Just back from great Epic cruise!

[luvdznee]

I guess we were practically neighbors. The G/F and I were over in 14110. Out of curiosity, did you feel that you got value out of the spa balcony, as opposed to the alternative balconies? We loved the room but were so busy with the ship's activities that the spa bracelets never saw any action.

 

I'm hoping to do a full write-up in the next few days if I can, but I agree with you, deck 14 aft, at least, had no real smoke problems. Periodically, especially in the morning and evening, I could open the balcony door and smell someone's cigar, but not really the smoke nearly as much as the sweet tobacco smell.

 

I feel the same way about the spa balcony room. I loved the room, but we hardly used the spa on this ship, which is unusual for us, as we have usually used the spa quite a bit on all our Pearl cruises. But on the Epic it seems we were always doing something else. And as I mentioned earlier, I personally didn't like the spa on the Epic as much as the one on the Pearl. It just was not as calm and serene. At least not to me. When we wanted to relax, we would just go back to our room and nap. So, bottom line is I don't think I would pay for a spa balcony again. I would book a regular balcony (that is the very minimum I would book..I NEED a balcony!) and then consider buying the spa pass.

[RandomFigment]

Great that you enjoyed yourself, could you tell us about the areas that the common folk, value cruisers can enjoy? What did you think of the promenade deck, can anyone use the gym? Was the open outdoor buffet aft or bow? Was there great open areas to gaze and see the world go by? (what decks). So this deck 14 was not a deck for the common folk, the common folk had no access to it, right? thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

Hi Comm,

 

I'm luvdznee's husband, and I can tell you that we are "common folk". Haven't hit the lottery yet. Deck 14 is 100% available to everyone, as was the gym. We are not into the promenade deck, but this didn't really affect us as we do not promenade, dosado, allemande, or wheel around. We DID however love Bliss for dancing, and H2O for the White Hot Party. "Gazing at the world" can be done in the Atrium area (people), and any outdoor area with an ocean view. I suggest you climb some stairs and get above the pool deck for the best views.

[luvdznee]

Yes, the spa balconies are right there but the extra money was not worth a bathrobe and conditioner, lol!

 

I agree! And next time, we will book a regular balcony and then possibly purchase the spa passes.

[luvdznee]

are there any sauna /steamrooms not in the spa that you do not pay extra for such as connected to the gym. thanks

 

I'm pretty sure the only sauna/steamrooms are in the spa and to have access you must purchase the spa pass. Someone correct me if I"m wrong, but I was at the gym quite a bit and I didn't see any saunas in that area that were free of charge.

[makeda1999]

Really I just got off that ship and I having I swear Ship-Lag. It may do with the prodigious amount of walking you will do on a large ship like the Epic. The ship was nice, the food was nice, my cabin was what I wanted the whole ship to be and that is hella nice. My studio cabin was the straight up bomb. I mean a perfect place to dive into when you may have imbibed too much alcohol. The alcohol made up for feeling squeezed in a few places.Would have liked more TV and complimentary beverages. All of the best came with a supplication charge and that is truly the way of life.

[theflyscotsman]

We had a regular balcony but bought spa passes. Yes, the spa balconies are right there but the extra money was not worth a bathrobe and conditioner, lol!

 

Whoops! That's embarassing. I read the thread but managed to miss that luvdznee had already answered my question.

 

I think that's pretty much how I felt about it, too. I wasn't totally clear on what we were getting with the upgrade but the price difference wasn't that large, so I ran with it. However, all we did in the spa was a couple's massage (at a rate offered to us with our excursion tickets) and a manicure for the g/f (as well as, yes, some conditioner for her to take home). For us, since we didn't really put the other amenities to use, lesson learned.

[RandomFigment]

Value cruisers should realize and comparison shop, here is regular rates for Las Vegas during the week of jan 24 monday, it is really important to realize what you are getting for your money, do you want a cruise or an entertainment ship and at what cost?

 

Vegas week of jan 24 luxor four night equal 280 total for two people

Cirque show equal 260 for two people

Legends in concert equal 150 for two people plus dinner

Blue man equals 225 for two people

total 915 bucks plus another 600 for food for a four night stay. thats about 1515 total, how much are you paying for this cruise? What are you getting for your money, please research the EPIC, it is not a regular cruise experience.

 

This is apples and oranges. I can give you the rates for a hostel in Rio, and guarantee you'll have a swinging time. And if you don't mind the occasional stray mine, the former Republic of Yugoslavia is a great summer spot! Value abounds!!!

The Epic is indeed an irregular cruise ship, but as with most things NCL, they are pushing hard towards the future. The Epic is not another forward step into the evolution of the cruise ship as are the Allure and the Oasis from RCCL (beautiful ships by the way). It's more a giant step sideways; an experiment into what future cruising will be. Personally, I commend NCL's innovative spirit, although "traditional cruisers" will probably have an average of 26.4 fits per hour on the Epic due to it's forward-thinking design approach.

[snorklinbarb]

Glad you had a great time on Epic. We were on last Aug. and booked again in a few wks.

 

Do you happen to have your Freestyle Dailies? If so (or anyone else), when were Jeff Hobson's magic/comedy shows? In Aug. he did one in the Spiegel tent at 8 pm the first night, then 2 shows in the theater around 11:15 pm. Have read since then of others saying he did 2 shows in Spiegel first night and then 2 shows. Have also seen nothing on the 1st night.

 

Any idea what the current schedule is?

 

Also, is Bernie Martini back from vaca yet up in Shaker's Martini Bar? Or is there someone else there?

 

Any other guitarists/duos/trios around the ship?

 

Thanks!:)

[RandomFigment]

sorry... another question. I'm trying to figure out the shower thing. Is it a shower curtain? And how is the ventilation for the shower steam in the cabin?

 

Hi!

The cabins are modular, and so are the toilet and shower. There is no curtain for the shower or toilet. You basically step into a "pod", as my wife referred to it, and close a curved, frosted glass door. In our spa balcony level cabin I found the size of the shower adequate, however, if you are 6' 3" or taller, or on the heavy side, the toilet will be small for you. The same curving glass door design is sure to guarantee a sideways mount while you are doing the business, since it will probably cut off your leg space.

The ventilation was great. The steam didn't linger in the shower, or get into the room.

[luvdznee]

Glad you had a great time on Epic. We were on last Aug. and booked again in a few wks.

 

Do you happen to have your Freestyle Dailies? If so (or anyone else)' date=' when were Jeff Hobson's magic/comedy shows? In Aug. he did one in the Spiegel tent at 8 pm the first night, then 2 shows in the theater around 11:15 pm. Have read since then of others saying he did 2 shows in Spiegel first night and then 2 shows. Have also seen nothing on the 1st night.

 

Any idea what the current schedule is?

 

Also, is Bernie Martini back from vaca yet up in Shaker's Martini Bar? Or is there someone else there?

 

Any other guitarists/duos/trios around the ship?

 

Thanks!:)[/quote']

 

Hi, Jeff Hobson's shows were on the 4th night at 11:00 p.m., the 5th night at 7:30 and on night 6 at 11:00 p.m. All were in the Epic Theater. No, Bernie Martini was not at shakers, it was "Piano Man Nathaniel Reed". In the Atrium, there was the Apollo Duo - great pianist/keyboardist...but we personally, did not care for her singing. Just our opinion. And there was also a guitarist named Kurt Hunter and two other pianists, Dmytri and julio. But, other than the Apollo Duo from the Atrium, I can't really give you my opinion about any of the other musicians as we usually just strolled by and didn't really stop for long periods of time at any of the other bars. We spent some time at the Atrium, Bliss, or Spice H20 bars, but not the others.

[sloweddie24]

we found this ship to be fun and exciting. there was so much to do. DO NOT Let the negative reviews bother you. We never had an issue with steam from the shower affecting the room.. just go and enjoy.. there are many routes to take and avoid the casino smoke.

[commission1]

Value cruisers be careful about a lot of "reviews", oddly ,people are posting after they took the cruises even though they never asked questions before the cruise nor belonged to role calls before the cruise, seems very odd to me, do your research dont believe anything an ncl associate has to tell you, oh ncl associate's are not going to tell you that they are such.

[theflyscotsman]

Value cruisers be careful about a lot of "reviews", oddly ,people are posting after they took the cruises even though they never asked questions before the cruise nor belonged to role calls before the cruise, seems very odd to me, do your research dont believe anything an ncl associate has to tell you, oh ncl associate's are not going to tell you that they are such.

 

Seeing as how the concensus on the thread is not to spend money upgrading your room, I'm not sure how you could imagine anyone is shilling for NCL.

 

I bypassed your first post on the thread because your second one made it kind of obvious you had already decided on the answers to your questions, but as has been pointed out, deck 14 isn't closed at all. It's just the spa deck, and has plenty of regular, non-spa balconies available. It's definitely for the "common folk".

 

That said, despite eating in some of the specialty restaurants (per your new signature, though nobody here is talking about the suites), I do understand what your posts are talking about, and I do want to point something out: part of what I'd planned for my writeup does address the question of whether or not you could have fun on Epic without paying upcharges, because we did spend a bit on this trip and I wondered what it would be like if we didn't.

 

The answer, in my opinion, is that it would have been just fine. The only entertainment we paid for was Cirque, because it included a specialty meal. In addition to the free main shows, there was other no-cost musical and comedy entertainment available virtually all evening, every evening, and I thought most of it was quite good. There was definitely more free entertainment and of much better quality than what we had available on our last cruise (which was with Carnival).

 

The MDR menus were perhaps a bit on the basic side, but everything we had there (with a single exception) was very well prepared and of strong quality. I had a wonderful slab of prime rib, she had a great bowl of spaghetti bolognese. Lots of people eating there. The menus for other days (at least, the ones I saw) all had options that looked great, but we were already booked for other things. I would certainly suggest booking at least one of the specialty restaurants (Cagney's is amazing and, in our opinion, better than usual cruise fare) just to enjoy it, but it's hardly necessary in order to have a great time.

 

The (indoor) buffet area did have some wonderful expansive views, as did our port balcony. We spent most of the first sea day on a couple of port side deck chairs, laying in the sun, staring at Cuba. There were plenty of free fitness and health events (which I didn't check out, but others here seem to have enjoyed) and the drinking events (wine tastings, beer tastings, martini tastings) were solid deals considering how much you got to drink.

 

No doubt about it, it's different from more conventional cruises, but that doesn't make it either a bad experience or a bad deal. I don't see any reason to start casting aspersions about the motives of people who enjoyed it.

[kjquilts]

Value cruisers be careful about a lot of "reviews", oddly ,people are posting after they took the cruises even though they never asked questions before the cruise nor belonged to role calls before the cruise, seems very odd to me, do your research dont believe anything an ncl associate has to tell you, oh ncl associate's are not going to tell you that they are such.

 

LOL i agree with the first part of this statement. I sometimes wonder if some of the reviewers actually sailed on the ship they've writing about.

 

I'd also be careful about relying on comments by members who post about ships they haven't been on. Most cc'rs are happy to help their fellow cruisers with answers to questions or by providing helpful suggestions. Unfortunately there are a few who for whatever reason have a beef with a cruise line and prefer to spread doom and gloom. If you're bored and have some time it's easy enough to read cc members previous posts. You can get a pretty good idea of the posters motive.

 

I think the Epic is a great choice for a "value cruiser" - we'd love to sail her again before she leaves the US. Loved, loved the night life on the Epic - Howl at the Moon was one of our favorites. Really hoping it may show up on some of the other NCL ships.

[klingoncruiser]

Glad you enjoyed it!:D

[RandomFigment]

Value cruisers be careful about a lot of "reviews", oddly ,people are posting after they took the cruises even though they never asked questions before the cruise nor belonged to role calls before the cruise, seems very odd to me, do your research dont believe anything an ncl associate has to tell you, oh ncl associate's are not going to tell you that they are such.

 

Attached you will find a picture of a couple of young billionares, NCL Board Members and majority owners, and "phantom" Cruise Critic Board members. Note the "non-value", uber expensive Old Navy attire.

Just to show we NCL employees care, I've decided to correct the grammar in your new signature!

 

"Value Cruiser: don't marry your cruise line, take the best overall value instead. If you eat at specialty restaurants, or you have booked a suite, you won't understand my posts."

[RandomFigment]

Glad you had a great time on Epic. We were on last Aug. and booked again in a few wks.

 

Do you happen to have your Freestyle Dailies? If so (or anyone else)' date=' when were Jeff Hobson's magic/comedy shows? In Aug. he did one in the Spiegel tent at 8 pm the first night, then 2 shows in the theater around 11:15 pm. Have read since then of others saying he did 2 shows in Spiegel first night and then 2 shows. Have also seen nothing on the 1st night.

 

Any idea what the current schedule is?

 

Also, is Bernie Martini back from vaca yet up in Shaker's Martini Bar? Or is there someone else there?

 

Any other guitarists/duos/trios around the ship?

 

Thanks!:)[/quote']

 

Hi Barb,

 

Kurt Hunter (guitar man) was very good. It's a great change-up from the more "loungy" sounding keyboard players. I heard him doing material from The Police, Dave Matthews, and even a little "Ain't No Sunshine". Good stuff!