personal unstructured impressions from the TA

[GUEST080219]

I tried to catch up on the new threads and did not find any about the actual transatlantic, so I open a new one for some quick notes.

 

First of all, although most of my points will be negative, if you take a cruise on the epic you will love it, if it is still some weeks away probably even more. The staff is great, MDR meals what I experienced until now very tasty with friendly and quick service. Crew is everywhere and doing their very best.

 

But there were and are still quite a lot of problems on the ship, non working TVs, phones and doorkeys seem to happened at least once to everyone I talked to. The last TVs in the public spaces are still being mounted and things I expected like seeing restaurant occupation is not available. Because of the new technology there can happen things like seeing the wrong account on your iTV so that you can the other persons account statement or play in the iTV casino on his expenses. Major security bug in my eyes especially since they need >1 day to fix it.

 

Water slides are great, pools way to small (that will give huge negative reviews). But enough places to sit or lay down on the sun decks. Hot Tubs were today accessable for the first time on the cruise. As everywhere a lot of engineers and working staff fixing things all over the ship.

 

Getting a table in Taste for lunch and dinner never has been a problem, although Manhatten Room had some queue in front of it on the dress up or not night yesterday. The ship feels not overcrowded as I experienced if you are flexible. Some places as the seating are in front of the atrium/ O'Sheehan's LED screen are crowded while FIFA World Cup matches as you would expect.

 

I once changed the Studio as the first one was in a really bad shape (not closing shower door, some late construction works with waste the left around and no cleaning after that, dust and some air condition testing going on). The second was much better, although the position is worse. It has a connection door to the adjoining studio and you here more or less everything. TV, shower, sink water running. But even with the vibrations, and some strange creaking sounds I guess from the ship movement I sleep perfectly as the bed is comfortable as heaven.

But both studio cabins I have seems have some parts especially the shower cabin and sink look not like you would expect on a brand new ship with scratches and signs of usage. The as some public spaces on the ship where you can find some sloppy paint works they could should have theyed in dock two weeks longer to make everything perfectly working and a basic cleaning after that.

 

But as I said I believe NCL will fix all this in the next weeks and than it will be a great ship to cruise on.

 

A complete, more structured and proofreaded review will follow when I am back home.

 

Regards,

Michael

[samnewbie]

Hi Michael,

 

Really great points, thanks for taking the time our of your cruise to post your comments, much appreciated.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise , hope its a smooth crossing and look forward to hearing more from you.

 

Sam :)

[NYAustinGal]

Sounds like NCL really needed another 2 weeks to make up for the shipyard mishaps and get the Epic in tip-top shape before the maiden voyage.

[sdmike]

Sounds like NCL really needed another 2 weeks to make up for the shipyard mishaps and get the Epic in tip-top shape before the maiden voyage.

 

Sure does. I hope they keep working on things for the next 4 weeks so it's perfect when I get there. :)

[pooky303]

I would agree with the above, funny little thing, but when I used the restrooms near to the Manhattan restaurant there were still the shavings on the floor where they had drilled down through the tiles to install the toilet cubicles, they were also still grouting the pool showers, I think they could definately have used an extra month but they had a lot of trouble so i'm sure they did the best they could with the time they had?! Great food and staff so very friendly though which was really nice!

[Aldeya]

One thing I noticed in all the pictures I've seen so far I can't find ANY shaded areas around the pool, adult-only area, etc, etc.

 

All I see plenty of chairs under direct sun. Are there any areas with the chairs in a shade?

[david_sobe]

I dont get the size of the pools. Maybe I have to see them in person but they look like a pool someone would have in their modest size house in the back yard and not one of the largest cruise ships in the world. The ship sails the carribean and lots of sun soakers want a pool to swim in. The Epic is not cruising Alaska and I wonder why there was not room for larger pools.

The Spice H20 pool is tiny and it appears there was space there for a pool 4 times its size.

 

Remember everything is about money money money. NCL would have lost so much money if any sailings got cancelled and the ship was delayed. So while they wont admit it, they probably needed another 2 weeks to finish the ship. I am not sailing until December so by then all the kinks will be out and the new ship smell will have begun to fade :)

[sdmike]

I dont get the size of the pools. Maybe I have to see them in person but they look like a pool someone would have in their modest size house in the back yard and not one of the largest cruise ships in the world. The ship sails the carribean and lots of sun soakers want a pool to swim in. The Epic is not cruising Alaska and I wonder why there was not room for larger pools.

The Spice H20 pool is tiny and it appears there was space there for a pool 4 times its size.

 

I think it looks a lot more inviting when you see it filled with water and the fountains on. The pools might not be big, but there is lots of water:

 

 

[orangegrove]

I think it looks a lot more inviting when you see it filled with water and the fountains on. The pools might not be big, but there is lots of water:

 

 

 

I agree with you Mike. i don't necessarily want to swim. I just need a place to get wet to cool off. :cool:

[sdmike]

Do we know yet if the pools are fresh or salt water? I never heard. I know the slides are heated fresh water, which is sweet. :)

[kikki21]

I do have to agree that the pools look very small. However, the Epic is calling in at stops at the Caribbean so if you want water and beaches you will have them!

[Kruizin'Kath]

Looks like it might be a tad slippery:eek:

[sjbdtz]

Remember everything is about money money money. NCL would have lost so much money if any sailings got cancelled and the ship was delayed. So while they wont admit it, they probably needed another 2 weeks to finish the ship. I am not sailing until December so by then all the kinks will be out and the new ship smell will have begun to fade :)

 

First off, this is like the 50th post where you've made this absurd comment. Some things are about continued guest satisfaction, and not everything is about money.

 

If everything was about money, they could charge for a 'water pass', for those who want to swim...but its part of the cruise fare.

 

 

Given the alleged acts of sabotage during construction, I suspect that as soon as the shipyard was willing to hand-over the keys....NCL was ready to high-tail it out of France and complete the final fits & finishes during the crossing and the NYC - Miami sailings.

 

We saw LOADS of construction personel on board, and we spoke to people responsible for the architectural design of the cabins (Hi Debbie, if you're reading).

 

Within the next couple of weeks, I think that everything will be caught-up...they really weren't THAT far away from completion, and if early cruisers keep their expectations realistic, and take the time to report any issues (so they can be fixed), then the ship will gel quite nicely.

 

 

When you buy a new house, they give a 1 year warranty where everything (EVERYTHING) is covered....because they EXPECT settling, rubbing, out-of-plumb, etc. issues. The key is that the systems are in place to fix them.

 

The ship is essentially a 19-storey floating apartment building with 2000 units.... it takes a few days to get everything fixed......

[samnewbie]

Looks like it might be a tad slippery:eek:

 

We will be packing wet shoes methinks hee hee :D

 

Sam :)

[UK_Cruiser]

Looks like it might be a tad slippery:eek:

 

 

Yes water generally is Kath

[ColinIllinois]

Question for the OP. Is it a true statement that the Studio rooms don't have a hair dryer or safe?

[Mr. Luckytoo]

First off, this is like the 50th post where you've made this absurd comment. Some things are about continued guest satisfaction, and not everything is about money.

 

Actually it's NOT that absurd. We talked to two different workers, in the casino and an assistant maitre de who both stated that they [workers] wanted to get the ship out at sea so they [employees] could make some money - i.e., tips.

 

Given the alleged acts of sabotage during construction, I suspect that as soon as the shipyard was willing to hand-over the keys....NCL was ready to high-tail it out of France and complete the final fits & finishes during the crossing and the NYC - Miami sailings.

 

NCL thought it was sabotage as well. We talked to over 6 different casino workers who were on fire patrol while the ship was in France. It consisted of walking 1 or 2 decks during the night time hours to ensure no more fires.

 

We saw LOADS of construction personel on board, and we spoke to people responsible for the architectural design of the cabins (Hi Debbie, if you're reading).

 

Within the next couple of weeks, I think that everything will be caught-up...they really weren't THAT far away from completion, and if early cruisers keep their expectations realistic, and take the time to report any issues (so they can be fixed), then the ship will gel quite nicely.

 

I agree that more and more will be fixed so that by August 99.9% of the bugs will be worked out.

When you buy a new house, they give a 1 year warranty where everything (EVERYTHING) is covered....because they EXPECT settling, rubbing, out-of-plumb, etc. issues. The key is that the systems are in place to fix them.

 

The ship is essentially a 19-storey floating apartment building with 2000 units.... it takes a few days to get everything fixed......

 

My biggest beef with NCL is that they didn't apologize for the unfinished workship. The staff is doing their best but they really could have used more time.

 

I heard time and time again that the French workers didn't work on Saturday or Sunday and only 1/2 day on Fridays. The ncl people weren't very happy with the French work schedule.