We recently made our first transatlantic crossing from Barcelona to Miami on Norwegian Epic. It was a two-week cruise with port days in Madeira, St. Maarten and St. Thomas.
We flew to Barcelona the day before and stayed at H2O Port Vell which we understand is popular among cruise clients. The hotel was modern with spacious rooms and the staff was helpful. After a leisurely breakfast we took a taxi to the Epic.
There is no point in arriving too early before the start of check-in. It took about an hour for us Europeans. We took our luggage to the cabin without problems because we travelled light with only two small suitcases each. We used Epic’s effective laundry service.
The smallish inside cabin on deck 12 was functional with more storing space than you might expect. AC worked well. Minor problems (light and shower drain) were sorted out quickly. There could have been more light and the sink was a bit small. Wi-Fi Internet was expensive and the connection poor, not much better in public areas either.