Norwegian Epic Review

Very impressed

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Epic
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CrysCPD86
2-5 Cruises • Age 30s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2010
Cabin: Mini-Suite with Balcony

(I apologize if the tense of the review changes, part of it was written during the cruise,and part of it was written afterwards)

• My husband and I have cruised with NCL before, about a year ago on the Norwegian Sun, and had a great experience. We're in our twenties, but are kind of homebodies, content to read, play cards, watch movies, etc. We enjoyed the shows, the service, the food, the room service, everything. On this cruise we chose to take advantage of NCL's Cruise Rewards program ($250 for a future cruise deposit, paid now, good for 4 years, and gives you $100 credit on your current cruise). On the cruise we heard about the new ship, the Epic, and were intrigued. It looked really neat. Not long after we got home our travel agent had a special on, and so we booked. We later changed our minds about the date of the cruise, and everyone worked with us to change the date, no change fees or anything. Later on we noticed the price of the cruise decreased significantly but our travel agents were unable to get us the price difference. They were however able to upgrade us for $90 per person from an inside room to a guaranteed (but not assigned) balcony. This was about a month before the cruise sailed. We were not assigned a room until 3 days before the cruise sailed, but did receive a great upgrade to a Family Deluxe Balcony room. This room included a tub, which was nice! The water may not be as warm as I'd have liked, but it sure was warmer than the Jacuzzis on the pool deck.

• It is now cruise time and my husband and I have been 'enjoying' the Norwegian Epic. I use that term very lightly. Had this been our first cruise with Norwegian, it would have been our last, and it is still quite likely that it will be so. Gone are the big restaurants where they can easily seat you. Instead there are two restaurants of middling size for free, but the ship greatly encourages you to pay for one of the many specialty restaurants, which range from a la carte dining, to $10-$25, plus extra if you want something special. Normally we might consider this, except that we don't like anything that's on their menus. So we go to the Manhattan Room, the 'main' restaurant on the ship. Twice in a row we have had terrible experiences here. The second time we waited more than ½ an hour before even getting glasses of water, never mind having our order taken. After that we decided to try "Taste", the second 'main' restaurant which is supposed to be contemporary, but carries the same menu as the Manhattan Room. Here, I admit, we received absolutely excellent service, and tipped to encourage the waitress to continue it. We ate at Taste for a second and third night, had different waitresses, and received amazing service each time. We submitted a comment card with a number of issues, one of which was the Manhattan room. NCL general customer service staff didn't care about the issue, but they did care that someone had talked to us and called three times to confirm that. Finally the restaurant manager called us to say that the problem had been fixed and invite us to dine at the Manhattan room again. He offered us a bottle of wine with our dinner, and as we don't drink wine, he offered to let us go to the Italian restaurant for free. We took him up on his offer and again tried the Manhattan room, and received horrendous service again. The assistant manager came to see us at the end of the meal and was surprised to hear that the service was again terrible. The following night we went to the Italian restaurant and had a good time, but we will caution you, even if it's 5:30 and not busy at all - do NOT go to the Manhattan Room, it's horrible.

Cabin Review

Mini-Suite with Balcony

Cabin MC

Great cabin, close to the elevators and stairs, at the front of the ship below the Garden Cafe (buffet restaurant), not far from other places. Decent sized tub, big TV, poor resolution shows.

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