EPIC 4-Night Barcelona Roundtrip - First Solo Cruise - Photo Review!

Hello, everyone!

I'm Victoria - an architecture major, travel and tourism minor at Clemson University, and I've just returned to the United States for the first time in nearly 5 months. I've also recently completed my first two Norwegian cruises!

Now for a little backstory:

My family had already booked a 7-night roundtrip out of Civitavecchia on the Norwegian Epic for May 8. However, because of work and school, they were unable to fly to Europe until May 6. My study abroad program required me to move out of the villa April 28. I had already planned to travel to Ireland with some girlfriends after moving out, but they were flying back to the US May 2, so I'd be in Europe alone until my family arrived. My parents were worried about my well-being as a solo female with three rolling suitcases traveling in Europe alone, and they decided that the option they felt most comfortable with was putting me on a cruise ship. The Epic was the only ship that met my itinerary needs perfectly, and the solo studio cabins were a definite plus. So I booked my second cruise on the Norwegian Epic before ever having sailed Norwegian before.

I'm also writing a review of the 7-night Med cruise with my family, but I'm a chronological thinker (and picture uploader), so I'll write the bulk of my solo review first. This will be my fourth (and fifth) photo review on Cruise Critic, but my first on the Norwegian boards. My style is very pictorial and journalistic. And I don't take myself too seriously, so you shouldn't either.

Now who is ready to sail along with the tiny girl who has wayyyy too many bags and takes a ridiculous amount of pictures?

All Aboard!!!

Hi, I read your post on the Royal Caribbean forum and am definitely looking forward to your reviews! We are looking into a 2014 in the Med region and it will be great to read about both the area, as well as experiences on a different cruise line. Love RCI, but not so much their itineraries for the Mediterranean.

Mary

I mentioned my vacation to Ireland with my friends before the cruise. Well, my travel plans had me leaving the villa with ALL of my luggage and taking it with me many places.

I had a 6:20 AM flight from Dublin to Barcelona. This, of course, meant that I had to get to the airport around 4:20. I had the front desk call a cab because not only was public transport not running this early in the morning, but it wasn't really an option with three rolling suitcases. At the airport, the driver hooked me up with a trolley to transport my luggage inside.

I went to check-in with Aer Lingus and thought I was all set because I had already pre-paid two checked bags online. Well, the lady at the desk looks at my bags and says, "You knew that even by purchasing two bags, you're still only allowed 23 kg of weight, right?" Ummmmm... does it LOOK LIKE I KNEW THAT? "No." "Are your bags 23 kg each?" "Yes." "Well you're only allowed 23 kg total." And she looks at me. "So what can I do?" "Well, you could have pre-paid your extra weight at 9 Euros/kg online, but you had to do that at least three hours before your flight, so it's too late for that." "So what can I do?" (As in what can I do NOW???) "Well, you can pay 15 Euros per kg now. But that's going to be 300 Euros." "Okay." "You're going to pay it?" She looked surprised. "Well if that's my only option, then yes, I guess I'm going to pay it." That could be read super sassy, but it was too early in the morning for sass... my voice was more like a super sad, depressed one, hoping that she would pity me and void the charge. But pity she did not. She took my card and charged me 300 Euros.

If my brain was fully awake and functioning, perhaps I could've asked about purchasing an extra plane ticket which would have surely been less than 300 Euros. If that was an option, I would hope that the lady would've told me herself. So I'm going to assume that it wasn't one.

I took the escalator upstairs. Stood right outside security. And sobbed. 300 Euros for an extra bag? That should be criminal. There is no way my one extra bag was costing the airline 300 Euros. That was greed speaking. So I did something I almost never do in hopes that it would make me feel better. I posted an angry tweet with #AerLingus, and to my surprise, I later got a lot of retweets and responses from people who also have an eternal hatred of the Irish airline.

After sobbing my eyes out, I pulled myself together and went through security. I also texted my Dad about the charge, and he later responded, telling me not to let it ruin my reservation. While it was fresh on my mind, I checked my flight from Barcelona to Rome on Vueling and realized that it had the same 23kg total, not per bag policy (which is just stupid IMO... why would anyone want an extra bag with no extra weight) and realized that it would be best to accept the loss with that flight and rebook through Alitalia which allowed me to check a second bag for 55 Euros.

Don't get me wrong - I had a wonderful time in Ireland. But I left with a bitter hatred of the airline that robbed me of 300 Euros.

Can't wait to read came over from Royal boards!

Subscribing to both posts!!

I love your (extremely) detailed reviews and great photos, can't wait.

Once in Barcelona, I took a cab to the cruise port ($45 for me and three bags). I was surprised at the number of people already there. It was just 11, and the eDocs said not to arrive before 11 AM. I tried to tip the porter who took my bags, but for some reason, he refused. Maybe because I was handing him 5 Euros and he took my bags all of 20 feet.

It took a while to get through security, then through check-in. The lady at the check-in desk was very sweet and kept apologizing for their system which was having problems. I should note that this was the first European embarkation for the Epic this summer, and that the ship had just arrived from an 11-day transatlantic.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

I was given a number and told to wait until it was called to board. It wasn't a very long wait at all, though. I had time to sit there and read through the Freestyle Daily.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

The Norwegian key card isn't the prettiest graphically. It turns out that the color is different for the different embarkation ports, and then different for loyalty, too. We got purple key cards when we embarked in Rome. The ugliest card is actually what I think is the highest loyalty level - yellow. Yellow is my favorite color, but yellow water is not very pretty.

Here's the Day 1 Freestyle:

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

I was called to board the ship! I wandered around a little on deck 7, lost, then headed up to deck 15 for lunch!

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

When you embark for Caribbean cruises, the buffet is always packed out with people. However, there was hardly anyone in there when I arrived - absolutely no table competition.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

I grabbed a table by the window and enjoyed the view.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Loved your review so far. Enjoyed your Monarch review from last year.

I went back out to the pool deck to purchase a soda package. Soon, there was an announcement that all rooms were ready. I went to check out my studio.

If you're not familiar with the Norwegian Epic, the studio cabins are NCL's innovative solution to single travelers. Because cruise fares are based on a two-person occupancy, solo travelers are required to pay a "single supplement fee" when sailing in a room which would normally be occupied by two or more people. So a solo traveler could potentially be paying up to double the per person price in single supplements. With the Epic's studio cabins, there is no single supplement fee. The price of the cabin is a *little* more than the per person fee for a regular inside stateroom.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

The "Welcome" scrolls to Do Not Disturb, Make Up Room, and Turn Down Room.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

The shower would be quite spacious if it weren't for the poorly-designed door which doesn't close all the way shut. Instead, it leaves a triangle outside and eats into the space inside of the shower.

Also, note that the shower is mostly clear. For this reason, I flipped the dead bolt every time I showered.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

If you're wondering about the color of the room, when you first enter, it rotates between four colors -

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

You can also select the color of the "mood lighting." When I was getting ready, I stuck with the sunlight icon which is a nice white light.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

There was also a connecting door which I thought was weird because these cabins are for solo travelers. However, I later learned that many of the studio cabins were occupied by group travelers who just wanted their own staterooms.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

In addition to the lack of single supplement fee, the studio cabins also include access to the studio lounge, "The Living Room," for solo travelers.

The hallways also have the mood lighting.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

I was on the 12th floor which is the upper deck of the studio lounge.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

I think there was a bartender behind the bar a total of one hour per day.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

I'm glad I took a picture of this board. Because later, there was a big debate about whether it said 5:30 or 6:30. I think she just has loopy handwriting and some people thought her 5 was a 6. However, I went by the time listed in the Freestyle which was 6:00. More on that later...

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Great start - was wondering about the studio staterooms so will be interested to hear your thoughts.

We sailed NCL a couple of years ago and it was a nice itinerary but it didn't measure up to Royal IMHO

Carol

Muster was at 4:30 and I met in the Manhattan Room. Afterwards, I headed to the pool deck for the sail away party.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Spice H2O, the adults-only pool area, was smaller than I had imagined.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

I'm an architecture student, so I'm going to point out bad design. The entrance to the sports deck was THROUGH THE ADULT'S ONLY AREA. Whose brilliant idea was that??? How can you enforce adults only when you require kids to enter the sports deck through the adult area? I have yet to be on a ship who has been intelligent when located their adults area to minimize child traffic, but this was just a recipe for failure.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

The sports deck also isn't very well-designed in my opinion. The upper level which you enter through Spice H2O looks like someone just plopped everything down. "Okay, now we have a basketball court. What else? How about a crazy jungle gym and a trampoline? Yeah!"

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

I guess the positive spin to this and why they probably decided to do it this way is that all of these things can be easily removed and replaced.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

This shady area looked like a nice place to relax, but I never sat down up there.

Here's a look at the Pulse Fitness Center. I visited here everyday on my solo cruise and not at all on my family cruise (though I heard the boys went here for their pre-pool pump). :D

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

The Epic didn't have a true promenade deck, but that didn't really bother me. It was easy enough to navigate.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

I was a big fan of this chandelier.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Shaker's Martini Bar

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Wasabi Sushi Bar

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

I took a peek in Teppanyaki, the Hibachi restaurant.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

More Shakers -

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

You could look down into Taste, the casual dining venue which has no additional charge.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Atrium big screen -

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

So I headed up to the sail away party and kicked it off with a sail away drink.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

This is the only memory I have of my souvenir glass because my room steward took it! I paid an extra $2 for that thing!!! :mad:

They had a guy on stilts...

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

And really got the party going with Patrick.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr

Gangnam Style is a worldwide hit.

Day 1 by vshingl, on Flickr