Any Royal Loyals tried the NCL Epic?

[Gon2hwe]

Just booked on Epic for next summer. I love RCL but wanted to try something different for now. Been on Freedom and Adventure but Oasis and Allure just too expensive now. Got a great rate with mini suite for price of a balcony. If you've tried Epic what are the differences that you loved or hated?

[ChevyCruiser]

OK, I'll bite at the risk of getting flamed, but I spent seven miserable days on the Epic. First of all, it was the smokiest ship I've ever been on and it near impossible to get anywhere on the ship without going through the smoky casino. While Blue Man Group was interesting, take your ear plugs with you because the sound levels are painfull. Service in the MDR was mediocre at best and one evening after waiting for our dessert for 30 minutes we grew tired and left without it We tried one extra-cost dining venue, and the service there was little better. There is no promenade like on RCI, the outside deck on level 5 does not go all the way around so that you must walk back and forth and then your view is the lifeboats.

 

The cabin was another story. The walls are curved, so that the couch is curved as well and uncomfortable to relax on. The TV did not swivel so you cannot see it while on the couch. The bed was too short, so that my feet hung off the end (I'm 5"11). There is no separate bathroom. The toilet is behind an opaque glass wall in the cabin with you, so any noise, such a good healthy fart, transmits right into the cabin. Flush the toilet in the middle of the night and your partner will sit straight up in bed! The shower is also behind opaque glass in the cabin with you. Step out of the shower and you are in the cabin. The sink is on top of the counter across from the bed and the faucet extends to the middle of the sink making it difficult to splash water on your face to shave without splashing the rest of the counter. We kept a towel wrapped around the sink to keep the counter dry. The cabins are a perfect example of what happens when someone lets the designers loose with making them spend a night in their own design.

 

If you want to spend a week in a smoky ship, disconnected from the sea, sleeping with your feet hanging off the bed, afraid to flush the toilet in the middle of the night, suffering with mediocre service, lose your hearing, deal with an indifferent staff - you'll love the EPIC.

 

If you want an enjoyable cruise, stick with RCI.

 

JMHO.

[Sunkissed Mommy]

 

There is no separate bathroom. The toilet is behind an opaque glass wall in the cabin with you, so any noise, such a good healthy fart, transmits right into the cabin. Flush the toilet in the middle of the night and your partner will sit straight up in bed! The shower is also behind opaque glass in the cabin with you. Step out of the shower and you are in the cabin. The sink is on top of the counter across from the bed and the faucet extends to the middle of the sink making it difficult to splash water on your face to shave without splashing the rest of the counter. We kept a towel wrapped around the sink to keep the counter dry. The cabins are a perfect example of what happens when someone lets the designers loose with making them spend a night in their own design.

 

 

 

You're fully allowed to have your own opinion, however there is one thing everyone always leaves out. There is a curtain between the bed/living area and the bathroom. While this doesn't mask any sounds- it does help with privacy. Maybe I am too open with my husband but this bathroom arrangement doesn't bother us.

 

On the other hand the smokiness of the ship is a concern, I've heard they are working on it. Not sure how they can fix that- they put the Casino right in the middle of the atrium... Unless they close it off or make it non-smoking I don't see a solution.

 

The service was slow when I was onboard for a ship tour- not sure if this was because there were a lot of extra people onboard or just service in general.

 

DH and I are still going to give it a try next year just to see for ourselves.

[patseacruiser]

I feel odd to say this now but the Epic is now one of my favorite ships. I am only diamond on RCI but I loved the Epic. Food IMO only was great in MDR (Taste and Manhattan Room) and Garden Cafe Buffet never disappointed me and I always found something good to eat there.

 

Blue Man Group, Legends in Concert, Second City, Howl at the Moon were all wonderful. Yes BMG was very loud but very good. So good - to me anyway - that I went back for a second show.

 

Loved the water slides. If there was an elevator to the top I would have rode it all day long.

 

The casino did not bother me one bit as there are smoke eaters all around the casino and no I do not smoke and smoke annoys me.

 

I have sailed the Epic and the Jewel and liked them both but prefer the Epic.

 

Count me in the minority then but I loved the Epic.

[patseacruiser]

Oh yes the bathroom issue. It was strange but I guess since I was traveling with my husband it didn't bother me. It started to grow on me after awhile and is probably of a case of someone designed it who never had to use it. Overall I wouldn't consider it a deal breaker though.

[enyliram]

sailed the epic this past dec just a few weeks after the allure. have rebooked the allure and the oasis which we took last dec again. have not rebooked the epic. my main problem with the epic was the layout of the ship. had a D4 cabin on deck 8 which while next to the stairs and elevator is still too far away from the front of the ship as there is no mid elevator.

food was very good and thought the buffet one of the best ever. dinner in manhattan was also good with great service.

walked thru the casino too many times to count and was never bothered by any smoke issues. our cabin was excellent in that it was HC and the bathroom was very good with roll in shower. if we did not require HC cabin would not choose one on deck 8 toward the rear of the ship.

issues... no promenade deck for walking and not having a daily evening show. we did go to all the venues, ie blue man, legends etc. but there were still 3 nights out of a 7 night cruise with liitle options except to repeat what we had already done.

heres the bottom line. i did not like it. my daughter and her husband and their 2 kids loved it

[dorito6778]

thanks for posting this. we were JUST looking at the Epic and we were flabbergasted at the price differences. for the less than what we are paying for a GS on the Allure (next week), we could have gotten a 2 bed, 2 bath VILLA on Epic. Seemed to good to be true, and I guess it is. My husband commented on how it seemed as though the rooms are all about form, not function. Sounds like he hit the nail on the head.

[cruising grandma]

We are trying the Epic in a month! We are Diamond + on RCI, and Elite on Celebrity, Gold(I think)on Carnival and have one cruise on Holland and one on Princess.. The first and last Norwegian cruise was on the old Star out of Houston. We are cruising with friends we met on a Royal Caribbean ship, and we WILL have fun.......may be different from RCI, but we are willing to try. I'll post back here when we get back.

[jdvmd]

Been on both, and enjoyed both cruises, but we really loved the Epic and I would easily take another week on her instead of the Oasis.

[klingoncruiser]

Norwegian is behind the other main lines. They allow smoking in the rooms. That of course leads to smokey halls at times. Do give the ship and line a try, always good to try other lines and ships so you will know for sure.

[swmichigan cruiser]

We did the Epic in November and then got on the Oasis. We are Diamond Plus now on Royal and our next 4 cruises are on Royal so obviously we like Royal but we also have the Epic booked again. I enjoyed the entertainment on the Epic as it has more of a Las Vegas feel to it. If you can try both ships that is your best bet to see what you like and dislike about both. Personally I don't think you can go wrong with either one.

[yogimax]

Norwegian is behind the other main lines. They allow smoking in the rooms. That of course leads to smokey halls at times.

 

So does Carnival. This often leads to the stench of smoke in the hallways outside the cabins. Not very pleasant!

[CaptData]

I liked the Epic too. Not the pools but the slides were fun. I am Diamond on RCCL. Epic was my first cruise with NORWEIGIAN. I was in a suite so there was no curves per sa. No privicy issues either and was was with Son in law and grand kids.

[CaroleC]

We were on the Oasis last September and the Epic was in Cozumel the same time as us. OMG she sure is one ugly looking ship!! It is said though that beauty is in the eye of the beholder :D.

[tispwisp]

The Epic was our least favorite of all of the ships that we have been on. The only plus side for us was being in the suite section at the top forward. The suite was wonderful and it was nice having our own restaurant, pool, lounge area away from the crowds. Would never consider sailing on this ship again unless we were in this suite area. It was the first time (and probably will be the last) time we ever had a suite. But on this ship we were thankful we had it. The ship was very crowded (and it was sailing with 1000 less people than it could have! :eek:). It was very smoky. Just didnt' like the layout - had more of an indoor mall feel. However, even though the service was extremely slow, we thought the food was better than our Celebrity cruise!

 

While it wasn't a total disaster, we'll stick with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and probably Princess on occasion.

[bajathree]

When comparing.....the Epic should be compared/priced against Freedom Class....NOT Oasis Class.

[Gon2hwe]

Thank you all for your comments. We chose the Epic simply because it is different. Our last two cruises were almost the same. Not to say I don't love Royal and hopefully we will be able to try Oasis or Allure in the future when rates are lower. I also found Freedom to be a bit smoky too in the casino and passing several bars but that doesn't matter to me. We have been on NCL America b efore for our very first cruise and enjoyed it so much. Well to each his own was just hoping for some useful comparisons and tips. Thanks ;)

[BonTXNY]

There is no separate bathroom. The toilet is behind an opaque glass wall in the cabin with you, so any noise, such a good healthy fart, transmits right into the cabin. Flush the toilet in the middle of the night and your partner will sit straight up in bed! The shower is also behind opaque glass in the cabin with you. Step out of the shower and you are in the cabin.

 

JMHO.

 

And what about the ummmm scent? I would love to see a picture of that cabin. Doesn't seem like there's alot of privacy. Anway, thanks for the laugh.

[ChipLondon]

The saying should be "Beauty is in the eye of the BEERHOLDER" as in the more beer you drink the more beautiful she gets. :D

 

 

...................... It is said though that beauty is in the eye of the beholder :D.

[Bakincakes]

The saying should be "Beauty is in the eye of the BEERHOLDER" as in the more beer you drink the more beautiful she gets. :D

 

 

:p:p:p

[ChevyCruiser]

And what about the ummmm scent? I would love to see a picture of that cabin. Doesn't seem like there's alot of privacy. Anway, thanks for the laugh.

 

 

There's a nice video review of one of the cabins on youtube by a travel agent. keep in mind that with the curved wall design, every other cabin has the bed next to the toilet - with the aformentioned privacy curtain to keep out the sounds and smells. With the bed next to the toilet, someone is sleeping 3 feet from the toilet, and we all know how quietly shipboard toilets flush!

 

 

And you can go here to see what a standard balcony stateroom looks like:

 

http://www2.ncl.com/cruise-ship/epic/staterooms/1/balcony#tab_detail

[will773]

I have not and I don't really have any interest in going on it either.

[Jtd724]

I have been saying since the first Voyager cruise in 2001 at the Captains party they need BOWLING ALLEYS!!!!! Who cares if the ball goes off course a little due to the ship moving, it's for fun. NCL got to it first, good for them. They have some great ideas in that ship. I like the hotel within a hotel idea for suite guests. Ice bar, bowling alleys (2) and a great waterpark.

[Esmerelda]

First off, I have not sailed on the Epic. I did, however, help a good friend booked the Epic back in December. She booked it 4 weeks before sail date. At the time, it was the only ship that had a decent "solo sailing" price. She has sailed on 4 different cruise lines and on NW before for the record.

 

When she returned, she said it was absolutely not anything she would ever want to sail on again. Her complaints were the smoke, lack of public areas, the layout of the ship, having to go through the casino to get anywhere, etc. She said she thought it would be different and it was. :( She thanked me for helping her book but I really could tell she had about a 3 out of 10 time due to the ship. I felt really bad as this girl is so much fun so I know it must have really been a 3.

 

forgot: she said out of all the venues to eat at onboard (I think there are 20?) she said only about 4 of them are free, everything else costs extra. That sucks to me.

 

just another poster sharing a view,

[BonTXNY]

There's a nice video review of one of the cabins on youtube by a travel agent. keep in mind that with the curved wall design, every other cabin has the bed next to the toilet - with the aformentioned privacy curtain to keep out the sounds and smells. With the bed next to the toilet, someone is sleeping 3 feet from the toilet, and we all know how quietly shipboard toilets flush!

 

 

And you can go here to see what a standard balcony stateroom looks like:

 

http://www2.ncl.com/cruise-ship/epic/staterooms/1/balcony#tab_detail

 

Thanks for the links. My observations: Don't like it. Don't like it at all. Curved couch really WOULD make it hard to sit and relax not having a traditional flat back. Seems like good storage space except for the closet (no place to hang long items) Shower IN the cabin? No thanks but at least the cabin in the video had a real door (privacy panel) for the "toilet room" to close. They just needed to make it soundproof :rolleyes:

 

After being stuck at home with temps in the teens, everything covered in ice I can't imagine enjoying that ice bar but that's me and likes and dislikes are always subjective. I'm just sayin....

 

I know the Epic is a brand new ship but I sure am looking forward to my Mariner cruise next year. After "only" 4 cruises RCI has become my home away from home vacation. Not a bad place to be at all :D