Cruising around the Med
Flying with British Airways from Heathrow, we boarded the boat in Barcelona in the late afternoon, spent the following day at sea, before arriving into the port capital of Sardinia, Cagliari, at dawn on day three. We disembarked the ship for the day, heading off to visit Nora, one of the best kept archaeological sites on the island, on an organised tour. That evening, the ship left Cagliari, sailing back into the Mediterranean. Day four of our trip was another ‘sea day’ before we arrived back into Barcelona’s cruise ship port on the morning of day five. From there, we made the short journey to the airport to catch our return flight to London.
Although it was a quick trip, this cruise was a great opportunity to get back into traveling internationally (it’s our first overseas holiday since January 2020) and was long enough to sample the hospitality available on The Epic. We had been concerned that with all the new requirements brought about by COVID-19 (vaccination certificates/test result confirmations/passenger locator forms) that something was bound to go wrong - especially on such a short multi-country/multi-transport cruise ship holiday. However, we were pleasantly surprised at how well-organised Norwegian Cruise Lines and British Airways were. All the transfers were seamlessly handled, embarkation and disembarkation from the ship were very smooth, and onboard COVID-19 testing (performed by a professional, third-party supplier) was very well-handled (all passengers were tested for COVID-19 during embarkation in Barcelona and at sea on day four of our sail).
There are a number of advantages to cruising as opposed to a traditional land holiday. Cruise ships are essentially floating, moving hotels and so what’s great is to be able to unpack once at the start of your trip and know that you’ll be able to visit more than one destination without worrying about repacking again until the end of your holiday. Another advantage is typically arriving into destination ports at sunrise and leaving them at sunset when the light and atmosphere are at their best. Travelling by sea (as opposed to on land or by air) offers you an entirely different perspective on the places you visit, and with its leisurely approach harks back to a more elegant and immersive time for travel. Ash is a keen photographer and was so pleased that I woke him up to capture sunrise over Cagliari! Similarly, so long as you have a cabin with a balcony or a window, you’ll be guaranteed a fantastic sea view!
Our experience aboard The Epic may have been short but it was very sweet. We couldn’t fault the friendliness of the crew, the quality of the service, nor the standard of the facilities. The Epic is aimed at families so there’s something for everyone - from a kids’ waterpark and climbing wall to an outdoor cinema, through to high quality musical entertainment (we thoroughly enjoyed a theatre production of Priscilla Queen of the Desert) and several fine dining options, we were thoroughly spoilt during our cruise. Norwegian Cruise Lines had even created an onboard running track, basketball court and fully stocked gym in case we wanted to run some of that excess off (we didn’t!).
At a time that’s been so awful for the travel industry - and cruising in particular - it was heart-warming to see such a joyous, international crew aboard a cruise ship full of life and smiles doing what they love.
“It’s good to be back,” is what we heard from several of the crew - indeed it is…really good.