Norwegian Epic Review

4.5 / 5.0
4,413 reviews

10-Nights - didn't get stir crazy!

Review for the Southern Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Epic
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5unshine365
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2018
Cabin: Spa Suite

NCL was having a special - (cabin prices dropping and extra perks) - so why not book? I was apprehensive about booking 10 - nights ... kept thinking to myself - I would get board and could not stand being on the ship a second longer! HOWEVER, to my surprise the 10-nights flew by and soon I had to get back to reality aka - work.

EMBARKMENT: absolutely sucked! Apparently there was an undisclosed issue at the port that delayed arriving port passengers from to go through security and board the ship. Funny thing is - while standing in line over three hours outside of the pier just to pass through security - everyone was in good spirits.

THE CABIN: I booked a Haven Spa Suite (early Christmas present for myself). My cabin, the service (Mohammed - butler and Johnitto - cabin steward) lived up the Haven name - BUT, as the only person in the cabin I even found it a bit tight for me. Nice comfy round mattress and spa tub in the room (AWESOME) - BUT, they just took up way too much space. If you wanted to relax in your cabin, you had to sit on the bed. For the money spent on a suite, a Haven Suite - there really should be a separate seating area.

Cabin Review

Spa Suite

Cabin H9

I booked a Haven Spa Suite (early Christmas present for myself). My cabin, the service (Mohammed - butler and Johnitto - cabin steward) lived up the Haven name - BUT, as the only person in the cabin I even found it a bit tight for me. Nice comfy round mattress and spa tub in the room (AWESOME) - BUT, they just took up way too much space. If you wanted to relax in your cabin, you had to sit on the bed - just did not seem right?!? For the money spent on a Haven Suite - there really should be a separate seating area.

Port Reviews

Harvest Caye

I was a bit unprepared for this excursion. I guess I missed the part of the description where it said to wear long pants and sleeves and good walking shoes. I wore two out of three - glad I wore sneakers (I'll tell you why in a minute).

The high-speed 30 minute boat ride through mangrove trees from the pier to Monkey River - was great. Then we got to the mouth of the Monkey River and slowly made our way several miles (not sure of the distance) upriver. Our tour guide and his boat operator - pointed out wild life, vegetation while sharing personal and historical insights of Monkey River.

Then we stopped (this is part of the excursion I missed/didn't read - and why one really needed to wear long pants, shirt and very good walking shoes). Apparently, part of this excursion involved trekking through the jungle/rain forest. On this day - we were very very lucky as temperatures were in the 70s and no mosquitoes (when we started). We met up with two other tours - everyone heading about 1/2 mile into the jungle searching for howler monkeys. BTW, I forgot to mention as we made our way towards the howler monkeys - the ground was muddy, and we were advised against from reaching out/grabbing any hanging vegetation as it could have spikes (hence the need to for the long sleeves and pants).

Slowly we made our way into a clearing where we were able to see the howler monkeys in the tree tops. Once we got there - guides were assisting all tourists - not just the ones in their tour group - but everyone who looked like they needed assistance (MUCH APPRECIATED). We weren't at the clearing very long when we noticed that temperatures started to rise and the mosquitoes and other flying biting critters started to return (glad I used bug spray - some did not and paid the price!) As we headed back to our river boat - it seemed like the ground got muddier? Maybe - maybe not? In any event - glad I wore sneakers and not flip flops as I saw on other tourists.

As we made our way back through the jungle, you could feel the temperature rising (good thing we were at the end of this part of the tour). We boarded the boat and quickly made our way towards the pier. We stopped in a small village where folks could buy trinkets, drinks, food and use the restroom. I spent my time cleaning my sneakers as the caked with mud.

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