Trip Report - NCL Epic Mediterranean

[forgotmyCCname]

I found my infamous folder with all of my cruise information! I had buried it in an outer pocket of hubby's suitcase apparently. Main entertainment options in the evening were as follows:

 

 

THANK YOU so much! This gave my daughter what she was looking for. While the magicians and such may switch, Howl at the Moon usually stays on the same nights week after week.

 

I hope that we get a better bunch of Howlers than you had- we always look forward to this, but our last cruise we had a group of musicians who were very unenthusiastic .

 

Have a great evening- enjoying your review

[niceniac]

We are on this cruise in June and are taking a few days in Rome first. Our private tours and driver require payment in Euros - no credit cards- at the end of the tour . We don't want to take a chance on finding an open bank with an ATM ..have had issues in the past with our debit card not working despite having notified the bank that we would be traveling. Our tiny local bank got us a great exchange rate for a flat $19. they charge the same fee whether you get $400 or $4000 worth of Euros

 

 

I would highly recommend getting a Revolut Card if travelling from the States to Europe or Vice-Versa. I won't get into the nitty gritty of it as it is easily Google-able but it basically works as a mastercard debit card with no FX fees, is managed through a phone APP can be topped up using debit card or bank transfer, can be used in all ATMs again with no FX fees and gives a much better rate than your banks card would.

 

Definitely worth taking 5 mins to google.

[CRAZYCROSS]

Enjoying your review. We board on Sunday 3 June. Great tips :)

[forgotmyCCname]

I would highly recommend getting a Revolut Card if travelling from the States to Europe or Vice-Versa. I won't get into the nitty gritty of it as it is easily Google-able but it basically works as a mastercard debit card with no FX fees, is managed through a phone APP can be topped up using debit card or bank transfer, can be used in all ATMs again with no FX fees and gives a much better rate than your banks card would.

 

 

 

Definitely worth taking 5 mins to google.

 

 

 

Are the glitches worked out with Revolut?

BFF could not access any of her funds last summer in France and Italy.

 

I’m going to check it out!

 

My issue is that we arrive into Rome after banks close( I won’t use an ATM unless it’s at a bank and during business hours) and leave at 8 am for a full day tour which must be paid in Euros cash at the end. As my local bank was so easy to use I got enough Euros to cover the cash -only tours we are taking as well as some spending money.

There are five of us , we have 2 days of private tours so the euros will go quickly .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Sailing12Away]

Day 8 - Day at Sea: Hooray, another day to sleep in! Except for the fact that MIL decided to get up at 6am and flush the toilet 3x, then take a shower. Our cabin had the bed closest to the bathroom, so sleeping in didn't last as long as I would have preferred. She went up to the pool deck for breakfast without us and we eventually made our way up there after 9ish.

 

The day before we had made reservations for the escape room - Escape the Big Top. I was surprised that there were so many time options open for the day at sea, I had assumed it would be hard to get a spot. But we had a time scheduled for noon which worked out perfect for us. After breakfast we all made our way to the Atrium to kill time before the escape room. They were doing a sushi & teppanyaki demonstration which was interesting to watch.

 

The escape room pairs you up into groups of ~10 people per table inside of the Spiegel Tent. We've (successfully) completed an escape room back home, so we had high hopes for ourselves. This was carried out much differently though, and we did quite horrible. Your table works together as a team to solve a series of puzzles, but there are 10-15 other tables/teams inside the tent with you at the same time doing the same thing. There was a little story shared by the host to explain the general idea of what you were to do, along with back and forth commentary with an invisible mystery man. Pro Tip: The mystery man will speak to you throughout the event - when he speaks, listen. It's not just background noise to keep you engaged in the story, it's the only way to solve some of the puzzles.

 

I won't give away the secrets to how to escape, but of the 6 puzzles you had to solve we only managed 2 of them. When they walked us through the solutions, I was left thinking 'how in the world was someone supposed to figure that out on their own' for more than half of the ones we missed. It was a fun way to kill an hour of time on the boat, but it was more frustrating than I imagined it would have been. Since you have to share some of the puzzles with the other groups, it was difficult at times to even have a chance to get to things with so many groups in there together.

 

After that ended we went up to the pool deck. Saw part of the of 'sexy legs contest' which was amusing, then wandered around. I had brought 2 swimsuits with me, and used zero of them during this trip. The temperature was warm enough during the day in the mid 60's, but it was pretty windy at times making it feel colder. After midday you could see everyone was freezing cold the moment they stepped out of the hot tubs and were shivering, so we decided to just wander and relax on the comfy chairs away from the pool area with drinks. MIL eventually went back to the room and we chatted with the couple from the Bronx that we had met earlier in the week that we bumped into.

 

One thing we were very surprised about was the tiny size of the pool on the Epic. If it was warmer weather deeper into the summer months, I'm not sure how 4,000 people would be able to enjoy that tiny pool. Each hot tub was packed with 8-10 people with no room to spare. A little too close to strangers for my personal liking, so we stayed dry this trip. We're returning to the Epic in 2020 around the Southern Caribbean, so that should be interesting... (seriously considering a huge splurge for Haven so we'll have space on that journey). I was also surprised (pleasantly) by the lack of children. There were some, but I had assumed the pool deck and water slides would be filled with loud and unruly children at all times, and it wasn't. It may be the particular cruise we were on (location & time of year), but there were plenty of open deck chairs and quiet places to be found if one wanted to just lay in the sun with a book.

 

We sailed between Sardinia and Corsica, which was lovely to see. Look to the left and see one island, look to the right and see a completely different one. I find it peaceful to just sit and stare at the water and islands swimming by, so for our day at sea to take us between these 2 islands was much better (to us) than just sailing with nothing but water everywhere you look.

 

MIL went back to the room, and hubby & I wandered around the lunch buffet to see what was to be had. Outside of lunch at O'Sheehans once, I honestly don't think we ever at lunch on the ship. Between the big filling breakfast each morning and all the running around, we just never seemed to have time or an appetite for lunch. We grabbed some munchies to snack on then realized we were late for the Macallan tasting that we wanted to attend. By the time we found our way to where it was taking place, we were too late.

 

There were some seats nearby, so we sat and listened to what the speaker had to say without tasting anything. It was probably for the best I suppose as they weren't even giving tastes of single malts. When we spoke with some of the gentlemen (I was the only female there) who had did the tasting, no one was blown away by anything they had tried and they all told me to stick with my 18yr favorite. The outdoor walking track to get onto the lifeboats was right around there someplace. Once we found it we walked the length of the ship enjoying the views from down lower than we were used to from our balcony.

 

Returned to Taste for dinner that night, and after sitting we were visited by the sommelier. Of all the times we dined in Taste (a lot), we were only visited by them twice - which I found odd. First one that spoke with us was great. I said I was leaning towards the pot roast and was thinking of a red wine but couldn't decide which to try. When he saw that we had the UBP he smiled and said 'don't worry, I'll bring you something you'll love'. He didn't disappoint. Brought us both a wine spritzer to drink now, and glasses of red to drink with our meals. Came back to check on us during our meal to see what we thought, and he was spot on with his selections. The next time we were visited by a sommelier he wasn't as good. Again I was leaning towards a red, and he suggested the temporanillo. That's one of our favorite grapes so we had already tried that, and he just said 'it's a very good wine' rather than offering something different to try. No bonus pre-entree drink like the first guy had done either. Also never came back to see if we liked it or wanted anything else (first guy had also brought us the ice wine with dessert).

 

MIL went to bed after dinner, we caught the 'not so newlywed game' in Headliners and it was a hoot. Lots of fun, but not for the kiddos. Had a hard time getting drinks on that particular night from the wait staff, so we just went to the atrium bar afterwards and drank up there. Finally caught the Beatles cover band this evening as well. Got there early based on a recommendation from a couple we had met earlier in the trip and got the last 2 seats. We were the youngest couple there by at least 30 years, so that was a bit odd. Outside of a handful of people who were singing along or dancing, most people were just sitting/standing and watching in silence. That was odd to me. The band was great, even if the crowd they were performing for wasn't.

 

Coming up next, day 9 in Naples...

[inghilch]

This is really great. Thanks for taking the time to do this!

[Sailing12Away]

Day 9 - Napoli: Based on what I had read here on the boards and in the roll call, we decided to go with an outside company for our excursion here in Naples. It's the same company that we used for our Barcelona day tour, and if you book 3 or more excursions through them, they discount your most expensive trip. By the time I had found all of that out all of our other trips were already booked so we didn't get to take advantage of that offer - but this company is great and I highly recommend. https://italytours.eu/naples-tours-napplessorrentoamalfi/pompeii-sorrento-positano/

 

They have several different options at each port, so for Naples we went with the Pompeii, Sorrento & Positano option. We had been on the fence with Pompeii due to the walking and MIL abilities, and I'm glad we ultimately decided to keep it on our itinerary. It is absolutely a must do. In addition to wanting to return to Spain and explore that country further, we want to return to Pompeii and give it the more time that it deserves. There's just way too much to see in only 2 hours.

 

Naples was by far the craziest port we arrived in. As soon as you get through the cruise ship terminal, it was chaos. There were easily 50+ tour companies there with signs all shouting out, plus the more sketchy 'tour companies' trying to sell you last minute tours, and everyone has the same tours so it becomes extremely confusing trying to find your correct group. We spent a solid 15+ minutes walking around in circles looking at every sign before finally finding our correct group that we belonged in. Pro Tip: Reach out to your specific tour company ahead of time and ask them where to look for them (to the left, dead ahead center, or to the right). It was truly chaotic, and our guide was standing to the left the entire time with a tiny sign that we never even saw until I was right in front of his face and about to give up.

Pro Tip: Make sure you know how to use your phone for international dialing, BEFORE you need to use it. MIL has T-Mobile and supposedly had free data, and she paid $10 for unlimited calling as well. She didn't know how to dial internationally on her phone and we were never able to get it to work. I think she needed to hit the + before the numbers, but on her phone we couldn't figure out how to get it to show up (she has a not-so-smart smartphone). So we're trying to call the tour company to say that we're here and can't find them, but can't get her darn phone to work and make any calls. Very frustrating and a waste of the $10 to add the calling feature on.

Pro Tip: T-Mobile sucks. Yes, you get 'free data' while overseas, but it is on a 2G network with only 1-2 bars of signal. Needless to say, she was never able to connect and use it. Ever. As she would sit back and wait for us to return from our tours, she was trying to post onto Facebook to give our family & friends updates - they never went through. Or they would go through 4x with the exact same post 2 days later. I have Verizon and the signal was much better (I was able to live stream in multiple places, post pictures and videos without problem), but Verizon screwed me with their 24hr travel pass by 'accidentally' enabling it nearly every single day of our trip. Despite me having data and roaming data disabled on my phone, despite me even having my phone in airplane mode - nearly every day I received a text from Verizon alerting me that my travel pass is active and will expire on such and such date/time. A lot of times it enabled itself while I was sleeping. So that's still on my list of people I need to call and things to straighten out from our trip. I'm not paying $10/day for a feature I didn't enable when my phone was not physically in a state to even be able to enable it anyway.

 

Back to Naples... our group was small, maybe 10-12 people, and again, small groups are worth their weight in gold in these tourist heavy locations. It was a short drive through Naples to get to Pompeii. When we arrived at the parking lot our guide instructed everywhere where to run for a quick potty break, and then commented how lucky we were that the weather held out for us. Normally it rains all the time in Pompeii. You can guess what happened next....

 

Pro Tip: Bring an umbrella. Bring it on every tour you go on, and simply leave it behind in the bus/van if you don't need it. We had 2 wonderful umbrella's sitting back in our cabin in our suitcases. Needless to say, we got soaked in Pompeii. There are a ton of people selling umbrellas on the side of the road, but out of principle knowing we had 2 already in our bags we went with the natural shower option instead. The temperature was warm (70s) so I didn't mind it.

 

When we got to Pompeii we met up with our local guide who bought our tickets. I didn't realize the price of entrance tickets to Pompeii was not included in the tour, so thankfully we had cash on us. The price was 15 euros each if I remember correctly. Once inside, our guide was great. Since we were a smaller group, she took us down different alleyways to cut ahead of the bigger guys and beat them to the best spots. After getting past the theater area, MIL got nervous when she saw the uneven cobblestone streets and long walk, and decided to hang back on her own. The guide told her to just go back the way she had come in, and we would meet her at the front in ~2 hours, and this worked out for everyone. MIL got to explore on her own at her own super slow pace and the rest of the group sped ahead. Between the uneven ground, tons of crowds, trying to watch her footing with her cane and watch for our group, this was best for everyone.

 

Pompeii is huge, and they still have 1/3 of it to be unearthed. When you look in the back and see how far Vesuvius looks, it's crazy to think that this entire city and tons of people were just buried in an instant. So we'd like to go back and do a longer tour through Pompeii, or just wander on our own, but you do need at least 2 hours to get a feel for the old city.

 

After Pompeii we got back onto the bus and headed to Sorrento. Without a doubt, hubby's favorite place we went to on the entire trip. This was the worst day we had weather wise, sun came back out and our driver again commented - only for it to start down pouring once we got to Sorrento. We eventually told Lino to respectfully keep his mouth closed for the rest of our journey, but that didn't help. Popped into a restaurant for some lunch and it was our best meal of the trip. http://www.pizzeriaaurora.com/en/

 

We wanted some authentic Naples pizza, and this place was amazing. Service wasn't great, but based on how the food tasted we didn't care. They brought us a plate of french fries that we didn't order, they belonged to the table next to us. And our appetizer of a fresh mozzarella platter didn't come until after we were halfway through our pizza and asked for the 3rd time. The best cheese we've ever had, and prices for everything were very reasonable.

 

After lunch we had time to walk around, but of course, once we stepped foot outside of the awning the skies opened up on us again. MIL went to the meeting place and stood under an awning, hubby and I wandered for a few streets but ultimately gave up and conceded to the weather knowing that we would be returning.

 

Got back on the bus with everyone soggy, and the views along the Amalfi coast were incredible. You don't actually go into Positano, but the drive to the viewing point was great. Again, we got unlucky that the weather was so bad because the fog cut down on what you could see too, but it was still beautiful to see. After our short stop at the cliffside for viewing the water and houses tucked into the mountains, we got back on the bus to head back towards Naples. One last stop at the lemoncello factory before that.

 

They have 3 different varieties that you can try all for free. Traditional, a cream version (think of Baileys, but lemon flavored) which has lower alcohol content, and a grappa version which I didn't even bother trying due to it's super strength (>40% alcohol). We bought some bottles to bring home for friends and coworkers, then hopped back on the bus after another potty break.

 

Traffic was light, so our guide asked if we wanted to drive through the town of Naples quickly before heading back to the ship. A short <1 mile drive took us over 20 minutes. If you thought traffic in Rome was bad.... welcome to Naples! We had plenty of time to catch the boat and it was literally 2 blocks away, so we weren't worried. Naples gets a bad rap from people for being dirty, dingy and shady, but I didn't get that vibe from it. Hard to say when you're just sitting in traffic on a small tour bus, but I think we would like to come back and spend some time there again as a bouncing off place for a return Pompeii visit, and then find a B&B in the Sorrento area for a few days.

 

Since this was our last night on the ship, when we went to dinner at Taste I handed the hostess the postcard that we had in our room upon boarding. When I booked the trip they asked if we were celebrating anything, so I said it was MIL birthday (it's coming up in early June). They had left a bottle of champagne and a birthday card for us in the cabin when we boarded. There was also a little note that said if you bring the card to any of the main dining rooms, they will bring a birthday cake out after dinner for you to celebrate. Great! Except that never happened....

 

Hostess took the card from me, gave it to the person who was showing us our seats, and that person wished MIL a happy birthday. During our dinner we heard the crew singing happy birthday to another family and giggled thinking that MIL's turn would be coming up soon as well. After dinner they brought us the regular dessert menus followed by our choices. And that was it. No singing, no cake, no birthday celebration. Did I miss something? Was there some sort of special *wink wink nod nod* that we were supposed to do? We weren't terribly disappointed as it wasn't her official birthday yet anyway, but don't promise me something and then not give it to us.

 

We saw Burn the Floor during our trip, so possibly that night or the one before (it's all blurring together at this point, sorry). I can't believe the energy & stamina those folks have. To me that show was more risque than Priscilla. Maybe it's just me, but I find sensual dancing more erotic than men in drag.

 

MIL went back to the room to pack, and hubby & I went to guest services to ask about the process for tomorrow. We had a train to catch by 9:50am at Civitavecchia station and wanted to find the easiest way to get MIL and our bags to the train station. While we were waiting on line for guest services there was a gentleman there trying to help people on line before they got to the desks. We asked him our question and he said 'no problem, there will be a ton of taxis when you exit the ship and all of them can take you to the train for ~10 euros.' Great! Except that never happened....

 

Not a whole lot of information for Rome disembarking, so we had to wing it. At first we were going to bring our bags off ourselves, but when we saw our assigned disembarkation time we knew we would have plenty of time to still catch our train. We were assigned color brown with a disembarking time of 7:15am. So we packed up our bags and left them in the hallway that night, and the magic cruise ship fairies whisked them away from us.

 

The crazy misadventures of getting from Civitavecchia to Venice are coming up next on day 10, stay tuned.

[kamitz]

I'm enjoying this review. We're booked on this same tour with italytours, so was great to get the details and the lunch recommendation!

[fabnfortysomething]

OK so you have finished your trip on Epic but a couple of things you mentioned which may help in future if you go back or for future cruisers

 

you mentioned that you couldn't get above deck 15 due to not being in Haven

 

there are 2 glass elevators as you come out of garden café and before the pool

the right hand side one goes to Haven and POSH club and you need an enabled card to access

POSH passes are limited and on first come basis on embarkation for about$50

however due to split embarkation not sure how many would be pre sold in Barcelona and if any available on Rome embarkation

But many people don't realise the left hand side elevator goes up to public sun deck which extends round front of ship and there are loads of sun loungers up there[although no pool] and the very front has padded loungers

 

Secondly Paint Mix Mingle

this you have to look in the small print in Freestyle daily for the place and time to sign up for the next session which is a day or so before takes place

there are only 16 places available and cost I think is $30

some people turned up not having pre booked and most were disappointed as the staff checked off on their list who had pre booked and depended on no shows if you got in on stand by

[Sailing12Away]

Thanks for the info Fab. Even though we were on the ship for 7 days I know we missed seeing a ton of it. We're returning to the Epic in 2020 and will definitely explore more nooks and crannies on the 2nd go around ;)

 

For the painting class, it doesn't say where to register. "Never picked up a brush before? No problem, find your inner artist as you create a painting in one session. Prior registration required, a fee applies." I checked all the dailies, and they all say the same thing. No info on where it is held or where to register.

[amelia3171]

Thank you for the fantastic review. Reviews like yours are such a fantastic resource for new cruisers.

 

I was on the Epic for the final Med cruise of 2017 from Barcelona and booked for the same week this year. At this moment I might be tempted to sell my soul for some chicken wings (it's just after 1am uk time)

 

The public sundecks were easily accessed from the glass elevators (fantastic views) and were completely empty. Lovely padded loungers so an almost perfect place to read except they played almost but not quite inaudible distorted music through the loud speakers. I love music but this drove me nuts; I will listen to audio books this year or read on the balcony,

[Sailing12Away]

Livorno Dailys

[Sailing12Away]

Cannes Daily

[fabnfortysomething]

Thanks for the info Fab. Even though we were on the ship for 7 days I know we missed seeing a ton of it. We're returning to the Epic in 2020 and will definitely explore more nooks and crannies on the 2nd go around ;)

 

For the painting class, it doesn't say where to register. "Never picked up a brush before? No problem, find your inner artist as you create a painting in one session. Prior registration required, a fee applies." I checked all the dailies, and they all say the same thing. No info on where it is held or where to register.

 

we were on transatlantic so not typical

however registration location varied-you really had to pay close attention to freestyle daily for those details

 

actual location was a small room through park west gallery on right hand side and very close to infants guppies play area

[Sailing12Away]

Palma Daily

[Sailing12Away]

Barcelona Daily - part 1

[Sailing12Away]

Barcelona - Part 2

[Sailing12Away]

Day at Sea

[kodesthemoose]

Thank you so much again for the review and especially for posting the dailies!

[Sailing12Away]

Napoli Daily

[Sailing12Away]

Last one, Civitavechhia Daily

[Happy2b@sea]

Thanks very much for this fantastic, detailed review!

[Sailing12Away]

Day 10 - Off the cruise and headed to Venice

Ok, so this is the part of the trip where everything kind of turned to sh@t. Not through any fault (well, some fault) of NCL, but it was probably the most stressful and chaotic part of our trip. Disembarking was fine, the night before we were given luggage tags and a flyer indicating our disembarking time. At first we were going to bring our luggage off ourselves as we had a train to catch and knew that method was faster, but we were given a disembarking time of 7:15am so there was no need for that.

 

Packed up our luggage the night before, slapped on our brown tags and hoped no one was going to pick through our bags while we slept. I had nothing of value in mine other than some bottles of wine, so if someone truly wanted my dirty undies, they probably needed them more than I did anyway. The other benefit to letting the ship take your bags off for you is that you're not "that person" up at the breakfast buffet with luggage spilling out all around them blocking the aisles. Unless you need to be off the ship before 7am, let the ship take your bags off for you, you'll have plenty of time.

 

After a quick breakfast (that took forever to get to because once again only half the elevators were working and the ones that were, were filled with people moving their luggage) we headed down and off the boat. Found our luggage right away and made our way out of the terminal area. The one thing I found odd was that there were very few NCL staff around and not a single person checked my bag to make sure I wasn't just walking off with someone else's stuff.

 

The day before we had asked about getting from the ship to the train station and were told by NCL that it would be no problem to get a taxi and for ~10 euros anyone would take us. Nope. It was very chaotic once you got outside, between drivers and tour groups looking for people, people trying to find the free shuttle bus, and people trying to find a taxi. Pro Tip: The taxi stand is all the way to the right when you get outside. Shuttle bus is somewhere to the middle, and the tours and private drivers are to the left.

 

We shlepped our bags all the way to the taxi stand, only to be told by 2 different drivers "no, take the shuttle". No one would drive us to the train, only to the airport. I tried explaining that MIL had walking/climbing issues and we didn't care the price - nope, they just turned away from us and went to the next group in line wanting to go to the airport. No one would take us.

 

So then we tried to find NCL staff to help us out or point us in the direction of the shuttle bus (there were a ton, none labeled, and we didn't want to just walk onto a random bus and go somewhere) - no one to be found anywhere. Ok, so now we're starting to panic. We thought we had over 90mins to go for a 15 min ride, but that time is quickly getting eaten up. Eventually just walked to a bus that had pulled up and asked the driver, who confirmed this was the free shuttle. He wouldn't give us any more information - how long is the drive, where does it drop you off, are there any stops, when is it leaving.... He also didn't help anyone get their bags under the bus.

 

The free shuttle doesn't make any stops, it goes from the boat to the exit of the port terminal. It's ~5-10 minute ride, and it drops you off at another (slightly lesser) chaotic area with a ton of different people selling rides and tours and airport taxis. We had to wait for the entire bus to empty because someone had put their baby stroller in front of our luggage and our bags had been pushed all the way to the back. Finally got everything out and walked to where the next shuttle was, less than a 5 minute walk away. That one you have to pay 2 euros per person to ride and it's similar to the airport shuttles where you stand on a big open bus holding onto your luggage. That ride was about 10 minutes or so, but it took forever for the driver to pull out and leave. I'm not sure why because we were stuffed full and there was no room for anyone else.

 

Finally make it to Civitavecchia train station, yeah! We had plenty of time and could have (ie: SHOULD HAVE) taken an earlier train. I had booked all of our train tickets from home months in advance from here: http://www.trenitalia.com/ Booking in advance saves you a lot of money on the longer regional trains because you can buy at their super saver rate. Pro Tip: Do NOT buy tickets in advance for the local trains. These are the ones without assigned seating and cost 5 euros each regardless of when you buy them. We needed a local train to get from Civitavecchia to Rome Termini for our transfer to Venice. When I booked the tickets, trenitalia automatically put us on the train that would leave us with the smallest wait time before our transfer. You want the opposite of this, trust me.

 

If you buy your tickets online in advance, they are printed with the date and time they are valid for. They are only valid for the date and time printed (with the exception being the Leonardi Davinci express that goes to the airport, but more about that later when we leave Florence). So if like us, you get to the Civitavecchia station with over 45 minutes to spare, you have to sit and wait and watch 3 other trains come and go before you get your chance. You are much better off getting to the train station, buying a ticket, validating it (there are machines everywhere, just put your ticket in and it time stamps it) and hopping on the next train. That will leave you with the most time to find (and catch) your transfer at Rome Termini.

 

At Civitavecchia there's ~2 flights of stairs to navigate down, then under the tracks until you find the one you need, then back up to get onto the platform. We managed by hubby taking 2 bags and me 1 with MIL just focusing on walking. It wasn't horrible, but we saw a lot of people struggling if they had more than 1 bag to navigate. There were some good Samaritans helping, but do not rely on this. There is no one at the station to assist you and no elevators.

 

Pro Tip: If you have any mobility issues, strength issues, balance issues, laziness issues etc... do not pack the biggest and heaviest suitcase that you own. If you can't lift it up in the air or carry it off of its wheels or get it up/down stairs - do not bring it. The person with the worst mobility should not have a suitcase that is 3x the size and double the weight of their companions. We nicknamed MIL suitcase 'Big Bertha' for the trip. Hubby was questioning why I was using one of our smallest bags to squish everything in - that's why. I knew she was bringing a monster and that we would be the ones to end up carrying it, so I didn't want us to have to navigate 3 large bags. Mine was a large carry-on sized, his was a normal checked bag, and hers was definitely oversized and maxed out at the weight limit. It honestly made the trip much more difficult than it needed to be trying to get that from place to place. If you're just getting from the plane to the boat, and the boat back on a plane, you may be fine. But with our extensive traveling, never again will I allow that.

 

So we sat at our track in Civitavecchia and waited 45 minutes for our train. There are no assigned seats or big luggage racks on the smaller local trains, but we found an empty car in the back of the train with handicap spacing that worked fine for our bags. Thankfully it wasn't needed for someone who was disabled, otherwise I have no idea where we would have put our bags. I think this ride was about 45 minutes to Rome Termini, and when we got there we had only ~10 minutes to find and make our connection.

 

We arrived on track 28. We needed to get to track 1. You can imagine where this story is heading.... When we got off the train and walked in the only direction that you could, we saw track 28, 27 and 26. That's it. No signs that we could see, other than 'elevator'. So we hopped on hoping it would bring us to a central board area where you can find all tracks. Nope, it brought us outside to the city. After wasting 3 mins checking around for signs we realized we had to go back up to where we were. If you walk along track 26 you will eventually start seeing signs for the other tracks a good way down there. So we're walking, and walking. Hubby had to take 2 suitcases, MIL was just walking, and then we find track 1 you have to go downstairs and through the underbelly. For some reason 26-28 are somewhat separate from the rest of the station, possibly because they're the local and not regional trains?

 

Hubby runs ahead when we finally see track 1, I'm struggling to get big bertha up the staircase to the tracks and thankfully a kind gentleman helped me get her up. Then I see we missed the train. It had pulled out about a minute before we got up there. @!dka! There was no way MIL would have made it, it took her another 5 mins just to catch up to us, but even without her and Bertha I'm not sure hubby and I would have even made it. I try talking to the security guard to figure out where to even go to fix this and he wasn't helpful. Just pointed in the direction we had come from (but above ground this time) and said 'booth'. Ok.

 

I stayed with MIL where we were with the bags while he walked to check it out. It was a good 10 min walk from where we were on track 1, and he came back in his most grumpy mood ever. Because we bought the 'super saver' tickets, we were entitled to nothing. No refund, no credit, no transfer, no changes. We had to buy all new tickets. He came back empty handed because he was so angry he just wanted to find a hotel in Rome then go home. So I took the tickets and did the walk of shame myself to the booth area. I found a self serve kiosk that I used instead, and saw why he was so angry. Close to $420 to buy 3 new tickets to Venice. Ouch. Our original tickets cost me less than $200 for the 3 of us. I had no choice though, so I got them. Our next train was in ~45 minutes so I went to go get them and move us closer to the main boarding area.

 

The train stations are definitely difficult to manage. It's not like NYC Penn Station for the LIRR or grand central. There you have multiple big boards to show you the track numbers, and there are multiple ways to get onto the tracks to board. In Italy think of it like a fork, where the tines of the fork are the tracks, and the only way to get onto those tracks is from the place where the handle meets up with the tines. So when we arrived on track 28 (which wasn't even part of that fork, but part of the serving spoon the next cutlery drawer over), we had to walk down track 28 tine's, back to the hub, then all the way over to track 1 and up that tine to get onto the train. So I'll say it again - if you are connecting/transferring trains, leave yourself at least 20-30 minutes between transfers so that you make your connection.

 

I didn't see our seat assignments on the tickets, so I went to ask one of the staff sitting near the entrance for help. She said I didn't have a seat and I had to talk to the agent in the booth. Ok, so I'm waiting on line, and waiting, and waiting. Finally there was someone else with a tablet helping people and I explain to him what happened. He pointed out our new seat assignments right there on the ticket. D'oh, didn't see them and the other staff member was too lazy to bother looking either I suppose. We got lucky and the track we needed for our transfer ended up being close to where we were standing and waiting.

 

There is only like 5 seats in the entire train station. No joke. So you have to get there early, but don't get there too early or you'll just be standing and waiting, and waiting. Another thing I didn't realize is that with the assigned seats and assigned cars, the business class is the furthest away from the station. This is opposite of what I would have imagined. So not only did we have to walk to the right track, we had to walk the entire length of the train itself to get to the right car.

 

Since the ride from Rome to Venice was over 4 hours, we had booked business class to be more comfortable and because I thought I had read that it came with free wine and a light meal. Nope. It was like being on an airplane in coach with regards to the drinks/snacks. The seats were comfy, but honestly coach would have been fine. The only plus that I could see as we got on board was that in business the luggage racks are in the middle of the car rather than towards the back. So it's easier to keep an eye on your stuff, and with less people per car there was plenty of room for our bags, including Bertha.

 

We finally got on and settled in and hubby was still venting about how crazy it was to get onto the train. There was a couple in front of us who overheard and the gentleman turned around to chat with us. He was from Australia and his girlfriend/wife was from China. He had an amazing attitude. "Yeah mate that sucks, but let it go, don't let it spoil the rest of your trip. You're here now with us!" He disappeared and came back from the cafe car with 2 beers and a bag of chips for us, along with things for himself and his companions. We toasted to Italy and happier times, and again that small act of kindness helped turn the rest of the day around for us.

 

Have to run to work, but will continue with the Venice misadventures later....

[Pretty Woman]

Thouroughly enjoyed your experience on Epic. We have done this cruise twice before and it brought it all back.This time I am sailing with my son and grandson (their first time). My husband and I also did the Caribbean a few years ago so this will be my fourth time on board the Epic. Great ship, Sooo looking forward to it. Thanks again.

[bluesea777]

 

Have to run to work, but will continue with the Venice misadventures later....

 

Oh no!!! I can imagine … we have been to Venice 3 times …. :o

 

P.S. great review and pro tips!