The Norwegian Epic is an amazing ship. It has many cruise industry firsts, and even more NCL firsts. At 1.2 Billion dollars it was a bold investment by the company, and they are counting on their flagship to be deliver the goods. However, while I can say I was impressed with the Epic, it still needs a lot of work before I would consider cruising on her again. Please read my review below before considering booking a trip and then decide if the ship is right for you.

First off, a few caveats. I only give her a 2 star because of all the problems we encountered with this TA experience, but the ship itself is more like a 4+ star! We were on the inaugural voyage from South Hampton England to New York. We were literally the first people on the boat, and the crew spent the entire 7 days finishing construction as we sailed. They also spent a lot of time practicing safety drills and sorting things out for themselves. So they need to be cut a little slack. Also, the Epic is not designed for trans Atlantic crossings. She is not the QE2. She is a top heavy boat with 17 decks and a majority of her activities being placed outdoors. The seas were 10-20 swells at times and the weather was cold and windy and rainy for much of the cruise making many of her best features unusable. That being said, we knew all of that when booking the cruise so I am not interested in discussing those issues, but rather to give a constructive critique of the new boat and her pros and cons.

State Rooms: The first thing people often ask about a cruise is the size of the room. Which is not a major selling feature on the Epic. They have designed the staterooms to fit as many as possible on the ship and pack folks in. There is so much to do, that why do you really even need a big room? That being said, we were in a deluxe family balcony, which is equivalent to a mini suite on any other cruise, and it was very tight. The room reminded us of an RV. Long and narrow, with well designed use of space, but a little clusterphobic. In fact, for the three of us to move around in the room, we had to orchestrate our paths since it was hard to have two people pass each other. Another two feet in width would have made a big difference. The same goes for the balconies. They were adequate, but you weren't going to be throwing a party out there. Overall, this was a disappointment, and you feel a little short changed since this is more "mini" then "suite" but as long as you know what you are in for when you book, then you can plan ahead. Read more