Norwegian Epic Review

4.5 / 5.0
4,413 reviews

Caribbean in the Middle of Winter. What's not to like? A few things

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Epic
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mistertoaster
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jan 2017
Cabin: Courtyard Villa with Balcony

Embarkation

Nice stay at the Hampton Orlando Airport. Left for the port at 9 a.m. Drive was about 45 minutes. All was well until we got to the Alamo rental car drop. There were about 100 folks either waiting for the shuttle to the pier or attempting to rent a car after leaving last week's cruise. Two lines for the shuttle: Carnival and Disney/NCL. We were told no shuttles were leaving until 10:30 and it was only 10 a.m. However, at 10:10, the manager asked who was NCL. Almost everyone was Disney passengers except for us and one other couple. The NCL folks were told our van was waiting but Disney would have to wait. The Mouse does not control everything.

Off to the port. Traffic lines everywhere. We finally get to the entry gate. Headed quickly to the Epic, but then another line. We are told the port has only one place to drop off and pick up passengers. A lot of pick up passengers are still getting off the ship so it is chaos. It talks about an hour to get into the terminal. Boarding is delayed because someone left their passport in the Haven and a search is in process. Finally got on the ship. We got a tour of the Haven, but lunch is delayed. We are seated in the restaurant about 12:15, but our food is delayed until after 1p.m. because the kitchen is being inspected by Florida inspectors.

Cabin Review

Courtyard Villa with Balcony

We had a two bedroom Haven suite on deck 16. Plenty of room for two people. Suite was close to everything in the Haven. A few problems with the suite. Near the bathroom, there was an indentation in the floor that was covered over with carpet. It appeared to be a prior drain. The bed is very small. I am 5'7" and my feet were at the edge of the bed. The bathrooms were turned off one morning to fix an issue. No flushing for about 6 hours. Despite these issues, still a nice room, and, of course, all the benefits of the Haven make the stay very pleasant.

Port Reviews

Great Stirrup Cay

We rented a clam shell on NCL's private island. We were on this island last year and they have made progress on the island. Most notable was more chairs with better dispersion. The island felt a lot less crowded than our last visit.

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