I have sailed NCL twice before, and am a steadfast Holland America cruiser, mainly because HAL feels more calming to me. That said, I really, really enjoyed this cruise and the shore excursions. Because of a sudden death in the family I had to cancel and rebook for another date. I had purchased, as I always do, trip cancellation insurance. This was the first time I'd ever made a claim. I did find that trip delay does not cover if you have not started your trip, so having to change the dates, my rebooked date was more expensive, but I bit the bullet because it was the only free time I had left for the summer.

I booked a guaranteed balcony cabin, and several days prior to sailing I was advised my cabin, 9017, was an "enclosed balcony. I called NCL to find out what that meant and was told that balcony had a cover, which some cabins on this ship do not. It wasn’t until I arrived that I found out it meant the balcony was like a picture window on the balcony. I have posted about this under cabins, with a photo, so take a look if you're doing a guarantee, because this is a possibility the Epic. For the amount of time I spent out there, it was fine.

Barcelona is a wonderful embarkation city. I had been there before, and because of the last minute changes had to pay more for a hotel than I usually would, but it was worth it. Hotel 1898 is so well located on Las Ramblas, everything I wanted to see was within a 20 minute walk. I had booked a private transfer from the airport, and there was the driver right outside customs, a blessing after 18 hours of travel to get there. After everything I had read about how unsafe Barcelona is, pickpockets and petty crime, I did not feel threatened at all, although with the late sundown in early July, I was in my room by dark each night after lovely dining al fresco on Las Ramblas. Read more