Norwegian Epic Review

4.5 / 5.0
4,412 reviews

Worst cruise ever!!

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Epic
User Avatar
TracySmith329
6-10 Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Mar 2019
Cabin: Mini-Suite with Balcony

We were supposed to leave at 4. Around 6 the captain announced there was a medical emergency which had caused the delay and they would keep us informed. Ok. We all bought that and hoped the person was getting the help they needed and would be ok. We received no more information and the cruise didn't leave until after 11 pm. Ok, now most people weren't believing the 'medical emergency' explanation. We were still at port...it couldn't have taken 7 hours to help the person and get them to the hospital. I think they made that up so they wouldn't be held financially responsible for something. So, we finally get going. The next morning, they announce we won't be going to the private island because of 'weather'. Yeah, right. Most everyone figures they lost a bunch of money because folks weren't able to gamble the night before so this way they got an extra day of gambling. If you look at other reviews, you will find out in the last several trips they've only made it to the private island once!! I really didn't enjoy the onboard games and offerings like I have on other ships. They played very loud games in the atrium, which most people couldn't understand what the folks were saying and got very frustrated. The line for Bingo took over 45 minutes. My male friend, was in very nice shorts one evening and we wanted to go for dinner in the main dining room. He was told he had to wear pants. Ok. We understand. He went to change, no problem. But what ticked me off was that women were allowed in the dining room in shorts, and pretty ratty ones at that. If you're going to have a requirement like that (which again I understand) then make it a requirement for all, not just the men. On to the food. It was ok. Really nothing to write home about. If I got that same food at a restaurant, I probably wouldn't go back. Except for the specialty dining Le Bistro. It was excellent. But should you really have to pay extra for good food on a cruise? I don't think so. We did do a wonderful excursion in Cozumel that was a Mexican cooking option and it was fabulous!! If for some reason you are stuck on this cruise...at least treat yourself to that excursion. It was truly the highlight of the cruise. The whole layout of the ship was awkward...but the absolute worst was the bathroom setup. Upon entering the room, the toilet was directly to the left with only a clouded glass lightweight door. On the right was the shower/tub combination with only the clouded lightweight door. Then there was a curtain that could be drawn for 'privacy'. The sink was on the bedroom side of the curtain. I am not exaggerating when I say you could hear EVERYTHING in the bedroom from the bathroom even with that flimsy glass door closed. There was absolutely NO privacy. The balcony was a good size. The final straw was Disembarkation. What a nightmare. We decided to do carry our own stuff down to save some time. That started at 7:30. We stepped off the elevator on the 7th floor into complete CHAOS!! There were lines going both ways and no crew around to tell us where to go. We started in the front of the ship and everyone in the lines let us know we would be going all the way to the back of the ship and turning to come back up to the front...you know...like Disney lines. The lines moved extremely slowly and there were no crew around to let you know if you were in the right line or not. About 8:30 they started calling the colors for folks that had their luggage taken for them. Great. Now those folks came down elevators, and stairs and ended up jumping in front of the rest of us that had already been in line over an hour. To say there was almost a mutiny would be an understatement. We finally got within sight of the exit (we were told by others it would still be another hour) and there was finally a worker that I could talk with. I explained that we had been in line for 2 hours at that point and people were coming down the stairs and elevators and jumping in front of us. What did he say??? Riste Filipov of the Recreation Staff informed me 'this is typical'. He explained that it was quite customary for debarkation to take 2-3 hours and not uncommon for people to be able to come down and jump the line in front of those of us that had been in line for that long. Basically, too bad, so sad. Deal with it. I've been on 3 other cruises in the last 2 years, 2 Royal Caribbean and 1 Princess and debarkation took less than 45 minutes on each of those. This was absolutely ridiculous and they just didn't care. I will NEVER go on this ship again and probably not Norwegian if this crew is typical of the crew they hire. By the way, it took over 2.5 hours to get off the ship. For some, it was much less (those that jumped the line) and others even longer. I'm pretty sure some people missed their flights. Overall, a bad experience. One I won't be repeating anytime soon. P.S. the female comedian was wonderful and a waitress in the main dining room, Taneesha was fantastic as well. Every other crew member I had contact with was terrible to average.

Cabin Review

Mini-Suite with Balcony

Cabin MC

The cabin was roomy but the layout with the bathroom made it awful!!

Port Reviews

Cozumel

I don't remember the real name, but we made our own Mexican meal and then ate it. This was the absolutely best part of the cruise. The chef was wonderful and the whole group had a great time. I highly recommend this. Oh, and the food was fantastic even though we ate what we made.

previous reviewnext review

Find a Norwegian Epic Cruise from $299

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.