Just back from 11 days on the Epic - These are the real stars of the ship

[Black Pearl Sailor]

We spent a fabulous 11 days on the Epic out of Barcelona, some of the people who made our cruise are here:

 

 

 

[crew mom]

Cute video! Thanks for sharing.

[mary227667]

What a great video. Thanks

[sjbdtz]

We spent a fabulous 11 days on the Epic out of Barcelona, some of the people who made our cruise are here:

 

 

 

 

 

This is a perfect example why we're proud to consider you & Pamela as friends.

 

 

Stephen & Daniel

 

 

 

.

[Black Pearl Sailor]

This is a perfect example why we're proud to consider you & Pamela as friends.

 

 

Stephen & Daniel

 

 

 

.

 

Pamela here So kind, thank you you guys, I will send some photos soon to you.xx

[spacepotatoes]

What a great idea! Everyone involved looked like they had a lot of fun doing this :)

[capp]

Excellent, excellent, EXCELLENT!:D NCL should post it on their Epic page!

[www3traveler]

We spent a fabulous 11 days on the Epic out of Barcelona, some of the people who made our cruise are here:

 

 

 

Thank you. I have made several cruises aboard The Pearl. A lot of The Pearl's staff went to The Epic last year including Denis Prguda. It was nice to see his smiling smiling face. I do not know how you put some of it together but it was great. I think that you have finally convinced me that I need to sail on The Epic. Mandy

[welove2cruise232]

Great video! Saw LOTS of familiar faces...:p

[pambo]

Thank you for sharing this video. We couldn't agree with you more...the crew is fantastic! It was nice to see so many familiar faces from our recent cruise.

[housepeepers]

That was awesome...brought me right back on board the Epic and even more anxious for our next Epic adventure ...kudos!

[roger001]

A wonderful video. And you are absolutely right, those are indeed the persons that make a cruise so great. We haven't been on the Epic, but I feel that the video represents everyone on the four NCL ships we have been on. I love them all. If you can't be happy with those great crews surrounding you....well then....there's no hope for you.

[joyy7403]

Terrific video! We loved every minute of our cruise on the Epic and it was made that way by all of those people on that video. Everyone was always smiling and upbeat. Loved the Epic! Thanks for the memories!!

[Silverman]

Great video!! Hopefully I will be on the Epic in March!!

[lynnquenby]

Thanks for the great video saw lots of familiar faces from our recent Epic cruise...........brought back some great memories! :D

[cruitenn]

Thanks for sharing and glad you had a great time.

 

There's a lot of familiar faces on your video, who have also made our cruises memorable and make us come back for more.

 

Monica is one of our favorite concierges.

[Love Overboard]

Thanks for the memories and very well done!

[halos]

Best video posted on these boards EVER!!!!

 

Two problems with it (for me) however:

1) Now I have extreme PCD...I mean real extreme

2) I need to book on the Epic as soon as possible...and asap for me is 2013 *sigh*

[davesgirl51]

Absolutely spectacular. Thank you. :)

[snorklinbarb]

Hi Paul,

 

What fun! Thank you and Pamela for doing this!! Like others said, many familiar faces. Two B2B cruises on the Epic have been so terrific and the crew is really such a happy bunch!!

 

Bob and I enjoyed having dinner with you on the Gem a couple of yrs back & certainly hope to run into you again.

 

It's a video like yours that brings back such joyous memories from all our NCL cruises. Glad you liked Epic - didn't feel crowded to us, loved the food & entertainment & all the different touches. Miss listening to Slam Allen every night.:cool:

 

What were your favorite moments? Did you try Moderno?

 

Bet you saw lots of improvements from those initial challenges from the transatlantic?;):D

[Black Pearl Sailor]

Hi Paul' date='

 

What fun! Thank you and Pamela for doing this!! Like others said, many familiar faces. Two B2B cruises on the Epic have been so terrific and the crew is really such a happy bunch!!

 

Bob and I enjoyed having dinner with you on the Gem a couple of yrs back & certainly hope to run into you again.

 

It's a video like yours that brings back such joyous memories from all our NCL cruises. Glad you liked Epic - didn't feel crowded to us, loved the food & entertainment & all the different touches. Miss listening to Slam Allen every night.:cool:

 

What were your favorite moments? Did you try Moderno?

 

Bet you saw lots of improvements from those initial challenges from the transatlantic?;):D[/quote']

 

Hi we had a super time we did Moderno before and decided not to this time although we loved it. I've posted a review which should be up soon but here it is pointing out some of the changes we saw since the TA:

 

My wife and I originally sailed on the Epic from Rotterdam via the UK to New York when she was brand new in June 2010, so we wanted to see how she had settled down on her return to the Mediterranean; we therefore booked a four and seven night cruise from Barcelona.

 

Embarkation at Barcelona was the quickest ever, after a fun night in the city staying at the super Grand Marina Hotel, we arrived at the port at 11:15, no lines at security, our Deluxe Owners suite check-in line was empty, five minutes in the concierge lounge which gave us the opportunity to catch up with Monica Fotashe the Concierge we had sailed with before, then into our suite by 11:40. That’s when the joy of sailing with NCL kicks in big time for us, as we arrive in our suite a big scream and warm welcome from Judy Juaneza our Snr Housekeeper and lady who had looked after us before on three different cruises.

 

This is when it starts feeling like we’ve come home, of course the ship is terrific but it’s the crew that breathes life into all the steel and glass, and being amazed by how many people remember us is a real joy.

 

We last stayed in 16002 which is a front facing suite with an enclosed solarium, ideal for our previous Trans Atlantic crossing, this time in 17004 which is a front facing suite with an open very large side balcony. This suite was still being completed when we were last aboard and we had only a quick glimpse of it in New York. Our impression is magnificent, the bedroom and bathroom are front facing, the lounge to the side, it is our belief that currently this is the best NCL suite afloat for two people who want to chill, be together and sometimes entertain, (and that includes our times in the Garden Villas of the jewel class ships).

 

The large Courtyard has plenty of sun beds and seats to relax in, although they still haven’t totally fixed the wind problem when the ship is underway particularly when sailing into a headwind. The Epic Club and Lounge are luxurious with muted colours, classy décor and a genuine sense of tranquillity. However this is the downside of the much larger Courtyard complex, the jewel class Courtyards are much smaller and thus tend to be quieter, if, as we experienced, a very large family with lots of children books a number of Courtyard Villas then the environment changes dramatically. Everybody is entitled to a vacation but we should always be mindful of our actions upon other people, this is usually a problem when the parents of children allow them to run riot with no consideration for others. Luckily for us we always ate early for breakfast and dinner so avoided the family, but we were aware of the significant disruption caused leading to a number of guests moving tables or even leaving the restaurant.

 

The service and food in the Epic Club was first class with the dinner set menu enhanced by specials from around the ship, but in truth the staff will just about get you anything you want.

 

The front facing private sundeck on deck 18 was empty most of the time, indeed the rear facing Posh beach club bar was also quiet but is an ideal location to sit, drink, sunbath and relax even cooling down under the cool mist sprayers which always catch people by surprise the first time. All in all the suites and villas complex of the Epic is the perfect resort within a resort, places to relax, eat, enjoy, exercise (why?) have spa treatments and get cosseted by your butler (big shout to ours Akhmad Mosleh), Monica and her assistant Elvina De Meneses were based in the reception area, and the rest of the staff who really know how to look after you.

 

We noticed around the ship how everything had settled and smoothed down since the first cruise, obviously the staff are more comfortable with the new ship and most things seem to flow very well. Some of the entertainment has changed, our favourite in the Spiegel Tent, Cirque Dreams and Dinner has a number of new cast members, and the show is more action and less interaction which makes for a much better experience, we saw the show twice and would see it again, we think it’s the very best dining show experience. The new Legends are very good, the highlight for us was “Elton John” played by Stephen Sorrentino who also does his regular gig in Headliners, this is a venue totally unsuited to this great act. He should be in the Epic Theatre during the day on the two sea days, his act is terrific but some Europeans may not recognise all the characters he does (and we are Europeans).

 

Big tick as usual to Blue Man, and the Beatles tribute band, we did think that generally around the ship entertainment was excellent with a good choice and variety. We can’t comment on any of the Nickelodeon stuff, I wanted to be slimed but Pamela was against it! Although finally I succeeded in getting her to go down one of the water shoots which she thoroughly enjoyed, and survived.

 

We met up with the Hotel Director Denis Prguda who was always available (on 8888) and very accommodating, we choose not to go to the VIP cocktail party so didn’t meet up with Captain Frank Juliussen, whom we hadn’t sailed with before.

 

When not in our suite, sundeck, show, restaurant, ice bar, shop or Courtyard we spend a great deal of time in the casino because for us this is a great place for fun and entertainment, if you don’t go with a plan to make a fortune you won’t come away disappointed. We knew probably over 60% of the casino staff and were able to catch up with news from old friends. The casino has a great layout and ample table games and slots, the hosts do a terrific job and newbies can get all the help they need from the super friendly dealers.

 

So we boarded in Barcelona and eleven days later we stepped onto dry land again in Barcelona having not left the ship once. The Mediterranean itinerary for the Epic is excellent but we have been to all the ports many times and for us this cruise was about enjoying the Epic. The ship is genuinely a floating resort with way too much to do and see in seven days, which is why the Caribbean East and West back to back for fourteen days is the way to do this ship.

 

If you have the resources the Epic is fantastic in the Courtyard area, within this enclosed environment you have real five/six star facilities and service which exceeds most of the supposed six star ships afloat, but the big advantage of vacationing in this deluxe environment is that when you want to you can go play in the big resort which is filled with just about anything you could want.

 

So that’s our take on the Epic, a fantastic ship but what makes this ship, and indeed all NCL ships so special are the crew, how does a Butler remember she last looked after us ten years ago, and even what she served us one night for dinner in Cozumel? They are truly amazing and always make our cruise so special.

 

Leaving the ship was sad but simple, we left at 9:30, Monica took us all the way out to the car she had arranged for us to take us back to our hotel for three more days in Barcelona, we watched the Epic sail out that night, lucky people!

[davesgirl51]

Pamela,

 

Would you be so kind as to email me please ? Thanks :)

 

Cinci

[Hikini]

Very nice! It is so easy to fall in love with the NCL staff. They are wonderful.

[Sea Turtle]

How fun!!! :D

 

Thank you for contributing to my countdown excitement as I await my first NCL cruise on the Epic. :cool:

[firstimer2009]

Thank you for that wonderful video. We are scheduled to take RCCL out of Barcelona next year, but now I'm seriously considering the Epic. We were on the Pearl in Alaska in 2009 and that staff was so fantastic! I saw a couple of those faces on the video. I loved how when we came back on ship from being in port for the day they said "welcome home".

 

We even stayed on the boat the last night in the port in Victoria just to hang with the crew at the sushi bar. How many people can say that??