Norwegian Epic Review

4.5 / 5.0
4,413 reviews

The Epic is not Epic

Review for the Western Mediterranean Cruise on Norwegian Epic
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KallieSEA
2-5 Cruises • Age 20s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Aug 2017
Cabin: Aft-Facing Balcony

We booked last minute (1 month out) because we were going to be in Europe and the dates fit when we could go. The itinerary was good, especially Naples and Cannes. But the ship was just OK. It's big but there didn't seem to be many more options than on the mid-size ships. The spaces were just larger. The layout of the ship is strange and we frequently found ourselves walking through the casino to get places.

Pluses: The food onboard was good. This was our fourth Norweigan cruise (fifth overall) and the food was much better than our prior Norweigan cruises. We don't tend to cruise for the food but it was a nice surprise. The lines really weren't bad, especially given the size of the ship. Lots of exercise walking the length of the ship to our aft facing cabin (love that view of the wake). The ports on the Mediterranean were great and I'd do the itinerary again. We skipped Florence and went to Lucca, which was a great town, and skipped Pompeii to see the Amalfi Coast by land and sea (gorgeous). The water slides were pretty fun for my son, although we only spent one afternoon at the pool because it was usually so crowded.

Minuses: This would not be a good ship for viewing scenery. The spaces all seemed to face the interior of the ship and aside from the buffet, there were few options for looking forward. One oddity that bugged me were the elevators. They seemed very crowded and the Haven people could preempt where others were going by swiping their card. We had several get into our downward elevator and swipe to go up including once in a crowded elevator with many floors pushed--very inconsiderate. The jogging track doesn't go around the front of the ship, rather just loops on one side (which was kind of odd). The theater was small so reservations were pretty much required for shows. This also meant a lot of activities were held in the atrium, which was noisy and crowded. We enjoy a quiet coffee in the atrium on several other ships, but not this one.

Cabin Review

Aft-Facing Balcony

Cabin B1

The cabins were odd with the curved beds and the curved couch seemed to really cut into the space of the room. The bathroom layout was problematic as it gave very little privacy and the light would wake up others whenever someone got up at night. But love the view of the wake.

Port Reviews

Barcelona

Barcelona is a beautiful city. We enjoyed the cable car that runs from the beach to Hotel Miramar area. La Sagrada Familia was so unusual and very crowded--we did not go inside. We walked through the old part of the city and down Las Ramblas, enjoying the atmosphere.

Cannes

We tendered off the boat late morning and wandered around the old harbor and city. There is a lot of shopping here. We found many quaint areas a few blocks back from the busy main street along the harbor.

Palma de Mallorca (Majorca)

We skipped the historical city and sights and spent a day at the beach. We took a taxi to Cala Major, near the port for 11EU. The beach was pretty crowded but we were able to find an open shade umbrella and chairs to rent and spent a nice afternoon there. The water was not as clean as I'd expected. But I suspect if we'd ventured further from the center port we would have found some nice places.

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