Norwegian Epic Review

Best Cruise Ever

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Epic
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Toola99709
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Feb 2017
Cabin: Courtyard Villa with Balcony

This was our sixth cruise, and our 4th on NCL. We have sailed on the Star twice and once on the Jade. After cruising with Carnival and Princess, we discovered freestyle cruising and have not left NCL since. This was our first eastern Caribbean cruise and our first in the Haven. This ship is huge! I looked at numerous You Tube videos and photos from trip reports and was pleasantly surprised. Photos and videos did not convey the tasteful design of our stateroom or the public areas. I'm sure the peace and luxury of the Haven made our trip better. We luxuriated in our 2 bedroom suite and enjoyed consistent and creative dining every time we dined in The Haven restaurant.

Embarkation was smooth at Port Canaveral. Our hotel shuttle recommended leaving at 10 to avoid the traffic at the Port. We arrived at 10:30 and were escorted to the Haven lounge by 11:30. After lunch we took our carry on luggage to the room and toured the ship. I have read reviews complaining about the layout of the ship. We both quickly oriented to the design and learned that deck 15 was preferable for traveling from fore to aft or vice versa. Elevators during high traffic times (after muster drill and after large shows like Priscilla) required long waits and patience. A combination of walking up a few flights or traveling fore or aft usually helped. We both enjoy vacation and our time together, so minor snags are easy to laugh off. Finding quiet outside of Haven always seemed doable, There were always many deck chairs and loungers with sun and shade seating on floor 18 opposite to Posh. My husband went to the Garden Cafe during the breakfast rush and reported it was really full, but O'Sheehans seemed to always have seating and taking a tray down to La Cuccina was another quiet option.

We missed the promenade, but understand that the ship maximizes balcony availability in exchange for the traditional deck with a view. We loved the Epic and will gladly sail on her again.

Cabin Review

Courtyard Villa with Balcony

Cabin H4

Gorgeous cabin, tastefully furnished with more storage space than we could use.

Port Reviews

Port Canaveral (Orlando)

We stayed 2 nights at the Cocoa Beach Doubletree. Great hotel on a lovely stretch of Beach.

Tortola

Walked around and shopped. We had a great time and it is a beautiful island.

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