EPIC REVIEW - Oct 2,1010(Western) Group Cruise ages 3-70 Extreme review with photos!

Acronyms for my review: DAD-definitely a dealbreaker MAD-maybe a dealbreaker NAD-not a dealbreaker

Before anyone corrects my spelling – I am fully aware that dealbreaker is two words, but somehow that complicated my acronyms. Thus, my review – my acronyms. Even though I do not state it-please imagine the phrase-“In my humble opinion” after EVERY sentence. Warning: this review is not for those who read cliff notes instead of the original novel.

While onboard, I met with a member of upper management “UM”. I will insert some of his comments from our discussion into my review.

Cruisers: My DH and myself 40’s, DD 21, and DD 6 along with a group of 24, ranging from age 3 to 70. First-time cruisers to 25+ cruises (25+ cruises-my immediate family)

Embarkation: I will say this was the quickest, easiest embarkation ever. I thought with the number of people on this ship, we would surely have a delay here. We arrived at the pier at 11:20, waited in the check-in line only 5 minutes, had photos taken, ship cards issued, then proceeded to “holding area”. We sat down for about 10 minutes and were shuffled to the photo area – had a quick picture taken and were on board in minutes. Very impressive NCL!

Ship: Although we were not greeted with champagne or an individual welcome-NAD, we were overjoyed to be onboard. I’m not sure why people think this ship is ugly. We liked the interior décor as well as the exterior-NAD. The lack of midship elevators was annoying at times(NAD), but I put a positive spin on it, viewing it as exercise. Walking these extra steps and climbing the steps to the waterslides was my “exercise”. Although, I did go in the gym and take 3 photos. There is so much to see, I decided to save my solo ship tour for the next day. More on the ship to come.

Waterslides: We ate lunch and headed for the waterslides. I asked several staff about age/height requirements to get a definitive ruling. Their policy is – as quoted from Tuyidon, from the Philippines –“if you want to do it, you can do it”. There were no restrictions whatsoever. My DD is 41” and 37 lbs. She rode them all for hours on end. While we all slipped off the tubes a few times and came down the chute backwards and headfirst-no injuries were reported and we proceeded to get back in the saddle, or tube in this case. Not sure what the big deal is about the bowl. At times, I hit the water just past the exit chute-just relax-the current will slowly push you around. For great photos of people in the bowl, venture up to the entrance to the green slide for a direct view. Lines were 10-15 minutes at most on each sea day. Important disclaimer-less than 500 kids on board this sailing vs. 1200+ in the summer/peak sailings. You may want to make a mental note of this(or write it down if you are like me) as this could affect your individual experiences. SUPER TIP: No lines whatsoever on embarkation day. I am 40ish and quite “fluffy”. Don’t let age or size deter you- If you skip the slides, you will miss a great feature of this ship. They were sooo fun. Although, as I ran out of gas, I will admit my 6 year old lapped me like a NASCAR driver with new tires.

Pools: H2O was always a great area-except when football was blaring-remember guys, JMHO. My husband and his posse just loved the “sit around and eat, cool off in the pool and watch football day”. We never saw any children in this area unless they were passing thru to get to the sports deck.

The main pools were occupied, but never overly crowded(NAD). My little girl was disappointed to find no fish-only people’s bodies-but did get snorkeling practice for Cozumel.

We never had a problem finding chairs. This photo was taken after embarkation around 1:30pm. Where is everyone???

TIP: Spend this time at the pool and slides and check out the ship on the first sea day. Even at the most crowded time, there were 20+ chairs totally empty on each side of the ship just past the waterslides. I’m just not sure if people knew to walk to this area.

TIP: Convenient to the pool area, clean restrooms are also located just past the slides.

Now for the problem(MAD, for some)-the pool deck material. It is hot and it is extremely slippy. At least 6 in my group took a tumble. From UM-they have the material to texture the deck-the problem is scheduling, as it takes time to dry. My suggestion-one of the less-busy weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas, rope off half of the pool deck and repaint. Then the next week rope off the other half. Even though this may produce an unattractive “seam”, no sailing will go a day without a pool and the cruising public will not have to walk as if they are novice ice skaters. There are ”guys with squeegees”, but they can only do so much. My tip(learned the hard way): take off your shoes-no slipping on bare feet.

Kiddy splash area was really nice. The 3 yr. old in our group played here daily. Shallow water, cute sea creatures, and water sprays in the mostly shaded area make this a great toddler hangout. I didn’t see any signs prohibiting diapers.

(View from above)

Kids Club: The room is amazing and bright. Lots for little ones to do. Staff was great. They all seemed to enjoy their work. Wide open play spaces for the number of children on our sailing-remember the mental or written note from above. Some children in our group didn’t want to stay at first. The staff was really good at encouraging them to stay and “try it”. After a little fussing, all except one had a great time and went back for at least a while each day. The kids make “color-your-own” t-shirts on the last night at the pajama party. I always trace my DD’s hands on the back and write the date underneath. She has a cute collection from various cruises. It’s nice to offer the staff a gratuity if your child has a great time. Note: if you have sailed with NCL, your child may have participated in “around the ship” outings for kids crew meals and pirate parades, etc. My little one is faster than the speed of light and can disappear in a flash, so I’m glad to report they did not leave the recess area this sailing.

Dance floor-utilized by 2-11 year olds at various times.

2-5 and 6-9 play area

Movie area

Registration on embarkation day. Complete all information required. This will make check in the first night go much more quickly. You are allowed up to 4 people(must be over 21 years of age) to check your child in and out of the recess area. They are given a bracelet when they enter. It has this information on the back along with muster station. They take it off each time they leave the recess area. When you sign in you need to write on the chart the various places where you may be found while the child is in recess. Parents of 2-5 year olds are given a phone and are required to keep it with them at all times. This aids in notification for diaper changes, etc. The kids club does not close during the day. Some cruise lines/ships close over lunch and dinner, for example. It was nice not to have to work around specific hours during the day. The recess area is free up until 10:30pm, then a $5 per hour charge is applied to your account. No prior arrangements need to be made.

9-11 year old area

Food: I wish I had taken the advice of previous cruisers who had lunch at O’Sheehan’s or Taste – but, for some reason the buffet was calling me. I am an extremely patient person- the crowded buffet area was not an issue-but my six year old was “starving”(a word I’ve yet to convince her she will never mean). There was a great variety of food to choose from. All food was hot or cold as it was meant to be. The buffet was consistently wiped by staff. This was important-as food slopped around the containers just makes everything unappealing to me.

Don’t miss the grilled panini, made-to-order, at the sandwich station. My daughter just informed me “when daddy got me dinner at the buffet before kids club - he ate 3 dishes of shrimp every time”. Asked DH-he confirmed that delicious shrimp cocktail and a morsel of fresh-carved meet from the buffet could not be resisted. No wonder I seemed to be the big eater at dinner! The chilled soups are just amazing-my suggestion: try ½ bowl-enough to experience the deliciousness(maybe a word, maybe not?), but not too much to overindulge in a good thing. The pretzel balls are as reported – yummy! The hand-dipped ice cream(at least 8+ flavors per day) is delicious. Soft-serve ice cream also available. Make sure to check both sides of the buffet for different flavors. Toppings are offered-crumbled cookies, mini chocolate chips and nuts. Grab a soup bowl for supersized scoops. For the health conscious – a great variety of fresh fruit is offered at every meal.

I know I’m hopping around a little, but I’m trying to write in the order I took photos(600 – after editing out the unwanted and those that made me look a little too “fluffy” and aged.

Cabin: I purposefully booked and inside cabin for 4. I really didn’t want to be in a different room than my DH, my 6 yr old DD, or my 21 yr old DD(who graduated from college and moved 8 hours away). We knew we would be in the cabin very little, so we decided to give it a try. First, the storage was a slight issue(NAD). We had lots of folded clothes, and were a little short on storage for those. However, we had lots of extra hanging space. By the way, just ask your cabin steward if you need additional hangers. We were provided them – lickety split!

In addition to storage shown, there are 3 large drawers in the vanity. They are deep enough for shorts and folded t-shirts.

The medicine cabin was great – we each took a shelf. We could have used more hooks. When we had lots of wet things(especially after torrential rains in Roatan), we didn’t seem to have enough places to hang items to dry. After all the debate and worrying on my part – I have to say, the bathroom setup was ideal for us(NAD). My little one could be watching TV from her bed, while my DH was in the toilet area for 20 minutes(doing what???), while my DD-21 was showering for 20 minutes, while I did my makeup at the vanity area. We just had to announce movements – to avoid DH facing DD getting out of the shower, etc. Otherwise, I would say – if we ever ventured to book 4 in one cabin again-this setup suits us rather well.

The cabin felt quite warm to us the first few days. I mentioned it to UM and our cabin steward - welcome to Antarctica! The lighting in the cabin seemed quite dim. Don't miss the switches under the vanity. UM said the goal was purposefully non-brightly lit rooms to provide ambiance. Definately NAD, but I would have liked just a little more light. Also, I'd like to mention the faucet issue as little as possible. But, even my 6 year old could turn the faucet on gently and splashing was not an issue-NAD. UM said they are in the process of changing all faucets. The lower beds were very comfy with nice duvets. DD said upper was okay. Shower had nice pressure and removable showerhead - great for 6 yr old DD. Shampoo and body wash in refillable pump inside shower provided. Don't miss the little light bulb sign on the phone - this will darken it for the night. We also used bandaids to cover the little blue reading light switches. We like it very dark. Reading lights are a nice touch.

I should have taken a photo, but forgot. There is a drawer in the vanity area with a large basket and tiny metal box inside. We thought the large part was for garbage and the metal box was possibly for sanitary item disposal. WRONG - the large area is for beach towels, wet towels, etc. and the tiny metal box is the trash. Please - previous cruisers - tell me we are not the only ones who didn't figure this out without our cabin steward telling us. I guess college degrees don't necessary indicate common sense.

Loving your review so far. Keep it coming. Great pics too.

Excellent detail filled review and I love the pictures!

I can hardly wait for more.

Nickelodeon Breakfast: We had lots of fun – although we wished they would have it at 10am to allow a little more snoozing. The characters all come out and dance and sing(of course, Goofy Goober is in the lineup). Then, they each go to an area and the ship photographers take 1 photo and each parent is permitted to take 1 photo. All families just rotate around the room until they have all had a chance to interact and have a photo with each character. The breakfast was not great for my little one. She didn’t care for bananas in her pancakes and she just wasn’t sure about the green slime syrup. She still had fun and we are glad we went.

Fat Cats: We never had time to check this out. There were several things we wanted to do and just didn’t have time. We all said we needed about 4 more days – 1 to see all of the things we missed and didn’t get to do and 3 to just relax and enjoy the ship.

O’Sheehan’s: We ate and snacked here several times. It’s a great place to visit when you have 2 hours until dinner and you are just too hungry to wait. You won’t have enough time to sample everything – but you can try! Also, the walnut brownie a la mode is a great bedtime snack. Cardiologists and health enthusiasts - please refrain from judging. There was just one night when half the people on the ship seemed to be there-NAD. Service was a little slow. All other visits – great food in no time. I remember reading a review that said the food here was barely edible – WHAT!?!?!?!

It did seem quite loud at times-NAD. The music or big screen from below along with the bowling alley, air hockey, pool table and video games add to the decibel level. It was a fun place to hang out.

 

I should have taken a photo, but forgot. There is a drawer in the vanity area with a large basket and tiny metal box inside. We thought the large part was for garbage and the metal box was possibly for sanitary item disposal. WRONG - the large area is for beach towels, wet towels, etc. and the tiny metal box is the trash. Please - previous cruisers - tell me we are not the only ones who didn't figure this out without our cabin steward telling us. I guess college degrees don't necessary indicate common sense.

We used the large area for our dirty laundry and the metal box for trash. Very handy drawer!

Great review and photos - keep them coming!

We used the large area for our dirty laundry and the metal box for trash. Very handy drawer!

 

Great review and photos - keep them coming!

That's what we did too..dirty laundry and trash. Our towels ended up on the balcony most of the time

Great review! Feel like I'm there again!

Entertainment: There are several ways to book entertainment. Book online up to 45 days before cruise, book at the entertainment desk once onboard, call the entertainment desk during hours of operation, or book on your interactive tv in your cabin(this may be a challenge for some – I’m not mentioning names). Even if you have a show reserved, if you’d like to see it at an earlier time, you can stand by at that time. We did this for Legends. No cancellation needed to regularly scheduled showtime- they will just allow those standing by to fill in. Another note: if you want to see a show twice – it cannot be booked via the tv. You must call reservations and see if there is availability. If there is, they will give you an additional reservation. If show is fully booked, you will still be welcome to stand by. We (all those under 45) that wanted to see Blue Men Group twice scheduled an additional show by calling just a few hours before the show.

Another note: After the Legends shows, one of the performers will come to the entertainment desk area for photos.

Internet area: We didn’t use this, but several in our group did – no complaints.

Photo Gallery: Has a special catchy name – sorry only made a mental note- unfortunately didn’t stick. This area is really nice. Photos can be purchased up until 11:30 the night prior to disembarkation and billed to your ship card. Embarkation morning, photos can be purchased with cash or credit card. They have a great facial recognition system. You just put your card in the machine and it pulls up all of the photos of your family. They also have a binder filled with photos on shelves according to cabin number – for those who like to view traditional printed photos. They had a special – three 8 X 10’s and a large display frame with a ship photo for $59.98. You can also purchase a photo CD with all photos taken of your family for the entire cruise for $349(I’m 99% sure this is the price – again only a mental note). We opted for the $59.98 package. Note: There are 3 photos of the ship available – 2 horizontal (one day and one taken at night) and one vertical ship photo. The frame has one vertical and one horizontal opening. Make sure you choose the ship photo that will allow you to place the personal 8X10 in the other opening.

I encourage you to have photos taken even if you think you will not purchase them. There is no sitting fee and no obligation to purchase. We were really pleased with the quality of the photos and the amazing color. We purchased the "family pileup photo". - This was the photo I was sure I wouldn't like.

Taste and Manhattan Room: We preferred Taste – generally a little more quiet(no live dance music). They both have the exact same menu. I inquired about the preferred dress code – Taste-nice dress shorts and casual shirts allowed. Not allowed: baseball caps or hats, muscle shirts, flip flops, and booty shorts(okay, I added the last one). Minimum in Manhattan Room: evening gowns and complete tuxedos required – just joking!!! Long pants and collared shirt s for men. Dressier capris, pants, or dress for ladies. The dancing was amazing in the Manhattan Room. My husband would move to Siberia before he’d take a dance class and unfortunately it doesn’t come naturally to him. Oh well, he does a mean hokey pokey with our little girl! I know what you’re thinking – but he doesn’t even know this website exists!

The food was very good at both restaurants. Make sure you take note of the left hand side of the menu. The right hand side will stay consistent throughout the week. The left will change daily. My suggestion: check out the menu during the day and see if there is anything that is of interest, if not, O’Sheehan’s and the buffet are great options. I thought the dinner buffet was exceptionally good-with high quality choices.

Bliss: Although we didn’t spend much time here, we did get to see a lady(using the term loosely)decide she was not leaving with her husband. She very loudly told him to go without her, then, mid sentence, just laid down on the floor and went to sleep. The bartender said – I think she is sleepy and not nice to her husband. The club is very nice, but a little small for some of the “shows/activities”. Also, an additional 3 bowling lanes can be found here. Very interesting horse lamps in the entry. Bliss logo projected onto a foggy mist in the entrance – very unique.

Shopping: There are a variety of shops. Jewelry, makeup, perfume, clothing, etc. They also have merchandise in the area just before H2O. There were nice t-shirts 2/$20. I also bought DD a cute skirt for $5. They also have a $10 store with evening purses, watches, jewelry sets, etc. My husband bought 2 shirts with the Epic and ship stats on them- 2/$30.

There is a barber shop – seemed to be popular on our sailing.

Teppanyaki and Wasabi: We didn’t have time to dine in either of these restaurants. All of those in our group that ate at either or both enjoyed the meal and experience.

Moderno and Cagney’s: These two restaurants share the same space separated by a salad bar. We had dinner at Cagney’s our final evening. Service seemed very slow –but we were with friends and had lots to talk about. The dinner was fabulous. There are lots of seafood options for an additional $10 on top of the $25 cover charge for the restaurant. The filet mignon was amazing. The lobster was definitely a better quality than that served in the main dining room(Tuesday night, by the way). The crab legs were large and split-very easy to eat. The shrimp cocktail was enormous. This restaurant would be a great splurge if you can manage. The desserts looked fabulous.

The Gym: This place is huge. There are plenty of machines of all types. Don’t be intimidated to try the facilities. I saw people of all sizes. Every cruise I vow to at least work out a little – just didn’t happen. I’ll work out on the next cruise for sure.

The Spa: Sorry for the bad photo. The spa packages sell out very quickly on the first day. $99pp Includes: herbal steam room, sauna, mineral pool, hot tub, and tiled heated loungers. Everyone raved about the spa. I just didn’t have time to visit for myself-maybe next time.

Basketball Court: Full-sized court. Underutilized. My husband was very disappointed with the organized sports – or lack thereof. We have been on cruises when he has literally played in a volleyball tournament, then played basketball, then dodgeball, etc. On this cruise there were very few scheduled events. This ship is ideal for young people and has amazing facilities for sports – they should be used. DH no happy about this – MAD.

Bungee Trampoline: This looked really fun. If you plan to do this, I suggest lining up at least 15 minutes before it is schedule to open. There are limited times and the lines seemed to be long. The weight limit is 200 pounds. Ladies – make sure you will not mind being weighed in front of everyone. It is mandatory, even for 50 lb. children.

H2O: Waterfall, soothing music, and deep breathing to calm everyone before the football game.

Slime Time Live: Sea days in the Epic Theater. Two families are chosen as the red and blue teams. During the show, audience members are chosen to go on stage and compete for their color. The families answer questions and in the end, one family gets slimed. Nice show – all the children in our group loved it. Lots of audience interaction. Plenty of children and adults are chosen to compete on stage.

Rock climbing and rapelling wall: Many in our group loved this. Shorts, t-shirt, and shoes required.

Random interesting photo. Notice the empty chairs. This was the first sea day around 1pm.

Waterslides: Much higher than I thought they would be. Epic plunge was our group favorite.

Blue Man Group: As I said before, half our group saw this twice. If they appeal to you – keep an eye on the dailies. There is one day when they have a question and answer time in the Atrium. It sounded interested – I just couldn’t find the time to go.

Legends in the Manahttan Room: They give a brief performance in the Manhattan Room at 9:30pm on the evenings they do not have a show in the theater. This is not the same performance you will see in the Epic Theater. The show in the theater is more of a production with dancers. Everyone in our group(under 45) thought the show was really good. The “legends” are very realistic in their portrayals. “Rod Steward and Michael Jackson” are especially good – voices and mannerisms have been perfected.

#1TravelMom

Cool Cruiser

WOW, great stuff. I will add some of your commentary-tips to the main list. Thank you for sharing...

We used the large area for our dirty laundry and the metal box for trash. Very handy drawer!

 

Great review and photos - keep them coming!

TravelMom...Your review is awesome and one of the most comprehensive so far. Can't wait for more.

We always travel with a white 13 gal plastic bag for dirty laundry and I place it in the bottom of the closet. It's GREAT to know there is a place to put the wet towels after showering. I was concerned the wet towels would look really shabby in the cabin. Nice touch NCL.

Thanks for the great photos and the review we are really excited.

Really enjoying your review....sounds like you had a good time. The pictures make you feel like you are there. Thanks

coffeebean,

We tuck all of the suitcases under the bed, except one. We stand it on end and let the zipper open at the top. This is our laundry hamper-less packing for the last night.

Atrium: The big screen in the atrium is a great gathering place. They showed The Princess and the Frog and many other movies during our sailing. Kids(of all ages) enjoyed playing WII here. This is also where the Wildfire Duo performed. They played the piano and the violin and sang. They drew an overflowing crowd every time they performed. I heard plenty of people say they would have liked to sit and listen to them-but there were no seats and limited standing room-NAD. If you want to sit to listen to them, check the daily, get a seat early and play cards or have a snack while you wait.

My little daredevil. She decided it was more fun going down the slide backward and head first. I checked with Tuyidon to see if this was permitted – again –“If you want to do it-you can do it”. My husband and posse also decided it would be fun going down the plunge while one or two others were still spinning around the bowl. Of course I gave him the “If you break your leg and can’t go to work” speech – you guessed it – they did it anyway. All came out in one piece having had fun – this time.

My DD at the top of the climbing web. This has a 125 lb. weight limit. I didn’t see any adults trying it. Tip for kids: If you want to go to the top, climb up the edge using the netting. The straps are VERY elastic. My little girl only weighs 37 pounds and she couldn’t climb up the middle. When she would step on the elastic strap, it would sink so far, she couldn’t reach the one above her. She was so proud to make it to the top. She played in this twice for about 10 minutes each time-no crowds(rememeber mental note-under 500 kids on our sailing).

Costa Maya:

If you don’t want to go far, there is a pool/bar just off the ship. There is also plenty of shopping and at times-entertainment. I definitely recommend visiting the beach.

We took a cab to Mahajual-$2 going/$3 to return. You will notice a lot of trees that were damaged in the hurricane several years ago.

We planted ourselves at Tropicante. This is a GREAT place! It is best to email them. They will have chairs lined up and waiting for you. If you don’t make a reservation, they may not have any open seats. The drinks are reasonably priced, made with plenty of alcohol, and in large cups. Friends of ours were down the beach at an “all you can drink” place. Their cups were half the size and drinks watered down. I’m not sure this was a better value. We don’t personally drink-so this is all hearsay from posse members. The staff is just amazing at Tropicante. They all chatted with us. They want to do everything possible to make sure you have a great day. We had REALLY good food-very reasonably priced. They gladly prepared my daughter’s special order. Sorry my menus are sideways-no clue how to rotate them(make fun of me if you like-my computer guy at work does).

My DD and DN had great massages here. They each paid $15+$6tip for ½ hour.

Just a note - nothing against any of the other “popular” places, but I would check them out before you decide to stay for the day. I walked the entire walkway. The one place was just swarming with yellow jackets and some big flying bugs. I asked why – the reply-“sometimes they are here.” I wouldn’t have lasted 2 minutes there. 2nd note: The guy playing the guitar/singing on the beach will want $2 to sing for you. He only stopped briefly-my daughter gave him a dollar and he asked for another. Guess he has a $2 minimum. Not a big deal-she had him play another song and several people decided to dance-including the mid 20’s table of guys next to us who had been drinking Tequila shots all day. Two of them ended up falling over-not sure how they made it back to the ship! Overall, spectacular day at Topicante-great service, great beach and great weather.

Look at the water – AMAZING!!!

You are one of the first photos I have seen of an inside cabin with the drop down beds. Doesn't look as crowded as some of the deluxe balcony cabins have.

My DH and I have booked one for us and one for our older (26 and 23) DD's. These cabins seem great for two people.

Keep the photos coming.

AWESOME Review.

Random tree/beach photos-Mahajual.

Entertainment in the shopping plaza.