent!  Wonderful attentive staff, good shows, plenty of evening entertainment from Karaoke to live music and dance.  Cabin was clean well appointed and comfortable.  Balcony was great size and a welcome place to hang out alone and watch the ocean go by.  Manhattan Room was a great venue and nightly music was quite nice.  Available gambling options and bars were inviting and accommodating.  I would not hesitate to recommend this cruise to a friend. 

Although the Staterooms are well laid out, they do show A LOT OF wear and tear on a four year old ship -- sitting on the balcony one sees a lot of rust. If you are used to walk around the ship making a circle -- that is impossible on the Epic -- as a walker you get run over by the joggers because the jogging deck only goes a half circle. In the garden Cafe the servers and cooks are not well organized -- by the pizza station you have at times five cooks but if you ask for something they send you from one to an other-- At imes they have people cleaning the tables they almost grab the plates out of your hand at other times they is hardly anyone.Entertainment was weak and not denough for us elderly.

I heard the complaint of "no promenade deck" 8 times in as many days from other passengers riding on elevators.  The ship could use some more elevators in the centre and the staterooms are laid out a bit weird with the bed being rounded and the separate shower, sink and john.  Clean with plenty of storage and the built in safe is a life saver for the trip needing no cash.  I'm 68 and the stairs on the ship tour killed my knees requiring me to see the ship's Dr on the second day at sea.  Fortunately he was excellent and got me sorted out in just a few days saving our 6 week vacation.

We loved the balcony stateroom as it wasn't windy at all with nice sun on the starboard side all the way to Barcelona.  The two pools on the top deck were rather small which was surprising.  No way to do any laps.  The hot tubs were popular but folks tended to live in them so we never considered any water activities.  4 story climb to slides so they were out with our old knees.

Included foods were excellent in all restaurants.  Never wanted to go to specialty places but people we knew who bought the food package were very happy they did.  

The Madiera Island was beautiful, safe and clean.  Just take a taxi down town for 10€ as we couldn't find the shuttle a 1/4 mile away from where we got off the ship.  No one to ask directions so wasted $20 buying bus pass.

The entire staff was fantastic.  Sign up for main entertainment early or you will be waiting standby later on.  

My wife and I both preferred a smaller ship and are returning to states on a smaller liner instead of a cruise box.

The scheduled disembarkation by colour/time was flawless.  Our pre-purchased  "tour" of Barcelona and trip to airport was a joke and ONLY an expensive taxi ride via "Splash" via .  Just hail a taxi at the dock and you'll avoid waiting, cost and disappointment.  Pay them extra if you want to take a ride thru the downtown on the way to the airport.  This was our greatest disappointment on this trip not re-seeing the sights and killing some time before our flight as was clearly indicated in verbiage but not provided in reality.

First trip on NCL. Have done 6 Transatlantics (Celebrity & Cunard).  Consider NCL more on the budget end of the range, so with those expectations, expectations were met.  Embarkation in Miami was a bit chaotic, but disembarkation in Barcelona was the most efficient I've ever seen.  My aft balcony cabin was "cozy" in typical NCL style, do not like the bathroom set-up, but plenty of storage.  Bar service was consistently excellent with a good wine list.  All entertainment venues were too small for such a big ship, and reservations are required, which involves planning, which is not something I want on a vacation.  I would take NCL again, but only if there were no other option.

I wrote a review and deposited it in the comment box.  We are now on a 4 month road trip adventure in Europe.  The cruise itself was very good but the ship needs refurbishing. Many public areas ie at stairs and elevator landings smelled very musty, clearly due to mildew . Our stateroom definitely needs work.  we really disliked the layout of the cabin, very narrow and difficult to move about with two people, esp. if one is sitting on the sofa or at the "desk".  Hated the open sink, toilet and shower areas, no privacy and the curtain was cheesy.

Our steward was exceptional as was most of the staff. We think the "optional" gratuities plan is too high (you just raised it again) since all beverage charges and specialty dining had 18-20% gratuities added into charges, so we did NOT want to pay additional.  We personally took care of gratuities for those we chose to compensate.

All entertainment was terrific; the shows, the lounge acts, the dance lessons, the FREE exercise classes, trivia games.  Wish there had been a larger pool though.  Too much "wading pool" area.

We also miss the option of set dining time as on Princess and Celebrity cruises.  The opportunity to really get acquainted with other passengers is very difficult.  We are taking a Celebrity cruise in late May from Venice to meet up with Australian friends we met sharing our dining table in 2013 on a Celebrity cruise! 

We enjoyed the crossing experience, hope you take care of problems, but prefer the more traditional dining experience and Captain's welcoming reception, etc. so don't know if we will repeat the Epic experience.

WE especially enjoyed the great attitude of the staff and the wonderful entertainment.  The crossing went by in a flash.  The food was terrific, too.  Lots of variety and always available.  A good value all the way around.  We cruised around Italy on a Royal Caribbean ship after we got to Europe and our experience there confirmed our evaluation of the Epic's strengths.  Epic did suffer from design flaws both in cabin design and in common spaces which are not configured well for most entertainment uses.  Some of the seats were so uncomfortable we didn't stay to enjoy our favorite band!  Still, it was a wonderful crossing.

The public facilities (restaurants, bars, night clubs etc.}are good. The entertainment was first rate. The food in the Garden Cafe was very good and well presented. The specialty restaurants were excellent in food and atmosphere.

Now the bad part. Our cabin was easily the worst in all my 26 cruises. It was a balcony cabin and was so poorly designed and laid out that I dreaded entering it. Norwegian decided to split the bathroom into three tiny parts: water closet on the left, shower on the right and lavatory in the cabin itself. No walking room in the cabin, no chair to sit in. TV only watchable if in the bed. Couch poorly located and uncomfortable. No night tables.Lighting cold and poorly located. Bed rock hard. I could go on but I will just say: Avoid this cabin at all cost unless you enjoy being depressed and uncomfortable!

FeedBack:

Our room had been trashed by previous occupants.  We had to have our door repaired starting with the hinges that hold the door etc.  Our door keys would not work and did not work good the whole cruise.  The distilled water that we ordered for our room was not there.  I had to go to the Medical office and re-order and finally we received the water.  The rooms were too small, there was not enough room to get into the bed.  Also, our TV did not work and in addition we had to get a new remote.  There are so many more issues that are too many to mention.  I was very disappointed with the Cruise.

We did like the food choices and the entertainment was good.

The cruise had its flaws but for the most part we did enjoy ourselves The biggest disappointment can when we boarded the ship to find out that the one act we came to see was no longer there and it was one of the reason we choice to go on that cruse. The web page showed the blue man group for the week we were to travel. With that being said we did enjoy the shows that were on the ship but it was not that same.

some of the staff were very rude and did not try to help us when we were unsure what to do the kitchen director I believe is what he is called was very rude to his staff and never once smiled at any one. when talking to our fella that cleaned our room I found he did not seem to want to get to know you or make you feel very comfortable  like when we traveled on the dawn the guy got to know our names and did extra little things in our rooms to make us feel welcomed. 

the staff that did the entertaining were a joy to be around they made us laugh the epic has a good group of people there they are in the right line of work as you could tell they enjoyed there jobs.

the shore excursions were great but wish we had a few more hours at each port so we would not feel rushed

the food was good but it seemed to be the same stuff being served ever day except for the last night.

I would go on it again now I know what to expect but I liked the Dawn the best every night different food people who got to know you better and really good shows that you would want to see over and over again

Plus points:

Great ship

Great food

Excellent service

Tons of kids activities for all ages

Minus:

Kids everywhere, even in adult only areas

No quite place to relax or read

Evening hours – no place with good light, library small and dark.

Ship is huge, lines for breakfast buffet, all tables taken. Before and after shows you’ll have to wait for elevators. Laud casino in the middle of the ship – you can hear it on the next floor.

The cruise was great.  The ship was gigantic and the service on board was excellent.  We were given a cake at dinner to celebrate the occasion.  The ports were interesting (more than Carnival) due to the location of the docks.  The only complaint was the stateroom.  It was very small even though it was a family balcony room.  The beds were very short and you feet hung off at night unless you slept cross wise.  The food was exceptional and the Freestyle dinning is a great idea.  We plan another cruise later this year and will be using and will be selecting Norwegian Cruise line again.  No more carnival.

Over all it was the best out of 12 cruises we have been on.

Helpful, friendly and courteous crew /staff aboard ship.  Excellent service.  Delicious and abundant choice of food.  Beautiful, clean ship and comfortable, well equipped rooms. Entertainment was superb.  Do yourself a favor and book a cruise with   (get  additional bonuses) and Norwegian Cruise Lines.  You won"t be disappointed.