Norwegian Epic Review
Rating by category
Additional details
My husband and I (mid-30s in age), along with two friends (also mid-30s) sailed the Epic in January 2015. DH and I had sailed the Epic in 2013 and decided, with the ship moving to Europe full time, we wanted to sail once more before it left. We were on board January 18-25, 2015. This was my 8th cruise, DH's 4th and our friends' first.
We were concerned about how much wear and tear the ship would have seen, given it's 5-year age and that it doesn't go into dry dock until later this year. However, we had no reason to be concerned. The Epic was in really great shape! Sure, there's some wear and tear (a few missing pool tiles, rust spots on our balcony, a few broken deck chairs or ones that were faded, but you could still sit in them just fine), but overall, the crew on the Epic do a wonderful job of taking care of her. People seem to say they have a hard time feeling a connection to the sea while sailing the Epic. That's not the case for us, and helps that we get a balcony stateroom. I could see that being the case if you're in an inside room, though.
Embarkation: We arrived at the port around noon and were on board and dropping off luggage in our already-ready room at 12:45. Embarkation was a breeze.
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Balcony
Cabin 11178 was pretty much dead-on mid-ship. The bed is by the balcony in this cabin, and the cabin is in a quiet location. A service area door is directly across the hall, but was not noisy. The only time we heard much was on embarkation day when luggage was being delivered. Since there are no elevators or stairs mid-ship, we were prepared for a hike forward or aft. In the end, neither were a long walk away (we only used the stairs, no elevators).We were concerned about wear and tear on the ship since we last sailed in 2013, but the room was very well kept, carpet was in a good shape, and the furniture all looked good. Some rust spots on the balcony, but no big deal.