Norwegian Epic Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Overall the cruise was good but I was perturbed by NLC allowing for the sale of wine after going through security to register for the cruise and then taking the wine away at the security when you entered the ship and returning the wine on the last night of the cruise. The sale of wine should not have occured if you were not allowed to consume it during the cruise.

Room was OK. Some dust was on the lamp and table. Food tasted good but the Garden Room tables were in short supply.  Seat down eating was OK but not on a par with Holland America or Princess Ships.

Did not have a great deal of time for Ship shows(except for Blue Man Group). Six ports to explore in 7days! We were able to get on and off this big Ship with ease. A real plus. Would recommend non-ncl tours. Better and alot less costly.

I will not be sailing Norwegian again. The staff was not friendly and they always acted like you were bothering them. Poor service! The only good thing I have to say about the boat was that the spa was nice and the rooms were done well. Other than that, it was no better than a Carnival cruise.

I have been on several cruises and this one definitely tops them all! The food was amazing, the shows were great, prices weren't too extreme compared to other cruiseliners...All of the staff was always in an upbeat and positive mood and always ready to assist. Overall the best cruise I have ever been on.

First let me start by saying my wife and I are some what snobby when it comes to food, we consider ourselves to be "foodies".  We boarded the cruise and went straight to the main buffet and found had one look at the meat which they served and knew we were in trouble.  The hamburgers looked like it was basically a "Bubba Burger" or something close to that low quality, the deli meats looked to be lower quality than those meats used at Subway or Oscar Myers and the chicken and beef used for the chinese food was worse than your low-end neighborhood chinese restaurant.  So upon seeing this we went straight to the front desk and upgraded to the "Ultimate Dining Package", thinking that the speciality restaurants served different food, higher quality, since they are charging you extra for it.  To our suprise this was not the case, the food at these restaurants were not of higher quality, only provided a set menu for the cruise whereas the main dining halls offered revolving menu's each day.  We did find however one good meal during our time on the cruise which was at Le Bistro, the french restaurant on board.  The whole dining experience there was good except for the cirque du soleil going on above us during our meal.  You could hear everytime anyone jumped, the music, everything.  So overall, the food was a major disappointment and not at all worth the upgrade to the "Ultimate Dining Package".  If we would have known the food was going to be this low quality when we spent this much money for the cruise we would have definately made an effort to find the closest Disney Cruise in the area!! 

The ship overall was modern, had many ammenities, and was acceptable.  The thing which caught us off guard was the missing pool.  The ship had about 3 to 5 pools on the entire ship (which is fine, but the size of these were ridicolous).  The pools were the size of most kiddie pools you would find anywhere.  The layout was not very accomodating, I have been on many smaller cruise ships which had much better layouts with a much better pool set up.  This was disappointing as we were on the ship a good time going port to port.  

The shows, were a bright spot for us on the cruise.  We elected to purchase the dinner show for Cirque du Soleil and found it to be very good.  You could definately tell that you were in Europe in regards to the show as it was a little risque, but overall was very well done.  The dinner on the otherhand, I will not discuss as I have talked about the overall food earlier (Lets just say it was not the best).  The Blue Man Group was good, same show as it is in Orlando, Florida or I suppose anywhere else.  The other entertainment was good, the casino was large and seemed to pretty well set up.  

The duty free shop on board due to it being a cruise within the EU was a joke due to the issue of having a VAT tax of 20% on all goods.  So these shops did not make any since unless you were spending large sums of money on overpriced goods that you could get back home or at the airport without the tax.  

The room, was good but not great.  Let me explain, we elected to upgrade to a balcony which we found the balcony to be nice and accomodating.  The interior of the room left somethings to be desired though.  The room was very narrow due to the TV and bathroom sink to be about a foot to the end of our bed not allowing much room to pass by to get to your closets as well as balcony.  Overall the room was good, much better than any Carnival or older Royal Carribean Ship I have been on but not to the standards of a Disney or one of the New Royal Carribean ships. 

This last thing really got me, this cruise elected to charge passengers $5 for 24 hour dinning per order.  This was the first time I had ever heard of such a thing, the next thing was that most to almost all cruises I had been on before had a large, expansive room service menu which you were allowed to order the entire night.  This cruise did not have any of that.  They really did not offer any late night dinning options (anything past 12 am) which I found very odd, as all other cruises had plenty.  Also, they did not offer breakfast in the dining halls for an actual sitdown breakfast, the only offering was for you to eat the breakfast buffett (which was not an option by the end of the 3rd day, we ended up electing to eat breakfast as soon as we got off the ship at each port).

Overall, we were pretty unsatisfied of our experience on the Norwegian Epic.  I would go as far as that we will not be embarking on anymore "Freestyle Crusing" most likely ever again.  

I will say that one bright spot on the cruise was Norwegians staff and customer service was definately the best part of the cruise.  All staff were very friendly, easy to find and took notice of all guests problems that we encountered.  

I would highly recommend this cruise for family or just a couple.. The food was good and the  entertament was the best!!!!!!! Staff was friendly and good.......

We had a rocky start on our cruise due to loosing our airline reservations and lost luggage. But, once we got on the boat we were met with incredible staff who not only helped us track our luggage, they provided kits etc to make the day without our luggage better. The ship itself is incredible with all of the options for things to do, I found myself wishing we had a little more time on board. But, the ports were incredible and it was the BEST way to do Europe instead of hopping flights and struggling to find hotels. The food was magnificent and entertainment was great. We were a little disappointed with the "Legends in Concert" as Shakira is not a legend in our opinion. But otherwise it was amazing and Blue Man Group & Circ Dreams shouldnt be missed!! We cannot wait to take another NCL trip!

  What a great cruise. The weather was perfect, the ship was big and beautiful, the standard dinning was so good we didn't even try the spetialty restraunts. The entertainment was top notch. This is the shop to take to Italy.

Unfortunately, the one sea day we had rained all day. With over 4000 passengers on board it felt very crowded and was difficult to find a "quiet" place, away from our stateroom, to simply sit and read or play cards. On the bright side, sunny days, the overall cruise experience was much more positive.

I had a Haven Spa Suite Cabin 14139, which gave us the ability to use the spa facilities and thermal pools as much as we wanted, while still having access to all the amenities of the Haven area on Floors 16 and 17, including a butler.  The concierge service was the best!  Ryan and Roel were very hands on in getting dinner and show reservations for us, and they were always on the dock each morning to ensure we got to our tour buses.  We also received priority tendering back to the ship after our tours.  On port days, Haven guests also had use of an express elevator.  With almost 5000 people on the ship, this is a great perk! The Haven Restaurant served great food, and there never was a wait.  The Haven Staff was the best on the ship.  

I also ate in 3 Specialty Restaurants.  Cagney's Steakhouse had great steaks, but slow service.  The Cucina Restaurant was one of the worst Italian food restaurants I have ever been to.  I ordered spaghetti and sausage, which was not served with a red sauce, but instead an olive oil which did not have enough sauce.  The service was also very slow.  This was not worth the $15 per person up charge. The French Restaurant, Le Bistro, had great food and fast efficient, friendly service.  For an extra $10, we ordered a great lobster tail meal, which came with 2 tails.  The staff, including the management made great effort to make all dining experiences positive and memorable.  

Had a great time, food was great,internet service was awful and shore excursions booked thru Norwegian were not as good as the one booked thru . Entertainment on board was good tho Royal Carribean has them beat, pools are small but lots of waterslides, outdoor movies great

We loved our "floating hotel" in the Mediterranean!   Their is no way we could have made travel arrangements, hotel reservations, and organized sight-seeing in all those places on our own.  And to come back every evening to a warm welcome, fabulous food, entertainment, and a lovely room - what could be better?!  Service was top-notch too.

Very crowdy and loud experience in restaurants and Deck with poor and very unfriendly services. Good quality of food and beverages. You have to pay a lot of tax add by Account during cash procedur in shops. Not to recommend spend your vacation abboard this ship.

My impression is that this ship was built to offer/include great entertainment & food, but not so when planning the cabins.  They are extremely small compared to the size of the ship, and should definitely not be offered for 3 people in the cab in.  I've been on many cruises before, and if I go again, it will certainly be in a smaller ship with more comfortable cabins.

My impression is that this ship was built to offer/include great entertainment & food, but not so when planning the cabins.  They are extremely small compared to the size of the ship, and should definitely not be offered for 3 people in the cab in.  I've been on many cruises before, and if I go again, it will certainly be in a smaller ship with more comfortable cabins.

Carrying over 4000 passengers at full capacity, the Norweigian Epic is one of the largest ships at sea.  While that may sound impressive,  it presents a number of problems for both NCL and ALL THOSE PASSENGERS.  The ship boasts an impressive array of over 20 restaurants,  but most choose not to use them.  Instead,  passengers crowd the ship's two main dining rooms, leading to long lines and wait times.   Waiting to eat dinner night after night was not on my list of "musts" for a great vacation!   Nor was making a "reservation" to see one of the ship's "free" performances,  such as Blue Man Group.   Spaces fill quickly, and at every turn you will find yourself jockeying for a position on this ship.  We even had to reserve space on a tender to get to shore in Cannes.  And because we didn't get our name in the pot soon enough,  we wasted hours trying to get off the boat.

To NCL, I would simply say this:  If you are going to serve 4000 people, then SERVE them.   Don't make your guests scramble for a spot at every table and every show.  The entire experience was the absolute antithesis of what an enjoyable vacation should be! 

Loved how we were somewhere new everyday!

The ship seemed clean. We went with another couple whose room was literally right next door. My room never had pool towels, my bedside light was out and I mean completely hanging out of the wall -out, and other little things we didn't have/get that our friends did.  Rooms had plenty of space for clothes and toiletres.

Food was good and offered a great variety! We never had an issues with long lines except in the buffet areas but that's expected.  CON: Room service is terrible and so is the "free" water. I am a water drinker but it was horrible and found myself buying water off shore.

We watched the Circ(?) Show. It was the dinner show with circus type acts. Very entertaining but the food was no impressive. I'd expect better being a DINNER show.  Blue man group was good but we had seen the same show in Las Vegas four years ago.

 Excursions were ok, very touristy and very overpriced but they scare you into buying through them so you wont get left. Worst and most expensive day was Florence/Pisa. TERRIBLE guide, tour, and food!

We traveled from Barcelona and ended the cruise in Palma Mallorca.  All ports were great.  Going on board was very efficient as well as exiting with our luggage.  Well organized.

 Staff were very good, always pleasant and helpful.

Suites are way to small.  Rooms are Poorly designed.  Beds too short!  We are 5'8" and 6'2"

Too many people on board.  Buffet meals too crowded.  Band at poolside way too loud when you are trying to take in sun and relax.

Will not do another cruise on board this ship again (Norwegian Epic).

wi

I recommend this trip to everyone. A beautiful ship, fabulous food, great activities, the Mediterranean, and the cities of Europe make a lifetime of memories. I have no complaints, except I wish the bathroom, shower, and sink were not divided.

A great way to see Italy, Spain & France safely, and we feel it was a good value.  Overall the cruise was fine, with the exception of a few cons.  

Pros:  Great itinerary, decent food in complimentary dining room, clean ship, freestyle dining, entertainment

Cons:  Overcrowded public areas, push for gift shops/drinks/excursions, terrrible food & service in paid dining rooms, sold out show reservations, tendering process

Liked the freestyle dining option and found service acceptable.  Due to the port intensive itinerary the buffet was MOBBED at breakfast  (hint: get to buffet by 6-6:30 am; or order limited continental breakfast room service the night before).  Dinners in main dining rooms were enjoyable but the 2 paid dining options we chose were a waste of money with subpar food & service.  

Staff did a good job keeping the public areas picked-up and clean.  Hand sanitizing stations in front of every restaurant.  It rained on our At Sea day so the inside public areas were very crowded.  Good reason to spring for a balcony cabin!

Great free evening entertainment, esp. Blue Man.  However we found it difficult to book preferred showtimes as many were sold out.  Suggest prebooking what you can prior to embarkation.

Each port docking process was quick and easy with PA announcements.  But the tendering process was slow and ship staff was generally rude & nasty.  We had an 8:30am "reservation" but didn't actually get on the tender until almost 10:00am.  Suggest getting the 1st or 2nd possible reservation time as soon as you can.

As usual, overpriced drinks.  Suggest purchasing a discounted wine package (up to 25% off) as soon as you board...or bring your own wine and pay $15 corkage fee per bottle. We picked up local wine in each port and brought it to dinner.

This cruise had 2 embarkation/disembarkation ports - Rome & Barcelona.  The process was quick and efficient however this created some disruption in services on those two days.  Also, housekeeping cart and bag of dirty linens were outside our cabin door daily for hours.