The "Better Late than Never" EPIC Review: April 30-May 7

[pambo]

Better late than never, right? It was exactly 5 weeks ago today that we first stepped onto the EPIC for our amazing Western Caribbean experience. I can't tell you how many times I have started to write this review, but kept getting sidetracked by....well, by life! I actually thought about not writing it at all since so much time has passed. But then I thought about all of the other reviews that I read so diligently prior to our cruise and how helpful and encouraging they were for me, so here goes...

 

Details

Date: April 30 - May 7, 2011

Itinerary: Western Caribbean - Costa Maya, Roatan, and Cozumel

Who: DH and I - early 60's

 

Background

This was our first cruise on NCL. DH and I are Diamond Members on Royal Caribbean. When we took our first cruise back in 2003, I wanted to spend my birthday watching the sunset at Mallory Square in Key West. There was only one cruise that fit the bill that week...RCI Rhapsody of the Seas out of Galveston. Well, like so many others, we were hooked! That was just the beginning of our addiction of accumulating points, perks, and balcony discounts.

 

Last spring news of the EPIC sparked our interest....the entertainment looked amazing. Having no NCL cruises under our belts, we would need to start from "Square 1" again with the perks...should we or shouldn't we? OK-let's give it a try. A military discount and points from a credit card made this decision much easier to make.

 

So last June - just a few short weeks before the Epic's inaugural sailing, we booked our balcony cabin...my usual preference of mid-ship (more on that later)...for April 2011. It seemed like an eternity away. I immediately began visiting the boards on a regular basis to devour every bit of information that I could possibly find about this amazing new ship. Oh-oh....with each passing week, more and more negative reviews began popping up - did we make the right choice in booking the EPIC??? Thankfully it didn't take long for the positive reviews to make an appearance on the boards. I offer a big thank you to CC posters like Don, Sdmike, Tom-n-Cheryl and so many others who shared their enthusiasm and encouraged us that we did make the correct decision to give the EPIC a try.

 

And boy are we glad that we did! We had a most wonderful week and this cruise far exceeded our expectations!

 

In the upcoming posts, I will share our experiences and opinions of this first cruise outside of our "comfort zone" of Royal Caribbean. I can honestly say that we have never had a bad cruise. We believe that every ship - whether new or old, large or small - has something unique to offer.

 

Instead of organizing this review day by day, I have decided to arrange it by topic - Crew, Cabin, Restaurants, Entertainment, Ports of Call, etc. I will do this over several posts...please be patient as I might not get around to making an entry every evening....but I will eventually work my way through my thoughts.

 

I will do my best to answer any questions that you might have.

 

Up next....Pre-Cruise and Embarkation.

[4774Papa]

We are booked on the Epic next May in the Med, in an aft-balcony. My only concern is the size of the ship and crowds. Did you notice a major difference with 4000 on the ship vs. 2400?

[pambo]

They told us that there were approximately 3800 passengers onboard that week. I can honestly say that not once did it ever feel crowded. There were no long lines anywhere. We ate at several specialty restaurants and there were always several tables available in each.

 

I will add some photos to my upcoming posts. You will be able to see that on the pool deck there were still some lounge chairs available.

 

My DH and I both commented several times throughout the week that it never seemed crowded at all.

[pambo]

I just noticed that you are from St. Simon's Island, GA....what an absolutely beautiful corner of the world!!!

[pambo]

Pre-Cruise

We arrived in Miami about 8:30 Friday evening. The baggage arrived within about 20 minutes. We then walked outside and were able to quickly get a cab to our hotel. Cost: approximately $23-$25.

 

We had arranged to stay at the EPIC Hotel in downtown Miami. I had previously stayed there with friends when we went on a "Girls' Getaway Cruise" in early 2009. It had opened only a month or two prior to that first visit. We received a Grand Opening rate that was just too good to pass up. We had the most wonderful stay - everything about it spoke "Luxury". I enjoyed it so much that I had promised my DH that we would go there together sometime. I tracked the pricing for months. At first the rooms kept coming up at just over $300/night...not exactly the great deal we had received in 2009. Finally, after many months of persistent checking, a great deal came up with a government/military rate. DH served for 20 years in the US Navy. I didn't waste any time in booking at this rate ($128/night). Now I began to wonder if it would live up to his expectations after hearing about this hotel for 2+ years....it did!

 

We had a room with a water view and were greeted Saturday morning with our first view of the EPIC....all we could say was "Wow". Since we arrived on Friday - and it had been a long week of working/packing/ and preparing for the cruise, we decided to relax and eat at the hotel restaurant for both dinner on Friday and breakfast on Saturday. Both meals were delicious. We cannot say enough about the staff at the EPIC Hotel. They are so gracious and accommodating. We highly recommend this wonderful hotel.

 

Embarkation

This was by far the fastest/easiest embarkation we have had in all of our cruising. We took a cab from the hotel (which is downtown not too far from the Hyatt and the Intercontinental). It cost about $10 (give or take a couple of $$) for the two of us. We arrived at the pier at 11:55 a.m. At 12:20p.m., we were ordering our first drink at the Waves Bar on the Pool Deck. Adding to the efficiency of boarding was that fact that there are two terminals used depending on your cabin location. This is the first time that we have experienced this and it worked out quite well. Your documents indicate whether you will enter through Terminal B or C.

 

Due to a medical condition, I have difficulty walking for any length of time or up an incline. I had pre-arranged for a wheelchair for embarkation. I was advised that I would get this at check-in. When I asked the agent about it, she told me that I should have gotten that outside when I first arrived....then said something that totally surprised me...."But wait, let me go get you one". Wow - she could have easily ended her statement with "you should have gotten that outside" but didn't. I was very impressed. Within a few short minutes, she returned with one of the crew members who graciously escorted me onboard.

 

I had read many posts on these boards where people have complained that you enter the ship in the casino and that it lacks the "Wow Factor" of many other ships where you enter through the Atrium. Well, let me tell you what the "Wow Factor" was for us.....the crew!!! We were greeted with music, smiling faces, tambourines, maracas and the overwhelming impression that they had been waiting for us and they were most excited that we would be spending the next 7 days with them!!! Throughout our week on the EPIC the crew consistently impressed us with their welcoming attitude, attention to detail, and graciousness.

 

After our drink at Waves, we decided to head off to Taste to grab a bite to eat. It was not crowded and we had an enjoyable lunch. Service was attentive and the food was very good. We were off to a good start.

 

The Muster Drill was very quick and painless. As others have said, it is not necessary to wear the life vests. Our muster station was in the Casino. Once the crew member checked off our names, we watched a short demonstration of the life vests and were on our way.

 

I had read on the boards that a good place to enjoy Sail Away is at Spice H2O, as it is much quieter than on the main pool deck and you can actually carry on a conversation. I would have to agree. A nice touch was being able to watch the view from the bridge on the big screen.

 

As we were enjoying a drink at Spice H2O, I recognized one of the gals who had been posting on our Roll Call Board. We immediately struck up a conversation with her and her husband and would enjoy their company several times throughout the week. Hi Tracy & John!!!

 

Next Topics: Cabin & Crew

Here are a few photos from the hotel and that first afternoon on the EPIC.

[Springwater21]

We are booked on the Epic next May in the Med, in an aft-balcony. My only concern is the size of the ship and crowds. Did you notice a major difference with 4000 on the ship vs. 2400?

off topic, but we are coming to your island in September to visit my sister..! I have been once in 2007, now bringing hubby! Dona:D

[4774Papa]

off topic, but we are coming to your island in September to visit my sister..! I have been once in 2007, now bringing hubby! Dona:D

Hope you have a great visit. I suggest you try eating at Barbara Jean's restaurant in the village. Great crab cakes and vegetables.

[Carnac767]

I just noticed that you are from St. Simon's Island, GA....what an absolutely beautiful corner of the world!!!

 

I'll say, that's DW's and my hometown. Thanks for the review. We've enjoyed reading it (and looking at the pics). Looking forward to the rest of it.

[DGP1111]

Oh-oh....with each passing week, more and more negative reviews began popping up - did we make the right choice in booking the EPIC??? Thankfully it didn't take long for the positive reviews to make an appearance on the boards. I offer a big thank you to CC posters like Don, Sdmike, Tom-n-Cheryl and so many others who shared their enthusiasm and encouraged us that we did make the correct decision to give the EPIC a try.

 

And boy are we glad that we did! We had a most wonderful week and this cruise far exceeded our expectations!

 

:D Very very glad to read that you had a wonderful sailing on this faboo ship.

Thanks so much for sharing your excitement. :) :)

.

.

 

Well, let me tell you what the "Wow Factor" was for us.....the crew!!! We were greeted with music, smiling faces, tambourines, maracas and the overwhelming impression that they had been waiting for us and they were most excited that we would be spending the next 7 days with them!!! Throughout our week on the EPIC the crew consistently impressed us with their welcoming attitude, attention to detail, and graciousness.

 

Ain't dat the truth!!! :D

.

.

[kerrytens]

Great start to your review! I can feel your excitement coming through in your words:D

 

Thanks for feeding my obsession too ... can't wait for more!

[lynnquenby]

Hey Pam

 

So you finally got round to the review........which is more than I've done!! Really looking forward to reading and reliving that great week onboard!!

 

Great start and agree with you completely on the emabrkatikon and 'WOW' factor on embarkation.....couldn't have been better :D

 

Lynn

[pambo]

If there would be any areas where we had concerns/issues or room for improvement, it would be with the cabin. There was nothing major, but lesson learned - we will do things differently next time.

 

Cabin

We had a regular Balcony Cabin mid-ship. As many others have shared, the cabin is quite small compared to some other ships/lines. We only had two people in there - I can't imagine adding a third. Our cabin configuration had the bed closest to the entry door and the couch near the balcony. I began reading the recommendations to book a cabin with the reverse configuration AFTER I had made our reservation. I imagine that I could have called to get another cabin, but I thought "How bad can this be"? Bottom line - yes, so many posters were right! I should have listened to you!

 

As I had mentioned earlier, I occasionally need to use a wheelchair (due to a lung condition). I had ordered one ahead of time from Special Needs at Sea. It was waiting for me in the cabin when we arrived and they picked it up right from the cabin at the end of the cruise. It worked out very well. But oh - yet one more thing to add to the already small cabin. FYI - when I decided that I would need the wheelchair for the cruise, it was several months after my original booking. By that time there were no Wheelchair Accessible cabins available.

 

Another thing that I realized AFTER the original booking was that there are no mid-ship elevators...only fore and aft. I guess I was so excited to book this cruise that I booked first and began scouring the boards for information afterwards. Once again, I thought "How bad can it be...it's not that far of a walk". But oh, yes....especially with the wheelchair in the evenings. When we were heading out for dinner, the cabin stewards had their carts in the hall for the evening linens etc. With the hallways being already a bit narrower due to the curved walls of the wave cabins, each evening we felt like we were maneuvering an obstacle course. We just joked about it though and it became a "game" for us. If the cabin stewards were actually out in the hall when we passed by, they would move the carts as best they could. Could I have walked until we got to the elevator? I guess I could have...but since we were mid-ship, it was a long walk and I just couldn't manage it by the end of each day.

 

Bathroom Set-up:

This was a non-issue for us. We actually thought it was more efficient to have the shower, sink, and toilet separate. But having the bed so close to the sink did make it hard for one to get by when the other was using the sink....another reason I should have listened to those posters! They tried to tell me!

 

Storage:

This was by far the most storage we have ever had in a regular balcony cabin. There were nooks and crannies all over the place. It was a very efficient use of space. Thanks again to all of the previous posters who shared all of the secret hiding places. As one poster said along the way, "If it looks like it should open for storage, it probably does". It certainly did help to keep the room neat and tidy. We found no need for the over the door shoe things that many people feel the need to bring. First of all, there was only a sliding door so it wouldn't work on there, but secondly, because of all the storage, there was just no need.

 

Bed:

We found the bed to be very comfortable. In fact, I would have to say that it was more comfortable than any bed on any of our previous cruises.

 

Lessons learned for next time:

• 
   
  

Book a Mini-Suite or larger if I cannot get a Wheelchair Accessible Cabin

 

• 
  

Book Fore or Aft

 

Crew:

I have said it before and I will say it again that the crew was wonderful. There is a link to a YouTube video on another post about the "Real Stars of the EPIC". If you have a chance, please take a moment to view it....it speaks volumes about how wonderful that crew was!

 

That being said, we did have one small issue with our cabin steward. Due to my medical condition, I have medication that must be kept cold with ice packs 24/7. I had contacted the Special Needs Department well in advance of the cruise to make the necessary arrangements. I was assured that we would have this taken care of by our Cabin Steward. We explained the situation to him on Day 1 - even wrote the specific instructions down as to when I would need the packs delivered each day. Luckily I have ice packs that last for 12 hours, so obviously we would only need delivery of the packs twice a day. We requested that the first one be delivered by 11:00 p.m. on that first night. When we returned to our room, there was no ice pack to be found. I immediately called Housekeeping to let them know that it was absolutely vital that I get these packs on a regular basis. They took care of the situation immediately. I had the ice pack within 10 minutes. They suggested that I deal directly with the Housekeeping Supervisor from that point on...and there was NEVER another issue throughout the week. Now that's service! And yes, we generously tipped the young man who delivered the ice packs twice a day. They would even check in with me periodically to see if I might need one sooner than expected.

 

Other than the issue with the ice packs, our Cabin Steward was very efficient. Our cabin was regularly cleaned and re-stocked with linens as needed. There are no complaints about his attention to detail - just not very personable. Is that a bad thing? Not at all - simply an observation.

 

Coming Next:

Meet & Mingle, Bars, Entertainment

[fatty48]

Thank you Pambo for the Great review. We are going on The Epic TA in October,

and like you I'm reserching every angle to make sure we dont miss a thing.

Thanks also for the Real Stars of The Epic you tube like. I found I was Grinning from Ear To Ear after watching It.

Only 4 months and a bit till our turn on board this great ship.

Thanks again lets have some more.

 

Roger & Family Cornwall UK

[sdmike]

Pambo -

I'm enjoying reliving my Epic experience through your posts. Thanks for sharing, and I'm glad I helped with the preparation. I think I was the one who said if you think it could open, it probably does :)

 

Also, thank you for your family's service to our country.

[fabnfortysomething]

Hi pambo

 

My husband also needs to keep medication cool and despite informing special needs dept as requested the message never seems to get through to the cabin stewards

 

housekeeping did offer to store my husband medications and bring to cabin as required.However the storage requirements are between 2 and 8 centigrade and that is within the limits for the room fridge so we asked for that to be cleared and used that instead.

you say you have icepacks that last for 12 hours-have you heard of the "frio" travel packs-they can keep medication cool for several days

 

anyway thought I'd drop in that advice and to say thanks for your review-we were on the same itinery a fortnight before you and after returning home to lousy weather it's starting to become a distant memory!

 

Lyn

[pambo]

Lyn, thank you for the info on the Frio packs. I did a quick search and it looks like it could work for me-will look into it further this evening. See, these boards are a wealth of information-thank you-thank you-thank you!!!

[pambo]

Meet & Mingle

I have participated in many Roll Call Boards/Meet & Mingles throughout the years. Of course, some are more active than others. We were blessed that the Roll Call Board of the April 30 EPIC cruise was very busy for months with a lot of participation. By the time we boarded the ship, we felt like we knew each other and were so excited to finally meet in person. Our Meet & Mingle was scheduled for Sunday at 11:00 a.m. in the Bliss Lounge. Of course I had known this for weeks and weeks prior to the cruise. Tom - thanks again for all of your hard work in putting this together.

 

Sunday morning arrives - we head to Taste for a leisurely breakfast and then stop at the pool deck to relax with a cup of coffee and people watch for a while. It was 11:15 and I said that we should start heading down to the Bliss Lounge so we won't be late. DH says "They will probably wonder where we are....we're already 15 minutes late".

 

WHAT???? All of a sudden, I had a memory lapse and totally got the time wrong after all of the planning around the 11:00 gathering! Here I was sure that it was scheduled for 11:30. I couldn't believe it. When we finally arrived, the officers had already left and the staff was cleaning up. Luckily there were still a few guests and we had the opportunity to meet them - Kim & Dan, Lynn & Dave, and Tracy & John (whom we had met at Sail Away the day before). We all enjoyed connecting in person after all those months of communicating on the boards. We had a blast during the week and we are already talking about a "reunion cruise". You've got to love Cruise Critic!

 

Tracy had organized a collection of school/medical supplies that she, John, Lynn & Dave would deliver later in the week via a Victor Bodden tour. We brought these items to her at the Meet & Mingle. Quite a few participated and they were able to deliver a nice collection of supplies to the children. Thank you, Tracy, for organizing this. Hopefully Tracey or Lynn will post some photos that they took with the children.

 

From what I understand, the officers were very welcoming and handed out their cards and encouraged everyone to contact them if they needed anything or had any issues during the week. Although we had missed this at the Meet & Mingle, we did experience several officers during the week stopping to chat with us to see how our cruise was going and if there was anything they could do for us....good customer service for sure! If anyone who was at our Meet & Mingle would like to add anything about the officers' presentation, please do.

 

Entertainment & Bars

There is so much to do on the EPIC, that there is no way you can do it all in a week, although we did our best to give it a try. Here is a sampling of our week:

 

Blue Man Group

We took the advice of many posters and booked this show for the first evening onboard. We arrived about 15 minutes early and there were still plenty of seats. We thoroughly enjoyed the show! It is quite a visual experience. There are several times when they bring an audience member up on stage...and it does not matter if you are sitting in the front row, middle, or back. They will find you if they wish!

 

On the last sea day there was a presentation called "The Men Behind the Blue" held in the Atrium. If you enjoyed the show, I highly recommend that you attend this session. It is so interesting and funny. They shared some crazy stories about their experiences on the stage. It got quite crowded, so plan to arrive a bit early if you would like to sit. You can also watch from one deck up at O'Sheehan's.

 

Shakers Martini Bar

Finally...we get to meet the famous Armando that Don had talked about! Kim, Lynn, and I were so ready to sample one of the Chocolate Love martinis that we had heard so much about. Yes, they did live up to our expectations....they were so good! The martini tastings are held at 4:00 on the sea days. There is no need to sign up ahead of time...simply show up and present your card for the $15 fee. It is OK to share and that is exactly what DH and I did as there was no way that I could drink 5 martinis...especially in an hour! Armando is such a hoot and kept us laughing the whole time! He had all of the liquor lined up on the bar that he would need for each of the five martinis. He then explained how to make each one. On each sea day he would make another new selection of 5 martinis. Where else can you get such a great deal???

 

On a ship the size of the EPIC, we like to find our "little corner of the world" and re-visit it throughout the week. Shakers became that little corner of the world for us. Each evening, we would stop by before calling it a day to have a night cap and listen to the piano player. It was always the perfect ending to a perfect day.

 

Fat Cats

I can't say enough about Slam Allen. He is not to be missed. He is a very talented musician and has a great rapport with the audience. We spent three evenings enjoying his show in Fat Cats and in hindsight wish we had gone more often. If you have the opportunity to go, please do. You will certainly have a good time.

 

Howl at the Moon

We stopped in at Howl at the Moon after dinner on our first night. As you know, at a dueling piano bar, the audience either makes or breaks the show. Well, the room was only about 1/4 filled and it seemed as though (with the exception of a few) the audience wasn't really into it. The musicians tried their best to drum up some enthusiasm, but the room was fairly quiet. We left after about 3 songs. We had every intention of returning later in the week to see if it would improve, but we just got so busy with everything else that we never returned.

 

Ice Bar

After a long winter in Chicago, we were what???? Going into a bar where the temperature is a cool 17 degrees....brrrr! Oh, it was fun for a short while (I lasted 10 minutes....then took my drinks out into the hall). I was in there long enough to get a few photos and have a few laughs through my chattering teeth. It was fun to do once, but I probably won't do it again. I had been in an ice bar several years ago in Denmark. It was at an outdoor festival in the middle of winter, so the "shelter" of the ice bar seemed warm in comparison...unlike the Caribbean!

 

Jeff Hobson

Jeff was the comedian/magician on the ship. He is not to be missed. His show is so funny that we laughed until we cried! Make sure to catch this show if Jeff is on during your sailing.

 

O'Sheehan's

Located in the center of Deck 6, O'Sheehan's offers the perfect spot for people watching. You have a great view of the atrium below. We stopped at O'Sheehan's several times during the week to get a bite to eat or grab a drink. The strawberry pound cake...so good. Be sure to stop by for a taste.

 

Waves Pool Bar

Located on Deck 15, this is the perfect spot to enjoy the reggae band during the day. This was our first stop on the day we boarded the ship. What I especially liked was the large number of tables with umbrellas to give me a break from the sun. Due to my medication, I have to limit my time in the sun. The umbrellas allowed me to stay on the pool deck and enjoy the activity without baking in the direct sunlight.

 

As I said, this is just a sampling of what we did. All of this was interspersed with the usual vacation pastimes of relaxing, reading, eating, napping, shopping...and then starting all over again. We struck the perfect balance during the week between keeping busy and experiencing those precious moments of just doing nothing.

 

Next topic: Restaurants

 

Here are a few more photos.

[pambo]

Here are a few more photos...

[dizneydawn]

Thank you for the great review! Can't wait to read the next part! Very interested in your thoughts about the restaurants!:)

[lynnquenby]

Hope this works! Here should be photos of the kids at the school in Roatan and Tracy - it was very humbling and the children were fantastic, they spoke very little English but a smile is 'universal'!!

 

 

 

 

[pambo]

Lynn,

Thank you so much for posting these photos. It is great to see all of those happy faces.

 

Tracy - again I thank you for organizing the collection...I was honored to be a part of it.

 

Pam

[lynnquenby]

Lynn,

Thank you so much for posting these photos. It is great to see all of those happy faces.

 

Tracy - again I thank you for organizing the collection...I was honored to be a part of it.

 

Pam

 

Glad it worked!! not sure how to make them bigger though but never mind, at least they're there now!

 

Lynn

[ripjerry95]

Thanks Pambo! For your excellent reviews..My husband and I are DYING to go on the Epic..won't get on it until 2013 for his 50th bday..I am glad you decided to give NCL a try..we are devoted NCL cruisers..:D

[pambo]

Not only was this our first time cruising on NCL, it was our first time experiencing dining other than the traditional dining with set time and the same table/tablemates every night. We had tried a specialty restaurant either one or two nights on our Royal Caribbean cruises. But this would be our first time actually choosing the dinner location for each evening. As I stressed about the reservations and went online at exactly 45 days out to book them, I had to laugh at myself a bit as I began to wonder just how "free" was this freestyle (not talking $$ her but flexibility). I had every evening perfectly planned out for every single evening of the cruise 45 days in advance!

 

We had decided early on that we would splurge with the specialty restaurants. They all sounded so good - I made reservations for Shanghai, Moderno, La Cucina, Teppanyaki, Cagney's, and Le Bistro. We only allowed ourselves one free night for the Manhattan Room. Now I will say that we enjoyed every single one of them...some more than others with Le Bistro being our all time favorite. More on that later.

 

Let's start with breakfast and work through the day...

 

Breakfast

We began each morning with Room Service of pastries and fruit which we enjoyed on our balcony as we watched the day unfold. Boy, did I love those chocolate croissants!!! There's nothing wrong with having an appetizer or two before breakfast, is there? Who says they are only for pre-dinner anyhow?

 

As the morning progressed, we would head to one of the restaurants for our "real" breakfast. The morning we arrived in Roatan was the only morning that we ate at the Garden Café as we had an early excursion. It is very well laid out with multiple stations. There are so many choices - pretty much anything you could want for breakfast. If you can't find something that you like, you certainly aren't looking hard enough. The longest line I saw that morning was at the omelet station and that only had about 5 or 6 people in it. There were two sides of the buffet with the same items on both sides. It was very easy to find a table once we had made our selections. We also liked the idea of having the silverware wrapped in napkins on the center of each table. It made it easier not having to become a juggling act as you were getting your food and carrying your plate(s) back to the table.

 

Because we have a cafeteria at work, when I am on vacation, if given the choice, I will opt for a sit down restaurant where I can be served. So on the other mornings, we alternated our breakfasts between Taste and O'Sheehans. Service was always very attentive and quick. The choices were plentiful and during the course of the week, we had a nice variety of breakfasts. My husband's personal favorite was the corned beef hash in O'Sheehan's. At O'Sheehan's you can get breakfast 24/7. The menu just isn't as extensive after 11:00 a.m.

 

Lunch

We only ate lunch 4 days on the ship as we ate in port on the other days. We had one lunch in each of the following:

 

Garden Café (great soups)

As with breakfast, the Garden Café had a large variety of selections for lunch. My personal favorite was the hard ice cream section. This was such a nice treat. On the Royal Caribbean cruises that we have been on, they had the soft serve machine by the pool which was included in your cruise price. The hard ice cream was available at Ben & Jerry's for an additional fee. While on the EPIC, even on the days when we had lunch in the other restaurants or in port, we would return later in the afternoon for a dish of ice cream...especially loved that coconut!!!

 

O'Sheehan's

Keeping with his corned beef theme, DH enjoyed the corned beef sandwich in O'Sheehan's. I opted for the fish and chips - no complaints there! As mentioned earlier, we thoroughly enjoyed the strawberry pound cake for dessert. One order is plenty for two to share.

 

Noodle Bar

Our lunch in the Noodle Bar was fantastic! Items are a la carte and are reasonably priced. We ordered a variety and shared. It was quite busy the day we were there, but it didn't take long to get waited on. As at every meal so far, the service was attentive and friendly.

 

Taste (covered this in first post about Embarkation Day)

 

Dinner

As mentioned earlier, we ate at a specialty restaurant six of the seven evenings. We like the way that NCL offers the dining options....it allows you to build your cruise to suit your tastes. You can keep the cost down by not eating in the specialty restaurants and heaven knows there are plenty of other options. Otherwise you can choose the specialty restaurants and know that your cruise price will increase accordingly. I have read some complaints on these boards by people who say things like "NCL makes you eat in the specialty restaurants and spend more money". I don't get that. Everyone has a choice. The prices are clearly stated ahead of time and it is up to you to choose your own dining options thus building the cruise that you desire. We had decided early on that we wanted to splurge on this cruise. But then there were only two of us and we were not feeding a large family. That would have been very different, I'm sure.

 

Shaghai (cover charge of $15/person)

We went to the 7:00 Blue Man Group show and had an 8:30 dinner reservation. The timing worked out perfectly. There were several empty tables and we made the comment that maybe we didn't need reservations after all. This would be a recurring theme throughout the week. Perhaps it was the time or perhaps it was that the ship was not at full capacity. The food at Shanghai was very good. We started with appetizers of calamari and spring rolls. While both were very good, our favorite was the calamari. They were lightly battered and very tender - served with a wasabi mayo - yum! DH had the Hot & Sour soup and the Orange Peel Beef. He said that both were tasty. The beef was on the spicy side just the way he likes it. I had the Egg Drop & Corn soup and the Catonese Scallops. The scallops were very tender with a garlic and red pepper sauce - not spicy but sweet. We both enjoyed our meals. We told the waitress that we were too full for dessert but she insisted that we should try the warm banana pancakes with coconut ice cream. OK, we caved and agreed that we would share one. WOW - that was so good! We saw her smiling with that "I told you so" look as we practically scraped the plate clean - don't pass on this one!

 

Moderno (cover charge of $20/person)

What can I say that others have not? This place is indeed a meat lovers dream! The salad bar that is shared with Cagney's Steak House is very good with a nice selection of salads, vegetables, and cheeses. It is so important to pace yourself in this restaurant....so much food...and only so much room! Once you give the servers the "green" signal, the assortment of meats begins to arrive at your table. Each one is better than the one before. There was chicken, lamb, sausages, pork ribs, prime rib as well as several other beef preparations. Additionally, they bring an assortment of side dishes for the table to share: rice, potatoes, bread, beans....it seems to go on and on. Only giving the servers the "red" signal will put a stop to this madness! Of course all of this is soon followed with the dreaded "what would you like for dessert?" question. Once again, we said that we had no room for dessert...which prompted the waiter to smile (I think I've seen this smile before on the waitress in Shanghai). Minutes later he returned with not one...but 4 desserts for us to share. A small taste of each was honestly about all we could manage. However, our favorite by far were the Crispy Fried Portuguese Sweet Bread Puffs with Vanilla Sauce....yum!!! Sure wish I had some now!

 

La Cucina (cover charge of $10/person)

This is located in the front of the ship beneath the Garden Café. Once again, as we looked around, we came to the conclusion that reservations were not necessary. There were quite a few empty tables the night we were there. Since we enjoyed the calamari so much in Shanghai on Saturday, we decided to start our meal with an order in La Cucina. They did not disappoint - again very lightly breaded and tender. Of course, no wasabi mayo here. Instead, they were served with Garlic Aioli and Lemon. We also shared a Caesar Salad which was very good. DH had the Ribeye Steak and I had the Chicken Parmesan....both were delicious - nice size portions. Once again, we had no room for dessert. This time we stuck to our guns and walked! As much as I would have liked to try the tiramisu, there was no more room for even a bite. Hmmm, you know that old saying "Life is uncertain...eat dessert first"...well maybe on the next cruise I'll apply that philosophy...what do you think? Hey, who am I kidding? I started each day with chocolate croissants....oh, and then there was that daily dish of ice cream each afternoon....oops...nevermind!;)

 

Well, that's a wrap for today. Next installment will cover our dinners in the Manattan Room, Teppanyaki, Cagney's, and Le Bistro....our very favorite. We at there on Friday night to celebrate my birthday and our anniversary. It looks like we saved the best for last!

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

[mtb242]

I didn't feel like paying extra for a meal in Shanghai, but that dessert sounds like it would be worth it. Perhaps on our next Epic adventure!