Norwegian Epic Cruise Reviews - Reviews

This was my first freestyle cruise and I loved being able to have dinner where and when I felt like it. I'm not into organized activities that much so it was very relaxing and unhurried. The service was great and everyone was helpful and friendly. Liked it so much that we put a deposit for a future trip.

Still like the free style cruises. The Epic was OK but the food standard went down, no more flowers in the dining room where it is now fine if not recommented to come and eat in shorts and flipflops. A big let down for the guests who still see like a little glamour. The tending in the Caymans was a mess due to heavy swells. All in all we will still sail on Norvegian but hope the company will not cut any more corners.

Shortly before this cruise, warnings about bad food and crabby crew were posted on a cruise-related website.  I was apprehensive since I hadn't been on a cruise per se, before, just a passenger on a liner, as a child.

Here's my observations:

The staff was lovely. The service was impeccable. What wasn't impeccable were the other passengers. I saw more people dressed like bums and more vulgar and inappropriate tattoos (is there such a thing as an appropriate tattoo?) including some that were borderline pornographic and should not have been permitted to be displayed in decent company.

Outside of a weekend at the Ritz-Carlton, I've never been treated as well as the staff on the Epic. They were polite and cheerful at every turn, even when I observed them dealing with aggressive, drunken or simply obnoxious customers.

My only quibble about the ship itself is the relentless noise.  Not one of the entertainers understood volume control, all were far too loud for whatever space they were in.  Also, what Norwegian calls a "library" is laughable.  I've more books in one bedroom in my house than they had.  I did not see any magazines, newspapers or a digest of the day's news posted anywhere either.

My Studio was very clean and the steward was fantastic. I never had anything approaching a bad meal and most of the meals were excellent and some approached fantastic. The only failure in the food service was the dismal coffee, which was bad everywhere but the Atrium Cafe and the Studio Lounge. And since I have been on the paleo diet and only cheated a little on this trip, I'll say I was very impressed with the protein.

The smoothness of getting herds of people on and off the ship was remarkable, even in Grand Cayman where choppy seas delayed the tenders - I still made it to my appointed excursion with 5 minutes to spare.

If the other passengers approached the couth, politeness and personal standards of the staff, I'd gladly go on another cruise - but the behaviour of many passengers on and off the ship makes me reluctant to say that I would take another cruise.

Ship crew and staff we very friendly and accommodating. Ship came to port and left dock on schedule. We had some problems tendering in Grand Cayman due to conditions, but the crew was professional and had safety as their number one concern.  Food was fantastic. I would highly recommend the dining package to take advantage of the great restaurants onboard. The ship had plenty of entertainment to keep us busy throughout the week.  Staterooms were always kept clean and turned down.  Overall had a very pleasant trip.

The Epic is not effectively designed to handle large amounts of people yet furnish an intimate experience.  Having previously sailed on the Breakaway, we were expecting a great experience. The Breakaway's design effectively makes 4000+ people seem like much less... ie no long lines for elevators, disembarkation, tenders, buffet, etc.  There were seldom any crowd-like experiences on the Breakaway with plenty of deck space for all. The Epic's deck and open lounge space was marginal; the layout for open decks was limited to the area around the pools, behind the smoke stacks in the adult only area and both sides of deck 7. The jogging track was limited to one side of deck 7 and there was an oil smell in certain areas. The lifeboats block much of the view from deck 7 as well. The Haven customers must have had the best experience as their space is the forward part of the ship - 4 decks worth!!  The food was ok, the entertainment in the dining room - we saw the same show - 3 times!! Blue Man group was great as was legends... but it was not as if we could see a show or a different show every night of the cruise. The cruise director was there, but not very out there for the majority of the cruise.  One experience that we had was that every one seemed to return from the island about 3pm ... and the only food to be found on the ship was at O'Sheehans (where we waited 1 hour to get served) and the hamburger bar on the pool deck.  You would think there would be more late lunch options.

First off, we love NCL and think the staff is the best.  And we appreciate all the cruises we get to go on, so this review highlights only the nits....there wasn't anything of a great magnitude that is negative...it just doesn't fit our style as much as other ships/cruise itineraries.  That said, the entertainment is lacking:  Blue Man Group performed the same skit as the last time we were on this ship 2 years ago.  Legends was a disappointment w/acts from Jimmy Buffet, Adele & Aretha Franklin.  Howl at the Moon is great, but was only available 1 night during hours that we are awake.  2nd City is so hit or miss, we just never go.  We didn't like the blues band, and the last time we were on this ship, the blues band was really good,but played the same set every night.  So, bottom line, is that we were lacking for some good entertainment at night.  We hate the room layout, but the size of the shower in the balcony rooms is nice.  We prefer the buffet, and it was pretty good, but I hate that the cruise ships are now serving Tilapia which is just cheap garbage.  The pool layout is bad, and when they have pool 'events' they're held all the way at one end of the pool and face away from the pool....very poor planning when they designed this ship.  Do not, under any circumstances, order the fish & chips in the Irish bar (or any NCL ship for that matter)...our last 2 cruises I ordered it and it is just awful (tons of bread, soggy and very little fish).  NCL mgmt needs to sample that b/c it used to be really good.  NCL is usually really good at arranging their times in port (not like Carnival which is the worst I've ever seen), but we were scheduled to debark in Cozumel @ 1000!?  The pier was empty when we arrived....we should have been there by 8.  To make matters worse, there was some sort of snafu at the dock, and we didn't get off the ship until 1100, and it was major mooo time b/c the entire ship was in line by that time waiting to get off the ship.  In closing, we'd still do it again at the price we paid, but there's better NCL ships & itineraries to pick from if the price is right. 

Overall a good cruise but certainly not our best! The cabin and the food were excellent but the entertainment left a lot to be desired. On all our other cruises which were on smaller ships(2000-2500 passengers) we had a different show every night in the theatre. This cruise only had 2 shows in the theatre which alternated on different evenings and the shows were not all that great. On three occasions I tried to book the 'Cirque' dinner/show but the only seats available were the more expensive ones. There were 2 sets of elevators towards the ends of the ship but no center elevators to directly access the shops and various ship's services so there was a lot of walking. At busy times we spent a lot of time waiting for elevators. Norwegian advertises 'Freestyle" but there was nothing 'free style' about it. We had to make advance reservations for all shows and it was strongly recommended that we if we wanted a particular 'free' restaurant other than the buffet, that we make reservations. The men's washrooms left a lot to be desired. There always seems to be 'puddles' under the urinals. I complained directly to the ship about this.

We got a good price on the cruise and we certainly got our money's worth but this ship is one I will not be travelling on again.

There are many amenities on the Epic and we enjoyed the cruise. However, I would not recommend the mini suites. The only thing separating the room from the the bathroom is a curtain that you can pull across the width of the room. That was awkward. On the plus side, ALL the cruise personnel were very friendly and helpful. There was a great variety and number of eating venues. Food quality was very good to excellent.

I enjoyed the trip the only two draw backs would be that bathroom setup and that having multiple small pools instead of a couple huge ones kept the deck area from becoming the main entertainment place on the ship. 

The ship was lovely.  However for us it was way too big..too much walking for older folks our mistake. It took a while for us and our cabin steward to connect.  We were not told that we had to turn the dial outside our door to get our cabin cleaned. 

There has to be a better way to keep ice in our cabin than the tiny ice bucket .Since we paid over $100  for a bottle to use in our room.

We liked the interactive tv service for information and to make reservations.  But the selection of shows for viewing was sorely lacking.

The 2 hour delay in getting off at Cozumel was kinda hard on my husband who

is unable to stand for a long period of time.

The boarding and debarkation for so many passengers was handled very well

though.

The food and selection was wonderful.  We really loved the free style method.

This was our first experience on Norwegian.  All over.  It was a very nice cruise and  we would highly recommend them.

if no reservation in advance prior to boarding , no dining at main dinning room and no seat for shows , limited shows as well , Lobster at Le Bistro costs $10 more on top of the supplement charge $20 while dining room happens to serve Lobster on the same night for no extra cost . Bad Experience , I will avoid NCL for my future cruise , Epic is bigger ship but I have better experience on smaller ship . This is my 7th cruise .

had a wonderful time. You hear so many bad experiences see for yourself. I celebrated my 48th birthday and had a ball. the ice bar is a must. food was good and all ways hot and enough. the language was different couldnt understand but they tried their best to explain to you...

Cruised for Thanksgiving 2014.  Epic is a very nice ship, lots to do on-board for kids & adults. My teens liked the water slides. Layout of ship a bit confusing, always seem to have to go thru the Casino to get somewhere.  Been on other mega-ships before & didn't have to wait for the elevators as much as on Epic.  Food was good, but maybe not as elaborate as on other cruise lines.  Did not like that the shows onboard had to have reservations...these filled up on the 1st day, due to people making multiple reservations for multiple nights.  Shows were good, Blue Man Group and Legends, couldn't get in for the Cirque du Soliel dinnershow, loved the Howling Pianos, a very talented group of piano players!  Had a balcony cabin, which was very nice & spacious. Only quirk was the bathroom area, with a curtain that could be drawn while using the facilities.  The toilet area is small with the 'space-age' door that slides around you...my Hubby is 6'3" and his knees hit the door when sitting.  Service was attentive, polite and quick.  Our cabin steward was very accommodating, made for a pleasant voyage.  On the downside, found that popular shore excursions filled up quickly (never had this experience on other cruise lines) and did not have a day in Grand Cayman due to rough seas and not being able to tender in to shore.  You would think that with all the money that cruise ships bring to the Grand Caymans, that they could afford to build a port/dock that would accommodate all sizes of cruise ships.  Since we missed this Port, we had 4 days at Sea instead of 3...a little disappointing! Have gone on several Southern Caribbean cruises out of San Juan P. R. and I think I prefer the islands in that region, just don't like the airport in San Juan, as it is very small & not many flights in/out of it on a daily basis.  Therefore, we chose a cruise out of Miami, FL.  Overall experience on this cruise was very good, relaxing, just not memorable as others we have taken in the past.

the worse cruise ever. i have have been on more than 20 cruise and this was the worse. my dog eats better food. also the worse thanksgiving dinner i have ever had. the food was not fit for man more for dogs and cats. no more ncl for me 

From the moment we stepped foot on the ship we had problems, keys didn't work to open state room.  Staterooms were very disappointing. Configuration not good.  Poor entertainment.  Ship holds 4100 passengers yet if you didn't make reservation for shows you were shut out and there was nothing available.  Theater didn't hold any more people than ships holding 1/2 the size.  Bingo and games were held in small areas where people couldn't fit and no one had a seat.  Food was the same everywhere - either buffet or restaurant.  Seemed like the entire crew was miserable.  Took 3 days to meet our cabin boy.  Sailed on the Pearl a month ago and had a wonderful experience.  This ship is run poorly and is not fit for 4100 passengers.  Every where you turned it cost money.  Couldn't even go look inside the ice bar - they wanted $20 per person.  My kids just wanted to see what it looked like and they said it would cost $20 per person to go in. The restaurants that cost extra were no better than the buffet.  Been on many cruises and never had an experience like this.  They keep making them bigger but they're not better.  Pool was big enough to fit 20 people - huge disappointment.  Many passanger were complaining.

I been in others cruises like Royal Caribbean and Carnival and this one top it up i was the best i ever have great food very clean and very entertain.

I have been on 35 cruises, this was the most cramped cabin i have been in, it was called a Balcony, but turned out not a traditional Balcony - should not be advertised as such. you can not sit in this Balcony  and see the ocean ! The entertainment was very good as NCL tends to be. Food good. Personal pleasant.  Overall will continue to avoid NCL.

We enjoyed everything about this cruise.  Our only disappointments were in the room we had.

The lighting at the sink was very poor.

My husband and I had to get out of the way of each other to get past the bed.

The food, the entertainment and the ship itself were very nice.

We had very enjoyable time.

Kent and Gloria Mohr

Great food!  Good service! The ship is very nice, but we prefer the regular size ships as opposed to this mega ship.  The nightly entertainment was good.  The Blue Man Group is VERY entertaining!  However, once we saw them performing and attended the comedy club, there really wasn't a lot left to do at night.  We went to the movie a couple of times, but several nights the movie choice wasn't one we would enjoy.  So, we got a lot of rest, which was great! 

This is an inexpensive cruise on a newer ship. There is a reason. Rooms are very tight and poorly designed. You have to climb over the bed to access the rest of the room or balcony if someone else is getting dressed or makeup. Having the sink and toilet in the living areas is just weird.

Pools are small and crowed with children, hot tubs overrun with children too young to supposed to be even allowed to be in them.

I was on this ship 6 months ago, and again last week. It has gone down hill. Buffet food is awful, breakfast stations are not stocked well and omelet stations only had 4 total ingredients for your omelet. No ham, mushrooms, spinach, or anything else you  may want.  Very limited selection at all meals in buffet and not well prepared.Almost impossible to find butter, jelly or anything else you  might need. One station in the entire restaurent has it. 

Main dining room food was better. Always something to choose that was OK. Not incredible, but decent. Service was marginal, maybe because of all freestyle dining  and waiters never got you twice. We left one night before dessert because waiter never came back to see if original order was OK, which is wasn't, and never came back to ask about replacing original order or dessert.

Specialty restaurants were Ok. Didn't do the steak house but the French and Italian were good. but I ordered Lamb in the French Restaurant and  the next night it was on the menu. The Irish restaurant that is always open is terrible. Meat loaf that has the consestancy of cat food, wings that were broken in the middle and looked like they came of a chicken hit by a car, plus the worst fried chicken I have every had.  

Entertainment is very lacking. Once you have seen Blue Man Group, it is pretty much the same every time. Legends of concert performers would not make it in most small night clubs. Buffet and whoever the other women was supposed to be were not an act I would expect on a major cruise line with 4000 passengers. They just were not very good. 6 months ago they had Steven Tyler, Katy Perry and Elvis impersonators who were much better.

Sorry,  but Second City must get tired of doing this 3 nights a week, because they just are not very funny most of the time, and went to 3 performances and all were boring.

The Howl at the moon was the only savior. 3 talented musicians  that all made it fun, involved the crowd, and had fun.   

Pool activities were randomly cancelled for no reason but the pool band was good when they played. The Blues Club is loud, uncomfortable seating and like an open jam night.

Ship is clean, secure doors to reduce noise, but  they are trying to make it as cheap as possible for the cruise line. No extras of anythnig.

Don't expect luxury and great service or food at this price.