First time (solo) cruiser questions on NCL Epic

[sofienummer]

Hi everyone! :D

I'm relatively new to this site, but have been reading A LOT in the last couple of days (this site is truly amazing with the best tips, etc. really love it!). Making me even more excited for my cruise, if that is possible!

So, I will be doing my first solo cruise on the Norwegian Epic in the fall, west mediterranean cruise (Barcelona, rome, etc.) and I have a few questions I hope some of you will be able to answer :)

Water

I drink a lot of water, partly because I use it for my daily medications. I know from april forward people will get one bottle of water each day on their cruise. However, one bottle isn't enough for me. Can you get bottled (non-sparkly) water on board? Or a glass? And can you drink the water onboard? I've been to spain before and you couldn't drink the water (and it tasted awful).

Food

I have a question considering the food. I don't have any food allergies, but I can't really tolerate very spicy food (pepper and other very spicy herbs). Can I just ask, while ordering my choice of food, if they can hold the spicy herbs? Like is that a problem for them or is it relatively easy?

Shore excursions

I probably won't be doing a lot of excursions, I rather want to plan things myself and just walk around the city. I looked up 'shuttle busses from the ports' but I read a lot of contradictory statements about this particular subject. If there are shuttles busses available at the ports, do you need to make a reservation on the ship? If so, when? And what about returning to the ship with shuttle busses? Is there a way to know what time they leave?

If you won't do an excursion, what is a good time to leave the ship to avoid the crowds?

I did look up shore excursions from NCL on their site but I couldn't find any reviews (although I've heard people on CC say they read reviews) or really detailed information about the excursions. Is there a site/blog that could give me more inside on those excursions? They are really expensive, so I would want more detail before making a decision!

Solo cruisers

I have a question to/about solo cruisers. What do you tell people regarding travelling solo? I hear a lot of advice to NOT say you travel solo but on the Norwegian Epic I feel like it wouldn't be a big deal since there are more solo travellers. So how do you guys feel about this particular (safety) topic? Any advice?

 

 

 

Thanks in advance for any replies, tips, etc.

Kind regards,

Sophie

[CruiserBruce]

Come over to the NCL board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

 

for all the NCL tips and info you will ever need.

[Honolulu Blue]

Hi Sophie! Welcome to our club!

 

I'll try to answer some of your questions. They'll be generic, since I've never sailed on NCL.

 

* You can get water for free from the dining rooms, restaurants, and the buffet area. Bottled water is probably going to cost extra. There may be a beverage plan to help reduce the cost (depending on how much you drink). The ship's water is fine to drink.

 

* About an hour after the ship gives the announcement that people are free to leave, most of the crowds should have thinned out and you should be able to walk right out with minimal lines. This is for ports where you dock; if there's a tender involved, the guidelines are different. It's best to ask either on the NCL board or the sub-board for your particular stop.

 

* I don't exactly advertise that I'm traveling solo, but if someone wants to know, I'll tell them. Then again, I'm a guy, and perhaps women have different issues to be concerned about. BTW, there's a lot of discussion about the issues with solo travelers on their sub-board at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=373

[mjkacmom]

Bottled water is available for purchase and not included in the beverage plan. The ship's water is fine and free. I've never heard about any free daily bottled water.

[SuiteTraveler]

My answers in red below:

 

Hi everyone! :D

I'm relatively new to this site, but have been reading A LOT in the last couple of days (this site is truly amazing with the best tips, etc. really love it!). Making me even more excited for my cruise, if that is possible!

So, I will be doing my first solo cruise on the Norwegian Epic in the fall, west mediterranean cruise (Barcelona, rome, etc.) and I have a few questions I hope some of you will be able to answer :)

Water

I drink a lot of water, partly because I use it for my daily medications. I know from april forward people will get one bottle of water each day on their cruise. However, one bottle isn't enough for me. Can you get bottled (non-sparkly) water on board? Or a glass? And can you drink the water onboard? I've been to spain before and you couldn't drink the water (and it tasted awful).

The ship's water is good, drink that onboard. When you are in port, there will be many places to buy bottled water, so you can do that during the day.

 

Food

I have a question considering the food. I don't have any food allergies, but I can't really tolerate very spicy food (pepper and other very spicy herbs). Can I just ask, while ordering my choice of food, if they can hold the spicy herbs? Like is that a problem for them or is it relatively easy?

The food in the MDR is essentially hotel banquet food where it is mass prepared in advance. The way to handle this in the MDR is to simply choose items off the menu that don't have much spice and if there is a sauce (for example Herb butter or Marinara) ask for the sauce on the side - then when they bring it you can decide if you want to eat the sauce or not. Also, it is possible to change salad dressings even to something not on the menu so you can get a dressing you know you like. So simple! If anything you will find the food rather salty. Also, the buffet will be a great place for you to eat as you can see what is in each food item before you take it. There is a pasta bar, where you can choose what you want on your pasta and completely avoid spices. There are all sorts of options that should work great for you in the buffet. In the specialty restaurants, the food is prepared to order and it is easier to ask them to leave off the spice. You can see some of the current menus here:

http://www.beyondships2.com/norwegian-breakaway-menus.html

If you don't like something, do send it back and order something else.

The ship will post the MDR menu for the evening outside the MDR just after lunch is over. At that point, you can go by and peruse the menu, see if there is something you want to eat and if not, you can go to the buffet or another restaurant that evening.

Shore excursions

I probably won't be doing a lot of excursions, I rather want to plan things myself and just walk around the city. I looked up 'shuttle busses from the ports' but I read a lot of contradictory statements about this particular subject. If there are shuttles busses available at the ports, do you need to make a reservation on the ship? If so, when? And what about returning to the ship with shuttle busses? Is there a way to know what time they leave?

If you won't do an excursion, what is a good time to leave the ship to avoid the crowds?

In the Med, some ports are industrial (such as Civitavecchia) and you ride the port bus to get off the port. It comes around every 15 - 20 minutes or so. Once you are off the port, if you want to go to Rome, you would walk to the train station and board the train for Rome. Some ports, you can just get off the ship and walk around. So do research each port to figure out what you are going to do and how to get there. Here's where you need to go to find out information on each port:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=19

I did look up shore excursions from NCL on their site but I couldn't find any reviews (although I've heard people on CC say they read reviews) or really detailed information about the excursions. Is there a site/blog that could give me more inside on those excursions? They are really expensive, so I would want more detail before making a decision!

The Ports of Call Board I linked above will help with this. Also get on your roll call to see what others on your cruise are planning as you can share private excursions for a fraction of the cost of ship's excursions.

Solo cruisers

I have a question to/about solo cruisers. What do you tell people regarding travelling solo? I hear a lot of advice to NOT say you travel solo but on the Norwegian Epic I feel like it wouldn't be a big deal since there are more solo travellers. So how do you guys feel about this particular (safety) topic? Any advice?

 

I don't think it is anyone's business. You have to consider that a ship is like a town and there are good people and then possibly some criminals onboard. It's impossible to know.

 

Thanks in advance for any replies, tips, etc.

Kind regards,

Sophie

[sofienummer]

Come over to the NCL board, here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=107

 

for all the NCL tips and info you will ever need.

 

Thank you! I will ask my questions and read about specific NCL tips :)

[sofienummer]

Hi Sophie! Welcome to our club!

 

I'll try to answer some of your questions. They'll be generic, since I've never sailed on NCL.

 

* You can get water for free from the dining rooms, restaurants, and the buffet area. Bottled water is probably going to cost extra. There may be a beverage plan to help reduce the cost (depending on how much you drink). The ship's water is fine to drink.

 

* About an hour after the ship gives the announcement that people are free to leave, most of the crowds should have thinned out and you should be able to walk right out with minimal lines. This is for ports where you dock; if there's a tender involved, the guidelines are different. It's best to ask either on the NCL board or the sub-board for your particular stop.

 

* I don't exactly advertise that I'm traveling solo, but if someone wants to know, I'll tell them. Then again, I'm a guy, and perhaps women have different issues to be concerned about. BTW, there's a lot of discussion about the issues with solo travelers on their sub-board at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=373

 

 

Thank you Honolulu Blue for your reply and your tips/information! :D Happy to hear that the ship's water is fine to drink!

Ah yes, maybe there is a difference and I absolutely agree about not advertising it! I will sure be reading on the sub-board! Thanks :)

 

Have a wonderful Easter weekend

[sofienummer]

My answers in red below:

 

SuiteTraveler... thank you so much for all your great advice and help! Really appreciate it! :D

Great to hear about all the options when it comes to ordering food at Epic (or probably any other cruise). Dressing on the side is very clever idea; I'll most definitely use it :)

 

"I don't think it is anyone's business. You have to consider that a ship is like a town and there are good people and then possibly some criminals onboard. It's impossible to know."

This is absolutely true! It could, especially as a woman I suppose, make you look/seem more vulnerable.

 

Anyway, thank you, and all of you, for the helpful advice! Means so much; you are all so kind :)

 

Have a wonderful Easter weekend!

[Dancer Bob]

Shore excursions:You MUST be back to the ship before sailing.

In Civitavecchia, the train station is 1.6 km from the port entrance shuttle stop. Remember if you wait til the last minute there may be a horde of people returning for a later sailing time than yours.

Private tours that are safe and cost-effective for a large party are not for a single female first-timer (it sounds like your Spain experience does not translate directly to a cruise port stop). Even finding the stop for the HOHO bus in Barcelona might be outside your comfort zone.

Cruise ship tours are typically bland and unchallenging with lots of overpriced gift shops, but low risk.

[Extra Kim]

Find your roll call here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=576