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sdmike's review & daily diary of Epic's inaugural western Caribbean cruise

sdmike

By sdmike,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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dnl_in_Illinois

dnl_in_Illinois

Posted
Posted
I asked my NCL rep about these shirts and she tried to get me one but said they were given out at the Inaugural and there were no more available. Who did you contact. I would love one!!

 

Try: http://www.zazzle.com/ I ordered shirts for my grand daughters that has a photo of the Epic on them and "I'm sailing on the Epic - August 14, 2010" They are reasonable quality and cost about $30 for 2 of them. If you're a Facebook user you can see the shirts here:

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111909088847790&v=wall&story_fbid=136666823038683#!/photo.php?pid=30992083&op=2&o=global&view=global&subj=111909088847790&id=1466328751

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hazeleyes

hazeleyes

Posted
Posted

On my previous back to backs if we didnt have the same room we had to pack all our items and our room steward would take the luggage to the new room. We had to wait in a designated area that the reception told us to wait at and they escorted us off the ship and then we got our new cards and got right back on. We were on the ship for a while before they started boarding others.

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tecknicole

tecknicole

Posted
Posted
I hope you guys enjoy our journey. I also have a few extremely unique Epic pictures from today (Saturday). Our flight was delayed, and by the time we took off from MIA the ship was about 20 miles out to sea. We flew right over it, and I got the first pictures of Epic from about 10,000 feet. lol! I will post these in the next couple of days.

 

Also, feel free to ask me any questions that I might be able to answer for you. It was a GREAT trip!

 

-Mike

 

Absolueteky awesome review! I love your writing style and your attention to detail.. the story of the kid who stole the card was funny.. er, you made it sound funny anyway. Thanks for sharing!!!

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mitsugirly Great Review Rare

mitsugirly

Posted
Posted
I asked my NCL rep about these shirts and she tried to get me one but said they were given out at the Inaugural and there were no more available. Who did you contact. I would love one!!

 

We all ask for them on NCL's facebook account. Then were emailed by a rep asking for our address to send them to.

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btyko

btyko

Posted
Posted
...the story of the kid who stole the card was funny.. er, you made it sound funny anyway. Thanks for sharing!!!

 

That story reminds me of the time on Carnival when somebody stole my wife's sail & sign card. I did not bother to report it though, because the thief was spending less money than my wife.

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sdmike

sdmike

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That story reminds me of the time on Carnival when somebody stole my wife's sail & sign card. I did not bother to report it though, because the thief was spending less money than my wife.

 

Lol! -rimshot-

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JustUs3

JustUs3

Posted
Posted
I hope you guys enjoy our journey. I also have a few extremely unique Epic pictures from today (Saturday). Our flight was delayed, and by the time we took off from MIA the ship was about 20 miles out to sea. We flew right over it, and I got the first pictures of Epic from about 10,000 feet. lol! I will post these in the next couple of days.

 

Also, feel free to ask me any questions that I might be able to answer for you. It was a GREAT trip!

 

-Mike

 

 

WOW!!!:cool::D:)

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UK_Cruiser

UK_Cruiser

Posted
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Okay, fine. How about the last part of my question -- are their lines and a wait time to be seated. A few minutes is to be expected -- I'm thinking about wait times over 10 minutes?

 

 

From what I have read on here there doesn't appear to be any "lines" or rather queues.

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sdmike

sdmike

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Hi sdmike - we have two girls that are in the 6-9 group and I was wondering if you kept the kids club "daily" for lack of a better name for it? I would love to know what they have planned for the girls each day.

 

Thanks for the great review - you rock!

 

Yeah, I have that one. I'll scan it when I get home next week.

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Bgem75

Bgem75

Posted
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I hope so! I buy them on every cruise!!!

 

~Intrepid <-- never too soon to think about Christmas!

 

My last cruise they didnt have any of the ship we were on just a gerneric one..so we missed out however i so do not want to miss out on this one!!!!

So true...never to soon to thing about christmas!

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Sundae

Sundae

Posted
Posted
Hi Scott. I'll have some pictures to show the distances, but it's quite close. When you get off the ship you walk only about 100 feet to where their welcome center is. Another 100 feet and you're at the transportation kiosks, and right around the corner is the parking lot with all the vans. In fact, all of the vans are parked in a big parking lot right next to the ship... you just need to loop around to the left to get over to them. it's a much shorter walk than the long pier at Cozumel.

 

I'm going on a b2b beginning Sept 25 (Eastern & Western) and was absolutely bowled over by your detailed review. I've written down a few of the things you noted. I'm actually surprised the ship does not provided conditioner or bar soaps. You'd think that's standard.

 

Did you attend the Jeff Hobson Magic show more than once? Someone posted the Dailies of the Eastern itinerary and it shows up a few times so I'm wondering if his show changes throughout the cruise.

 

I'm also booked on the Bodden Zip n Dip. Along with my confirmation was a voucher for a shuttle to their office/check in and van area. After reading your review, I'm wondering what the voucher is for if we can just walk to where we need to check in. Did everyone on your tour head to Infinity Bay for the "Dip" portion of the cruise or were there choices of beaches they would take you to?

 

Did you have breakfast in the main dining room at all? If you did, how were the selections?

 

We are also considering the Cirque Dreams with standard seating. Were you able to pick where you wanted to be seated or was availability (closer to the "stage") based on first come first serve?

 

Thanks,

Katherine

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lovestocruise325

lovestocruise325

Posted
Posted
I'm going on a b2b beginning Sept 25 (Eastern & Western) and was absolutely bowled over by your detailed review. I've written down a few of the things you noted. I'm actually surprised the ship does not provided conditioner or bar soaps. You'd think that's standard.

 

Did you attend the Jeff Hobson Magic show more than once? Someone posted the Dailies of the Eastern itinerary and it shows up a few times so I'm wondering if his show changes throughout the cruise.

 

I'm also booked on the Bodden Zip n Dip. Along with my confirmation was a voucher for a shuttle to their office/check in and van area. After reading your review, I'm wondering what the voucher is for if we can just walk to where we need to check in. Did everyone on your tour head to Infinity Bay for the "Dip" portion of the cruise or were there choices of beaches they would take you to?

 

Did you have breakfast in the main dining room at all? If you did, how were the selections?

 

We are also considering the Cirque Dreams with standard seating. Were you able to pick where you wanted to be seated or was availability (closer to the "stage") based on first come first serve?

 

Thanks,

Katherine

I am also booked for the dip & zip but I did not get the shuttle transfer that you spoke about. Did your confirmation come through the mail or on-line? Thanks for sharing.

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Sundae

Sundae

Posted
Posted
I am also booked for the dip & zip but I did not get the shuttle transfer that you spoke about. Did your confirmation come through the mail or on-line? Thanks for sharing.

 

I reserved online and it was confirmed via email. At the end of the confirmation was the voucher for the shuttle and a map of where their check-in desk was. Looking at the map, it does appear that you could walk to their office to check-in.

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pcreek

pcreek

Posted
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Awesome review & photos, Mike!!

 

Thanks again for taking the time to post & answer all of our questions!

I found many invaluable bits of information for my own cruise.

 

Oh yeah... I especially appreciate that many are taking your advice in Roatan and taking Bodden tours and going to Infinity Beach... :D

 

Leaving Tabyana Beach virtually empty! <--it's my fav beach ever!. LOL

 

Ahhh.. life is good ! LOL THANK YOU!

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bcakes

bcakes

Posted
Posted

I have nothing to add that hasn't already been said, but I wanted to post another thank you for a great review and pictures. I appreciate that you took the time to post and had lots of fun reading your review.

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time2cruise1

time2cruise1

Posted
Posted
I typed a diary of our entire week on the ship which I will post here in multiple parts. Just a warning...it's long! I will have pictures up in the next couple of days showing what I'm writing about. I hope you enjoy the write-up!

 

Arrival Day

 

The two nights before the cruise we stayed at the Hilton downtown in Miami. We had arrived very late on Thursday night (midnight) and easily found a cab downtown to the hotel. The cost was $23 plus tip, so for $30 we got door to door service without messing with any shuttles. I had looked at shuttles and the cost would about been about triple what we paid for a cab for the 5 of us, so I’m glad decided to just “cab it”. The hotel is showing a little age, but the staff is great and it’s well maintained. We stayed in a HUGE Junior Suite that had two queen beds and a large sitting area with a fold-out queen couch. These units are on the corner with floor to ceiling windows, and being on the SW corner of the 12th floor we had a great view of the cruise ship terminal and downtown Miami. Thursday night while we were sleeping Tropical Storm Bonnie came calling, throwing up 50mph winds and a large amount of rain. We were worried that the weather would not pass fast enough for the Epic to start her trip on Saturday, but by late afternoon on Friday the sun came out and things were looking great for the trip. My folks and my brother’s family got in from Philly on Friday afternoon and stayed at a different hotel. We didn’t meet up until Saturday morning at the port just due to logistics (no cars, staying in different parts of the city). On Friday evening I took the family over to Bayside Marketplace. It was a $6 - $7 cab ride (plus tip) and it was nice to get out and walk around. My wife wanted to do a little shopping, but there are some empty shops now. The place is still like I remember, with most of the fun coming from people watching, grabbing a quick ice cream or water ice at a stand, or standing out by the harbor watching the water. There are a few places to eat (Chilis, Hooters, a food court), but not a lot of “good” restaurants. Worth spending some time though. Did I mention the people watching? World class. J

 

As I type this on Monday morning the ship is rocking and rolling in 50mph winds and 10-12ft waves. More on that later J

 

Hi SdMike...loved everything...May I ask what hotel u stayed @ before cruise? I love those views.:D:cool::)

 

It was in the first post by mike ;)

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