Norwegian Epic Review
Most enjoyable cruise from a Disney loving couple
Rating by category
Additional details
Some background: My husband and I are in our late 20’s/early 30’s. We have been on 5 Disney Cruises sailing on each of their ships at least once and 1 cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Majesty of the Seas. Disney is the line that we took our first cruise on. We also got engaged, married, and took our honeymoon all on Disney cruises. It is safe to say that Disney cruises hold a very special place for us because along with many memories, Disney cruises excel in almost all areas that are important for us. For this reason, I will mostly be comparing what we experienced on the Norwegian Epic to DCL. We were shocked that this Norwegian cruise met Disney standards in many areas and even, dare I say because I feel like Walt himself is turning in his grave, exceeded what we have come to expect on a Disney Cruise. Of course, there were things that we did not love about this Norwegian Cruise, which I will get to. We also sailed with my mother and father-in-law who have been on the Norwegian Jade plus close to 50 Disney cruises (you can see who we got it from). Also, our trip was booked through a timeshare and for this reason, we did not have any “free at sea” offers and we also were unable to book our rooms close to each other.
Boarding: We had a boarding time of 11:30 – noon. The longest wait that we experienced during the entire process was waiting in the line of cars to get into the parking garage. After that, the process was absolutely seamless. From the time that we got out of the car to the time that we walked onto the ship was about 20-25 minutes. I do have to make a note that part of what I love about DCL cruises is that, on each of their ships, you enter directly into the atrium with a beautiful chandelier, grand staircase, and statue of the ship’s mascot. It seems that on all other ships, you enter onto the deck and then your first introduction to the ship is a view of the elevators which is not nearly as grand of an entrance.
Room: My husband and I and his parents booked 2 standard inside cabins. Their room was on deck 14 forward and ours on deck 13 midship. My in-laws room was located between the 2 sets of staircases and we were concerned that the room would be loud, however they reported that their room was nice and quiet. We were very pleased with our room. I thought that the size was perfect for the 2 of us. We felt spoiled coming from the Majesty of the Seas where the room was so small that you could not get off of both sides of the bed and my husband would have the crawl over me if he needed to get out in the middle of the night. The bathroom was a little strange and I would not want to sail in that room with anyone except for my husband, but it made no difference since it was just the two of us. It was nice that the different floor plan provided for, it seems, a slightly bigger shower than we have seen on other cruise ships although the round tub/shower on DCL is still my favorite. I was really impressed by the bed. It was nice and firm and very comfortable. We could hardly even tell that the bed was 2 twins pushed together. The pillows were full and soft. I do wish that the comforter was a little thicker or that they provided an extra blanket. I was disappointed with the TV. We do not spend much time in our room during cruises, but we do enjoy watching a movie before bed and there was very little to choose from. The TV was also so high that you could not see the screen well when lying on the bed. Our room steward, Bernard, was awesome. One day we slept in until 11am and I thought that we wouldn’t have our room attended to until that night, but less than 2 hours later, it was spotless! Whenever he spotted us in the hallway he always greeted us by name. In fact, we never passed one stateroom host without a smile and greeting.
Cabin Review
Mid-Ship Inside
My husband and I and his parents booked 2 standard inside cabins. Their room was on deck 14 forward and ours on deck 13 midship. My in-laws room was located between the 2 sets of staircases and we were concerned that the room would be loud, however they reported that their room was nice and quiet. We were very pleased with our room. I thought that the size was perfect for the 2 of us. We felt spoiled coming from the Majesty of the Seas where the room was so small that you could not get off of both sides of the bed and my husband would have the crawl over me if he needed to get out in the middle of the night. The bathroom was a little strange and I would not want to sail in that room with anyone except for my husband, but it made no difference since it was just the two of us. It was nice that the different floor plan provided for, it seems, a slightly bigger shower than we have seen on other cruise ships although the round tub/shower on DCL is still my favorite. I was really impressed by the bed. It was nice and firm and very comfortable. We could hardly even tell that the bed was 2 twins pushed together. The pillows were full and soft. I do wish that the comforter was a little thicker or that they provided an extra blanket. I was disappointed with the TV. We do not spend much time in our room during cruises, but we do enjoy watching a movie before bed and there was very little to choose from. The TV was also so high that you could not see the screen well when lying on the bed. Our room steward, Bernard, was awesome. One day we slept in until 11am and I thought that we wouldn’t have our room attended to until that night, but less than 2 hours later, it was spotless! Whenever he spotted us in the hallway he always greeted us by name. In fact, we never passed one stateroom host without a smile and greeting.
Port Reviews
Tortola
Getting onto the island was a breeze. Literally just walked straight off. We strolled around and explored the shops which were not too interesting. We found a martini cigar bar at the end of the small shopping area on the right called Aromas. We spent a pleasant few hours relaxing here and enjoyed using the free internet to check in on our puppies back home. My husband ordered a few beers and a cigar and I had 2 dessert martinis. I was happy to find this place because when I went to order a dessert martini on the ship, they were $18! The martinis here were a reasonable $10. From there we tried to find a book store, but were unsuccessful. Our exploration did lead to us stumbling upon an area with a great view of the ship. To get there you can just walk to the left once you get off of the boat and through the parking lot until you get to a rocky beach area.
Great Stirrup Cay
This is Norwegians private island and does require passengers to tender. We realized on the 3rd day of the cruise that you have to make a tender reservation if you want to get off of the boat early. This was done easily by call the box office on the stateroom phone. I have never made a tender reservation before and was surprised that you are assigned a letter and not a time. Due to this, we did not know when we would be getting off of the ship and had to pay attention to the announcements. The tendering took longer that I expected however this was mostly due to rough seas which is obviously outside of the cruise line’s control. The process was very organized which I appreciated. There was no pushing and shoving with people skipping in line and not knowing where to go. We hung out in the atrium and waiting until our letter was called before heading to the theater. From there they released us row by row to board the tender. The island was beautiful and we were thoroughly impressed. We have been to two other private islands including Disney’s Castaway Cay and Royal Caribbean’s Cocoa Cay and if we had to choose where to spend a day, I think I would pick Great Stirrup Cay. The island was well laid out. My mother in law walks with a cane and she had no difficulty navigating the island. Cocoa Cay on the other hand was underdeveloped with lots of unmarked dirt paths. We were impressed with the availability of chairs and plenty in the shade. I loved that on the bridge that takes you to the cabanas (which looked amazing), there is a nice view of the ship. My husband and I went for a short swim. The water was cold, but enjoyable once we got in. I was glad that I brought my swim socks which have thin rubber soles as some of the beach area was a bit rocky. The island buffet was pretty good with a good selection. The line to get back onto the tender was long, but moved quickly once boarding began.
St. Thomas
Again, getting off the ship was quick. St Thomas has many more shops, but after we had been through 25% of the stores, we didn’t find anything new. Same bags, magnets, shirts ect. We then took the skyride and got an amazing view of the island and all of the ships in port. We wished that we had done this earlier and had time to sit and enjoy a drink while taking in the view and fresh air, but unfortunately, we had to be back on the boat by 2pm.