Epic + Ports - May 6th - 13th Review

[aloisia]

Epic + Ports - May 6th - 13th Review

Our first European + NCL cruise for DH & I. We met the nicest CC members :D and shared private tours every day except Marseille where we used NCL.

 

SHIP: The ship was very big compared to others we have sailed on - staff and entertainment were excellent - 5 stars. Decided to upgrade ourselves from an inside to a balcony cabin a few weeks before sailing. The prices had come down quite a bit and the difference for both of us was less the $300. The balcony was great & it was nice to see the coast once we turned back from Naples. The bathroom arrangement was different from the other cruise lines, however I liked the shower. Much bigger the Princess & I wasn`t attacked by a shower curtain! The cabin steward was excellent and our room was always spotless.

I did miss the typical promenade deck with lounge chairs that we`ve enjoyed on previous cruises.

The outdoor adult area Spice at the back of the ship is great for a drink and yummy appetizers after 6PM.

We dined at the restaurants Manhattan, Taste, the Garden buffet, and one evening at La Cucina. Our dinner at La Cucina was excellent. The other meals were ok to good. I think the trick on NCL is to eat in the specialty restaurants if you are looking for really great meals. It's difficult not to compare the quality of dining on other cruise lines. We loved the Freestyle dining, especially for a European cruise when some days we were so tired after a long port excursion. Not having to dress up for dinner was great.

The EPIC is an excellent choice for the Mediterranean . The ship has lots of activities and the itinerary is perfect.

 

BARCELONA :

We flew to Barcelona 1 day early & took a taxi from the airport straight to our hotel. We stayed at the N H Calderon - 3 min walk to the Placa de Catalunya (main square, just above the top of La Ramblas). Perfect location - the Placa de Catalunya seemed to be a main hub for HOHO tours + the drop off location for the Aerobus. The hotel was very nice, clean with a modern decor. Our 1st choice had been Hotel Praktik Rambla, directly across from the Calderon but that hotel was booked solid. We did pop into the Praktik & the hotel looked as charming as pictured on the Internet. Older building with narrow balconies out front. Next time!

 

Barcelona is an architect's dream city! With styles ranging from Gaudi, Gothic to modern and more, the buildings were outstanding. We took the HOHO tour that afternoon. Walked all around La Ramblas, La Boqueria market and down to the harbour area. We were both feeling very tired by now & ended up eating right outside our hotel. DH is not an adventurous gourmet & I knew he wouldn't wish to play "name that food" at a Tapas bar. :rolleyes: For the majority who love tapas, I've never seen so many places to eat. Our food was good (but boring) - we split a shrimp crepe, pizza & carafe of wine. Now close to 10:30 PM, exhaustion had set in & we were happy our hotel was only steps away.

 

Sunday morning we focused on the Passig de Gracia area (number of fine Gaudi designs) and the Gothic area. Wonderful time walking & exploring through all the old streets. After a few stops for more pastries & coffee, it was 1:00PM and we decide to pick up our luggage at the hotel and head to the ship.

Barcelona is a city you really need a few days to enjoy all the fabulous sights. Just sorry we didn't book a extra day after the cruise.

 

 

NAPLES : We booked with AP tours and visited Pompeii, Sorrento, and drove part way along the Amalfi Coast. Our guide was engaging, funny and offered good information on the area and sights we saw. We were not able to visit Positano as a recent rock slide had blocked the road. Our guide quickly made arrangements to visit a small olive oil producer instead of visiting Positano. We enjoyed the detour quite a bit. We toured the olive groves, saw how olive oil is produced and sampled a variety of flavours. We were sorry to have missed Positano but this was still lots of fun.

 

For Pompeii, we had a private guide for the 2 hours of exploring. It was extra $$ however I highly recommend having someone take you around the ruins and explain the highlights. AP Tours arranged this guide and she was excellent.

 

Sorrento was a charming town with shops selling a variety of lemon products & of course, Limocello. Very pretty. We both had a great time in all the excursions here and I wouldn't hesitate to book with AP Tours again.

 

ROME : As much as I planned & read about our ports/excursion choices, Rome didn't go as smoothly as I'd hoped. We booked thru Share a Shore Excursion Italy & there were 8 of us from the Epic. While our guide (more driver than guide) was a pleasant gentleman, there was limited commentary from him while we were driving through Rome. At one point, I asked about a interesting looking building we were passing, ( a hint that I really would like him to talk) & his reply was "that's a hospital". Hmm..Ok.

 

One couple on the tour didn't pre-purchase tickets for the Vatican or Colosseum - the guide flipped the day's schedule around to accommodate the ticket problem, so we started at the Vatican. DH & I loved walking along the beautiful hallways, exhibits & the Sistine Chapel. However going through the Vatican without some type of guide was a big mistake, as often we didn't know, and were therefore unable to fully appreciate, what we were seeing. I blame myself for misunderstanding the role of our tour guide. I had thought he would be joining us for the tour inside and providing information, or suggested a guide of some sort (audio or person) from the Vatican. I had brought a few ripped out chapters from Rick Steves' book & our group of 8 tried to figure out some of what we were seeing. For anyone planning this trip, it really is more meaningful to hear details of what you are viewing, and if we were leaving for Rome tomorrow, I'd make sure a private Vatican guide was arranged.

 

Since the Epic docks on a Wednesday in Civitavecchia, there is an AM mass service in Vatican Square. Unfortunately, St. Peter`s Basilica was closed as we visited in the morning. It was a little disappointing we couldn't go in, but things happen. Seeing the Pope outside in Vatican square giving Mass along with the Cardinals when we entered was quite the consolation though. Once in a lifetime.

 

After the Vatican, our guide asked if we were ready for lunch & suggested a restaurant close by.

I hadn't thought a sit down meal would be part of the day, considering our time needed to drive back to the ship. Our guide stated there was enough time..... not true. After a quick stop at the Pantheon + Trevi Fountains, there was only 20 mins left for the Colosseum and no time for the Roman Forum. :eek:.. sigh... It was a learning experience and I'm writing this to help future visitors to Rome. If you want to see as much as possible while in Rome, pass on the time consuming Italian lunch (1hr+), grab a slice of pizza and keep walking.

 

PISA/FLORENCE : Once again we booked thru Share a Shore Excursion Italy ( I was a bit apprehensive after yesterday) but our day & tour guide were great. The van had a micro phone, so we could hear everything he was pointing out. Stopped in Pisa for a walk about and photos, then off to Florence. We choose to do our own touring, and met up with the group later in the afternoon. Florence is fabulous - one of my favorites - rich in history, wonderful architecture and great cafes to pop in for coffee/wine. Stopped for gelato several times in Florence... all delicious. Our guide drove through the Tuscany countryside on the way back to the ship..... another terrific day.

 

CANNES : We booked a private tour with Provence Riviera Tours. This was a fabulous day!!

Our guide drove us straight to Monaco, as the roads were closing at noon for the Grand Prix.

We stopped in Monte Carlo & walked about the outside of the casino. We stopped for photos along the French Riviera, and the views were wonderful. On to the medieval village of Eze. Here we had an hour to walk around the village as we headed up to the Le Jardin Exotique (beautiful garden). Once at the top, we again had the most wonderful views.

Heading back to the ship, we drove through Nice with our guide pointing out a number of sights.

5 hours is not enough time to enjoy all the French Riviera has to offer - we could have stayed here for a few days!!

We decided to walk around Cannes ourselves after the tour. The tour guide directed us to a pedestrian street where we could enjoy the ambiance of Cannes. Lots of shops, cafes and interesting architecture We also walked up ( everything is up....lots of stairs!) to the church that overlooks the harbour. It was a very quick walk back to the tenders. The French Riviera is the place for spectacular views, Lamborghini's, Ferrari's and unbelievable yachts. Wow! :D

 

MARSEILLE : This was the only port we used NCL for a tour. Since the ship leaves early on this day, we didn`t wish to take any chances on getting back. We chose Aix-in -Provence + Avignon tour. The guide was excellent. Our 1st stop was Avignon. Here we were able to walk about ourselves & we decided to tour the Palace of the Popes. We purchased the audio guide and enjoyed the history very much. Also took pictures of the Pont Saint-Benezet (famous bridge). We spent all our time in the old city and it was lovely.

 

Our last stop for the week was Aix- in - Provence. I had read about the wonderful open markets in Aix, and mentioned my interest to our guide. Since most markets close at 1:00PM, he walked our group to this area first. We were given a choice of free time for the next few hours or you could join him for a walking tour. We chose to DIY - walked about enjoying the beautiful streets, stopped for a quick lunch ( struggled with the French menu), quickly bought market souvenirs for family - lavender soaps, pottery, lovely French linen tea towels... just small things to take home. Fun! There were a number of great pastry shops about & of course we had to stop in for a yummy lemon tart. Actually we seemed to "graze" our way through most of the trip. Public washrooms are not commonly found & we found ourselves stopping in a cafe for a coffee & sweet.... good excuse to use the " toilette". ;)

 

Summary:

A Mediterranean Cruise on the Norwegian Epic.... what's not to love? The weather was sunny and very warm in places. We had wonderful CC members to share tours with .... DH & I had a terrific week.... ( a month would have been nicer!). :D

**If you book a private tour, as soon as you meet up with your guide, go over your day's itinerary up front. No surprises later**.

(ps. Any EPIC gift shop purchases over $125. - you can claim part of the VAT. excluding candies/chocolates. I didn't know this prior to boarding & on the last night I had our receipts verified by NCL. At the airport we received a small cash refund (that I quickly spent in the duty free store ) after the receipts were stamped by customs.)

 

 

[zazou]

thanks for tips about the Vatican guide. I was still on the fence there and you make me made a decision.

[Cubechick]

Thank you for your review. We'll be taking this cruise for the first time in October, so I'm soaking up everything I can (especially about the ports). :)

[ks]

Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful adventure. This was a great review with some very good advice. We are going on this same cruise Aug. 29th and cannot wait.

[Ilikebigboats]

Wonderful review! I enjoyed the in depth descriptions of each port visit.

Aix- in - Provence sounds interesting, do you recommend? I've read that Marseille is a big and lacks charm so I'm still trying to decide what to do.

You have a great attitude, the non talkative Rome guide would have drove me crazy! :(

Overall it sounds like you had a great time.

Thanks for the review!

[Cruzinbabe06]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review.

 

I'm so excited.:D

[poma]

Thanks for the great review. We will be doing this cruise on 9/23/12. We can't wait!

 

Lorrie

[JustifiedMegan]

The Norwegian Epic is amazing. Really big with great staff. They're always there to help you out with any problems and/or questions. Children will meet tons of friends & have a great time! [From an experienced person] Restaurants are great standard with lots of choice. The Garden Cafe will have everything you could imagine. Remember to buy a soda-pass as its cheaper & you can buy drinks for your whole family with 1 card, you don't need to get the drink in the souvenir cup they can give you a glass. All extra's are totally worth the money & entertainment is fantastic! You'll have a great trip:D Hand-On-Heart