Has anyone enjoyed the Epic Western Med?

[Peachypooh]

We are thinking of booking the Epic Western Med starting in Barcelona.

I just finished reading around 50 reviews and only a few were positive.

Is it really that bad? I am assuming with so many port days the ship would

be secondary but still....hate to fly all the way to Europe and spend

probably close to $15,000  and have it be a waste. 

[Maleficent's Dad]

We sailed out of Barcelona this past July.  We had a fabulous time.

 

Read here for the review.

[Trimone]

That is one fun cruise, don’t listen to the negativity about the Epic, it’s better than the older tanks, and you get a great mix of US and European cruisers out to enjoy themselves 

[BaWBarmy]

We did this cruise with family in 2016.

 

Everyone enjoyed it. It's a great cruise with some great stops. How can you not enjoy Rome.

[LFC91011]

I did it for my honeymoon in the summer of 2016, so I can't speak about more recent sailings. But my wife and I found it worth every penny.

 

We sailed out of Rome (I am never going to spell the actual town right, so I am calling it Rome) and we did feel a little left out having joined the Barcelona people mid-cruise and it was weird leaving the ship to spend the day in Barcelona and being told goodbye, only to have them realize we would be back in a few hours. I will say the chair hogging was much worse on that cruise than any other I have taken. But honestly, the ship was great, the food even better than American based cruises since we could get more food every day in port (my wife still hasn't stopped talking about the tomatoes), and overall we had a blast

 

Those problems were the tiniest of inconveniences though, and we had the time of our lives. Like I said above, it was worth every penny. 

[dcipjr]

It was our first cruise! We loved it!

 

The Epic has its quirks but she's a fine ship, and well-suited to a port-intensive itinerary like the Mediterranean.

[teeredi2cruise]

Just did this itinerary and ship in Sept 2019 and can't wait to go back. Very busy itinerary and long days, but worth every minute to me!

[gatorchinsky]

We did this cruise in June 2019 but we embarked in Rome.  It was fabulous!  The port days were very long but so worth it.  Don’t worry about the negative reviews and go and have a great time.

[AK Dreaming]

Since 2017 I've done this cruise 3X all out of Barcelona.  Once you get past the weird bathrooms on the Epic, it is a GREAT ship.  Great staff, great entertainment and really fun itinerary.

[mapleleaves]

We did this cruise from Barcelona Sept 13.   Loved every minute of it !!   It's an exhausting itinerary but we loved the ports, the ship, food, entertainment .... all of it !

We're budget travellers so we had 2 inside cabins and went DIY at all the ports except Naples where we had a private driver for the Amalfi Coast.  

If I had listened to all the negative nonsense on this forum, I wouldn't have gone ! 

 

My trip report :

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2698753-trip-review-epic-departing-barcelona-sept-15/?tab=comments#comment-58444197

 

I tried to post on the review forum but after all my typing it was lost, so it only appears on the NCL site.  There are a few others .... near the top of this forum, under Norwegian Cruiseline, go to See Posts About and select Epic.  Then sort by date.  Here's another, with lots of photos.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2702318-trip-report-–-norwegian-epic-western-med-september-11-18-2019/?tab=comments#comment-58550013

 

Edited January 13, 2020 by mapleleaves

[TPS123]

I’m on the Epic at the moment on a southern Caribbean cruise which is great!! This is my 5th cruise on the Epic as a solo and I have only had 5 cruises so that should speak volumes! I love this ship. There’s so many restaurants and bars and entertainment venues. The staff and food are great and I just love the vibe of the entire ship. My other 4 Epic cruises were Western Med from Barcelona so this is my first time from San Juan. To be in the sunshine in January when its cold and rainy in the UK is a bit special !!! Book your cruise. You will have a great time 😎 🌞

The Epic is going into dry dock in November this year so I will be back again to see the new shows next year. 

[rachiem]

We've done this cruise twice and have it booked for a third time! So much to see and we personally love the Epic.

Very much an active holiday.

[z4oslo]

You'll have a fantastic time.

Dont skip Pompeii

[njcruiser27]

We did this cruise September 2019, and had a wonderful time. We had absolutely no problems and found the staff was great, really enjoyed the food, entertainment and bars.  I wouldn’t hesitate to do this cruise again. 

[cruisin from vegas]

Will be on board out of Barcelona on 7/19/20... cannot wait.  Had a friend on board a couple weeks ago and he can’t stop raving how much he loved it.  It’s an odd duck ship for sure... but so what.  I embrace diversity.  I’ll be in a solo cabin, my 4th solo cruise...  so excited 

[Peachypooh]

2 hours ago, Maleficent's Dad said:

We sailed out of Barcelona this past July.  We had a fabulous time.

 

Read here for the review.

Thank you so much. Loved your review!

[sverigecruiser]

3 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

We are thinking of booking the Epic Western Med starting in Barcelona.

I just finished reading around 50 reviews and only a few were positive.

Is it really that bad? I am assuming with so many port days the ship would

be secondary but still....hate to fly all the way to Europe and spend

probably close to $15,000  and have it be a waste. 

 

We planned to do that cruise in 2017 until we saw the cost for the Haven compared to MSCs Yacht Club!

 

The ship is the most important part of a cruise in the Mediterranean and I think that the Epic is a good choice, with or without Haven.

[Peachypooh]

2 hours ago, mapleleaves said:

We did this cruise from Barcelona Sept 13.   Loved every minute of it !!   It's an exhausting itinerary but we loved the ports, the ship, food, entertainment .... all of it !

We're budget travellers so we had 2 inside cabins and went DIY at all the ports except Naples where we had a private driver for the Amalfi Coast.  

If I had listened to all the negative nonsense on this forum, I wouldn't have gone ! 

 

My trip report :

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2698753-trip-review-epic-departing-barcelona-sept-15/?tab=comments#comment-58444197

 

I tried to post on the review forum but after all my typing it was lost, so it only appears on the NCL site.  There are a few others .... near the top of this forum, under Norwegian Cruiseline, go to See Posts About and select Epic.  Then sort by date.  Here's another, with lots of photos.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2702318-trip-report-–-norwegian-epic-western-med-september-11-18-2019/?tab=comments#comment-58550013

 

Thank you! Great review!

[Bucket List Ticked]

We did this cruise in August 2018 and had a great time. Also was worried about the high number of poor reviews (I am in a similar situation now with Breakaway reviews for which I am booked this August!) but I had absolutely no complaints at all. Bar service was reportedly slow with long queues - we were on a full ship and never waited long at any bar on the ship. 

 

Food was fab and our balcony cabin was great.

 

Being a full ship the deck was crowded on the sea day, however I’d read about the ‘secret sun deck’ thanks to cruise critic and found comfy padded sun-loungers in a spacious area and we even got Waiter service.

 

In case you don’t know - heading from the pool towards the buffet you will see glass lifts either side. Take the right hand lift up to deck 18. When you step out you will probably already see loads of spare loungers, but head all the way to the front of the ship for extra comfy loungers.

 

You will have a great trip!

Edited January 13, 2020 by Bucket List Ticked

[FLAHAM]

Three cruises on the Epic over the past 10 years--all very enjoyable. 

[kopiko]

We did this cruise in October out of Barcelona and loved it! Definitely not your usual beach/Caribbean type cruise we usually do but this was our 25th anniversary and had a wonderful time.

[blueslily]

Excellent time on the Western Med twice on the Epic. Most recently Oct 2019. Would do it again without any question! 

[ejnsb]

Sailed out of Barcelona September 2019, 3 couples.  3 nights precruise in Barcelona,  3 nights Paris, 3 nights London.  Trip of a lifetime.  Was our second time on Epic and would gladly sail her again.

[mcmomny]

Been on The Epic twice, once in the Caribbean and once in The Med out of Barcelona. Great time both times.

 

Do spend a few extra days in Barcelona! Amazing city

 

In my opinion no need to spend big bucks for The Haven as this is a very port intensive cruise so you spend very little time on board.  We only saw one show as we were always so exhausted from our excursions and had to get up early each day we would have a nice dinner than a night cap in one of the many bars listening to the singer or guitar player then go crash for the night!

 

But on our Caribbean cruise we did experience nightlife every night and enjoyed it all!  Howl at the Moon was great

 

We had a balcony cabin which was just fine, gave us plenty of room and the opportunity to have our balcony for sail aways or sailing into port.

 

Really enjoy the included adult only H2O, yes sea day was crowded but it was nice to have this option and not have to pay for the Vibe.

[pe4all]

The Epic was our first cruise into Europe/Med area.  We had no complaints about the ship itself, or our balcony cabin.  I do suggest making dining reservations before boarding, as certain times book up quickly.  Loved the itinerary, Barcelona was great, and we needed a vacation from our vacation, as we were exhausted by the end of the cruise!