Mediterranean Cruise

[Kara L]

Planning a Mediterranean cruise for summer of 2020...having a hard time deciding between Norwegian Epic out of Rome and RC Allure of the Seas out of Barcelona. Looking forward to hearing any/all opinions! Thanks! 

[Aquahound]

Referring only to the ships themselves, I recommend Allure.  RCI's Oasis Class ships are amazing and have the best entertainment at sea.  Plus, I almost always recommend RCI over NCL.  I just think its a better product.  

 

If you do lean toward Epic, make sure you're aware of the cabin layout.  The shower is in the living space of the room instead of the bathroom.  It can be really awkward if you have kids or even if you just enjoy an ounce of privacy.  

[leaveitallbehind]

Agree with Paul regarding the ships.  But the ship alone would not be my deciding criteria and will add the caveat that since we don't know what the specific itineraries are to compare, that would be an important consideration.

[Kara L]

The itineraries are very similar... the Epic sails out of Rome and goes to Florence/Pisa, Cannes,  Majorca, Barcelona And Naples. The Allure sails out of Barcelona and goes to Majorca, Marseilles, Florence/Pisa, Rome, and Naples/Capri. 

[leaveitallbehind]

48 minutes ago, Kara L said:

The itineraries are very similar... the Epic sails out of Rome and goes to Florence/Pisa, Cannes,  Majorca, Barcelona And Naples. The Allure sails out of Barcelona and goes to Majorca, Marseilles, Florence/Pisa, Rome, and Naples/Capri. 

 

Then my choice would remain with RCI / Allure.

[George C]

Another vote for allure 

[rmurray847]

Based purely on ship, I'd do the ALLURE.  I've done all my sailing on NCL and RCCL, and normally would be more wishy-washy on this.  But the ALLURE is a pretty awesome ship.

[Aplmac]

22 hours ago, Aquahound said:

If you do lean toward Epic, make sure you're aware of the cabin layout.

The shower is in the living space of the room instead of the bathroom.

 

It can be really awkward if you have kids

or even if you just enjoy an ounce of privacy.  

.

Are you serious??

That's horrible! Who dreamed that up?

 

Thanks for the warning!

[Aquahound]

1 minute ago, Aplmac said:

.

Are you serious??

That's horrible! Who dreamed that up?

 

Thanks for the warning!

 

I really wish I was making it up.  I don't know what NCL was thinking.  And to make matters worse, the door to the toilet is a sliding opaque glass door.  You can see the silhouette of the person sitting on the toilet through it.    

[Aplmac]

21 hours ago, Kara L said:

The itineraries are very similar... the Epic sails out of Rome and goes to

.

Not to get all technical on ya or nuthin....

but you'll find that Epic will sail out of Civitavecchia

- Rome's coastal port located 50 miles away!

.

[pris993]

Another consideration I would suggest, for someone doing their first Mediterranean cruise, going out of Barcelona is a lot easier than going out the port for Rome.    Airport to ship in Barcelona is nearby getting on and getting off.  Barcelona is a great city to visit as well, suggest you go at least one day in advance.    

[pso418]

I did the cruise on the Epic and you can get on it in Rome or Barcelona.  Most people get on in Barcelona.  We loved Barcelona and would recommend sailing from there rather than Rome.  I

[Turtles06]

On 2/20/2019 at 7:03 PM, Aplmac said:

.

Not to get all technical on ya or nuthin....

but you'll find that Epic will sail out of Civitavecchia

- Rome's coastal port located 50 miles away!

.

 

 

And, for similar reasons, it won’t be going to Florence and Pisa, either, unless global warming is acting even faster than it is now. 

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, pso418 said:

I did the cruise on the Epic and you can get on it in Rome or Barcelona.  Most people get on in Barcelona.  We loved Barcelona and would recommend sailing from there rather than Rome.  I

When we sailed on the Epic (out of Barcelona), I believe there was also a port in France on which you could board as well as the port for Rome (Civitavecchia).

[Kara L]

We decided on the Allure!!! We’ve sailed on the Epic before and loved everything about it, except for the ridiculous bathroom setup!!! The Allure definitely looks amazing!!! I can’t wait to go!!! 😀😀😀