meltingmoments

We had an aft balcony on deck 13 and one evening we went back to the room fairly early and sat on the balcony with a glass of wine. We could hear the noise of the music from Spice H20 but it was no problem when we came inside.

The vibrations when coming into port woke me up EVERY morning but only served to allow me that first glimpse of a new port and those views were amazing! Certainly wouldn't put us off booking another aft! Enjoy!

We sail in 28 days and all I can book is Wine Lovers the Musical for $23.54 and After Midnight for free.........nothing else showing!

Just found out No 0ne will be allowed to bring wine onboard

May I ask where this information came from?

We have received the email about the updated Beverage Policy, but that still clearly states that we can carry on wine, with the corkage fee of course.

What a great review! Thank you for sharing. I'm getting ever so slightly excited for ours now! :)

Price quoted is round trip ?

Yes, the price quoted was round trip. :)

There's an up to date Viva Vino list on Gambee's blog here and lots more drinks info too.......

http://www.cruisewithgambee.com/norwegian-drink-lists/

The Port Authority in Venice will not let you carry your own luggage. It's mandatory that All Luggage be off loaded by the Port Staff. We tried but to no avail, we were told up front that under no circumstances can a passenger carry their own luggage when disembarking.

 

cheers...the Ump...:D

I concur with this! I'm a bit of a panicker about my luggage and like to keep it in sight at all times! :o We always do self disembark, but not in Venice!

We tried to take off our own luggage but it was a firm NO! Had to be put out the night before.

*waves hi to Umpy10 *.....long time , no see! :) :)

I'm removing the DSC...........the service here is appalling! ;)

We are 59 days out and our available entertainment options are:

Wine Lovers The Musical, Supper Club Cabaret......no more info as to whom, just says "a variety of musical entertainment"....and After Midnight.

Yay!! I've been looking forward to this review SO much! :)

I've been following your adventures onboard via Facebook (you'll know me as Dianne on there!)

That photo of the Escape is just superb, Phillip.

Can't wait to read more.....keep it coming! :D

Anyone else finding they cant login to the website?

 

Says my login is incorrect so clicked the "forgot details" link and entered my name etc and said no details found :(

That happened to me yesterday! Today....fine! NCL's website is often *temperamental* I find! :D

The spa is an independently owned and operated operation

 

If you book a spa cabin, the cost for the use of the facilities is included with your fare. (NCL gives gives the spa their share of what you pay).

 

When you are upgraded to a spa cabin you didn't pay the fee for the spa so you don't get to use it.

Makes perfect sense, thank you! :)

No, spa passes aren't included. But the cabin will have the spa toiletries.

YES!!! If you have a spa cabin everyone 18 or over in your room will have spa passes for the week.

Just interested to know......which is it, yes or no?

My only real worries are the heat and what I have read about smoking in the casino drifting into surrounding areas.

Well my screen name is a little hint that I don't do terribly well in the heat! ;)

But I managed in the middle of August in VERY hot temperatures, with plenty of bottles of water, regular stops and always on the look-out for a shady spot! You can do it! :)

As for smoke in the casino........yes it's there, but I'm a non-smoker and I really don't like the smell, but as another poster said, it wasn't overwhelming.

Enjoy your trip. :)

We did the Epic for the second time around last August and were so glad we did. So much to see and do at those Western Med ports that a second trip just HAD to be done! :)

Loved your review! We were just off the Epic western Mediterranean feb 14 and had the best time. Like you we tried to experience everything offered. We decided before we left our driveway that this would be the best vacation ever and it was. I know it's a tired cliche but vacations are what you make of them!

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed my review.

And I totally agree........vacations are indeed what you make of them and we thoroughly enjoyed our second Epic trip and are very glad we got the opportunity to sail her again. :)

Fiancé and I will be taking our first cruise on the epic in a short 205 days for our honeymoon. The review makes us feel like we made a good choice.

 

 

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Congratulations on your forthcoming wedding and what a fab way to spend your honeymoon, aboard the lovely Norwegian Epic! :)

I'm sure you will still feel like you made a good choice when the time arrives to cruise. Have a great time. :)

Thanks for this review and all the feedback.

I'm about to book this cruise for this summer, July 10-17 with mom.

We will stay in Barcelona 2 nights prior to ships sailing as we really want to see it. I'm curious about tours as I want options and also don't want to pay a fortune but mom wants to stick with NCL tours. Anyone have reliable tour operators at these ports I can perhaps reach out to in advance?

Best,

Beth

Hi Beth and thank you for reading my review....and encouraging ME to re-read it on this wet and chilly British evening!

I'm afraid I can't help with independent tours, as the ones we did were with NCL........the main reason being that we have travelled in Italy in particular and public transport and traffic can be horrendous. I didn't want to risk being late back to the ship, and as you can see from my review, that almost happened on an NCL trip! :eek:

Lots of people, of course, do trips independently and I have heard/seen Rome in Limo mentioned a lot. In fact, I checked them out myself before our trip and they have great reviews. Sorry not to be of more help, but maybe ask your question in a new thread, you might get some better response then.

Enjoy your Epic trip and if I can be of any more help, please ask! :)

I booked an aft Balcony on the Epic for Western Med in JULY, and am now worried it will be too hot?

 

Should I change to a port or starboard balcony so we get a breeze?

 

How bad is the soot on the Epic...on the DCL Wonder the soot was pretty bad on the aft "secret" 7th deck.

We had an aft balcony on our first Epic Western med trip. Absolutely LOVED it. Never too hot, always a light breeze and absolutely no sign of soot whatsoever.

Sitting out there watching the various ports fade into the distance was magical. Not QUITE so magical was being woken at the crack of dawn by the vibrations when pulling IN to ports, but that served as an alarm clock and we got to see all those beautiful ports in the early morning light.

Have a great trip! :)

This was THE most relaxing thing!

Hols 2012 060 by smilinglady, on Flickr

Pulling in to Florence around 6am.

Hols 2012 142 by smilinglady, on Flickr

Naples, early morning arrival.

Hols 2012 069 by smilinglady, on Flickr

I wasn't being funny. I was saying you are wrong in thinking you can't make a request.

 

I know you can on CCL, NCL and Princess. Some ask you on booking page if you have special dietary needs and others have a number to call. You can always call the cruise of your choice and request it also.

The booking site I use lists what the cruise line can do for you. Example; Kosher, Low salt, Non Gluten, Diabetic.

 

Sorry if I sounded harsh, not intending to.

No need to apologise, I thought I had understood which part of my post you were replying to.:)

I appreciate you giving me the information, I genuinely didn't know that the option was available.

One can Email NCL Special Services in advance of their cruise as to their dietary restrictions - be it health, allergy, religious or a diet by choice. My niece is a vegan by choice.

 

I took her on the Jewel in April. This is a sister ship to Jade. Coincidentally, we are booked on the Jade next year. In retrospect, I would say she was pleased with her dining options. And a vegan diet is much more restrictive as a vegetarian.

 

The one restaurant we had difficulty in was Chin Chin. All of the entrees have an animal protein. They would not serve her one sans animal. Leads me to believe these are cooked and held in bulk. She ended up ordering sushi veggie rolls.

 

Most mornings she had fruit, cereal, nuts, granola, etc. they providec soy milk.

 

For lunch there were salads, stir fry, veggie burgers, pizza without cheese with veggies, veggie sandwiches, veggie tacos and much more.

 

Teppenyaki was easy. Her tofu entree was cooked in oil and she had steamed rice, veggies and fruit shashimi.

 

In Italian she had pasta with marinara.

 

In Le Bistro they made her a gorgeous portabella stack. It is slightly modified from the regular one on the menu. Fruit sorbet for dessert.

 

Snack time was crudite with tomato vinaigrette.

 

She can't wait until our cruise next year where I am confident NCL will meet and/or exceed our expectations. Oh, we do not expect them to provide her a personal chef at her disposal, but rather a few options from which to choose.

Thank you for the info...it's appreciated. We didn't have our DD with us on the Jade, but as I said, we always check and see if she would have been well fed.....and we believe she would have been, without having to make any special requests. But it's useful to know that those requests CAN be made.

This is why I love CC......always useful info to be found from fellow travellers. :)

My dad has celiac, and yes. She could either ask what on the menu was gluten free, or meet with someone the night before to order the meals for the next day. It was great!

Thank you! :)

aah, i see, they were being funny as you said that someone would tell you if you were wrong.

 

I get it now.

:) :)

Good point. Very well made. :)

 

Seriously, though. What part of the post that you quoted was wrong, and why?

Hi Keith,

I believe the poster was telling me I was wrong about being able to "make a request for vegetarian food at the time of buying tickets" as the OP stated in their post. At least I THINK that was what they meant! I wasn't aware that you could even DO that, but it seems you can!

I'm still confused though.......it doesn't take much! Lol :confused:

Sorry, but you are wrong.

Then I stand corrected.

Could you possibly point me in the right direction for making such a request as our DD may cruise with us next time?

Edited to add that I found something on NCL's page.....We can accommodate special food requests (Gluten-Free, Vegetarian, Kosher) if we're notified in time. Let our Access Desk know you're coming at least 8 weeks prior to cruising to ensure the best experience possible.

Just curious to know what this would entail? Pre-ordering vegetarian meals for each day?