Need Input on Epic late Nov. Eastern Med Cruise

[Go2SeaTheWorld]

beginning in Rome, ending in Haifa. Has anyone done this cruise? Haven't committed due to neg reviews on Epic, and finding no reviews of ports,excursions. Appreciate any input, positive or negative.

[MeHeartCruising]

10 hours ago, Go2SeaTheWorld said:

beginning in Rome, ending in Haifa. Has anyone done this cruise? Haven't committed due to neg reviews on Epic, and finding no reviews of ports,excursions. Appreciate any input, positive or negative.

 

The ports are all well-established and known cruise ports.  You can research them on cruise critics forums for the Mediterranean ports.  You can browse NCL's excursions for these ports here https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/search

 

The EPIC is a ship that you will either love or hate.  The reviews are about 50/50 on it.  You won't really know which camp you sit in until you sail her.  I've sailed her twice and have no problems at all with her.  It's not my favorite ship, but it gets me where I want to go.  

 

The itinerary is a great itinerary.  I would book it in a heartbeat if I had the time.

Edited April 24, 2023 by MeHeartCruising

[ExpatBride]

I sailed the Mediterranean on Epic in 2016 and it was the worst cruise of my life. It's like the previous poster said, Epic is a love-it or hate-it ship. I couldn't disembark fast enough.

 

Beside the size and overall vibe of the ship being a bad match for me, the crew was by and large unpleasant and it wasn't a great experience. 

[mcmomny]

Been on her twice, once in The Med and once in The Caribbean  and enjoyed both sailings.

 

 

[Go2SeaTheWorld]

Thank you all. Very nice to have multiple opinions. We do love the itinerary.

[sherrihall128]

We did a Mediterranean cruise in November last year. We lucked out with the weather, as it was in the 60-70s everywhere we went and mostly sunny. I'd choose a Mediterranean cruise in October or November any time. I can't comment on the Epic, but I'd be willing to give her a try depending on the itinerary. The deals are pretty good considering the number of days and ports!

[Go2SeaTheWorld]

9 hours ago, MeHeartCruising said:

 

The ports are all well-established and known cruise ports.  You can research them on cruise critics forums for the Mediterranean ports.  You can browse NCL's excursions for these ports here https://www.ncl.com/shore-excursions/search

 

The EPIC is a ship that you will either love or hate.  The reviews are about 50/50 on it.  You won't really know which camp you sit in until you sail her.  I've sailed her twice and have no problems at all with her.  It's not my favorite ship, but it gets me where I want to go.  

 

The itinerary is a great itinerary.  I would book it in a heartbeat if I had the time.

Decided to take the leap and chose the Dec 1-11th itinerary from Rome to Tel Aviv. Going to be quite the year for us, will have our 3rd & 4th cruises ever. Alaska in June then the Med in December. 

[genealogyfan]

There isn't anything wrong with the Epic, People just have different opinions of what they like and dislike. One person may love it, one person may hate it, but neither opinion is wrong.

 

I've sailed on it twice (just recently got off on Apr 22) and I thought it was a good ship. 

 

Make sure you research the bathroom setup. I just got off the Epic and I was amazed the number of people I talked with who had no idea that the bathroom setup was totally different then any other ship. It was not a problem when I sailed with my friend, in fact we thought we had more room when we pulled the curtain close to change, get ready, etc.

 

Our cruise was sold out and it didn't feel crowded at all. I was surprised. The only issue I had was on the main decks of 5,6 and 7 where the venues and restaurants are located. It's tight to walk through from one end of the ship to the other. One deck you are walking through the casino with machines and tables in the middle, other decks you have to walk through O'Sheehan's and other areas. If you want to avoid this go to deck 7 and go outside - there is an outside deck on both sides and a walking area (doesn't connect to each other outside). You can walk from one end of the ship to the other and it was always pretty empty.

 

There also wasn't an easy way to walk around the ship, even on the pool deck. 

 

 

[Go2SeaTheWorld]

1 hour ago, genealogyfan said:

There isn't anything wrong with the Epic, People just have different opinions of what they like and dislike. One person may love it, one person may hate it, but neither opinion is wrong.

 

I've sailed on it twice (just recently got off on Apr 22) and I thought it was a good ship. 

 

Make sure you research the bathroom setup. I just got off the Epic and I was amazed the number of people I talked with who had no idea that the bathroom setup was totally different then any other ship. It was not a problem when I sailed with my friend, in fact we thought we had more room when we pulled the curtain close to change, get ready, etc.

 

Our cruise was sold out and it didn't feel crowded at all. I was surprised. The only issue I had was on the main decks of 5,6 and 7 where the venues and restaurants are located. It's tight to walk through from one end of the ship to the other. One deck you are walking through the casino with machines and tables in the middle, other decks you have to walk through O'Sheehan's and other areas. If you want to avoid this go to deck 7 and go outside - there is an outside deck on both sides and a walking area (doesn't connect to each other outside). You can walk from one end of the ship to the other and it was always pretty empty.

 

There also wasn't an easy way to walk around the ship, even on the pool deck. 

 

 

Very much appreciated this feed back and suggestions.