Norwegian Epic

overcrowding cruise ship

January

Pros: Staff was very polite but very under staffed.

Cons: Waiting lines too long and ship very crowded compared to other cruise lines. The ship was understaffed and staff had to work harder to accommodate the people on board.

Recommended: No

See above

Norwegian Epic Review

July

Pros: Specifically restaurants were ok.

Cons: Too many to list

Recommended: No

Very disappointed in NCl! Ship was in need of major upgrades! Food was below expectations, Buffett was more like a school cafeteria with very few choices for food. Staff was overworked and not very courteous or friendly. Pools are too small and water was a hot bath! Entertainment was minimal although the Burn the Floor and Beatles shows were great. Needed to see them multiple times because there was not much else to do! Casino was good. Possibly we’ve been spoiled by RCCL but we had high expectations for NCL and to say we were disappointed is an understatement!

Cruise

January

Pros: Very friendly staff. Great ports, wonderful weather.

Cons: Too crowded, rooms were very small. Food was never hot.

Recommended: No

I would never go on a ship this big again. Too many people, stood in lines a lot.

Exceeded expectations

April

Pros: So organized, kind and helpful staff and the food was delicious.

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

Everything went smoothly, no negative comments.

Great Cruise!

February

Pros: mask wearing-I felt safe! restaurants had better than average food. wait staff in particular, but every worker was really pleasant. I felt like NCL went out of their way to make our trip go smoothly. Loved the Beatles shows.

Cons: Not enough comedy. There were 2 shows at 11 pm, but we had early mornings planned for the days after.

Recommended: Yes

I want the company to do well, but it was super nice not having a full ship. Wonderful!!!

First time cruiser

October

Pros: Food, space and service.

Cons: wi fi connection

Recommended: Yes

Love the smooth ride and never waited in line for anything. Food was so fantastic .

Nice ship - but big!

February

Pros: Haven rooms were nice

Cons: No seating area in cabin. Large tub went unused. Would rather have had seating area and table

Recommended: Yes

This ship is very large. Without Haven access we would not have had such a good time. Specialty dining was very good - with the exception of La Cucina Italian. Entertainment was first class - best we've ever seen on a cruise ship.

11 day Caribbean cruise

January

Pros: Free Style sailing

Cons: evening entertainment

Recommended: Yes

This was our first time on Norwegian. We liked the free style dining and no formal night. Everyone was friendly and always helpful.

Disappointing holiday cruise

January

Pros: Entertainment, Youth Staff

Cons: Stateroom design, smoking enforcement, Elevators, Specialty Dining

Recommended: No

On a full sail, this ship feels crowded: staffing (bartending) was not adequate for volume of guests and elevators constantly full. NCL was unable to enforce their smoking in certain areas only, rendering our balcony useless. Stateroom design was poor, not maximizing space. Sports court could have been used for more variety than just basketball and soccer. Port call times were very short (8-5 daily), except for one unexpected day where it was longer but plans were already made and could not be changed. Excursion choices somewhat limited on this itinerary. Had a couple of negative specialty dining experiences; upgraded wine list was somewhat limited especially when out of stock on some items. NYE dinner buffet was vile. On the positive side, entertainment was top notch (circus, musicals), and youth staff were very accommodating. Ship was generally clean and birds stayed clear. Seek a smaller ship with more personalized service and better value.

Second time on ship, great time!

November

Pros: Friendly staff

Cons: weather, rainy.

Recommended: Yes

Another great time on the NCL EPIC ship. First time was in 2012 in Caribbean. Great big ship without the too big feeling. This time was in Mediterranean. Great friendly staff eager to please. Was different taking our first cruise in Nov weather. Had rain showers, light. But staff tried to make the most of it daily with umbrellas, ponchos and smiles. No day was a wash out, just light rain almost daily. Loved the Japanese restaurant where they cook at your table. Buffet was great daily with theme nights. Plenty to eat always.

Mediterranean Cruise

September

Pros: All the amenities and options you can choose from.

Cons: Being pressured to upgrading services in the spa. Therefore I did not have a relaxing massage.

Recommended: Yes

Overall it was a great experience, but at sometimes not having enough staff at the bars caused excessive waiting Just to get a drink. Also there could be more outlets in the room. Also it would of been nice to have a refrigerator that was empty so we could put our own beverages in, instead of being charged to take one that was already in there. Not everyone wants a minibar refrigerator in their room.

Transatlantic Crossing

April

Pros: Lots of sea time to relax and participate in onboard activities!

Cons: Too much time at sea for those who do not read or engage in onboard activities.

Recommended: Yes

We sailed with 5000 passengers! On shore days, the buffet breakfast area was packed and difficult to find seats. This was the only time it was an issue. The food was excellent and the specialty restaurants were awesome. The staff were extremely pleasant, knowledgeable, and eager to help you. My only beef with this cruise ship was the elevators. Apparently this ship has only two sections, one near the bow and one near the stern. Their other ships have another midship for a total of three. This created a lot of frustration when we had our mandatory drill, when we had port days, and when we disembarked at the end of our cruise. It is a beautiful ship despite this!!!

Freestyle Cruising

May

Pros: Being able to eat when you want and not be tied down to a certain time

Cons: Same food every day

Recommended: No

Good food, good times

March

Pros: Entertainment, food, service

Cons: Embarkation, debarkation

Recommended: Yes

Having sailed on 60 cruises with seven different lines, I think I have some perspective on cruising. The Norwegian Epic had an epic failure in debarkation. The worst I've experienced in, as I've said, in 60 cruises. It is as if the staff had never done this before. Lines wrapped around the ship. There were lines that weren't even lines. During this time I saw only one crew member and he was passing out wrong information. Two women I met sat down to wait for a wheelchair. They had been waiting for half an hour. There were no signs, no cordons to prevent people from jumping the que, no organization--just complete chaos. In general the entertainment was good, though the choice of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert was strange. No one I talked to (and I talked to a lot of people, saw the show after the learned what it was about. Manhattan Band and D'Soul Duo were excellent as were the two comedians. Food was excellent, though this is the only cruise I've been on where there wasn't a steak and lobster night, no baked Alaska, no escargot, no duck. Boiling my shoe would've been better than the sirloin steak I had one evening. Excellent pastries and sorbets. Service was exceptional.

Epic cruise

October

Pros:

Cons:

Recommended: Yes

Nice and happy staff plenty of things to do for all ages very good with food allergies very clean and very organized

Trip of a lifetime

October

Pros:

Cons:

Recommended: No

Mediterranean Cruise

October

Pros: Great program. Staff were awesome, well put together.

Cons: Very pricey for additional services (spa, photos), and excursions.

Recommended: Yes

Staff were very friendly and accommodating. They stood out the most on the trip. We were pampered. Lots of things to do but not enough time.

Epic

July

Pros: Great Garden buffet, loved Manhattan, boarding was painless, Bistro was good

Cons: Italian restaurant food was not very good, NCL excursion to Pompeii not very good

Recommended: Yes

We had four in our group. Although finding a chair rather than a lounger I'm the shade in the Adult area with a view was a challenge, we enjoyed the trip.

A very meaningful trip

June

Pros: Friendly staff who seemed to really enjoy their work. Excellent food and service. Clean staterooms.

Cons: I really have no cons!

Recommended: Yes

Cruise

February

Pros: Freestyle Dining, able to do what you want at anytime

Cons: This was a larger ship so there were lots of people.

Recommended: Yes

Overall, I really like NCL due to the freestyle dining and all the options of things to do.

First Cruise with NCL

December

Pros: Entertainment was excellent, Food and Dinning were very enjoyable.

Cons: Long wait standing in line at Caymen Islands to return to Ship,

Recommended: Yes

Weather was not cooperating for the first couple days of the cruise and we did not dock in the Bahamas. This was a big disappointment for us, but we understood that high winds made it not safe to dock. We also had to dock in different areas then normal both in Jamaica and Grand Caymen island. In Grand Caymen Island we had a long wait standing in line to get back on the boat. The excursions we booked were great. We enjoyed Sting Ray City in Grand Caymen and the snorkeling we did. Lots of beautiful fish and coral . In Jamaica we did the Dunn River Falls and went to Bamboo Beach. In Cozumel we went on the Amazing Secret River which was a river that went through a cave. This was really cool, we enjoyed this very much. Our guide was very helpful and helped me through some of the more difficult uneven areas in the cave that were under water . The entertainment on the Epic was fantastic. This was the first time we cruised on NCL and we enjoyed it very much.

Mediterranean Cruis

October

Pros: Cabin service excellent, food, arrangements to go and return fromexcursions, facilities.

Cons: Public announcements during meals. So much noise we could not understand the announcements. You have to find a better system. Swimming pools could be bigger.

Recommended: Yes

Already made on Pros and Cons

Epic Time

April

Pros: great itinerary

Cons: Bathroom set up in mini suite balcony cabin

Recommended: Yes

Even though over 4000 passengers ship dining and entertainment was never crowded. Always had plenty of hot water and the staff was very helpful. Shore excursions are pricey but were well worth it. Would have liked to have seen better entertainment. Food was very good!

Great First Cruise

February

Pros: Variety of activities, something for everyone

Cons: Large ship = Large number of people

Recommended: Yes

We really enjoyed our 7 night cruise on NCL's Epic. The ship was very large which allowed for a variety of activities. Something for those that want to be away from everyone, something for those that want a quiet space, something for those that want to dance. There were so many bars, you could find one where you could get a drink faster than, say, the pool deck bar. The staterooms were spacious enough to maneuver through with plenty of hidden storage options. As long as you don't mind the bathroom not being separated, which for a married couple was not a big deal, it great. The beds were very comfortable. Though due to the curvature of the mattress, it was two twin beds pushed together causing an awkward small gap in the middle. The food in EVERY SINGLE restaurant was excellent. We could not decide our favorite. The portions were huge. Most nights I skipped the included dessert. Even the buffet was delicious with so much variety from which to choose. The spa was top notch. I highly recommend the week long thermal package so you can enjoy the spa everyday - note it does not include spa services, but 3 saunas (2 humid, 1 dry), 2 steam baths, heated stone loungers overlooking the aft balcony, and hydrotherapy water spouts/jets/pool. It was fabulous! The gym is huge with beautiful scenery. Plenty of cardio, weight machines, and free weights. The entire ship felt clean and well maintained. The talent on the ship was incredible. We thought to check out the dueling piano bars one night and ended up staying for over three hours. The dancers in Burn the Floor often would do a performance in the Manhattan dining room (complementary more formal dining option). Biggest let down was Cirque Dreams and Dinner. Portions were significantly smaller than any other restaurant on the ship and the talent was mediocre. There were amazing aerial acrobatics, but much of the evening was one second of "oooo!" and 10 minutes of waiting for the next act. We were surprised how much we enjoyed NCL's island Great Stirrup Cay. There were plenty of loungers for everyone, the scenery is beautiful, and you know it is just people from the ship. The on-island excursion were excellently run and well worth it! The biggest downsides to this ship were: The location of the casino. Since smoking was allowed in the casino, to access some areas and restaurants on the 6th deck you needed to walk through the smoke. I didn't mind walking through and looking at the casino, but didn't care for the smoke. If you wanted to steer clear of the smoke, you could go up or down a floor as you walk forward/aft, then back up or down, so it is avoidable. With the number of people on this ship, even if you had reservations to a show, people would still show up 30 minutes early and you would end up waiting in a line to get seated. I didn't care to spend my time on a cruise waiting in line. When the weather affected disembarking the ship, there was no alternate organized exit plan which caused long lines of an entire ship waiting. Other than those few minor items, this ship was amazingly run and was a definite pleasure.

First trip on Norwegian

February

Pros: beautiful ship great staff entertainment food

Cons: The port can not accomadate so many people not enough room for both getting off and on. We had no trouble getting on but getting off was a mess. Infrastructure needs to be upgraded to accommodate all.

Recommended: Yes

Do not like the procedures for getting off . Color codes people ignored and got off before they were called which totally overwhelmed the staff with departing passengers. We did not get off until 11:30 and our time was 9:15 then our transportation could not get into the port due to back up of arrivals.

GREAT CRUISE

January

Pros: Friendly, Courteous staff, Great food, Clean Fun ship.

Cons: None

Recommended: Yes

We had a Great time. This was my first cruise, we have been home 1 day and are already looking at the cruise schedule planning our next trip. This was truly a vacation with nothing to think about except what fun thing are we going to do next. The day at Stirrup Cay was an excellent final stop for the cruise we had a blast.

Epic cruse ship

December

Pros: Value

Cons: Too big,too many people

Recommended: No

Great for young and young children.Also if you are a gambler Only one small dance floor but plenty of slot machines and card tables The crew were very friendly and helpful, but ....we would never cruise with that company again.....the boat was far to big for us

First time on Norwegian

December

Pros: Studio rooms for solo cruisers. Elegant and contemporary. Great wait staff. Good price. Terrific shows and entertainment.

Cons: More than a few of the staff gave me wrong information on several things. Some bad weather made worse by design on open deck areas. Studio rooms confusing to initially access. Not enough elevators.

Recommended: Yes

I did have a really good time but there were some issues for handicap travelers and being thrown out of the wheelchair by staff while disembarking was NOT fun lol.

First time on Norwegian

December

Pros: Studio rooms for solo cruisers. Elegant and contemporary. Great wait staff. Good price. Terrific shows and entertainment.

Cons: More than a few of the staff gave me wrong information on several things. Some bad weather made worse by design on open deck areas. Studio rooms confusing to initially access. Not enough elevators.

Recommended: Yes

I did have a really good time but there were some issues for handicap travelers and being thrown out of the wheelchair by staff while disembarking was NOT fun lol.

NCL EPIC

November

Pros: Many activities and complimentary entertainment at all lounges.

Cons: Needed reservations to get in to see larger entertainment shows in major auditourium. Long lines at reservation desk.

Recommended: Yes

Great experience!

Solo Cruising

November

Pros: Excellent concept, spacious rooms, the lounge was a nice place to gather and make new friends

Cons: Could have had them set up group dinners like they had on the previous weeks

Recommended: Yes

This was the one of the best cruises I've ever been on. For all singles this Cruise works out perfectly! The price was very reasonable and did not need double occupancy which helps a great deal. I wish more ships had this concept. I would recommend for single Travelers to experience the solo cruising on NCL!

Epic Europe

October

Pros: Large ship with many venues, restaurants, etc.

Cons: Larger number of passengers requiring reservations for many venues

Recommended: Yes

On these larger ships, "freestyle" is a little less as you need to plan ahead and make reservations for shows that you want to see, but it is nice to have a variety of shows to choose from every night so there is the trade off. Otherwise freestyle is the way to go. NCL always does a nice job servicing the passengers; always plenty of staff around to ask what you need and meet your expectations.

October Western Mediterranean Cruise from Rome to Rome

October

Pros: Fabulous entertainment, 24 hour food service, great ports, great room steward

Cons: Inadequate information regarding booking excursions, and directions to return to ship in Naples

Recommended: Yes

We were uncertain about booking a cruise on such a large ship but Norwegian handled the crowds easily. From boarding the ship to departing everything was handle quickly and expediently. Days at sea felt more crowded on board but that is true of other lines as well. Some reviews mentioned the design of bathrooms. We had an inside cabin and felt the thought the design was well thought out. One of us could use the shower while someone else was using the sink or bathroom. We really liked this set up. Entertainment was outstanding and we went to a show every evening. There was also plenty of storage. Gede our cabin steward always had everything in order when we came back to our cabin and he did a beautiful job with my birthday decorations. He provided outstanding service. We missed an excursion in Livorno because the TV did not allow us to register although it said it had billed our account. By the time we learned the reservation was not taken, the excursion was fully booked. More information should be provided on use and location of touch screens and drop box registration at the the excursion office. We had to go to guest services to learn about the use of these when the excursion office was closed. We also had a difficult time using the phone in the room to access messages. An information sheet as to how to use the phone should be provided.

Fantastic Vacation

September

Pros: Great food, Entertainment (Sieglo is the best!), service, wonderful!

Cons: Service very slow in La Cucina, Oatmeal in buffet too runny, Fish overcooked a little in the Manhattan

Recommended: Yes

We had a great time. The Epic is beautiful and very easy to move about in. Cagneys is the best restaurant, service very good as well as the Manhattan. We highly recommend this cruise, the shore tours were wonderful!

Mediterranean Cruise

May

Pros: Great cruise and wonderful itinerary. The best food we have had on a cruise ship.

Cons: I don't like the bathroom configuration. I do like the a one room bathroom. Also the area between bed & counter/sink area is too narrow. My husband and I were always having a problem passing each other in this area. We had a balcony room

Recommended: Yes

Lovely trip. We got to sample France, Spain and Italy. We had all day to site-see and enjoyed the ship while sailing at night. The tours we did through the ship were very good and worth the money they cost. The staff in the Taste dining room went beyond the call of duty when they celebrated our 47 anniversary with a song and cake from the staff. There was one staff member that we know made this happen. We met Sanjay as our waiter in the Taste dining room as he was our waiter for the evening. Very professional and friendly. You could tell he really liked his job. We didn't have him every night as our waiter but he would show his smiling face at our table ever night we dined there. In conversation we had mentioned we were on the cruise to celebrate our anniversary. He remember and one the the date of that event he must have made the occurrence happen for us which just made our trip. Thank you Sanjay!

November 2015 Cruise

November

Pros: Everything was wonderful, food and service was exceptional

Cons: none

Recommended: Yes

Everything was wonderful, food and service was exceptional. Cabin was on the small side but comfortable.

Meets all expectation

September

Pros: Efficient guest management. Highly organized execution of tours, embarkation/disembarkation was very easy.

Cons: Quality of evening entertainment on other ships were better. Restaurant opening/closing schedule changed daily.

Recommended: Yes

Our first trip with NCL. Not a fan of the "freestyle" dining but that's just a personal preference. Cruise met all expectations thanks to two standout crew members.

Maybe too big for its own good

June

Pros: Food, shows, ports

Cons: Too big, sporadic tv , slow elevators

Recommended: Yes

Epic is a huge floating hotel. The cabins feel very small with little storage space. The staff is excellent but they verge on invisible. The food is terrific. Best we ever had on a cruise. The excursions were good except for Rome. Totally disappointed with that one, as we're others on other tours. The shows were great. Getting on and off the ship was a smooth operation.

Great value for the price

June

Pros: Price and value, itinerary

Cons: Not a ton of activities to do onboard that we found interesting, and no late-night comedy shows

Recommended: Yes

We did the 7 day Mediterranean Cruise. Really enjoyed ourselves. We didn't spend much time on the ship since we did excursions at almost every port. The Blue Man Group and the Cirque du Soleil shows were great. We paid for the Ultimate Dining Experience and I would highly recommend that. Our favorite restaurants were Le Bistro and the Steak House restaurant. Also had great Chinese food. I would not recommend the Teppan Steakhouse though. Staterooms were cramped but functional, and I am 6'8". Staff were VERY polite and helpful.

Excellent entertainment, mediocre rooms and service

April

Pros: Entertainment

Cons: Room size and configuration

Recommended: Yes