First-Time Cruisers

We are first time cruisers. That's right, having never been on any cruise, we chose a 16-day cruise across the Atlantic Ocean as our first. People on Facebook said we were a bit nuts, but this whole one-year adventure is already considered to be a bit nuts. To us, the cost analysis of transportation by air or sea was rather equal. We were not strapped for time like a regular vacationer might be. We also dislike the tiny airport seats without a space to stretch each hour. So, we chose the cruise.

The Norwegian Epic is a vessel that makes this journey on a regular basis. Having been in operation since 2010, she is one of the smaller, older ships, but our expectations of the cruise are low. We don’t need to be perpetually entertained. Registration was completed in 15 minutes with easy-to-follow signs and human cuing. Boarding the ship as 12:00 on the gangplank suddenly made our adventure very, very real. We had access to our balcony stateroom immediately and giggled the entire time we were opening drawers and cupboards.

We were pleased to see a laundry line in the shower for drying because there is not self-service laundry option on this vessel. The ship offers laundry service with prices per item starting at $2.00. We did get a coupon to have a small paper bag of laundry washed for $35.00. With all the comforts of a hotel room we had a small refrigerator, hairdryer, and sofa. When we met our Indonesian cabin steward, we requested a coffee pot and mattress topper for the bed. They completed the comfort of a moderate hotel for 15-days. Later we ordered a pitcher of water from room service. The pitcher itself was a game changer for refilling water bottles because there was not a designated refill station due to sanitization requirements.

Overall, the 16-day cruise offered us comfortable accommodations, all-you-can-eat meals, and entertainment activities. Our package also included free alcohol beverages, 300 minutes each of WI-FI, and 3 fine-dine choices. Since this was transportation for us, we did not spend extra money on the expensive ship excursions. We made our own fun in each port and spent very little cash on top of the price of the cruise. It was a great way to travel for this adventure!