Epic - May 20, 2018 / Ports of Call

[TexasDad2018]

We are on the Epic Western Med later this month. How soon after arrival in port can you get off the ship? Per the Q&A on the NCL website, it seems to indicate two hours. We have tours reserved that are not tied to NCL and want to make sure we have an accurate start time.

 

Thank you in advance for any feedback.

[Biris]

Bumping this up.

[KeithJenner]

The two hour thing relates to the embarkation and disembarkation days. On the other days you will be off the ship at about the stated port times. You need to be back 30 minutes before sail away.

 

Just be aware that Cannes is a tender port, so that is one which may be an issue.

 

If you have Tours booked with local companies they will be well aware of the timings.

 

 

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[Liancvo]

We were on the same cruise last year, and we were generally off the ship by about half an hour after docking in each port. This can obviously vary, but we provided ship and itinerary information to private tour providers, got off the ship as soon as we were able, and had no issues.

 

The two-hour timeframe provided by NCL is for the final disembarkation port only, fortunately. You also won’t need to be back on board two hours before departure at each stop, only on embarkation day.

 

Hope you have an amazing cruise!

[pe4all]

We were also on this itinerary last summer, and we were off the ship pretty quickly - usually 30-60 minutes of docking. Cannes may take a bit longer as it is a tender port, and you may have to wait until the NCL excursions tender first.

[seemoreroyals]

We just got off Epic and booked our own excursions at every port. Even Cannes, which we were most concerned about because it is the only tender port, there was no problem. Our excursion there started at 9am and we were there to meet the driver 20 - 30 minutes early.

[hi2you]

We just got off Epic and booked our own excursions at every port. Even Cannes, which we were most concerned about because it is the only tender port, there was no problem. Our excursion there started at 9am and we were there to meet the driver 20 - 30 minutes early.

Great to know. Thanks for the info.

[jemz1949]

We just got off Epic and booked our own excursions at every port. Even Cannes, which we were most concerned about because it is the only tender port, there was no problem. Our excursion there started at 9am and we were there to meet the driver 20 - 30 minutes early.

 

 

I'm interested in hearing which tour/tour company you used in Cannes. ALSO, would you please post your Dailies from your cruise? Many including myself would love to see them.

[kochleffel]

I've just returned from this itinerary. At one port (other than Cannes, a tender port) there was a very long line to walk off the ship, but it moved fairly quickly. However, if you have booked a private tour, allow at least 30 minutes to get off the ship, in case everyone else wants to go ashore at exactly the same moment. This is most likely to happen at Palma, where the ship doesn't dock until midday.

 

At Cannes, the tendering process was well-organized but slow. They organized passengers taking NCL excursions in the Epic theater. Everyone else needed to sign up in advance for a tender and go to the Manhattan dining room at the assigned time for their tender group. There was a long delay between tender 5 and tender 6, I believe because they were taking the NCL-excursion passengers ashore during that period. Three others and I were taking a self-guided excursion together; two had tender 5, one had tender 7, and I had tender 9. I talked my way onto tender 7, but the two on tender 5 had a long wait for us.

 

At Cannes, signs said that the last returning tender would be at 4:30 p.m. One of us had some anxiety because were weren't likely to be there precisely at 4:30 (it was about 4:40). Others of us thought that roughly 2,000 passengers would all arrive at the dock at 4:30 and we could just join the line, which is what happened.

[Linda the Book Lover]

I'm interested in hearing which tour/tour company you used in Cannes. ALSO, would you please post your Dailies from your cruise? Many including myself would love to see them.

 

Last summer we booked Cannes Shore Excursion: Small-Group Monaco and Eze Half-Day Tour through Viator. There are many private/semi-private tours available and the drivers wait with signs at the port. I do not have any dailies-sorry. A great tour and guide.

[seemoreroyals]

I'm interested in hearing which tour/tour company you used in Cannes. ALSO, would you please post your Dailies from your cruise? Many including myself would love to see them.

 

We booked the half day trip to St. Paul and Antibes through Viator. Beautiful scenery. Pleasantly surprised. I have the dailies but am unsure how to post them. I thought there was a thread fairly recently where someone had posted the dailies for the Epic. You may have to look at posts related to Epic and go back a couple of pages to find it.

 

Highlights for us as far as Epic was concerned was the Cirque Dinner show and the Beatles show. Thought Burn the Floor was just average and did not care for Pricilla Queen of the Desert.

 

Edited to Add.: Just checked and for some reason dailies have not been posted. Hoping for your sake someone who knows how to post them will provide them for you soon.

[Linda the Book Lover]

jemz1949 - We went on the CC port threads and found all of our private companies. We have used other CC folks advice for years and have never been disappointed. If you have not checked it out, please do. Our trip to Europe we felt was enhanced by the great tours and guides. Barcelona Day Tours were one of our favorites.