carollois

We are on the Jewel in 19 days, so I am loving this review. Keep it coming!

I did a search and came up with this...

 

Originally Posted by DAllenTCY View Post

When I spoke with Kevin Sheehan a few weeks ago, he indicated that the Bliss would likely homeport in San Francisco.

 

I'm still thinking it's coming west...Just a thought.:D:p

 

That would be amazing! I would love to have such a short flight and no time difference to mess up my internal clock. I was just thinking that a cruise from California down the coast and to Mexico and Central America would be great, so I hope it happens!

My husband had several of the sugar free desserts, including chocolate ones, on our Epic cruise in January and he said they were very good. I tasted a couple of them and was surprised that they were sugar free, so you should be pleased. Have a great cruise!

Thank you once again to everybody....I am gaining such valuable info from you !

 

Carollois, could you please name the airline for a direct flight from Seattle to Miami, as I can only find flights with stopovers in Houston. Your help is greatly appreciated...

 

If I have to choose between spending the 2 days in Vancouver or Seattle, which would it be...? or will one day in each city make any sense ?

 

Sorry... SO MANY QUESTIONS !!

 

Sincerely.

 

Jasjas.

We were on American Airlines. The flight from Seattle to Miami was a red-eye and left at about 10 or 10:30 at night. It was only a little over a month ago, so I hope they still have that option! Good luck and enjoy your trip!

I would also consider Seattle for a few days. You will probably find better flight options from there as well.

 

You will either have an all day flight, or an overnight.

 

Have you looked at cruises that go from Seattle down the coast, through the Panama Canal and end in Miami? They are awesome.

We live in the Vancouver area and recently flew to Miami non stop from Seattle for our cruise on the Epic. I would recommend it not just because it is non-stop, but it cost about half of what a flight from Vancouver would have.

So I have started Weight Watchers. Bummer that I did this right before my Getaway cruise, but the doctor wants me to lose 20 pounds before I have surgery in June or July. So my strategy is to wait and save dessert for the last two days of cruise. (If I start at the beginning of the cruise, my willpower will be shot) We will be eating in the Specialty restaurants with the UDP. If you could only eat two desserts on cruise, which would they be? I want to use my sugar expenditure wisely!!!! Share your favorite desserts.

We only ate in the buffet this last cruise, as we had our kids with us, so my favourite was found there. It was the coconut cream pie. It was so good, I had seconds and would have happily eaten it every day if I could have.

My husband and son are both big cheesecake lovers and were thrilled with the New York style cheesecake and the coconut cheesecake, both of which went fast, so if you like them, don't think about it too long!

By the way, I am doing Weight Watchers too, and I actually lost weight on this cruise and I was not counting points. I ate a lot of fruit, tried to stay away from breads and pastas, but ate what desserts I liked. I also indulged in cocktails without thinking about the calories, but we walked A LOT and took the stairs most of the time. Good luck!

Anyone go on this excursion? Opinions either way are appreciated : )

 

We are a family of 5 and the kids ages are 4,5 and 9.

 

It looks fun but wondering if the kids will think it is ?

 

Thanks in advance!

We just did it last week and we all loved it. It gave us one more thing to look forward to before our flight home. I would recommend it highly. Have fun!

What Carol said:D:D:D It was so great to meet you and the family!

 

Has everyone recovered from your long flight?

Yes, finally. We had a good time on our Everglades excursion and our flight home was on time departing and early arriving, so that made me happy. We were tucked into our own beds by midnight and slept like the dead until morning, except for when I woke up and couldn't figure out where on earth I was! I was sure I was still on the ship and man, was I disappointed when I realized I wasn't. ;)

I hope that your trip home was uneventful? How was the first week back in real life?

I hear this story at the meet and greet, so I knew there was a happy ending, but I was still on the edge of my seat reading it! I am loving your review so far, it is bringing back wonderful memories. Was it only two weeks ago?? It seems much longer. It was lovely to meet you both and I hope we cruise together again one day. :)

Don, it was definitely a side to side roll. It would roll to one side and then hang there for a few seconds until it rolled to the other side. I slept on the couch one night (so my head and feet were going in the same direction of the rolls). I had to get up and take a pill:eek::eek: And it was far from the first pill that I had to take too - yikes! I'm usually fine 24 hours in but not this time. I spent a lot of time outdoors:o

 

Enjoy your cruise on my favourite ship. I hope that you get to experience the same crew too. They exceeded my expectations!!

I didn't notice it there being more movement than the last time we sailed (in 2012), but then I don't get seasick, so maybe that is why. I can still feel the slight rolling of the ship four days after disembarking, but I felt it for more than a week last time, so that is normal for me. It was so good to meet you, kerrytens, I wish we were joining you on the TA. Maybe another time!

Dude, you scared me!!! I think that you are right though - there must be an Epic evil twin out there because my cruise was just as thoroughly enjoyable as yours was.

 

It was great meeting you too!!

LOL, I fell for it too and was ready to jump in and call the OP out as a liar because we had an awesome cruise. I commented a few times about how all of the recent complainers were obviously just whiners because the staff and crew were friendly and helpful, the food was good, the elevators were only crowded when passengers were coming back onboard after a day onshore, and the drinks were strong and often cheaper than in the bars here at home. Plus, the CC people I met were fantastic! 😉 I don't know about the rest of you, but I am ready to go back!

Well' date=' I just got home from work. It is a chilly 28 degrees and windy here in Texas......BRRRRRRRRRR. Missing me some warm beaches!

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Looking forward to more warm beaches and meeting you on the Epic in just a little over two weeks! Until then, this review will have to keep me warm...☺️

I, too, sit anticipating the 2015 schedule. That is our 50th anniversary year and we are looking for a TA with a connection to Copenhagen and the Baltic.

 

Lynda

That summer is our 20th anniversary! We live in Vancouver, so we were thinking that an Alaskan cruise would be perfect - no flying, just drive to the terminal. :) Count me among the "post 'em, post 'em" people. 😉

I grew up on the beaches of So. Cal. in the '50s. Speedos for guys were a definite no, no then. I retain that thought to this day. They were known as "tourist tights" back then. I don't' really know how I drifted into that . Did Jungle Jim wear Speedos???? I don't remember.

I grew up in Canada in the 80's and most boys wore Speedos. That seemed normal to me then, but they are rarely seen now in North America (at least in my part of North America). Of course, there are other parts of the world where they are still the norm, as are bikinis on women of all ages. I don't wear one, but they don't offend me on others. I actually feel a bit envious of women and men who feel so comfortable in their own skin that they can wear skimpy bathing suits whatever their age. Good for them!

Yes it was meant as joke that actually happened. But no need to direct your rant only at me.

I wasn't, which is why I said that I wasn't. I was merely quoting you as an example of the many other times I have seen it. I am sorry if you felt ranted at, I really wasn't aiming it at you. TBS, I stand by my dismay at the many times I have read about how people are judging others' bodies around the pool. I doubt that any of us here could stand up to that kind of scrutiny. 😏

Yes.

I hope that you are being facetious. Last time I was on a cruise, or at a beach or pool I didn't see anyone who looked like a bikini model. For which I am thankful! 😉

Saw that once and the man had to be 80+ not a pretty sight:eek:

I know that this is meant as a joke, so I am not slamming you, but I see this kind of thing a lot on the boards and it upsets me. Are only gorgeous 20 year old bikini models allowed to wear bathing suits around the pool or at the beach? Must I wear a 19th century bathing suit that covers my entire body once I pass a certain age or if I don't have rock hard abs? I don't mind seeing 80 year old men in speedos, or 80 year old women in bikinis. Their body is not on this earth for my entertainment and mine is not here for anyone else to judge. This world is not just for the beautiful people. There, rant over. 😘

1.

4. Well, if I'm being honest, anyone who would do #3 would likely not be someone I would want to know. Not saying that you aren't entitled to your thought processes, but if you look at someone and write them off as "trailer trash" because they aren't wearing nice clothes at 7 AM, well, that's just not me.

 

Now, all this being said... I would never go to a dining room (or even the buffet) in my pajamas. I would, however, run up the hallway to grab a drink from the vending machine in my pajamas. Judge me all you want, but I see nothing wrong with that.

 

My cabin in January is going to be about three doors down from the studio lounge... so who knows, I might run to the lounge in my pajamas to grab a box of cereal one morning before getting ready for the day. I see nothing wrong with that either. lol

 

I am on the younger side of cruise critic, though... so maybe that makes a difference, who knows?

Now I am even more glad that you are on the same cruise as me this January! I agree with all of this. I wouldn't go to the buffet in my pjs, but I wouldn't freak out about others doing it. I am way too busy having a good time to worry about that. 😊

Great review with great pics! You are making me even more anxious for our January cruise on the Epic. Looking forward to the rest of the review. Do you have the kids club dailies by any chance? Our dd is 10, so will be in the same age group as your ds. Thanks! 😊

Wow, that is such good news! I have been following your saga since your first post and have been sending good thoughts your way. I am so glad to hear that it has been resolved so now you can just get excited about your trip without the added worry. Have an amazing trip, I look forward to hearing all about it when you get back!

I like a really soft bed, so I just automatically (on the advice of a fellow Ccer) asked for the foam topper and I was very very comfortable. I plan to ask for it again right away on our next cruise so I don't have to disturb our steward later in the evening if I discover that I am uncomfortable. Better safe than sorry!;)

We will be on 1/4/14. I would love to go on yours because you are going to St. Kitts! But our oldest will be in college and will have to be back by then.

Too bad that you can't be on ours, adding St. Kitts was the deciding factor for us. We have one more year before our oldest is in university, so that's why we decided on this trip. Kids sure grow up quickly, don't they? :o

Carol

Final thoughts. As I stated at the beginning, this was the best cruise ever. Not sure if it was solely because of NCL and the Epic, but I really think so. Having been on Carnival and RCCL, we all agreed that NCL was way better than both. It really isn't even close. Food on NCL was significantly better, the entertainment was far superior and there was so much more offered. When we go back in January, we will be able to enjoy the stuff we missed. Hopefully. The service was exceptional. I was concerned about the freestyle dining because I figured the service would be worse since you don't develop a relationship with a set server. Wrong. In fact, I gave more extra tips on this cruise than ever before because I thought our servers really deserved it.

 

I will scan and post the Dailies soon.

 

Thanks for all the comments.

 

Can't wait until our next cruise.

Thanks for the great review! I have been sharing this with my teen boys to get them pumped up even more for their first cruise. Which January 2014 cruise are you on? Not the same as us, is it? :)

Carol

On my 2/23 Epic sailing you could get any type of drink at the two for one. At least I saw many mixed drinks, wine and beer.

Awesome, thanks! I know where I will be from 4-6 every day! ;)

Carol

On the Epic two weeks ago, they had 2-1 any type drinks from 4-6 almost every day in Maltings. Plus entertainment.

I have wondered about Maltings, as we didn't go there on our last cruise aboard the Epic. Does it only serve whiskey or does is also serve cocktails made with whiskey (like a Manhattan) or does it serve all types of drinks? When they have the 2 for 1 happy hour there, can I get a cocktail or martini? I ask because I am not a straight up scotch kinda gal. ;)

Carol