My rather belated review of NCL EPIC May 2014

[pinkpanther52]

I have done a Mini Cruise before but this was from the UK and this was my 1st cruise in the Med.

 

I flew to Barca a couple of days early and stayed at the Marina View which is down by the waterfront.

Embarkation was very easy, caught the bus from the port about 10:30, check in and had to wait about 30 mins until my number was called and was on board by 11:30.

We were told that even if our Cabins were not ready we could put our carry ons in them if we wished. That said I decided to drop my bag off. I was in a Solo Studio and as it turned out it was ready and my checked luggage had arrived - Very Impressed. I unpacked and investigated the Cabin. Loved the funky mood lighting and shower. The Cabin Steward introduced herself. I then went and spent the rest of the day exploring the ship, having Lunch and a cocktail, got changed for dinner and went to the Solos meeting in The Lounge to meet Gaby our host and other solos including Judy who I had arrange on the CC Roll call to go to Capri with.

Went for Dinner in the Manhattan Room with a couple of other girls from the Solo group. We were all VERY surprised how uber casual everyone was dressed for dinner. Still the food was good even if the service was a bit quick.

Evening entertainment - Howl at the Moon.

Sea Day.

I explored the Buffet for breakfast before chilling for a while and then going to the CC Meet and Greet. The Meet and Greet was excellent and I met a few more Solos. Then we went off to the Cabin Crawl. Nice to see the suites and Haven but for me I am not sure I would fork out that amount of money - a Balcony or outside Cabin would be nice tho.

Had Lunch at the buffet - my favourite bit was the "Ethnic" Corners - Chinese and Indian I found the rest of the choices a bit plain and was very disappointed in the cheese and desert selection.

Went to the Martini tasting and teamed up with Judy and a couple of others. You got six small Martinis (probably about a 1/3 of a normal Martini) I found the to be just right but the others found them to be a bit strong my favourite was the Apple Martini.

I chilled out on deck for the rest of the day before going to get changed for dinner and the Solos meeting and the group dinner. I told Gaby how it would be nice to have cheese rather than desert and she told me just to ask - Result.

OK back latter with rest of the trip.

Jackie

[pinkpanther52]

Part 2

Naples

Met Judy in the Solos lounge after breakfast and we caught the ferry to Capri, this was one of the places I really wanted to see and it did not disappoint.

 

Civitavecchia

Met some of the other solos and we caught the courtesy bus into town. Was VERY glad I chose not to go into Rome. We really enjoyed Civi and had a great walk along the shore and beach and a lovely lunch and some drinks in a nice café. Everyone I spoke to who went to Rome said it was really rushed and busy and they were very worried about getting back in time as the trains were heaving. Got back on board about 15:00 and went to the water pool for a shot on the slides - good to try once but not over enthralled.

Went to Le Bistro one of the speciality restaurants with someone else who wanted to try it. TBH I did not find the food a great deal better than the MDRs but the service was much more attentive and relaxed.

I also went to the Ice Bar which I thought was a great experience. It was quite to I was able to stay about 50 mins.

 

Livorno

I went on an NCL organised trip to Lucca and Pisa. This was to be my only organised trip and I was glad. Lucca was good but I would have rather have had much more free time to explore by myself, not that the guide was not good but I think he tried to cover everything including the obligatory church visit. I guess I am a more independent type of person and would have been happily with "Lucca on your own" but it was my 1st time doing and excursion and you learn by experience. Hated Pisa as it was far to crowed for me but I can tick off the Leaning Tower on my to do list.

 

Cannes

I had planned to go to Grasse by train but when I turned up at the meeting place to get the tender it was complete chaos. Lot of people turning up late and then pushing and shoving to get to the front, people with scooters ramming through the crowd and people saving place for the rest of the group. WELL I did not want to go to Grasse that much so I went and had a coffee and returned later - much better. In the end I was glad as I really enjoyed Cannes - It turned out to be my favourite port.

I had a walk around the shops and along the sea from, almost mown down by the paparazzi who were chasing someone (it was the film festival) .

 

Majorca

Ooooh last full day. After getting organised I met up with the some others on the "Adult only" deck for to watch the ship dock in Palma, then after lunch it was off in to town by local bus for a wander around and the some Cava to toast our cruise.

 

Disembarkation

I chose the latest disembarkation time and it was really straight forward. I had to wait a bit for a taxi but I was in no rush as I was staying another night before flying home.

 

OK part 3 tomorrow (hopefully)

[LuvBNatC]

Jackie, I'm enjoying your review. I've never done a Med cruise, but would love to see all the places you've visited someday.

 

Sounds like you did very well getting around on your own. I'd be a solo as well.

 

How was the passenger mix on Epic? Was it mostly Americans or Europeans?

[pinkpanther52]

Hi LuvBNattC Edinburgh UK (for now!)is in the County of Midlothian Spooky ;) Anyway The passanger mix was mostly American quite a few Italians got on inRome and the rest mainly from the Uk or Ireland especially the Solos and a few Middle Eastern families. I got on fine travelling on my own but then I have been doing it off and on since I was 16 and am now 49 ;) Never got any hassle or felt out of place but was told how dangerous it was to explore Cannes on my owm I mean WTH.

[LuvBNatC]

Hi LuvBNattC Edinburgh UK (for now!)is in the County of Midlothian Spooky ;) Anyway The passanger mix was mostly American quite a few Italians got on inRome and the rest mainly from the Uk or Ireland especially the Solos and a few Middle Eastern families. I got on fine travelling on my own but then I have been doing it off and on since I was 16 and am now 49 ;) Never got any hassle or felt out of place but was told how dangerous it was to explore Cannes on my owm I mean WTH.

 

How funny! I knew there was a Midlothian in Scotland, but didn't realize it's a county. I think Sir Walter Scott wrote a book called "Heart of Midlothian."

 

Even more spooky, my sister just returned from spending a month in Edinburgh working on the Fringe Festival. Funny she never has mentioned the Midlothian connection. Such a small world! :)

 

That sounds like a good mix of passengers, as English speakers go. Personally, I'd rather sail with an international crowd rather than just Americans, particularly on a European itinerary, because you can learn so much from others and hearing about their homes is so interesting.

 

I've been on several crossings with hundreds of French onboard, and every bit of my decades of "trying" to become fluent French came into play. ;)

 

The only place I ever really felt unsafe wandering the streets alone was years ago in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

 

Last year I walked all over Lisbon and never felt out of place or unsafe anywhere.

 

I guess it all depends on what common sense you use to blend in like a local and your tolerance for danger. :D

 

Karen

[pinkpanther52]

Part 3

A few thoughts and overall impressions.

 

Food

I found the food in general and in the MDR to be very good apart from deserts - although to be said I am not really a desert person but I did enjoy the Chocolate Fondant and the Macha Ice Cream.

However dinner service felt a bit rushed - only about 1 1/4 hours to 1 1/2 hours for dinner - pretty quick!!.

I was most disappointed in the breakfast buffet. The coffee was dreadfully and could never find "proper" bacon or poached eggs.

Freestyle was Ok but I prefer Traditional but this would not stop me sailing NCL again.

 

Cabin

I really liked the Solo Cabin it was a great size and the "padding" and mood lighting were funky. The shower was a good size as well. It would be great if NCL did outside Solo Cabins like some other cruise lines.

 

Dress

I found most people were uber casual especially when going for dinner. I think this is a cultural thing but it takes a bit of getting used to.

 

Niggles

The music at Sailaway was FAR too LOUD.

A general lack of outside space.

The ship always left late and I think this made the captain "put on steam" to make up time, this made it very wind and difficult to sit on deck of an evening.

 

 

My biggest issue and I do understand that this is NOT NCLs fault is that there were some VERY rude people.

 

I saw on man screaming at the staff during muster drill as it was not going quick enough and he wanted to get to the Casino!!

 

Several people either shouted or blocked the entrance to the lifts as in their opinion it was to full - well the buzzer had not gone off so evidently not.

 

I saw at least one incident of several couple being very rude to restaurant staff ashore. - I am sorry but if you are American and in the Med you are not in Kansas anymore - so to speak. I saw two separate couples verbally harassing staff at a café as they did not serve free Iced Tea with Lunch nor did they have Hot Dogs or Hamburgers and the menu was in FRENCH. Also shouting in ever increasingly loud American or snapping your fingers will not get you anywhere.

 

It was good to be able to agree with the waitress they were morons. - I have to hope their food was safe to eat!!! ;-0

 

 

Culture difference.

 

As said the very quick dinner time.

 

The White Hot party - what is that all about!!

 

The 15% extra on drinks - now the EPIC is sailing year round in the Med and the Canaries should NCL not adopt the local policy advertise the actual price for drinks.

 

Summery

Would I sail NCL and the Epic Again???

 

Yes I would but only if it was a different ports

 

 

Jackie

Edited September 10, 2014 by pinkpanther52

[LuvBNatC]

Funny about the ugly Americans. Well, not funny. Embarrassing, actually.

 

On that crossing with 800 French I mentioned earlier, the rest of us were mainly American, British, and Norwegian, and we were already ready to see the back side of the French by the time we reached Le Havre. ;)

 

Onboard, while chattering incessantly (it always seemed :D), they'd stop dead in front of you on staircases or corridors so you always had to be on guard not to run in to them. They'd take high offense at that. Nothing like getting cussed out in a language you don't understand. :confused:

 

After early seating dinner, they'd linger way too long in the 2 dining rooms, which backed everyone up on second seating and caused hard feelings. (This happened on the first crossing I made with them; the following year, NCL seated all the French in one dining room so they could inconvenience only each other.)

 

One morning at open seating breakfast, I sat with Americans and one French woman who said she spoke no English. So one of the ladies tried using her high school French to basically introduce herself. I understood everything she was saying, but the French woman claimed she couldn't make sense of any of it and left the table in disgust. I guess our American accents are too atrocious! :eek:

 

That said, I've seen Americans on a bus in England going bonkers because the driver couldn't idle the bus to keep the air conditioning running -- he said it violated pollution law. Fair enough.

 

They also complained about the gangway having a steeper incline when they returned from a shore excursion than when they left the ship, as if NCL could stop the incoming tide. It was nuts.

 

You find them everywhere, all nationalities, I'm sure.

 

pinkpanther, your Epic insights have been great. I've been eying that ship since it launched for the studio cabins, but haven't taken the plunge yet.