Boarding and other Epic Questions

[oz61]

Hi all

 

We are boarding the Epic in Barcelona at the end of this month. The ship has a rolling itinerary - some people boarded in Civitavecchia (Rome), so I was wondering how check in worked in these circumstances?

 

I have only ever checked in as a suite guest, but we are in a balcony stateroom this trip.  Sapphire latitudes will give us priority boarding though.

 

What happens in the morning after check in? Are we allowed on the ship straight away? Can we access ship facilities and dining rooms? If we choose an early check in time, can we board, have a look around and then go off the ship again?

 

I see we can book times for the Main dining rooms - is this necessary? I have done all my speciality bookings.

 

I have never been on one of the large NCL ships, do you need to book shows? What is the Spiegel tent and do we need to book it?

 

This one may be harder - is there a bar on the ship likely to be showing the Australian Rugby League State of Origin game? It televises on Fox US around midday the day of boarding. If not on the ship, we may have to find a Sports bar in Barcelona. ☺️

 

Appreciate any assistance!

 

[KeithJenner]

Boarding on that itinerary in Barcelona is no different to a standard cruise. If you weren’t aware beforehand about the Rome embarkation then you likely wouldn’t even notice it. You check in as normal and boarding starts late morning.

Edited June 5, 2022 by KeithJenner

[BirdTravels]

37 minutes ago, oz61 said:

Hi all

 

We are boarding the Epic in Barcelona at the end of this month. The ship has a rolling itinerary - some people boarded in Civitavecchia (Rome), so I was wondering how check in worked in these circumstances?

 

I have only ever checked in as a suite guest, but we are in a balcony stateroom this trip.  Sapphire latitudes will give us priority boarding though.

 

What happens in the morning after check in? Are we allowed on the ship straight away? Can we access ship facilities and dining rooms? If we choose an early check in time, can we board, have a look around and then go off the ship again?

 

I see we can book times for the Main dining rooms - is this necessary? I have done all my speciality bookings.

 

I have never been on one of the large NCL ships, do you need to book shows? What is the Spiegel tent and do we need to book it?

 

This one may be harder - is there a bar on the ship likely to be showing the Australian Rugby League State of Origin game? It televises on Fox US around midday the day of boarding. If not on the ship, we may have to find a Sports bar in Barcelona. ☺️

 

Appreciate any assistance!

 

It will be a normal embarkation. People from the prior cruise will be disembarking. You will wait to embark. Barcelona is the primary embarkation port, so it will seem to be fairly “normal” from other cruises. 

[oz61]

Thanks! So after checking in, what happens? Do we just sit around and wait for boarding? 

 

Are we able to leave the port and look around again if embarkation is going to be a while? 

 

If we are Latitudes Priority Boarding, what time are we likely to be able to board? 

 

 

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, oz61 said:

Thanks! So after checking in, what happens? Do we just sit around and wait for boarding? 

 

Are we able to leave the port and look around again if embarkation is going to be a while? 

 

If we are Latitudes Priority Boarding, what time are we likely to be able to board? 

 

 

Latitudes should in theory get you priority boarding, which would be late morning. I’ve not sailed from Barcelona in a few years, but they used to have latitudes priority boarding there (things may have changed though).

 

I think you can go back out after checking in (and after boarding), although I’ve never done so myself. Just remember to be back two hours before departure (keeping in mind it can take a while to get back to the port from the city).

[mcmomny]

It has been about 10 years but this is what we did!

We had been in Barcelona already for 4 days so after breakfast we checked out of our hotel and went right to the ship, checked luggage and boarded.

Not sure if it is still available but at The Barcelona Port after check in was a wine and booze shop where you could buy and bring on alcohol and not pay corkage fees! Great perk!

Checked out our balcony cabin and the ship, had a drink and some food then headed back out to explore the area by the port and then got on the Hop on Bus and took the route around the beach and the old Olympic Stadiums and saw the parts we had not explored during our 4 day visit.

Then we returned to the ship before it sailed away!

 

Enjoy!

[KeithJenner]

The wine shop was still there last time I was in Barcelona, but being able to get it onboard without paying corkage has never been guaranteed. In my experience that works about 50% of the time.

[FlatFooted Freda]

We were on the Epic in May ( loved it!). We felt we made the mistake of taking the earliest check-in available - 9:30 as I recall. We arrived at that time, and stood in line outside for nearly an hour. Once inside, we were checked in quickly. But then we sat around and waited to be let on the ship. My recollection is on the ship between 11 and 12. At the time, we were not aware that others were boarded from Civ, so did not try to disembark. So can't answer that question. If we had it to do over again, would just take a later embarkation time, and spend more time touring Barcelona. So much to see and do there. We had a suite, and I was not aware that made any difference during embarkation.

Once onboard, went to the buffet ( as usual!). Allowed in staterooms after approx 2 hours. We also made show reservations immediately. No Priscilla yet. Burn the Floor and Quintessence (?- I think),a great cirque-like show in a small theater. Quintessence sold out quickly. My recollection is there were empty seats for Burn the Floor.

There is one sports channel on board, that they will play in the rooms and in the bars. 

Cocovail Barcelona is a great sports bar , in the Eixample area.

It was a great cruise. Enjoy!

[Twocoasts]

You can board right away. You can drop your bags and disembark again as long as you are back on the ship on time.

[bruce85]

        Just back from same cruise yesterday. We flew in a day early and during check-in we selected a 9.30 boarding time. We had also booked our hotel in Barcelona with NCL, so this included the hotel transfer on the morning of the cruise. When we arrived at the hotel, there was a package waiting from NCL for us. Inside was our transfer info. They had us scheduled for a 10.30 pick-up. We thought about just getting a cab and do the 9.30 check-in we had scheduled but decided to just stick with the 10.30 pick-up by NCL. 

        Morning of the cruise we left the hotel right around 10.40, and we were enjoying our first cocktail on board around 11.30 or so. We were never asked for a boarding time. Very easy boarding provided to have your doc's in order. 

[oz61]

Thanks all for your responses. I will stick with our early check in time and hope for the best. After a long nervous wait booking just after borders opened, it is nearly here! 😀

 

I am hoping Priscilla will be playing by the end of the month (good Aussie show haha!)