Epic Review- April 16-23....long

[apmecruise]

I can't figure out why I should write a quick review. It took me months to plan our vacation and I plan to take my time on the review. So pull up a cup of tea or a pint of beer and I hope you can enjoy the cruise as much as we did.

 

The cast: My husband (45), self (45) and daughter (14). We chose to leave our two teenage sons home because they travel all over the place and we are jealous. It was time for them to be jealous of us! And jealous they are!!

 

We chose the Epic for the itinerary and for the size. I wanted to travel to some of the exotic ports of call and the western Caribbean suited us just fine, leaving from Miami was a bonus--we've never been there. The size of the Epic appealed to my daughter with its water slides, trampolene, bowling, teen club. Little did we know that all we needed was a basketball court to keep her occupied. And occupied she was...morning, noon and night. Hey...where's Sarah? Ummm...basketball. Did she eat? Umm, probably not.

 

We live in the northeast and the long cold, wet, snowy winter had us itching to get out of town!! After perusing the cc boards we decided we had to leave the day before the cruise to be safe and that was a problem because as a teacher I can't take the day before a vacation week off. After some research I find out we can fly to Ft. Lauderdale and then get a shuttle to Miami.

 

Well plane trip hell ensued. Yeah...I probably could have driven to Ft. Lauderdale in less time than it took to fly. Our first flight was on a "Barbie Plane" there was barely room for Ken and definately not enough for luggage. ;) US Air is definately feeling the pinch. In fact they charged us $25 a piece for our luggage (I missed that in the fine print!).

 

The first leg of our trip to Ft. Lauderdale went well. The "Barbie" plane made it to Philadelphia where we were to transfer to a full size jet :D. There were no problems getting on but...then waited and waited and waited in a massive line on the runway. "Ladies and Gentlement we are number 13 in line?" (for real...13!!??) So we wait and wait some more. In fact we waited so long we had to go back to the gate to "re balance" and "re fuel" I am not sure how we got out of balance sitting for hours but so be it. After a few extra hours of sitting around we take off and finally arrive in Ft. Lauderdale at around 2am. Tired and cranky.

 

We miss the free shuttle which ends at midnight and take a taxi to our hotel, Cambria Suites. We check in with no problem...thank goodness. The room was great and the beds super comfortable (hell, by that point the floor would have been comfortable). We drop our luggage near the door, climb into our comfy beds and its "lights out!". We don't hear a sound till our 9:30 wake up call. We have a shuttle ride (SAS) coming at 11am and we want to have time to get ready and enjoy breakfast at the hotel. We rush around the room getting things organized, we are so excited to see the Epic we can't stop talking about what we want to do first!! Before long we are heading downstairs and we see a nice breakfast laid out...really upscale. BUT we have to pay extra for it...when did a hotel like a Comfort Inn start charging for breakfast? :confused: Another unforeseen expense that I should have noticed while booking.

 

Of course we aren't the only ones confused, people keep coming in and trying to get food without realizing there was a charge. In the end it was probably worth it because the food was so good. The problem was that the day before we left for the cruise my bank decided to cancel my debit card and reissue me a new one. :mad: and of course I don't have the new one in time for the cruise...thank you very much! So now we have no way to take out extra cash if we need more. We live in such a digital world, I rarely have cash on hand at all. All these extra little expenses are making me nervous before I even get on the ship!

 

We eat and settle in to wait for our shuttle. There were alot of recommendations from CC for SAS shuttle and they did not disappoint. They were a little later then they said but they called several times to let us know they were a bit behind. The shuttle picked up a few different groups so it isn't a straight shot. Its $15 a person each way and I thought that was fair.

 

On the shuttle we meet a couple, California Inlanders, who are traveling a repositioning cruise to England. They are frequent cruisers and we had a nice time talking with them about all the great things they have done and how much they love cruise critic and cruising. They are retired and enjoying life!!

 

Our trip is fast..maybe 40 minutes. Suddenly we see the ship. OMG it is ....for lack of a better word. EPIC. I mean it is immense. Sarah and I are just in awe as we draw nearer to our home for the week. We pulled up to the wrong entrance by 12:15 and are instructed to walk to the correct one. Not very friendly. I was so looking forward to the friendly workers and being welcomed to the Epic. Nope...we get...."You are not supposed to be HERE...go over THERE!" What:confused:??

 

In a few moments we are sailing through line, getting our pictures taken, showing our passports and by 12:30 we are walking across the gangway onto the ship. "Welcome to the Epic we are so glad you are cruising with us!":D Okay so THAT is what I was waiting for.

 

Oh my goodness, months of planning and here we are...walking past the first of the hand sanitizer machines (WHAT is THAT all about anyway?). Past smiling staff and officers and onto the biggest, grandest, most glorious ship I have ever seen (okay I've only been on one other and I am still pretty tired from lack of sleep but it was still and incredible moment).

 

My daughter took my hand and looked around like a child in a candy store. "Okay, mom...where to first?"

 

Well....let's see.

[Jenner9]

Great start....I can't wait for the rest of it!!

[KatWag]

Bookmarking this for sure. Love long reviews. Thanks for taking us along on your trip!

 

Got a laugh out of your runway line story. We fly out of Philly all the time. Lots of trips I would be grateful to have as low a number as 13. :-(

[sandrawhy01]

great cannot wait for the next part

[will773]

Bookmarking this for sure. Love long reviews. Thanks for taking us along on your trip!

 

Got a laugh out of your runway line story. We fly out of Philly all the time. Lots of trips I would be grateful to have as low a number as 13. :-(

 

I've always taken off quickly. I must travel at off peak times...

[apmecruise]

Hand in hand my daughter, husband, and self walk onto this GInormous ship. People talk about how the atrium is not truly impressive on the Epic but, to me anyway, the atrium was beautiful. I found it welcoming. There is a huge two story movie screen, comfortable chairs in clusters and an atrium cafe with lovely snacks, deserts and coffee drinks (husband found one of the best cups of coffee there!). :D

 

At first I thought we'd go right to the pool deck once we got on board :confused: but as we entered the ship we got overwhelmed that we decided to find a place to sit down and grab a quick meal while we decided what to do first.

 

Right upstairs from the Atrium is O'Sheehans and we were lured by the smell of chicken wings and the buckets of beer sitting on tables that surrounded the railing which overlooked the atrium movie screen. We quickly climb the stairs and find a table that offers us a good view of people coming and going. Everyone seems so excited to be here. Hello friends...lets get our vacation on!

 

Tucked on one side of the restaurant is the bowling alley! It looks great and we can't wait to bowl (we never make it...not even ONCE!). On the other side are more games but I never even made it over to that side to check it out. The server introduces herself and before long we have a bucket of Blue Moon (yum) and mozzerella sticks, spinach dip, and chicken wings. The food shows up quickly and the portion sizes are perfect, 4 sticks, a cup of dip and about 6 wings. We are pleased with portion size in each restaurant. If you think about it, you can always get more so why start out with a huge amount. We enjoy our food and a few beers (shirley temples for Sarah!) and get our bearings using a map.- we figure out where we are (its a strange feeling to be on a giant boat and have no idea where you are in relation to the outside!). After we eat we decide to tour the boat. First stop the sun deck.

 

We walk to the back of the boat (is that aft?) and find some elevators. They come quickly...surprise, I would have thought it would take more time being that everyone is arriving. The elevators were never a problem though. We take the elevator to the 15th floor and come out on the sun deck which is not as crowded as I would have thought. There are some chairs available but chair hogs have been here already. There are towels down and chairs folded down. My favorite are the chairs with one shoe or a part of a newspaper. No body...just stuff.

 

I have to admit being disappointed that the pools are so small. I know people say it but until you see their size you can't imagine how ridiculous it looks. Even without it being crowded the pool seems stuffed with 8 kids. And of course the kids that are there want to jump in and splash and well...be kids! The slides aren't open yet, but they look awesome. (I can't believe we never get ourselves on the Epic Plunge! How did that happen?):cool: Okay, I got scared on the green slide so I didn't push it.

 

After a quick stroll around deck we head towards Spice H20 and the sports deck. We walk through a really nicely shaded area that has groups of soft cushionary chairs in clusters of 4. It also has the teen lounge and video arcade to one side. This turns out to be a nice place to sit and read and escape the sun...even when the deck is crowded. We head up the stairs to Spice and the adults only area. That is a really nice area. The seats are on different levels. Tables with umbrellas on some parts and lounge chairs on others. There is a small pool at the back end of the boat right up against another gigantic tv screen with hot tubs on either corner. Very nicely laid out. We take a quick left and pass by the bar and go up a set of stairs to find the sports deck and it is just WOW. Unbelievable. There is a full basketball court all netted in. A giant trampolene (the epic bounce) and a crawl through apparatus called the spider. I never saw kids on either of these but they looked fun. There are some lounge chairs spread out and some regular chairs clustered around for people to hang out. This turns out to be a great place to find a seat when chair hogs have taken every other part of the ship up on sea days!!

 

We join some kids out on the sports court already and shoot baskets on a moving boat (no the boat isn't moving much but hey...are you saying I have an awful shot? I used the motion defense quite often during the week! It isn't my fault...I lined up a good shot but the ship moved!)

 

Before long they sound for everyone to meet at their muster stations? Whats this...oh yeah, the life jacket drill. What if we don't go? Oh they check you in...if you don't go they make you go the next day. Oh well...we head out and try to figure out where to go. There are some nice people that explain that the number A2 on our cruise card tells us where we are to go in an emergency. A2 is found in the Bliss lounge. A quick look at the map lets us know what floor to go to and we are off.

 

We head down stairs towards the Bliss lounge. Down down down... We figured the elevator would be busy and we don't mind walking down. So down down down we go. In no time we are walking over a gold glittery floor, past a 12 foot purple couch and stop next to a full size horse lamp. Now how often do you see a 6 foot tall full horse size lamp (and I live near Saratoga New York where horse paraphanelia is rampant!)?

 

Bliss looks fun and its where we are to join our fellow cruise critic travels for the meet and greet later on. After the muster we decide to...muster ourselves down to our stateroom and see what room 8006 looks like. We were nervous about the 8th floor and the whole uncovered balcony situation. Plus we were anxious to check out the weird bathroom set up. :rolleyes: But first we need a pina colada...hey..its vacation right? Come along and see what the room is like.

[nathand95]

Wow! Can't wait to read this! I was on the Western itin. April 2nd-9th. We had an awesome time. You're off to a very good start.

We stayed at the Cambria Suites last year before our Valor cruise and we were very impressed. The beds are SOOOOOO comfortable and the food was very good.

The "Barbie Plane" made me laugh out loud!

 

I can't wait to read your next installment!

[mkad1109]

We are there next year with three of our children (I relate to leaving children behind..my son is at a Maritime college leaving for Ireland, France and Croatia in 6 weeks...poor baby we leave him behind next year since he does not have same spring break as the other three)

 

I am REALLY interested in both you and your daughters perspective. I am still a bit concerned about size of ship, but this is the ship our travelling companions (both daughters have a best friend who is celebrating same milestone so we are three families travelling together-this ship was NOT my choice) choice and I REALLY need to feel good..

 

Some recent reviews have helped ALOT...but I need more! keep it coming!

[apmecruise]

We are there next year with three of our children (I relate to leaving children behind..my son is at a Maritime college leaving for Ireland, France and Croatia in 6 weeks...poor baby we leave him behind next year since he does not have same spring break as the other three)

 

I am REALLY interested in both you and your daughters perspective. I am still a bit concerned about size of ship, but this is the ship our travelling companions (both daughters have a best friend who is celebrating same milestone so we are three families travelling together-this ship was NOT my choice) choice and I REALLY need to feel good..

 

Some recent reviews have helped ALOT...but I need more! keep it coming!

 

 

I am wondering why you are concerned about the size? I have to tell you that even though it was a full ship, I never felt crowded except on the sundeck. The sundeck was crowded but I think it is probably always is crowded no matter the size of the ship. However, even with it being crowded I found if I was friendly and kind that people were the same back- I always found chairs and I hardly ever got on deck before 10 or 11am. The only way I truly felt how immense the ship was, was in the fact there were so many things I didn't get to do. You can truly eat in a new place everyday and the best part of eating in different places was meeting new people.

 

I loved my stateroom and the balcony so when I needed privacy and quiet I just went and relaxed on my balcony.

 

Tell me what you are curious or concerned about. I can tell you that my daughter had a blast. As I said she spent so much time playing basketball that when we walked around the ship, kids would point at her and say..."Hey aren't you're that basketball girl...you are good!" or "Hey didn't you school that boy that thought he was all that the other day?" or "Hey, I'll see you on the sports deck later!" It was funny and it became her community.

[apmecruise]

So its around 4pm and we are heading to our stateroom. We get to an elevator and head to deck 8. As we exit the elevator I am pleased to see the colored carpets. Hurray!! We are on the even side, room 8006 so our carpet is red. Kudos to the people who make it easier for us travelers. Knowing that I need to follow the "red brick road" kept me from getting lost throughout the cruise. We exit the elevator and turn past the double set of stairs (wonderful to have them there if you want to rush) and follow the red carpet to the front of the boat.

 

We walked and walked and walked. Down one hall and across another. Its narrow so you can't really walk 2 abreast so we are always laughing back at each other or poking at the person ahead (or in my daughters case...running ahead and turning back to scare us!). By the end of the cruise we got better at taking the closest elevator so we didn't have to walk the entire ship in a narrow hallway--even though we were always talking and laughing and...yes...checking out all the other rooms that had doors open...so nosy!!

 

So anyway, we quickly arrive at room 8006 and our key works right away (that doesn't always happen for us...for some reason we seem to deactivate keys with our butt...). We enter the room and see that our luggage is there. The room is really delightful. I was worried about it after listening to everyone. We cruised one time before inside cabins and these were luxurious and spacious by comparison.

 

We enter the room and pass by the, much maligned, bathroom area. To the right and left it looks the same. There are shaded glass enclosures. Both about the same size. The one to the right was the toilet...nice clean and plenty big enough to go in and close the door. To the left was the shower...nice size with a shampoo and soap dispenser and cubbies to put in your own soap and razor. On the walls were hooks and hangers for clothing and for floor mats. In front of the toilet and shower is a curtain that closes. This was nice. Even traveling with a teenager we had no problems. It was nice that everyone could do their 'business' at the same time. Pee, shower, and put on makeup?? Thats service.

 

An interesting fact. For our post cruise stay we stayed at the W in Fort Lauderdale. This was a very upscale hotel which we got on a discount website. It was very hoighty toighty. In fact when we checked in they told me they had a personal shopper on call if I needed anything (I guess I looked pretty bad!!). So in this very upscale room is a bathroom that highly resembled the one on the Epic. Frosted enclosed toilet, frosted enclosed shower and tub and the whole thing was separated by a giant curtain. We laughed really hard when we saw that. Maybe Epic was channeling a high end hotel when they designed their bathroom area.

 

I know people like to complain about it but it worked out well. With the balcony and the privacy from that, we had three areas that we could curtain off and change in! And yes...my husband changed on the balcony...okay we threw him out. Go go go! And out he'd go.

 

So just past the bathroom area is a sink, a long counter with tons of storage, a TV, and the mini-fridge. Then there was two big closets. On the other side there was our bed, so comfortable. I really loved the bedding and pillows. (People say the bed is too short and maybe it is, we are both tall but I think that you tend to slide down on the bed due to so many pillows and end up off the bed slightly. If you push back up on the bed you are fine.) Next to the bed are shelves and personal reading lights (love it!) and the phone (great system totally ease to use and useful). Past our bed is the couch that turns into another bed. My daughter slept there. She was fine. One night she fell asleep in bed with me and my husband slept there and he didn't find it comfortable so it probably isn't good for a full size person. When you see it it looks too narrow but they pull it out and in a pinch you can open the storage doors and there is even more room. There is storage all over, shelves and closets. Just past the couch/bed is the sliding doors and our balcony. Oh I just loved the balcony. First we worried that it would be uncovered (imagine my husband changing then!), then I worried it would have an obstructed view, then I worried it would be too small, oh and I worried my daughter would fall out (I guess I worry too much!

 

Well no worries at all. It was enclosed totally. If you look at ship pictures 8006 is in the very front which is all enclosed apparently because of ocean spray. So our balcony was very very private (hence the changing). There was a large opening like a huge port hole that allowed a totally unobstructed view of the ocean. The view was heavenly. The privacy was wonderful (and useful). We had two chairs and small table. Later we added a third chair so we could all go out and enjoy breakfast or a drink before heading out.

 

I really enjoyed the room. It was comfortable, it was impeccably neat and spotless. The bed was cozy and the balcony had unbelievable views.

 

So far so good. We are getting acquainted with the ship and its only 5pm on the day we embark. We decide to skip going on the deck for sail off and instead unpack and enjoy each other's company (and a few blue moons and sodas) on the balcony. Life is pretty good. We have the ship's daily and sit down to plan our evening and the next day!!

[Journey11]

Very entertainng review. Glad to see that you had such a good cruise.

[LivingLifetotheFullest]

Love your positive, upbeat, humourous and thorough review. awesome!

You seem like a fun loving family - open to new adventures with appreciative attitudes.

Look forward to reading each installment of your review.

:rolleyes:

[lacrossemitch]

So its around 4pm and we are heading to our stateroom. We get to an elevator and head to deck 8. As we exit the elevator I am pleased to see the colored carpets. Hurray!! We are on the even side, room 8006 so our carpet is red. Kudos to the people who make it easier for us travelers. Knowing that I need to follow the "red brick road" kept me from getting lost throughout the cruise. We exit the elevator and turn past the double set of stairs (wonderful to have them there if you want to rush) and follow the red carpet to the front of the boat.

 

We walked and walked and walked. Down one hall and across another. Its narrow so you can't really walk 2 abreast so we are always laughing back at each other or poking at the person ahead (or in my daughters case...running ahead and turning back to scare us!). By the end of the cruise we got better at taking the closest elevator so we didn't have to walk the entire ship in a narrow hallway--even though we were always talking and laughing and...yes...checking out all the other rooms that had doors open...so nosy!!

 

So anyway, we quickly arrive at room 8006 and our key works right away (that doesn't always happen for us...for some reason we seem to deactivate keys with our butt...). We enter the room and see that our luggage is there. The room is really delightful. I was worried about it after listening to everyone. We cruised one time before inside cabins and these were luxurious and spacious by comparison.

 

We enter the room and pass by the, much maligned, bathroom area. To the right and left it looks the same. There are shaded glass enclosures. Both about the same size. The one to the right was the toilet...nice clean and plenty big enough to go in and close the door. To the left was the shower...nice size with a shampoo and soap dispenser and cubbies to put in your own soap and razor. On the walls were hooks and hangers for clothing and for floor mats. In front of the toilet and shower is a curtain that closes. This was nice. Even traveling with a teenager we had no problems. It was nice that everyone could do their 'business' at the same time. Pee, shower, and put on makeup?? Thats service.

 

An interesting fact. For our post cruise stay we stayed at the W in Fort Lauderdale. This was a very upscale hotel which we got on a discount website. It was very hoighty toighty. In fact when we checked in they told me they had a personal shopper on call if I needed anything (I guess I looked pretty bad!!). So in this very upscale room is a bathroom that highly resembled the one on the Epic. Frosted enclosed toilet, frosted enclosed shower and tub and the whole thing was separated by a giant curtain. We laughed really hard when we saw that. Maybe Epic was channeling a high end hotel when they designed their bathroom area.

 

I know people like to complain about it but it worked out well. With the balcony and the privacy from that, we had three areas that we could curtain off and change in! And yes...my husband changed on the balcony...okay we threw him out. Go go go! And out he'd go.

 

So just past the bathroom area is a sink, a long counter with tons of storage, a TV, and the mini-fridge. Then there was two big closets. On the other side there was our bed, so comfortable. I really loved the bedding and pillows. (People say the bed is too short and maybe it is, we are both tall but I think that you tend to slide down on the bed due to so many pillows and end up off the bed slightly. If you push back up on the bed you are fine.) Next to the bed are shelves and personal reading lights (love it!) and the phone (great system totally ease to use and useful). Past our bed is the couch that turns into another bed. My daughter slept there. She was fine. One night she fell asleep in bed with me and my husband slept there and he didn't find it comfortable so it probably isn't good for a full size person. When you see it it looks too narrow but they pull it out and in a pinch you can open the storage doors and there is even more room. There is storage all over, shelves and closets. Just past the couch/bed is the sliding doors and our balcony. Oh I just loved the balcony. First we worried that it would be uncovered (imagine my husband changing then!), then I worried it would have an obstructed view, then I worried it would be too small, oh and I worried my daughter would fall out (I guess I worry too much!

 

Well no worries at all. It was enclosed totally. If you look at ship pictures 8006 is in the very front which is all enclosed apparently because of ocean spray. So our balcony was very very private (hence the changing). There was a large opening like a huge port hole that allowed a totally unobstructed view of the ocean. The view was heavenly. The privacy was wonderful (and useful). We had two chairs and small table. Later we added a third chair so we could all go out and enjoy breakfast or a drink before heading out.

 

I really enjoyed the room. It was comfortable, it was impeccably neat and spotless. The bed was cozy and the balcony had unbelievable views.

 

So far so good. We are getting acquainted with the ship and its only 5pm on the day we embark. We decide to skip going on the deck for sail off and instead unpack and enjoy each other's company (and a few blue moons and sodas) on the balcony. Life is pretty good. We have the ship's daily and sit down to plan our evening and the next day!!

 

Thanks for the great review so far! We will be in Stateroom 8086 in June and can't wait. Did you happen to see if the balconies towards midship are covered at all or not on deck 8? Thanks,

 

Mitch

[apmecruise]

Thanks for the great review so far! We will be in Stateroom 8086 in June and can't wait. Did you happen to see if the balconies towards midship are covered at all or not on deck 8? Thanks,

 

Mitch

 

there are some great people that have posted pictures of the ship with room numbers on them...if I find it I will post it here for you to check. It is somewhere about midship that the rooms seem to bump out a bit and then some balconys are uncovered. What is nice is that they have clear walls so they are see through --the view will be fabulous, I kind of wished I could get some sun on my balcony (we couldn't). If the balcony is uncovered you can get some great sun. I didn't ask for a lounge but the balconys looked like they would fit it!!

 

I am so excited for you. Have a wonderful time and be sure to go to Howl at the Moon early on so you can go again if you enjoy it. Also one of my favorite things was the meet and greet. Many people didn't go because they didn't want to leave the sun...but we were only there for an hour or so...so go and say hello.

[Jenner9]

Loving your review...Please come back and add more!!

[JPtheATC]

Your review is awesome. I feel like I know the ship already and my cruise isn't until 2/2013:) Can't wait for more juicy details:p

[apmecruise]

Is anyone else having trouble with these boards. I lost 2 long posts :cool: which hadn't saved?? Oh well, I think my other ones were better but here goes.

The day dawns bright and sunny :)with a call from room service at 8:45am. Apparently I messed up filling out our room service card for breakfast. I didn't check the number of items I wanted. I thought by telling them there were 3 of us they would bring 3 of each thing. There was a limited menu for breakfast but fruit, coffee/tea and muffins and yogurt start me off just fine! My mixup was no big deal. I originally asked for the food to be delivered by 9am. They called to check in at 8:45, then called back 10 minutes later to tell us they were on their way and then they arrived by 9am, anyway. Isn't that the best way to wake up in the morning? I gave a tip, $5 for bringing it and the person delivering it kind of frowned when I stopped her to give her something…not sure what that was about? She almost seemed annoyed to stop and take it. I didn't tip the next time and that didn't seem to matter either. I had read so much about tipping that I think I over tipped. It always seemed to confuse them. The first day I left a tip for Henry (room steward EXTRAORDINAIRE) and he wouldn't even take it? I eventually got him to take it and at the end happily left him a token of our esteem!

So by 9am, on the first full day of our vacation, my husband, daughter and self are sitting out on our balcony; eating our fresh fruit plate (got that every time…delish!) and drinking tea and lukewarm weak coffee (Unfortunately my husband did not like the coffee. Now there was a pot in the room he could make so it was not big deal.) And life seems just about perfect! But it would only get better!!!:p

Happily we sit on the balcony looking out over the crystal clear water and reminiscing on how awful our winter was. The warm air and bright sunlight feels astonishing on our pasty selves!! Suddenly Martin leaps up and hangs over the edge of the balcony “Did you see that? And that…” he points excitedly out at the glittering placid water. “No....what... we don’t see…wait…is that a bird coming up.... OUT.... of the ocean?” We watch for a few more minutes and it happens again. A creature with, what looks like fluttering wings, bursts out of tranquil sea, it skims over the surface for a yard or so and then plunges hastily back into the water. It all happens in an instant. Then another one and another one.

“They must be flying fish” my husband wonders outloud.

"I don’t know," I say confidently, "they look like birds to me"

"Well, honey, I don't know about you but the last time I checked birds don’t come OUT of the ocean."

Point taken.

So picture us, enjoying the most delicious pineapple EVER, hanging out on our balcony with the sea air settling around us and warming our sun starved bodies and a vibrant nature show entertaining us as we wake up to start our day. What can I say….priceless.

After a few minutes the flying fish quiet down and we head inside to get ready to start our first sea day. The bathroom set up works out as we all head to a different area to ready ourselves. Is my daughter putting on eye liner? Go figure...steady hands I guess!

By 10:00 we are exiting the elevator on to deck 15. What is that delicious smell? We detour for a peek at the food at the Garden Café-spritz spritze the hand sanitizer police great us. "Good Morning, I hope you have a wonderful day! (with your sanitized hands!)"

WoW oh Wow!! What can I say about the food on NCL? It is abundant. After we scout out the offerings I quickly stop at the water fountain and fill up my water bottles with ice, lemon slices and fresh water and we are off to find our spot in the sun.

I can’t tell you how anxious I was about dealing with chair hogs. We meander through the many places to eat in the Garden Cafe and out the door into....ANOTHER buffet. Yup there is a buffet on deck 15 INSIDE at the Garden Café AND another one about 100 feet away OUTSIDE :eek: on the pool deck (There is NO way you should EVER be hungry!). This one looks good (the French toast is to DIE for!).

There are tables and umbrellas set up all around the outside buffet. A full bar on one side and the water and ice fountain on the other side right near where you get pool towels. We grab a towel for Sarah (they only left 2 in our room) and we are off.

I had imagined that getting a chair on the pool deck would be a full contact sport! I have been working out at home to prepare. I enter rooms really fast, tip over chairs and jump ahead of people to sit down before they can. If I get one, when its time to leave I leave behind a shoe, a dirty towel or a book to reserve it for later. I got really good. No one sat in MY chair when I was out. I felt pretty well prepared if a little uneasy about my behavior!

We stroll around the deck. Chairs are crowded together pretty tightly. Up and down rows you see plenty of chairs pushed down, lone shoes and cruise dailies all over (looks like my living room!). We walk past the ridiculously small pools (only real complaint) and..what....whats that? Three chairs right in a row next to the water slides and the rock wall. Nice, maybe I over prepared. The three of us settle down. Unload towels, books, drinks, a bit of an acrobatic act as the chairs are all slammed up against each other. We introduce our selves to our neighbors and settle back to enjoy the good life.:D

[Just Jo]

Great review! We loved our Epic cruise and look forward to going again. I, too, have had trouble with Cruise Critic over the past several days :( Can't wait to read more :)

[apmecruise]

Okay, so now its just the two of us to settle in and enjoy the good life;). Alas, one of us can’t sit still. Shift shift…sigh. Shift shift…sigh. “Ummm…...well...I’m going to go up to shoot hoop…okay?” Sarah is off. My most frequent view of Sarah during this cruise will be of her walking away to go to shoot hoop! Throughout the cruise she would try to go to the teen club but didn’t really find someone to hang out with. She suggests to other solo teens that they should go to the club the first minute they get on ship and hang out there right away. By the time she really got to spend time in the teen club (and she went there the first evening so I am not sure what she is talking about) she felt that everyone kind of matched up and she didn’t really find a group to hang with. She is pretty social so I was surprised at that. The teens got a whole schedule of activities but it didn't seem that they did many of them. I am not sure if they had to sign up for them or not. But that limited her ability to make connections with teens her age.

It wasn't a big problem, she was pretty happy playing hoop and we really wanted to spend some time with her ourselves, so it all worked out. However when we cruise again I'll work harder to bring a friend, she thinks it would be easier to meet people if there were two of them to start with.

So now it’s just the two of us sitting in the sun to enjoy our free time on the pool deck. Shift shift…sigh. Shift shift sigh. Grumble gurgle. Alas another one of us isn't settling down. Is that your stomach calling? Okay, I guess it’s time for SECOND breakfast.

We leave our stuff behind (oh, I guess I am a pool chair hog:rolleyes:…but we won’t be too awful long) and head inside to the Garden Buffet ( Martin wants some eggs over easy and we need the omelet station for that). Its busy (I hate to say crowded because you can spread out all over so it never feels like there are too many people). It may be busy but we quickly find a seat right next to a large glass window overlooking the ocean. I love the fact that I am never far from the greatest view in the world!! We might not see anymore flying fish but we do experience dancing taste buds every day!!!

We enjoy our breakfast (quickly I don’t want to be too much of a chair hog). I have French toast that is wonderful with dollops of whipped cream and warmed maple syrup, some more fresh fruit and …oh heck, we’re on vacation right? a few strips of crisp bacon, just delightful. Martins eggs are done perfectly and the grumbles go away. After we eat we amble back to our chairs and settle back to bask in the sun when I suddenly sit up....Crap…”Oh no, our cruise critic meet and greet is at 11:30!) its 11:20 now..(I am definitely a pool chair hog now. I decide I won’t stay long so we leave the required shoe and book and off we go!)

We head off to the sports deck to get Sarah. We walk past the climbing wall which only has a few people at it and into the market place past a group of tables loaded down with hats and scarves and the like. Then we walk into a tunnel like area or the covered market place path with the arcade to one side and twin stairs up ahead. In this area are groups of large cushioned chairs. The chairs are shaded and comfortable. Even with all the market place stuff and the added activity there, it looks like a nice place to sit back and read if you get too much sun.

We head up the stairs onto deck 16 and past…yup ANOTHER buffet at the H20 pool grill! Food food and more food. We are NOT hungry so we quickly pass by this buffet and walk past the bar and turn left at the stairs tucked the side of the bar. I have read where people complain about too many kids in the adult only section but I want to point out that the only way to get to the sports area on deck 17 is through the Spice H20 bar (not the best planning…I don’t think). So kids are back and forth all the time going up to the sports deck with the climbing cage and the epic bounce. Also there is no water on the sports deck (my suggestion to NCL is to get some water up there!) No water there means kids are not only back and forth to get TO the sports deck but also back and forth going to the bar at Spice H20 for drinks.

So we get up top and I take a few shots. Did I mention my motion trajectory problem? I mean the ship is moving the deck is rocking the hoop is not quite stationary…I mean it’s totally understandable that I can’t get the ball near the hoop right?

In no time we are across the pool deck and down the elevator to deck 7. The entrance to Bliss is pretty awesome. Once again (we went here for life boat practice yesterday—yes THAT is what my husband calls the muster drill! We again cross the gold glittery floor, pass the 12 foot purple sofa and stare at that full size horse lamp. I just want to know who decides to make one of them. “Hey you know what this space REALLY needs? A Giant Horse Lamp!! I want to get a picture of Sarah astride this mighty steed…my husband won’t let me—one big regret!

We enter the room and I am disappointed that there are only a few people there. I know about 40 signed up but I guess the sunny deck is holding everyone outside. I am pretty excited to meet the people I had been messaging with on the boards. We head in and meet those tht showed up. Its fun to put faces to names. Hey, I’m apmecruise…oh I know you…your rorychickenwing!! Sarah meets up with one of the teens she had messaged with before the cruise and they take off (it’s a teen thing!) and we settle down to chat and catch up. Soon some ship officers come in. Wow. That is so nice. I knew that was likely but it was still great. We meet some people from food and beverage and housekeeping, hotel services and other assorted people. I noticed there was only ONE woman officer…what is THAT about? In fact the whole time I only ever saw the one! Oh well...

We congratulate the officer from food and beverage for their outstanding work, everything is so tasty and such variety. We thank the housekeeping officer for our wonderfully well made up room and we talk to one of the officers from a specialty restaurant about finding fresh food and the challenges of keeping fresh on a cruise ship. They introduce themselves and give us a little welcome and thank you. Then they give us cards with personal numbers and encourage us to call for ANYTHING! And then they are off. I think it is little touches like that which make NCL a great cruise line.

The wonderful couple who hosted our meet and begin introductions and we are off introducing ourselves. That was wonderful. Frequent and not frequent cruises. Families and couples and even a solo traveler. She was interesting and told us all about how well the rumrunners work for her!! That is a whole story. But if you want to sneak alcohol on board, rum runners seem to be the way to do it!

At one point we started to leave but then got into a terrific talk with our cruise critic friends and just sat on down and enjoyed the company. As nice as the sun is, the wonderful people we met were as important.

I think a good idea would have been to schedule another time to meet and check back in. If I had known about the martini tasting then (yum) I would have suggested meeting back again there to share ship and excursion stories!

We have abandonned our chairs again for well over an hour (oh I am so a chair hog!) and when we get back we find one taken. Oh no. My husband gets upset. I am not, I am fairly ashamed that we held onto the two we did. What are the chances that Sarah will actually sit in the sun anyway? People to one side of us see our dilemma and offer Martin the use of her daughter’s chair (she was a teen too). But we won't be there long anyway. Not only are we hungry but...I forgot the sunscreen. No not in the state room...but at HOME! Yup I forget sunscreen. Baggies…got em. Water bottles, got ‘em. Flashlight for if we lose power…got that. 6 different medicines we never use? Extra chargers…got them all too.

Sunscreen for our cruise in the Caribbean? Nope its at home providing UV protection to the counter top!

After a little bit its time for...what DO people cruise for? The FOOD!! And it has been about 3 hours since we last eat! I think we need to find a meal. We gather our stuff up (no more hogging chairs…today!) and we wander off to get cleaned up and decide where to eat.

I am tired already of buffets, I like to sit down and have people bring me my food. So Taste is it. I think it’s the only sit down place open other than O’Sheehans and we tried that yesterday. So we are off. I had heard so many mixed reviews on Taste I was curious.

First off, Lemon Mint Mojito. Oh yeah, it is the way to go. Wonderful. We decide on Pasta Bolognese, Pasta Alfredo, and Chicken Milanese. All fabulous. Best part? Being waited on and having a leisurely lunch with no hurries. After lunch we wander to Mandara Spa on deck 14 to check into some pedicures. We need to get summer feet going on!:rolleyes:

[poffles]

Enjoying your report. Debating between a 7 day Epic or an 11 day Dawn cruise for next March (2012). Surprisingly the prices are almost the same. The Epic sounds like an interesting ship but 4 extra islands sounds better.

 

And yes I've noticed the boards a little wonky lately. Had to just try a few times this morning before the page would load.

 

Looking forward to more report. Maybe type it in another program first then copy it over so if the site gets ugly again you won't lose all your work. You are a trooper for typing all that more than once :o

[itzhappyme]

How nice to find a really up to the minute review! Can't wait for the next instalment. Going on Epic in Med in August - have made note re "water bottle for sports deck" :)

[apmecruise]

So I left us off in the spa. Don't you just love the smell of a spa? It is so unique to the individual spa and Mandara had a great one!! It had a eucalyptus smell that just screamed RELAX. Right now this very minute (until you saw the price sheet...wow!).

 

But the place was laid out beautifully and the people were as helpful as...well everyone aboard NCL seems to be. In the background there is calm music, the colors are serene and everything is peaceful. While Sarah and I made some appointments my husband walked through the spa and into the exercise area. He loved it. The machines lined up against a giant wall of windows. You could walk and...well watch the ocean. In fact he liked it so much up there that he would go up there to walk on the treadmill a few times during the week while Sarah and I took our time getting ready to leave the cabin or I took a nap and Sarah went to shoot hoop. He said it was never really crowded. He had no problem getting on a machine.

 

After making pedicure appointments, you remember we needed to get our summer toes glowing, it was time to try the sundeck again. After 3pm many chairs freed up and we had no trouble plopping ourselves down to relax. I had wanted to go to the martini demonstration (not sure what it was and never found out) The sun was too fabulous to leave again so I just laid back and zzzzz.

 

Delightful. Before I could sunburn (remember still no sunscreen!) Sarah comes back from the sports deck and suggests we try the slides. So up we go. Try the green one first then the purple. Okay-- I am a total chicken on these things. I just don't like the feeling of sliding down out of control in the pitch black. I don't mind as much when the slides are open but the tunnels? Then at the end I plunge under the water and suck up half the available water on a poor dismount out of the tunnel. So as I get up spluttering and laughing and choking Sarah is laughing at me and telling me to pick my head up while I slide. Pick my head up? Are you kidding I feel like I will smack it against the side of the slide. So I try again and I don't swallow as much but still...do I have to slide down dark tunnels anymore? It was fun but I didn't go again. When did I get so old and whimpy? Oh well...there is so much to do on this ship who cares if I don't really enjoy the slides...its just more slide time for all the other people.

As we climbed from one slide to the other we looked out over the plunge (that one scared me the most) and saw that the Epic Plunge was out of water? What's that about? We asked a worker but he had no idea. We never made it to Epic Plunge for the whole trip. What's that about? On a few evenings the slides were open from 9:30 till 11pm or so and we always meant to go back but got too busy. That is one thing with this ship…there is so much to do it is easy to run out of time.

 

All wet and cooled off, we walk back over to our chairs to assume the position and see that one of the micro-mini pools has been closed down? We aren’t sure what that’s about till later when we find out that someone threw up in the pool and they had to shut it down to drain it and clean it out. :rolleyes: It was open the next day so it wasn’t that big a deal. We wondered if that had something to do with the water on the Epic Plunge getting shut down.

 

No worries though, the music was playing and drinks were being poured and life was fine without the tube slide or the second pool. After an hour or so in the sun we decide to head back down to the room to get cleaned up.

 

Sarah has a pedicure at 7:30 and then we have Cirque at 8:45pm.

Martin and I get ‘peckish’ after we drop Sarah off at the spa, so we head to O’Sheehans for a bite because we can! I had heard that the food at Cirque wasn't very good and I was getting hungry so I thought… lets go grab a bite before hand that way it won’t matter if it isn’t good (but it was!).

 

O’Sheehans is a lovely pub. I love the feel of it. Its so strange to have the feeling of an actual Irish pub in the middle of this floating city!! The large atrium screen juts up in the middle of the restaurant and is visible from all around and there was always something interesting to look at. We found a seat near some windows—I love always being near a fabulous ocean view!! We enjoyed a grilled chicken sandwich and a chicken pot pie…yummy crust on top. We washed it down with some fruity drinks and soon it was time to go back and see Sarah’s summer toes.

 

Up at the spa I think about asking to see Posh and the full spa but I choose not to! I really wanted to get a spa and posh pass but I didn’t want to put myself somewhere Sarah can’t get to…even though she spent ALL her time on the sports deck. Still it’s the principle, we are on vacation to at least be available to be together:rolleyes:! Still, I bet it would have been fabulous.

Sarah loved the pedicure said it was the best ever and tipped her technician an extra $5….she deserved it and you always do that, right mom? Thank you honey for signing away more of my money …but she was right…it was a lovely job and they squeezed her in last minute. My appointment is on our next sea day so I will have to live with boring winter toes till then.

 

We exit the spa with about 45 minutes to go before the show and Sarah says she is starving! So we are off to the Garden Café…because…well WE CAN!! She eats some pasta with cream sauce—she tries to explain how to make a quick pink sauce…just put some red sauce and some white sauce together. The chef at the station looked scandalized. No no…madamioselle I couldn’t do that….its not right:confused:? Luckily she loves the cream sauce but we still laugh about that response. I guess there is a right and wrong with sauces!

 

On our way to the show we run into some of our friends from the meet and greet and hear about how much they are enjoying the cruise. :D I really want to linger and talk more about how their cruise is going, especially when they say the best money they spent was to get the spa and posh passes...:cool: they plan to go EVERY day!! But its getting to be time for the cirque show in the Spiegel tent. Even though all the advice from cruise critic said not to upgrade …I did anyway and I am curious to see how it will work out. ( My husband will come to REALLY wish I hadn't.:eek:).

[buddylucky]

Hand in hand my daughter, husband, and self walk onto this GInormous ship. People talk about how the atrium is not truly impressive on the Epic but, to me anyway, the atrium was beautiful. I found it welcoming. There is a huge two story movie screen, comfortable chairs in clusters and an atrium cafe with lovely snacks, deserts and coffee drinks (husband found one of the best cups of coffee there!). :D

 

At first I thought we'd go right to the pool deck once we got on board :confused: but as we entered the ship we got overwhelmed that we decided to find a place to sit down and grab a quick meal while we decided what to do first.

 

Right upstairs from the Atrium is O'Sheehans and we were lured by the smell of chicken wings and the buckets of beer sitting on tables that surrounded the railing which overlooked the atrium movie screen. We quickly climb the stairs and find a table that offers us a good view of people coming and going. Everyone seems so excited to be here. Hello friends...lets get our vacation on!

 

Tucked on one side of the restaurant is the bowling alley! It looks great and we can't wait to bowl (we never make it...not even ONCE!). On the other side are more games but I never even made it over to that side to check it out. The server introduces herself and before long we have a bucket of Blue Moon (yum) and mozzerella sticks, spinach dip, and chicken wings. The food shows up quickly and the portion sizes are perfect, 4 sticks, a cup of dip and about 6 wings. We are pleased with portion size in each restaurant. If you think about it, you can always get more so why start out with a huge amount. We enjoy our food and a few beers (shirley temples for Sarah!) and get our bearings using a map.- we figure out where we are (its a strange feeling to be on a giant boat and have no idea where you are in relation to the outside!). After we eat we decide to tour the boat. First stop the sun deck.

 

We walk to the back of the boat (is that aft?) and find some elevators. They come quickly...surprise, I would have thought it would take more time being that everyone is arriving. The elevators were never a problem though. We take the elevator to the 15th floor and come out on the sun deck which is not as crowded as I would have thought. There are some chairs available but chair hogs have been here already. There are towels down and chairs folded down. My favorite are the chairs with one shoe or a part of a newspaper. No body...just stuff.

 

I have to admit being disappointed that the pools are so small. I know people say it but until you see their size you can't imagine how ridiculous it looks. Even without it being crowded the pool seems stuffed with 8 kids. And of course the kids that are there want to jump in and splash and well...be kids! The slides aren't open yet, but they look awesome. (I can't believe we never get ourselves on the Epic Plunge! How did that happen?):cool: Okay, I got scared on the green slide so I didn't push it.

 

After a quick stroll around deck we head towards Spice H20 and the sports deck. We walk through a really nicely shaded area that has groups of soft cushionary chairs in clusters of 4. It also has the teen lounge and video arcade to one side. This turns out to be a nice place to sit and read and escape the sun...even when the deck is crowded. We head up the stairs to Spice and the adults only area. That is a really nice area. The seats are on different levels. Tables with umbrellas on some parts and lounge chairs on others. There is a small pool at the back end of the boat right up against another gigantic tv screen with hot tubs on either corner. Very nicely laid out. We take a quick left and pass by the bar and go up a set of stairs to find the sports deck and it is just WOW. Unbelievable. There is a full basketball court all netted in. A giant trampolene (the epic bounce) and a crawl through apparatus called the spider. I never saw kids on either of these but they looked fun. There are some lounge chairs spread out and some regular chairs clustered around for people to hang out. This turns out to be a great place to find a seat when chair hogs have taken every other part of the ship up on sea days!!

 

We join some kids out on the sports court already and shoot baskets on a moving boat (no the boat isn't moving much but hey...are you saying I have an awful shot? I used the motion defense quite often during the week! It isn't my fault...I lined up a good shot but the ship moved!)

 

Before long they sound for everyone to meet at their muster stations? Whats this...oh yeah, the life jacket drill. What if we don't go? Oh they check you in...if you don't go they make you go the next day. Oh well...we head out and try to figure out where to go. There are some nice people that explain that the number A2 on our cruise card tells us where we are to go in an emergency. A2 is found in the Bliss lounge. A quick look at the map lets us know what floor to go to and we are off.

 

We head down stairs towards the Bliss lounge. Down down down... We figured the elevator would be busy and we don't mind walking down. So down down down we go. In no time we are walking over a gold glittery floor, past a 12 foot purple couch and stop next to a full size horse lamp. Now how often do you see a 6 foot tall full horse size lamp (and I live near Saratoga New York where horse paraphanelia is rampant!)?

 

Bliss looks fun and its where we are to join our fellow cruise critic travels for the meet and greet later on. After the muster we decide to...muster ourselves down to our stateroom and see what room 8006 looks like. We were nervous about the 8th floor and the whole uncovered balcony situation. Plus we were anxious to check out the weird bathroom set up. :rolleyes: But first we need a pina colada...hey..its vacation right? Come along and see what the room is like.

Hi, there!

We're considering a cruise for our 50th anniv, with 11 people, including 5 grandchildren aged 11 through 15. Is O'Sheehans included in the meals, or is it a "specialty" restaurant? How many restaurants are included?

Thanks for the info.

Linda and Bill

[KandJCruising]

Hi, there!

We're considering a cruise for our 50th anniv, with 11 people, including 5 grandchildren aged 11 through 15. Is O'Sheehans included in the meals, or is it a "specialty" restaurant? How many restaurants are included?

Thanks for the info.

Linda and Bill

O'Sheehan's is included, as are the two main dining rooms (Taste and the Manhattan Room), the Garden Cafe, the Great Outdoors and room service (never a bad idea to tip the delivery person). You can also often find food at Spice H2O.

[nathand95]

Great review so far! Admittance of chair hogging is the first step to recovery;). That's rather funny about someone puking in the pool. I can only imagine everyone trying to clamber out. Haha...funny mental image:).

The chicken pot pie is definitely one of the top 5 things I ate the whole week! I'm also curious as to what you thought of Cirque Dreams.

Can't wait for the next installment. This is bringing back such great memories.