Epic Med Cruise. Just Back

[Cobra1365]

Just returned from Barcelona Round trip.

 

Briefly….great cruise to see fantastic historic sites, beautiful country side!

 

Rundown.

 

Arrival into Barcelona:

contrary to what has been posted, there was no NCL rep at baggage claim area to facilitate transfers to heal (we arrived a day early).  There were drivers lined up and two people in our party of 6 had a guy with their names on an iPhone.  Until he made a call, there was nobody there for us.  Very chaotic.
At the hotel, there is an NCL rep to help with transfer to the ship the next day.  Be prepared to load/unload your own luggage on the bus!

check in at the pier was quick and easy for us.  Though our friends did not have their key cards ready.

 

Tours:

The tours listed on the NCL site seem to reflect activity one level BELOW what they actually are when you get your tickets.  Be careful if you have mobility issues.  Expect a LOT of walking on very uneven streets.  This became an issue for one of our party.  When we pointed out the difference to the Shore Excursion desk rep, we were greeted with, and I quote “you’re in Italy, what did you expect?” ! That did not go over well.  
Other than that, we had great tours with super guides.  Camilla, on the Rome and Vatican tour was amazing.  She was talking about typical Italian meals and said she eats pasta everyday.  All of the women in our group said “we want the skinny pasta she eats!” 😄

 

We didn’t set our bars high for onboard entertainment and meals as this was a destination cruise.  That said, the shows were limited and if you want to go, make reservations!  Dinner meals were average, in my opinion.  Cagney was great, as usual.

 

COVID testing:

You’ll receive a notice of when to go to get tested.  You have to go online and register with Eurofins for the free Antigen test.  We had to go to the Manhattan Dining Room Sat morning between 8:00-11:00am.  You then receive an email approx 1-2 hrs later and a hard copy of the results that evening delivered to your stateroom.

 

Debarkation:

Straight forward.  The Barcelona airport layout is confusing though.  After going through security, you have to also go through Passport control.  We were using gate E so, after security screening, we made a right and had to go back upstairs where it looked like it was going to lead us back through Security and outside.  But, that’s Passport control and after you go through, it takes you around to the gates.  There’s not much right by those gates.  So, if you want to shop at Duty Free or need a Starbucks, get it before going thru Passport control

 

Overall, it was a great time.  We had attempted this last year for our 40th and had to pause as the World stopped turning.  Happily, we made it this go around and we’re accompanied by great friends.

 

 

Edited May 23, 2022 by Cobra1365

[JustAPilot]

Thanks for the write up, we will be on this cruise in July. What was the ship capacity and your overall thoughts on the Epic? 

[kby1216]

We are on this cruise in 13 days! I am curious about the ship capacity also.

[murph1031]

What time was your return flight? We are using the air program. Our return flight is 9.45 am, seems tight.

[Cobra1365]

Ship was at approx 50% capacity.  Personally, I was not crazy about the layout of the ship.  Counter intuitive for most cruisers.  Took til about halfway thru to be comfortable with where things are.  For example; it took a long time to get used to the Buffet being at the front of the ship!

No big issues in the cabin (balcony on 11th deck).  Bathroom layout was weird. But, no big deal.
 

Our return flight was at 1:40pm.  Friends had a 10:00am and tho they got to the airport in plenty of time (docked by 5:00am), none of the Delta check in gates were open!

Edited May 24, 2022 by Cobra1365

[cruisequeen4ever]

So glad you got to celebrate your 40th (a year late) with such a special cruise! 

[bbqbears]

I haven't been on an NCL cruise in many years and have never had to make reservations for any shows.   I'm noticing comments about people making reservations or not being able to get a reservation.  Are reservations taken for each of the major shows?  Recommendations for how to make sure we get to see each of the shows?  Thanks, Kathy

[Hobbits_stole_my_Precious]

To OP,

 

We're going on Epic in Sept.... Would you happen to have the Freestyle Dailies from your trip that you could post?  Thanks so much.

 

PJ

[murph1031]

I posted mine from 3 weeks ago under my review tread.

 

Edited June 29, 2022 by murph1031

[rmurray847]

15 hours ago, bbqbears said:

I haven't been on an NCL cruise in many years and have never had to make reservations for any shows.   I'm noticing comments about people making reservations or not being able to get a reservation.  Are reservations taken for each of the major shows?  Recommendations for how to make sure we get to see each of the shows?  Thanks, Kathy

This must be brand new, as I've done NCL cruises on numerous ships in relatively recent years, and the only "reservations required" shows have been the upcharge shows that include dinner.  Even the "Broadway" shows (like JERSEY BOYS on the Bliss) did not take reservations.

[KeithJenner]

11 minutes ago, rmurray847 said:

This must be brand new, as I've done NCL cruises on numerous ships in relatively recent years, and the only "reservations required" shows have been the upcharge shows that include dinner.  Even the "Broadway" shows (like JERSEY BOYS on the Bliss) did not take reservations.

Reservations have been offered (and sometimes required) for the main theatre shows on the newer ships (since Epic) for many years now (since the Epic was launched I believe). Since covid they haven't been necessary, or even offered on some ships I believe.

[Hobbits_stole_my_Precious]

46 minutes ago, murph1031 said:

I posted mine from 3 weeks ago under my review tread.

Thank you so much, that really helps alot!  I appreciate you kindness.  Can't wait to go... getting very anxious for the trip .. I haven't been to Barcelona, Rome, and Florence for over 40 years, and have never been to Naples, Palma, Cannes, nor Ajaccio. 

 

[bbqbears]

It looks like you can't make a reservation for anything before getting on board.  For those on the EPIC-did they do away with the CIRQUE-type shows?  

[Joeydirt501]

I received and email today that Spice H20 and the sports complex will be closed due to renovation. We’re these closed for anyone else on epic? 
Are they actually renovating or are they just short staffed? 

[Seraphine]

We were on the Epic a month ago, and H2O was only open when we were in Port. The funnels were spitting out debris, so they weren't letting passengers up there unless the funnels were off.

 

A huge pain.

 

So are they fixing this, then?

[em-sk]

On 6/29/2022 at 11:09 AM, rmurray847 said:

This must be brand new, as I've done NCL cruises on numerous ships in relatively recent years, and the only "reservations required" shows have been the upcharge shows that include dinner.  Even the "Broadway" shows (like JERSEY BOYS on the Bliss) did not take reservations.

 

My experience is pre-COVID, reservations were encouraged.  However any open seats were released to walk up about 10 minutes before the start of the show.  Never had a problem being a walk up.

 

Your not allowed to reserve the same show more than once.  So there likely will be space you just may not get your choice of time if you reserve late.

[joekawasaki]

14 hours ago, Joeydirt501 said:

I received and email today that Spice H20 and the sports complex will be closed due to renovation. We’re these closed for anyone else on epic? 
Are they actually renovating or are they just short staffed? 

Got the same email for my July 24th sailing. They are giving $50 per stateroom onboard credit. Was looking forward to Spice H2O. Probably wouldn’t use the sports complex anyway. 

[Markanddonna]

15 hours ago, Seraphine said:

We were on the Epic a month ago, and H2O was only open when we were in Port. The funnels were spitting out debris, so they weren't letting passengers up there unless the funnels were off.

 

A huge pain.

 

So are they fixing this, then?

I read somewhere that Spice H20 and another area (Seaplex?) affected by the debris from the funnels is closed for the month of July. They are giving passengers a $50 voucher to make up for this.

[Seraphine]

On 7/2/2022 at 2:15 PM, Markanddonna said:

I read somewhere that Spice H20 and another area (Seaplex?) affected by the debris from the funnels is closed for the month of July. They are giving passengers a $50 voucher to make up for this.

Thanks for this!  I was hoping they'd fix it... we're back on that ship in October and really hoped to get to be on the space.