An "Epic" European Adventure -Review of Western Med with pics

[elsplace2]

El, I want to thank you too for your wonderful review, and for sharing such great info!

 

We will be on the Epic in a few weeks, and I linked your review in our roll call. We have decided to follow your example in doing the meet and greet at O' Sheehans after the muster too.

 

Thanks again!

 

Glad you enjoyed the review, thanks for posting it on your roll call, I'm flattered...I hope it is helpful to others as well.

 

Yeah, O'Sheehans was the perfect place to have the meet and greet, if you don't want to have a formal one or IN ADDITION to a formal one.....I had taken a vote on what people wanted to do for the meet and greet....formal or non-formal or both....and the general consensus was informal.....so then my mission was where to have it if a large group turned out....so of course, thanks to the advice given here on Cruise Critic, it was suggested O'Sheehan's. It was perfect! I think we had about 50 sign up and people popped in and out, so I'm not sure how many actually showed up. But I thought it was a pretty good turn out and it was a great atmosphere to socialize.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise on the Epic as much as we did! Have a great time!!!

Edited July 13, 2011 by elsplace2

[elsplace2]

Thanks El for posting on the Spain port site also. We will be on Serenade RCC next May with similar ports. VERY helpful. I agree you can really gather a wealth of knowledge on CC. Thanks for the comprehensive review. My DH and I same age so fun to read your perspective. Happy cruising!

 

 

I'm glad to hear that you read this review from the Spain threads....I debated on whether or not to post it there and the Italy threads. But then I figured alot of ships stop in the same ports, so it may be helpful to some people.

 

I know I don't check the other cruise lines for reviews, but if it's right there where I'm researching, I LOVE a good review that goes to at least some of my ports!!

 

Enjoy your cruise!!

[trubadur]

... After lunch they gave us all a complimentary shot of the infamous Limoncello.

Speaking of Lemons….we thought we were seeing the biggest lemons we have every seen, but Vito told us they were not lemons they were “amacello”???? Sorry, I can’t remember what he called it.

 

 

 

 

Nice job & belated Happy Anniversary!

 

Sorrento and the Amalfi coast in general are well known for its splendid big lemons called "Limoni":Limoncello (a very tasty lemon liqueur; or a local tart), lemon chocolate, colorful ceramic articles with lemon motives or lemon soap.

 

Sorrento produces several different kinds of lemons:

 

The gigantic, bumpy lemons are called "cedri" (cedar in English), and are more for show — they're pulpier, rather than juicier, and make a good marmalade over limoncello or desserts. Holding a cedro in your hand seems like holding an over-sized softball, but indeed, it is sweet and much more scented than a lemon.

 

A local tour guide will explain that that those big lemons are grown as "a joke for Americans" because apparently Americans always say that they have the biggest everything - houses, cars etc. So, now Sorrento has the biggest lemons! : )

 

 

The juicy sfusato sorrentino (grown only in Sorrento) is shaped like an American football, while the sfusato amalfitano, with knobby points on both ends, is less juicy but equally aromatic. These two luscious lemons are used in sweets such as granita (shaved ice doused in lemonade), limoncello (a candy-like liquor with a big kick), delizia (a dome of fluffy cake filled and slathered with a thick, whipped lemon cream), spremuta di limone (fresh squeezed lemon juice), and of course, gelato or sorbetto alla limone.

 

* Note: MS Amacello (launched in 2008) is part of the fleet of river cruise vessels in Europe. Not sure if it relates in some way to Sorrento and its big lemons...

[elsplace2]

Nice job & belated Happy Anniversary!

 

Sorrento and the Amalfi coast in general are well known for its splendid big lemons called "Limoni":Limoncello (a very tasty lemon liqueur; or a local tart), lemon chocolate, colorful ceramic articles with lemon motives or lemon soap.

 

Sorrento produces several different kinds of lemons:

 

The gigantic, bumpy lemons are called "cedri" (cedar in English), and are more for show — they're pulpier, rather than juicier, and make a good marmalade over limoncello or desserts. Holding a cedro in your hand seems like holding an over-sized softball, but indeed, it is sweet and much more scented than a lemon.

 

A local tour guide will explain that that those big lemons are grown as "a joke for Americans" because apparently Americans always say that they have the biggest everything - houses, cars etc. So, now Sorrento has the biggest lemons! : )

 

 

The juicy sfusato sorrentino (grown only in Sorrento) is shaped like an American football, while the sfusato amalfitano, with knobby points on both ends, is less juicy but equally aromatic. These two luscious lemons are used in sweets such as granita (shaved ice doused in lemonade), limoncello (a candy-like liquor with a big kick), delizia (a dome of fluffy cake filled and slathered with a thick, whipped lemon cream), spremuta di limone (fresh squeezed lemon juice), and of course, gelato or sorbetto alla limone.

 

 

* Note: MS Amacello (launched in 2008) is part of the fleet of river cruise vessels in Europe. Not sure if it relates in some way to Sorrento and its big lemons...

 

Thanks for coming up with the name of those "lemons".....I just could not remember what he had said.....I think at the time we were looking at sfusato amalfitano and he started talking about the other ones cedri.....so I guess I kind of combined the 2 to a certain extent. Anyway, thanks for the clarification......that is too funny with that American joke!

[lissybelle]

DH and I had planned on going on a different cruise...but after your review i couldn't stop thinking about this cruise! Today I ended up booking this cruise that takes place in Oct 2012! It's always been my dream to visit these places, this will surely be the cruise of a lifetime! Can't wait!

Thank you so much for this review. Very well put together and gorgeous pictures. Thanks to you I booked it!

[elsplace2]

DH and I had planned on going on a different cruise...but after your review i couldn't stop thinking about this cruise! Today I ended up booking this cruise that takes place in Oct 2012! It's always been my dream to visit these places, this will surely be the cruise of a lifetime! Can't wait!

Thank you so much for this review. Very well put together and gorgeous pictures. Thanks to you I booked it!

 

 

Wow, it's nice to here my review had that kind of impact on your decision! It's so flattering to hear that.

 

It was our first cruise there as well (Well together, my husband who was also in the military for 26 years, ported in many of those ports) As I said earlier in my review, be sure to do your homework. This was my most difficult cruise to plan. Whether to go on our own, cruiseline, RomeinLimo, whether to bring Euros, how much, etc. etc. etc. I am really happy with what we ended up doing and have no regrets! If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask.

 

BTW, please thank your husband for his service to our country!!

Edited July 19, 2011 by elsplace2

[lalique]

Glad you enjoyed the review.....yeah, I miss the Epic, she was a great ship!!

Great reviews and pictures. We have RIL booked for Rome(1 day) , Florence (2days). and Sorrento (1 day), and the Amalfi Coast (1 day). They have gotten us guides for Pompeii and the Vatican also. Glad you were so pleased with them - all the reviews on RIL are terrific. I see you are from VB - so are we. What area are you in? We will be in Barcelona for 3 days pre-cruise, but have hired a guide for the city and also to take us to Montserrat and also to the Dali Museum. Hope we can cover all that. Again, thanks for all your comments and wonderful photos. Hope my pics will come out as great as yours did.

[tiggerman101]

Hey guys! I am glad I came across this. It seems like you had a wonderful time. We were on the June 12th Carnival Magic cruise out of Barcelona. We just missed you. I just started reading your review and look forward to the rest. I am glad you guys are doing well!

[elsplace2]

Great reviews and pictures. We have RIL booked for Rome(1 day) , Florence (2days). and Sorrento (1 day), and the Amalfi Coast (1 day). They have gotten us guides for Pompeii and the Vatican also. Glad you were so pleased with them - all the reviews on RIL are terrific. I see you are from VB - so are we. What area are you in? We will be in Barcelona for 3 days pre-cruise, but have hired a guide for the city and also to take us to Montserrat and also to the Dali Museum. Hope we can cover all that. Again, thanks for all your comments and wonderful photos. Hope my pics will come out as great as yours did.

 

You will LOVE RIL they are great! Montserrat was breathtaking from the top. I just wish we had a clearer day.... Be sure to try and visit the Magic Fountain in the evening after 9:00pm.....it was beautiful there!

 

Cool, about you living in VB....I don't see many from VB on the boards....We live near Dam Neck.....what area do you live in?

 

 

Hey guys! I am glad I came across this. It seems like you had a wonderful time. We were on the June 12th Carnival Magic cruise out of Barcelona. We just missed you. I just started reading your review and look forward to the rest. I am glad you guys are doing well!

 

Hi David!

Fancy meeting you here! Did you write a review on your cruise too? I'm sure you had a GREAT time as well! I see you are still cruising alot! Lucky you! I hope you enjoy the rest of my review! Say hello to Wade from us! Hopefully someday we will be on the same cruise together again! I see you have an upcoming cruise on the Miracle to Bermuda....we are sailing on the Miracle in Feb in the Southern Carib.....Bermuda may be our next destination. I hope you write a review on that one....you don't see many reviews on Bermuda. I hear they MAY sail alittle later on that 9/11 cruise to see, I believe, the lighting ceremony they will have in NY. That would be cool to see from your ship, I hope they end up doing that for you guys!

Edited July 23, 2011 by elsplace2

[jdvmd]

Thanks for the great review!

[VascoDaGama]

Great information and terrific pictures. I enjoyed your report.

[Crazy4Koko]

 

Hi David!

Fancy meeting you here! Did you write a review on your cruise too? I'm sure you had a GREAT time as well! I see you are still cruising alot! Lucky you! I hope you enjoy the rest of my review! Say hello to Wade from us! Hopefully someday we will be on the same cruise together again! I see you have an upcoming cruise on the Miracle to Bermuda....we are sailing on the Miracle in Feb in the Southern Carib.....Bermuda may be our next destination. I hope you write a review on that one....you don't see many reviews on Bermuda. I hear they MAY sail alittle later on that 9/11 cruise to see, I believe, the lighting ceremony they will have in NY. That would be cool to see from your ship, I hope they end up doing that for you guys!

 

 

 

I think you and Mark should join us in October 2012 on the Liberty!!!!!! :)

[elsplace2]

Thanks for the great review!

 

Great information and terrific pictures. I enjoyed your report.

 

Glad you enjoyed my review....hopefully the information is helpful!

 

I think you and Mark should join us in October 2012 on the Liberty!!!!!! :)

 

Hi Lis,

 

I see you found me as well!! Wow, so I see you guys are continuing the annual sailings! That's great! Did you guys do one for 2011?? As of now, we are probably doing a land vacation with some friends in Sept. 2012 (Mt. Rushmore, Yellowstone, etc.) But if that falls through we will definitely consider the Liberty cruise you all are going on! Thanks for asking!

Edited July 25, 2011 by elsplace2

[lalique]

You will LOVE RIL they are great! Montserrat was breathtaking from the top. I just wish we had a clearer day.... Be sure to try and visit the Magic Fountain in the evening after 9:00pm.....it was beautiful there!

 

Cool, about you living in VB....I don't see many from VB on the boards....We live near Dam Neck.....what area do you live in?

 

 

 

 

Hi David!

Fancy meeting you here! Did you write a review on your cruise too? I'm sure you had a GREAT time as well! I see you are still cruising alot! Lucky you! I hope you enjoy the rest of my review! Say hello to Wade from us! Hopefully someday we will be on the same cruise together again! I see you have an upcoming cruise on the Miracle to Bermuda....we are sailing on the Miracle in Feb in the Southern Carib.....Bermuda may be our next destination. I hope you write a review on that one....you don't see many reviews on Bermuda. I hear they MAY sail alittle later on that 9/11 cruise to see, I believe, the lighting ceremony they will have in NY. That would be cool to see from your ship, I hope they end up doing that for you guys!

We are at the Oceanfront. Go out your way on way to my daughter's home. Re-reading your reviews in case I have some questions for you. You did such a good job, I Think you covered just about everything. Thanks.

[Still Dreaming]

Love your review. Booked on the spirit next May. ? On your Rome tour. Did you go into the Vatican museum and Sisten chapel or just the Basilica?

Edited July 26, 2011 by Still Dreaming
Missing word

[elsplace2]

Love your review. Booked on the spirit next May. ? On your Rome tour. Did you go into the Vatican museum and Sisten chapel or just the Basilica?

 

Glad you enjoyed my review!

No unfortunately there was not enough time to go to the Vatican Museum and Sisten Chapel.

 

I hear to really enjoy the Vatican Museum, it takes a few hours. I'm not really a big Museum person, but would still love to see the museum some day, but that's why I chose the tour that we did. Unfortunately there really isn't enough time to see all we saw and the Vatican Museum. I was really happy with the choice we made.

Edited July 26, 2011 by elsplace2

[mrobinson]

I loved this review. I've been wanting to book a Europe cruise for Sept 2012 but don't even know where to start. We've never been to Europe - just the Caribbean and want to do something different - don't have any real preferences.

 

What cruise was this and how many days?

[elsplace2]

I loved this review. I've been wanting to book a Europe cruise for Sept 2012 but don't even know where to start. We've never been to Europe - just the Caribbean and want to do something different - don't have any real preferences.

 

What cruise was this and how many days?

 

 

This was our first cruise in Europe as well.....I won't lie, it was very overwhelming to plan....but once I did more and more research, the more comfortable I got. Also Caribbean cruises are a lot more relaxing and easy to plan. There really wasn't too much time to relax on this cruise besides on the 2 sea days, thank goodness for them! But this one was so incredible that I am so glad we did it and do not regret any of my decisions. (which BTW, I had changed my mind several times on what we were going to do.) The history you learn and the famous sites you can see in a week is amazing. It will be a cruise I remember for the rest of my life!!

 

As far as what cruise this was....it was a 7 day, but I see that they have changed Epic's schedule for next year and don't see one like this one. For some reason they took away the Palma port and added 2 France ports.....which still look good. It looks like they have 2 ports where you can pick up the ship.....Italy and Barcelona. I think that's what they are doing....we did notice some people had their bags out the night before we pulled into Palma. (So those people must have already been on the ship when we boarded.)

 

Anyway, the new itinerary looks good, I wish we got to go to France, but I did love Palma, also I really liked having 2 sea days, it helped with those port intensive days. But, I think you will love the new itinerary. The big decision would be which port would you want to pick up the ship in!! Both great ports!!

[deelastcre]

Thank you for posting such an awesome review and pictures! I will sail this itinerary in less than 70 days! Can you tell me how to include the pictures?

[maxciocc]

Fantastic pictures! Seeing your review and pictures just confirms that I must go on this cruise. How did you like Andy your Cruise Director? He was our CD when we sailed in April on the Pearl.

[vpcats]

I want to thank elsplace for the awesome review and pictures. I was on a Med cruise this past May (on another cruise line) and used RIL for Rome and Florence. They were SO good! I stayed in Madrid for 5 days and 3 in Barca pre-cruise. I can't wait to go back. Loved every single place I visited and your pictures have brought back so many wonderful memories. I'm going back to Spain next year, but this December, I'm doing the Caribbean on the Epic (first time on NCL), so your review has been really, really good for me! Thanks!!!:D

[elsplace2]

Thank you for posting such an awesome review and pictures! I will sail this itinerary in less than 70 days! Can you tell me how to include the pictures?

 

You will love this itinerary! I hope you are doing your homework, so you don't miss a thing!! I hope you have a great cruise, just as we did.

As far as including pics.....you have to post your pics to a web photo host, like photobucket, Flicker etc. Then from there you copy the IMG Code (I believe, or the other code they offer, I have my notes at home) and paste it to your review. When you submit your post the picture will show up. You probably have to resize it.....I use photobucket and use the large, option. But the good thing is, is when you post it and it's too small or big....if you resize it on the photo host it will change it on the post.

 

Fantastic pictures! Seeing your review and pictures just confirms that I must go on this cruise. How did you like Andy your Cruise Director? He was our CD when we sailed in April on the Pearl.

 

Thanks!

Yes Andy was the CD or assit. CD when we sailed Alaska on the Pearl last year, too. (I did a review on that cruise, too, last year) But Andy is great!

 

As far as confirming that you must go on this cruise.....I'm always happy to hear that my reviews have helped people in deciding to do a cruise. This was an awesome itinerary....although Epic's itinerary has changed a bit for next year.....looks like they took Palma out, and added France, which should be great! Although requiring more planning...Palma was our easy port to plan!!

 

I want to thank elsplace for the awesome review and pictures. I was on a Med cruise this past May (on another cruise line) and used RIL for Rome and Florence. They were SO good! I stayed in Madrid for 5 days and 3 in Barca pre-cruise. I can't wait to go back. Loved every single place I visited and your pictures have brought back so many wonderful memories. I'm going back to Spain next year, but this December, I'm doing the Caribbean on the Epic (first time on NCL), so your review has been really, really good for me! Thanks!!!:D

 

Glad to bring back memories for you! RIL are great! Sometimes I worry about going with a private tour group, but I felt at ease using RIL, because of all the great reviews I had read about them.

 

You will love the Epic! The entertainment was awesome! Be sure to see Blue Man and Cirque. And also, be sure to enjoy the pool slides! Just don't do 2 tastings back to back! LOL But I do highly recommend to do the tastings! For $15 it's worth it!

 

 

 

Thanks all, for reading and enjoying my review. Hopefully it has been helpful in your research!!

Edited August 10, 2011 by elsplace2

[barb67]

Thanks very much for your informative review Elspace. Loved it and think the pics are great. We are on this cruise in October and it's our first time with NCL. We've been with RCI before. What's the deal with taking alcohol on board, we noticed that you said a couple took a bottle of Limoncello and you took champagne. Is this ok on NCL? as RCI confiscate and give it back on the last evening. What are alcohol prices like on board? Thanks for any info.

Barb and Nick

[oldguysandgalls]

What a wonderful review. You brought many memories back for us....and now we are definitely going back again. Thank you so much for sharing your photo's; it's as if we are right there! Thank you! Thank you!

[elsplace2]

Thanks very much for your informative review Elspace. Loved it and think the pics are great. We are on this cruise in October and it's our first time with NCL. We've been with RCI before. What's the deal with taking alcohol on board, we noticed that you said a couple took a bottle of Limoncello and you took champagne. Is this ok on NCL? as RCI confiscate and give it back on the last evening. What are alcohol prices like on board? Thanks for any info.

Barb and Nick

 

 

I think you will love NCL. RCI use to be our favorite cruiseline, but now I can honestly say, that I really don't have one now, but am leaning towards NCL....But I do love them all. I love the freestyle restaurants and going to dinner whenever we are HUNGRY and there are soooo many too choose from, even though there are several that require an extra charge.....but at least you have them as an option. We are perfectly fine with the free restaurants, especially their free 24 hr place (O'Sheehans or Blue Lagoon on the other ships) as opposed to RCI and Carnival which only have room service or a small cafe or pizza place.

 

Anyway, as far as bringing bottles on board....NCL is like any other cruise line and do not allow you to bring alcohol on board. I'm sure they confiscate them if they see them.....but I'm not sure if sometimes they don't care and as long as it's not several bottles.....I'm not sure how the lemoncello got through...all I heard was that it was wrapped in a sweater....so I assume maybe in a backpack or purse as well. Our wine was also wrapped in a sweater and brought in my backpack. It did go through the scanner and I was prepared to be asked to take it out....but nothing was said.

So I'm not sure what to say.....If you want to try to bring one on, go for it....if it gets confiscated just pay the $15 or let them take it and save it for the last night.

 

As far as the alcohol prices on board.....I think it's pretty much the same as RCI. I believe they had drink specials..like 2 for 1 Martinis. I can't remember exactly what my husband paid for beer....I want to say around $5. I think if you do a search on these boards some people have posted prices. Believe it or not I really didn't drink too much after my Martini and Margarita tastings!!! Which I highly recommend to do.....just not back to back!!

 

Have a great cruise.....I think you will love NCL and this itinerary!!

Edited August 12, 2011 by elsplace2