No so Epic Cruise...

[20165]

We were on the Epic western Caribbean cruise last week and my plan was to make a comparison between that cruise and the RCL oasis cruise we were on in Aug. but the Oasis has it beat in every category with the exception of overall cost of the cruise so ill give some highlights of our not so Epic cruise last week.

What went right.

Itinerary was great and the main reason we picked the cruise.

Coco Key – Snorkeling was great once you found the right spot. It was easy to find lounge chairs and there were plenty of places for the kids to explore.

Jamaica – not one of favorite ports so we booked an all day excursion so we weren’t wondering around town.  We did the Dolphin swim and duns river climb tour and both were great.  We did a Dolphin swim in Cozumel a couple cruises, but liked this one better.  They let you interact more with the dolphins and there was more to do at the resort area after the swim.  Dunns was pretty fun as well, although our 12yo was a little hesitant about the climb but once we started doing it, he was fine.  Overall, great way to spend the day in Jamaica.

Grand Cayman – There were 6 ships in GC when we were there so do the math on the number of people in town that day…  We did the sunken Ship snorkel tour which was also good, but a little deep to Snorkel.  We could see if fine, but it was a little too deep to hold your breath and  dive down to.  Definitely on our bucket list to scuba dive when our kids are certified. That took most of the day so we did a tiny bit of shopping and then back to the ship. Another great day.

Cozumel – One of our favorite islands.  We did Snuba which the kids loved.  We have done it before so everyone had an idea of what to do which made it even easier and more enjoyable for our youngest given it wasn’t his first time so he was more relaxed. After that we had lunch on the water, did a bit a shopping, and then back the ship.  Also, the port where the ship docks has a great shopping area.  Think outdoor mall.  Very clean, restrooms, great stores.  Probably not the cheapest place to shop on the island, but had everything we wanted and the prices weren’t bad.

What went wrong

Ok, so if you are a diehard NCL cruiser, you may want to stop here because this is going to get ugly.  

Room Steward - This was the first cruise that we actually had a bad cabin steward.  Not that all of the other ones were perfect on our 20+ past cruises which I wouldn’t expect, but this one just didn’t give a you know what.  We had 2 balcony cabins side by side, one for us and one for our 2 kids.  We asked him to separate the beds when he made the up for the night which he said no problem.  We even left him a note on the bed before we went to dinner and when we returned ready to put the kids to bed, the beds were not separated. He responded to our note with another note telling us to call a number to get them separated.  When we called, they said they would do it in the morning which was not acceptable so after some arguing, they finally sent someone up to do it.  Ok, so bad taste in our mouth on day 1, but we figured, that would be it.  Nope, he only left 1 towel in the boys room on multiple occasions, no ice was ever filled in either room, sometimes we would get a next day itinerary on our beds, but usually only in 1 room, not both.  Icing on the cake was on the last day, he informed us that he would not make up our room that night because he had to pack to get off the ship in the morning.  So no clean towels and no info on disembarkation the next morning.  I know there will be a lot of comments on why we didn’t complain, and my wife and I did contemplate that, but decided to do it after the cruise given he has access to a lot of our belongings that would not fit into the safe.  Laptops, ipads, cell phones, etc. 

Overall service – Some of the crew members did admit that they were short staffed, but it was also pretty obvious.  One of the three sides was closed because they didn’t have anyone to operate it, bar staff was way understaffed, especially at the pool area.  We waited close to 30 minutes to get a drink at the main bar and on sea days, it was sometimes 3 people deep just get to the bar to order something.  Bar staff walking around and taking drink orders was almost nonexistent.  We were asked 1 time if we wanted a drink from someone walking around.  Restaurants were not much better.  They were also short staffed and servicing way too many tables.  We ate at the MDR once given it took close to 3 hours to get through the courses.  My wife and I could handle it, but the kids got restless.

Restaurants – We bought the 3 specialty restaurant package and had a hard time using it because everything was booked.  We found out that on day 1, people would book multiple restaurants each night and just show up for the one they wanted. Give that and the short staff, it was really hard to get in anywhere.

Construction – I never thought this would end up in one of my reviews but they were doing construction on the ship which closed off a good portion of the pool deck.  I believe it was where the putt putt golf area was.  I know there are necessary things that need to be done on the ship, but thanksgiving week with a lot of kids sailing probably isn’t the week to do whatever they were doing.

Summary

I think its obvious that we had a bad experience on Epic and I don’t think we are being overly critical because we sailed on Epic on 2013 and had a wonderful experience so the service level on NCL has either gotten really bad over the years or this cruise was just a fluke.  The only positive was it was considerably less expensive than our Oasis cruise in August but you get what you pay for.  I wouldn’t say we will never sail NCL again because itinerary is very important to us so we may have to, but they will be way down on the list when we look at a cruise for next year.

Im happy to answer any questions and would like to hear from someone else on Epic last week to hear their experience.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

19 minutes ago, 20165 said:

We ate at the MDR once given it took close to 3 hours to get through the courses.  My wife and I could handle it, but the kids got restless.

that's why we bring an ipad for the kiddo (he is 7) into MDR. Once he is done eating, he is on the pad, while we roll our eyes at the excruciatingly slow service. It was way over 2 hours on Jade to get a full meal served. Pretty ridiculous, I must say.

 

We also had the very first bad cabin attendant on NCL. This was our first NCL cruise. She also left us 2 towels for 3 people and it took forever to get another towel! And lotion. And body wash...  My mom's cabin attendant was great, though.

At least your cruise ship didn't break down on day 3 and had to evacuate everybody. So, yay!

Edited November 25, 2018 by Itchy&Scratchy

[dexddd]

Coco Key - think you mean Great Stirrup.

[20165]

41 minutes ago, dexddd said:

Coco Key - think you mean Great Stirrup.

Sorry, correct, Great Stirrup Cay.  Must have Cocoa beach on the brain...

Again, great private island.  Not as big as Labadee but seemed less crowded for some reason.

 

[xcell]

Is this your first NCL cruise?

 

Our was on the Epic as well -- not our favorite by far, poor/slow service in the MDR, weird cabin layout, etc...it was going to be our last NCL ship but the next promo was specialty dining for 4, for each and everyday...and then we hit platinum.

 

Try another of NCL ship -- stay way from the MDR and book more specialty. It will be better...

[MMastell]

My wife and I were on the previous cruise.  The Transatlantic from Barcelona to Port Canaveral.  Our cabin steward was great but the understaffing was present there.  The shortage of bartenders and servers in the bars was ridiculous.  The wait was terrible at the Martini Bar, O'Sheehan's and the Pool Bar.  We were also quite disappointed with downgrade in quality and selections in the specialty restaurants.  Cagney's and Le Bistro were very disappointing compared to our previous visits.  BTW: We are Platinum and have sailed Epic before. We'll try another NCL cruise but we're done with Epic.

 

Take care,

Mike

[20165]

18 minutes ago, xcell said:

Is this your first NCL cruise?

 

Our was on the Epic as well -- not our favorite by far, poor/slow service in the MDR, weird cabin layout, etc...it was going to be our last NCL ship but the next promo was specialty dining for 4, for each and everyday...and then we hit platinum.

 

Try another of NCL ship -- stay way from the MDR and book more specialty. It will be better...

No, it was our 5th  NCL cruise.  epic 2013, Getaway 2016 and Epic last week.  The other two were on the Norway a long time ago, but given how long ago that was and the type of ship, i dont use that in my comparison.  Like i said in the post above, the 2013 epic was great and the reason we went on getaway in 2016.  Last week was just awful though.  Hopefully the bad /' understaffed service was just epic and not a company wide issue.

 

[xcell]

I liked the water slide...

 

We only sailed it once; wife won't go back...

 

Have been on RCCL for the past few cruises, so let's see how bad NCL has become...

 

[Cafedumonde]

Great review.  Thanks for taking the time to write it.  We are on the fence about keeping our next booked NCL cruise.  If we cancel we will lose our cruise next certificate because we have been punting this cruise for a few years.  There are just so many options, others pop up that interest more.  And NCL has been getting so so reviews.

[Son of a son of a ...]

Not all babies are cute and not all cruises are great.  Sorry, you had a crappy cruise ... we had one, too, a few years ago.

[FLAHAM]

I don't doubt your experience but feel badly for you because I have had two great cruises (totaling 26 days) on the Epic in the past two years.

[bluesea777]

22 NCL cruises under our belts .... usually the room stewards have been good. Some were exceptionally good, and we had the worst one on the Sun in Sept 2018 - passive aggressive - no towel animals AT ALL. And he serviced the room as late as 2:30pm and 9:30pm. It was the only time we didn’t leave a tip 😳 Funnily (or not so) enough in the crew farewell show he was there carrying a towel animal.

 

Fortunately here on the Jewel we have a fantastic room stewardess -lovely lady who makes fantastic towel animals - usually the little ones that we have seen before. 

 

[newmexicoNita]

20 hours ago, 20165 said:

We were on the Epic western Caribbean cruise last week and my plan was to make a comparison between that cruise and the RCL oasis cruise we were on in Aug. but the Oasis has it beat in every category with the exception of overall cost of the cruise so ill give some highlights of our not so Epic cruise last week.

What went right.

Itinerary was great and the main reason we picked the cruise.

Coco Key – Snorkeling was great once you found the right spot. It was easy to find lounge chairs and there were plenty of places for the kids to explore.

Jamaica – not one of favorite ports so we booked an all day excursion so we weren’t wondering around town.  We did the Dolphin swim and duns river climb tour and both were great.  We did a Dolphin swim in Cozumel a couple cruises, but liked this one better.  They let you interact more with the dolphins and there was more to do at the resort area after the swim.  Dunns was pretty fun as well, although our 12yo was a little hesitant about the climb but once we started doing it, he was fine.  Overall, great way to spend the day in Jamaica.

Grand Cayman – There were 6 ships in GC when we were there so do the math on the number of people in town that day…  We did the sunken Ship snorkel tour which was also good, but a little deep to Snorkel.  We could see if fine, but it was a little too deep to hold your breath and  dive down to.  Definitely on our bucket list to scuba dive when our kids are certified. That took most of the day so we did a tiny bit of shopping and then back to the ship. Another great day.

Cozumel – One of our favorite islands.  We did Snuba which the kids loved.  We have done it before so everyone had an idea of what to do which made it even easier and more enjoyable for our youngest given it wasn’t his first time so he was more relaxed. After that we had lunch on the water, did a bit a shopping, and then back the ship.  Also, the port where the ship docks has a great shopping area.  Think outdoor mall.  Very clean, restrooms, great stores.  Probably not the cheapest place to shop on the island, but had everything we wanted and the prices weren’t bad.

What went wrong

Ok, so if you are a diehard NCL cruiser, you may want to stop here because this is going to get ugly.  

Room Steward - This was the first cruise that we actually had a bad cabin steward.  Not that all of the other ones were perfect on our 20+ past cruises which I wouldn’t expect, but this one just didn’t give a you know what.  We had 2 balcony cabins side by side, one for us and one for our 2 kids.  We asked him to separate the beds when he made the up for the night which he said no problem.  We even left him a note on the bed before we went to dinner and when we returned ready to put the kids to bed, the beds were not separated. He responded to our note with another note telling us to call a number to get them separated.  When we called, they said they would do it in the morning which was not acceptable so after some arguing, they finally sent someone up to do it.  Ok, so bad taste in our mouth on day 1, but we figured, that would be it.  Nope, he only left 1 towel in the boys room on multiple occasions, no ice was ever filled in either room, sometimes we would get a next day itinerary on our beds, but usually only in 1 room, not both.  Icing on the cake was on the last day, he informed us that he would not make up our room that night because he had to pack to get off the ship in the morning.  So no clean towels and no info on disembarkation the next morning.  I know there will be a lot of comments on why we didn’t complain, and my wife and I did contemplate that, but decided to do it after the cruise given he has access to a lot of our belongings that would not fit into the safe.  Laptops, ipads, cell phones, etc. 

Overall service – Some of the crew members did admit that they were short staffed, but it was also pretty obvious.  One of the three sides was closed because they didn’t have anyone to operate it, bar staff was way understaffed, especially at the pool area.  We waited close to 30 minutes to get a drink at the main bar and on sea days, it was sometimes 3 people deep just get to the bar to order something.  Bar staff walking around and taking drink orders was almost nonexistent.  We were asked 1 time if we wanted a drink from someone walking around.  Restaurants were not much better.  They were also short staffed and servicing way too many tables.  We ate at the MDR once given it took close to 3 hours to get through the courses.  My wife and I could handle it, but the kids got restless.

Restaurants – We bought the 3 specialty restaurant package and had a hard time using it because everything was booked.  We found out that on day 1, people would book multiple restaurants each night and just show up for the one they wanted. Give that and the short staff, it was really hard to get in anywhere.

Construction – I never thought this would end up in one of my reviews but they were doing construction on the ship which closed off a good portion of the pool deck.  I believe it was where the putt putt golf area was.  I know there are necessary things that need to be done on the ship, but thanksgiving week with a lot of kids sailing probably isn’t the week to do whatever they were doing.

Summary

I think its obvious that we had a bad experience on Epic and I don’t think we are being overly critical because we sailed on Epic on 2013 and had a wonderful experience so the service level on NCL has either gotten really bad over the years or this cruise was just a fluke.  The only positive was it was considerably less expensive than our Oasis cruise in August but you get what you pay for.  I wouldn’t say we will never sail NCL again because itinerary is very important to us so we may have to, but they will be way down on the list when we look at a cruise for next year.

Im happy to answer any questions and would like to hear from someone else on Epic last week to hear their experience.

Why would you say, those of us who are NCL loyalist should not read the rest of the story? I think your complaints are justified. I haven't had that many issues with NCL as they are known for outstanding service but things do go wrong and that is what it sounds like happened to you. I have to say, the only really crappy service we have ever had was our cabin steward and yes, on the Epic. She wasn't awful, just didn't seem to really care. MDR service can be long I agree, never 3 hours for us, but 2, yes. And one of the busiest time to travel happens to be  Thanksgiving week. One of our "not so great" cruises was on Celebrity during Thanksgiving break. 

 

Hope your next cruise is a better experience. I hope you will give NCL another shot, but if not, I am sure anyone would understand why. 

[newmexicoNita]

16 hours ago, MMastell said:

My wife and I were on the previous cruise.  The Transatlantic from Barcelona to Port Canaveral.  Our cabin steward was great but the understaffing was present there.  The shortage of bartenders and servers in the bars was ridiculous.  The wait was terrible at the Martini Bar, O'Sheehan's and the Pool Bar.  We were also quite disappointed with downgrade in quality and selections in the specialty restaurants.  Cagney's and Le Bistro were very disappointing compared to our previous visits.  BTW: We are Platinum and have sailed Epic before. We'll try another NCL cruise but we're done with Epic.

 

Take care,

Mike

That is interesting as our bad Epic cruise was the first sailing after being in Europe for the summer. Maybe it has something to do with that, I don't know. We too thought they were understaffed but we didn't have any problems with OSheehans being slow nor did we have any problem with the quality or selection of food in any specialty dining room I am thinking the Epic isn't the ship for everyone For us, to top it all off, we hit really bad weather, so all the cruisers had to pretty much hang out inside: BUMMER!!! This was a few years ago.   I would like to add just one thing and this is certainly not addressed to the OP but to those who are going to use Mike's experience as a blast away posting about NCL> For those who are booked or thinking of booking, don't let a few ruin your vacation or scare you away. There are a heck of a lot that love NCL with lots of positive posts. 

[mco_rich]

20 hours ago, 20165 said:

.We were on the same cruise, should have review done tonight, 100% agree above, some good things we may go Norwegian again but not the Epic

 

[adjensen]

I was also on the Epic transatlantic a couple of weeks ago, and the service in the restaurants (pretty much all of them,) was very, very slow. Our first lunch in Taste took well over an hour, and we put that down to a bad server, but over the course of the two weeks, it never got much better. Our last dinner, also in Taste, took over two and a half hours, and we skipped dessert!

 

We were told that several hundred crew came on in Barcelona and we could see the line of new crew getting on in Port Canaveral as we were getting off, so I think it can be written off as a lot of people who are unfamiliar with the ship they've just come on to.

 

You're overstating the amount of Deck 15 that was closed off, due to the maintenance they were doing -- it's confined to about a 20x30 foot area on the port side. Because it blocked off one of the two paths to get from the back of the ship to the front, it was rather inconvenient, but it wasn't all that big.

Edited November 26, 2018 by adjensen

[20165]

Thanks for everyone replys and my wife reminded me of a couple of things i didnt mention in my original review that may be helpful to others.  

Flight times - We were concerned about making our 12:20 flight out of Orlando on Saturday when we returned. I was getting concerned when i woke up at 6:15 am and we were just docking, but once docked, they started letting people that were carrying their own luggage off the ship around 7ish which i thought was pretty quick to clear customs.  We bent the rules a bit and got off with the folks carrying their bags and were directed to a holding area until our bag color was ready.  We maybe waited 20 minutes before they allowed us in the baggage area.  There were quite a few others that did this with early flights. Once we had our bags and got on the road,   we arrived at the airport about 2 hours early which was good because security at Orlando is long.  Bottom line, a 12ish flight is doable, but cutting it close if you dont get off as early as you can.

Transportation -  We debated this quite a bit before the cruise and decided to rent a car at Orlando airport then park it for the week at the port.  We did this for 2 reasons.  We had a lot of luggage and were concerned that if got a Taxi/uber, it wouldn't be big enough.  Think 8 bags and 4 people...  We were also concerned that turning in the car at port Canaveral and either getting another one and/or finding a taxi that would accommodate all of our baggage could be a issue when we arrived and we didnt have time to spare given the flight time above.   Our guesstimate was doing this cost us about $100-150 more than an uber or other transportation would cost given we did arrive a day early and would need several taxi's / ubers to get to and from the hotel, port, etc.

 

[ricka47]

This is interesting and, as an RCI/X Loyalists, we're considering giving NCL a try.  We just got of HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam and enjoyed it (guess we're not that loyal).  But, we're considering trying a new experience with NCL out of Port Canaveral.   The "Freestyle" experience seems much more flexible than what we are used to.

 

However, the review above is giving me second thoughts.  For those who are regular NCL guests, is what we read here typical?  I've read that some consider NCL a step above Carnival but still a step below RCI - is that a fair estimation?

[cathi007]

2 hours ago, ricka47 said:

This is interesting and, as an RCI/X Loyalists, we're considering giving NCL a try.  We just got of HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam and enjoyed it (guess we're not that loyal).  But, we're considering trying a new experience with NCL out of Port Canaveral.   The "Freestyle" experience seems much more flexible than what we are used to.

 

However, the review above is giving me second thoughts.  For those who are regular NCL guests, is what we read here typical?  I've read that some consider NCL a step above Carnival but still a step below RCI - is that a fair estimation?

Not typical of NCL, but I have heard really bad reviews of the Epic. My sister and her friends sailed it when it was new and my sister calls it the Epic failure. Because of this I would never sail that ship. I have sailed the Gem, Dawn, Spirit, and now I am going on the Escape. I haven't sailed NCL in 3 years and the last time I sailed (Gem) it was the best cruise ever. The food was awesome, as was the entertainment. I am hoping it is an Epic problem, and not a fleet problem. I will review when I get back

[tbo]

We did our first NCL cruise last December on the Escape and it was AMAZING, definitely a step up from Carnival. We have a cruise on the Epic in January and reading reviews like this one certainly make me wonder if we chose the right ship.

 

I understand the OP reasoning in not making a complaint while on board for fear of the steward taking valuables, but I think if it were me I would have addressed the issues anyway. Vacation is also valuable and getting less than minimal service in not acceptable, IMHO.

[dexddd]

That was probably a wise choice with car rental - the rental agencies have become overwhelmed/understaffed in Port Canaveral.

[newmexicoNita]

3 hours ago, ricka47 said:

This is interesting and, as an RCI/X Loyalists, we're considering giving NCL a try.  We just got of HAL's Nieuw Amsterdam and enjoyed it (guess we're not that loyal).  But, we're considering trying a new experience with NCL out of Port Canaveral.   The "Freestyle" experience seems much more flexible than what we are used to.

 

However, the review above is giving me second thoughts.  For those who are regular NCL guests, is what we read here typical?  I've read that some consider NCL a step above Carnival but still a step below RCI - is that a fair estimation?

For the most part NCL is considered on a similar level as RCI, but everyone has their own opinion. Remember, it is always easier to gripe than to praise. we all expect to have a good time. When we do we just accept it. When we don't, for whatever reason we love to tell the whole world. Mostly the lines are similar, depending on the class of the ship. I know some that prefer NCL over RCI and others that feel the opposite. As for HAL love the line, but think NCL is more fun. 

[20165]

1 hour ago, newmexicoNita said:

For the most part NCL is considered on a similar level as RCI, but everyone has their own opinion. Remember, it is always easier to gripe than to praise. we all expect to have a good time. When we do we just accept it. When we don't, for whatever reason we love to tell the whole world. Mostly the lines are similar, depending on the class of the ship. I know some that prefer NCL over RCI and others that feel the opposite. As for HAL love the line, but think NCL is more fun. 

Im not sure thats a fair assessment, 'its easier to gripe than to praise'  Below is my review of our Getaway cruise where i gave it very high marks.  I tell it like it is on these ships and this one was just bad.  Take the cabin steward out of the equation, we still had bad service from the wait staff and bar tenders and based on some of the comments, i dont think its unique to us.

 

[Abm234b]

Sailing the EPIC in March. We're nervous!

[newmexicoNita]

17 minutes ago, 20165 said:

Im not sure thats a fair assessment, 'its easier to gripe than to praise'  Below is my review of our Getaway cruise where i gave it very high marks.  I tell it like it is on these ships and this one was just bad.  Take the cabin steward out of the equation, we still had bad service from the wait staff and bar tenders and based on some of the comments, i dont think its unique to us.

 

I think overall it was a very fair comparison. Remember, on these post we are all generalizing. There are exceptions always

 

Yes, some do give objective reviews, but negative ones will almost always show up: positive ones, not often. And believe me, as I said I am not a lover of EPIC.