NCL Epic - Concerned About Bad Reviews

[GreenFamily]

I found a Mediterranean cruise that starts and ends in Rome (a huge plus) and includes all the ports I want to visit, especially Malta. The reviews of this cruise and the Epic are horrible, and I don’t just mean the weird bathrooms and bland food. It’s so bad, I don’t want to book. Are there any positives or should we consider a different itinerary or cruise line? 

[hallux]

There are several similar threads on this exact topic (the titles are nearly identical even, if I recall them previously).  Here's a pre-filled search for threads where the Epic is mentioned (found using the drop-down at the top of the topic list in the NCL forum), you can browse these topics for info on the ship.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?type=forums_topic&search_and_or=or&search_in=titles&nodes=64&q=epic

[mapleleaves]

Granted it was 3 yrs ago, but we were on the Epic for a Med cruise in Sept 2019.  We loved everything about it !!!!.the food, the shows, the itinerary.  We even preferred the bathroom setup as it made things much easier to get ready each morning on such a port intensive cruise.

Yes, we read the lousy reviews too, so we were a bit apprehensive.  And after our cruise, we read lousy reviews from people who were ON OUR sailing. But we enjoyed every minute and highly recommend it.

My cousin is a foodie ( her parents are chefs) and she was very impressed by the food.

I could see where the Epic might not be the best option for a Caribbean cruise as the pool area seemed a bit small, but we weren't there to swim, so no problem.

We all thought the itinerary was exhausting..... up early every morning, a train/bus to your destinationn, a full day of sightseeing, then back to ship to get ready for dinner, then a show, a drink and collapse into bed !  

Go and enjoy !

[GreenFamily]

Thank you both for your replies.

[styxfire]

Some of the negative reviews are undoubtedly because of the current closures:  the H2O adults-only deck/pool/bar/grill/dance-floor and Sports Complex.  NCL pretty-much angered all age-groups with the closure, and the complaints that preceded it.

          Whatever the issue is, once it's repaired and fully open again, I would suspect your cruise would be everything you want.

          I have NO interest in seeing the Priscilla musical, and the bathrooms sound weird, so I won't be sailing Epic.  But I know Howl at the Moon is awesome, and would love to see the Beatles performers.  And, the itinerary would be awesome.  I think there's enough good things on board that you could feel safe giving it a shot.  I've only done 1 European cruise, and it was on a plain dull ship (a different cruiseline), but the itinerary was SO FABULOUS that I feel it was my best cruise ever.   You can have a GREAT cruise on ANY ship, if other ingredients are there...

[ChiefMateJRK]

I've been on the Epic twice.  I'm not a fan of Priscilla, but it is well presented.  The bathrooms bother me just about the same as the chandelier on the Encore (i.e. I couldn't care less about either).   I don't recall the food being any better or worse than any NCL ship.  The elevators were a real problem for disembarking our first cruise, but no problem whatsoever for the second.  Not sure why the difference.  I prefer the Jewel class and Breakaway plus class ships (exclusive of Escape), but any cruise ship is a good cruise ship.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, GreenFamily said:

I found a Mediterranean cruise that starts and ends in Rome (a huge plus) and includes all the ports I want to visit, especially Malta. The reviews of this cruise and the Epic are horrible, and I don’t just mean the weird bathrooms and bland food. It’s so bad, I don’t want to book. Are there any positives or should we consider a different itinerary or cruise line? 

We have sailed on the Epic 6 or 7 times in the past and would happily sail on her again (we're looking at a Southern Caribbean cruise from San Juan on the Epic). Lots of people complain for the sake of complaining. We would give the Epic two thumbs up. She's a lot nicer than the small ships in the fleet. 

 

The Epic is a little older. Been through two major dry docks. But, she is still a grand ship. No laser tag, go karts, and virtual reality pavilions which is totally  fine with us. She was NCL's first mega ship and has what you would expect on a bigger ship. 

[MaryZ]

If you think you won't be happy, pick another ship.  We've been on the Epic and we enjoyed it.  But it was years ago. 
There are so many different ships in the med that come and go from rome.

[Ixtoras]

Honestly, IMO the Epic itself is fine, and really doesn't deserve the bad reputation that it seems to have on CC.  We were on her before the shutdown and at the time, her crew were fantastic and everyone had a great time.   

 

Yes, there are quirks about the ship, but nothing is a real deal breaker. It was little things like there's a lot of wasted (unused) deck space, and some of the pathing is odd. Example - IIRC La Cucina requires walking through the Garden Cafe to get to the entrance.  But once you get there, its the one of the nicest view restaurants on all of the ships... 

 

With a Med itinerary, you're likely going to be off the ship most of the time anyway, so I wouldn't let the ship influence the decision that much.  

 

Have a great time whatever you choose to do.

[complawyer]

been  on the epic twice, no problems with anything, great butlers and cabin stewards in the haven complex, nice comfortable cabins, nice ship.

 

dont let nay sayers deter you. everybody has an opinion. you may book a different cruise and be disappointed. 

 

my personal opinion is as follow: im on vacation on a cruise ship. a floating luxury hotel. bring on the drinks and food.  how can you possible be disappointed?  what we have here dear greenfamily (is not a failure to communicate) but a first world problem

 

no one will give you any type of sympathy if you come home and tell your friends you picked the wrong ship

[sarlin]

We went on the Epic on MED cruise a few years back.  It was a fantastic cruise.  We were so busy everyday that all I needed was a comfortable bed at the end of the day.  The itenerary is very port intensive This particular cruise is by far my favorite cruise ever.  You will love it!

 

[Cruise-mom]

We were on the Epic a few weeks ago. It was booked as an alternative to a cancelled Baltic cruise. After reading similar reviews, and with Spice H2o being closed we weren't expecting a whole lot from our trip but we had a fantastic time. The bathroom set up worked for us (mom & 2 DD's 23&19). We enjoyed all our meals, shows, activities etc. We had a full capacity sailing and even with Spice closed we never had issues getting chairs by the pool, even in the shade.

 

I would gladly sail the Epic again.

 

 

[spanishguy1970]

12 hours ago, GreenFamily said:

I found a Mediterranean cruise that starts and ends in Rome (a huge plus) and includes all the ports I want to visit, especially Malta. The reviews of this cruise and the Epic are horrible, and I don’t just mean the weird bathrooms and bland food. It’s so bad, I don’t want to book. Are there any positives or should we consider a different itinerary or cruise line? 

We have been on the Epic 4 times going on our 5th cruise in April. We have learned to take people comments and reviews about this ship with a grain of salt. We have heard it all. The layout of the bathrooms ( we overlook it) the food, the service, the layout,  etc etc etc. We have always had a good time, with maybe few mishaps but nothing to make us hate our cruise. I am sure things have changed  post pandemic and we just have to stay mindful and hopeful that things will improve i am sure the staff and cruise lines are trying their best to make the cruise memorable that goes for all cruise lines. IMO

[Twocoasts]

We did the Rome to Rome on Epic in May. Our first NCL cruise (more recently I've done Oceania and Windstar but have done RC, Carnival and Disney years ago). We had a Club Balcony cabin and we loved it! The storage space was fantastic. We were both able to fully unpack. We didn't love that the desk area was small, but honestly nothing to complain about. 

 

We ate in Cagney's, La Cucina, Le Bistro, Moderno and the Asian place (name is escaping me) as well as the MD and buffet. Our only bad meal was the Asian restaurant--so bad we ending up going to the buffet for dinner after. 

 

I do agree that the ship layout could be better. But we got the hang of it and really enjoyed ourselves. 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[wally1832]

We and another couple took the July 10th cruise on the Epic from Barcelona.  I won't lie, the room configuration did worry me a bit prior to sailing.  To say it was one of the best cruises I have been on would be an understatement.  We had zero at Sea days so the H2O being closed really was a non-issue for either of our cabins.  Being from the Midwest, we took full advantage of seeing all the destinations, and the Epic was a great ship to do it from.  As for food, I don't know if my palate isn't as refined as some others, but the food we had for almost every meal was quite good (the morning sausage was kind of weird one day to be honest).  Dinners in the MDR and meals at O'Sheehan's were really good.  If all you are doing is staying on the boat the entire time, then maybe certain aspects may not fit you, but if you are using the Epic to see some magnificent places and have some really good meals and service along the way, I can give it very high regards.  If you do go on a cruise to Italy or from Italy, I do recommend Through Eternity for excursions.  They are competitively priced, and more importantly the quality of guides is outstanding.  Can't recommend them enough.  Just our two cents.   Good luck and don't miss out on a spectacular cruise.

Edited August 25, 2022 by wally1832
poor grammer.

[missnd]

I've been on the Epic twice, both out of Barcelona and San Juan.  I don't think it's any better or worse than any other cruise ship I've been on.  I completely agree with the above posts that the Med itinerary is so port intensive, all you end up doing back on the ship is eating and sleeping anyway.  

 

My two favorite parts of the ship were the sundeck on 18 at the front of the ship and the Thermal Suite.  Both are quiet and relaxing.  The sundeck on 18 is quiet, has amazing views, padded loungers, and even servers on sea days.  The Thermal Suite was so nice to help recover after the long days of walking around tourist sites.

[trivimp]

Some people just aren't happy unless they are complaining.  I liked the Epic just fine.  Sure, it has a few little weirdnesses that absolutely won't ruin your holiday.  It also has the best Studio lounge in the fleet.  (Probably doesn't apply to the OP, but worth a mention.)  

 

I'd sail her again in a minute.  

[schmoopie17]

13 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

  The bathrooms bother me just about the same as the chandelier on the Encore (i.e. I couldn't care less about either).   

Kudos to you for using the correct verbiage of "I couldn't care less".

When I see "I could care less"..."should of"..."all of the sudden", etc., it drives me nuts. 😜

Edited August 25, 2022 by schmoopie17

[MSUjohn]

i have sailed on the epic once, i didn't care for it. for lack of a better term, everything about the ship seemed "off" (as not intuitive). that being said i have a TA in November on her.

 

i have done two med cruises, one on the epic; they are so port intensive the desired destinations are far more important than the ship.

the food should be the same regardless of ship.

[CILCIANRQTS]

17 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Kudos to you for using the correct verbiage of "I couldn't care less".

When I see "I could care less"..."should of"..."all of the sudden", etc., it drives me nuts. 😜

May I suggest a good bourbon to help you relax?
(Hope my grammar was correct in the sentence above!!) 😉😎

[MSUjohn]

22 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Kudos to you for using the correct verbiage of "I couldn't care less".

When I see "I could care less"..."should of"..."all of the sudden", etc., it drives me nuts. 😜

you must be fun at a party.

[schmoopie17]

39 minutes ago, MSUjohn said:

you must be fun at a party.

Actually, I am. Especially with bourbon (see comment above).

[GreenFamily]

My heart is set on this cruise and I know I’ll love the Mediterranean even if the carpet is worn and my eggs are cold. Thank you all for your positive reviews and great tips. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by GreenFamily
Typo

[spanishguy1970]

5 hours ago, trivimp said:

Some people just aren't happy unless they are complaining.  I liked the Epic just fine.  Sure, it has a few little weirdnesses that absolutely won't ruin your holiday.  It also has the best Studio lounge in the fleet.  (Probably doesn't apply to the OP, but worth a mention.)  

 

I'd sail her again in a minute.  

and we think it has the best Thermal Spa  in the fleet. 

Edited August 25, 2022 by spanishguy1970

[CptAleSpill]

5 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Actually, I am. Especially with bourbon (see comment above).

Almost everything is more fun with a good bourbon.  🐀