This was our 19th cruise and 3rd on NCL. This was the first one on NCL in Europe, however, and on the newly refurbished EPIC. We like freestyle cruising, with open dining, and lots of options to eat. This ship was very well laid out and the food was very good. We did hear some horror stories from other passengers but we did not have any issues. One thing however is the staff on board, as nice as they were, did have many issues with their mgmt and the moral was not good. It did not impact our overall likeness of cruise, however. We just felt for them, as they had to deal with a lot.

The Entertainment was also a large variety and overall very good. The one thing everyone will need to understand before getting onboard an NCL now is since they purchased Oceania and Regent, they are trying to bring their line to be much more "upscale" and more like a Celebrity or high end line. The drinks were the most we have "ever" spent on a cruise, and the drink package was just outrageous. It had to be at least twice what any of the comparable ships are doing so that was a bit of a disappointment. Did not bother us, as we just did not drink on board much.

The ports out of Barcelona were great, as we have been to them several times before but love going back. Be aware that when cruising to European cities on NCL, they will charge an additional 10% VAT to everything on board. The drinks had a 28% tax on every drink for instance. They were not allowing to bring on your own wine, or water. Just an FYI.