Norwegian Epic European Cruise

[Cat4158]

Have done this route with NCL and RCCL at least 8 times and always in late October. In all I think we have had 4 days of rain, the rest were warm and mostly sunny. We had few problems with places being over crowded. November might not be so warm and more chance of rain.

[cfr70]

You are right to turn it into something positive feels much better!

Sailed mid June and the weather was perfect as i like it warm. I am from northern Germany so i take every ray of sun i can get.

Personally i would not go between mid July and End of August as there is School vacation all over Europe. Not to avoid kids but to avoid the higher fares and too crowded sides.

End of October could be more chance of rain, something i try to avoid too ;)

 

Thanks for the weather tips. Even the chance of rain is a deal breaker for me, so i'll keep my sailing dates within the late May to mid June time frame. All these ports look like perfect places to wander around and it would be no fun doing it all underneath an umbrella.

[akeka]

Thanks for the weather tips. Even the chance of rain is a deal breaker for me, so i'll keep my sailing dates within the late May to mid June time frame. All these ports look like perfect places to wander around and it would be no fun doing it all underneath an umbrella.

 

I was on the May 21st sailing and we had perfect weather the entire week. I am blogging about the trip with lots of pictures at http://kaylynnakers.com

Edited August 1, 2017 by akeka
link wrong

[cfr70]

I was on the May 21st sailing and we had perfect weather the entire week. I am blogging about the trip with lots of pictures at http://kaylynnakers.com

 

 

I bookmarked the page and can't wait to read through it. Especially all the pictures. Thanks for sharing it! I think i'm settling on late May for myself as well. Seems the safest bet for sunny days.

[pe4all]

Personally i would not go between mid July and End of August as there is School vacation all over Europe. ;)

We are on the Aug. 27 sailing of Epic. Will we be hitting school vacation in Europe, or just missing it? Here in the U.S. some schools are back mid-August, some go back around Aug. 30th, and some begin after Labor Day. (8/4) We were hoping things wouldn't be as crowded since most of U.S. is back in school, or preparing to go back. Didn't even consider the European schools.....

[fabnfortysomething]

We are on the Aug. 27 sailing of Epic. Will we be hitting school vacation in Europe, or just missing it? Here in the U.S. some schools are back mid-August, some go back around Aug. 30th, and some begin after Labor Day. (8/4) We were hoping things wouldn't be as crowded since most of U.S. is back in school, or preparing to go back. Didn't even consider the European schools.....

 

most British schools will be going back on 4th September this year

[nellydean]

My Family and I we love Cruising. We have been in a few of them and love every single one of them, until NOW.

I believe you have to options. Destination or the Ship, and in this case it was all about the destination. Norwegian Epic Departs from Barcelona Spain goes to Naples Italy, Rome, Florence Italy, Palma de Mallorca and Cannes. All of these stops are amazing in their own way. In fact we want to come back to each and everyone of them, but not with Norwegian Cruise Lines. All most all of the crew are rude and they have no sense of humor. And if you're used to having average or above level of customer service.... You can definitely forget about it with Norwegian. Royal Caribbean its by far better, Princess Cruses are better. Not a great experience and I will never go back with Norwegian again.

 

Strange, that, as I have just come off Cunard's Queen Victoria in the Med, and the service was generally poor (dining room head waiter VERY unfriendly for the whole 2 week cruise), the quality of food poor-mediocre-good (depending on where you ate) and the entertainment rubbish - all a far cry from the Epic that we sailed on in April, where the service was good, the food excellent (especially in the Chinese restaurant) and the entertainment (live bands and other entertainment venues operating every night) was brilliant.

 

Now, I would probably never sail on the Epic again, she's much too big for my needs, the curvy staterooms are terribly designed and cramped (was told by a promotions staff member onboard that the Epic was a one-off, all for the wrong reasons, and was the only one designed by the French, rather than the more practical German shipbuilders!). There is also no prom deck to speak of (not for promenading while watching the sea/ocean anyway), which is a no-no for us, and she's damn right ugly.

 

With 4,000 passengers she's often crowded (though her size spreads them out a bit), and noisy but, against our better judgement, we actually enjoyed the buzz of the central O'Sheehans area and missed it on our recent QV cruise. The free at sea drinks package operating at that time was so easy to use, it took away a lot of the hassle of having to sign for drinks. Just show your card and there you go. Wish other cruise lines would introduce it.

 

So, while I acknowledge that cruising is different things to different people, and one passenger can have a fab cruise and the other a horrible one (and I am sorry that you did not enjoy the ship you were on), when it comes to basic standards of service, quality of food and value for money, I personally rated the Epic above the QV in all those areas, and we are only talking about a few months' time difference in sailing. It was the Easter holidays when we sailed so packed to capacity (with loads of kids/teens/young people) and, therefore, comparable to your summer cruise.

[hi2you]

My mother told me this story when I was a little child.

 

A woman was watching a parade in the crowd. She did not look happy. A man noticed and asked her, what's wong?" She replied, "just look! Everyone is out of step except for my son, Johnny!"

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Love love love this!

[Suzy69]

Did this cruise in September last year. Loved it,was only home one day and booked it again for this September,sailing on 24th.

 

Sent from my SM-A500FU using Forums mobile app

[lilly2015]

We are on the Aug. 27 sailing of Epic. Will we be hitting school vacation in Europe, or just missing it? Here in the U.S. some schools are back mid-August, some go back around Aug. 30th, and some begin after Labor Day. (8/4) We were hoping things wouldn't be as crowded since most of U.S. is back in school, or preparing to go back. Didn't even consider the European schools.....

IMO you wont have too many school kids on boards as many Countries either just started the new school year or prepare to do so.

 

Happy Sailing 😎⛵

[pe4all]

Thank you for your answers about school!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I was on the Epic last year for a 10-day Canary Islands and Morocco cruise In 10 days I encountered one crew member whom I would classify as rude. I just can't imagine "all or most of the crew" were rude. If the OP thinks they have no sense of humor then I would speculate the OP thinks he's funny and others don't agree.

 

 

I'm back on the Epic in Sept. She doesn't just sail out of Barcelona--you can also embark in Rome, which is what I'm doing. I spent almost a week in Barcelona pre-cruise last year and am looking forward to eight days in Rome in Sept before boarding the Epic. I'm absolutely certain that all or most of the crew I encounter will NOT be rude!

 

The Epic was the first mega-ship I've ever sailed and I was happily surprised at how much I liked her!

[Bra_BE2014]

That was actually the review that sealed it for me. Since reading it, i've been doing all the research on Barcelona hotels, airfare, and all the different ports. It is a fantastic review with great pics that really makes you want to do that itinerary. I'm just itching for those 2019 dates to be released so I can lock it in with deposit.

 

 

 

That's so nice to read! I'm glad you liked it!

 

Happy cruising!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Bra_BE2014]

I did this Cruise in June in the solo cabins and it was amazing. Fellow cruiser Bra_BE2014 wrote a fantastic review if you are interested. Title starts "MSC girl jumps ship..."

 

Happy Sailing [emoji41][emoji569]

 

 

 

[emoji8]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[LynnTTT]

Strange, that, as I have just come off Cunard's Queen Victoria in the Med, and the service was generally poor (dining room head waiter VERY unfriendly for the whole 2 week cruise), the quality of food poor-mediocre-good (depending on where you ate) and the entertainment rubbish - all a far cry from the Epic that we sailed on in April, where the service was good, the food excellent (especially in the Chinese restaurant) and the entertainment (live bands and other entertainment venues operating every night) was brilliant.

 

Now, I would probably never sail on the Epic again, she's much too big for my needs, the curvy staterooms are terribly designed and cramped (was told by a promotions staff member onboard that the Epic was a one-off, all for the wrong reasons, and was the only one designed by the French, rather than the more practical German shipbuilders!). There is also no prom deck to speak of (not for promenading while watching the sea/ocean anyway), which is a no-no for us, and she's damn right

 

With 4,000 passengers she's often crowded (though her size spreads them out a bit), and noisy but, against our better judgement, we actually enjoyed the buzz of the central O'Sheehans area and missed it on our recent QV cruise. The free at sea drinks package operating at that time was so easy to use, it took away a lot of the hassle of having to sign for drinks. Just show your card and there you go. Wish other cruise lines would introduce it.

 

So, while I acknowledge that cruising is different things to different people, and one passenger can have a fab cruise and the other a horrible one (and I am sorry that you did not enjoy the ship you were on), when it comes to basic standards of service, quality of food and value for money, I personally rated the Epic above the QV in all those areas, and we are only talking about a few months' time difference in sailing. It was the Easter holidays when we sailed so packed to capacity (with loads of kids/teens/young people) and, therefore, comparable to your summer cruise.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In all fairness to the French and Germans, shipbuilder build ships based on the plans of the owner, the cruise line.

I doubt seriously that Jacques, a denied designer says "hey guys, let's make a curvy wall, it'll be cool". And then all cabins get built that way.

[nellydean]

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

In all fairness to the French and Germans, shipbuilder build ships based on the plans of the owner, the cruise line.

I doubt seriously that Jacques, a denied designer says "hey guys, let's make a curvy wall, it'll be cool". And then all cabins get built that way.

 

 

Who is Jacques, and what on earth is a denied designer?!!!

 

Whatever, the point she was making was that if the ship had been designed by Germans it wouldn't have had those ridiculous deconstructed bathrooms, and the impossibly narrow staterooms, the implication being that there must have been some befuddled Frenchman who decided to go for the arty rather than the practical. Never again, was the message I got, loud and clear, hence why the Epic will remain a one-off.