Epic Med Review 26 May-2 June (with Breakaway Comparison)

[KeithJenner]

A year ago, we stepped on the Norwegian Epic for the first time. For my wife and I it was our second cruise, and our first since our son was born.

 

Our previous cruise had been in 2003 on the Norwegian Dream to the Baltics, and we had enjoyed it so much that we knew that it was likely to be the first of many, but we then decided to wait until our son was older before taking him.

 

My wife has always wanted to go to Alaska, so when we started to look at cruises again early last year we picked an Alaska Cruise on the Norwegian Pearl in August of this year. However before booking it, we wanted to try out cruising again to ensure that our son was happy on the ship. As we are from the UK, the Epic Med Cruise seemed to obvious choice so we booked up for early June last year.

 

Prior to that cruise I read up a lot about how cruising, and NCL, had changed in the nine years since our trip on the Dream. The obvious difference was the size of the ships and the facilities. There is barely any comparison between the Dream and the Epic, and the Freestyle concept had changed significantly in the meantime.

 

I also read a few things about the Epic that gave me some concern. Was the ship too big? Was the lack of a promenade deck a big problem? Would it be too crowded? Prior to the cruise, I remember warning my wife that we may have some issues with the Epic in particular but that didn't necessarily mean that we wouldn't like the smaller ships. We boarded the Epic in hope that we would like it, but also with some doubts.

 

In the event, we liked it so much that we rebooked it for this year. It took us way over our holiday budget for the year (especially given that I had also booked the Breakaway transatlantic in the meantime), but we managed to raise the extra and found ourselves back in Barcelona on the 26th May ready to get on again.

 

I never got round to writing a review of last year's trip. So this review, whilst concentrating on this years cruise will also refer to last year as well. In 2012 we visited Pompeii, Rome and Pisa whereas this time we only left the ship once. In Alaska we will be making the most of our port time, whereas this holiday was all about relaxing and enjoying the ship. We had some vague plans to get off the ship but didn't manage it until we got to Palma, but more of that later.

 

One other aspect of this review is that I am one of a probably very small number of people who have travelled on the Breakaway and then gone back to another NCL ship. In my recent review of the Breakaway, I referred a number of times to comparisons between the two ships but at the time it was nearly a year since I had been on the Epic. This time, I did the two only 3 weeks apart, so I'm probably in a good position to make some comparisons.

 

I intend to post this in sections, based on different aspects such as entertainment, dining, public areas etc. I'm not sure how long it will take me to get through it, but I'll go as quick as I can.

 

Feel free to ask any questions as we go.

[saffy22]

Waiting for more, lucky you cruises 3 weeks apart. We are on Epic in 4 weeks, already decided to buy a FCC.

Cheers

Saffy

[KeithJenner]

OK, First I'll talk about the destinations. Obviously much of this relates to last year, but it's still relevant.

 

We flew into Barcelona on the Friday night, so we had all day Saturday to see the city. Obviously, one day isn't enough to do a city like Barcelona justice, so we decided to just go for a bit of an overview. If you want more detail about Barcelona itself then I'd strongly recommend that you check out Baseballmomof4's review on this board. In fact, her review will certainly be more useful than mine for the ports of call, as she took this aspect of the cruise much more seriously than we did. Still, I'll try my best.

 

We stayed at BCNStop apartments near Parc Guell. I honestly can't remember why I booked there, as I did so nearly a year ago with the intention of having another look around nearer the time, which I then never got round to. We like apartments as it gives us more room especially as we tend to have to be back relatively early due to having an 8 year old with us.

 

I was concerned about it being a little way out of the city, but this wasn't a problem except for the taxi from the airport and to the ship being a little bit more expensive. If doing it again I would probably go somewhere more central, but wouldn't have a problem staying there. It was very close to a metro station so getting into town on the Saturday was easy.

 

We went to Sagrada Familia (make sure you purchase tickets in advance so you can just walk in), had a wander down Las Ramblas and went down to the seafront. I have heard a lot about crime and pickpocketing in Barcelona, and we took precautions, but I felt very safe there all the time.

 

We went to Parc Guell in the early evening, which was a fantastic place to wander and relax. Overall, we had a great time in Barcelona, and will certainly return one day.

 

We never planned to leave the ship much this year, as we were mainly back to enjoy the ship itself, so my reports of the other ports are rather sketchy I'm afraid.

 

At Naples last year we took the NCL excursion to Pompeii which was very enjoyable. I don't usually like organised tours, but our guide was very good and it was worth doing. This time, we had planned to take the hydrofoil to Sorrento for a short while, but in the end we decided to stay on the ship. The ship was very quiet on this day, I assume because it was the first stop and there are a lot of options. From my research of Sorrento by hydrofoil, the main problem seemed to be that they only ran every two hours, and I thought that two hours in Sorrento would be too short but we probably didn't want four hours there. In the end we plumped for staying put. We decided we would get off at Livorno instead,

 

The Rome stop seems to have become a quite popular day for staying aboard as everyone assumes it will be very quiet. As a result, it was more busy on the ship than Naples (and I assume than Livorno would have been).

 

We went into Rome last year for a brief overview. We have had a weekend there previously and plan on doing so again in the next few years, but wanted to show our son some of the sights. We took the train, which was very easy and had a walk from the Colosseum to the Trevi Fountain, past the Forum before finding some food. I would recommend that, if you go by train that you get back on at Termini, as you are much more likely to find a seat.

 

We didn't do the Vatican, and if you aim to go there and to the Forum/Colosseum area then you will be in for a very busy day.

 

This year we had always planned to stay on the ship.

 

It had been our intention to get the shuttle bus into Livorno on the next day to give my wife opportunity to shop. However, high winds meant that we were unable to dock so the day was spent making a leisurely, if rather bumpy, trip to Marseilles.

 

Last year we had found the train to Pisa from Livorno to be a nice day out, rather than the rather more busy trip to Florence which many others took. Pisa itself is quite a nice town, and we enjoyed the walk from the station to the Tower.

 

Marseilles was the one port we didn't get off at last year, and we also didn't bother this time. It requires a shuttle bus to get there, and we hadn't found anything particularly there to entice us off.

 

The new port this year was Palma and we did eventually leave the ship to have a walk along the waterfront towards the town. It is about 2.5 miles to the town, but we just had a stroll around. To be honest, I preferred Cannes last year, and I note that in 2014 Cannes will be replacing Marseilles which I think will be an improvement, although it seems an odd change as Cannes involved tendering.

[KeithJenner]

We got to the cruise terminal just before 11am, and found it fairly busy but we only queued for a minute or two. After check in, we waited about 20 minutes for our number to be called and we were onboard.

 

As has been mentioned on these forums a few times, there is a shop just before the gangway where you can buy wine and can often get this onboard without paying corkage.

 

My favourite wine is Rioja, of which NCL have a limited selection, so I like to buy a bottle or two to take on. I am quite happy to pay the corkage if required, and I was had to do so this time. It has been suggested that whether you get charged depends on what entrance you take, and we went in towards the front of the ship. Anyway, the advantage of paying the corkage is that you can then take your wine wherever you want on the ship.

 

I also bought a wine package onboard, which I find is a good deal as it works out at less than $25 a bottle for wine that costs between $35 to $40 if bought individually. They give you slips of paper which you can hand in at any bar or restaurant to collect your wine. However, its worth noting that the bars only hold a limited selection so its likely that they will have to go to get your wine from elsewhere.

 

I had considered buying the beverage package at $49 a day. On the Breakaway transatlantic, most of the people I spent time with took the package and there was much discussion about whether it was worth it. In the end, I had spent about $20 less than the cost of the package, and of course there were no port days on that trip.

 

As we weren't planning on getting off the ship much this time the package could have been attractive to us, but we would also have had to take the soda package for our son, who doesn't drink fizzy drinks. This meant that it was very unlikely to be worth it for us. In the event, even though we drank more than we expected to, we still came in about $100 less than what the package would have cost us before factoring in the soda package cost. Even if I hadn't saved a bit by bringing a couple of bottles on we would have still spent less.

 

We kept the cost down by using the wine package and also by getting buckets of beer when we were drinking beer.

 

There are some clear advantages to the beverage package, such as being able to grab a drink whenever and wherever you want, rather than carrying around a bottle or a bucket, but as long as you are able to take advantage of some bulk discounts like the beer buckets then you have to drink a lot to spend more. You can get two buckets (12 bottles) of beer or two bottles of wine a day for the cost of the beverage package. It may be different for other drinks, but I can't see any situation where we would take it up, especially as we like to be able to have a drink on the balcony in the evening when our son is asleep without having to keep going to a bar for a refill.

 

Talking about the balcony, this is the first significant difference between the Epic and Breakaway. We had a mini suite on deck 13 which was near the fore stairs and therefore very close to the kids club. Last year we were on the port side but this time we went starboard using the theory that we were more likely to see land at night from that side, which was true expect for the fact that other than the first couple of nights and the last, it was too cold and windy to be out there at night.

 

I like the rooms on the Epic, and my only complaint about the bathroom setup is that the toilet door is noisy to open and close so if anyone uses it during the night then you could wake light sleepers. Whilst I don't have a problem with the bathroom, I would prefer a more traditional setup so the Breakaway wins there, however for the rest of the room I prefer the Epic.

 

The curved walls give a feeling of more space in my opinion and, as discussed elsewhere the balconies are much bugger on the Epic. I like to spend time on the balcony and it's nice to be able to stretch out.

 

We always go for the bed near the balcony, which I much prefer. Our son finds the sofa bed to be very comfortable, although I wonder how long he will think so as he grows older. We bought the Spongebob bedtime set, as he has become something of a fan recently, and it was very good value. He got a pillowcase, blanket, cup, book and a blow out electric candle and he was really pleased with it. I note that it is all still being used now he's got home.

[anandaindonesia]

Interesting review. Please continue.

[MrsNancyG]

I look forward to reading the rest of your review, Kevin, thank you for sharing.

[Keith1010]

Enjoying your review so far.

 

Keith

[KeithJenner]

OK, Sorry it's been a few days, but I've been busy making the most of Summer whilst it's here for a while.

 

Anyway, next I must mention the main reason we were back on the Epic this year, which is the Kids Club (or Splash Academy as I was constantly being reminded it is actually called).

 

As with most parents, the big question for us last year was whether our son would enjoy the club. It makes such a huge difference for both the children and the adults. Luckily he absolutely loved it, and wanted to spend as much time as possible there.

 

This year, as we had decided to make the ship the destination, we were always planning on him spending more time at the kids club, and this was the case. Each day he had two or three hours there during the day and on most nights he got involved in the main activities which included such things as a pirate treasure hunt and the pyjama party on the last night. On evening we were enjoying a drink in o'Sheehans when we heard some noise comning from the Atruim and, on investigation, saw the kids on the stage area singing a song. They were obviously all having a great time.

 

On port days they offer a service where they will take the kids to dinner. I believe the idea is so that the adults can go on excursions by themselves, but our son goes occasionally purely because he enjoys it so much.

 

Overall, I can't talk highly enough about the kids facilities on the Epic. The staff are exceptional and the only day that our son didn't really use the club was because he wore himself out and had to have a quiet day to recover.

[KeithJenner]

Food is a very subjective area, and we all read very differing opinions on these boards and review pages.

 

Overall, I find the food on NCL ships to be generally good. I have never had a bad meal, but occasionally have something that was below par. On the other hand I have had a number of exceptional meals.

 

We ate in Taste a couple of times, La Cucina and Cagneys. I also ate by myself at the Noodle Bar one night and we used the buffet and o'Sheehans at other times.

 

Taste was very good both times, although the Rib Eye steak my wife had one night wasn't great (as it hadn't been for me on the Breakaway so maybe this is a dish to avoid for us).

 

I have been meaning to try La Cucina for a while, but wouldn't go back there again. I had the Veal dish and thought the meat was cooked exceptionally but the sauce was just average. My wife and son had the Lasagna which was disappointing.

 

Cagneys was one of the best meals we have had for a long while. The Steak was cooked perfectly and the cheesecake was fantastic. We will just order one to share in future though.

 

I really like the Noodle Bar. The menu is fairly limited but I've always found the food to be very good. I did however find that the service was better on the Breakaway where the bar is a separate venue rather than a part of Shanghais restaurant. As a result of this, the staff on the Epic were not as easy to flag down if you needed anything. They were very good when you did get hold of them, but I don't think it works quite as well.

 

We did Moderno's last year which I thought was excellent, although my wife wasn't quite as impressed. I went there on the Breakaway this year so gave it a miss this time. I'd very much recommend it though.

 

I really like o'Sheehans for snacks, and the burgers are very good. I also like the Pot Pie and the Irish Stew, which is one of three specials that alternate was very good. We didn't like the Fish and Chips though. We had breakfast there one day (which I had done a number of times on the Breakaway) and it was very good as usual.

 

We've always found the buffet to be very good on the Epic. At times it was busy but we always managed to find a table fairly easily. Remember that you can use the seating in La Cucina at breakfast (and lunch time I think although we never had to go searching). The selection is very good and changes throughout the week. Occasionally I wasn't planning to have anything to eat (usually when we were grabbing something for our son) but would see something that I couldn't resist.

 

Whilst we did eat at a couple of speciality restaurants, I have never felt that it is necessary in order to get good food or variety on NCL ships. The vast majority of my meals are taken in the free venues and they are generally very good.

[KeithJenner]

Just one final point about food.

 

We love freestyle dining. I know some people prefer traditional, but we really enjoy being able to discuss during the day where we fancy eating in the evening. I make a point of checking out the daily specials in the MDRs during the morning and then we decide what we fancy doing.

 

It takes a bit of getting used to for some people, as is shown my the posts you often see from people about having to make reservations so far out, but you really don't have to unless you have a specific requirement for a certain time. I have never had any problem getting into a restaurant even when only deciding where to eat during the afternoon, and usually have a full choice of times available.

 

If we eat in the MDRs we tend to be fairly early so we can drop our son at the kids club afterwards so have never had to queue. When walking past the entrance at peak times we sometimes saw small queues and some people had vouchers for a free drink when waiting so obviously at times there was a wait for tables. From those I spoke to, it wasn't a long wait and the champagne seemed to be going down well.

[Haynecourt]

Love your posts, doing the same cruise next year with the Cannes tender.

 

Wonder if you could post the dailies to help us plan our time? Thanks, much appreciated.

[KeithJenner]

Love your posts, doing the same cruise next year with the Cannes tender.

 

Wonder if you could post the dailies to help us plan our time? Thanks, much appreciated.

 

I'm just finishing scanning the dailies.

 

Rather than post them here I will email them to anyone who wants them. Just leave your email here or send me a message.

[KeithJenner]

Right, I'm nearly done now I think.

 

Entertainment next.

 

We love the Blue Men, especially my son. Obviously the show was the same as last year, but just as enjoyable.

 

The entertainment highlight last time was Slam Allan, and we knew that he wouldn't be there this year as he is now on the Breakaway (a big score for the new ship). The band which I had heard mentioned in recent reviews also didn't seem to be there this week either and we never managed to make it to Fat Cats all week.

 

I had seen Howl at the Moon for the first time on the Breakaway and thought they were excellent. We went to see them a couple of times on the Epic, and I didn't enjoy them as much as I had on the Breakaway.

 

Whether that was due to the players, the songs requested, the venue or another factor I can't really say, but it didn't really click for me like it had on the Breakaway.

 

One issue we had was that they didn't start playing until 10pm every night. Our son loves live music but we had to go to the show early with him so they hadn't really got warmed up. I understand why they start later on the Epic (because there are other shows on earlier whereas Howl and Second City have the venue to themselves on the Breakaway), but I did suggest to the Cruise Director at the meet and greet that it would be good if they could come on a little earlier just one night for families to be able to enjoy the show.

 

Later in the week I nipped into Howl a couple of times later in the evening and it still didn't seem as good as on the Breakaway to me. It was still fun but I didn't hang around for as long as I had expected.

 

Another show I had previously seen on the Breakaway was Graffiti Classics, and I thought it was good fun. I think this show suited Headliners better than it had the Breakaway Theatre, and whilst I probably wouldn't go out of my way to see them outside a cruise it was an enjoyable hour.

 

We thought we were going to miss the Beatles Tribute show as they were always on when we were doing something else, but they kindly put on an extra show on the additional sea day when we couldn't dock in Livorno and they were excellent, as they had been last year. Well worth seeing.

 

Overall, I thought the entertainment was excellent, but Slam Allan having moved to the Breakaway makes quite a difference for me. I really enjoy the Blue Men, far more than I did Rock of Ages, but Slam plus whatever it was that made Howl more enjoyable for me on the Breakaway means that I have to give the vote to the new ship when comparing entertainment.

[KeithJenner]

In conclusion, this was as expected a really relaxing and enjoyable cruise. I think that the itinerary is excellent, even though we didn't visit the ports this year, and the whole family loves the ship.

 

We have only ever cruised NCL, and for now I don't see any reason to change as Freestyle is such an integral part of the experience for us. I certainly don't think that NCL can do no wrong and the food could be improved in places but overall I have generally found it to be very good.

 

Where NCL seem to fail the worst is if there are any slightly unusual things to deal with. This hasn't affected me personally, but I hear what sound like legitimate complaints from people who, for example, have boarded at the other ports and feel that they lose out compared to those of us who got on at Barcelona. I also read with interest recently of the person who paid their on board account with cash upfront but then had trouble with the unlimited beverage package because of how NCL account for it. As long as things are going smoothly then everything is fine, but they do at times seem to struggle with things which are slightly unusual.

 

So, did I prefer the Epic or the Breakaway? I'm not really sure to be honest, but probably the slightly better entertainment and the presence of the Waterfront gives it to the Breakaway. The Epic will always be a special ship for us though, as it was our first since we restarted cruising.

 

The Epic does have one distinct advantage for us though, as we are from the UK. It is much easier and hugely cheaper than the Breakaway to sail on. It had been our plan to go on the Breakaway next Easter, but whilst on the Epic we started to discuss the possibility of adding in another trip on the Epic. Cost prohibits that plan, but we have shelved the Breakaway for another year and instead we will be back on the Epic again next year plus we will be going on the Spirit at Easter with both trips costing less than just the Breakaway would (when factoring in airfare of course).

 

It seems that, whilst I may prefer the Breakaway, the Epic is a damn fine replacement, and I am already looking forward to our third trip next year.

[AquamarineBreeze]

Thank you for the good information! I've appreciated reading your review so far :)

I've only sailed on one Norwegian Cruise Line ship ... For now ;) and am considering the Epic for next summer. I'd probably board in Civitavecchia, so I'm curious about what people not boarding in Barcelona lose out on.

 

Thanks!

[KeithJenner]

From what I understand, if you plan on getting off the ship for a while at Barcelona then you will probably be ok, but I've heard complaints that the ship basically closes down for a while on that day as the changeover occurs. There is also the muster drill where you probably can't even get a drink. The kids club is also out of action for most of that day.

 

I think it's better this year than it was last time, where people really felt like they were an afterthought.

 

It seems that more people are embarking at Rome now so I suspect it will be less of an issue in the future.

 

As the majority of people embark at Barcelona there are some things that NCL can't really do much about. The sail away party is better in the Barcelona day for example. Also, if you are used to Lobster on the first day then you may be disappointed. Finally, the ship is a lot quieter on the Saturday night as people get ready for an early morning.

[AquamarineBreeze]

I understand... You really miss that complete cruise feeling because you're getting on and off halfway through the trip. I hadn't realized this - so it's good to know. Maybe I'll consider flying into Barcelona instead as I'd have caught a flight to Rome anyway.

 

Thanks again!!!

[Single Cruiser]

Interesting to read Keith. Our merry bunch are now all booked on Epic TA's this October. Really good deals on the TA and I've got a balcony cabin again.

 

Agree I'm going to miss the Waterfront on the Breakaway but heading onto the Getaway to Miami in Jan, then back to Breakaway in Oct 2014 after a quick 6 day with the family on Indy.

[Riggy84]

I'm just finishing scanning the dailies.

 

Rather than post them here I will email them to anyone who wants them. Just leave your email here or send me a message.

 

Hi Keith,

 

I haven't been able to find a way of sending a private message and i'm not keen on leaving my email address on these boards!

Could you possibly get someone else to post on these boards if you are having trouble?

Thanks,

[KeithJenner]

Interesting to read Keith. Our merry bunch are now all booked on Epic TA's this October. Really good deals on the TA and I've got a balcony cabin again.

 

Agree I'm going to miss the Waterfront on the Breakaway but heading onto the Getaway to Miami in Jan, then back to Breakaway in Oct 2014 after a quick 6 day with the family on Indy.

 

OK Craig, I admit it, your post made me go and check out the price for the Epic TA. That really is a good price isn't it. No way I could get clearance to go again this year, but I'm sure I'll be going back across again sometime in the next few years. How many Epic cruises will this be for you now?

 

Enjoy the Getaway. Our plan is that we will probably do the Breakaway out of New York in 2015 now, but things change so I'm not sure when we will actually get back on the newer ships and, of course, there is the Breakaway plus coming as well.

 

When we started looking at the Spirit, I was a little concerned as its so much smaller than we have become used to. I was especially worried about kids facilities, but after a little research I'm now really looking forward to it. I'm sure it will be nice to get back on the Epic again afterwards though.

[KeithJenner]

Hi Keith,

 

I haven't been able to find a way of sending a private message and i'm not keen on leaving my email address on these boards!

Could you possibly get someone else to post on these boards if you are having trouble?

Thanks,

 

Hi, sorry I didn't realise that there is no message facility on this forum.

 

I'm not at my computer at he moment but I'll have a look later and see if I can upload them somewhere.

[Single Cruiser]

OK Craig, I admit it, your post made me go and check out the price for the Epic TA. That really is a good price isn't it. No way I could get clearance to go again this year, but I'm sure I'll be going back across again sometime in the next few years. How many Epic cruises will this be for you now?

 

Enjoy the Getaway. Our plan is that we will probably do the Breakaway out of New York in 2015 now, but things change so I'm not sure when we will actually get back on the newer ships and, of course, there is the Breakaway plus coming as well.

 

When we started looking at the Spirit, I was a little concerned as its so much smaller than we have become used to. I was especially worried about kids facilities, but after a little research I'm now really looking forward to it. I'm sure it will be nice to get back on the Epic again afterwards though.

 

Yep the TAs are really good value for money plus you get the two lots of entertainment with European first week, US (2nd city etc) the second week and lots of one offs in the theatre (hypnotist/magician and a couple of bands last year)

 

This will be my 4th trip on Epic, so by November I would have clocked up 44 days onboard her.. :)

 

Did you buy a future cruise credit onboard? Definitely worth it on NCL to get that extra $100 OBC and then easier to book next one as deposit is covered.

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for taking the time to write and post a review of your cruises.

[KeithJenner]

OK, I've tried to share links to all the dailies. They are on this thread. I hope they work.

 

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1862286

[KeithJenner]

Yep the TAs are really good value for money plus you get the two lots of entertainment with European first week, US (2nd city etc) the second week and lots of one offs in the theatre (hypnotist/magician and a couple of bands last year)

 

This will be my 4th trip on Epic, so by November I would have clocked up 44 days onboard her.. :)

 

Did you buy a future cruise credit onboard? Definitely worth it on NCL to get that extra $100 OBC and then easier to book next one as deposit is covered.

 

The cost of the TA's is certainly cheap, but the thought of bar bill for a 13 day cruise with few sea days makes my eyes water. :)

 

I got a cruise reward on the Breakaway and then another two on the Epic. We've used two of them for the Spirit and Epic next year so just have one left.

 

Getting the bookings in nice and early so I should be Platinum in time for the Epic next year.