First time NCL cruiser.

Hi All!

We have cruised HAL, RCI, Princess & Celebrity and loved them all for different reasons.

Hubby and I have never cruised with NCL. We are looking at a 7 night round trip Barcelona on Epic in October 2018. What about this ship is a must do/try? Are reservations required for shows? Are the complimentary eating venues good? Which pay restaurants are good.

I would appreciate any info you could provide. Thanks a bunch.

Cheers, Betty

Hi All!

 

We have cruised HAL, RCI, Princess & Celebrity and loved them all for different reasons.

 

Hubby and I have never cruised with NCL. We are looking at a 7 night round trip Barcelona on Epic in October 2018. What about this ship is a must do/try? Are reservations required for shows? Are the complimentary eating venues good? Which pay restaurants are good.

 

 

I would appreciate any info you could provide. Thanks a bunch.

 

 

Cheers, Betty

As far as I am concerned NCL is the best. I would say it is in the same category as RCL but fòd in main dining rooms is much better. Epic has a great buffet restaurant with so much food it is unbelievable. Its a great ship but being so big you do have to prebook the shoes which is a pain but its the same on all huge ships. I a not a fan of dining in specialty restaurants when there is excellant food available for free so cannot commdnt on that subject. I will be trying a few specialty restaurants in 3 weeks time on the Jade but only because we hot a dining package free with our booking

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Hi All!

 

We have cruised HAL, RCI, Princess & Celebrity and loved them all for different reasons.

 

Hubby and I have never cruised with NCL. We are looking at a 7 night round trip Barcelona on Epic in October 2018. What about this ship is a must do/try? Are reservations required for shows? Are the complimentary eating venues good? Which pay restaurants are good.

 

 

I would appreciate any info you could provide. Thanks a bunch.

 

 

Cheers, Betty

NCL does well with the shows and entertainment. You can reserve a head of time (which some would recommend). However about 10 minutes before they release all the unclaimed seats and there is a good chance you can get in.

There is a dinner theatre venue on the Epic and last time I was on that ship it was a Cirque type show. Great venue.

The complimentary venue are quite good and varied. There are two main dinning rooms one slightly more formal than the other. That said this is not a formal ship in any way. There is also a complimentary pub style restaurant, Chinese, and the buffets.

The pay restaurants are good but each offers a unique experience. It depends on what your after. There is a Brazilian meat place, a full course French restaurant, Japanese place where they prepare the food at your table, ice bar (if you want to drink vodka in a parka). The only one I would pass on is the Italian. The Italian is not bad but you would do better going off ship in Italy for lunch.

Hi All!

 

We have cruised HAL, RCI, Princess & Celebrity and loved them all for different reasons.

 

Hubby and I have never cruised with NCL. We are looking at a 7 night round trip Barcelona on Epic in October 2018. What about this ship is a must do/try? Are reservations required for shows? Are the complimentary eating venues good? Which pay restaurants are good.

 

 

I would appreciate any info you could provide. Thanks a bunch.

 

 

Cheers, Betty

NCL is relaxed on the dress up nights. Some choose to others don't, up to you. Taste and Manhattan are the main (free) restaurants. Taste is good for breakfast, the lines can get long in the buffet. Here is a list of dinning options.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/reviews/review.cfm?ShipID=481&pgtype=dining

Moderno Churrascaria was the best for me. You have a salad and soup bar. You have a card at your table (red on one side and green on the other). When the green is showing, they will bring all the meat and seafood you can handle. It's worth the cover charge.

O'Sheehan's Neighborhood Bar & Grill is great for wings and barbecue, meatloaf. Free

Enjoy

The Epic is a great ship. We have sailed on her 7 times (twice in the Med from Barcelona).

The two Broadway shows require reservations. The Main Ding Rooms are very good and we have often used the MDR only. The most popular paid restaurants are Teppanyaki and a Cagneys steak house.

All paid restaurants "require" reservation. If you are going to do a lot of paid dining, a dining package will save money.

The Med itinerary is great. Lots of ports. Lots of very long days.