SarafinaPink

Going to be on Epic in just over a month and found out that we can't drop our luggage off at our Barcelona Air BNB until 11:30 on the day we get off the ship. I see lots of people talking about the earliest they can get off the ship to catch flights and such, but what is the latest? Trying to figure out how to avoid being off the ship too early with no where to put luggage for hours.

Hi all, I'm an NCL newbie and it's been 7 years since my last cruise, so I'm out of practice.

I'm traveling on the Epic in May out of Barcelona and trying to plan my port visits.

I see on the NCL website that they say disembarkation usually begins 2 hours after docking. So if we arrive at Naples at 7am per schedule, does that mean the earliest I can get off is 9am, or are they ever earlier?

Just trying to make sure train/bus schedules are synced up. Is there usually a long time to get off first thing in the morning?

A few quick questions on wine/alcohol:

1. Is there a limit to how many bottles of wine we can bring onboard?

2. Does the $15 corkage fee apply to all wine brought onboard, regardless of where it is consumed?

3. If we buy wine or liquor in any of our ports, do they take it from you for the rest of the cruise?

4. Is there a limit to wine or liquor bought in port if stored by NCL?

We are sailing on the Epic from Rome if it changes anything.

I am close to booking at cruise and am heavily favoring the Excursion Credit since we have 5 ports on our trip. I tried to see what the rules are for using that credit, but all I see is that you have to call or do on board. I have a few questions on using them:

1. Can you combine them and use them on one port? Or do you have to use them all in each port

2. Can it be used for anything else onboard or just excursions?

I have sailed MSC & NCL. Both are lots of fun. Atmosphere is a but different as MSC would have a majority of European on board. All the announcements are in English as some other languages.

 

On MSC currency is in Euros, I find MSC much better value. Drinks are half the price to what they are on NCL. The drinks cards are cheaper or you can purchase drink vouchers. I think if you book in the US and book a Fantastica cabin you get 12 vouchers each included. Vouchers can be shared amongst you to.

 

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Thank you Kerry! It's great to see someone who's done both to help us decide. It for sure looks like MSC will be more affordable (they have a family balcony that would be twice the space for us) that is the same price as the mini suite. Plus I did see that the drinks are crazy affordable!

How would you compare the food on both? Food is very important to my family and we don't want to eat bad, especially in Europe!

I have priced 2 separate rooms (ocean view) and it's a few hundred more and it's only inside rooms. I wouldn't mind doing two oceanview rooms, but I guess Epic doesn't have those? Two balconies are $1500 more and while we could swing that, it would mean our post cruise trip (wanted to spend a few days in Greece) may be on the chopping block.

The bathroom bit doesn't really bother me so much, going with my mom and 2 brothers and we could easily get ready in shifts, but the fact that most are saying it will be too tight is giving me pause. I have previously done a Carnival cruise with 3 other adults in an inside room and while it wasn't spacious, it was very doable and we all survived (4 females in our 20s, so you know that bathroom was busy!)

I feel like NCL would be a better match for my family, but MSC is looking like a much better value at this time.

Lots to think about!

We are doing this same cruise in may. Have never cruised with NCL. Have always used RCCL and Princess. We have 3 people in our room and we were advised to get a family room not the mini suite. We were told the family room was just as big as the mini suite. Only difference was something with bathroom. Hope NCL proves itself!

By family room, do you mean Family Balcony?

Here's the sizes the website gives for that:

• Occupancy Up to 4 guests
  
• Total Approx. Size188-230 sq ft
  
• Balcony Size37-79 sq ft
  

While the Mini Suite Shows the Following:

• Occupancy Up to 3-4 guests
  
• Total Approx. Size241 sq ft
  
• Balcony Size52 sq ft
  

I'm not seeing any other family room other than Haven 2 Bedroom Family Villa, which is outside our budge.

The currency onboard is US Dollars. For the drink package only the 1st and 2nd guest have to get it. The third and fourth do not. We were right next to the elevators and never heard noise. The couch folds into a bed.

 

I have only cruised on NCL and RCCL and prefer NCL. The food is good and the service is great!

 

As for the ship being crowded, I never really experienced it as with the Mediterranean cruise you are basically always in a port and really just on the ship at night.

 

 

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Thank you for the pictures and info! Do you feel 4 adults would be comfortable in the mini suite or would it be tight?

Hi all, we are a family of 4 adults looking to take our first cruise into the Mediterranean and are choosing between NCL and MSC. We have had prior cruising experience on Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Princess. I have a few questions about MSC and the Meraviglia ship.

1. What is the currency onboard? I see I can book the ship in USD, but not sure what excursions, drink packages, and any other extras would be in

2. We are looking at the Family Balcony cabin. I understand the Meraviglia ship is very new so there aren't many pictures online of this cabin, but is there any pictures of this type of cabin in other ships? I feel like it would work well for 4 adults, but just want to make sure the beds are all adult sized (sometimes bunks are child size)

3. It looks like the sailings for the Meraviglia ships are different from what I'm used to and allow people to board at any of the ports on the route. So how does that work and does it mean that embarkation day is easier or harder?

4. What is the comparison between MSC, NCL, Carnival, and RC? We are mostly concerned about food, ease of booking (includes shore excursions and extras), and evening entertainment.

5. What is the dining like? Is it set times or anytime?

6. What kind of extras are not included in our cruise fair other than the obvious ones (excursions and alcohol)? Is there a beverage package for alcohol and what does that include? 3 of us enjoy our adult beverages on vacation, but the 4th is not a drinker so if that okay to only purchase 3 packages?

Anythings else we should know if we are MSC and Mediterranean newbies?

Hi all, my family of 4 (all adults) is looking into doing a Mediterranean cruise Spring 2018 and looking into NCL and MSC as our top choices. Our previous cruise experiences has been with Carnival, RC, and Princess. I have a few questions trying to decide between the two:

1. What is the onboard currency for Mediterranean cruises?

2. If we choose the Ultimate Drink Package (which only applies to 1st and 2nd guests) do the 3rd and 4th need to purchase as well?

3. We are looking at a family mini suite with balcony, but I can't seem to find many pictures of room setup for 4 passengers. I know it will be tight, but just would like to see the setup to see how easy it is to get around with the beds all out. Also these are only available near the elevators, so how is the noise?

4. How does NCL compare to MSC, Carnival, and RC? Our biggest concerns are food, service, and ease of booking excursions, dining, extras, etc...

5. We are looking at the Norwegian Epic with only 1 day at sea. Since there are so many port days, will the ship feel crowded?

Any other thoughts for a first time cruise to Mediterranean?

Thank you all for the replies. It looks like Family Oceanview would be the best fit for us.

We are 4 adults, so no kids. Suite is out of the budget at the moment.

My family is looking at European cruises for Spring 2018 and we really like the 2 of the options on the Norwegian Spirit (the 10 day and 11 day). We are a family of four and the website is not showing any balcony rooms available for 4 guests. Do they just not exist on Spirit or are they booked up? I'm not sure how far in advance Mediterranean cruises book up (only done Caribbean at this point) so I can't tell if we are just too late.

If we can't all get on a balcony together, we are considering 2 Oceanview rooms, but that would be more expensive since we couldn't take advantage of the 3rd and 4th sailing free promotion.

Any thoughts on booking this for 4 people?

Thanks for all the replies!

I've been eying a few cruises in Nov/Dec that I might pull the trigger on, but I'm not sure who my second passenger might be. I would like to gift the second ticket to my mom, but what happens if she doesn't want to go/can't go after I book it?

Can you change the name on the second passenger? If yes, what is the process and the cost?

Sounds like MTD is the way to go then if we have plenty of options to see shows. I just am not a big fan of either traditional times, would like to do around 7, so I think we will go with this.

Do you have to set up reservations in advance or do you do it on the ship?

It's been 8 years since I've cruised with RCCL, so I'm not too familiar with the My Time Dining. My Family (4 adults) is looking into sailing on Harmony of the Seas in May 2018. I'm very familiar with the traditional dining set up of an early and a late dinner.

Can someone give me the pros and cons of both systems? I'm mostly worried about how difficult coordinating MTD and the various evening entertainment offerings (we for sure want to do the Aqua Theater Shows, Grease, 1887, and possibly other smaller events like comedy show, quest, etc...)

Thanks for posting, I was just looking for this today. Any chance we can get a larger picture? How easy was it to transform from sofa to bed and back?

Thanks for your review. Looking to do a family trip next May on the Harmony. We're looking at a D1 Balcony room with 4 adults and glad to hear that while it was tight, it would work out. I look forward to seeing pictures of the cabin and especially the balcony to see how much more room you get with the larger balcony.