Observations from our first NCL cruise, on the Epic, western Med, 7/1 - 7/8/18

Hey i tried to look at the pictures you posted but could not find when was sea food Buffet at Garden Caffee for dinner. Did they have one and on what day?

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Hey i tried to look at the pictures you posted but could not find when was sea food Buffet at Garden Caffee for dinner. Did they have one and on what day?

 

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it's listed in the Dinner section, under the Complimentary options. You'll see Garden Cafe - Taste of Spain (for example).

I think the seafood night was called Fisherman's Wharf, I don't recall which night it was, but it should be on the dailies.

On this itinerary in September! Thanks so much for your review! We've cruised RCCL and Celebrity before so it's our first NCL cruise.

Excellent information with humor. Be nice to have you pre-cruise all my cruises. I am on the Epic in June 2019 but the Rome round-trip. Regarding the Vespa you mentioned your kids might not like that. My son will be 12 when we go-is there a particular reason they would not enjoy? Also would you recommend your private driver? We had one for our last cruise and he picked us up at Heathrow took us to SouthHampton picked us up the next morning to take us to the ship and then was waiting for us when we arrived back -he was wonderful and it was probably the same is hiring through NCL. I also like your take on the different lines. I’ve been on RCL twice this will be my second on NCL. Ive also done Cunard, Disney and Carnival. I may have to look at RCL again.

Excellent information with humor. Be nice to have you pre-cruise all my cruises. I am on the Epic in June 2019 but the Rome round-trip. Regarding the Vespa you mentioned your kids might not like that. My son will be 12 when we go-is there a particular reason they would not enjoy? Also would you recommend your private driver? We had one for our last cruise and he picked us up at Heathrow took us to SouthHampton picked us up the next morning to take us to the ship and then was waiting for us when we arrived back -he was wonderful and it was probably the same is hiring through NCL. I also like your take on the different lines. I’ve been on RCL twice this will be my second on NCL. Ive also done Cunard, Disney and Carnival. I may have to look at RCL again.

I guess what I was thinking about the Vespa was that, if the adult driving isn’t used to it, it can be a less-than smooth ride both in terms of handling, and also not knowing exactly where you are going. I own a Piaggio, and have had my wife, or kids on the back before. Our friends hadn’t been on one before, and the added weight of the passenger on back makes it even harder to get the feel of. That plus the uncertain environs, on live streets, in a new country, and with the risk of the cops pulling you over, it was a fairly stressful riding experience. Beautiful, and ultimately we were fine. And I think the kids would find it exhilarating - once you got the hang of it. But I could see kids not enjoying it while you’re working your way up the learning curve. If you and they are used to 2-wheel riding, not a problem.

I’ll get the name of the car service companies Viator booked us with and get back to you.

That makes perfect sense. I have never been on a scooter, so I can definitely see that as a frustrating experience. That and son would want his own.

It was a great review. Thanks a lot! One more question about disembarkation from Barcelona. It is our first NCL cruise, and we do not know much about disembarkation process. We have 11.15 AM flight. Any suggestions on how we can leave the ship early? Or how to get priority disembarkation? Many thanks in advance!

interesting to read this in comparison to our recent breakaway experience!

It was a great review. Thanks a lot! One more question about disembarkation from Barcelona. It is our first NCL cruise, and we do not know much about disembarkation process. We have 11.15 AM flight. Any suggestions on how we can leave the ship early? Or how to get priority disembarkation? Many thanks in advance!

The disembarkation process was pretty easy. On maybe the evening before the last full day they put out bag tags, color-coded for different disembarkation times. I would ask at guest services when those come out, so you could be the first to grab the time you need. There may be another way to guarantee a specific/priority disembarkation time, I don't know, but again ask at Guest Services. Of course, the best way to guarantee your bags are ready when you are is to carry them off the ship with you.

From the moment we stepped off the ship until we were outside the port terminal it was less than five minutes, and probably more like three. It's maybe a 20 minute drive from the cruise port to the airport. There is a taxi queue right outside the port terminal if you need it. You should have plenty of time to make an 11:15 flight even without a priority disembarkation.

The disembarkation process was pretty easy. On maybe the evening before the last full day they put out bag tags, color-coded for different disembarkation times. I would ask at guest services when those come out, so you could be the first to grab the time you need. There may be another way to guarantee a specific/priority disembarkation time, I don't know, but again ask at Guest Services. Of course, the best way to guarantee your bags are ready when you are is to carry them off the ship with you.

 

From the moment we stepped off the ship until we were outside the port terminal it was less than five minutes, and probably more like three. It's maybe a 20 minute drive from the cruise port to the airport. There is a taxi queue right outside the port terminal if you need it. You should have plenty of time to make an 11:15 flight even without a priority disembarkation.

Thanks SOOOOOO much!!!! I start worrying already. It is our first cruise on Norwegian. We have done many others, but not with NCL.

Would you have any other suggestions for us on the same itinerary in Sep 2018?

Part 3

 

SEA DAY

 

After the cruise we were split on whether we liked having the one sea day on the itinerary be the first full day. On one hand it was nice to be able to explore the ship, and have a relaxing vacation day. On the other hand having it on day one meant that the rest of the itinerary was back-to-back ports, and again we chose this trip because we wanted to explore each port/city, so the rest of the trip would be very busy.

 

I should also note that my perspective on this itinerary is from the Barcelona embark/disembark angle. Those of you who embark/disembark in Civitavecchia may have a very different perception of this cruise.

 

As I mentioned before, the Epic is a good size. Easy to get around, easy to get your bearings. The layout is intuitive and user-friendly for the most part. For you adults, Spice H2O is a nice area. I know, the name makes it sound like a night club. But during the day it's lovely. You get the men of a certain type with the dress shirts un-tucked, the too-short shorts that are en vogue these days, smoking cigars, drinking vodka tonics at 10am, and trying to prove they have more money than all the other guys like them. But they're more amusing than annoying. But there are snacks in Spice H2O, and a bar, and plenty of loungers, albeit in a stadium seating setup. The pool is not really big enough to be called a pool - but that's been true of every pool I've seen on a cruise ship. The big screen is a little dated, with some dead pixels here and there. But from distance the picture is pretty good. You access the sports deck near the bar, so it's not like there's a doorman keeping kids out of there, which probably keeps the party from getting out of hand. They were playing the big World Cup matches on the big screen, and letting kids watch as well, so that cut down on the "adults only" facet of Spice H2O.

 

TIP: As you're walking toward the buffet on 15, there are two elevator tubes. The one on the left (as you're walking toward the buffet) goes to the Haven. The one on the right goes to the quiet area. And anyone - even us non-Haven mortals - can access it. You don't even need a key card. If the pool deck is bananas, or full, or you just want a break, go check the quiet deck out. I heard, but didn't see, that you can get bar servers up there, too (although it wouldn't be the end of the world to go down to 15, get another round, and then go back up). There are bathrooms up there, and plenty of loungers wrapping around the front of the ship. It seems like most people don't know about this, and part of me wants to keep it that way because it helps it stay quiet. So maybe forget I just told you about it??

 

TIP: On our cruise anyway, the left side of the buffet (as you're looking at it when you walk up to it on 15) was usually far less crowded than the right side. And the food repeats from one side to the other.

 

TIP: There are restrooms on 15 just outside the buffet, the men's behind the towel stand and the women's behind Waves bar. They are pretty big, and best of all the outside wall of the bathroom is a window to the outside of the ship. If you were the only one in there, you could just leave the door to your stall open and enjoy a lovely vista while doing your business. Of course you'd run the risk of offering a less-than lovely vista to someone else coming into the bathroom...

 

TIP: During breakfast and lunch, there is supplemental seating for the buffet downstairs in La Cucina. You walk around the buffet to the fore-most part of the seating area, and then there is an internal stairwell down to La Cucina. The couple times we went down there it was much quieter and less-crazy than the buffet, even at peak meal times.

 

We spent a little time in the casino. Played some blackjack, even ended up entering the blackjack tournament. We found a really good dealer - fun, kept it moving. Ended up down a little, which is a win in the context of my lifetime casino career.

 

The shopping on the ship was okay. Not a huge variety of shops. Typical things for sale. Typical prices for a ship.

 

The fitness center is massive. Tons of options, plenty of each major machine type, really nice facility.

 

Did a walk through of the spa. It looked like a spa.

 

UBP. My wife and I did this big analysis of the a la carte drink prices, versus the unlimited beverage package. We ultimately decided that we'd be off the ship so much that we would struggle to hit the per-drink value of the UBP. Our friends just said to heck with it, and got the UBP. You read all the same reviews I have that talk about the bartenders turning a cold shoulder to people on the UBP and whatever. I didn't notice that at all. But, when we bought drinks a la carte, what we did notice was that if you took the time to chat with the bartender for a minute, or just smile, or be friendly, they were as likely as not to even ask for your key card. Now if you walk up there and set your key card on the bar, sure they'll take it and swipe it.

 

TIP: But if you keep your key card in your pocket, be friendly, and order your drink...maybe half the time they wouldn't charge you at all.

 

The other thing our friends realized was that they could order two drinks at a time with the UBP. So, and I know this was a flagrant violation of international maritime law punishible by death or at least a good keelhaul, they ended up getting most of our drinks for us. We wouldn't be obvious about it, at the bar, or with a waitress. But they'd go up to a bar, order two drinks, and then walk away with them. Then we'd meet up with them around the corner or whatever and they'd give us one of the drinks. So:

 

TIP: We said if we ever do a NCL cruise again, the way to do it is one couple would get the UBP, and the other wouldn't. But the couple that didn't would just pay the couple that did half of the UBP charge. Then everyone gets to benefit from the UBP at half the price. I know you're not supposed to do this. I'm sure I've angered the Norwegian Gods just by typing those words. But NCL should tighten it up with their own barkeeps if they're that touchy about it. If you choose the UBP as a free bonus it doesn't really matter. But, if you're paying for the UBP, I don't see a reason why all of the adults in your party should pay the full amount. Or why any of the adults should, for that matter.

 

The iConcierge app stinks. Two complaints with it. First, the activities list doesn't sync up with the time of day. So every time you open it, you have to start at the top of the list, with the activities that happened first thing that morning, even if it's 8pm. That's a minor gripe. The other thing is that the texting feature is A) too expensive at $10/device, and 2) doesn't push notifications so you only know if you get a text if you have the app open. I realize it's NCL's prerogative to profit from as many different things as possible. But charging me to allow me to communicate more efficiently with the other members of my party so that, oh I don't know, we can arrange to go do something that NCL might profit from ("Let's all meet at the shops and buy expensive watches!") is ridiculous. First time on NCL, we paid for it. Wish we hadn't.

 

Moderno

 

We spent our 2nd (of 3) specialty dining credit at Moderno. Where Cagney's was blah, Moderno was fantastic. At the a la carte price it would be a spectacular value. The servers were fun and engaging. They didn't rush us at all. If you've been to one of the Brazilian churrascaria places in the world you know the drill: the salad bar is a trap. They want you to fill up on the high margin stuff so that you don't eat as much of the low margin stuff. It's a dirty trick. Get those cheese rolls out of my way; there's unlimited bacon wrapped filet on SWORDS! But actually the salad bar here was really good. One in our party doesn't eat red meat and she raved about the choices at the salad bar. The pineapple was also a big hit with our group. We ended up returning to Moderno later in the cruise for our final specialty dining package meal.

 

The Epic handled a sea day really well. By that I mean we didn't feel like sardines packed in despite the fact that everyone was on board. And they had tons of activities, and a fun vibe all day.

Thank you for the great read and tips!

It was a great review. Thanks a lot! One more question about disembarkation from Barcelona. It is our first NCL cruise, and we do not know much about disembarkation process. We have 11.15 AM flight. Any suggestions on how we can leave the ship early? Or how to get priority disembarkation? Many thanks in advance!

I would just be careful if you plan to use a taxi and keep an eye on current events. We disembarked July 29 to a taxi strike. To my knowledge this was not announced on board ahead of time (though I passed on the information I was given by our private car service to guest services). When we disembarked at 9ish, there were still many people trying to find their way.

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Part 3

 

SEA DAY

 

 

 

UBP. My wife and I did this big analysis of the a la carte drink prices, versus the unlimited beverage package. We ultimately decided that we'd be off the ship so much that we would struggle to hit the per-drink value of the UBP. Our friends just said to heck with it, and got the UBP. You read all the same reviews I have that talk about the bartenders turning a cold shoulder to people on the UBP and whatever. I didn't notice that at all. But, when we bought drinks a la carte, what we did notice was that if you took the time to chat with the bartender for a minute, or just smile, or be friendly, they were as likely as not to even ask for your key card. Now if you walk up there and set your key card on the bar, sure they'll take it and swipe it.

 

TIP: But if you keep your key card in your pocket, be friendly, and order your drink...maybe half the time they wouldn't charge you at all.

 

The other thing our friends realized was that they could order two drinks at a time with the UBP. So, and I know this was a flagrant violation of international maritime law punishible by death or at least a good keelhaul, they ended up getting most of our drinks for us. We wouldn't be obvious about it, at the bar, or with a waitress. But they'd go up to a bar, order two drinks, and then walk away with them. Then we'd meet up with them around the corner or whatever and they'd give us one of the drinks. So:

 

TIP: We said if we ever do a NCL cruise again, the way to do it is one couple would get the UBP, and the other wouldn't. But the couple that didn't would just pay the couple that did half of the UBP charge. Then everyone gets to benefit from the UBP at half the price. I know you're not supposed to do this. I'm sure I've angered the Norwegian Gods just by typing those words. But NCL should tighten it up with their own barkeeps if they're that touchy about it. If you choose the UBP as a free bonus it doesn't really matter. But, if you're paying for the UBP, I don't see a reason why all of the adults in your party should pay the full amount. Or why any of the adults should, for that matter.

 

The iConcierge app stinks. Two complaints with it. First, the activities list doesn't sync up with the time of day. So every time you open it, you have to start at the top of the list, with the activities that happened first thing that morning, even if it's 8pm. That's a minor gripe. The other thing is that the texting feature is A) too expensive at $10/device, and 2) doesn't push notifications so you only know if you get a text if you have the app open. I realize it's NCL's prerogative to profit from as many different things as possible. But charging me to allow me to communicate more efficiently with the other members of my party so that, oh I don't know, we can arrange to go do something that NCL might profit from ("Let's all meet at the shops and buy expensive watches!") is ridiculous. First time on NCL, we paid for it. Wish we hadn't.

 

Moderno

 

The Epic handled a sea day really well. By that I mean we didn't feel like sardines packed in despite the fact that everyone was on board. And they had tons of activities, and a fun vibe all day.

There is a reaon why prices for drinks continues to rise. Those people who lie, cheat, or don't pay cause the rest of us to pay a higher amount. Did you teach your child to lie and cheat like you do?

There is a reaon why prices for drinks continues to rise. Those people who lie, cheat, or don't pay cause the rest of us to pay a higher amount. Did you teach your child to lie and cheat like you do?

You understand that, by offering an unlimited drink package, with no stated maximum drink allowance (like they have on Carnival), NCL is willing to drive their revenue per drink down technically to zero, right? I mean $89/day divided by infinity, right? The fact that they even offer the package means they don't care about revenue per drink, or that their research shows their customers don't drink that much on average - which ultimately gets you to the same place.

As to the bartenders not charging, that's on the company, not me. If someone gives you something for free are you really telling me you insist on paying for it? If that's true, then only one of us is a dope and it's not me.

If you're paying for all your own drinks then you only have yourself to blame, based on my experience on NCL. Point your little rant at yourself, tough guy.

Just curious would NCL keep your passport during anytime of this particular western Med cruise? Does it depend on what country of passports people hold?

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They wouldn’t usually keep passports.

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They never asked us to hold our passports during our cruise.

Thanks for the great review. You kept it light, positive and still managed to pack it full of awesome details! Great job.