Norwegian Epic Review
Rating by category
Additional details
I'll preface the review by saying this is the first mega-ship I've sailed on. I'm not a fan. I always felt crowded in the common areas and you had to get to the pool deck early if you wanted a chair. Many passengers would go plant a few personal articles on chairs and I think they went back to bed. On one day, I had six chairs beside me with personal items on them. I was in my chair for 3 hours and never saw anyone come to these chairs.
I'm also not a big fan of freestyle. The relaxed dress code for freestyle dining seems nice until you see someone walk up to the dining room for dinner in shorts and a tank top. It seems great on paper but I found the food quality higher on ships that had set early/late seating plans. We missed getting to know my wait staff and them getting to know us. Also meeting other passengers and sharing the experiences and recommendations at dinner each evening. The specialty restaurants were ok but we still missed the "personal touches" that I always liked with smaller ships.
I really didn't walk away from the Epic with any amount of "Wow!".
Cabin Review
Family Balcony
Like many others, I have no idea what NCL was thinking when they went with these curvy walls in the staterooms. Size for the cabin was typical, but the curved walls made spaces tight to squeeze past. The shower and toilet areas had sliding, frosted glass doors which I thought weren't the most private in the world. You'd better be comfortable with the people you're traveling with. Water temperature in the shower fluctuated quite a bit from cold to hot. The bed was comfortable and storage (hanging space and drawers) was adequate. Luggage (4 suitcases) would fit under the bed.