Norwegian Epic Cruise Reviews - Reviews

We did not like the cabin with balcony we have received, cabin #12001, because the view of this cabin is very limited and just in front of a camera. Also the design of the cabin is not so good considering the bed is attached to the w.c.

As a general comment, we do not like that on board there is a too huge waste of food and nothing is done to prevent it or to remind passengers as this is usually done for instance for water and towels.

Also servants take away dishes full of food too fast to be added to trash: this happened at the buffet every time we did not pay attention or left our table to pick up something.

Also at the main restaurant. For instance every table received a full basket of bread, 5-6 peaces of bread. People generally do not consume more then 1 peace, the rest was thrown away. On some other cruise liners bread is offered and passengers choose just what they consume.

We appreciate more this second time with Norwegian freestyle; because was easier to eat on time; pratically no waiting time and when we had; we appreciate the champagne glass offer to compensate...and we were waiting less than what they said...So was great!!!

We were welcomed on board and got  a good enjoyable embarkation.  The first thing was that our room key would not work and we had to go guest services to replace them. We thought there was too many paid restaurants compared to the complimentary ones and that the variety wasn't enough.  The cabin was small compared to other cruise lines and my feet stuck out over the end of the bed and I am only 5'11" tall.  For the most part we had a great cruise with these few things to complain about.

Loved this ship.  Even with over 4000 guests it did not seem crowded.  Our cabin an upgrade to mini suite was fantastic, I use a scooter on occasion and it fit nicely in the cabin.  The balcony was grand and we spent a lot of time there, we had breckfast each morning in the sun.

We also took the specialty restaurants, no waiting in line, food was fantastic, staff attendive and always friendly.

Pools on midship were very nice but the one for adults was very small and there was no shade for the lounges.

Spa was beautiful everyone was friendly.

We did not partake on any of the entertaiment that cost between $39 & $40pp we did see the Legends, but for Elvis who was great, since when is Katey Perry and Steve Tyler was just loud screaming Legends??? Was not happy to sit thru that.

We have cruise over 90 some times and found this ship as nice as I remember the Norway was.

We had a group of 15.   We had a good time however can't help feeling let down on my expectations of the ship.   Ship is large and beautiful however I felt disappointed the pool area had a lot of wasted space.   If hanging by pool, band always had back to you.  Only two small sections to get in pool itself.  The pool deck part had squirting fountains and sprays.  Inside the pool deck was large but could have used water in it so others could sit in the water instead of edge of the pool and pool swimming sections could have been larger.  Wasted space!   Rooms are smaller than expected.  We had a balcony which had plenty of room but inside it Was difficult getting by another person sharing the room.  I couldn't imagine having 3 or 4 people in same room.   Bathroom shower design was terrible.  No private area.  Only separation was a glass frosted door that closed when you walked into the toilet or the separate shower.   Lacked privacy, not to mention hearing every sound of your roommate using toilet!   No separate enclosed bathroom.  The couple of shows were ok.  Blue man group was great.  Legend was ok.   Saving grace was Steven Tylor!   He was amazing.   Katy perry???   Why was she a legend??   She was terrible!!    There wasn't any "adult" pool games just the nickelodeon games with kids.   Many of the areas on the ship were very small and hard to get into for ex. The bliss dance loung,  dueling pianos, shows, etc.

I didn't like that you needed to get a reservation to go to the shows.   Sometimes they were sold out so you couldn't go to the show.    They didn't have the typical ship singers and dancers and the large theatre to.see the shows.    The food was just ok.   Specialty dining food was very good but I hate the nickel and dimming to do anything on board.   Bowling you had to pay $5/pp per game,  the ice bar was $20/pp.   

dont get me wrong,  there were some highlights if the ship.   The water slides were great.   We had an amazing pool bar server, Jonathan and a bartender Jon that were great to us all week.   

Would i be in a hurry to go back on the Epic.   No I don't believe any of the 15 of us would.   Since the epic is one of the 3 newest ships, I'm very hesitant to try the breakaway or getaway.    Many of us have cruised for many years.   We've been on NCL in the past and we were ver disappointed in this ship for one if the newest.    

Poor layout in studio rooms. You get a Stiff neck trying to watch a tv that is mounting to the left of the bed and does not swing out for viewing. Food & service below that of Royal Caribbean, Princess, Holland American and even Carnival.

  Had to make reservations for the 3 shows that they did have and that made for long lines.

Too many water slides for kids and no large pool for adults. Small adult pool in rear inadequate.

Scammed us about using our On board credit by telling us before trip we could use it for tips, then not allowing it onboard.

  There is almost NO sharing tables onboard. Waited 20 minutes and never got a share group going. Mostly tables for 4 .  They didn't even do sharing tables at breakfast or lunch in the dining room.

  To its credit it was a pretty ship but all the rest made me decide to once again avoid Norwegian. It had been over 10 years since I was on Norwegian and now I remember why.  I do not like ANYTIME dining. I like to share at breakfast & lunch and then sit at the same table for dinner to compare the days activities. 

Overall, the cruise was very good.  Our bed in our stateroom was not good but I put up with it, and didn't mentioned it to the cabin steward until five days into the cruise. The bed felt like a Sofa Bed. I could feel the metal springs on my lower back.  Check stateroom 8205, so the next occupants don't have the same problem.  That was my fault for letting it go for so long.

The shows were good but I wouldn't rate them as excellent.  I enjoyed more The Crew Staff show.  Those young people tried very hard to please us and it showed.  There were not enough shows as part of the fees paid. You would have to pay for other shows and restaurant dining.  There shouldn't be those extra shows and dining as separate fees.  I guess that was set up for the higher income folks. I couldn't compete with the Joneses.

The ship was great, and the staff was also great. Wherever we went, the crew was courteous and very helpful.  They made the difference.

The only complaint I have is with the people going to the pool area very early in the morning, placing their towels in the linge chairs and not be in the pool area for most of the day, and other folks like us (seniors) only were able to enjoy the aft (rear) pool for an hour once.  We could have played the game since we were awake before six in the morning,but didn't, in consideration of families with kids..

I took the excursion /tours survey but it didn't have the opportunity to make comments about Ocho Rios and Costa Maya.

Ocho Rios only have the Garden which was very nice and worth going, the rest of the tour was just a ride around a very poor town.

The Costa Maya stop did not offer anything for seniors, just geared towards the younger crowd, therefore, we just walked aroung the stores which we were very pricey. Conzumel was very reasonable and did most of my shopping.  I also shopped at the ship's stores.

At Conzumel, we took the Passion Island tour which we enjoyed, but we did not have the chance to shop much on our return.

I would still go on another cruise with Norwegian lines, but I wouldn't recommend this cruise to the Western Caribean.

Norweigan Free style dining is exactly what we like and the entertainment on this cruise also added to our experience. Our room ( a mini suite) was adequate and the location next to the elevators was an added bonus, I found the staff and the other passengers very friendly but must admit I am not one for the greetings at the garden cafe....A bit too vocal for my liking ..would suggest the lady welcoming committee become a walmart greeter. washie washie

The only real negative was the fact the casino was smokey and it had to be passed to get to the main dining room...All in all a good experience and again Norweigen is top of the line value in my book. Hope to try another ship and another location next year with Norweigen.

My husband and I enjoyed our experience aboard the Norwegian Epic. He wanted to see the Blue Man show and I wanted to go to the Ice Bar and the Aqua Park. The ship had some good entertainment, that was free and some that you had to pay for. Cirque Dreams was a great show but the food was terrible. I have been on dozens of cruises and I would have to say that NCL is not one of my favorites but it is also not one of the worst lines. I do not like the "free style". NCL claims you eat when you want but that is not true. Every night we went to eat between 8-9pm and every night we had to wait and were given a vibrating buzzer, to let us know when a table would be available. The longest wait we had was 45 minutes.

We took The Epic because the balcony was only $569.00 pp. It was a price we could not ignore. We had fun beacsue we made our own fun.

Food was standard, not bad but not extraordinary. Not different themes throughout the week. Entretainment ok - you need to get used to the idea that you have to make reservations for the most important shows. Cabin was terrible: two people cannot stand together at the same time without bumping into each other. The sink is in the main cabin!! No proper lighting, and small closets. Claustrophobic. The ship itself, very big and state of the art in some respects, was not impressive in any way from the point of view of luxury details - just plain decorations. On the other hand, despite the huge crowds, there were no significant waiting lines. Gym was well equipped and large.

Three weeks ago I went onn a Carnival Cruise with some friends of mine and it was not my first Carnival Cruise and may have been my last. I felt I went from Macdonalds to Outback Steak House. I have cruised NCL a lot back in the nineties but things have changed a lot. Everything about the Epic was really great especially the crew. Will go again soon

This ship is one of the most beautiful ships I've been on! Everything is so spacious and pretty, you never get tired of looking at the sights. The entertainment was top notch, with the Blue Man Group and the Comedic/Magician among others. The food in the main dining rooms was very good, good service, and the servers were exceptional. (if you eat in Taste, ask for Ashton; what a doll)  The specialty resturants were Ex-Cell-Ent!!  The Garden Cafe/Buffet was great! Hardly ever a line to wait on,as there are so many different stations. (if u see a line, walk further, there's always some place with no waiting).  Never saw so many Omelot stations on a ship, and they were fast and on the money, with personality to boot!  The casino was large, and the machines were hitting pretty well.  All the help, servers, waiters, bartenders were friendly and made u really enjoy your time with them!  I do have 2 'cons', and that's why only a 4 star rating.  Our balcony cabin was very pretty, so much drawer and closet space, but I think it could use some better lighting!  The bathroom flushing was the loudest I've ever enountered, and during the night, u really couldn't flush without waking everyone up!  Other than this, we enjoyed our trip immensely!!  The pools look small, but we never really encountered a problem. Music on deck was pretty cool as well. I would definitely go back on the Epic, even with the slight drawbacks.

I was very disappointed by the service accross the ship.  It appeared that the entire ship had been staffed with new people with no training. Many of the service personnel that we talked with said that this was their first cruise.  The management of NCL should be held accountable for this poor condition.  The quality of the food at all of the dinning locations was less than expected.  I have cruised before on NCL and Royal Carribean and this was a true disappointment.  The ship should be parked until the NCL management can get everyone trained and up to an acceptable standard.

Boarding the cruise ship was an easy experience in the cabin for disabled person was excellent except for one thing, this sink for washing was so small and the arm of the Fossett over it was so long that one could not get more than 2 inches of water in the sink and found it strange experience to try to shave.

The main dining room was very good, and the standard of food was quite high. But the service was extremely slow as the waiters had too many tables just deal with. I spent an hour and a half for my starter and main course, and after half an hour's wait I gave up waiting for ice cream and tea.

There was no problem with the buffet, the array of food was excellent and the staff were very helpful. But as the above 4000 people on board it was difficult to find a table, especially as I was disabled, and people did not respect to disability sections.

The entertainment was a disappointment in the main theater, and there were only three shows repeated. The other two venues you had to pay for, which I never experienced before I've cruised over 44 cruises.

Getting lost at ports was very well-managed and there was no problem at all and disembarkation was also very good and I cannot fault. I have traveled on the NCL line many times and I'm a gold member and this is the first time that the attitude of those in charge has made me reconsider ever traveling with this line again.

I have booked another cruise for 14 days this year and in January 2015 I have booked a world cruise with Cunard. I hope that they are not doing the same cost-cutting measures.

This was a first time cruise for my cruise mate. This was my fifth cruise and the third on Norwegian. I am 68. This was the best cruise I have been on. I realized there was a fair ammount of criticism of this ship, but I am happy to report that most of the complaints were really small patatoes. This truely is the entertainment ship. There is something for everyone. Cirque du Solait is not to be missed. We went to Howling at the Moon which is the duel pianos bar on three different nights. They are a blast. Blue Man Group was OK, but I had seen them before. Good Blues club, but a little loud. There is lots of additional entertainment all over the ship. The Epic far surpasses the typical cruise entertainment venue which I always thought as a little lame.

The food was absolutly great, and I'm a little bit of a foodie. We did three up charge resturants and enjoyed every one of them. We thought the French was the best. Loved the service and choices in the Manhatten room. You would be just fine eating there all week. The buffet for breakfast was very well done with every choice you could imagine. Loved the Lox with Eggs Benedict. 

We had a balcony room on the 11th deck closer to the stern, catagory BA. It was very nice. I actually thought the barthroom layout was an improvement. The space is a little cramped, but adequate and we loved the bed. We really enjoyed the balcony which has total privacy. There is nothing better than a Caribian sunset from your balcony 150 feet from the water. 

We were concerned with the size of the crowds, but we never really felt crowded. The sun deck on 15 gets very busy, but that is part of the fun. Pools are small, but that's the case on all ships.  The elevators were crowded at times, but you would expect that. A tip...go to the bow of the boat and make your way to the 18th deck. This is a quiet zone with very comfy lounges and an amazing view. Not many people were aware of this. 

The ports were OK, but you never really see much of each one. Cozomel was the best. We did our own thing and went to a Beach club which included snorkeling for $25 per person. Got a half hour massage in Costa Mayo for $20 plus tip. 

My first time cruise mate was very apprehensive about a lot of things, especially sea sickness. I can say that we never felt the ship move the entire week. Its size and stabilizers really keep it calm. She loved the entire experience. 

if there is a negative, it's being forced to walk through the casino to get to destinations. We don't gamble but this was a minor annoyance. 

Last point is the staff. They were representing over 40 countries with the majority, I would guess, from the Phillipines. They were great. Very pleasant, accommodating and looked to be having fun.

The Norwegian Epic is hard to beat for value, entertainment and fun. 

We had à good time, but would have liked a more traditional  cruise NOT FREESTYLE. Dressing up at night is fun casual dress not always jeans, tee shirts .

We went on an excursion in Costa Maya 89$ each but thought it was expensive for what we saw. The snack was special and we enjoyed that. It was the best part of the day..

For sure will not go back to Ocho Rios very expensive and the taxi drivers see you coming.

Cozumel was very nice. We had a very nice visit of a museum . Very interesting we enjoyed it a lot.

we had wonderful service on the ship  and the meals were very good.

Bathoom arrangement unacceptable; too many extra chgs; only 2 main evening shows; shorts & tshirts at dinner?; nothing elegant or grand on the Epic;lots of evidence that there is no deep cleaning; there should be no corking chg to take wine to stateroom;no trivia on at sea days? staff quite bored while conducting activities; now realize how spoiled we are by RCI & Celebrity;  FREESTLE IS NOT OUR STYLE!

I went to the cruise and in the middle of this vacation I've suffered a stroke. I flew to mexico to get medical attention and 24 hours latter I came back to the Hospital in Florida. After that I haven't received a call with this issue, called to Norwegian to see if I could get a refund but they told me that I had to do this thru the sales agency... Called the sales agency and was on hold for 4 hours; never spoke with a person. I've sent a lleter to this company to see what they can do in my case; I'm an 80 year old male.

Pros- Big ship with many things to do and all the old standards.  The ship is clean and well kept by a responsive housekeeping staff.  No waiting in the buffet line.  Sit down meals are best in the specialty restaurants.  Main diningroom uses the same menu daily with changes to the specials.  Rooms had more than adequate storage.  Leaving the ship was smoothly and efficiently.

Cons- Too many people on the ship, at the venues, in the casino, on the decks, at the activities, etc.  Especially vexing were the elevators- long waits for people who could not climb the stairs and crowded once they stopped at a floor.  This is a problem that is structural and will not be solved by anyones comments.

The ports of call for this voyage were dismall but the ship will reposition in Europe and have better destinations there.

Bon Voyage- Pat

Terrible food in restaurants. Fair at buffet with exception that breakfast was good.

Shows were good. Everything very crowded and not enough deck chairs. On two days we could not find a chair to use.