Norwegian’s Epic

Oh dear lord, my alarm goes off and I look at my watch, it’s 3am !

Taxi arriving in 1 hour, get to Gatwick with enough time in hand to do some shopping, actually I only bought a bottle of Bacardi, I heard the drinks can be expensive on board these cruise ships. Lets move on, nothing much happened between me getting on the flight and arriving in Rome. (thank god I really hate flying) Wow the airport in Rome is so boring, nothing to do, and very little to choose from food wise, a little tip, If you do arrive into Rome early make sure you find the cruise representatives and get on the first transfer you can, I had a delightful 3 hour wait!

The transfer distance from the airport in Rome to Civitavecchia is about an hour away so make sure you give yourselves enough time to get there. To be fair it’s not the most scenic journey unless your into motorways and local prisons.

As you get closer to the cruise port the ships suddenly come into view and the excitement begins, the Epic was the largest ship docked and looked rather top heavy. She is not the most beautiful ship in the world that’s for sure. Once arrived we collected our luggage from the coach and proceeded to check in, now at this time I started to sweat as I forgot I had my bottle of Bacardi in my hand luggage, oh no they are for sure going to confiscate from me! Check in went smoothly and we were given our cruise card, which is used for all manner of things, but most importantly to get you a drink and to get you in your cabin. Oh I forgot to mention the girl that checked us in was absolutely beautiful and for some reason I took absolutely no notice of what she said to me!

Any ways I still had that damn bottle of Bacardi to worry about, as we approached security to have our photo taken I could feel the sweat increase, off came my belt and shoes and into the box went my mobile phone and loose change, and their it was a bloody x-ray machine. So I thought,here goes let’s see what happens, and of course the alarms go off and all kinds of commotion is kicking off. Sir what is this in your bag? er it’s a bottle of spirits, please could you step over here and show that gentleman over there what it is and why do you have it. Oh the embarrassment. Now this might surprise you, because it certainly surprised me, they let me take it on and nothing else was said. All that worry for nothing, although I would suggest if you are going to take spirits on, better to put them in your luggage than carrying them on yourself, just in case. Oh did I mention I did say to security that the bottle was for a gift and not for personal consumption. (a very big lie)

So I’m on the ship and I’m thinking YES I will save a few quid now I have the bottle of Bacardi.

We find our cabin very quickly (Balcony cabin 8073 Mid ships) but as I open the door, and walk in I automatically gasp in horror, what the bloody hell is the sink doing at the end of the

bed.

but there was more gasps of horror when I turn around and find that the toilet and shower are in separate places with only a glass door that is only slightly frosted. It could of been frosted a little more because to be fair I knew exactly whether my cabin mate was doing a number 1 or a number 2 !  Luckily there is a curtain that you can pull across to block any view from the inside of the cabin, however this does not help if someone comes through the cabin door as they will walk straight into that area, so if you have finished your shower and are drying yourself off, whoever walks into your cabin will have a full view of that evenings moon(if you know what I’m talking about!)

I can only assume the designer was either on drugs at the time or just a little perverted!

The cabin itself even after all that horror did not really get any better, our bed was made into twins, but to be honest it may as well stayed as a double, the space between the beds was non existent and the space between the end of the bed and the sink was…….lets put it this way, I could sit on the end of the bed and brush my teeth at the same time! The cabins are very small, now for the lighting……….if a cruise line has to include a video about where to find all your light switches there is something to worry about, no word of a lie there is a small section on the tv to explain where all the light switches can be found. Standard balcony cabins on other cruise lines are quite a bit bigger. The balcony itself was a good size and you could easily fit a sun lounger in them if there was one! However there wasn’t instead 2 chairs and the smallest table ever. The cabin was classed as a clear view and too be honest that was true but have a look at the picture below and you can make up your own mind.

This was not an issue as the view directly in front of you was clear, I do know some other cruise lines would class this as an obstruction.

With my packing finished I was ready to have a look around the ship and what a ship it is, Norwegian Cruise Line describe this ship as Las Vegas at sea, and it surely is, I will not argue with them at all about that. The bright lights and neon is all over the ship, even the carpets seemed to be neon! The ship has all the amenities other cruise lines offer but with one very big difference, complete freestyle, you can eat when you want, you can watch a show when you want, it’s completely up to you.

So that I don’t go on for ever I will bullet point everything I experienced, the different dining areas and public areas.

Dining

Taste

My first meal was in Taste this is one of the main dining rooms that you can eat in free of charge. The menu was good and all your standard options were available, I had the steak with mash potato and greens, the food was good and no complaints whatsoever, however the service was very slow. The waiters were very attentive and friendly and always seemed to have time to explain everything.

Le Bistro Cover charge

This is Norwegian Cruise Lines original restaurant that they have incorporated into all their ships going back to the mid 90’s, it is obviously based on a  French theme and was my favourite, the food was stunning and so was the feel of the place, I ordered the French Onion soup, the Beef and L’Escargot. Well worth the cover charge, again though very slow service.

O’Sheehan’s 

Dine on American classics in a relaxed Irish pub atmosphere. From Chicken Pot Pie to Fish n’ Chips to dinner specials such as Prime Rib, Lobster & Shrimp and all-you-can-eat ribs, O’Sheehan’s has all your favorite comfort food and beer on tap 24 hours a day. I have to say I ate here most days and the food was always good. 

Moderno Cover charge

If you’re looking for a unique experience, the authentic Brazilian steakhouse is a must. Start with an impressive salad bar of imported cheeses, olives, cured meats, ceviche and specialty salads. Be sure to save room for the delicious skewers of slow-roasted meats including beef, pork, lamb and chicken – all carved tableside by our Pasadores. Oh my god this is one place you have to experience, although I did find it strange just eating the meat without any side, although to be fair there is no way you would get through all the meat if you did have any sides to go along side. Great service and again well worth the cover charge.

Garden Cafe

Chefs whip-up freshly, prepared-to-order omelets, crêpes, pasta, seafood, ethnic cuisine, burgers, delightful desserts and more. This was where I ate breakfast every morning, a very good selection all your box standard sausage bacon fresh fruit etc, and the best thing about it was it was never busy, unlike other cruise lines where you always found the buffet area to be too small.

Obviously there are many other dining options on board this ship but I just did not have time to use them all.

As for the entertainment areas there are many, mostly spread out over 3 decks 5,6,7 This included all your normal rooms that you find on most other cruise lines.

As I was lucky enough to work on cruise ships for many years and I bumped into a fellow crew member I worked with 19 years ago and he gave me some access you don’t normally get to see.

Enjoy the pics below

I really enjoyed my time on the Epic it is a great ship for all, whether your a single traveller, young couple with children or retired there is something for every one. The freestyle works amazingly and it gives you that flexibility to do what you want when you want. The ship is kept spotlessly clean and whenever I passed by a crew member I was always greeted with a smile. The only 2 gripes I have with the ship is the cabin layout and the way the bars are laid out, there did not seem to be any real distinction between them, as most of the entertainment and bars are found on mainly 3 decks from one end of the ship to the other, as you walked along the deck you just seemed to enter a different bar, there was no real personality to each bar, as most are open plan. I also had trouble finding a nice intimate quiet bar, somewhere you could actually walk into via a door, everywhere you sat you would have the passing traffic going by.

There are many many other entertainment areas with shows going on or comedians plying their trade. It is definitely Vegas at sea and I would 100% recommend it.

Click on the link below for even more reviews of the ship.

http://goo.gl/3HmsYW