Epic review

We just got off the Epic. It was a great time. This was our 3rd cruise, previously said RCL Oasis and Celebrity Solstice.

The entertainment was great. We went to nearly every show, except Legends. The food was fine, some hit or miss but enjoyed it overall. Our favorites was Cagney which their filet was perfectly cooked. We also enjoyed Le Bistro however would have preferred no Alfredo type sauce on the lobster, otherwise everything else was delicious. Very disappointed with the Chinese restaurant, quality was bad and so was the service. Breakfast was in the buffet which gave a good selection for all to be happy with. Howel to the Moon was a lot of fun, so was the piano player at the martini bar. Burn the Floor was awesome, though we were probably too tired to truly enjoy it after the excursion day.

We did need to switch rooms three days into our cruise. We would feel a deep vibration on the bed, almost felt like turbulence. At first we thought it was only the first night, but after trying to cope for 3 nights we finally gave in. We unfortunately had to give up our larger balcony but they did allow us to visit the new room before committing. No vibration there, we were happy to get a good nights sleep. I'm not sure what was causing those vibrations we were middle to Aft and have never felt that before. Room 12241 was the one giving us issues. Even the night supervisor came in at 1am one night and admitted it was quite bad.

Service throughout the ship was good. Some friendlier than others but you will get that with every line. We had the UBPand had no problems with what we ordered or no extra gratuities etc. Mainly all we drank were covered.

Seaday was very crowded everywhere but I knew to expect it. I got up early and got seats in the adult area where we stayed all day.

My biggest problem, which was a big one was embarkation in Rome. We walked off the ship at 9:30 to catch a train at 10:50. To my surprise, no cabs were willing to take us to the train. The busses that were suppose to take us to the center square was completely behind and overloaded. If our train was not delayed by 10min we would've missed our train. We even had to make a deal to pay a guy 20€ just to take us from the square to the station (approx 2 miles) because we had no direction and no time to wait for another bus. There was NO staff from NCL present at the port dock nor were there any info booths like every other port we visited. This was such a stressful situation, I can't believe that this is how NCL treats their guests leaving the ship. Big wake up call to feel as though you are just dumped like that. Pretty horrific so I would definitely plan accordingly if you are cruising out of Rome.

I'm sorry but I don't have the dailies.

Thanks for the review. I was wondering about visiting Shanghai's, but sounds like I won't bother - yours isn't the first poor review that I've seen for it.

Did you pre-book your entertainment or was it ok to just turn up?

We pre-booked our entertainment but found that there were many seats available.

Thanks for your review.

The station for the port ( Civitevecchia) is such a short walk that I imagine many cab driver would not consider it viable. It is obviously harder with copious amounts of luggage, bu it is very close to the entrance to the port.

The station for the port ( Civitevecchia) is such a short walk that I imagine many cab driver would not consider it viable. It is obviously harder with copious amounts of luggage, bu it is very close to the entrance to the port.

Yes, but the ship can be a walk from the port entrance and that railway station can seem mighty far away with 2 bags each and a couple of kids.

Yes, but the ship can be a walk from the port entrance and that railway station can seem mighty far away with 2 bags each and a couple of kids.

I appreciate that, but for a cab driver loading a car and driving much less than half a mile is not an attractive proposition.

Usually (every time I have sailed into or out of Cv) shuttle buses ferry passengers to the port entrance and from there it really is just up the street to the station.

Usually (every time I have sailed into or out of Cv) shuttle buses ferry passengers to the port entrance and from there it really is just up the street to the station.

My apologies then, it is about 18 months since I sailed out of CV, if it is so much further I wouldn't want to walk it either!

Have you sailed from Civitavecchia recently? Since sometime last year, the main entrance to the port for cruise ship passengers has been moved to Largo della Pace. It is now two or three times farther from the train station than the old entrance next to the fortress. That entrance is still open, but it's harder to get a cruise ship shuttle to pick you up or drop you off there. They try to direct all cruise passenger traffic through the new entrance.

Anyone have any advice for this? Sailing on this itinerary in November, and upon Disembarking, wanted to get on a train from Civitavecchia ->Roma Termini -> Fierenze SMN. With the amount of bags, not looking forward to walking to the train station. Was planning on booking tickets on the express to Firenze, but now I'm getting nervous how much time we need to give ourselves in the morning to make it to the first train station.

I would give yourself at least two hours to get from the ship to the train station. The shuttle will only take you to the entrance of the port, from there you have to get on another bus to get to the train station. Prebook the train tickets because it was a madhouse of a ticket line.

We just got off the Epic. It was a great time. This was our 3rd cruise, previously said RCL Oasis and Celebrity Solstice.

 

The entertainment was great. We went to nearly every show, except Legends. The food was fine, some hit or miss but enjoyed it overall. Our favorites was Cagney which their filet was perfectly cooked. We also enjoyed Le Bistro however would have preferred no Alfredo type sauce on the lobster, otherwise everything else was delicious. Very disappointed with the Chinese restaurant, quality was bad and so was the service. Breakfast was in the buffet which gave a good selection for all to be happy with. Howel to the Moon was a lot of fun, so was the piano player at the martini bar. Burn the Floor was awesome, though we were probably too tired to truly enjoy it after the excursion day.

 

We did need to switch rooms three days into our cruise. We would feel a deep vibration on the bed, almost felt like turbulence. At first we thought it was only the first night, but after trying to cope for 3 nights we finally gave in. We unfortunately had to give up our larger balcony but they did allow us to visit the new room before committing. No vibration there, we were happy to get a good nights sleep. I'm not sure what was causing those vibrations we were middle to Aft and have never felt that before. Room 12241 was the one giving us issues. Even the night supervisor came in at 1am one night and admitted it was quite bad.

 

Service throughout the ship was good. Some friendlier than others but you will get that with every line. We had the UBPand had no problems with what we ordered or no extra gratuities etc. Mainly all we drank were covered.

 

Seaday was very crowded everywhere but I knew to expect it. I got up early and got seats in the adult area where we stayed all day.

 

My biggest problem, which was a big one was embarkation in Rome. We walked off the ship at 9:30 to catch a train at 10:50. To my surprise, no cabs were willing to take us to the train. The busses that were suppose to take us to the center square was completely behind and overloaded. If our train was not delayed by 10min we would've missed our train. We even had to make a deal to pay a guy 20€ just to take us from the square to the station (approx 2 miles) because we had no direction and no time to wait for another bus. There was NO staff from NCL present at the port dock nor were there any info booths like every other port we visited. This was such a stressful situation, I can't believe that this is how NCL treats their guests leaving the ship. Big wake up call to feel as though you are just dumped like that. Pretty horrific so I would definitely plan accordingly if you are cruising out of Rome.

 

I'm sorry but I don't have the dailies.

IN Civi the standard fare is 5 Euro per person anywhere in the city some you win some you lose.

The taxi issue at the port is again with respect well known. Taxis unless pre booked or Civi taxis are not allowed to pick up - simple. The local taxis are fine after 10:00am when all the possible Rome day trips are gone. We have done it many times 20 mins to the station but after 10:00am :)

Thank u for posting ur review!!! Do u recall what time they started disembarkation in Rome??

Thanks in advance!

Thank you for posting your review.

Thank u for posting ur review!!! Do u recall what time they started disembarkation in Rome??

Thanks in advance!

It will be around 07:15 as long as it arrives on time which it should do.

It will be around 07:15 as long as it arrives on time which it should do.

That's great! Thank u!!!

mkm1988, I am also sailing out of Civitavecchia in November. The new situation of having to take the port shuttle to the city shuttle to the Civi train station put me off. I will be heading to the airport from the ship and just booked a shuttle. There are a number of companies that run both shared and private shuttles to both Rome and the airport. I went ahead and booked a private as I have a group, shared shuttles save a few dollars (about EU25-30 each) well worth it to me. I'm sure they will take you to the Termini station. Make sure the company you chose can pick you up right at the ship (port privileges). From other posts I've read, I bet that there will be plenty of shared shuttles waiting near the ship that will have room for a few extra people to add at the last minute. I'm not a gambler like that so booked ahead.

mkm1988, I am also sailing out of Civitavecchia in November. The new situation of having to take the port shuttle to the city shuttle to the Civi train station put me off. I will be heading to the airport from the ship and just booked a shuttle. There are a number of companies that run both shared and private shuttles to both Rome and the airport. I went ahead and booked a private as I have a group, shared shuttles save a few dollars (about EU25-30 each) well worth it to me. I'm sure they will take you to the Termini station. Make sure the company you chose can pick you up right at the ship (port privileges). From other posts I've read, I bet that there will be plenty of shared shuttles waiting near the ship that will have room for a few extra people to add at the last minute. I'm not a gambler like that so booked ahead.

There is no shuttle to train station just an irregular bus service!!? " port priveliges" all taxis can go to the ship if booked in advance. That is the only thing you need to concern yourself. I would be careful with shared shuttles and spare spaces as we saw one guy stopped for having more passengers than booked. How do we know - we were in it!

In November the weather will have cooled sown and its a nice 10 min walk to the station from the port entrance and we love the fast train 40 mins to Termini. Even the airport is now only 1:15 and for 33 Euro for four of us that more money saved and no worries of Italian traffic Jams.

But each to his own

I was there in July. I used the ships shuttle to the port gate and then walked to the train station, but I didn't have two small children with me. At the port gate was a bus station, but I figured it was just as easy to walk.

bmwman - I like the name. Back when you were able to enter and catch the port shuttle near Ft Michelangelo it was a reasonable walk with all our luggage to the Civi train station. Now it's a bit too far for my wife with bad knees to walk loaded down between the Civi train station and the new port entrance. Shore excursion with a small pack, fine. So I would have to load onto the port bus (free) to catch the City bus (EU1 plus EU1 for suitcase) from the new entrance to the Civi station. Cabs seem to be unwilling to make the short trip, and I probably wouldn't use one anyway. To beat the jam at the ticket machines booking the train ahead on Trenitalia.com is possible for the airport (EU11 to EU19 depending on time, etc.) consisting of a transfer just outside of Rome. Total cost is EU13 to EU21 with three transfers (four segments). My private shuttle came out at EU27 each (shared are less, but I agree with you & would only pre-book and argue if they tried to overload it) for my group = no contest. Termini train into Rome is easier & cheaper (EU5) and I would consider it as long as I pre-booked the train ticket. The factors I used are all the transfers with all my luggage and the mass of people getting off the ship at once clogging the system. Getting to the ship for embarkation is easier. I love the trains and will use them a lot on this vacation because they are both time and cost efficient, but it seems the town of Civitavecchia is intentionally trying to make make quick Rome/port and airport/port connections difficult. Maybe they want more people to stay in town overnight or take more shore excursions there. I will admit mass transit strikes are bit less common than traffic jams, but I've made time allowances for that possibility.

Some "transfer" companies do not have port privileges (especially if beginning in Rome) and cannot meet/drop you ship side. All the bigger companies do.

Hi, what time is breakfast served in the buffet?

Hi, what time is breakfast served in the buffet?

It varied depending on the day at sea but breakfast at the Garden Cafe opened as early as 5:30 am or as late as 7 am and ran until 9:30 am to 11:30 am.

The outdoor buffet with a limited selection was generally open the latest until 11:30 am.