Norwegian Epic: Eastern Caribbean from San Juan

The fifth cruise in a row for me was all about ticking off another box. I had been to the Caribbean, but never to those exotic sounding eastern islands like Barbados or St. Lucia. I found a good deal on a cruise out of San Juan on Norwegian Cruise Lines (NCL). The bonus of sailing out of Puerto Rico is that the starting point is already "near" the destinations. From Florida it is at least two days simply to get to the region. After spending an enjoyable time on land in the Dominican Republic [see: Santo Domingo], I was getting back on a boat.

February 2026

San Juan, Puerto Rico

I love San Juan. Having stayed a summer there while at Georgetown, the place filled me with great memories. Because it is always prudent to spend the night before cruising in port, I booked the cheapest and closest hotel to the Pan American Terminal (which is NOT in Old San Juan where most cruise ships call but across the water by the convention center). I got a room in the dubiously reviewed "Dreams Hotel" in Miramar (a neighborhood I remembered well).

I swear the hotel survives on overcharging cruise ship passengers. The property was not horrible, but it was certainly not worth the price they asked. Why not choose another place? It was the cheapest! In high season, even the shittiest hotel in San Juan can command a high price.

My flight arrived on time from Santo Domingo (only 40 minutes) and immigration took forever (there were very few officers available). I easily caught a taxi into town. We hit a traffic jam and suddenly the Puerto Rican Spanish word popped into my head - tapón. In the 40 year interval since the last time I stayed in La Isla Encanta, the San Juan government clearly had not solved the traffic problem, even if the highway to the airport were several lanes wider. Finally, I arrived at the hotel.

The receptionist was extremely surly, but all I wanted was to check in. Instead of explaining the details of the room, she simply asked me to photograph an explanation about the hotel laminated on the counter. The suggestion was practical (although quite cold). I needed something to eat so I immediately exited after dropping my bags and walked up to Avenida de la Constitución - about a ten minute walk. The hotel has absolutely zero services nearby and serves no food. They do, however, provide a free shuttle to the cruise port.

Unfortunately, it was Saturday and most places that served breakfast and lunch were already closed (it was 3:30pm) and those serving dinner were not yet open. I only wanted a coffee and a light snack. I walked and walked and found nothing but a ramen restaurant open (and it was mobbed). I returned to the hotel to regroup. I had passed a Mexican place that was opening soon and was well-reviewed, so I decided to return. As it turned out, it was cheap for both drinks and food. Instead of coffee and a snack, I had margaritas and ceviche. I felt happy things worked out the way they did.

I came back to the hotel and crashed. I was looking forward to getting on the boat.

In the morning I showered and set off to another restaurant (by chance next to the Mexican one of the night before) for breakfast. The place was well-known for brunch and it was already half-full at 7:30am on Sunday. I enjoyed an excellent breakfast sandwich with a good latte. The service was wonderful. Everyone spoke English perfectly (at the Mexican restaurant the night before it was the same). Perhaps the biggest change from when I stayed on the island years ago is that it appears everyone speaks English and flips between English and Spanish effortlessly.

I returned to the hotel, checked mails, and then got ready to leave. The lobby was absolutely packed with people joining either the Norwegian Epic or the Grand Princess. The shuttle had to make multiple trips to accommodate everyone! Note: the Grand Princess was actually my first choice (due to itinerary), but by the time I was ready to book, it was sold out.

Getting on the ship

The ride to the port was only a few minutes. In fact, if there had been pedestrian access I could have easily walked. However, passengers are warned NOT to do that - I could see why. There is literally no space to walk along the busy road leading to the port. The shuttle dropped us by the entrance and because I was so familiar with the drill, I simply approached an NCL employee and asked "where is the bag drop?" and then "where is the check in line?" I was onboard swiftly while those who shared the bus with me were still wandering outside not knowing what to do.

I checked into my muster station and then found a nice place to sit down. After connecting to the internet, I finally relaxed. I checked the NCL app "excursions". I wanted to book two before they potentially sold out. In-person booking is always my preference because I can ask questions about tours I am considering. I was happy I did because one of them was apparently a "fan favorite" and often sold out quickly. The written description of the tour left me with questions, but the excursion staff said everyone who did the tour loved it (which turned out to be true for me too).

I waited for the lunch crush to calm down before I went to the buffet. Then I explored the ship and found that although it has some amazing waterslides on the top deck, the interior common space is very limited. I also scoped out the bars to see which would be my favorite. I narrowed it down to two, but the first day is never a good day to judge anything. I was surprised that a ship of its size (the Epic is huge) appeared to have very limited outdoor bars. Maybe I hadn't discovered all of them.

Not common space - a dining room.

There were THREE different water slides!

Finally, our rooms were ready and I entered my stateroom, an interior cabin at the front of the ship. I liked the layout much more than the previous NCL cruises, but the Epic is known for its unusual stateroom designs - most notably the toilet and shower are completely separate from each other. The room was far bigger than on the previous two NCL ships.

The sail away was late (7:30pm) and I didn't want to miss it. I thought it would be beautiful exiting San Juan at night, especially with Old San Juan lit up. The Grand Princess was almost ready to depart, too, and looked beautiful. I stood at the railing watching the city pass by while a couple next to me narrated everything as if I had never been to Puerto Rico. I remained silent and just smiled - why burst their bubble? El Morro Castle was strikingly lit up and looked beautiful (they told me I simply must visit on my return).

I returned to the room early - as usual, cruise day had been somewhat stressful. The worry of getting on the ship is real (because a cruise is expensive and unforgiving in its departure). In fact, we saw a bus arrive from the airport filled with passengers about five minutes before we shoved off (there had been a big snow storm in the Northeast delaying many flights). The passengers' body language alone showed how stressed they were when they rushed on the ship. Those of us watching assumed their flight was delayed. It made me question the announcement, "Homeland Security requires us to submit our passenger manifest an hour before sailing". At any rate, we were not much delayed in leaving.

Day 2 (Tortola, British Virgin Islands)

I overslept and missed our arrival. No complaints, though - my body probably needed the rest. After deciding I would not take a tour [see: Tortola] I took my time disembarking. We were smashed right up next to the even larger MSC Virtuosa. Moored offshore was another European cruise ship, Tui. There were going to be a lot of people in Road Town.

On the walkabout in town I avoided occasional showers and got my steps in. I returned to the ship by noon to find the buffet was actually full of people. Had that many not elected to disembark? That was surprising to me.

Equally surprising was that the bar by the pool (which I decided I liked the most because of its friendly bartenders) was also mobbed. On a day in port, the shipboard bars and restaurants were usually empty.

I took a relaxing nap in the afternoon in my quiet stateroom. After that I returned to the top deck to watch our departure. Oh that blue water.... the Virgin Islands truly are beautiful. The sunset was particularly striking.

I went back to the room and pondered the following day. We would be stopping in Antigua. After getting off a long cruise with so many sea days [see: Ruby Princess] , it seemed unbelievable that we would be stopping in a new port so soon!

I made an outline of a walk in St John's the next morning. At noon I was going on a ship's tour to a historical dockyard. It would be a full day.

Day 3 (Antigua)

I was up and on deck for our arrival into St John's Harbor, Antigua. The boat passed luxury houses set on the hills as it approached the city. The main cathedral is still the highest building in town. The island is green and hilly - it gave a good first impression. In Antigua I had booked an excursion to the Nelson Dockyards (a UNESCO Heritage Site), but that was at 12:30pm. I went out in the morning to explore downtown on foot.

I beat the crowds into town (there were THREE large ships in port - always annoying to share any place with over 10,o00 people). After a satisfying walkabout, I returned to the ship for lunch (actually the tail end of breakfast). Norwegian keeps very strict meal times and divisions between them - unlike Princess where one meal blends into the next gradually. I had to eat something before the breakfast offerings were taken away because the tour meeting time was 12:15pm. (I was happy I did! we didn't get back till 4:00pm)

The excursion provided a great opportunity to see more of the island and the lovely Nelson Dockyards in Antigua's "other" port. At that moment, English Harbor became the highpoint of the trip. The excursion was money well-spent. I must admit, NCL usually has very good excursions (with Princess it is a crap shoot).

I returned to the boat to be frustrated yet again at arriving "between meals". I couldn't even grab a drink because the bar was three people thick. I just relaxed and watched the sail away. As we left early, we would be at sea in daylight for some time. I wondered what other islands we might pass. We would sail by quite a few on the way to Barbados.

As it turned out, we came very close to Montserrat at sunset. I struck up a conversation with a couple as we watched the sun sink behind the Soufriere Volcano. It was only about 25 years ago that it erupted and destroyed half of the island! (unfortunately, the peak was clouded over). They talked about visiting Pompeii, and I thought that without early warning, the people of Montserrat might have become part of a future Pompeii.

The buffet finally opened and I had a light snack before "forcing" my way to the bar to get a seat. The feeling at the bar was completely different than on the Hawaii cruise. On long cruises with sea days people tend to strike up friendships at the bar. On a week's cruise, it is less likely (especially with no sea days).

I returned to the room to relax and found the news completely dominated by the President's State of the Union message. The networks on the ship's TV stopped regular broadcasts for the address. The programming was dedicated to the following: predicting what he might say two hours before the event, broadcasting the event, and then discussing what he had said.

I just went to bed.

Day 4 (Barbados)

We arrived into Barbados later than a usual cruise arrival, 10:00am. It is a long journey from Antigua. I watched as we pulled into port - it reminded me of Hawaii. The port of Bridgetown does double duty as a container port and cruise port (never a beautiful combination).

As I had read, Barbados is flat (not completely flat like Aruba or the Bahamas) with no big hills. Bridgetown spread out around the port - I spied one nice beach within walking distance.

I don't know if it is my own bad luck or the cruise line itself, but only on NCL have I experienced such bungled arrivals. As was the case on this cruise, we shared the port with two other ships and ours was farthest away on the pier (due to size). Cunard's Queen Elizabeth was already in port, the first time I ever saw her (very retro). We could only disembark in a single file due to the active roadway. Given how many "slow" people were exiting, it took nearly 45 minutes simply to walk to the exit. I felt frustrated; many other passengers were downright angry.

I spent the morning roaming Bridgetown [see: Bridgetown], comparing it to St John's Antigua. There were similarities, but admittedly Bridgetown was just a little better. I ended the walkabout at the beautiful white sand town beach and then started the very long journey back to the ship. No complaints, though.... I had a lot of food and drink to walk off.

I got lunch and then chatted a bit with a nice Filipino bartender named "Jester". I asked him if he was a funny guy and he said, "No, I am always dead serious" and then burst out laughing. He is from the islands of Camotes between Leyte and Cebu and was completely floored I knew of them (although I never visited). I have to say of the crew, he is the first genuinely friendly one I have met - but that is no fault of the crewmembers. The ship seems understaffed and everyone is always working frantically.

Which brings me to my first big observation of the ship as compared to others: it does not have nearly enough outdoor bar space. There are only two outside bars (and not big ones) for the entire ship. That means they are busy all day long and the bartenders, waiters, and barbacks hustle non-stop. Such the shame because they have no chance to interact with passengers (which increases their tips). I have seen passengers tip generously with crewmembers they like.

I decided not to get off the ship a second time - the only other thing easily visited was the Mt Gay Rum tour in town and it cost a fortune. Why charge people so much when they get a chance to shop at the end? It felt very much like Bridgetown's own version of "the Turkey Hill Experience" back in Pennsylvania.

I relaxed in the cool of the room and realized I got sunburn on my neck. I was surprised because I am usually careful to avoid it.

At sail away, I stood at the railing (with others - this is apparently "a thing") and watched for late arrivals. Everyone was back on board in reasonable time and we pushed off as the sun set. The ship literally sailed into the setting sun.

I ate a light meal, had some drinks, and then retired. Walking in the sun zaps energy. NCL always has extremely bad stateroom programming, so I slept after watching some bad TV.

Without the large interior common space, there was no place to view live entertainment in a relaxed setting. Live music was performed on the top deck (without many seats to enjoy it) or in the theatres. I did not like the Epic's layout.

The next day was St Lucia - I was very excited!

Day 5 (St Lucia)

The excursion in St Lucia was first thing in the morning, so I had to wake up and get ready earlier than usual. That allowed me to have a glimpse of the Pitons in the pre-dawn light as we passed them - wow. Then, I watched our arrival into port and felt slightly let down - Castries, like Bridgetown, is a container port. Although the green hills of the island look lovely, the immediate port area does not.

For a company that organizes excursions daily, I never cease to be amazed at how poorly NCL manages the starts of their tours. "Stand here, now move there, it is this line, no it is that line". I could see why some people prefer to walk off the ship and book something immediately on their own and leave.

Finally, we did get on with it - the excursion to the Pitons, mud baths, and beach was, in a word, glorious. I had the best time in my whole recent string of cruises and travels that morning!

We returned late (as excursions often do) and there wasn't enough time left to explore town. Since nothing came highly recommended as a must-see there, I only felt mildly disappointed. Instead, it did a few laps on Deck 7 - something I hadn't done much because of so much walking in ports! Because I took a lot of sun (again), I came back to the room for a rest.

I was on deck for the sail away catching a tiny bit of Martinique just as the sun set. After that, at the surprisingly empty bar, I met a young Puerto Rican engineer Felix who caught me up on all things about his island. It was a fascinating conversation (and he was a polite and engaging young man who was genuine worried about the future of his home). I saw my favorite bartender, Jester, who told me that he and some of his Filipino friends went out for lunch at a Pinoy Restaurant in port. I asked how it tasted and he said it was "excellent" because it was Filipino managed and owned. I wanted to know the backstory on that place - Filipinos living in St Lucia? I was glad to see Jester so happy - he works very hard at the bar.

Martinique

I came back to the room still feeling washed out after all the sun and activity of the day.

The next port would be Phillipsburg, Sint Maarten. I looked forward to walking around town (something I had not done on the last visit)

Day 6 (Sint Maarten)

Our arrival into St Martin was amazing. In the early morning light we passed by St Eustatius (never heard of it), St Kitts, Saba, and St Barts. All of them have steep mountains except St Barts - I am sure they must be lovely. Unfortunately, we were sailing into cloudy (and rainy) weather. Finally, we docked at the entrance to the harbor. Phillipsburg with its lovely strand of white sand looked far away (it was).

Saba

St Eustatius with St Kitts rising behind

I got off the ship after the main crush because we had a full day on the island. I felt a little frustrated finding the way to town because all the signage points to a "water taxi" (I don't blame anyone for taking it). Finding the actual walking path meant following other people (who likely had visited before). The stretch of road between the port shopping village and town is a small sidewalk along a busy road. I was very unimpressed.

The day in town was pleasant (even if it rained on and off). Although I had been to St Martin before (on a cruise with Brian), we had gone directly to the famous "airport beach" and then Orient Beach rather than explore town. I was happy to get the chance to see Phillipsburg. It was definitely the most developed city of the trip (outside of the US).

The walk back to the ship was easier (since I knew the way).

I ate a late lunch and had a few drinks at the shockingly empty bar (first time on the cruise). Afterward I relaxed in the room for a short time (I had walked for several hours) and later returned to the top deck for the entertainment of watching the ship next to us depart (Queen Elizabeth) as well as chuckling at the latecomers rushing onto ours. The cloudy sunset was one of the most beautiful of the trip because it occurred in a mixture of sun and rain.

I showed a photo to some of the Indonesian crew of an old Dutch hotel in town with an Indonesian name. For how many times they had visited the island on shore leave, none of them had seen it. They were actually shocked that it was just one street back from the beach.

The sail away was to the music of the ship's rock band until it started to rain and they were scuttled.

I returned to the room. I don't think I felt so tired on any other cruise. I walked a lot at almost every stop.

The next day would be St Thomas - the last port. I was excited to revisit after so many years.

Day 7 (St Thomas)

The arrival to St Thomas was at dawn and those of us on deck were treated to a lovely sunrise over St John as we pulled into the harbor. I was happy to be on deck for it.

St John with a bit of Tortola visible behind.

I had breakfast and returned to the room to check mails before heading out for the day. I also did some last-minute map refreshing so I could reference a mental image of the place (very helpful when the phone map locator stops working - which it frequently does).

The first big disappointment, similar to St Martin, was that the "new" cruise port is far out of downtown. Once again, all this talk of "passengers can easily just walk off the ship" was not really true. Remembering my drinks and buffet eating, I could not complain about serious exercise. I only wished more of my energy could have been focused on exploring, not just getting there.

Pulling into port

I was the only person walking into town. I got nervous that I had either made a wrong turn or missed some message that passengers were not to go on foot! It felt very strange.

I enjoyed a great, nostalgic stroll around Charlotte Amalie. So much had changed, although some things I still recognized. Most notably, the old buildings still front directly onto that blue water harbor, but these days the harbor road is far busier - almost like a highway. That detracts from visiting the waterfront area. On my visit years ago, it was just a normal road.

The day was sunny and I tried to stay in the shade, but parts of the walk were in full sun. I started to feel "sun drain". After walking up and down the hills a couple of times and exploring the old city center, I was ready to return. The walk back was filled with fellow cruisers traveling in both directions. I wondered why I was so alone in the morning - I hadn't even left "early".

Back on board I took my final lunch and dinner meals. I had to admit the ship did a good job with food and variety. I wished there had been an official seafood night, but they did have suckling pig one evening - that was a first.

I sat at the bar and greeted Bayu from Bali and Jester from Philippines, the two very nice young bartenders whom I spoke with the most. Both were friendly and welcoming. They were busy as usual, so I briefly thanked them for providing such good service. Then it was time to watch the ship get "unfettered" from the pier (there were no late arrivals). We slowly pulled out and did a pirouette in the limited space of the harbor. I have great respect for those that navigate behemoth ships in small spaces. We came very close to the Enchanted Princess (and shouted and waved at passengers). The exit was into an overcast setting sun with great views back over St Thomas.

I had to get back to the room and repack. I wondered why when I didn't buy anything I seemed to have a fuller suitcase at the end of the trip than at the beginning?

I watched the news (all bad - the US and Israel bombed Iran) and started to think about my transfer to the hotel in Old San Juan. I still had at least 10 days of travel ahead of me - I dislike travel during turbulent times. Not to mention TSA employees were not getting paid, so airport security might create problems.

Then I slept - the next morning (as usual) would be a very early start.

Disembarkation - San Juan

We arrived in San Juan before dawn. It was the earliest arrival of any cruise I took thus far. Since I had mostly prepared my bag the night before, I didn't have much to get ready. I went up to breakfast just before 6:00am and was surprised how empty it was. Normally on disembarkation day, people are up early.

I walked on the outside deck and had a look at San Juan still asleep around the ship. The sky was completely dark.

After checking mails and doing some writing, I got off the boat and joined a large crowd waiting at the elevator. Not only were the elevators moving very slowly, but each one arrived absolutely full. After the fourth such case, I grabbed my bag and walked down the stairs from deck 12 to deck 4. I felt happy to have traveled light enough to carry my bags "easily", but my arms still ached by the 4th floor.

As with the last couple of cruises, there was absolutely no queueing at immigration. One facial recognition shot and I was through the door.

I found a taxi quickly outside (actually a van that was dropping multiple people). I thought the fare was extortionate for such a short ride, but there was no alternative. The stories of taking ubers from the cruise port were negative, too. Transportation in Puerto Rico is expensive - that must be accepted.

I dropped my bags at the Armas Hotel in old San Juan and proceeded to walk around the old city nearly all day until the room was ready. No problem - the weather was beautiful (and I love Old San Juan). The Armas was much better than the first hotel (mainly because it's in Old San Juan), but the price still did not match the quality of the room and the services.

My fifth cruise in six months was over - it was time to make my way back to the Northeast (which I hoped would had put the worst of winter behind it). I felt "done" with cruising for a while.

Summary:

The ship:

Having just come off a cruise to Hawaii that was mostly sea days to board one that stopped in a different port every day, I found the experiences could not have been more different. On a port-intensive cruise, I never felt "bored". I also didn't attend a single activity onboard because I was out and about exploring during the day (or resting in the room after so much walking). I only walked on the promenade deck two times the whole cruise! There didn't seem to be a need - I was doing mega walks as I explored the ports.

The ship was not very over-the-top on the inside - no grand spaces, no lobbies, no piazzas. As I was busy in each port, it never bothered me, but I think for a long cruise the Norwegian Epic would prove very dull if passengers sought any kind of inside refuge. What would everyone do when the weather outside turned cool or rainy?

For a ship that is so exterior-focused (pools, waterslides, rock climbing, tennis, basketball - and more) only two outdoor bars were available and they were nearly always packed. I chose one because of the bartenders (who were very kind), but there was not much time to talk any passengers (nor crew). I mostly met shipmates on excursions rather than on the boat.

The ports:

Although I enjoyed every port (some more than others), I think having a port-heavy cruise itinerary feels as exhausting as a sea-day-heavy cruise feels drawn out. A happy medium is having several ports, but retaining one or two days at sea to fully relax and process what was seen. The cruise felt like I was taking one of those bus tours of Europe where each day is a different city. After a time, the ports became a blur and, based on comments I overheard at the bar and in elevators, I was not the only one who felt that way.

I loved the time spent in San Juan and St Thomas. If anything, both places had gotten better since the visits of my youth. After visiting Mexico and other Caribbean islands recently, I believe that the people of the US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico live significantly better than many others in the region.

Road Town, Tortola is nothing more than a jumping off point. I would never recommend anyone walk around there, but the views of the island and bay from the ship were stunning on my visit. If I returned it would only be in transit to go elsewhere.

Antigua is lovely with green hills and blue water, but the poverty is crushing. Hosting English Harbor as a premier, international yachting destination truly was mind-bending for me. What a contrast. English Harbor was one of the highlights of the cruise, but Antigua itself was not - very strange.

Barbados, Little England in the Caribbean, came with high expectations from me. I heard Bridgetown was nice (historic with a beach), so an excursion wasn't necessary. In fact Barbados is only slightly more hilly than Aruba - mostly a dry, scrubby island. I prefer green hills behind beaches. Yes, the beaches are still fabulous and Pebble Beach in Bridgetown looks beautiful, but the historical sites are only a handful (they are well-maintained). Barbados is only slightly more developed than Antigua. In the final analysis, Barbados is a poor version of Aruba. That being the case, I would choose Aruba (and I don't like Aruba much anyway).

St Lucia is quite poor, but its dramatic scenery made me forget all of that. For some reason St Lucia felt like Southeast Asia more than the Caribbean. If anyone were to ask me, Hawaii or St Lucia, I would recommend St Lucia. Of all the places visited, it is the only destination I would want to return. There is something special about that island. Many fellow cruisers said it was their favorite port, too.

St Martin was a second visit for me, but visiting Phillipsburg was a first. I have to admit to being pleasantly surprised. I am not sure I have a strong desire to return, but if I found a cheap airfare and hotel, I would certainly consider it. I liked that a clean, safe tourist town coincides with a good beach. Of course, the island has even better beaches, but they are isolated (which is what makes them nice). Phillipsburg is like a small Miami Beach minus all the modern buildings.

Finally, I completely enjoyed the "sail-bys". I got to see Montserrat (and its famous volcano). We sailed near Martinique just as the sun set. Saba, St Eustatius, St Kitts, and St Barts were all new islands for me. I was especially impressed with St Kitts and Saba (from afar) as both have large volcanoes. Also, sailing through or by the Virgin Islands is amazing because they contain so many islands. Such the shame they are divided between two countries - they would make the best destination in the whole Caribbean if reunited. I would make the case that the British Virgin Islands are more strategically important to America than Greenland, ha!

Another big check for me - Eastern Caribbean islands. Even if all things were not as expected, it was an excellent adventure.