Epic Review 9/4 - 9/11/10. The good, the bad and the ugly....Part 1

[LWcalif]

I'm switching the format of my review to categories instead of days, as I didn't write anything down while cruising - just going by memory. (and as I said earlier, it's not that good)

 

I brought copies of the dailies that were posted on CC so I would know what might be happening each day. Didn't even look at them. Bad.

 

The one thing I really wanted to see was the comedian/magician. He was there every night up until the last few. So by the time we got around to fitting it in to our schedule he was gone. Bad.

 

Second City

I know there were mixed reviews, but since it's improv, they can only do so much with what is shouted at them. We hit it on a good night, because we really enjoyed this show. Good.

 

Blue Man Group

I saw BMG many years ago in Vegas and didn't like it. So when I saw they would be on the Epic there was no way I was sitting through that show again. But after reading all the positive reviews, we decided to see it. Much, much better than the other one. Really enjoyed this show. Good.

 

Unfortunately, there was a very drunk woman in the theatre. She was shouting out loud to the BMG through the entire show. Kept standing and waving her arms trying to get picked. There appeared to be an empty seat next to her, so I think she was by herself. Everybody around her kept saying shhhhh over and over. Then at one point she yelled "I know what's going to happen next". Then the shhhh changed to "BE QUIET". I don't know why NCL didn't remove her from the theatre. She could have hurt herself or someone else stumbling through the aisle and up the stairs. She left towards the end of the show, but was unable to walk up the stairs on her own, so two gentlemen got up and each took an arm and got her up the stairs. NCL staff met them half way up and took over. Bad.

 

Murder Mystery

This one had mixed reviews, too. But we really enjoyed this show. I think it helped seeing Second City first, since they were all the same people, so, I felt like I knew the players. The food wasn't that great, but we weren't really there for the food. So this one rates a Good.

 

Cirque Dreams

Another one with mixed reviews. This one we didn't really care for. After reading all the reviews, we decided to do premium seating and hoped we could sit up front. I sent DD down over an hour before the show started to get in line. We were first in line, but the concierge brought down a bunch of suite room keys, so we weren't the first ones in. But there were still tons of good seats. I told the gal at the door who was assigning tables that we wanted to sit up front. So we were seated at the front of a table for 7. Great location. If we hadn't had this prime spot, I don't think I would have enjoyed the show as much. I really liked the acrobatics, but the acting part was just too drawn out. I noticed a bunch of people in the upper level get up and leave early. There were a lot of people in the lower section that had their backs to the show, so they had sit turned around to see it. Food was just OK. I can't really rate this one, as it wasn't good or bad.

 

Didn't get to see Slam Allen or Howl at the Moon. I'm sailing on the Epic again in December, so I've started a list of everything I didn't get to see and do this time......now if I can only remember to bring it with me. Good.

[chiapet]

Laura ...

 

This is just in time for me to book my entertainment & dining :)

 

It sounds like the entertainment was all pretty good ... and nothing was really bad.

 

Thanks again for the reviews!

[RTR08]

Laura ...

 

This is just in time for me to book my entertainment & dining :)

 

It sounds like the entertainment was all pretty good ... and nothing was really bad.

 

Thanks again for the reviews!

 

Chia,

......and we'll be depending on you for your report! :)

[Cruisetini]

December 4th can not come soon enough! Today is 6 weeks from my abdominal surgery - how easy is it to move thru the curved halls with a small suit case with wheels? I can't carry much weight for wait for a while and also can you put suitcases under the bed like Jewel or Star etc? Thanks

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

The one thing I really wanted to see was the comedian/magician. He was there every night up until the last few. So by the time we got around to fitting it in to our schedule he was gone. Bad.

 

GONE as in "off the ship because his contract is over"...OR

 

GONE as in "we didn't get to see him because he does not perform every night but He will be abck again during the following week's cruise" ?

 

:confused:

[LWcalif]

December 4th can not come soon enough! Today is 6 weeks from my abdominal surgery - how easy is it to move thru the curved halls with a small suit case with wheels? I can't carry much weight for wait for a while and also can you put suitcases under the bed like Jewel or Star etc? Thanks

 

The walls were only curved on one side. So if you stay to the straight side, you'll be fine. And the suitcases do fit under the bed. We also moved our life jackets under the bed so we would have more cabinet storage space.

 

GONE as in "off the ship because his contract is over"...OR

 

GONE as in "we didn't get to see him because he does not perform every night but He will be abck again during the following week's cruise" ?

 

:confused:

 

Sorry, I should have clarified. He didn't perform on the last two days. He's still on the ship. I just checked my Dailies and he was on:

Day 1, 8:00 pm Spiegel Tent

Day 4, 11:15 pm Epic Theatre

Day 5, 11:15 pm Epic Theatre

 

Funny, my DD said he was on every night until we checked on Thurs. But it looks like he's only on for 3 nights. Guess memory loss runs in the family.

[texascat]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write! I am on the Epic on 10/16th and can't wait!!!

 

I hope you will have pictures!

 

Thank you,

[left the dog at home]

Hi, Laura!! It has been fun reading your review.:D We'll have to have you write one for each of our cruises!

I bet your neighbors on the Epic weren't as fun as your neighbors in July:p!

Keep it up! Can't wait to read more!

[coffeebean]

Great review so far. Please keep it coming. Enjoy your writing style-Good.

[coffeebean]

Laura, great job so far. I am sure we are all waiting to read the rest.

 

Nita

Nita...

 

Hello again after a long time. I've noticed that you didn't post about Epic when Epic had its own forum. Now that Epic is merged with the regular NCL forum, I'm seeing you posting much more. Just wondering why you didn't come over the the "Everything Epic" forum when it was separate???

 

Good to "see" you again.

[coffeebean]

 

Didn't get to see Slam Allen or Howl at the Moon. I'm sailing on the Epic again in December, so I've started a list of everything I didn't get to see and do this time......now if I can only remember to bring it with me. Good.

Hopefully Slam Allen will still be on Epic in December. The entertainment acts do change after so much time. I'm hoping Slam Allen will still be on board for our Oct. 16th cruise.

 

As for Howl at the Moon, I'll make sure we pop in at least once during our week cruise. I've seen dueling pianos only once on a Carnival cruise and I LOVED it so much, I went back every night for a few songs. I think Howl is a bit different though...gets rowdy after 11:00 and I can't wait to see that! These guys change every three weeks from what I have read on Cruise Critic but Howl will still be there in December I assume.

 

Will you be cruising over the holidays in December???

[coffeebean]

GONE as in "off the ship because his contract is over"...OR

 

GONE as in "we didn't get to see him because he does not perform every night but He will be abck again during the following week's cruise" ?

 

:confused:

Great question. I'm hoping Hobson will still be on the ship for our Oct. cruise. I've seen a few clips of him on YouTube and he is hilarious, not to mention a good magician.

[lderosa920]

Wow coffeebean, you're going on 2 EPIC cruises before the end of the year!! You're a lucky guy/gal!

[dtiger]

Great informative review. You seem to be very organized and have some great tips.

[cowboygene]

That female drunk was sitting directly behind me, I was in the 2nd row, she was in the 3rd row. Prior to the show, it was very obvious to all that she was totally wasted. Yet the drink hustler sold her more booze. He could tell she was drunk, he should have refused, NCL and other cruise lines should have a policy of cutting off people who have had way too much. It appears the desire for a tip and need to fill a drink quote override good sense.

 

This women totally disrupted the show and was a danger to herself and others, she was so drunk, she left her purse behind. The next day, I saw her gyrating by herself on the stage on the 15th deck while the reggae band was trying to play.

[sjbdtz]

I believe the term is drink server, or waiter.

 

I'm sure the cruiseline does have a policy for cutting off people who have had too much, but for all YOU know, this might have been the first & only drink she BOUGHT onboard.....they'd have no way of knowing she was inebriated, or whether she had mental challenges, or whether she inadvertently mixed pharmaceuticals which shouldn't have been mixed.... PLUS, you don't know whether they even noticed her behave erratically AT ALL. (or at least you have not indicated that they knew).

 

You say "he could tell she was drunk". How do you know what HE could tell?

 

And you have no idea what desires would override good sense. Seems like you have a chip on your shoulder to do with tips & drink quotas....

 

I hear nothing that suggests those were the motivating factors behind the server accepting this lady's order.

[jsinohio]

I'm switching the format of my review to categories instead of days, as I didn't write anything down while cruising - just going by memory. (and as I said earlier, it's not that good)

 

 

Thanks for the review. Will you be doing one for the "dining" portion as well?

 

.

.

.

[LWcalif]

Roatan

 

We didn't have anything pre-booked here, so since we were two women traveling along, we opted for a ship excursion. I had visited the shore excursion desk to ask what the deadline was to book and she said they come by at 6 am to process the reservations done at night via your cabin TV and those dropped in the box at the desk. We booked the Tabayana Beach Party on the cabin TV. There were two times, 8:30 am & 10:30 am. The 10:30 was booked, so we did the 8:30. Tickets arrived promptly at our door that morning.

 

We knew we wanted to do something with a beach, and Tabayana was the only beach excursion that did not say to bring insect repellant. I asked at the desk, and they said this is the only beach they spray. I had been reading on other boards that some people really get bitten up in Roatan, and I am usually the one that the bugs flock to. We spent the entire day there with no repellant and not a bite.

 

We absolutely loved this place! The water was crystal clear and very shallow going in. I'm glad we did the 8:30 tour, as we had our pick of location. There were tons of chairs in both the sun and shade. Even the people arriving later could get shade chairs, they just weren't right up at the water. There were many people in logo shirts with "staff" on the back that would carry your chairs to wherever you wanted them. All very friendly and helpful. One guy said he was the head of security and offered to watch our stuff if we went into the water or to eat. We just threw our towels over our bags, as we didn't really have anything of value in them. Later in the day, when we came back from eating lunch, there he was standing over a bunch of our chairs. Very impressed with the safety of this place.

 

The brocure said Tabayana Beach is exclusive for ships, so the only people there were cruisers. It looked like they had guys posted at each side of the beach, so people could walk through, along the water, but not stay there. Servers roamed the area taking drink orders. Not just alcohol or sodas, if you wanted any of the free drinks, water, iced tea, lemonade, they would bring you that, too.

 

Quite a few of us ended up partially putting our chairs in the shallow water to keep cool. I could have stayed here all week. Good.

 

Food - BBQ chicken (only dark meat so I didn't try it) DD said it was OK, rice, beans, hamburgers, hot dogs, condiments, fresh fruit. I only had a bite of a hamburger, then went back for a hot dog. I figured, it's pretty hard to ruin a hot dog. The fresh fruit was delicious. We didn't book this place for the food, so we only ate a little bit knowing we would hit the buffet for our daily ice cream later on the ship. Food bad. Fresh fruit Good.

 

Note - The description says transportation is by school bus. None of the other tours in their Roatan brochure had the type of transportation listed (other than the Best of Roatan Island said air-conditioned vehicle). I pictured something like my old yellow school bus with it's windows down and no air conditioning traveling down a dusty road in 90 degree heat, so I almost didn't book it. It turns out they were large sized vans with air-condition vents for each row of seats. And vans waiting to take you back to the ship anytime you wanted to leave. Good.

[LWcalif]

Cozumel

 

After much review on the Cozumel Board, we booked Nachi Cocum. Wed. was originally a sea day, then was switched to Costa Maya, and then switched to Cozumel. No biggie. Nachi Cocum had e-mailed me to let me know they could still accommodate us on that day.

 

We really enjoyed this place. Their palapas each had 4 loungers, so we each had an extra chair for our "stuff". Spent the first half of the day lounging on the beach. Didn't spend as much time in the water as we did in Roatan. Rented floating mats for $7 each, but we didn't use them enough to warrant the extra cost. Next time we'll pass on these.

 

2nd half of the day, we spent in the pool with our new friends from our roll call. Swim up bar was convenient for drinks without having to get out of the pool. We stayed at this resort till the end. We were in the pool so long, we looked like raisins when we finally got out. Good.

 

Food - Lunch was excellent. Full menu with everything to choose from. We chose to eat at our palapa, but they also had tables in the bar area. Everything we ordered was very good. And our CC friends around us also said their food was really good. All day food, beverages (including alcohol) included in the price. Servers came around regularly to see if you needed anything. Good.

[love2relax]

Laura, Tabayana Beach is a favorite place of mine as well. Even if I do something else in Roatan, I always make sure that I end up there: good food, great service, great drinks :D, and good snorkeling! We want to hear more!

[cherylroslyn]

Cozumel

 

After much review on the Cozumel Board, we booked Nachi Cocum. Wed. was originally a sea day, then was switched to Costa Maya, and then switched to Cozumel. No biggie. Nachi Cocum had e-mailed me to let me know they could still accommodate us on that day.

 

We really enjoyed this place. Their palapas each had 4 loungers, so we each had an extra chair for our "stuff". Spent the first half of the day lounging on the beach. Didn't spend as much time in the water as we did in Roatan. Rented floating mats for $7 each, but we didn't use them enough to warrant the extra cost. Next time we'll pass on these.

 

2nd half of the day, we spent in the pool with our new friends from our roll call. Swim up bar was convenient for drinks without having to get out of the pool. We stayed at this resort till the end. We were in the pool so long, we looked like raisins when we finally got out. Good.

 

Food - Lunch was excellent. Full menu with everything to choose from. We chose to eat at our palapa, but they also had tables in the bar area. Everything we ordered was very good. And our CC friends around us also said their food was really good. All day food, beverages (including alcohol) included in the price. Servers came around regularly to see if you needed anything. Good.

Keep it coming....still haven't seen any ugly.........

[LWcalif]

Costa Maya

 

Thursday was originally Cozumel, but ended up being Costa Maya. Did Maya Chan, another highly recommended place from the Costa Maya board. These people were very, very accommodating. Considering, we were supposed to be there Tues. Then captain couldn't dock due to high winds, so we were scheduled for Wed. Then rec'd notice that it would be Thurs.

 

The Carnival ship had the place booked that day, but they docked earlier and were leaving earlier than we were. So Maya Chan had transportation arranged for us at the port for 11:30 am. When we arrived, the last of the Carnie people were preparing to leave.

 

We reserved under a group rate, but didn't have to all reserve at the same time. We told him we were on the Epic, and would like to be set up as a group. Then as word passed on our roll call, others signed up as well. The difference between the private booking and the group booking, was you either had a private palapa to yourself, or were put in one of the group areas. Group areas had palapas, chairs, tables, loungers, hammock.

 

The water here was so warm, it was like swimming in a bath tub. They have floating chairs with cup holders and come out to you in the water to take your drink orders and bring you your drinks. Everything was included, transportation to and from the ship, drinks (including alcohol), food. Food was tortillas, beef, chicken, cheese, salsas, chips, guacamole, too (I think). I don't remember if there was anything else, this is what I ate. All Good.

 

They have an organized bike tour, but it was pretty hot by the time we got there, so nobody signed up. Also, you can take kayaks out a ways to go snorkeling. And they have a golf or miniature golf area. I didn't do either of these. I guess you can see the pattern forming......all I did was lounge, float, eat & drink!

 

There was a lot of sea grass on the beach, and in the water. Not sure if the amount was normal, or more so due to the recent storms. But you could see the clear patches in the water if you wanted to avoid it.

 

I think the only thing with an additional cost were the massages. I believe it was $25 1/2 hr. or $40 hr. on professional massage tables, not laying on the sand (as I saw at other places). DD did the 1 hr. and said it was well worth the money.

 

I would definitely go back here again. Good.

 

Next up.......FOOD

[erdoran]

Laura, between Maya Chan and Nachi Cocum, which did you prefer? And did you have a look at the Costa Maya port area with beach & pool, was that decent looking? I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, DH and I are going to do at each port. thanks!

[LWcalif]

Laura, between Maya Chan and Nachi Cocum, which did you prefer? And did you have a look at the Costa Maya port area with beach & pool, was that decent looking? I'm trying to figure out what, if anything, DH and I are going to do at each port. thanks!

 

Ellen

 

We did see the pool at the port. I know a lot of people like to go there, especially since it's free. But, to us, it just looked like our local public pool packed with people. I didn't notice the beach area, so I can't comment on that. If we didn't have plans at Costa Maya, we would have stayed on the ship and enjoyed their pool before we went to that one.

 

As far as which I preferred, they both were great in their own way. Some addt'l info:

Nachi: Paved road from port to beach, pay for your own taxi.

Maya: Slower bumpy road towards the end, but the driver knew where to maneuver around the potholes. Transportation included.

Nachi: Pool and bar/restaurant area

Maya: No pool, buffet style food

Nachi: Pay $7 for floatie mats

Maya: Floatie chairs included

Nachi: The sand was very soft here, I sunk into the sand getting into and out of the ocean. Don't think I could have stayed upright if I'd had a few cocktails.

Maya: Lots of sea grass, but easy to get in and out of the ocean. Easy to spot the areas without the grass.

Nachi: More commercialized looking.

Maya: Rustic family owned and operated caribbean beach spot.

 

For our Christmas cruise, I was originally thinking, since I did beach days this time at each port, I would do city tours. But, after visiting the beaches, I'm going to play it by ear, and wait till the last minute to book anything. If the weather is going to be warm, I will definitely go back to each one of the three beaches I visited last week.

 

Laura

[LWcalif]

Since this was our 1st NCL cruise, we were new to freestyle cruising. Loved my previous RCI & Carnival cruises, where we ate with the same people each night. And have met cruisers, who are now friends, due to our wonderful dinners each night. So, this was a new experience for us. Everyone kept telling us NCL is "different". So I wasn't sure what to expect. Well, I loved it!

 

Other than Cirque and Murder Mystery, we didn't have any other meals booked in advance. Thought I would "keep my costs down" by only eating at the free places, as we've mostly eaten at only the MDR's in past cruises.

 

I've never hit the buffet so many times ever on a cruise (but many times it was for ice cream only). I'm not a buffet gal. Those who know me, know that I can fill my plate at a buffet and only eat one bit of each thing. However, I really liked this buffet. And as I said on an earlier post, the ice cream/sherbert selections are great.

 

We did all breakfasts (other than one at O'Sheehans) at the buffet. Something for everyone here. Most everything I had was good. And if it was too crowded, we went downstairs to La Cucina for tables. Much quieter down there. Good.

 

Didn't eat in Taste, but ate one night in Manhattan (lobster night). Said it was a 20 - 30 min. wait. Only waited 5 min. Others posters have said it was bad service, but our servers were great. And food was good. Didn't get a chance to eat here again, too many other options. Good.

 

Thursday morning we decided we wanted to eat at LeBistro that night. Fully booked. No ressies available for Thurs. or Fri. Thanks to previous CC posters, we decided to show up and see if we could get a table. Yep, scored! Walked into a half empty restaurant and got a table right away at 6:45 pm. I told my DD that there were no shorts allowed in the specialty restaurants, but she wore her dressy shorts anyway, elegant top, and dressy shoes. They sent her away. No shorts allowed. I told her so. She changed into a dress and came back. Funny, that they let the table next to us wear jeans and T-Shirts. No biggie. Food was good.

 

Same with Moderno. We could only get a ressie at 8:30 pm. Showed up at 6:30 and were able to get seated right away. I'm guessing that they leave a block of tables at the specialty restaurants for walk-ins. This was our favorite restaurant of the whole trip. Servers were probably the best of the whole trip, too. Very attentive. By the end of the night, they knew what we had/didn't have for our meat selections, and promptly brought out what we were missing. Glad we didn't eat here until the last night. We ate way too much. Good.

 

Other than the time we at in O'Sheehans on Day 1, we ate breakfast there one other day. Breakfast food Bad. And there were 2 different servers for our table. Both took our order, neither brought it. All seemed very unorganized. Bad.

 

To sum up this "no longer freestyle" dining others have stated, with having to book stuff in advance - we booked the minimum, and were still able to dine at the specialty places we wanted at the last minute. I'm definitely a "new" NCL fan. IMHO this ship had something for everyone.

 

Next up - Final report - Misc. ship stuff.