Welcome back first Epic Caribbean cruisers!

[sdmike]

I'm sitting here watching Epic head for home on marinetraffic.com, and just wanted to post a big Welcome Home! for the passengers arriving back in Miami today. I hope you had a great time!

[English Rose]

It's been a long week waiting for those first reviews!!

[samnewbie]

I echo that, 'Welcome Home' ...hope you had a fantastic time and really looking forward to more pics and reviews :D

 

Sam :)

 

 

Editing to add ...WOO HOOOOO!!! - Under 400 days to our EPIC cruise now!!! It's going down was 530+ when we started hee hee

[boeckli]

Just watching her pass thru the channel in Miami port now - pity I can't find any webcams for the area these days. She's almost 'home' - next week we'll be sitting in our Miami hotel room (hopefully with a view over the channel to see her come in) and then board her later in the day - woooohoooo !!!

[eroller]

It would be great to get some reviews/comments/thoughts from these first passengers on the first "real" cruise. Frankly it's extremely unusual not to receive "live" reports from passengers on the first cruise.

 

Unfortunately a quick review of the threads on the Everything Epic board might have scared them off. God forbid they say anything negative or they will be chastised, dismissed, or berated for their views. If they say anything too positive they will be labeled a "cheerleader".

 

You really can't win on the "Everything Epic" board, and I'm sure many people feel it's just not worth the trouble. Why set yourself up for the backlash?

 

Ernie

[CaptData]

I echo the "Welcome Home".

[dmwnc1959]

Ok. It's been at least an hour since the ship docked. They have to have cell phone service with Internet capabilities by now. Where are the reviews?!?!? :p;):D Hurry hurry, it's eating me ALIVE!!!! ;)

[Kubanita]

I would like to see epic...where do I have to click on the website to find the ship guys? =)

[Donh44]

It's been a long week waiting for those first reviews!!

I have been thinking of them every day and wondering and hoping that they are having a good time, which I am sure they were. Anxious to hear about the cruise and HOPEFULLY some pics and or videos. See you on 10/23

[iceman2a]

Frankly it's extremely unusual not to receive "live" reports from passengers on the first cruise.

 

Ernie

 

Maybe there were problems with the internet on board or maybe NCL didn't want the word to get out ;)

 

I am sure we'll hear soon and I think we'll get honest reviews despite the "haters" and "cheerleaders" !

[iceman2a]

OR, everyone is having such a fantastic cruise, there is no time to post anything!! Hope that's the case! :)

[arpster]

I'm starting to think the passengers have had a gagging order placed on them by NCL......either that or the ship strayed into the Bermuda Triangle :D

[enyliram]

daughters in laws just boarded...

[CaliforniaDreamer]

here is the first review

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1232930

[msalmonsk]

I just got back today from sailing on the Epic! It surpassed my expectations! I was anxious after reading these boards for the last few months. The boat is beautiful!!! The food was great. I especially liked the sushi bar and Moderno restaurant. Entertainment and the shows were great. In addition to Blue Man and the other big shows they had the newlywed gameshow and others nightly. There was also a comedian magician that performed nighlty in addition to second city, karyoki (sorry about the spelling) was held in the bliss lounge a few times as well. The service was excellent. I was in a spa suite. The balcony was very spacious, there were two chairs a good sized table and a lounge chair. The shower was very spacoius. I had no problems with the glass doors to the shower or toilet. There was also a curtain to close. The bed was comfortable. The butler Chris was great! I am looking forward to booking again, hopefully this January.

[mafig]

I thought the bathroom configuration for the spa suite was different than the regular balconies. Wasn't the toilet, sink, shower sort of in back of the bed?

[sjbdtz]

I thought the bathroom configuration for the spa suite was different than the regular balconies. Wasn't the toilet, sink, shower sort of in back of the bed?

 

 

It is behind the bed. There's still a curtain (although it is sheer - I think they're planning on changing them). Light is the main culprit to be wary of. If you take an airline eye mask and some foam earplugs, you can get an excellent sleep without the bathroom affecting you in any way.

[ColinIllinois]

I just got back from the cruise as a solo Studio traveler. I'll post more tomorrow since I'm dog tired right now but it was GREAT!

[eroller]

I just got back today from sailing on the Epic! It surpassed my expectations! I was anxious after reading these boards for the last few months. The boat is beautiful!!! The food was great. I especially liked the sushi bar and Moderno restaurant. Entertainment and the shows were great. In addition to Blue Man and the other big shows they had the newlywed gameshow and others nightly. There was also a comedian magician that performed nighlty in addition to second city, karyoki (sorry about the spelling) was held in the bliss lounge a few times as well. The service was excellent. I was in a spa suite. The balcony was very spacious, there were two chairs a good sized table and a lounge chair. The shower was very spacoius. I had no problems with the glass doors to the shower or toilet. There was also a curtain to close. The bed was comfortable. The butler Chris was great! I am looking forward to booking again, hopefully this January.

 

 

Thanks for the post. It's great to hear you had a fantastic time. I'm in a Spa Suite in November and very much looking forward to it. Tell me, is the Spa Stateroom Complex truly "key card" access as advertised? I know it wasn't on the crossing but thought maybe they worked this out by now? The Studios are supposed to be key card access too, but I know this hasn't been the case. Also, are you given another key card to access The Courtyard area? I'm curious how that worked? Did you enjoy eating at the Epic Club and Courtyard Grill in The Courtyard? How often did you make use of The Courtyard complex and was Posh fun at night? Sorry for all the questions!

 

Ernie

[jkryani]

We were so busy taking in every bit of this amazing ship that we did not have time to post. Now we are home again (very sad) and I think you will find very little that was negative to talk about....

[msalmonsk]

Your room key accessed the courtyard area. You will be given bracelets to access the spa areas. I liked the Epic Club alot. We ate there several times for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu was the same daily with a couple of different specials each night at dinner. It is a nice alternative on sea days. I recommend eating in the Epic Club and courtyard on sea days when the other areas are full. It was nice not to have to fight the crowds.:o

[shoopa3]

Thank you. Will be posting my thoughts shortly.:D

[eroller]

Your room key accessed the courtyard area. You will be given bracelets to access the spa areas. I liked the Epic Club alot. We ate there several times for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The menu was the same daily with a couple of different specials each night at dinner. It is a nice alternative on sea days. I recommend eating in the Epic Club and courtyard on sea days when the other areas are full. It was nice not to have to fight the crowds.:o

 

 

Thank you! Sounds like great advise. I have a feeling my afternoon pool time will also be in The Courtyard. The main pool area looks a bit crowded, and the loungers look pretty comfy in The Courtyard as well. Spice H20 might be nice to do a bit of tanning as well, so long as they really keep the kids out.

 

Ernie

[msalmonsk]

I didn't see any kids in Spice H2O. It seemed very peaceful for the adults. The Courtyard never seemed overcrowded or too busy. It was one of the quieter places on the boat.

[pixiedustdawn]

We just arrived home from the EPIC.

 

What a fantastic journey. Wish I could have stayed just one more week to check everything out, as the ship is so big. No one posted, because we were all being amazed by the EPIC. Spent a week onboard, I never got to check out the ice skating area, or the bridge.

 

We stayed in a Aft Penthouse cabin 11321. Loved it. Some flaws in the cabin that will be fixed in the near future. Also, some changes from having a penthouse suite on other ships. Example... I had to get used to putting my key in the slot to turn my lights on. Some lights I found could be annoying at night while trying to sleep. Towards the end of the cruise I learned how to correct a few of my annoyances. I never really learned how to use the mood lighting in the cabin and the Lavazza was a but different then what I was used to. I had a adjoining cabin with a aft balcony. We left our adjoining door open for easy walk through. My balcony was large. We have two loungers, two chairs and a table out there and still could walk around a bit.

 

I found this ship was very conscientious of the where the younger folks were allowed to hang out. If they said no one under a certain age was allowed in a venue, (Spice H20) they meant it, and it was enforced. There was also a curfew aboard the ship, that seemed to work nicely. This is the first time I have taken a cruise I haven't seen a group of kids hanging out on the stairwells. They really did a good job with making fun areas on the ship for the kids to hang out, as so they didn't have to hang out in the elevators or stairwells.

 

As a matter of fact, other than the wait for the slides, they may have mastered the no crowds anywhere on this ship. I kept asking where is everyone. I am pretty sure our ship was full, but you would have never known it, by looking at the buffet, restaurants, hallways or elevators. Even the main theatre was never completely full. I guess there is so much happening around the ship, many are disbursed into different areas.

 

I loved my penthouse suite, but would love to try a Studio cabin on this ship. They were a nice size for one person as well as the living room area that seemed like it was a pretty cool spot to hang out in. I found myself to be drawn in by those cool blue lights in the studio hallway.

 

I am sure more people will be on that took this sailing and they will answer any questions.

 

It was a long travel day for most of the Cruise Critics that were on board the EPIC.