Norwegian Epic Cruise

Day 1-2: San Francisco-Barcelona
Day 3 AM: Barcelona City Tour - Pre Cruise
Day 3 PM: Norwegian Epic Cruise
Day 4: At Sea
Day 5: Livorno (Cinque Terre excursion)
Day 6: Rome (Rome city tour)
Day 7: Naples (Sorrento, Positano, Pompeii excursion)
Day 8: At Sea
Day 9: Palma de Mallorca
Day 10: Barcelona - Post Cruise
Day 11: Barcelona - San Francisco

We chose this cruise ship because it is one of the newest ships, and we like everything new :) The price was surprisingly reasonable and the timing worked out with everyone so this seemed like the logical choice. The ship was huge!! There was another cruise ship docked next to ours and the Epic was so much bigger. The check-in process was surprisingly very easy and painless. We were on board the ship in 15-20 minutes. They had tons of agents, so we didn't have to wait long at all. During the check-in process, we were given our room key card which also served as our on-board credit card.

The Norwegian Epic

The 411 displayed on board

Once we got in, we made our way to the Garden Cafe buffet for lunch (which later turned out to be our most frequented place for breakfast and lunch). This place was packed!! Guess everyone thought the same way as we did which was to get lunch buffet!

After lunch we checked out our room, which was located on the 9th floor towards the back of the ship. The reason why we chose the back of the ship is because supposedly you feel less of the movement on the back of the ship and on lower floors.

The room was furnished nicely with modern decor. Style-wise, this was probably the nicest balcony room out there. We loved the dark faux wood paneling and the flat screen tv. The room color was soft creme and blue, very relaxing and zen-like.

Their signature "curvy" room

Our balcony cabin

Love the modern design

Our balcony

The bathroom was interesting...the toilet and the shower were separated into 2 areas. We didnt mind it but from the reviews on cruisecritic, some people really didn't like it. We loved the modern sink style. Room size was a bit small but that's expected. Overall, we were very happy with the room decor and cleanliness.

 

After checking out our room, we roamed around to get acquainted with the ship. One of the central points of the ship was the main chandelier above Taste Restaurant. We then checked out the Main Dining Room for dinner (which we only visited once during the whole week).

Main Dining Room

They have a pretty big spa area - we ended up purchasing the weekly spa pass which was worth it! The pass cost $199/couple for the week which allowed us access to the spa lounge area, whirlpool, sauna, steam room and the relaxation room. We did this a couple times during our cruise. It's so relaxing and highly recommended! Next we checked out the gym which was just across from the spa. The gym was actually pretty big! Lots of equipment and the views overlooking the ocean was an added bonus. Too bad we hardly used the gym :p

Mandara Spa

Gym

There were a number of specialty restaurants where you have to pay a nominal fee to eat, such as the teppanyaki restaurant, steakhouse, French fine dining, etc. We took a peek at some of them and actually tried the teppanyaki restaurant later in the week. Afterwards we went to O'Sheehans Pub to grab a snack. We ordered chicken wings (free) and Diet Pepsi (not free) - apparently only water was included. Everything else cost extra.

Dan enjoying chicken wings at O'Sheehans Pub

For dinner, we pre booked tickets for the cirque dinner show, which was a cirque du soleil type entertainment with dinner. The show was held at the Spiegel Tent. The cover charge was $20 for standard seating and $30 for premium. We came around 30 minutes before the show started and there was already a line: one line for the premium seating and another line for the standard seating. The usher assigned seats, and we got seated on the second floor. The view from the second floor was not bad at all, we actually enjoyed it.

Spiegel Tent where they held the Cirque Dinner Show

Inside the Tent

Today was also my little sister's 17th birthday. We wanted to do something special but due to the format of the show, we couldn't really celebrate in this venue since we were watching the show the whole time. It was pretty entertaining and enjoyable. It was not typical Cirque du Soleil calibre but we were pleasantly surprised. Definitely try to see this if you are on board the NCL Epic.

First Sea Day

Day 1-2: San Francisco-Barcelona
Day 3 AM: Barcelona City Tour - Pre Cruise
Day 3 PM: Norwegian Epic Cruise
Day 4: At Sea
Day 5: Livorno (Cinque Terre excursion)
Day 6: Rome (Rome city tour)
Day 7: Naples (Sorrento, Positano, Pompeii excursion)
Day 8: At Sea
Day 9: Palma de Mallorca
Day 10: Barcelona - Post Cruise
Day 11: Barcelona - San Francisco

We were still jetlagged, and woke up really early and really hungry (before 6 AM!). So we searched for food before the main breakfast area was even open! The only thing open at that time was O'Sheehan so we ate there.

We saw the rock climbing/rappelling wall and wanted to try rappelling since none of us had tried it before. It wasn't as easy as it looked! Well, at least for me. I went first and thought that it was pretty scary. Dan, on the other hand thought that it was pretty easy.

Dan rappelling down the wall

We saw a spa special for $89++ for 3 mini treatments at the Mandara Spa, which included a foot massage. Our feet had been soo tired from all the walking, so I booked this treatment. It was definitely relaxing and much needed! Apparently for any spa treatment, the cruise automatically charged an 18% gratuity, so the total bill was not that cheap after all :p After the mini spa treatment, we got ready to watch the Blue Man Group show.  I had seen the Blue Man Group before but none of the other family members had. It was actually a pretty good show, and it was one of the free ones, which made it even better! We came in a bit early so we could get good seats.

In front of the Blue Man Group Theatre

Inside the Theatre

Afterwards, we went to Taste restaurant for dinner. Taste was also one of the free dining options but a seated one. We liked the food and also liked the decor of the restaurant. It made us feel like we were at one of the paid restaurants since the decor was so nice. We asked our server for a birthday cake for my sister, so they provided free cake at the end of dinner. How awesome! My sister didn't expect it at all so it was a good surprise.

At Taste Restaurant

Cruise Activities

Day 1-2: San Francisco-Barcelona
Day 3 AM: Barcelona City Tour - Pre Cruise
Day 3 PM: Norwegian Epic Cruise
Day 4: At Sea
Day 5: Livorno (Cinque Terre excursion)
Day 6: Rome (Rome city tour)
Day 7: Naples (Sorrento, Positano, Pompeii excursion)
Day 8: At Sea
Day 9: Palma de Mallorca
Day 10: Barcelona - Post Cruise
Day 11: Barcelona - San Francisco

It was nice to have a sea day after 3 shore excursions in a row! We wanted to take the day easy! Dan actually signed up for a poker tournament and won some money, which I then spent on Spa treatment and a new wallet...ha ha.

The Norwegian Epic is a pretty big ship, and there are activities throughout the day that can keep you busy. Here were some of the activities that we did during our cruise:

1. Svedka Ice Bar

When we heard about the ice bar on board the Epic, we thought it was pretty cool. There's a $20 fee but you get 2 drinks. They also serve non alcoholic drinks for children. You get a 30 minute time slot to spend at the bar. We checked in and were given gloves, a coat, and 2 drink tickets. The bar area was actually REALLY small. It was pretty cold inside but the coat and gloves helped. It pretty much felt like you were in a big freezer.
 

     

Inside the Svedka Ice Bar

2. Teppanyaki restaurant


The teppanyaki specialty restaurant was one of the extra charge restaurant we tried. It was $25 per person which was a pretty good deal we thought.

Dinner setting

Menu

My sister and boyfriend had previously tried this restaurant a previous night, and they recommended it. They also said that their cook was really funny and the food was good. Typically there do some demonstrations such as throwing/catching the cooking utensils, eggs, etc. Apparently this guy always failed at everything he did so he broke eggs everywhere, but it actually made for a fun night. So we booked a reservation for the whole family and specifically asked for this cook!

Memorable dininer

Needless to say he delivered. He was really friendly, funny, and he failed at every demonstration he did, but we all really enjoyed him!

Super yummy green tea ice cream

 

3. Dancing with the Epic Stars

This was probably one of our most favorite game shows we watched on-board. My older sister is a competitive dancer so we wanted to enroll her in the competition. Turns out they choose the competitors randomly for people who signed up, and she didn't get chosen. :(

So fun!

However, we had so much fun watching the dance competition. Basically they drew names of passengers who signed up and they paired them up with the on board staff. Every round there was a different music/dance style (country, hip hop, waltz, etc.) and then the contestants would have to bust out their best moves. Since there was literally no practice, and the contestants were not all dancers, their moves were REALLY funny! We really enjoyed watching this show.

4. Mandara Spa


As we mentioned previously, we really recommend getting the weekly Spa Pass. It's really nice to be able to relax at the spa after a full day exploring the different cities. I also got two treatments at the spa, which was nice, although a little expensive.

The treatment room

Outside tub and seating area

5.Cruise Shows

We watched a couple different shows while on board the ship. The first one was the Cirque Dreams and Dinner show which was pretty good! The second night we watched the Blue Man Group show which was excellent - especially considering it's "free".

On one of the nights, we watched a Legends show where performers imitated stars, Shakira, Whitney Houston, and Elton John. We later found out that my dad thought that all the performers were the real deal! He made a comment that how expensive watching these performers in a concert in Jakarta! Ha, ha... We had to tell him the bad news that they were not real, just the ship's version.

With "Whitney Houston"

Our most favorite show would have to be the Maestranza Spanish Ballet (Flamenco). We'd never seen anything like it before and were amazed! We got seated on the first row and Dan actually got picked to dance on the stage for a little bit. :p