CONFUSED ABOUT OUR MAY 20-30, 2023 MED CRUISE ON EPIC

[Amy S.]

In reading many NCL boards it seems our cruise starting in Rome on May 20 has people boarding and departing on different dates.  Some people will already have boarded in Barcelona and I'm assuming getting off when we go from Rome to Barcelona.  (Hope that's not too confusing.)  As a result I'm finding no roll calls for our cruise but one for the cruise before us on May 16 - May 25.   I even tried to start my own roll call board with hardly anyone joining.  Is this typical to have people coming and going on different dates?   It seems crazy to me.  We've been on 4 other cruises, (not NCL), and never experienced this nor have I never had a roll call for our cruise.  Thanks for reading!

Edited January 15, 2023 by Amy S.

[European_CruiseGirl]

That particular route has two embarkation ports on NCL. Rome and Barcelona. So NCL  is making a 7-day roundtrip Barcelona to Barcelona cruise and a 7-day roundtrip Rome to Rome cruise. Actually RCI does the exact same for this route.

 

Barcelona is the port where most passengers typically board this 7 day cruise so you might not find so easily a roll call for Epic 7 day cruises starting from Rome. Also NCL roll calls have moved quite much to ”the Zuckerberg site you cannot name here” so you might find a roll call for your cruise there. 

Edited January 15, 2023 by European_CruiseGirl

[happytotravel]

Hi,

I have found the same thing for my cruise on the Sky for May 29 concerning the roll call.  It's unfortunate as not everyone is on "that" site or other social sites.

 

My cruise last September on the Joy had a very vibrant roll call.  Why do you think that folks had switch?

Thanks, happytotravel

[drumming cruisers]

Not many people join rolls calls anymore on CC.  They have them on Facebook. 

[CruizinKittie40]

Condolences on booking a cruise on Epic.  That is the worst ship in the NCL fleet 

[MeHeartCruising]

These type of cruises are quite common in the Mediterranean.  NCL, Royal, and MSC all do them.  It is called interporting.  NCL started doing it 3-5 years ago, I believe.  

And enjoy the Epic. I’ve been on her twice and enjoyed it a lot. 

[TrumpyNor]

Pre-covid that particular Epic cruise (7 days) actually had a total of four (4!) embarkation ports in severn days, so only two now (Rome and Barcelona), is actually not too bad. You will not really notice that there are more than one embarkation/disembarkation port...

[bgrmini]

41 minutes ago, CruizinKittie40 said:

Condolences on booking a cruise on Epic.  That is the worst ship in the NCL fleet 

It may be the worst (I agree with your sentiment,) but a ship is a ship. At least med cruises are about the ports and not the ship. I'm sure OP will have a great time!

[Travelling2Some]

4 hours ago, Amy S. said:

In reading many NCL boards it seems our cruise starting in Rome on May 20 has people boarding and departing on different dates.  Some people will already have boarded in Barcelona and I'm assuming getting off when we go from Rome to Barcelona.  (Hope that's not too confusing.)  As a result I'm finding no roll calls for our cruise but one for the cruise before us on May 16 - May 25.   I even tried to start my own roll call board with hardly anyone joining.  Is this typical to have people coming and going on different dates?   It seems crazy to me.  We've been on 4 other cruises, (not NCL), and never experienced this nor have I never had a roll call for our cruise.  Thanks for reading!

People boarding and disembarking in Barcelona will be something you likely hardly notice when on the cruise and will not impact you.  A big plus is that you are likely to have many fewer people coming and going in Rome since the ship is already half occupied.  This will give you a calmer, less crowded experience at boarding and disembarking.  I think the Epic is fine except for the split bathrooms.

[wcook]

European cruise lines do this frequently. MSC and Costa have ships that spend months circling the Med with four (or even more) embarkment/disembarkment  ports. There’s no concept on the ship of “a cruise” starting or stopping. Some people don’t like it, but I find it so nice not having to deal with everybody trying to board or leave all at once. 

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, MeHeartCruising said:

These type of cruises are quite common in the Mediterranean.  NCL, Royal, and MSC all do them.  It is called interporting.  NCL started doing it 3-5 years ago, I believe.  

And enjoy the Epic. I’ve been on her twice and enjoyed it a lot. 

NCL started doing it well before that, in fact I think they have done it since the Epic was launched.

 

We first did the Epic Med round trip in 2012 and that had the Barcelona and Rome embarkation.

[Cruiseandgamble]

I did the Epic Western Med cruise followed by an Escape Greek Isles cruise a few days later, both out of Rome.  We embarked and disembarked the Epic at the Cruise Terminal (Pier 12, along the breakwater).  Embarking and disembarking the Escape was from the Rome Cruise Terminal at Pier 25.

 

The Epic processes were smooth and easy as the terminal wasn't crowded and its a newer facility.  The Escape process, not so much.  The public busses for the Rome Cruise Terminal drop you off at an inner-port bus station where you then line up for your appropriate cruise ship and wait for another bus to take you to the "terminal" for check-in and boarding whereas the public busses for the Cruise Terminal at Pier 12 drop you off right outside that building.

 

[Amy S.]

Thanks so much everyone.

 

Cruzinkitty40 - why in the world would you write that?  We researched before booking and obviously choose this cruise for a reason.  I'll be ecstatic just to be on a cruise ship and in Europe!  I'm sorry you didn't have a good trip but in my opinion attitude has a lot to do with it.

[Yesimapirate]

18 hours ago, CruizinKittie40 said:

Condolences on booking a cruise on Epic.  That is the worst ship in the NCL fleet 

Condolences on writing the worst post on the site.

 

Why go out of your way to try and make someone nervous about an expensive vacation?   Not to mention,  some of us like the ship.  It may have the best Haven in the fleet and Posh is fantastic and included for Haven guests. 

 

If you don't like the ship, you can simply act like you're over 5 and scroll by.

[TSUmom]

24 minutes ago, Amy S. said:

Thanks so much everyone.

 

Cruzinkitty40 - why in the world would you write that?  We researched before booking and obviously choose this cruise for a reason.  I'll be ecstatic just to be on a cruise ship and in Europe!  I'm sorry you didn't have a good trip but in my opinion attitude has a lot to do with it.

Our first Med cruise and first Haven experience was on the Epic and we loved it.  Like you I was confused about the two embarkation ports and we started our cruise in Rome.  It was a bit crazy reboarding after our excursion in Barcelona because new passengers were embarking.  There were plenty of NCL people guiding us to where we needed to reboard.  This was back in 2015 and the only thing I heard some complain about was the sailaway celebration was held during the Barcelona embarkation and nothing for the Rome sailaway.  I had no problem with it because I was on a ship on a cruise of a lifetime.

[Twocoasts]

We were on this cruise last May and loved it! As others have said, because only half the ship is embarking the terminal wasn't crowded at all. We were through security, check in and on board in less than 30 minutes. While the Epic has some quirks, it's still a lovely ship and we would do it again. Enjoy your trip!

[Macdooger4]

On 1/16/2023 at 10:09 AM, Amy S. said:

Thanks so much everyone.

 

Cruzinkitty40 - why in the world would you write that?  We researched before booking and obviously choose this cruise for a reason.  I'll be ecstatic just to be on a cruise ship and in Europe!  I'm sorry you didn't have a good trip but in my opinion attitude has a lot to do with it.

I will be on this cruise also, but getting on at Barcelona. I don't care about the ship anyway, I'm in it for the ports...and it's a cruise ship, it's not gonna be BAD, whats

 

On 1/16/2023 at 10:09 AM, Amy S. said:

Thanks so much everyone.

 

Cruzinkitty40 - why in the world would you write that?  We researched before booking and obviously choose this cruise for a reason.  I'll be ecstatic just to be on a cruise ship and in Europe!  I'm sorry you didn't have a good trip but in my opinion attitude has a lot to do with it.

I'll be on this cruise also, but getting on in Barcelona. So excited about the awesome ports and I' sure I'll love the ship, I'm not worried at all. Not planning to spend a ton of time on the ship anyway. But it's a cruise, what's not to love?!