First time cruising with NCL/EPIC, worried.

Hubby and I decided to book the NCL Epic Western Mediterranean on AUG 4th, 2019 out out Barcelona, we will be traveling with our three kiddos ages12,10,and 9. We were able to book the Haven two bedroom suit, and plan on getting off every port to explore with our kiddos. First time not cruising with DCL, sadly due to sport/school we can can only travel during spring break or August. I am now researching and reading all the reviews, and I'm a little sacred, the reviews for the Epic are not that great, I'm really worried. Please tell me it will be ok.

Thank you !

Most of the complaints have to do with the bathrooms in the regular cabins (does not pertain to you) and the fact that you can't see water from a lot of the ship.

The Epic's Haven is my favorite. I'm hoping to be on the ship again in two years when it sails out of Puerto Rico.

Relax and plan your vacation. You should be fine.

Nothing to worry about. The Epic is, well its Epic. Our go to ship (due to it being in the Med). It's fab. Kids will love it. We were in Haven on The Epic out of Barca in October, same type of suite as you, it's amazing.

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I will confidently say that it will be OK:)

I have cruised the Epic 2x and although there were some issues, they were minor. Epic has my favorite Haven area; lots of room to eat, roam, drink (huge lounge) and play. My advice is to use your butler and don't be shy about asking for things.

Hubby and I decided to book the NCL Epic Western Mediterranean on AUG 4th, 2019 out out Barcelona, we will be traveling with our three kiddos ages12,10,and 9. We were able to book the Haven two bedroom suit, and plan on getting off every port to explore with our kiddos. First time not cruising with DCL, sadly due to sport/school we can can only travel during spring break or August. I am now researching and reading all the review, and I'm a little sacred, the reviews for the Epic are not that great,im really worried. Please tell me it will be ok.

 

Thank you !

Hubby and I decided to book the NCL Epic Western Mediterranean on AUG 4th, 2019 out out Barcelona, we will be traveling with our three kiddos ages12,10,and 9. We were able to book the Haven two bedroom suit, and plan on getting off every port to explore with our kiddos. First time not cruising with DCL, sadly due to sport/school we can can only travel during spring break or August. I am now researching and reading all the reviews, and I'm a little sacred, the reviews for the Epic are not that great, I'm really worried. Please tell me it will be ok.

 

Thank you !

The Epic is a wonderful ship. We have sailed on her 7 times and once in a 2 BR. The Epic has the best Haven in the fleet. We have done the western med on the Epic twice and it is a great itinerary. No Mickey, but lots of fun.

We did a quickie review of the ship and a few photos of our 2 BR. https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=528583

While we have never cruised in the Haven area, we have been on the Epic 2x. We did the Med. cruise from Barcelona last August, and had a fantastic time! Expect to be exhausted by the end of the cruise! Since you are in the Haven, and have a dedicated pool area, dining area, concierge, butler, etc., I don't think you will have any problems. We were in 2 balcony cabins, and had no problems whatsoever on our cruise.

Relax! The Epic Haven is great. Those reviews are not about what you will experience. I was in the Haven on the Epic last year. Loved it. Have a great cruise.

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In October, we were on a Mediterranean cruise in the Epic Haven and it was truly the trip of a lifetime.

Thank you everyone!! I feel so much better! We can't wait!

I haven't cruised aboard the Epic in many years but we absolutely loved the ship. Yeah, the bathroom situation in our balcony cabin was a little wonky but you won't be faced with that at all in your Haven suite.

Our experience was nothing but awesome. Great food, wonderful kids program that our daughters loved and fantastic entertainment. Between that and our cruise aboard the Escape in 2016 NCL has become our kids' favourite line and one of our preferred lines to boot.

Go and enjoy!

I haven't cruised aboard the Epic in many years but we absolutely loved the ship. Yeah, the bathroom situation in our balcony cabin was a little wonky but you won't be faced with that at all in your Haven suite.

 

Our experience was nothing but awesome. Great food, wonderful kids program that our daughters loved and fantastic entertainment. Between that and our cruise aboard the Escape in 2016 NCL has become our kids' favourite line and one of our preferred lines to boot.

 

Go and enjoy!

I am so happy to hear that the kids loves it, that's so important to us, our three have only been on DCL, they are no longer into all the characters and no desire to stand in line pictures or autographs with them, so this will be perfect for them, they are super excited! Thank you again!

We did that cruise in the 2-bedroom two summers ago. Fantastic time! We shared tours with a family in balcony cabins. It was their first time on NCL after only doing Disney. Even in regular balconies, they loved the cruise.

I really recommend finding people on your roll call to share private tours. Tour Italy or Italy Tour (?) was our best experience.

ETA: Our son has always preferred NCL kids' club to Disney.

We did that cruise in the 2-bedroom two summers ago. Fantastic time! We shared tours with a family in balcony cabins. It was their first time on NCL after only doing Disney. Even in regular balconies, they loved the cruise.

 

I really recommend finding people on your roll call to share private tours. Tour Italy or Italy Tour (?) was our best experience.

 

ETA: Our son has always preferred NCL kids' club to Disney.

Such a great Idea, thank you!

We cruised Med on Epic in 2 bedroom garden villa and thought it was great. My suggestion to you is to take advantage of room service for breakfast as those morning departures from the ship do get hectic. What a great experience for your children.

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Wishing you a great cruise. Don't worry.

Keith

Every week there are thousands of people on the Epic, most of whom don’t bother to leave reviews. I know many people who have taken multiple cruises on the Epic (as we have ourselves). You don’t do that if you don’t like it.

There are some issues particular to the Epic. The bathroom setup (which won’t apply to you as you are in a suite) and the lack of promenade deck/sea views are two common ones. Whether that is a problem to you is an individual thing, and one that you will be far better placed to judge than a random stranger on the internet.

Be particularly cautious about very recent reviews of the Epic. There has been a lot of noise about it on this forum over the past couple of weeks, and most of those reviews (of 3 or 4 day spring break cruises) are pretty well totally irrelevant to what you will experience. I would ignore those ones.

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Hubby and I decided to book the NCL Epic Western Mediterranean on AUG 4th, 2019 out out Barcelona, we will be traveling with our three kiddos ages12,10,and 9. We were able to book the Haven two bedroom suit, and plan on getting off every port to explore with our kiddos. First time not cruising with DCL, sadly due to sport/school we can can only travel during spring break or August. I am now researching and reading all the reviews, and I'm a little sacred, the reviews for the Epic are not that great, I'm really worried. Please tell me it will be ok.

 

Thank you !

are you really worried or a little worried. There are lots of positives about the ship but no, it is not Disney and you are not paying Disney prices. I don't know about the haven, but the biggest problem with the Epic is the shower set up. If you can work with that you will be fine. the other negative is not enough elevators for the size of the ship, but all that says is you may have to wait awhile during really busy times.

The ship is interesting, in good condition with lots of dining choices and lots of activities for the kids and the adults.

A cruise or any other vacation is what you make it. There are people here on CC that have cruised the Epic several times.Don't spend the next 17 months worrying about whether you made a mistake or not.

We finally tried the Epic for our Thanksgiving cruise. We'd heard so many comments about the ship - people seem to love it or hate it - curiosity kicked in and I finally booked it. Really liked the ship and would definitely sail on her again. Everything was great - entertainment, crew, service. The only downside was the staterooms are a bit odd which won't be an issue for you in the haven. And ...the Epic has an escalator.

Don't be worried The Med cruise on the Epic was a trip of a lifetime for us-We sailed last October and I was apprehensive too-No worries! We were so busy everyday touring amazing sites that we were hardly even on the ship-We always get a balcony when we sail but honestly we could have been in an inside-We were exhausted when we got back to the ship! The crew were all wonderful-Food was delish! Book Cagneys embarkation day leaving Barcelona-We had a window view and it was awesome! Bon Voyage!

I should have added that DH and I have done 38 cruises on DCL. It's not that one is better than the other just different. We like both and bounce back and forth between NCL and DCL. If fact we did our T-day cruise on the Epic, walked off the ship and boarded the DCL Fantasy for the Mickey's Merry Christmas Cruise. I think the only difference that will affect you is DCL's shows are 'family friendly' and some on NCL are not so much.

Relax, the Epic is my fav ship and I've been on a few NCL ships. Is it perfect? Of course not (no ship is), it has its flaws. But the ship design is beautiful, there's lots of things to do and the entertainment options are wonderful. Don't be one of those bad review people thinking they are the pope, to be surprised that there are also other guests who have request or need to be serviced.

You'll be fine.

Why worry what the minority think there are about 400,000 or so people travel on epic every year and majority love it, don't let 20/30 people put you off you'll have a great time

We sailed on Epic during it's first year. We didn't care for the bathroom setup in the balcony rooms and we didn't like the idea that there are very few places to see out to the water, other than our balcony. Other than that, no worries. If you believe everything you read on Cruise Critic, you'd never go anywhere. It seems to just be a forum for people to grumble.

Where is the escalator located?

No one ever mentions the escalator but I was intrigued. First time I ever saw one on a ship. Its a short one. I can't quite tell you where it was but I used it to go up a deck to the Cavern Club if that helps you.

Loved where La Cucina was too.