Norwegian Epic Cruise Ship Review

I was invited to attend the exclusive 2-night (July 2 – 3, 2010) pre-inaugural sailing for NCL’s newest and largest ship, the Norwegian Epic. Departing from NY City, the sailing began with the ship’s naming ceremony, which was hosted by comedian Jeff Garlin and featured the ship’s godmother, Reba McEntire. Adding to the festivities was the Macy’s 4th of July Fireworks show which was broadcast live from the Epic on national television (WNBC). It included musical performances by Justin Bieber, Enrique Iglesias and LeeAnn Rimes. As I have experienced many times in the past, the folks at NCL really know how to throw a party! But let’s focus on their new ship, the Epic.

The “Hardware”

When discussing the physical attributes of a cruise ship (i.e., it’s layout and appearance), industry professionals often refer to the ship’s “hardware”. So, let’s start there.

At 153,000 tons with a passenger capacity of 4,100 (based on double occupancy), the Norwegian Epic is, by far, the largest ship in the NCL fleet. In fact, with the exception of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas (which was launched in December 2009), NCL’s Epic is among the largest cruise ships at sea. It is also one of the most uniquely designed cruise ships that I have ever been on (… and I’ve been on quite a few). In most cases, that “uniqueness” is a very positive attribute which reflects the thoughtfulness and attention that the Epic’s designers must have paid to maximizing the use of space to achieve a much bigger, wide-open “feel” to all of the ship’s public areas. And, the way that one area just seemed to “flow” into the next (without the “cookie-cutter” rigidity sometimes found on cruise ships) was truly remarkable. But, in a few areas, I did not perceive the unique design of the ship to be an advantage. For instance, the exterior shape of the ship seemed a bit “odd” to me. The bow is somewhat “stubby-looking” and the stern is “squared-off” so that the ship does not have a “sleek” appearance from the outside. Adding to the irregular look is a massive 3-deck appendage that was seemingly “plopped” on top of the front section as an afterthought (or, more likely, to further maximize the ship’s interior space). Obviously, the ship’s designers had to make some “trade-off’s” to accomplish everything they did inside the ship and, after all, from a passenger’s perspective, the interior design is far more important.

The decor of the Epic is modern and somewhat more “toned-down” than other NCL ships. Getting around was not quite as easy because of the ship’s unique interior design. Rather than having its public areas running at a uniform width through the center of the ship, the Epic’s interior gave the illusion of being designed that way but, in several different places, the interior width of the ship would seemingly vary and you would go to the right or to the left to enter another venue. So, just when I thought I had seen the entire ship, I would discover a new area. Having been on over 50 cruise ships, I found the layout of the Epic to be very interesting and “refreshing”.

The Food

Since all restaurants offer a variety of culinary choices, any evaluation of food is influenced not only by personal taste but also by what items are selected from the menu. For example, on the first night, my wife and I ate at the Manhattan Room, one of the ship’s main dining areas. She had a chicken dish, which she evaluated as “OK”, while I had scallops which were very good. Like all public areas on the Epic, the layout and décor of the Manhattan Room was a tribute to the ship’s designers. Wide open and “airy”, the Manhattan Room had the look and feel of a fine dinner theater. In fact, I was somewhat surprised when our dinner host (one of NCL’s executives) informed us that the Manhattan Room was not a specialty restaurant. The other main dining room, appropriately called “Taste”, was also extremely well laid-out and pleasing to the eye. At the center of Taste is a beautiful chandelier (claimed to be the largest at sea) that spirals down from the deck above. Although I did not eat in Taste, I am told that the menu is the same as the Manhattan Room, so I would assume our assessment of the food would have been about the same (i.e., “OK” to “very good”, depending on the entre’ selected and, of course, personal taste).

One of the hallmarks of NCL’s acclaimed “Freestyle Cruising” is the choice of dining options and, not surprisingly, the Epic takes this feature to a new level. In addition to the two main dining areas, the Epic offers 17 other dining venues, each with its own cuisine and ambiance. This includes the spacious main buffet area (the “Garden Cafe”), in which the food was consistently fresh and of high-quality (albeit with somewhat less variety than we’ve experienced on some other ships). It also includes the poolside grill (“Spice H2O”), “O’Sheehan’s” (a huge, sprawling pub that became the meeting place and “social nucleus” for many of the ship’s guests) and several specialty restaurants such as La Cucina Italian restaurant (which was even more attractively decorated on the Epic than on other NCL ships), Tepanyaki Japanese grill (much larger than on other 集運收費 NCL ships) and Le Bistro French restaurant just to name a few. Each of the specialty restaurants has a “cover charge” (which ranges from $10 to $35 per person) but, in my opinion, they are all well worth the money.

On this pre-inaugural cruise, I tried two of the specialty restaurants, Cagney’s steakhouse and Moderno Churrascaria, a Brazilian “all-you-can-eat” barbeque in which guests signal their servers with a green card (“OK, I’m ready for more”) or a red card (“No more, please. I’m stuffed”). My wife and I have raved about Cagney’s steakhouse on several other Norwegian cruise ships (e.g., the NCL Dawn, the NCL Gem and the NCL Jewel) and we enjoyed it just as much on the Epic. On the other hand, we were not nearly as impressed with the Epic’s Moderno Churrascaria, which is the first such restaurant on any cruise ship. The salad bar was absolutely fabulous (especially the plump shrimp and fantastic gourmet cheeses) but, other than the sirloin (which the servers cut right in front of you), my wife and I were both disappointed with the quality of the meats. Ironically, my son Greg (who is CEO of Direct Line Cruises) and several of our staff members tried Moderno Churrascaria and really liked it. So, don’t take my word for it.