EPIC Review - Mostly Good with some not so Good

[scfa99]

Who we are: married in our upper 30’s with two children ages 11 and 7. FIL also joined us and we had connecting balconies on the 14th floor. We have cruised 4 times previously, FIL 20 + times. We always have a great time and try not to let the little things bother us.

 

This is a belated review from 10/30 (West Caribbean) Halloween cruise. I’m not going to do an extensive review but will try and point out the things we liked and did not like.

Pre-cruise: Flew into FTL airport and used SAS transportation to Marriott Biscayne Bay Hotel. SAS was prompt, fast and friendly.

Marriott Biscayne Bay hotel was fine, nothing special, the price was right. The hotel is under construction so the entrance is a bit of pain when getting dropped off. The pool area needs a major overhaul but our room was very nice and they even upgraded us despite us using priceline for a discounted rate. If you get a bay view you can see the ships/port from the room.

One thing we liked is there is a small mall attached, nothing fancy, has some eateries if you want a quick meal and don’t want to get gauged by the hotel restaurant.

Embarkation: Caught a cab over to the ship, think it was like $12 bucks. Got to the port around 11:15, got thru within 15 mins to the waiting room. Sat there until around 12 and then headed off to the ship.

The Ship: Once on the ship we headed over to Taste to have lunch. We were the first ones there and enjoyed a relaxing and quiet lunch. After a good lunch and even better service we hit the water slides. No lines and we quickly completed each slide. I actually liked the plunge the best, the 2 slides were slow and really didn’t do much for me. The plunge was ok, not thrilling the kids loved them all.

Passenger count: An officer told us there were only 3300 passengers, 500 of them kids. The ship never felt crowded, we never waited online at any restaurants. I would worry about congestion during peak season when the ship is at capacity.

Kids club: Our 11 yr old elected not to go, our 7 year enjoyed it a lot. The check-in process needs to be revamped, as there is no order to the madness. Because parents can enter from two areas there is a lot of line cutting. There should be a roped off section for pick-ups and one for drop-offs. Counselors were great for the most part, there were two that clearly were burnt out and had the same attitude the whole week.

Room: we had connecting deluxe family balconies. Having the connecting door open made the balcony seem huge and was great for the kids to go back and forth from room to room.

Bed was very comfortable, although I had to sleep on an angle so my feet wouldn’t hang over, even with the bed pulled away from the wall.

 

Décor: we loved the look and feel of the room. The storage design should win awards; there is NO way you can fill everything up.

 

TV: barely any channels other than news. One night they had a football game on in the bar, came back to our room and no game. It’s clear that they don’t want people in their rooms, rather out spending money.

Bunk bed from the ceiling was great, was a little tight getting to the balcony but not as bad as everyone described. In the morning it was easy to close the bunk for extra space.

 

Bathroom area: it is what it is, it didn’t ruin our trip and the only real issue for us is that the glass does not block sound. There are a couple of design flaws in my opinion. In most ships the dual connecting toilet /shower areas there is a lip and drain to prevent spillage if the toiler over flows. On the epic there is no lip or drain if the toilet ever overflows. Also during high seas I took a shower and water poured out of the back of the shower all over the carpet and wood floor. Unrelated to the water leaking out is that the glass shower door also opened and slammed during high seas with no way to lock it.

 

The sink is a joke, so small, impossible to wash your face without getting the counter wet. I love to know if this was a designer’s idea or a bean counter. Either way they should be fired.

 

So in summary, the room is half awesome, and the other half makes you wonder what the heck they were thinking. I do think that there will be some long-term mildew issues with the ship cabins based on all the water spillage issues that will arise daily/weekly.

 

Room location: we loved being close to the kids club, no noise and were a few steps away to check in/checkout our daughter. This allowed her to go as often as she wanted even if it was just for an hour or less. If we were aft it would not have been as easy and she would have missed out on some of the activities she enjoyed. Also being able to just shoot up the stairs to pickup a snack or water was nice.

Activities on the ship: You really need a back to back to be able to do it all and appreciate all the little things around the ship. One week did not feel like it was enough.

Entertainment: Blue Man group, Cirque, Jeff Hobson all top notch. We did BMG twice, first night and last night. Cirque actually was a surprise, almost didn’t book because of the up and down reviews. We chose the cheaper seating upstairs (they tried pushing into a “premium booth” but I refused. Loved the seating upstairs as the kids could see everything. Both children loved the show, food was good too. Our 7 year old stood the entire show she was so riveted by the costumes and performances.

Another big surprise was how much we enjoyed Howl at the Moon. This was our favorite entertainment on the ship. I think we attended every night they performed and it never got old. The first hours of the show is usually fine for kids and they will warn you if/when they switch it over to a more adult theme.

 

We stopped into the jazz club, but it was so loud my DW couldn’t handle it, we never returned.

 

Note: after BMG and Cirque performances they are available for pictures outside the theater and Spiegel tent.

 

We didn’t do any of the Nick breakfasts or photo ops. For anyone worrying about Sponge Bob running around the ship, don’t worry. Other than 1 or 2 slime time live sessions in the pool area there you would never know there were characters or Nick activities onboard.

 

Legends was ok.

 

Slime time was fun, kids enjoyed it alot.

 

There is so much music and entertainment going on I can’t mention them all.

Excursions:

Costa Maya we spent the day at Maya Chan and loved every minute of it. My FIL who has done tons of excursions said it was the most relaxing time he’s ever had.

 

Roatan we did an island tour with Bodden tours, our driver as requested was Tex. Tex was great; highly rec’d him as a guide. We toured the island, did the monkey’s at Victor’s house, met and talked with Victor for awhile, went to the butterfly tour, hung out at restaurant on the beach, and visited an orphanage to drop off supplies. All in all it was a great day and Roatan is a beautiful island with a lot of elevation and foliage.

 

Cozumel we spent the day at Nachi Cocom. Weather was a bit rough but we had another great day. Food was good, service good and the pool and facilities were nice.

 

We highly rec’d all three of the above excursions.

 

Alright back to the ship.

Food: Buffet was really good, great layout and is a bit more upscale (décor) than most buffets. No made to order Belgian waffles, but they did have hot waffles every day. One thing I didn’t like (minor complaint) was the self serve toast station. This was a bottleneck and seems to flow better when the staff does the toasting for you.

 

Taste was good; we really enjoyed the Manhattan room because of the décor and band.

 

Moderno is well worth the up charge, this was our favorite restaurant, and service was superb. Note the salad bar is just unfair.

 

Lacucina was a disappointment.

 

O’Sheehan’s was very good and works very well; I hope they include this on the new ships.

Casino: did not visit due to the smoke and I really have an issue with NCL with the smoking policy. I read all the reviews prior to cruising that complained about the smoke and I dismissed them. Well let me tell you that the smoke is unavoidable and thick at times, my eyes burned a couple of times. My FIL who smokes a pack and half a day couldn’t believe how much smoke/smell there was and that children had to walk through these public areas. Anyway don’t want to start a war but this is a major flaw with the ship.

Gym: the nicest one I’ve ever seen on a ship.

Running track is an absolute joke. Its like they forgot about it then realized uh oh. Its on one side of deck 7 and has all the kitchen blowers so that when you run up and down all you smell is fries and greasy foods, uck.

The other side of the “promenade” deck there is a shuffleboard court; it’s so narrow that if someone is playing you can’t walk by without stepping through the court. The lack of a promenade deck is also a major rub for me. We love cruising because we love being out at sea. The EPIC offers hardly any views of the water and this is a big negative for us.

Ice Bar: we loved it, lasted about 35 minutes. DW was smart and put pants and sneakers on, we saw other women with dress shoes and they lasted a couple minutes.

 

Summary: we had a wonderful vacation, entertainment IS the best at sea and each day we had tough decisions to make because there was so much to do. Major areas of disappointment are the lack of any connection with the sea, cabin bathroom design, smoke in common areas. One thing I kept thinking while on the EPIC is that this ship will be a HUGE moneymaker for them. Everything is designed to get you out and spend money, its Vegas on the sea. In my book this is both a good and bad thing. While we had a great time and are glad we experienced the EPIC it won’t motivate me to sail her again. I feel like this will be a major problem with EPIC over the long term, many people will enjoy her but it will be a one and done ship.

One last note is that NCL really provides a great product when you factor in bang for the buck. Yes people can rave about the Oasis and Allure, but when I did my pricing the EPIC for the same class cabin was HALF the price

of Oasis, to me it was a no brainer.

 

Below is a link to some (non family) photos of the ship, Maya Chan, Nachi, Roatan and some from the our hotel balcony.

 

Any questions let me know.

 

http://mawilliams.smugmug.com/share/husitzB4aARok

 

Password is: EPIC

[Zeno]

My kind of review! Details and pluses and minuses - Thx

[Flying Solo]

Thanks for a great review. You do a great job highlighting a lot of interesting points about the ship.

[Planer's Edge]

Is Maya Chan a ships excursion or just one of the "beach clubs" in Mahuhual?

 

PE

[patseacruiser]

Maya Chan is a private all-inclusive excursion. http://www.costamayabeachresort.com/

 

We were on the Epic the week after Thanksgiving. Thought Moderno's was the best of all the restaurants and pleasantly surprised how really good the food was in MDR and Garden Cafe.

[mel-b]

Thanks for the great review and sharing your AMAZING pictures. They are beautiful.

[kerrytens]

Great review. And thanks for the absolutely amazing photos too. Wow!!!

[cmdchiefthom]

scfa99

 

What a great review, not to mention your great photographs. My wife saw your pics of Maya Chan, and absolutley expects me to book in now!:D Thanks for taking the time to share.;)

[Aldeya]

While we had a great time and are glad we experienced the EPIC it won’t motivate me to sail her again. I feel like this will be a major problem with EPIC over the long term, many people will enjoy her but it will be a one and done ship.

 

Perfect summary. It is exactly what we felt after our B2B cruise in September.

 

Great review.

[scfa99]

Is Maya Chan a ships excursion or just one of the "beach clubs" in Mahuhual?

 

PE

 

Just to clarify Planer's Edge, the day resort is not really in Mahuhual, its a bit further on a remote road. It's definitely not walkable. The excursion is not thru NCL, its a private day resort that limits capacity to under 50 ppl per day so if your interested its better to book early because it does fill up.

[Planer's Edge]

Just to clarify Planer's Edge, the day resort is not really in Mahuhual, its a bit further on a remote road. It's definitely not walkable. The excursion is not thru NCL, its a private day resort that limits capacity to under 50 ppl per day so if your interested its better to book early because it does fill up.

 

Thanks, it looks like a great place. Can you tell me a little about the food selection? Their web site is pretty vague.

 

I have already contacted them and gave my reservation confirmation in hand for next May.

 

PE

[Rosetta]

Your review of the Epic corresponds closely with my own experiences and impressions. However, a real "deal breaker" for me is all the smoke in and around the Casino. It's much worse than in casino areas on NCL's other ships with which I'm acquainted, and a genuine health hazard.

So, to prospective Epic passengers -- be warned. The Casino is lethal.

[Flying Solo]

Your review of the Epic corresponds closely with my own experiences and impressions. However, a real "deal breaker" for me is all the smoke in and around the Casino. It's much worse than in casino areas on NCL's other ships with which I'm acquainted, and a genuine health hazard.

So, to prospective Epic passengers -- be warned. The Casino is lethal.

 

I do agree that the smoke in the casino on the Epic is a problem, but issuing a warning that it is lethal is being a bit dramatic. I spent a fair amount of time in the casino and after a month of being home I seem to still be walking around. The smoke can certainly be annoying to some people but I seriously doubt any long term effects from a one week vacation.

[mrandmrsc10210]

Thanks for the review and the pictures. All in all, your review shows more positivs than negatives. It's good to see people focusing on the positive side!

 

DH and I will be honeymooning on the Epic January. The pictures make me want to be there so badly!

 

Thanks again!

[scfa99]

Thanks' date=' it looks like a great place. Can you tell me a little about the food selection? Their web site is pretty vague.

 

I have already contacted them and gave my reservation confirmation in hand for next May.

 

PE[/color']

 

When you get there they give you a welcome fruit cup and of course a welcome drink if you want one. You can also get fresh chips and salsa.

 

Lunch is served from noon to 3 buffet style in the bar area. Its all prepared fresh during this period of time and consists of fresh meat, chicken and fish, with homemade guacamole, salsa, fresh lettuce tomatoe etc. You basically build your own tortilla with any/all of the above, sooo good. Make sure you try the fish. They also have sides of beans and I think rice. While its not the fanciest meal it is authentic and really good.

 

After lunch they will also get you a fresh coconut and cut it open and let you drink it or make an adult version for you. They do NOT skimp on the pours at this place.

 

Have a great time, any other questions let me know.

[Tightwallet]

Thanks for your review and also thanks to you and others that spoke about Maya Chan.

 

After reading reviews on Tripadvisor we decided to book it even though we are not real drinkers, but we are looking forward to the non party scene atmosphere and just enjoying the peace and quietness.

We just rec'd confirmation from Mark.

[RaMar]

Neat review and great photos!

[scfa99]

Thanks for your review and also thanks to you and others that spoke about Maya Chan.

 

After reading reviews on Tripadvisor we decided to book it even though we are not real drinkers, but we are looking forward to the non party scene atmosphere and just enjoying the peace and quietness.

We just rec'd confirmation from Mark.

 

I think even though you're not a drinker you'll enjoy it and feel like it was worth the price. Its not a Hyatt by any means, its just a really chill, out of the way non crowded joint. There are so many little things that are including that you don't have to pay for.

 

The kayak and snorkeling trip alone was worth 25 bucks per person. One other nice thing is they have a laptop at the bar that they let everyone use to check email/surf, speed is better than the ship. I also saw a guy with his own laptop that connected to their wifi and surfed away sitting in his palapa.

 

One other tip. During our visit the entire place was booked by our CC meet & greet members. Maya Chan allowed us to book under the group rate which allowed us all to enjoy the reduced pricing. So for anyone with an active meet and greet you might want to try and organize a group rate.