Norwegian Epic Review

4.5 / 5.0
4,413 reviews

Never again on NCL!

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Norwegian Epic
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shayes914
6-10 Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Dec 2018
Cabin: Balcony
Traveled with children
Overly crowded tender. Standing is not allowed but there was literally no r
Line to get back on board from Grand Cayman. We got there at 3:00 - too lon
Big line to get off the boat on last day. this was at 7:45 am.

We were looking for somewhere to go over Christmas and this offered a decent itinerary. The #1 worst part of this cruise was the lines. Lines everywhere. My wife waited in line for 46 minutes for sub-par tacos on their private island. Boarding the tenders was always a nightmare; count on standing in line for at least half an hour. Leaving their private island the tender was WAY overloaded - people were standing everywhere and I am certain they were over the legal capacity for that vessel. I bought the upgraded tickets to the Cirque show and (on good advice) showed up an hour early to stand in line to get a good seat. I spoke with a lady that showed up ONLY 45 minutes early to wait in line and they got seated on the upper deck. No reason that process couldn't be managed better.

Our most recent other cruises were aboard Celebrity and Disney so maybe we had set the bar too high with our expectations on food and service because both were terrible on this boat by comparison. The food at Cirque was poor quality. My wife took our child to the bathroom when they were bringing out the entree. When she returned, they told her they didn't have anymore so she didn't even get to eat. We asked for glass of wine before show started and they never brought it. We had mixed reviews of Le Bistro. One night was pretty bad - way overly salty (Dover Sole) ruined a perfectly good piece of fish. The 2nd time we went it was good. Cagney's was okay. They basically heavily season the meat to cover up for not so great cuts. We liked the little sushi place. The worst food experience was always Garden Cafe. LINES! We almost saw a fight on the first morning when someone tried to hop the 20+ minute line for an omlet. Definitely best to avoid the rush around 10:00 am if you just have to go there. The two main dining rooms with sit down service were okay. Not nearly as good as the aforementioned Celebrity and Disney but okay.

The one area where they did a good job was the kid's club. Our 6 year old wanted to go every day and the staff was great.

Cabin Review

Balcony

The worst part about the room was that the shower stall and the head are separated from the main cabin by a think opaque glass that shows your silhouette quite clearly when you do your business and does not block any of the noise. There is a curtain to pull which helps but was still too cozy for comfort. Ventilation must have been into the hallway as the smell of bathroom was ever-present on all decks

Port Reviews

Great Stirrup Cay

The island was nearly as crowded as the cruise ship. Don't waste your day waiting in line for the tacos at the taco stand. Took 46 minutes in line and they were not good (disclaimer: we are from Texas with great Tex-Mex so probably a little biased).

Grand Cayman (Georgetown)

Took a taxi to Kimpton Seafire for lunch. Fantastic resort with great food and even better service.

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