Norwegian Epic Review
Rating by category
Additional details
I would give the overall experience aboard the Epic about a 6 on a 1-10 scale. I think most cruise goers see the vessel itself as a means to an end when it comes to a Mediterranean vacation, as it affords one the ability to visit some desirable port locations conveniently to garner a taste for the European experience.
Getting on and off the ship went well, as we had no issues at all. The ship offered the typical assortment of on board entertainment options, clubs, specialty restaurants, etc. The two primary "free" restaurants did a respectable job in the way of food selection and service. There were no gastronomical delights, but the fare was adequate, maybe a 5 1/2 on a 1-10 scale. The Garden Cafe buffet on Deck 15 offered a lot of variety, but the food quality was generally weak in my humble opinion. When you're cooking for 4000, expectations are modest. After a day or two of sampling a lot of different buffet items, one eventually reaches the point where you focus on select items that are reasonably consistent and you then cease gorging on stuff that you'll end up not eating. In the buffet area, my only sweet spot was fruit. I loved the cantaloupe. So much food is wasted in the buffet area. From what I read, scraps are ground up and pushed out the back of ship as fish puree.
The service aboard the ship, while perfectly adequate, was a little disappointing. The staff were generally polite and efficient, but exuded no personality whatsoever. There were few broad smiles, enthusiastic "thank you's," etc. The staff was an army of robots that did what needed to be done, but did little to make any relationship memorable.Some of this may tie to the International flavor of the staff and minor English language issues. Some of it might be a Norwegian cruise line culture issue or management directive. During my week on the ship, I encountered not a single staff member that warranted an additional gratuity.
Cabin Review
Mini-Suite with Balcony
The mini suite afforded reasonable space for two travelers and offered decent storage space. Our room was clean and everything seemed reasonably up to date. The carpet was the only thing that was showing some wear. The room AC system worked well. We experienced little to no noise from adjacent cabins or the hallway. The only noise I heard was the occasional movement of deck chairs from a nearby cabin. The room's bed comfort level was average although its length was short and will not accommodate a tall sleeper very well. The bed did not have a fitted bottom sheet and I found that to be a minor inconvenience. Pillow quality was substandard. The shower was quite large and had excellent water pressure. Typical with cruise ships, the noise from a toilet flush was REALLY loud, so we made a choice not to flush in the middle of the night for fear of waking up a sleeping companion. The TV programming selection was miserable, as MSNBC-World and BBC offered the only up to date news channels for English speaking travelers. The TV did run repeats of select US network TV comedies and dramas although the selection was limited and repeated frequently. Some older movies were offered for free as well, but they were not compelling titles. The PPV movie selection was not great. Also, the cruise line information segments available on the TV were very low budget. The one that dealt with shore excursions was an embarrassment for a multi-million dollar cruise line seeking to generate interest in a profitable segment.