NCL Epic 12/4/2010

[pokeypoke]

Hey Kim - it's been a while since I last heard from you. How was your trip onboard the Spirit? Hope you and Linda had lots of fun. It would be great if you two were able to stay at the Epic - they have free mojitos from 4-5 every day and you can guess where I'll be at that time:D. We are flying into Miami Thursday morning/afternoon. We have no idea what we are going to do, maybe catch a cab and spend Friday afternoon in South Beach.

 

Glenn - are you still planning on taking the red-eye from San Diego?

[Hobie]

Kim: Thanks for your note. It will be great to meet you and Linda and of course, you better join us for cocktails! I look forward to meeting the two of you.

Joey: Yes, still tentatively planing on the Red Eye arriving in Miami at 10:00 a.m. on 12/4. I connect in Atlanta, so maybe I'll be on the safe flight as Karl & Greg?

Do you guys think it is too risky to fly in on the morning of the cruise? I may re-think my strategy!

[pokeypoke]

Glenn - I will take a guess and assume you would be flying on Delta into MIA? Hmm, personally if it were me, I would not chance it. We have a good friend who is a FA for Delta (has been with Northwest many years until the recent merge) and we have heard too many stories involving big delays, cancellations and over-booking. IF by chance the red-eye was cancelled or delayed because of mechanical problems, you could risk not getting out of SD until early Saturday morning. If that happened to me, I would be so frustrated, not to mention the flames that would be shooting from the top of my head as I morphed into total bitch mode:eek:. Who needs to start their get-away with stress?!? If you lived in Atlanta, no problem.

 

We lucked out and found 1 non-stop flight into MIA on American. Flight time 4 hrs 8 mins compared to 61/2-8 hours and having to change planes.

 

I'm not saying anything will go wrong and if you do take the red-eye the day of, I hope everything goes off without a hitch so you can relax and enjoy your cocktail with me, Woody, Kim, Linda and anyone else who would like to join us;)!

[Giocatori]

Hi Joey... The trip on the NCL Spirit was a lot of fun. Thanks for asking. Found some things I liked about NCL and some I didn't like. We really liked the martini tastings (we went both times) and the Enchanted Dinner in the art gallery. All the ports were great too. Just the occasional service issues but nothing major. I did think the rooms were small compared to Carnival. We would take this cruise again as overall really fun. Linda and I fell in love with New Orleans and can't wait to stop over for 4 nights on our way back. I am really hoping they won't have much damage from the spill but hey still have to support their economy.

[Giocatori]

Glenn...I agree with Joey about taking the red eye. I would be a basket case until I boarded that connecting flight on time. Better for my nerves to fly in the day before at a minimum(we are flying in Wednesday). Just my two cents. Can't to meet everyone. I know this is going to be a fun trip :)

[KJE Atlanta]

Hi all,

 

We're coming in late Friday night (11pm) on Delta from ATL - just to be on the safe side. Count us in for cocktails!

[Hobie]

Thanks to all of you for your advice about flying into Maimi. I'll have to rethink my plans. Certainly don't want to risk missing embarcation in Miami and having to join the ship in St. Thomas.

[pokeypoke]

Thanks to all of you for your advice about flying into Maimi. I'll have to rethink my plans. Certainly don't want to risk missing embarcation in Miami and having to join the ship in St. Thomas.

 

Ohhh noooo! You can't risk embarkcation:eek:! And definately you can not rejoin us in St. Thomas ( I bet you ment to say St. Maarten, seeing how we are there Tuesday and we are at St. Thomas Wednesday). You would practically miss half the cruise and you would have to down an "epic" proportion of cocktails to catch up to the rest of us;)

 

Karl and Greg - We expect you two with cocktails in hand and ready to paint the ship red:D!

[Giocatori]

Karl and Greg can't wait to meet you and Joey, Woody and Hobie. The question is what bar will end meeting for drink with so may cool venues to choose from. It will be fun to start reading the reviews next month.

[pokeypoke]

I'm with you Kim (and I know everyone else is too), can hardly wait to start reading the reviews. Only 4 more days until the shipyard delivers the Epic to NCL (was changed from the 15th to the 17th). I have seen BMG in Vegas but I wonder how the show aboard the Epic will differ? We have never seen a Cirque Dreams production but we have seen Cirque du Soleil's La Nouba and we really enjoyed it. I have seen a few videos of Cirque Dreams on youtube and it looks pretty great too!

[Hobie]

Great news today that Epic was delivered to NCL. Like everybody else, I'm looking forward to the reviews in a few weeks.

[Hobie]

I received e-mail from NCL advising me that the Bahamian govt. has increased their "head tax" by $3.00. I guess that I can afford that.

I was pleased to see that NCL stays in touch via e-mail.

[pokeypoke]

Hey Hobie, hope you are doing well. We haven't received an email from NCL regarding this head tax (hmm, oh never mind). I'm sure this is not going to break us. BTW, have you checked out some of the menus that were posted last week? They look good but I had to stop reading them because I started getting hungry;)

[Giocatori]

We got the email about the $3 head tax as well as the email about not having a Lattitudes cocktail party. Their are some really great pictures and videos out there. We saw a video of the penthouse and are happy with the cabin. Bliss lounge looks pretty funky. A little over 5 months to go wohoooo!!

[Hobie]

I didn't get e-mail about cancelling the Lattitudes party. What is the explanation for that?

I'm always disappointed to miss a cocktail party!

[Hobie]

I checked my inbox and to my surprise, I DID receive the e-mail about cancelling the Lattitudes party. Not sure how I missed it before. Their explanation is they don't have room to host all of the Lattitudes members! Since the letter is signed by NCL director of revenue management, It's pretty easy to figure out the real reason!

Oh well...No big deal. I prefer having cocktails with you guys!

[KJE Atlanta]

Agreed. We got both emails too, but no worries. The extra $3.00 is no biggie and we'll just have our own cocktail parties! We're enjoying reading about the new ship on the blogs and cruise news sites. Just about 5 months now!

[Giocatori]

ok...now we are thinking of spending our pre-cruise days renting a car and exploring the Keys.. maybe one night in Key West and one night on Key Largo. I am not sure how traffic is on that highway but do you think we would have any problems if we checked out of our hotel in Key Largo and drove to the port? It's supposed to be a 90 minute drive and if we hit the road at 9am we should be fine. From what I hear the traffic moves pretty quickly there. Any thoughts?

[Giocatori]

Have you been reading the reviews? I am surprised people booked on the TA didn't expect that there would be bugs. I found some to be pretty critical. I love checking out all the pictures. We decided to go to Key West pre-cruise.

[Hobie]

Yes, lots of mixed reviews. I have never heard great reviews for a maiden cruise. I think she will be in good shape when we board her in December.

The only criticism that concerns me is the very small swimming pools. I'm really surprised that they are smaller than the pool in my condo. complex that only has 150 people living here!

[pokeypoke]

I agree Glenn, the pools are not excactly the proper size for a ship of her size. Personally, I will not actually be getting into the ship's pool (we have a pool at home and I can swim anytime) but I will probably go to the adults only area and lounge a bit (no screaming kids - oh yeah!). Woody will at sometime, use the slides (I will be filming him).

 

As for the mixed reviews, I am not going to let the "negative ones" weigh-in on me at this point. Kim is correct by suggesting **how could you sail the TA/first cruise and not expect to have issues?** To be honest and fair, the ship could have used an additional month to finish work and address issues before allowing press and media to set sail on her. NCL knows there are issues and these matters will soon be dealt with. I am pretty sure many issues will be smoothed out by the time of our sailing. If not, I'm still going to make sure I have a great cruise/vacation;)!

 

The Epic does offer many things I know will meet my expectations - service, food, public areas and enough great entertainment to keep me plenty busy.

 

Kim, if you have never been to Key West, you and Linda are in for a great time. Lovely place, especially at sunset and very gay/lesbian friendly. Be sure to have your picture taken at the concreat buoy marker (southernmost Point) at South and Whitehead Street.:cool:

[Giocatori]

We are looking forward to checking out Key West and will definitely get that picture. The question now is with the bars on the Epic where should all meet for drinks? Has anyone heard if they are doing the FOD's and where those are?

[Hobie]

Good idea about selecting a bar to meet. We'll have to pick something.

I'm guessing that they will post FOD meeting once we are onboard.

 

Joey: I'm giong to be on the water slides too. they look like a lot of fun.

[RMS Olympic]

I'll post some comments on the pros and cons of all the watering holes after I get off the Epic this September.

Since scheduled FOD meetings are often scheduled at conflicting times for all.....you might want to pick something for the Cruise Critic folks. I'll let you know which bat is best for conversation....and overall atmosphere for a good time.

Tom...in count down mode for Epic.

[Hobie]

Tom,

I look forward to reading your review, tips and advice. I think I remember that you are staying in a Studio cabin? If so, please, let us know how you enjoy the Studio cabin. I'm staying in a Studio for this cruise. From what I have read so far, they have been getting some good reviews.

I hope that you can meet us on the Epic in December.