Our Amazing European Adventure! Navigator of the Seas & Norwegian Epic Review w/pics

[Buck1949]

Thats great!

 

I would have loved to book the June 4th - it's right before the summer price hike! But my son will still be in school so we are planning to take it at the peak price and peak season! :p

 

Jasmine

 

I totally understand that .... luckily in the other family's situation the boys are in college and out earlier..;)...and in my case we are retired and have no children travelling. We certainly looked at later dates but the cooler / earlier time prevailed. Good luck on your choice.

[ShellDil]

wwwooowww!

 

I found your review a few days ago ... and I am now all caught up. What an amazing trip and what a great trip report!

 

We are considering a trip on the Epic for next June. but I have some concerns - particularly the huge size of the ship and the bathroom layout situation. It seems really odd to have the shower be almost visible to the rest of the cabin ?

 

I love the itinerary though and your pictures have spoken a thousand words each! Thank you so much for sharing them :)

 

Thank you!

 

After our last day on the Epic I'm going to write a little summary of our thoughts of the ship in general. But I would have no problem sailing on a large ship again. As a matter of fact, I'd love to go for the Allure or Oasis next. To me, what made the Epic such a large ship, wasn't really that it had so much more than say, the Navigator to really "do" but that there were just deck after deck after deck of cabins.

 

As for the bathroom situation - there is a curtain to pull between the shower and the room. That part didn't bother me at all. However, what DID bother me was that you were fully exposed to anyone walking in the cabin door! So for instance, let's say my son was out for the night, and I wanted to take a shower before bed. He could walk into the cabin at any moment while I was in the shower. Which - sure has frosted glass - but what if I had just gotten out of the shower and was getting dressed? Not something that a 13 year old boy needs to walk into~! :eek::eek::eek: Same situation with the cabin stewards - there are dials on the outside of the room you turn for "do not disturb" "make up room" "turn down cabin" etc...but more than once we saw kids changing the settings on the dials as they walked down the hallways! So - I could set ours on "do not disturb" - get in the shower, and potentially the cabin steward could open the door and walk right in thinking we had left for the day already if someone changed our sign!

 

So, while I didn't hate the bathroom situation - for purposes of being in the cabin, I think the privacy of was lacking for people to walk in from the door coming in from the hallway!

 

But that in itself wouldn't stop me from booking on the Epic again.

[ShellDil]

Continuing along our wild ride!!!

 

 

 

We arrived at the restaurant we’d be having lunch. I didn’t write down the name though. It seemed to be full of many tour groups, at least at lunch, it was fantastic! All homemade food, served family style. The views were beautiful.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We started with bruschetta, meats, cheeses, veggies, potato salad, beans and it seemed to go on and on and on! Huge bowls of food! Wine of course was also served! Then we had four types of homemade pasta! Gnocchi, cannelloni, ravioli, and a fusilli type pasta. And if that wasn’t enough we had five or six different types of desserts brought out. Again they said they were all homemade. They were fantastic.

 

 

 

And of course, dessert wouldn’t be complete without a shot of Limoncello! We are now in the Amalfi Coast right? Salute!

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

 

 

 

 

Checking out that perfect view!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

Tummy’s very satisfied…we piled back in the van for another twisty, curvy drive into Positano. The jewel of the Amalfi Coast. Approaching this town, I see where this nickname comes from.

 

 

 

 

 

And as we parked the van and started to walk into this town, I totally understand the name. It is indeed a jewel! I’m sure it’s an expensive one at that though! We had about an hour to explore. Surly not enough time. Just a total tease! Paolo told us we could either walk down to the beach, or up into the streets. We all decided to walk down to the beach.

 

 

This was for sure one of those places where you guessed it…”I LOVED THIS PLACE!”…I would want to come back to here for sure. I would love to take some serious time here just strolling through all of the streets and shops! And then go to the other towns. There were so many flowers and it was so alive and bright! Not to mention that the sea was right here! Heavenly!

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

So, we got to the water and Alex and Megan got their feet wet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

 

 

This of course ended up to be a major trauma for Megan. Now she had black, rocky pebbles in her shoes. Agh! The beach itself is not a nice sandy beach like someone from the East Coast of the US might be used to and those rocky pebbles were making her go crazy! They wouldn’t come off and she couldn’t find anywhere to wash her feet. We found a restroom and she was able to rinse them a bit and she finally calmed down and realized that, no buying NEW shoes here in Positano would not solve the problem – her feet still were covered in the rocky sand – the new shoes would get dirty anyway! All was calm again!

 

We resumed our day and strolled back up the steep hill to our van and met Paolo to continue our day.

 

 

 

Mimi does a bit of shopping on our way back up!

 

 

 

[cw2go]

Trattoria La Tagliata

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trattoria-La-Tagliata/59693705279

 

 

 

This may be where you had lunch, seems like it from the pic?

[ShellDil]

Trattoria La Tagliata

 

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Trattoria-La-Tagliata/59693705279

 

 

 

This may be where you had lunch, seems like it from the pic?

 

Hmmm - the railing definitely looks like it! It could be! I'm not sure though!

[ShellDil]

We continued our drive, up the coast, or was it down the coast? I'm not even sure! Anyway - we'd be going to Sorrento next! But before we did - another picture stop - one last view of Positano!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We drove along and arrived in Sorrento!

 

 

 

 

We really only had about 45 minutes here. Sorrento seemed to be all things Lemon! It is a much flatter town than Positano.

 

 

 

 

We split up here. Megan went with my parents to find Gelato and Alex came with Keith and I.

 

 

 

[ShellDil]

We stopped in one of the Lemoncello shops and were immediately hit with several samples.

 

 

 

Alex was pretty happy about this! The shop we went into makes their own product and we were sold on a little bottle that was a twisted combination of Lemoncello on one side and the Lemoncello Cream on the other.

 

 

 

 

I really like the creams…apparently Alex did too and seemed to think I should be buying him his own bottle??? This whole teens drinking in Europe is a bit strange to me! A sample, fine, but a bottle? I don’t think so!

 

 

 

 

We found Mimi, G-Pop and Megan and met up with Paolo.

 

We got into his van and there was this amazing smell…turns out while we were exploring Sorrento he went and found the most authentic Napoli pizza he could get and got Alex an entire pizza and had it waiting for him right there in the van! The smile on that kids face – again – do I have a picture? Of course not~! I’ve really got to work on the pictures of the people and not just the pictures of the places!

 

Anyway, he passed back that box of pizza and Alex enjoyed that super thin crust pizza in record time. I think he may have passed around one piece for the rest of the van to share – I know it never made it’s way up to the front seat to me though! I think the fact that Alex was so happy truly made Paolo’s day as well!

 

On the way back to the ship Paolo and I talked and talked all about his life there in Italy. He was just shocked that we eat Mozzarella cheese that is already shredded and out of a bag! He said he gets suspicious when he visits he mom and she offers to send some home. He wonders if maybe it’s more than two days old? They eat their mozzarella often the same day they get them milk from the cow! And that is why everything tastes just so darn good there!

 

This was by far the most perfect day, our last port day. Tomorrow we leave our time cruising and move on to an apartment in Rome for three days. Our time on the Epic could not have ended any other way than today. It was amazing.

 

 

[ShellDil]

Tonight we actually had plans to dine separately from my parents. But the date was a significant date. It’s June 25th. Our day was so fantastic that no one dwelled on the fact that it was the anniversary of my brother’s death. It seems sort of strange to mention this in the middle of such an upbeat trip report doesn't it? But I suppose it bears mentioning since the reality is that this trip was actually to put the struggles that came after he was killed (it was medical malpractice - he died as the result of hospital error at age 35) in the past and to get over that for my parents and to start a new beginning for them, and I suppose all of us. Isn't it something that today, on the 6th anniversary of the day he died we had one of the most peaceful and amazing days of the entire vacation? These are the times that if you believe in things like this, you think that maybe he had something to do with it. He was there somewhere knowing it was time to spend that day doing something peaceful and wonderful! I called my mom and asked her if they wanted to have dinner with us “it’s June 25th mom” “wow” she said!

 

So we all went to Teppanayki. We already had reservations there, and while Japanese is not a favorite of my parents – they joined us and we toasted Johnny. He would have loved this trip.

 

 

 

Teppanayki was really quite good. Our chef was really great! And my dad, who really is not a fan of Japanese food, said it was the best Japanese restaurant he’s ever been to!

 

A little paper origami made with the menu!

 

 

 

I had big plans for tonight – I wanted to go back to Howl at the Moon, maybe go to FABBA…but after our busy day and the fact that we had to leave tomorrow, I ended up just going back to the cabin and packing and then going to bed.

 

Tomorrow the last leg of our journey! Back to Rome for a few days, including going to my mother's family's home town!

[Precious68]

 

 

 

 

 

 

At one point I think we took a “detour” that Paolo doesn’t usually take – there was some traffic he wanted to avoid – and we got to go up through Montepertuso. Here was got to see the hole in the rock that legend has it Mary made with the touch of her finger in a challenge with the devil. The devil could barely scratch the surface.

 

 

 

 

 

I've been obsessed reading your review! These pictures of the coast are just beautiful! I've never really wanted to explore Europe, but this is changing my mind! I'm also from PA, so I sorta feel a "connection" to y'all! :)

[Realtor at Sea]

Such a touching story about your brother! Your photos are fabulous! Would be interested in your comparison of the two ships/cruise companies. No pressure!

Have so enjoyed your trip vicariously! Thanks for sharing!

[Tokyo Mom]

Looks like lunch was at La Tagliata. We ate there last summer for our 25th anniversary cruise on Oceania. Positano is my husbands favorite place in the whole world. We loved the food and being back in Positano again. Still loving your review and pictures.

 

Michelle

[gvlgolflady]

We drove through Paolo’s home town.

 

 

He pulled over on the side of the road, left the van running and told us not go anywhere! Said he’d be right back…we watched him run into a shop and came out looking disappointed. Unfortunately it was still too early for his favorite pizza shop to have their pizza ready. He was taking his mission to get Alex the best authentic pizza in the region quite seriously! He promised he would not let him down!

 

 

 

 

 

Paolo stopped every so often to let us take pictures and once and awhile he’d stop at one of the pull offs for us to get out and view the beautiful scenery.

 

 

 

 

 

I love this picture of your son and his Grandfather.

Shirley

[willma]

Just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed following your family on this amazing adventure. What a wonderful experience for you all. The memories will last forever.

[ShellDil]

Such a touching story about your brother! Your photos are fabulous! Would be interested in your comparison of the two ships/cruise companies. No pressure!

Have so enjoyed your trip vicariously! Thanks for sharing!

 

Thank you!

 

I definitely plan to do a recap of our thoughts on the ships. Maybe not a direct comparison but at least a summary of sorts. I may put it at the end of our days in Rome so it doesn't break up the flow of the trip itself.

 

Glad you're enjoying the journey!

[ShellDil]

 

 

 

 

I love this picture of your son and his Grandfather.

Shirley

 

 

Thank you! It's absolutely one of my favorites as well! My dad hasn't seen it yet, but he's going to love it. I'll probably have it framed for him.

[ShellDil]

Just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed following your family on this amazing adventure. What a wonderful experience for you all. The memories will last forever.

 

Thank you! It was fantastic and we definitely have memories of a lifetime!

[msar1076]

I really loved reading your review. You should seriously consider selling your photos. You could then finance other trips. It's that good. I am taking a trip on the Epic next June and coincidentally I've booked the same hotel in Venice and the same type cabin you had on the Epic before I read your review. I really loved the pizza making part and when your husband talked to the chef while you all hung out in that gorgeous hotel. Wow, what an experience. I also love that your parents went with you. They looked like they kept up well and the memories are just priceless. I love seeing children bond with Grandparents. Something they will never forget. Thanks for sharing.

[Riggy84]

Right that's it, i've caved!! All this looking at your beautiful photos has inspired me and i've taken the plunge and decided to get a new camera!

It won't quite be as top of the range as yours, but if i can take pictures even half as good as yours, i will be happy!

And i'm holding you responsible for my new photo obsession :D

[ShellDil]

Right that's it, i've caved!! All this looking at your beautiful photos has inspired me and i've taken the plunge and decided to get a new camera!

It won't quite be as top of the range as yours, but if i can take pictures even half as good as yours, i will be happy!

And i'm holding you responsible for my new photo obsession :D

 

I love it! There are worse obsessions to have for sure! :D My best advise is to take tons and tons of pictures and you'll find some great shots in them! There's nothing like reliving your experiences through photography!

[ShellDil]

I really loved reading your review. You should seriously consider selling your photos. You could then finance other trips. It's that good. I am taking a trip on the Epic next June and coincidentally I've booked the same hotel in Venice and the same type cabin you had on the Epic before I read your review. I really loved the pizza making part and when your husband talked to the chef while you all hung out in that gorgeous hotel. Wow, what an experience. I also love that your parents went with you. They looked like they kept up well and the memories are just priceless. I love seeing children bond with Grandparents. Something they will never forget. Thanks for sharing.

 

Thanks! If I could figure out how to sell the photos, I certainly will do it! If anyone has some suggestions - I'm all ears! So far etsy is my only idea. But it seems to be saturated with photographers right now!

 

I think you'll enjoy the slightly bigger space in the family suite on the Epic. It's not much, but compared to my parents cabin, and us having the 4 of us, it did make a difference!

 

And we really did like both the location and the rooms in our hotel in Venice! It was far enough from St Mark's Square to be out of the mobs, but not too far to walk and get to see the sights and just wander around!

 

My parents really hung in there! They're both in pretty good physical shape, and when I think about the non-stop pace of the trip, it's really impressive how well they did! My dad has had some knee and back issues and once he found aspirin of all things! He was good to go! He just took aspirin on regular intervals and it got him through the day!