Norwegian Epic Review

Perfect for a cruise to nowhere, but awful if you want to relax.

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Epic
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California Roadman
2-5 Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Dec 2014
Cabin: Family Balcony

This is a long review covering many aspects of this ship. We found the Epic to be annoying at almost every turn. But first off, let me explain that our perspective may be different than yours. We are not what I would guess to be your average cruise participants. A “cruise to nowhere” would be the last thing we would ever consider. If you cruise to gamble, drink at bars, “party”, dance, learn to dance, listen to jazzed up generic lounge music, try karaoke, sculpt your body, climb a rock wall, learn to fold a towel into animal shapes, attend art auctions, compete in a sports tournament, or play bingo or trivia, then your opinion of the Norwegian Epic may be entirely different than ours and you needn't read this review any further.

We are not “participants”. Our interest is in seeing the world while being able to relax with the comfort and convenience of a cruise ship where we can unpack once and visit many destinations without the hassle of flying. Our primary concerns are itinerary, price, sailing date, and, if we can find a one way cruise that takes us to a place we want to go while avoiding the additional expense of a airline ticket to get there, than that is an additional plus. We may attend a few shows, see a movie, and eat well, but while traveling at sea we mostly seek out quite places to relax. The Norwegian Epic is anything but quiet. In fact the background noise almost everywhere on this ship is ever present and so incessant it becomes oppressive... even painful if you find you have to walk through one of the locations where some hawker on a PA system is selling Chinese herbal medicine or whatever. Even the library is not quiet... if you can find it. The library is not listed on the ship's maps. It's an open alcove on a deck where the din from the casino and the hawkers drones on in the background.

There are three complimentary table service restaurants. The Manhattan Room is nice and similar to what we have come to expect from five previous cruising experiences. O'Sheehan's is also nice but with a pub like atmosphere it can be a bit noisy. But that's OK since that is clearly how this venue is advertised. Then you have “Taste” which is for more casual dining than the Manhattan Room. It has a similar un-themed open restaurant style. However, the center of this dining room has a hole in the ceiling that is wide open to the two decks above where the casino and shopping promotion noise clamors down to your table. I can't imagine that even the gamblers on board would want to listen to casino clatter while eating. Maybe the ships designers felt that such sounds would entice those with gambling inclinations and thereby encourage then to return to gaming as soon as they are finished eating. We found the noise in Taste to be intolerable.

Cabin Review

Family Balcony

Cabin B3

We could adjust to the small clearances in our balcony stateroom, but there were no dresser-like drawers where we could place our clothes and other items… only open shelves or cabinets with bins. Overall, our cabin was inadequately illuminated, particularly with regard to the light above the sink which was way too dim to put on make-up or shave with confidence. The sink itself was quart sized. I can only assume that it is intentionally small by design to discourage passengers from doing some of their own laundry... thereby encouraging them to pay for laundry services. The safe was too small to accommodate a 10 inch tablet much less an SLR camera. The only two power outlets were on the opposite side of our cabin from the bed. We have learned to travel with extension cords, but with this cabin's set-up we had power cords laying across the floor as a tripping hazard when we wanted to power our laptops and use them while sitting on the bed... which I would also assume is yet another personally preferred personal activity which the designers of this ship wanted to discourage since that would leave us isolated in our cabin and not participating in activities and spending money.

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