My Impressions of the Epic - 11 Feb Eastern Sailing

Feel free to ask questions if I didn't touch on something that interests you. Background:

-this was my fourth cruise and first on Norwegian. Previously I'd only sailed on Celebrity

-I'm 46 and sailed with my sister (43), cousin (also 46), and her daughters (26 and 9)

Embarkation

-we arrived around 2:15pm and still had a decent wait outside to have our passport checked, as only one person was doing the checks

-super short wait inside

Elevators

-we did not experience long waits at all

Movement

-definitely felt it; not sure why - we've been on deck 6 midship or aft on Celebrity and this time were were on 13 aft, so that could've been it; also could be the difference in the size of the ship, and the sea conditions could've been different too

-no one got sick, and no one was being thrown around, but we distinctly felt the motion

Cabin

-13261 (b3 - bed by balcony) and 13265 (b2 - bed by door)

-room steward opened the balcony divider for us and that was so helpful

-in 13265 they preferred the sofa for the third person; they had the bed pulled down one night and didn't like that it made access to the balcony challenging

-our feet did fall off the bed; we adjusted by scooting closer to the headboard

-the bathroom set up didn't bother us

Dining

-we don't do specialty dining

-Shanghai's was good

-we're sorry that we waited til the last night to try the Manhattan Room - it's much airier and brighter than Taste

-O'Sheehan's - good burgers and good bartenders

-Buffet - really good breakfast! Lunch was good. We only ate dinner there the first night, because we preferred to try the other restaurants. Each night had a theme

-Great Outdoors - loved it; plenty of seats; loved the late night (til 11:30pm) snacks; great burgers at lunch time

Entertainment

-Priscilla - if you're not open-minded then don't go; otherwise, GO. Best show at sea.

-Burn the Floor - we got in standby - very good

-Bands - loved Mac N Cheese and the Manhattan Band, plus all the bands that played around the pool

-Theme night parties - we only went to one - the 80s - and didn't stay too long. We were clearly more stressed out and in need of a rest than we thought, because we were ready for bed by 11pm each night.

Pools/Sun Decks

-Main pool area is so much fun. Great music and great atmosphere. Fun-to-watch activities in the afternoon. No problem getting sun beds. We stuck with the beds on 16.

-Think maybe it was just our sailing, but Spice H2O area smelled like musty sewage. We didn't spend any time there during the day and on the one occasion that we went at night, it still had that smell.

-Secret forward sun deck - OMG it looked awesome. Totally quiet; couldn't hear the music up there. Didn't spend time there though, as group wanted to be right near the pool.

-I needed a day in the shade after getting a burn and found great space on 15 near the games area (flip side of the aft elevators on both sides). On the port side there were a few wicker sofas with cushions.

Disembarking

-Different than what I was used to with Celebrity in that the information on disembarking didn't show up in the daily until the last night of the cruise. Basically if you want your bags taken off, go to guest services on Deck 5 starting on Thursday afternoon and get a colored tag that corresponds to the time you want to leave.

-We did easy walk off. I despise waiting for bags. We each had one medium to large suitcase and either a shoulder bag or backpack. We left our bags in our room and went to breakfast at 7:45am. We were back at our rooms by 8:25am to collect our bags (must be out of room by 8:30am). Elevator door opened within 2 minutes and no one else was there. Yay! Through customs and outside the building by 9:10am.

Summary

-We will sail Norwegian again. We would sail the Epic again if the price and date works for us. It's VERY different from Celebrity. Not different good or different bad - just different. Much younger average age, much more to offer in terms of entertainment; food not as good, but still more than ok. Loved the "eat when you want" concept. We currently have a Celebrity booking for Jan 2018 and will be canceling to book Norwegian for Feb 2018 (cruising with same family members again - more likely to go back to Celebrity if it was just us and no kids).

We were told by. Norwegian rep that they would not open balcony connecting dividers due to fire hazard ? We did not book connecting rooms after being told this to Keep

Our preferred

Location on

Deck 14?

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Glad you enjoyed your cruise. Thanks for sharing your experience.

We were told by. Norwegian rep that they would not open balcony connecting dividers due to fire hazard ? We did not book connecting rooms after being told this to Keep

Our preferred

Location on

Deck 14?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We haven't done this personally, but many, many posters have said that room stewards will do this for them -- I've heard the one restriction is that the dividers have to be put back up when in port. Others may be able to give more insight.

To OP, thanks for your great review! It's fantastic to see someone's perspective that hasn't sailed NCL before.

Thanks for taking the time!

Thanks for the detailed report.

Thanks for the review, I'm 45 and going on the epic in May for the first time... I've tried the escape before and enjoyed it, but other then that I've always cruised with celebrity (x10), looking forward to seeing how the epic compares and trying NCL again [emoji106]

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Thanks for the review! Nice to see others who like the Epic. I really don't understand all of the negativity! Sailed on her last month in a studio and had the best time. Agree with all of your observations, and am happy you enjoyed your cruise!

We were told by. Norwegian rep that they would not open balcony connecting dividers due to fire hazard ? We did not book connecting rooms after being told this to Keep

Our preferred

Location on

Deck 14?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We asked the steward if he could open the balcony divider and the door that connected the rooms. He replied that he could open one of them, but not both. We said no problem. He got on the phone to his supervisor and had it opened. We could see down to the balconies on maybe deck 8 or 9 and there were 5 in a row that were open directly below us.

Thanks for the review, I'm 45 and going on the epic in May for the first time... I've tried the escape before and enjoyed it, but other then that I've always cruised with celebrity (x10), looking forward to seeing how the epic compares and trying NCL again [emoji106]

 

 

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It's interesting, we LIKE Celebrity. Now we like Norwegian too, albeit for totally different reasons. We had a child with us on this cruise and couldn't imagine taking her on Celebrity. I had friends who'd done Norwegian and sold me on it as a good line for the kiddos. I made all the arrangements, which made me a bit nervous. My cousins came over from the UK to join us and this was their first cruise. They loved it! If you think of it, please come back after your cruise and give a comparison of Escape vs Epic. We're sailing with them again next year and have three options around the school holidays (Epic, Escape, and Getaway).

Interesting information. We have cruised Princess and Carnival. Feb 2018 will be our first trip on Norwegian and we're on the EPIC. Sounds like lots of differences. Excited to experience this ship

It's interesting, we LIKE Celebrity. Now we like Norwegian too, albeit for totally different reasons. We had a child with us on this cruise and couldn't imagine taking her on Celebrity. I had friends who'd done Norwegian and sold me on it as a good line for the kiddos. I made all the arrangements, which made me a bit nervous. My cousins came over from the UK to join us and this was their first cruise. They loved it! If you think of it, please come back after your cruise and give a comparison of Escape vs Epic. We're sailing with them again next year and have three options around the school holidays (Epic, Escape, and Getaway).

Will do [emoji106]🏻

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