Norwegian Epic was a fantastic experience for our Mediterranean sailing.
Over the years, my family and I have cruised multiple cruise lines including Royal Caribbean, Disney, Celebrity, Costa, and Princess just to name of a few. Never being one that is afraid to try something new, for our past summer vacation I wanted to experience a new cruise line for our European Trip.
We selected the Norwegian Epic as its itinerary was perfectly suited for the time frame that we were travelling. From my experience as a travel agent, I knew that Norwegian Cruise Lines also had an excellent children’s program which was very important to us.
As of today the Norwegian Epic is the 7th largest cruise ship in the world at 155,873 tonnes, 19 decks, and carries 4,010 passengers. This type of mega-ship has many of the bells and whistles that most contemporary cruise lines offer. These amenities include water slides, a rock wall, multiple restaurants, a full-service spa, casinos, theatres, and kid’s clubs.
For the sake of this review, I will focus on my overall impressions of the ship and its amenities.
Waterpark aboard Norwegian Epic.
The first impression of the ship is that it is BIG. We had sailed other larger ships in the past (most notable the Oasis of the Seas which once held the title of the largest ship) so we were not overwhelmed or surprised. Upon boarding, we found the ship very easy to navigate. We found a few unexpected hallways that lead to a dead-end, but I think that’s part of the fun of exploring a new ship.
In October 2015, the Norweigan Epic underwent a dry dock which resulted in many upgrades and refurbishments to the dining areas and Kids Aqua Park. We tend to cruise on newer ships so we really liked the feel of the freshness of the whole ship.
Since the Norwegian Epic has so many specialty restaurants we did upgrade to the dining plan. This allowed us to enjoy some fabulous meals at Moderno Churrascaria (Brazilian Steakhouse), La Cucina (Italian), Cagney’s Steakhouse, and Teppanyaki (Japanese Hibachi). Even when we ate at the main restaurants we were never disappointed in the quality or quantity of the food provided. Even the main buffet provided great selections for the whole family.
The only meal which we found did not meet the rest of the ship’s standards was when we dinned and watched the Cirque Dreams show. However, the show itself was so entertaining that the food was not the main focus.
Lobster at Cagney’s Steakhouse.
Caesar Salad Appetizer at Cagney’s Steakhouse.
The Kids Club was definitely a big bonus on this trip. The kids just LOVED it and would ask to go all the time. On occasion, they also preferred to dine with the other kids as well. Each day the kids club had a new theme like “Heroes or Villains?” and “Pirate Adventures”.
Our kids enjoyed:
- the pyjama parties
- making wacky tacky
- participating in sports activities
- making friends with children from all over the world!
Splash Academy Daily Itinerary
The Norwegian Epic ship has some of the most interesting staterooms at sea.
The most notable difference is the split bath. Although convenient with families, it does cause some challenges when there are multiple people in the cabin at the same time.
For example, if someone is using the sink, you have to climb over the bed to get past them. As we had a connecting stateroom, the connecting door was placed where the closet would have been so we did find that storage for 4 people was insufficient. Here is a walkthrough of our Cabin.
The ship sailed a fabulous itinerary which included:
- Livorno (where we spent the day at Cinque Terre)
- Cannes
- Provence
- Barcelona
- Naples/Pompeii
- One day at sea.
Each port was anywhere between 9 to 12 hours. This provided us with plenty of time to get off and explore without feeling too rushed.
In summary, I give the Norwegian Epic cabin a 6/10 taking points off for the layout. For overall value, itinerary, and amenities I would give it a 9/10. Norwegian Cruise lines provided an extremely memorable experience and a cruise line that we would cruise with again.
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Happy Travels,
We took the same trip in October to November 2020. The only 2 things we did not like: the placement of the bathroom and the dinner at Cirque show. But everything else was fabulous. We are going in the Epic from Puerto Rico in January if 2022.
Thank you Lily for your comments. I agree 100% with your thoughts. I outlined in my blog that I gave the rooms a 6/10 due to the bathroom layout and that we also didn’t enjoy the meal at the Cirque Show. It was the only meal that we thought did not meet the ship’s standards but we found the show itself to be extremely entertaining!
Hi
Clara loved ur review my husband and have just booked the epic for October 17th
We need a hotel for the 16th can you help us out
Something not expensive but close to the port in barceleona
Looking forward to hearing from you
Marilyn polano
Hi Marilyn, so happy you have found my review helpful. Unfortunately, we do not book just hotels as our advisors are specialists in planning full vacation itineraries. I am certain you will have a fantastic time in Barcelona.
[…] was a fabulous year of travel for me and for cruising in particular. In July I cruised the Norwegian Epic in the Mediterranean with my family and in November I cruised the Celebrity Reflection for our […]