Lusitanica's EPIC REVIEW with pics, videos, comments, etc.

[InverStone]

Lusitanica, Awesome review & videos. I am happy that I talked a close friend out of this tub. I dreaded the only NCL cruise i went on because of the crew (this was just after the sale of NCL to Orient CL).....This ship would have been far worse!

 

 

So....you haven't even been on the Epic? Why would it have been worse?

 

I have been on Disney, Carnival, and NCL. All were great with respective strengths and weaknesses.

 

We did the Epic tranatlantic, and it was awesome. One of the best experiences we have had (crew wise). The crew on the Epic seemed to all be experienced veterans from the NCL fleet, probably because the Epic is their new "baby" and they needed a well oiled crew. We loved most of the ship and disliked some of the ship. Just like EVERY OTHER ship we have ever been on.

 

I don't get this negativity.

 

Inver

[InverStone]

I could only make it half way through all of this thread and was feeling like enough is enough. Negative negative negative.

I too went on the Epic. It was actually my first NCL cruise so I am not one of their "cheerleaders with an agends" that so many are accused of being.

 

 

Nice post. Which Epic cruise were you on? My wife and I were on the transatlantic (i.e. "stuck" on the ship for 7 days - no ports (gasp)) and we had the time of our lives. Casino was awesome, great shows, fantastic staff, great food (the brazilian restaurant was the best). Didn't love the atrium, and yeah the sink was small and the bathroom/shower area was different, but I put on my big boy pants and dealt with it.

 

One neat thing was the soccer world cup was taking place when we were on, and we watched the ENG vs GER game on the big screen (surrounded by loads of brits and Germans). It wasn't Hockey - but still a blast.

 

Inver

[jarz85]

Maybe if you took the remote control out, it wouldn't splash so much. :rolleyes:

 

Have been reading this thread for about 3 hours now and only up to page 11. I am enjoying it very much, loving the humour.

 

Look forward to reading the next 10+ pages

[lusitanica]

Lusitanica, Awesome review & videos. I am happy that I talked a close friend out of this tub. I dreaded the only NCL cruise i went on because of the crew (this was just after the sale of NCL to Orient CL).....This ship would have been far worse! I must say that although I wont sail NCL, I did learn something from my sole experience on the bus line of cruise lines.....It is what you make of it! I was on a ship that had a crew with a bad attitude....and I reacted to this by getting a bad attitude myself. Never again! Although I have preferences on which line I sail, I know to read reviews now before I book (positive & negative) and to always remember that this vacation is what I make of it no matter what the attitude of the crew or other passengers may be.

 

 

I know to read reviews now before I book (positive & negative) and to always remember that this vacation is what I make of it

 

I agree with you regarding vacation and that you for your feedback.

[CanadianTwosome]

Lusitanica, Awesome review & videos. I am happy that I talked a close friend out of this tub. I dreaded the only NCL cruise i went on because of the crew (this was just after the sale of NCL to Orient CL).....This ship would have been far worse! I must say that although I wont sail NCL, I did learn something from my sole experience on the bus line of cruise lines.....It is what you make of it! I was on a ship that had a crew with a bad attitude....and I reacted to this by getting a bad attitude myself. Never again! Although I have preferences on which line I sail, I know to read reviews now before I book (positive & negative) and to always remember that this vacation is what I make of it no matter what the attitude of the crew or other passengers may be.

 

I love posts like this one. The entire crew had a bad attitude, which clearly had nothing to do with the poster - 'they' caused him to have a bad attitude. Funny... I'll bet in every encounter with one of those awful crewmembers one thing was constant - he was there.

 

Interestingly, I used to work at a large store here like a grocery store with extra departments. I was a cashier, and so was the last contact most customers had with staff. I had a great attitude, and in five years it was never once shaken, no matter what kind of customers I had. Also interesting, I found that I rarely had any customers with what I would call 'bad attitudes', although every day I would take my break with other cashiers who were complaining about people who had come through their lanes. I even saw a few reduced to tears by the way they'd been treated. I had customers with pricing issues, that couldn't find what they wanted, with expired coupons... all sorts of difficulties... and I was able to resolve all of them without my attitude being affected.

 

Yet now I spend time on Cruise Critic and I see posts like this one all the time - I'm a really nice person, but EVERY crew member I encountered had a bad attitude. Funny, I've NEVER encountered a crew member on any cruise ship (not just NCL) that was anything but friendly, polite, and helpful - and just as I surmised about the bad experiences the poster had, as it happened, in every great encounter I've had with crew members, I've been there... good attitude and all. Coincidence? I think not. :cool:

 

Crewmembers are human, so I'm not so unrealistic as to think nobody ever encounters a crewmember who is having a bad day, but when someone states that the entire crew of any ship has a 'bad attitude', I just find it incredibly hard to believe.

[OceanDreams]

Lusitanica,

 

Thanks for taking the time to write & post photo's along with your review. So many review are pretty much the same ..... all sugar coated. It's nice to read one that isn't all positive. Life isn't about all "sunny" days....sometimes there is "rain."

 

OceanDreams

[skillet]

Regardless of any opinions of others, your review was awesome and informative. Thanks for your review, Kenny

[sjbdtz]

Lusitanica,

 

Thanks for taking the time to write & post photo's along with your review. So many review are pretty much the same ..... all sugar coated. It's nice to read one that isn't all positive. Life isn't about all "sunny" days....sometimes there is "rain."

 

OceanDreams

 

 

I posted photos too, which say entirely different things.

 

But my cruise was sunny, despite the fact that it was raining almost every day.

[OceanDreams]

I posted photos too, which say entirely different things.

 

But my cruise was sunny, despite the fact that it was raining almost every day.

 

SJBDTZ ~ Did you post a seperate thread with a review? If so, can you post the link? Thanks

 

OceanDreams

[lusitanica]

Lusitanica,

 

Thanks for taking the time to write & post photo's along with your review. So many review are pretty much the same ..... all sugar coated. It's nice to read one that isn't all positive. Life isn't about all "sunny" days....sometimes there is "rain."

 

OceanDreams

 

Thank you.

 

BTW I have just returned from an interesting cruise ship.

There were something to compare with the Epic.

[lusitanica]

10 098? Pushing my luck and will understand if you need to draw the line somewhere, but any pics of this room from the outside?

 

How do you know where all the rooms are? Amazing!!

 

 

[lusitanica]

It was a great decision to cancel the cruise on Epic and cruise with my first timers on the Ruby Princess instead of the Epic.

We have just returned from a wonderful trip.

A brief comparison.

We had a comfortable deluxe balcony cabin for three of us. It's a "mini suite" in Princess semantics.

We paid a bit more than we would for a regular balcony cabin for three on Epic, and LESS than we would for a "deluxe" (or "mini suite") cabin on Epic !!

In a few words: our cabin on Ruby was a palace in comparison with a tiny cave (with bathroom issues) on Epic we had last time.

Ruby has been designed in the best maritime traditions.

Ruby is smaller, but provides more room, more space, more air.

Ruby looks much more nautical.

Open decks and promenades are spectacular.

You want free style on Ruby? You get it.

Four theatrical shows during the cruise. Entertainment program kept us busy until the last minute of the cruise (just to remind - on Epic we were done with all entertainment in four days).

Cirque and comedians - you get it.

Live music all over the ship - you get it.

You want to party - you get it.

You want charming atmosphere - you get it.

Dining experience in general was head and shoulders above Epic.

Four pools were never as crowded as on Epic.

Generally - we had simply a different class of cruising on the Ruby - well above what the Epic offers. More choices, more variety - that was especially important for the first time cruisers.

 

More info later.

[kitsVA]

It was a great decision to cancel the cruise on Epic and cruise with my first timers on the Ruby Princess instead of the Epic.

We have just returned from a wonderful trip.

A brief comparison.

We had a comfortable deluxe balcony cabin for three of us. It's a "mini suite" in Princess semantics.

We paid a bit more than we would for a regular balcony cabin on Epic, and LESS than we would for a "deluxe" (or "mini suite") cabin on Epic.

In a few words: our cabin on Ruby was a palace in comparison with a tiny cave (with bathroom issues) on Epic we had last time.

Ruby has been designed in the best maritime traditions.

Ruby is smaller, but provides more room, more space, more air.

Ruby looks much more nautical.

Open decks and promenades are spectacular.

You want free style on Ruby? You get it.

Four theatrical shows during the cruise. Entertainment program kept us busy until the last minute of the cruise (just to remind - on Epic we were done with all entertainment in four days).

Cirque and comedians - you get it.

Live music all over the ship - you get it.

You want to party - you get it.

You want charming atmosphere - you get it.

Dining experience in general was head and shoulders above Epic.

Four pools never were as crowded as on Epic.

Generally - we had simply a different class of cruising on the Ruby - well above what the Epic offers. More choice, more variety - that was especially important for the first time cruisers.

 

More info later.

 

Thanks for a great review on Ruby. How is it for non-smokers? I almost booked on Ruby for the Spring break but had to change to a Cancun Resort on friends request. Looking forward to trying Princess to get to South Caribbean next year.

[lusitanica]

Thanks for a great review on Ruby. How is it for non-smokers? I almost booked on Ruby for the Spring break but had to change to a Cancun Resort on friends request. Looking forward to trying Princess to get to South Caribbean next year.

 

I cannot say that I did not see smokers in the casino, but the pictures are completely different.

On Epic, the smokey casino takes the main passageway along the ship.

On Ruby, the casino is smaller and limited to a particular area.

 

And more important:

 

[sjbdtz]

It was a great decision to cancel the cruise on Epic and cruise with my first timers on the Ruby Princess instead of the Epic.

We have just returned from a wonderful trip.

A brief comparison.

We had a comfortable deluxe balcony cabin for three of us. It's a "mini suite" in Princess semantics.

We paid a bit more than we would for a regular balcony cabin for three on Epic, and LESS than we would for a "deluxe" (or "mini suite") cabin on Epic !!

In a few words: our cabin on Ruby was a palace in comparison with a tiny cave (with bathroom issues) on Epic we had last time.

Ruby has been designed in the best maritime traditions.

Ruby is smaller, but provides more room, more space, more air.

Ruby looks much more nautical.

Open decks and promenades are spectacular.

You want free style on Ruby? You get it.

Four theatrical shows during the cruise. Entertainment program kept us busy until the last minute of the cruise (just to remind - on Epic we were done with all entertainment in four days).

Cirque and comedians - you get it.

Live music all over the ship - you get it.

You want to party - you get it.

You want charming atmosphere - you get it.

Dining experience in general was head and shoulders above Epic.

Four pools were never as crowded as on Epic.

Generally - we had simply a different class of cruising on the Ruby - well above what the Epic offers. THIS IS YOUR OPINION, not a fact. More choices, more variety - that was especially important for the first time cruisers.

 

More info later.

 

Thanks for sharing your opinion.

[lusitanica]

More comparison info from my 2 recent cruises.

 

Value for money (cabins).

 

For the group of three we had a mini on Ruby Princess roughly for the price of a balcony on Epic.

 

 

[Medtech2]

It was a great decision to cancel the cruise on Epic and cruise with my first timers on the Ruby Princess instead of the Epic.

We have just returned from a wonderful trip.

A brief comparison.

We had a comfortable deluxe balcony cabin for three of us. It's a "mini suite" in Princess semantics.

We paid a bit more than we would for a regular balcony cabin for three on Epic, and LESS than we would for a "deluxe" (or "mini suite") cabin on Epic !!

In a few words: our cabin on Ruby was a palace in comparison with a tiny cave (with bathroom issues) on Epic we had last time.

Ruby has been designed in the best maritime traditions.

Ruby is smaller, but provides more room, more space, more air.

Ruby looks much more nautical.

Open decks and promenades are spectacular.

You want free style on Ruby? You get it.

Four theatrical shows during the cruise. Entertainment program kept us busy until the last minute of the cruise (just to remind - on Epic we were done with all entertainment in four days).

Cirque and comedians - you get it.

Live music all over the ship - you get it.

You want to party - you get it.

You want charming atmosphere - you get it.

Dining experience in general was head and shoulders above Epic.

Four pools were never as crowded as on Epic.

Generally - we had simply a different class of cruising on the Ruby - well above what the Epic offers. More choices, more variety - that was especially important for the first time cruisers.

 

More info later.

Thanks for the update on your latest cruise. I am sincerely glad you enjoyed it and even though I loved the Epic, this definitely makes me want to try the Ruby Princess!

[Planer's Edge]

...and the crusade continues. :confused:

 

We get it already, you like Princess over NCL.

 

PE

[kerrytens]

Lusitanica, so glad you enjoyed your cruise onboard the Ruby. I loved my Crown (sister ship, as you know) experience too. Princess is a great line for sure.

 

I'm just glad I am able to have a choice with cruiselines. I get bored easily;)

[sjbdtz]

More comparison info from my 2 recent cruises.

 

Value for money (cabins).

 

For the group of three we had a mini on Ruby Princess roughly for the price of a balcony on Epic.

 

 

 

 

I've just GOT to ask...do you do before/after photos for a living?

 

One room is well-lit, bed turned-down, everything all neat & tidy.

 

The other is poorly lit (looks like camera flash turned off), bed rumpled, drawer pulled out to make it look smaller...cabinet opened to cut-off any potential light, and you're comparing a Deluxe balcony, to a balcony.

 

You're comparing the main bed on Princess to the pull-out couch on EPIC, and for pricing you're comparing a brand new popular ship with stellar entertainment, to a Princess ship....'nuff said.

[Liquid Shiva]

[quote name='lusitanica']More comparison info from my 2 recent cruises.

Value for money (cabins).

For the group of three we had a mini on Ruby Princess roughly for the price of a balcony on Epic.


[IMG]http://img100.imageshack.us/img100/4900/3rdbed.jpg[/IMG][/QUOTE]

the cabin in the left pic looks extremely dated (modern in 1980)....
tastes differ, that's for sure ;)

[lusitanica]

[quote name='sjbdtz']I've just GOT to ask...do you do before/after photos for a living?

One room is well-lit, bed turned-down, everything all neat & tidy.

The other is poorly lit (looks like camera flash turned off), bed rumpled, drawer pulled out to make it look smaller...cabinet opened to cut-off any potential light, and you're comparing a Deluxe balcony, to a balcony.

You're comparing the main bed on Princess to the pull-out couch on EPIC, and for pricing you're comparing a brand new popular ship with stellar entertainment, to a Princess ship....'nuff said.[/quote]

Total confusion.
To know the difference between balcony and "deluxe" balcony please refer to Pages 1-2 of this review.

***
At the time Ruby was nearly sold out (some insides and suites left), a "popular one" was desperately filling gaps in all categories (except for "solos").:)


[COLOR=red][quote]You're comparing the main bed on Princess to the pull-out couch on EPIC[/quote][/COLOR]

[COLOR=red]Bingo![/COLOR]
[COLOR=red]A pull-out couch in a mini on Ruby looks like the main bed to you.[/COLOR]
Thank you.
You've pointed out one of details that symbolises the differece in class between the Ruby and the Epic.



More comparisons to come.