Norwegian Epic Review
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Norwegian Epic, the largest of the Norwegian Fleet with the most solo cabins on the high seas. The darkest ship in the Norwegian Fleet. I chose this cruise because I was traveling solo, and the studio cabins made this a great price for an 11 day cruise. (I actually did 21 days, as I stayed on board for the 1/23/2019 cruise as well). I sometimes didn't see the ocean for more than a day. Getting outside, other than on the pool deck was not an easy endeavor on this ship. I am accustomed to walking around the ship on deck 7 of most Norwegian ships, but this was not possible on the Epic. There was a back and forth jogging trail. The view was blocked by the lifeboats for almost the entire length.
The crew was amazing. They were polite, helpful, and fun to be with. The structure of the ship however was not healthy. The central casino was impossible to avoid, and was always full of second hand smoke. The worst part was that in order to get to the TASTE restaurant from an aft cabin, one had to travel to deck six, then walk half the ship to an escalator to go down to the dining room. I am an asthmatic with VERY controlled asthma. I have over 200 nights aboard ships; and have never before had a problem. I got so sick that I had to spend much time in the medical center. Which is a very costly service. They could open my lungs with treatments, but then I was just letting more smoke in. I spent my last 8 days very ill, and unable to do much due to the smoke on board. The medical treatment onboard was also somewhat dated, and they did not understand about smoke; but one cannot expect them to have top notch pulmonologists.
The studio cabins are 99 square feet. Interior cabin, Toilet compartments are small, especially if you have knee issues. The direction your cabin is oriented matters. The shower is fine as far as I was concerned, except dropping soap is hard to retrieve within the space allotment. I worry about the quality of the recycled air. And another concern is the presence of service dogs in rooms. If a dog has been living in a room for ten days, it will take 6 months of excellent cleaning to remove all of the dander. This means if the next occupant, or the sixth next occupant is allergic to dogs. Too bad for him. There is no way to know if this has happened in your room.
Cabin Review
Studio
Small but usable. Room for all of your possessions. The sliding closet doors are sometimes missing, you can ask to have them replaced, some people prefer not to have them. The television is a little too big for the space. The bed is also too big. (They are smaller on the Bliss). You have two twin beds put together, (so yes, there is a crack to avoid). It leaves very little walking room. if you use a cane, and / or if you are a larger person, there is very little maneuverability. A smaller bed would make this not a problem. I hope NCL considers this when they need to replace beds. If you only sleep and bathe in your room, the studio is perfect. Plus you have access to the studio lounge. This is a very nice space with an evening bartender and a coffee machine, there is continental breakfast each morning, and cookies during the remainder of the day. Solo cruiser meetings each evening at 5. The studio lounge is definitely a benefit to a studio room.
Port Reviews
Great Stirrup Cay
Nice beach but we had rainy weather
Harvest Caye
The pool was fun, the beach was less enjoyable than many. A drop off that made getting in and out of the water difficult, the water was quite shallow for a long distance. The food was good, but pricey. The pier is very long. Thank goodness for the golf carts.
Roatan
We delivered school supplies for the children on this Island.