Norwegian Epic...opinions??

[Cruisingcanadian29]

Hello everyone,

 

What are your opinions on the Epic, we are trying ti decide whether we should take this cruise, we have only cruised Carnival 2 times.

 

How is the food? I have been told the food on Norwegian is not that great but I wanted to find out from others what they felt before we make our decision.

 

Thanks

[david_sobe]

Food is subjective. The buffet on Epic is one of the best of any ship. Some bash NCL for having so many specialty restaurants and accuse them of making them eat there instead of the MDR. I love the specialty restaurants on NCL. When we cruise, we rarely eat at the MDR or buffet. We love to try a different specialty restaurant every night.

We love the Teppanyaki restaurant and Cagneys especially. The Asian restaurant on Epic "Shanghais" is also excellent.

 

So if you don't mind spending a little extra for some great food and service, Epic can be an outstanding dining experience. Besides the food, the service is better and there is no rush rush to eat like at the MDR.

Edited January 5, 2014 by david_sobe

[sdmike]

Lots and lots of information here on the Epic already. I used the search function to bring you this list.

 

We found the food to be very good and varied. Having a 24/7 sit down restaurant is great as well. We enjoyed the Epic much more than our Carnival cruise.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1964586

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1942666

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1963898

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1961498

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1959729

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1960638

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1953925

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1956482

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1958035

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1956628

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1950937

 

There are also reviews and info in my signature area.

[Juliayn]

Food is subjective. The buffet on Epic is one of the best of any ship. Some bash NCL for having so many specialty restaurants and accuse them of making them eat there instead of the MDR. I love the specialty restaurants on NCL. When we cruise, we rarely eat at the MDR or buffet. We love to try a different specialty restaurant every night.

We love the Teppanyaki restaurant and Cagneys especially. The Asian restaurant on Epic "Shanghais" is also excellent.

 

So if you don't mind spending a little extra for some great food and service, Epic can be an outstanding dining experience. Besides the food, the service is better and there is no rush rush to eat like at the MDR.

 

Well said and I agree. It always surprises me on these boards when people complain about the food. I have never been on a cruise where every single meal has been the best I have ever had and likewise never had a cruise where every meal is horrible. Its all about expectations really and is very subjective as you said. Overall I think NCL food quality is excellent. And if you don't like something send it back and try something else. Happens on land so it happens at sea too!

[shanley]

I was on the Epic last month. I personally thought the MDR food a bit better than the a Carnival Breeze. I didn't think either were spectacular. The food at the Epic buffet was good but I did miss the specialty stations in the Breeze buffet. But I don't think that they are available on all Carnival ships.

 

My issue with the Epic and the reason I would choose a different NCL ship in the future is the layout - stinky smokey casino! The majority of the restaurants are at or near the casino. the promenade deck is open to the casino. To get to guess services or to Taste from the aft, you have to get off a deck six and walk through the casino and take the escalator, or walk all the way across 7 or another deck, and come from forward.

 

Most ships you end up passing through the casino for some things, but it can be avoided. It is very hard to avoid the smoke on the Epic.

 

If you choose the Epic, take a forward cabin.

 

The smoke didn't ruin my vacation, but it was enough for me not to recommend the ship to non smokers.

 

The entertainment and activities were great, way better than Carnival. The Nickelodeon stuff was fun and scattered through out the cruise.

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[ClaireAndMike]

I loved the Epic. Food I don't really have strong opinions about because to me it's just food and not a very important thing to me. But then again, I eat like a bird. Food is the last aspect I think about. That being said, I enjoyed everything I had while onboard. There was one vegetarian entree I wasn't wild about but again, food isn't a real point of interest to me.

[Cruisingcanadian29]

thank you everyone for your comments, it is greatly appreciated. I hope we can decide soon and I can finally book my vacations. I am happy to have gotten great comments from you guys.

[danh78]

First and only cruise to date was on the Epic. I was pretty opposed to cruising in general. I kept an open mind and ended up having a great time. Is everything on Epic perfect? Of course not. But I think if you have the right attitude, you'll have fun.

 

Overall, food was very good. Tepanyaki and Moderno were our favorite specialty restaurants. MDR and Taste were good. Buffet always had a lot of good choices and O'Sheehans was a good choice if you just wanted like a burger or wings.

 

We must have liked it, we're getting back on the Epic on the 11th of January

[gonna go cruising]

We loved the food in the buffet and only ate at Taste once. Both were great quality. I had forgotten how varied the choices were until we were there this time last week.

You will not regret trying the Epic. I was hesitant, but am so glad we did!

[david_sobe]

thank you everyone for your comments, it is greatly appreciated. I hope we can decide soon and I can finally book my vacations. I am happy to have gotten great comments from you guys.

You are welcome. Good job in doing your homework before you decide. One great point about NCL is the freestyle concept. You can eat at any time at any place you want. Epic has 21 restaurants on board. I am sure you can find something to eat and enjoy ;)

We don't cruise as much as others on this board so we don't mind spending some extra $$$ for the specialty restaurants. But I realize having lots of kids or traveling with a large group, that extra $$$ can turn into a big amount.

[Vyhanek]

Here on the NCL board we say that the food is........."subjective".

 

That's what you say when the food is BAD! As in sucks! NCL's reputation for the worst food at sea is earned. Carnival has better food all the way around. (As does RCCL and Princess and Celebrity....IMHO) The food on NCL is definitely the weak point. As well as the general running of the dining rooms. You can sit at dinner for 2.5 hours and still have to get up and leave before dessert because you want to make it to a show. In 15 plus NCL cruises, it's happened to me more times than I can count and you see posts about it on these boards all the time! Sucky food and extremely long waits for tables and extremely long dinners are hardly subjective. But, that's what we say on this board. "Subjective".

 

I keep coming back to NCL for one reason and that's the suites and the suite perks. It makes cruising on NCL worth it!

 

Also, I think you'll find the entertainment better than Carnival. The Jean Ann Ryan type shows and the professional shows like Blue Man Group and Second City are really great! I also like the decor on the newer NCL ships. It's younger, hipper, more funky. Carnival still sports the neon lights and the mirrored walls and the fake statue type decor.

 

On NCL you'll find less kids. NCL attracts more elderly people but less kids which is just fine with me. All the cruise lines have things they do a little better than the others and things that need definite work. if you can live without good food you'll be fine on NCL.

Edited January 5, 2014 by Vyhanek