Norwegian Epic Review
Good but lots of overpricing within their packages/tours makes it feel pricey
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this through Diamond Resorts (Timeshare). We have previously cruised with P&O a few times.
We found the entertainment about the best we've seen onboard and, whilst still very good, we found things not as good as our experience with P&O. Food good, but not as good as we've had, quality of service/waiting staff again not as good as we've known but it wasn't bad. The pricing for alcohol on this cruise is astronomical but you are offered a package that 'saves you money'. We spent about £700 for 2 adults to have unlimited sodas, wine by the glass and 330ml bottled beer for our 7 day cruise, it would have cost us half this on our other cruises ($9 for a glass of wine explains why!). We couldn't take food/drink on board so we are always forced to use their packages. Don't get me wrong it was a great cruise but it always felt like we had an opportunity to burn money at astronomical levels, something we'd not experienced on other cruises. The excursion to Rome cost the same as a 3 day city break found online easily enough - with pricing like that we chose to stay on board and enjoy some of the benefits of being on board...we'll stroll through Rome later in the year, stay there longer and have a much better experience that being hauled through such a unique place at blistering pace! I know most cruises take the mickey on their excursion prices but the pricing on this cruise we did find pretty OTT. The poor rating was entirely for pricing.
Would I consider NCL again? Only if it included their Ultimate Drinks Package, which I gather Brits are now being offered as standard. We want to pay up front for a cruise, not find on board that there are several 'pay more' options to actually get what you'd expected all along.
Cabin Review
Inside
Not sure about the correct Cabin Category but it was inside and forward.
A decent enough size, comfy bed, shower and toilet all good. The TV channels were rubbish compared to P&O and offered no UK news (BBC World News is about other parts of the world, not the UK, so we felt we could hae been better informed about home.
Our cabin was made up and maintained really well and we loved the towel animals each evening. First time in an inside cabin - pitch black so we could sleep really well and the room was lovely and cool whilst it was 40 degrees outside. We'd consider an inside cabin again where scenery isn't going to be a highlight for the cruise (why pay to look at just the grey sea or a freight terminal? But definitely get one for a Scandanavian Cruise etc!)
All standard fittings. No fridge or kettle in our cabin but outside ones did. US/Euro plugs x2 were available to keep cameras/phones always charged up. We were happy with it.
Port Reviews
Cannes
We just took the tender to get ashore and walked around Cannes. That was fine for us.