Norwegian Epic Cruise Reviews - Reviews

First of all the balcony cabin was way too small for two people to even get around each other. Secondly, the placement of the see-through shower and toilet was horrible. the lighting was not enough to put on make-up or put contacts in and the sink was so tiny you could hurt your eye on the faucet. Ship was large but set up kind of strange. I would recommend Carnival [I have sailed 4 different ships] over Norwegian any day. Also very expensive on NCL.

I was quite glum upon seeing our room for the first time. We had requested a balcony, and yes, we got a balcony, but not one where you could sit out on the balcony and watch the sea, but and enclosed one where we had to walk up to the edge to see the water, and who wants to stand and meditate. Upon complaining long and hard enough, I was sent six chocolate-covered strawberries and a bottle of wine from their customer relations as if that made up for everything.

This is our 3rd cruise on the Norwegian, and the first that we did not like entirely.

The food was good, sometimes great, and there was always plenty of it. However, in some bars and restaurants we had to pay extra for desserts. The waiters for the most part were courteous, but not really friendly, with the exception of the employee who kept our stateroom clean. He was awesome!

All in all, it was a good vacation, but we're thinking at this time that  when we plan a cruise again, it will not be with Norwegian.

I've cruised a number of times with different cruise lines. This wasn't the worst, MSC gets that honor, but I was disappointed in the Epic. Bad points; OMG- the bathroom. The entrance door to the stateroom is between the toilet and the shower, each are enclosed by frosted glass. So, be sure to travel with people who are fine with seeing (and hearing) you sitting on the toilet or showering. This didn't work well for our cabin that was shared with our adult children. We had to schedule dressing and absolutions for a time when the genders were acceptable for cohabitation. I actually went out to use a public loo rather than the one in my cabin so that I could have some privacy. Imagine being walked in on while using the loo or showering by your adult children as there is no other way into the cabin except by way of the door that is smack in the middle of the bathroom. Fortunately the only reason this didn't happen was because of our scheduling and the fortune of having a towel at the right time. This is a deal breaker. I will never book this ship again. The next problem was the cleanliness of the room. The carpet was disgusting. Dust and dirt so heavy it could have been swept up. Next was the service in the restaurant. We had a large group and were seated at four tables at Taste. It took 2 1/2 hours from being seated to the time we left. Someone didn't even take our order for almost an hour. At 45 minutes I requested someone take our order. It still took almost 10 minutes for someone to show up. Then the food took forever to arrive. When I spoke to the management staff regarding these problems, they made excuses and blamed us rather than own up to their lack of timeliness. My favorite excuse of theirs was that I caused the long delay in food service because I requested any vegetable instead of onion rings with my meal. Our party all arrived within 15 minutes of our reservation time. There should have been no reason for this poor service. I think the kitchen is either too small to handle the size of the dining room or the management is woefully inadequate. This poor service was at both of the included restaurants; Taste and Manhattan, though Taste was worse. We didn't dine at the extra pay restaurants as a group. The Garden Cafe had good selections and though the lines were sometimes long, there was food available in upper decks of the pool that had shorter lines, though there was less selection. The buffet food had good variety and quality. The shows were OK, though there was not enough variety to cover 7 nights of cruising. Other cruise reviews on the endless corridors without options to cross over, no midship elevators, and the truly disgusting cigarette smoke throughout the central common areas due to the smoking in the casino were true. The casino had a designated smoking area but apparently the smoke didn't know that and it traveled throughout the central areas of deck 6 and 7.  

Bigger is not better!  Don't waste your money on this one.  Jamaica was wonderful.  That's it.  Dull food, dull entertainment.  Met nice people, all agreed ship not living up to advertising.

Dubbed "The Ugly Ship" for its boxy bullnose exterior apearance,this ship is far from that as you enter its interior. We were amazed at its fine interior design. We have sailed on many other cruises on various lines and were pleasantly surprised to see a ship that was not cookie-cutter the same as others.

Service on board was average but not as superior as other ships the same size. If you have not sailed on NCL before you will be intrigued by the Freestyle program so please be open-minded if you book this cruise.

Food on board was very good at all the restaurants as well as the buffet. We felt that reservations were a waste of time as it did not matter when you actually arrived. We were disappointed to find out that the two free dining rooms had exaclty the same menues every night. We feel that we should not be forced to pay extra for specialty restaurants and that they should all be included in the cruise fare as cruising has traditionally been.

We certainly recommend this trip to others and would definitely sail again!

Wow. This was an experience I'll never forget, and unfortunately, will measure all other future cruises to.  As a solo traveler, I took advantage of the single rooms aboard the Epic.  It is perfectly laid out with some really nice finishes.  Aside from that, the exclusive lounge for solo travelers is an amazing perk.  Aside from having tv's, coffee bar and drink bar inside, it was the center for meeting up with others traveling like me.  There is a solo cruise director who encourages and facilitates group interaction and activities.  This was like going to a party and then the after party was going to dinner together,  We quickly formed friendships and started bonding at lightning speed. The true testament is really disembarking the last day, when we all went separate ways and back to our homes, we all started facebooking each other immediately sharing pictures, messages and just softening the blow of cruise withdrawal. The NCL Epic and staff really know how to organize and facilitate an amazing experience. 

The entertainment was excellent. We enjoyed all of the shows, blues, piano duo, and second city. The times listed was great because you could see the show, etc. more than once if you wanted to.

I am writing to inform you of my dissatisfaction with the cruise I booked for 4 January this year. I purchased four (4) "7 Night Western Caribbean Norwegian Epic" cruises for myself and three friends from January 4, 2015 to January 11, 2015.  I arrived at the ship at 12:30pm on January 4th at which time Norwegian staff supposedly took my bags to my room before the ship’s departure.  Despite having a driver’s license, copies of my passport, green card, and boarding pass, at 1:00pm I was denied entrance to the boat because my passport was in my luggage, which had been taken by boat staff.  Norwegian staff assured me they would retrieve my bag and get me on the boat.  Your staff had me wait on the dock for four and a half hours then had me forcibly removed by security.  Despite repeated requests and promises by staff and multiple supervisors, my bags were not returned and I was not permitted onboard.  Furthermore, I was assured my traveling companions would be informed of my situation, however, on my return they reported that they were mislead by Norwegian staff and told I would be on the boat.  Norwegian Cruise Lines abandoned me in Miami, took all my personal belongings, my medications, clothes, and caused me considerable distress and expense while I was forced to wait a week for the ship’s return.  Moreover, the medications that were not returned with my baggage put me in danger of a critical medical condition.  This situation is beyond reproach.  Your staff lied to me, lied to my companions, and denied me a trip for which I paid.  The expense of clothing, feeding, and housing myself for a week in Miami was in the thousands of dollars and cost precious vacation time. I have since spent hours on the phone with your company during which I have received impersonal, boilerplate apologies without a single mention of a resolution or compensation. In this, your company has added insult to injury.

I would like to hear back from a senior staff person immediately to discuss how Norwegian Cruise Lines will resolve this situation.

The overall experience was very good. The only time I felt something was wrong was during our time at the Cayman Islands. There was an issue with getting us back to the ship and there was no staff or not enough staff to tell the people the problem with us not boarding. This caused people to get aggravated. I felt lack of communication was the true cause.

Then when we get to the ship and depart a few hours late, the Captain chastises the passengers for being upset with the staff. The captain, the following day apologized but the damage was done. I feel that whoever reports to the Captain about these situations is the true person at fault.

I DO NOT BLAME THE CAPTAIN.

I blame the person that is in charge of customer care. He should have had staff out telling the people.

People stood out in the sun for over two hours without an explanation.

Other than that it was a very very good cruise!!

Our luded the Ultimate dining package, which we really enjoyed, and took full advantage of. The drawbacks - too many passengers for shows to be available every night. We had made our dinner reservations for the full week, and then learned that we could not get into a comedy club show because of timing conflicts with dinner (unless we went to the 11:00 adults only - which we wouldn't do).The cabin configuration was strange, and very small. Did not like the bathroom layout.Our major activity is dancing, and we found it challenging to find good dancing on this cruise vs. others we have been on. There was a lounge that had a dance floor; however, they used that lounge for other things instead of dancing. They had some good dancing music in a lounge that only had carpet - no dance floor. We tried to dance in the atrium usually. Some of the groups set up their equipment to take up most of the dance floor, instead of setting up on one side. A lot of the music was Hispanic, and there was no place else to dance. With that many passengers each trip, it seems like there would always be several good dancing couples on board, and there was just not enough room or good choice of music. We would not sail on this ship again.

I slipped and felled on the entrance of the garden  café floor and injured  my back. The floor was very slippery due to the moisture from the ocean. There was a person spraying folds hand and she could see that the floor was wet. mats should of been put at the entrance of the door. This was a family trip  with wife children so because I was in pain  I could not  get around good to enjoy the trip or my family.Five painful days.

It was our 1st cruise. Thoroughly enjoyed it.  The Boat was clean and well staffed.  The planned activities were very entertaining. The staff was very polite & knowledgeable, happy and very service oriented, especially the "The Happy Happy, Washy Washy" girl.  She was just simply the most happiest person on the boat. Every staff member was dedicated to solve the problems, instead of I don't know, or it is not my job attitude. 

Will definitely try another cruise with this company. Thanks for your assistance. 

This is our second time on the "EPIC".  The ship, food etc are excellent and the staff very friendly.  The only thing I would like to see better and more variety of shows.

I had an awesome time I would definitely recommend this ship the food was excellent the crew was outstanding they were really helpful don't know about other cruise line this one was my first but will go with ncl again

After cruising Carnival and Royal Caribbean, my wife and I decided to try something different.  We booked a cruise with Norwegian.  Absolutely loved the food.  Bed were comfortable.  Entertainment was average.  Customer service could have been a bit better.  But overall we are sold on Norwegian.  Epic is a great ship.  We took our kids and we all had a very enjoyable vacation.   I recommend Norwegian.   

Entertainment including BlueMan Group, Second City was fantastic!  As others mentioned, the bathroom set-up in the room was not great, very little privacy and awkward.  No lotion in room, only shampoo/body wash in large containers.  Service overall was mediocre for dining and we only got into specialty restaurant once (all booked).  There were several times where we sat and sat with no assistance at a restaurant.  Our last cruise on Norwegian Dawn had many openings for specialty restaurants.  Each day, the monitors showed almost complete red for all restaurants, but if you went there, they weren't full!!  Cruise was very crowded (New Year's) and that got old, especially the buffet.  Excursions were great, especially Grand Cayman (dolphin, stingray).  Cozumel, Playa Mia.  Kids liked the waterslides, exursions, and entertainment (ages 7 and 10).  Getting on and off the ship was easy.  Ship was beautiful and clean.  

We had a very nice time on our cruise.  We had an exterior room with a large balcony and it was pretty spacious for 2 (for a cruise room).  We loved our steward who was always so nice and accommodating and decorated our room for my husbands birthday.  We traveled with our children who had their own room (highly recommend this) and they felt very comfortable at the kids/teen club and walking around on their own.  My husband and I paid an additional fee for the Epic Hydrotherapy Spa - 18 and over ($200 p/p) but it was worth it and a great place to escape for some peace and quiet.  The only downside to cruising is that there are so many things that are NOT included and and can end up costing quite a bit.  Overall a good time was had by all!

The ship was very short of staff. Forty five minutes in the morning just to get an egg omelet,  Being told I can't have a mint because I am not a Latitudes member when I am. Even though my travel agent ordered a birthday cake for my wife I was told I cant have one because we didn't buy the birthday package. I have a blood pressure problem and the medical office wanted $20.00 every time I had my blood pressured checked. That a little unethical. I paid $400.00 extra for the spa activities, half of the time the hot stone lounges were cold or there was very little steam in the steam rooms. The food in the French Restaurant and Cagney's steal house was great. So from now on it will be Royal Caribbean or Celebrity. Many people on the ship had the same complaint. By the way the toilet is behind a smoke glass wall. There is absolutely no privacy when you are meditating on the toilet.  

First let me say the Cruise in itself was good, the food was great as was the service. However, it rained every stop we made at a port which was a downer. Activities were scarce or timed mostly around the same time leaving a chunk of the day with nothing to do.

Talking to many of the passengers I became aware that the offer and pricing we got from Cheap Cruises was not the best. We were charged more for an Inside State Room than people paid for a larger Balcony Room. We received a mere $25 On board Credit for both of us together when most received at least $50 per person. Some even received Free Dinner or Drink Packages for Free and we got nothing.

A couple I met had a Balcony Room with 4 People and paid $50 dollars less total than we did for 2 and we had a very small Interior Room. That should give you an idea of my issue.

That said the staff and food was good, however, I paid for "Premium" seating for the Circus Dreams because the "Standard" seating said the view might be obstructed. Then during the day of the show even tough we arrived early and were the second group to be seated we were seated on an obstructed view area and were served food last. So think twice and research before you pay for "Premium".

We had a great time even though it rained everyday.  We did an excursion up Dunn's Fall's and it didn't start raining until we started to the parking lot.  Then the bottom fell out and rained the rest of day so we made the best of it since we were already wet and hit the Harley shop in Jamaica.  Our next stop was Georgetown in Cayman Islands It rained that morning early had a great day snorkling and sting ray city.  The water was rough but was still really nice.  The boat activities were great.  We celebrated our Anniversary so had a card to give our waiter for the evening.  We dined at Manhattan Room.  The foood was great.  Then once we finished a group came and sang Happy Anniversary and brought a Happy Anniversary cake.  You couldn't have asked for better service.  Our whole cruise was that way.  If anyone had any complaints about food then they didn't need to be there.  There were dishes from several countries.  Something for everyone.  We are ready to go off again. Just can't plan it right now.