Norwegian Epic Review

4.5 / 5.0
4,413 reviews

Great ports, horrible room layout

Review for the Western Mediterranean Cruise on Norwegian Epic
User Avatar
FloydFF
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Jun 2018
Cabin: Inside

We chose this ship and the route because it hit some of the ports that we wanted to see, and we wanted to begin and end in Barcelona to stay after the cruise was over. While we liked the ports, we will never sail on this ship again. We go on numerous cruises, on numerous ships, but our room on this ship was the worst one ever. Who was the idiot that dreamed up a sliding glass door for the toilet? Absolutely no privacy! Then, they placed the sink in a little cramped area with poor lighting. Actually, our entire room had poor lighting. The ship was too big, in our opinion. I think there are 18 floors, but I only saw the 18th floor “quiet area” one day and that day was windy and rainy. Fortunately, someone who started at Rome warned me on the first day to go on the ship’s phone app and reserve a spot on the tenders in Cannes. Otherwise, we would have not gotten off in time for our excursion. Speaking of their App, it is bad. I even asked at the front desk, but there is no where to see the items that you have booked. The ship is full of things that you have to reserve space for, such as the main theatre, which is bad. Many times, the App and their screens would show the event “sold out”, when A LOT of seats were still available since people booked everything they could and then did not show up. The dining room meals were “ok”. The Irish Sports bar/restaurant had some decent dishes. And, the free oriental place was fine. Although, they tried to tell us that there where probably no seats available that night, until I insisted that we were going to wait and then she immediately sat us and we saw numerous empty tables. The drinks are ridiculously expensive; especially since they add 20% tip AND 10% VAT tax. So, a can of soda was about $4.50 and a basic drink was $13.00. If you got a $35 bottle of wine, that ended up over $45. The elevators were often jammed, or would skip your floor. There are just not enough elevators for that many people. Many of the areas were not very clean. It is not a “beautiful” ship. However, the Cirque show was excellent (even if the food there was mediocre, with no choices)! They would not let you bring soda, or even a bottle of water, on the ship. If you get suckered into buying a bottle of wine at the duty free store just outside of the ship, they will charge you $15/bottle to bring it aboard if you plan on drinking it. The hot tubs, that were made for 4, often had 8 people crammed into them. We’ve already got 3 more cruises booked for this year, but we won’t be on the Epic ever again.

Cabin Review

Inside

Cabin IF

Horrible room layout! Poor room lighting. I will say that the room was fairly quiet, unless someone was in the bathroom. But, no excuse for not putting a normal door on a toilet area. Smaller room than on most ships.

Port Reviews

Barcelona

Las Ramblas is an interesting street near dark to walk.

Barcelona

We used the HOHO bus for 2 days to see many parts of the City. At $120 for 3 people, you may be better off hiring a taxi.

5 Helpful Votes
previous reviewnext review

Find a Norwegian Epic Cruise from $299

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.