A while ago after many years of avoiding cruise ships (I had a perception that they were Gods waiting room at sea) I took Hiccup & Heartburn on the NCL Epic (and it was!)
We sailed from Barcelona and on a sailing that included stops in Naples where we took the Mafia train (cash only) to Pompei and had a great day seeing the preserved Roman ruins, the next stop was Civitavecchia which is an hour from Rome but as it was scorchio that day so we stayed on-board and spent the day relaxing (except Heartburn who other than coming back for food and to be re-coated with factor 50, was on the ships amazing water park until it closed).
Next was Livorno & we visited Pisa where we sampled Pizza, took the obligatory photo leaning against the famous Tower before returning to the Epic in time for the afternoon pancakes by the pool.
Thursday morning we woke up in the Beautiful city of Cannes but the kids were having such a good time on-board they didn’t want to get off, Heartburn was back on the waterpark, Hiccup disappeared to the exclusive teen space that features cool furniture, gaming stations, foosball, air hockey and a dance floor and I had a lovely day in one of the serene adults only areas testing the occasional cocktail.
Our last stop was Palma Majorca were there’s amazing shopping & I can recommend a fab Tapas bar or if Cities aren’t your thing then take a taxi to the stunning white sand beach at Cala Comtesa.
The food was amazing! I have been lucky enough to visit around 30 cruise ships and the dining was the best I have ever experienced at sea, there is a beautiful dining room, a superb buffet restaurant where there was always at least 4 cooking stations and don’t miss the specialty options in the Japanese tempanaki, Cagney’s Steakhouse, The Moderno Churrascaria (Italian), La Cucina (Argentinian), Le Bistro (French) & there’s even a traditional pub. Another great feature of cruising with NCL is the dress code is smart casual so no need for a DJ or Ball gown.
The entertainment is superb too, we all loved the Saturday night fever show in the main theatre, there was always at least three live music shows every night as well as all the cool bars and lounges and even a Cirque du Soleil dinner show.
NCL is fully all inclusive to so you can fix your costs before you leave home and includes Premium alcoholic and soft drinks, all tips related to all-inclusive services. My colleague Leanne is also a huge NCL fan, she likes their cruises so much she has been Jade, Sky & Epic and even takes her mother in law who after 3 cruises hasn’t experienced being pushed overboard!
