Decent Trip by
moodyll from Sugar Land, TX
Sailing date: Dec 2012 Pros:
I loved the places the ship visited!
Cons:
Not being able to see outside unless you were on the pool deck or in the Garden Cafe
This ship was not for me. I had an inside cabin which was very nice, but I couldn't find anywhere to sit, hang out and look out at the ocean. Other cruise ships I have been on had places where you could sit inside and watch the water go by, but not this ship. The food was good and the staff was wonderful,but having to pay extra for yoga or an exercise class (not one-on-one) was ridiculous.
Ship Quality Too big for me!
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2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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First time on Norwegian by
Ray from St. Louis, MO
Sailing date: Jan 2013 Pros:
Friendly crew, nice itinerary
Cons:
Noise everywhere, poor cabin design
This was my first time on a Norwegian ship. As a solo cruiser, I was attracted by their new Studio Staterooms, which don't have a "single supplement" cost. So price was a factor. The itinerary was nice too - a good mix of port and sea days.
Pros: friendly crew, great service, good food (mostly), Studio Staterooms, clean and colorful ship, nice itinerary, great food in the specialty restaurants and buffet.
Cons: shower exposes to the stateroom (instead of in a separate room - weird!), noise (hard to find a quiet place to read), bland food in the main dining rooms, chaotic disembarkation.
Ship Quality Clean, colorful, but with some strange layout features
Dining/Food Very good in the specialty restaurants and buffet. So-so in the main dining rooms.
Stateroom Quality Studio stateroom was about what I expected for the price. Strange to have the shower exposed to the rest of the room, but if you're alone it doesn't matter.
Ship Staff Quality I had nothing but excellent encounters with the ship staff. On the second evening the main light switch in the room stopped working (you have to put your cruise card in for the lights to operate). My cabin attendant has an electrician there in a matter of a few minutes, with many apologies for the inconvenience. All wait staff in the eateries were excellent.
Entertainment & Activities Really enjoyed Blue Man Group and Second City. Didn't go to others, but they looked like fun.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.
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Casino a BIG HIT by
Deanne Gordon from Long Branch, NJ
Sailing date: Nov 2012 Pros:
Winning in fabulous casino
Cons:
Food at LeCirque
Extraordinary...had the grandchildren...one 11, the other 15, plus their parents...perfect family trip..but watch those shore excursions in Nassau..they cancelled our parasailing but put us into snorkeling...it was too cold and the water too rough...should never have had that one either
Ship Quality
Dining/Food Quality was 4 smileys...except in the Cirque Tent...steak was awful and there was no other choice...not good, for $35 my fiance is not a meat eater so she had potatoes for dinner
Stateroom Quality
Ship Staff Quality My fiance slipped in the Garden Cafe on a small pool of water..twisted her knee...Gary was very accomodating..sending wine to our next dinner (her name:Deanne Gordon)
Entertainment & Activities
Children's Programs The Legends in Concert was basically good, except for the Whoopee woman ...top suggestive for young children..parents should be warned
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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Norwegian Epic - Eastern Caribbean by
Jeff S from Washington DC
Sailing date: Nov 2012 Pros:
The balcony stateroom
Cons:
Entertainment
The ship is very nice, we liked the buffet and the dining choices. The stateroom layout was the best we have had with a large shower on one side and the commode on the other and the sink outside the two (some may like privacy in the sink area which is part of the room. We missed be able to walk around the entire circumference of the ship on the promenade deck, and we preferred the regularly nightly entertainment on that we have had on the other ships versus the specialty shows brought in for this ship.
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4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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Bad Cruise.. by
A Traveler from Milwaukee WI
Sailing date: Oct 2012 Pros:
Cagney's Steakhouse
Cons:
The general service anywhere on the ship, and the constant pitching and rolling of the ship on the Atlantic Ocean..
On a scale of 1-10 with a ten being fabulous, this cruise gets my rating of minus 58!! It truly was the worst cruise that I ever have been on, and most likely will refuse to book on Norwegian Cruise lines ever again.
Ship Quality To get anywhere on the ship, you must pass through the smoke filled casino..a really bad design..
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Ship Staff Quality The crew needs to be replaced on this ship badly. They were all conveying an "I dont care attitude" in everything that was performed on board.
Entertainment & Activities Blue man group..what a waste of time to watch...
5 out of 7 people found this review helpful.
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Exceeded expectations by
A Traveler from Phoenix Arizona
Sailing date: Oct 2012 Pros:
Great entertainment, nice cabin, very good food and service, two great Island stops.
Cons:
Minor design issues on ship, increased service fees (tips).
This was our 6th cruise although most of our international traveling is on our own. The Norwegian Epic is very large but seemed quick and easy to get around, although the elevators were slow. Although a repositioning cruise, it had the best entertainment we've seen on a cruise ship and the food and service were excellent.
Ship Quality It was easy to move around in despite it's size. Two minor things; although the Balcony cabin was larger than on previous ships and very well appointed, the furniture was a bit large for it and so only one person could move between the bed and the desk at a time (we're not heavy or large). Also, I very like outside decks on a ship to enjoy the scenery while exercising and there was very little of that on the Epic. But these are minor issues, the ship overall was of high quality.
Dining/Food The complimentary dining included two very good formal dining rooms with musical entertainment of a classical nature. The food and service were excellent, so we didn't need to bother with the specialty restaurants. This has not always been true on this cruise line so this was an improvement.
Stateroom Quality I covered this in a previous section. I'll just add that there was plenty of closet and storage space. The balcony was a little larger than on other such ships. One added thing; the toilet enclosure was nearly transparent so the shower enclosure could not be used at the same time by someone else.
Ship Staff Quality Norwegian doesn't always have consistent service so it was nice to see that it was excellent on this ship. I wrote positive reviews of three different staff on the card given for this purpose.
Entertainment & Activities Best entertainment we've seen on any ship, especially the Blue Man Group, Cirque Dreams, Legends in concert and Graffiti. It was much better than on the Norwegian Jade.
3 out of 3 people found this review helpful.
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An excellent transatlantic cruise by
Bob S. from San Antonio, TX
Sailing date: Oct 2012 Pros:
I liked this very handsome, functional ship
Cons:
The veery limited number of ports of call
A very fine ship which is the most technologically advanced from the passengers standpoint. Being less than two years old, the ship was in excellenty shape, given its routine upkeep.
Ship Quality Ship, while large, handles the number of passengers well.
Dining/Food Never had a meal which I woud classify as less than very good, regardless of the dining venue
Stateroom Quality State roms were a bit small for two rather large adult males, but very functionl. The fact that the shower, toilet and lavatory are all three separate is an excellent design idea. While one person is using the lavatory, another can be using the toilet or shower, without having to wait for a single facility to be vacated. Bravo to the design team. Bed comfort was outstanding. 26" LCD TV's, which provided interactive use from checking account balances, to booking activities is spectacular! Patios at 7' X 9' are larger than most.
Ship Staff Quality Staff seemed very attentive overall.
Entertainment & Activities The shows were OK, not spetacular. Blue Man Group...so so. As regards the outdoor pools, I can see immense problems should there be an abundance of hot weather and a full ship with many wanting to use the pools....very limited pool space!. Hot tubs are adequate at 7, but the two main pools both of which are small, and an aft pool which is smaller yet....I pity the 3,000+ wanting to use the pools on any given day. The water rides (tube chutes) are nice, but have displaced displaced valuable pool space. I question the wisdom of the design team on this one.
Ouitdoor movies need a bit of an upgrade.
5 out of 6 people found this review helpful.
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A Fantastic Experience! by
Diane M. from Newport Beach, CA
Sailing date: Sep 2012 Pros:
Everything was very organized and lots of activities
Cons:
Smoking in the casino area - you could not escape it when you walked through
The ship was fairly new and very large compared to others we saw in the harbor. It was our first cruise so can't compare to others but we loved everything! It was big, so walking to your room was a little trek, but we needed the exercise after all the good food. I thought the spa was expensive though, so if you are considering a manicure, for example, be prepared to pay triple. Staff was very friendly and accommodating. I would recommend the balcony room - very relaxing!
Ship Quality Everything was beautiful on the ship and after a day or so, we found our way around easily.
Dining/Food Some of the specialty restaurants were just OK, some were really good. Overall the food was very nice.
Stateroom Quality We were pleasantly surpised at our stateroom's decor and size. Very pretty.
Ship Staff Quality Everyone was so friendly and fun.
Entertainment & Activities So much to do - not enough time to do it all, but we did a lot.
3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
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The price was good. by
Benjamin Z from Mount Solon Virginia USA
Sailing date: Apr 2012 Pros:
doing nothing
Cons:
The base beat in the theater and the physical layout of the theater.
I probable will never again take a cruise on it. It was only 2/3rd full, and I whould hate to be on it if it were full.
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10 out of 16 people found this review helpful.
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It was okay. by
Amanda S. from La Vista, NE
Sailing date: May 2011 Pros:
our mini-suite was beautiful and modern
Cons:
the food at the main restaurants
It was just okay. We also took a transatlantic cruise though, so my opinion may have been different if we had just cruised the Caribbean. It was an older crowd, which was disappointing, but I should have realized that before I booked it. Also the weather was rather cold. Only 60's during the day and pretty windy as well. The food was disappointing compared to Celebrity Cruise Lines. If we didn't want to pay extra to eat, we had only 2 options (which both offered the same menu) unless we went to the buffet. There was very little to choose from and the taste was rather bland. If we wanted to pay an extra $10-25 per person to go to the specialty restaurants, we did get good food. That was the main difference between Norwegian and Celebrity. On Celebrity we had great food every night and it wasn't extra. Also, I do feel like we had to pay extra for a lot of things (i.e. pool, air hockey, darts, bowling, etc...). It ended up being pretty expensive in the end. I would have rather paid more money up front for better quality.
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Dining/Food except for the specialty restaurants...those were delicious.
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32 out of 34 people found this review helpful.
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