Norwegian Epic Review
Rating by category
Additional details
After 4 weeks in the UK and France we chose this ship because of the itinerary which turned out to be a fantastic decision.
Embarkation in Barcelona was quick and efficient and we were on board the ship within 30 minutes of arriving at the Port. We were able to access bars and have lunch as soon as we boarded and able to access our room to drop off our hand luggage. Having only been on ships with around 1500 passengers we soon found out the Epic lived up to its name but it was not over the top and had a good feel about it. As with most cruises we got into our routine of bars and restaraunts we liked and visited those.
We had the unlimited Beverage package as part of package and although we definitely did not use this to its full potential it was great to be able to not budget for drinks and worry about the charges. We also pre- paid gratuities so what we spent was what we spent an no surprises at the end.
Cabin Review
Balcony
Lots of storage space. Good set up - balcony was excellent and I think necessary on this big ship as sometimes your cabin can be your only quiet space.
Port Reviews
Barcelona
Embarkation so we spent the previous 2 nights in Barcelona. Took the Ho Ho bus which was the perfect way to see the city and all its highlights including the Gaudi buildings. Highlight of our trip.
Rome (Civitavecchia)
We organized a private tour via cruise critic roll call with EU Italy Tours. We got picked up at 8am and then went to Pompeii, Sorento and the Amalfi Coast. Wonderful day.
Florence (Livorno)
Pre booked a bus to Pisa. NCL has coaches that take you into Livorno bus stop for 5euros. From there we got on our pre booked coach ( booked for 15 euros each with Shorebee Tours). The coach had free wifi and took us the 45 minutes to Pisa, left us there for 2 hours and then returned us to the bus stop. Highly recommended if you just want Pisa as very easy. I would pre- book as many people who did not pre book still line up at the Pisa bus hoping to get on as pay on the day. Priority is given to those who pre- purchased.
Cannes
Tenders into the Port of Cannes which is centrally located to shopping, casinos and lots of cafes. Beautiful day. We also took the the Pettiti train - 10 euro each which took an hour to drive around and gave us an overview of Cannes. Free wifi in the port area.
Marseille
Transport is the only option into Marseilles. NCL charge 15 euros each which we did. Dropped off near the harbour area and then we did the Petite train which took us to the Notre Dame for a 15 minute stopover. This train set up seemed older than the Cannes one and the drivers not friendly. Both myself and many other people did not feel safe on this train as they overloaded and would not listen to people. I would not recommend this particular train. Next time we would take a taxi into Marseilles and work out an itinerary that we wanted to do.