EPIC review November 5th sailing

[Jokelady]

My Epic review for November 5th 2011 cruise

I recently sailed the NCL Epic on November 5th 2011 with my partner Peter, and children aged 11 and 12. We have sailed many NCL ships as well as other cruise lines. The whole purpose of this cruise was to let the kids experience the new NCL Epic and enjoy all it has to offer. In keeping with tradition… here is my review.

Our cruise took us to three ports of call on this cruise, Nassau Bahamas, St. Thomas and St. Maarten. We have been to Nassau and St. Thomas before so we were really excited to see the island of St. Maarten on this cruise.

We sailed out of the port of Miami and flew in the day before. The night before the cruise we stayed at the Embassy suite for many reasons. 1. Proximity to the airport and time we arrived. 2. Free shuttle to the hotel saves $$$. 3. Main reason… pool is open till midnight, something high on our must have list being from brrrr Canada.

The hotel was fine and the breakfast they include is great. Full breakfast with bacon, eggs, pancakes, toast, hash browns, bagels, yogurt, juices, coffees, Danish’s you name it. 4 people, hotel and breakfast, shuttle etc for well under $150.00, good enough for me.

Saturday morning we headed to the ship and had a pretty uneventful embarkation. No hiccups and they got us through in a timely manner. Staff was friendly enough so that certainly helped.

Once on the ship we found ourselves smack in the middle of the casino LOL. Was thait. NCL’s first attempt of helping us part with our cash? Next stop was past the shops and perfume counter. Again, I felt like I was already being set up for some heavy duty spending but I have better self restraint then that LOL. We did meet a colorful character that worked aboard the ship named “DOC”. He was friendly and talkative. I wish we had have ran into him again. He worked for the shops or something but I can’t quite recall.

We walked about the ship whilst we waited for our cabin to be ready. We fell in love with the style, colors, layout and feel of the ship. I found the design very classy and easy enough on the eyes. I really liked how the shops were laid out like you were in the mall. I however felt that the placement of the candy and sundries at the back of the liquor store wasn’t well thought out. Certainly the advertising of their placement is rather vague and we had to ask where those items could be located if needed. Maybe some better marketing is needed here?

My other half and I had to laugh at the ice bar. We are from northern Canada in the western part of our country where we see -35 below zero in the winter. The last thing we want to do when we cruise is sit in an ice bar and drink LOL. To each his own but if people are willing to pay they can come to our house and drink in a snow bank in our backyard LOL.

Our tour took us past the photo gallery, Wii screen in the main lobby, dining rooms and main desk. We found them well laid out and easily accessible. The dining rooms were nice and never busy. We ate most of our evening and breakfast meals there. We did not however connect with any dining staff as we have on cruises in the past. I was quite saddened by that. I always enjoy eating at the same table each time and making that personal connection with my server.

The kids loved the pool deck. NCL has done a fantastic job with the pools, water slides, rock climbing, rappelling, bowling, basketball etc. The kids were kept busy the entire time. Kudos to staff in this area as our kids really connected with Jergen, Andre, Romeo. These guys were FANTASTIC. Our kids just loved you guys. They were definitely an asset to the ship and keeping their younger passengers entertained.

We went on the first night to see the kid’s camps and we were absolutely BLOWN AWAY. NCL you really out did yourselves with the massive size of those kids camps. When I toured that camp I told the staff “to heck with the kids, I want to come here and play everyday”. Sadly, our girl and boy opted to only go to kid’s camp for about 2 hours total and decided to spend their sea day’s poolside. The EPIC is a paradise for children and mom and dad are sure to have lots of “ADULT TIME” if they sail her.

I was very impressed by the new Garden Café. I loved the layout, décor and the stations for food. It was bright and airy and the feel was welcoming. The dining rooms had class and their design was also very nice.

The food aboard the ship was good and I really can’t complain over all. I do know that all the ship lines have cut back due to the economy so some things are missing from the menus. My only food complaint would be to have better desserts as there are on other lines. The mystery grey/beige pudding and jello I see all too often has to go. What about carrot cake or straight up chocolate cake or some good old fashioned pies and ice cream?

My children certainly loved their ice cream and I was impressed with the new addition of hard scooped ice cream at no extra charge. Well done there NCL.

The entertainment on the ship was “TOP NOTCH”. Blueman Group was a hit with the kids and Peter and I marveled at Cirque. Legends were awesome and I think the Steven Tyler in that show was the absolute best. Quest is always a riot and I encourage couples to go to it. It is an adult show, so leave the kids at camp. The kids were very disappointed that the weather cancelled our family White Hot party. They were really looking forward to it. They had bought white clothes especially for it. I hope they are able to experience that on another cruise.

I came on this cruise with 124 other folks from Cruise Critic and the ship was gracious enough to offer the Bliss Lounge for our Meet and Greet. I find NCL is always accommodating to CC members and other that come on the ship for conventions etc. Avoya Travel was on the ship and they were in meetings throughout the week. NCL was doing a great job of hosting all their agents on our cruise as well. Hats off to NCL.

I left our cabin for last as it is a sore spot with me. I have heard that the Breakaway is going back to the old layout and I hope this is true. We were in a balcony cabin as a treat to the kids. If you have two preteen kids and two adults… forget it! This room would be great for two people but there were many flaws with 4 people in it. First off, I did not like the frosted glass doors on the bathroom and separate shower. I found that you could still see someone naked in them and if someone knocked on the cabin door, you didn’t dare answer if someone was showering. I also felt that if someone was in the bathroom, you didn’t go to leave the room either. I felt the lack of a solid bathroom door made a person uneasy about getting dressed etc. The space between the bed and sink was tight and I found myself turning sideways. I am only 5ft 2 and 118 pounds so I am small. I noticed the laminate floor that was located outside the shower was already bubbling due to moisture from the shower. I don’t think laminate was a good idea with water being spilt there.

The bed situation for our children consisted of the couch being converted and a drop down bunk bed both smack in front of the balcony door. This was problematic if you wanted to place the kids in bed and sit outside or if you decided to go into the wardrobe to fetch clothing… FORGET IT! The distance between the bunk bed and cupboard was a matter of inches and you literally had to walk sideways to get by it. We all banged our heads on the bunk at least once. Some of the cabins had a layout where there couch and bunk were closer to the door and the bed was by the balcony. I found this to be a much better layout but it wasn’t in our cabin LOL. Next time I might consider asking such a question to my PCC. The bed frame was metal and we all hit our legs on it when we walked by. I came home with several bruises on my legs from repeatedly whacking them trying to get by. The cabin was a VERY tight squeeze and it made for a stressful time getting ready for dinner every night. I would highly recommend a curtain dividing the bunk beds from the double bed so as to give some privacy and extra dressing area. If the room was divided in three it would give more opportunity to better utilize the space when getting dressed etc.

During our stay I was pleasantly surprised by our invitations to private functions and on multiple occasions I received canapés and chocolate dipped strawberries from the staff and Captain. That was truly a nice touch.

I enjoyed the cruise very much and I have already booked my March break cruise aboard the Pearl. I very much enjoy NCL and look forward to many years of cruising with them. The EPIC was an adventure but I truly prefer the older more quaint ships with the promenade decks and the better room layouts. I look forward to trying out the Breakaway and see what it has to offer us.

Kathy and Peter

[oceanseagle12]

Thanks for sharing! I will be onboard the Epic real soon, so I enjoyed hearing your impressions. Question- do you know why you were getting invites and goodies?

[sdmike]

Were you surprised by the room?

 

Glad you had a nice time, especially the kids

[Silverman]

Thanks for the review!! I always like reading reviews on the Epic. Still deciding between the Epic and Pearl. I guess it will depend on who I can get to go. If by myself it will be the Epic!!

[david_sobe]

I am taking you up on your offer to drink vodka drinks in your northern Canadian backyard for a fee. I live in Miami and that sounds like such fun! Just let me know where, when and how much :)

 

Nice review and welcome home. If you were not crazy about the frosted glass doors, just think how I felt when there was no door at all in my penthouse suite. Only a curtain. I could only laugh at it. The cabins are crazy but the entertainment and the rest of the ship makes up for it.

[gelo7]

Thanks for sharing you thoughts.

[Jokelady]

I am taking you up on your offer to drink vodka drinks in your northern Canadian backyard for a fee. I live in Miami and that sounds like such fun! Just let me know where, when and how much :)

 

Nice review and welcome home. If you were not crazy about the frosted glass doors, just think how I felt when there was no door at all in my penthouse suite. Only a curtain. I could only laugh at it. The cabins are crazy but the entertainment and the rest of the ship makes up for it.

 

I live in Alberta, Edmonton to be exact. I could not believe that people would actually go on vacation and pay big dollars to sit in a freezer and drink. It is something I go outside and do daily. I don't drink in it daily but I must go out into it to go about my day. I could never imagine sitting in a snowbank and drinking a vodka cooler or a beer. I find sitting in the sunshine and drinking a cold drink a lot more pleasant.

 

Maybe there is a niche market here? I live in a very big home in an upscale neighborhood. Maybe I should market drinking in the snow and catching an NHL Oilers game bed and breakfast here? LOL

 

The Epic was great and we did enjoy the ship. As I said in my post, the room was wayyy too cramped.

 

As for the canapes and the strawberry dipped chocolates and why I received them, your guess is as good as mine. I did set up meet and greets on two recent cruises and I have met with the Captain on both cruises. Maybe it's the ships way of thanking me??? Whatever the reason, they were a pleasant surprise and very thoughtful.

 

Looking forward to the Peal on March 25th. Trying to decide where to cruise to in November as well. Any suggestions?

[RTMom]

Jokelady, any recommendations on excursions/activites at the ports? I have two boys and we depart on the Epic on 12/17. :)

[Sunkissed Mommy]

Ice Bars are popping up all over. I know there is one in Vegas in the Mandalay Bay resort. There are also a few in Florida. I am guessing because they are in "hot" states people find them fascinating!

[debnjoe1438]

Thanks for the review. I enjoy reading as much as I can regarding the Epic. Can hardly wait for my trip on the Epic:D

[coaster]

Great review. The comments about lack of connection with dining staff is something that makes NCL unique. I don't like it, but others feel it is fine as long as you can eat whenever you want. NCL felt they needed to be unique among the other mass market lines at the turn of the century and freestyle is the result. They have gained some business, but also lost some along the way. It may be a positive yield in attracting new business, but I am not sure of that. There are many who still like traditional dining out there.

 

The lack of a promenade deck will hopefully continue to just be an issue with the Epic. It is a design flaw under Star Cruises oversight and hopefully will not be repeated on future builds. I don't blame the current ownership for this blunder. The new ownership team of NCL did the best they could to fix many of the flaws that were physically and financially prudent once construction was well underway. In the end, NCL was smart to take the financial hit and cancel Epic's sister while she was being built and limit this class of this ship to one.

[Jokelady]

You asked about excursions for St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Nassau.

 

I would suggest Sunny Liston Tours in St. Thomas. Sunny is a character and you will have fun on his tour. Yo have 4 to choose from. We took the island tour and beach break at Megans Bay. However, the day we went it rained so we toured the island longer and saw Megans Bay and Sapphire as well as the rest of the island.

 

St. Maarten we booked Lord Sheffield tall ship. Unfortunately the ship was dry docked just before getting there. We wound up renting a car and touring the entire island. We hit a few beaches but the surf was ROUGH! We ended up at the beach downtown. If you can get on Lord Sheffield it is worth it. Your kids will love walking the plank and snorkelling.

 

Nassau we did Atlantis. It is pricey but worth the price of admission to say you have been "once". The kids did the water slides and I toured the aquarium and resort.

 

Kathy