The not so Epic!

[mw_1970]

We sailed Epic on one of the ships early B2B cruises. It was our first NCL cruise and to be honest we really enjoyed it. We LOVED the huge variety of dining options particularly.

 

We didn't care much for the entertainment either apart from Slam Allen in Fat Cats and the late nigh magician in the Theatre (can't remember his name).

 

I'll be honest, I thought the ship was a bit of a poorly laid out shambles. It is stunning in many ways but that Casino is WAY too big, the main pool deck is WAY to cluttered with chairs and slides and the rooms (Balcony cabin) seemed very small.

 

However, NCL must have done something right because we are on Spirit for Christmas week this year. I think it's the laid back feel that appeals to us most and as I say the many, many dining options.

 

Have to say the Main Dining Rooms (Manhattan and Taste) were chaos whenever we ate in there and we preferred to pay to go to a speciality.

 

Loved Shanghais and Cagneys. Hated Teppanyaki. Didn't try Moderno as my wife decided she gave up meat that year !!!! (grrrrrr). O'Sheehans was also a favourite.

 

So, whilst I agree that Epic was not so Epic, we really enjoyed the laid back carefree of NCL.

 

Oh, thank god for Spice H2O ! The adults only haven.

[princesstiffany]

I am so sorry to hear you had a bad trip. Was there anything better than other lines?

[anniversay/grad trip]

I am so sorry to hear you had a bad trip. Was there anything better than other lines?

 

We did enjoy the "freestyle" aspect of the cruise. No formal nights (which we have never been a fan of) and the fact that you could go to a variety of dining venues. Had the food been better, that would have been a huge pull for us to book again with NCL. Food is subjective, so what we did not enjoy, someone else may. The MDR food I found to be on par with other lines (with less variety), but as I have mentioned the specialty restaurants is where NCL is totally lacking IMHO.

[Warm Breezes]

Back from the September 30-October 7th sailing of the Epic in the Med. I have sailed Carnival, Princess, Royal Carribean and Celebrity and now NCL. Of all the cruises I have taken in the past, NCL is the worst. The food is marginal, the service terrible and frankly the entertainment was not even that good.

I have been on both smaller ships and on the Oasis (RCL) and both have good and bad points, but I just found that NCL does not go out of their way at all. I am generally the type of person that thinks that a vacation is what you make of it and although my vacation was not ruined by any stretch, my honest opinion was that NCL is lacking greatly where other lines exceed.

If anyone would like specifics, please feel free to ask.

 

All I can say is that is the exact opposite of what I experienced on the Epic last December.

[AnitaVacation]

The only thing we did like on the Epic was the cabin....goofy layout....

 

We had a great time....

[conandrob240]

Generally, I share your views on Epic. Food and service subpar, most entertainment just so- so. Pools and buffet WAY overcrowded. Med. Itinerary was great, our room steward was very nice and we had a great time. But, I would give pause before booking NCL again.

 

Thanks for your review.

[Dspcentury]

Sorry your cruise did not live up to your expectations. Would love to hear more details though.

I agree that the huge explosion of specialty restaurants on ALL Cruise lines seems to have had an impact on the MDRs. Although, I never go hungry on any cruise I am on. But another major reason the quality is going down is the same reason the quality is going down in your hometown restaurant. Have you seen the prices at the supermarket? Everything is so expensive now. And to keep prices the same, the cheaper stuff is used more and more often. This stuff is not just happening on cruise lines.

I am sad to hear that someone posted here that La Cucina raised their fee to $15. Does anyone know if this is true? The atmosphere is great in La Cucina but the food is MDR quality and was a stretch for $10.

It must went up recently because I paid 10.00 per person and I see that it did go up to 15.00 pp at La Cucina...

[anniversay/grad trip]

Generally, I share your views on Epic. Food and service subpar, most entertainment just so- so. Pools and buffet WAY overcrowded. Med. Itinerary was great, our room steward was very nice and we had a great time. But, I would give pause before booking NCL again.

 

Thanks for your review.

 

I agree with the Itinerary, which is why we booked with NCL (having never sailed with them before). Next time I will look at the ship as well as the itinerary. Lesson learned .

[Warm Breezes]

I agree with the Itinerary, which is why we booked with NCL (having never sailed with them before). Next time I will look at the ship as well as the itinerary. Lesson learned .

 

That's funny since we booked Epic last December for the ship and not the itinerary (which was Eastern Caribbean and we had been to all the ports previously). While DH was overwhelmed by the size (he prefers smaller ships with fewer people...I didn't mind the size and like the walking it makes me do) and DH was not impressed with MDR food (I felt it was similar to CCL, he thought it was worse), we both thought the entertainment was great, the service was on par with all of our other cruises, and O'Sheehans and the buffet had much better food than found on CCL, but not better than Disney. It goes to show how subjective many of the cruising factors are.

[fergusonvt]

Back from the September 30-October 7th sailing of the Epic in the Med. I have sailed Carnival, Princess, Royal Carribean and Celebrity and now NCL. Of all the cruises I have taken in the past, NCL is the worst. The food is marginal, the service terrible and frankly the entertainment was not even that good.

I have been on both smaller ships and on the Oasis (RCL) and both have good and bad points, but I just found that NCL does not go out of their way at all. I am generally the type of person that thinks that a vacation is what you make of it and although my vacation was not ruined by any stretch, my honest opinion was that NCL is lacking greatly where other lines exceed.

If anyone would like specifics, please feel free to ask.

 

 

Sorry you didn't like your NCL cruise. Personally I love NCL, thought the food and the entertainment was great.

[Warmer Climes]

The Epic is my least favorite NCL ship among those still sailing but when we sailed her in February 2011 the food was good in the MDR and so-so in the speciality restaurants compared to what it costs. I liked the cabin layout and loved the entertainment. I found the ship noisy. I wouldn't say never again on it but we prefer the smaller NCL ships.

 

No ship, no cruise line, no vacation is the right fit for everyone. It's good that we each have so many options of how to spend our hard-earned money!

[willysgrandma]

Op, I was on the Epic 10/10 - 10/17 and I have to agree that the food is just okay. We ate at Moderno one night which we loved, but the regular restaurants I feel are just ok. nothing to write home about. But I don't cruise for the food and always find something to eat, so I consider an NCL cruise one that I won't gain weight on because I don't overeat.

 

I do have to say that I felt the entertainment was so-so. I have seen Blue Man Group four times, so didn't bother seeing it here. They had this awful comedy troupe, Los Locos Ole that were absolutely terrible. NCL says they don't bring Second City to Europe because Europeans don't "get" the comedy, but if that is what they think is funny, they have a terrile sense of humor. These guys were not funny and if you thought the Madonna impersonator was off color, these guys went well beyond that.

 

I thought Legends was okay but my favorite entertainer was a woman named Brenda Cochran that sang one night - she was terrific.

 

You may also have not liked the cabins as the layout is ridiculous. Two people are tripping over each other in the cabin, I wonder if you felt that as well. No other NCL ships are like this and they are getting rid of the terrible cabin design on the newer ships.

 

But on this cruise, we were hardly on the ship. For this itinerary, we left early and got back in most cases right before the last embarkation. So the ship didn't really bother me too much, because the ports were so interesting.

 

Our cabin steward never greeted us by name but did stop in to mention he brought us the extra pillows we asked for. We never saw him which for me, was great - he did his job unobtrusively.

 

I do have to say that I saw many employees socializing with each other around the bars and other areas and not servicing people, but as long as it didn't directly affect me, I didn't really care.

 

Don't let one ship make you dislike an entire line. I always try each cruise line at least twice because very often you can have very different experiences on different ships.

 

I am also a fan of the Oasis and Allure, so I can understand what you are comparing to.

[NCruiser2012]

I also did not have your same experience on the Epic on the Med. I think that we were so tired at the end of the day, that anything would taste delicious. I thought the food was fresh and good. One of the best meals I had was a glass of wine, fruit, cheese, and crackers while the ship was leaving the port. I love the Epic so much that we are going again next year.

 

We loved La Cucina. We went early and there was never a line. I thought it was a bargain at $10.

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Yea I have been hearing that the MDR and free food venues are pretty bad. Seems like they do that to push you into pay venues. I am going to give NCL a shot tho. I beleive you have to try a line to see for yourself. So you get 1 shot NCL you better make it good. there are too many other cruise lines out there to put up with lousy food/service/shows. I think all the lines realize that so they all strive to do well.

[softsands]

Back from the September 30-October 7th sailing of the Epic in the Med. I have sailed Carnival, Princess, Royal Carribean and Celebrity and now NCL. Of all the cruises I have taken in the past, NCL is the worst. The food is marginal, the service terrible and frankly the entertainment was not even that good.

I have been on both smaller ships and on the Oasis (RCL) and both have good and bad points, but I just found that NCL does not go out of their way at all. I am generally the type of person that thinks that a vacation is what you make of it and although my vacation was not ruined by any stretch, my honest opinion was that NCL is lacking greatly where other lines exceed.

If anyone would like specifics, please feel free to ask.

 

Ok, I'll bite. I would like specifics.

[jdvmd]

Another vote having the complete opposite experience on the Epic.

OP, I too, have a shellfish and seafood allergy. While there isn't one grill dedicated to beef and chicken, I have never had a problem because my food is cooked first. Others have to wait, yes, but NCL and the Teppanayki chefs have been very proactive in making sure my food is never cross contaminated.

[fergusonvt]

Yea I have been hearing that the MDR and free food venues are pretty bad. Seems like they do that to push you into pay venues. I am going to give NCL a shot tho. I beleive you have to try a line to see for yourself. So you get 1 shot NCL you better make it good. there are too many other cruise lines out there to put up with lousy food/service/shows. I think all the lines realize that so they all strive to do well.

 

Don't believe everything you read. The food in the non-pay restaurants on NCL is good.

[anniversay/grad trip]

Ok, I'll bite. I would like specifics.

 

What specifically would you like to know? I have talked about the food, the entertainment and the ports throughout the thread. If there is something specific you would like to know about, I will try and answer based on my experience aboard the Epic?

[DMH15]

Another vote having the complete opposite experience on the Epic.

OP, I too, have a shellfish and seafood allergy. While there isn't one grill dedicated to beef and chicken, I have never had a problem because my food is cooked first. Others have to wait, yes, but NCL and the Teppanayki chefs have been very proactive in making sure my food is never cross contaminated.

 

I would gladly wait to have your food cooked first.

[anniversay/grad trip]

Another vote having the complete opposite experience on the Epic.

OP, I too, have a shellfish and seafood allergy. While there isn't one grill dedicated to beef and chicken, I have never had a problem because my food is cooked first. Others have to wait, yes, but NCL and the Teppanayki chefs have been very proactive in making sure my food is never cross contaminated.

 

I wish that was the case on our sailing...we just received an answer of NO...simply stated. I am told (my sister and her husband went) said it was good. I would have enjoyed good..lol...

[softsands]

What specifically would you like to know? I have talked about the food, the entertainment and the ports throughout the thread. If there is something specific you would like to know about, I will try and answer based on my experience aboard the Epic?

 

What specifically about the food caused you to suggest it's marginal? A couple of examples of what you consumed. Lack of choice? Over-cooked; tough; not enough; etc. etc.

 

What specifically was wrong with the service? Hotel desk? Housekeeping? Tour?

 

What specifically was wrong with the entertainment? Which shows, acts, performers?

 

Generalizations make it difficult to gleen useful feedback.

 

Thanks.

[graphicguy]

Of all the megaships (Epic, Oasis, Allure), the Epic is my favorite. If you're a big fan of Oasis and Allure, Epic offers a somewhat different experience (IMHO, a better experience).

 

While I liked Park Cafe on Allure, all the other free dining venues were woeful.

 

OTOH, we found the free dining venues on the Epic to be above what we had experienced on either RCCL or CCL. We really liked Cagneys on the Epic.

 

That said, we really liked Giovannis on the Allure, too.

 

Epic's entertainment was a step above what we experienced on the Allure.

 

I had high hopes for Chicago on Allure, hoping it was at least close to what Blue Man and Cirque was on the Epic. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

 

Slam Allen is great on the Epic....you should have seen his show.

 

IF there are food allergies involved, I don't know that I'd go to a restaurant, any restaurant, that serves what you're allergic to. But, that's just me.

 

Bottom line, you don't like what NCL does. Epic is our favorite ship (so far). We have high hopes that it will be supplanted by the new Breakaway we have scheduled next June. We're super excited by that upcoming trip.

[Cruzinbabe06]

Sorry you didn't enjoy your cruse.

 

Our October 7th sailing was very nice. I have to say it was 8 of us and 1 couple liked the Navigator of the Seas better.

 

The Epic jogging track is not that good. So I hear. I never saw it, but the joggers in our group complained. Also, they said the dining room service was much better on the Navigator.

 

So everything is not for everybody.

 

I enjoyed all my specialty meals. I did the Cirque dinner show, La Cucina and Modernos. Paying did not bother me because I knew I was paying to experience something different.

 

I ate in Manhattans and Taste 1 time each and the buffet for dinner twice.

 

They didn't have Slam Allen on our sailing, however, I did go into the Jazz bar 1 night we sang along and we did the electirc slide to some up tempo jazz they start playing. So much fun.

 

We were in cabins 13130 and 13128. Our cabin attendant introduced himself. Opened up the dividers for us during the day. And knew our names and would greet us in the hallways and ask about our day in port.

 

I hope you have a better time on your next cruise. It's a bummer to spend money for something and it does not meet your expectations.

[anniversay/grad trip]

What specifically about the food caused you to suggest it's marginal? A couple of examples of what you consumed. Lack of choice? Over-cooked; tough; not enough; etc. etc.

 

What specifically was wrong with the service? Hotel desk? Housekeeping? Tour?

 

What specifically was wrong with the entertainment? Which shows, acts, performers?

 

Generalizations make it difficult to gleen useful feedback.

 

Thanks.

 

As I stated at the beginning of this thread, nothing I have mentioned "ruined" our vacation. The ports were amazing (although we personally did not care for Marseille) and until the construction is completed, this port should be skipped IMHO.

 

I found the buffet to have a lot of variety, and the wave-like character to our mid-ship balcony room (that some have voiced a dislike for) all worked fine for us. There was adequate storage, and having the sink in the room worked well for our purposes.

The things I did not enjoy, and found them to be sub-par (in comparision to other cruises we have been on) was some of the food, the attitude of the crew, and some of the entertainment.

 

Specifically, for instance: FOOD

MDR Food- Day 1 - went to The Manhatten Room-I had the lobster/Red Snapper - I don't expect Maine lobster, but the lobster that was served was like rubber (no butter was served). My DH (whom I have mentioned is allergic to shellfish) ordered the steak. His meal arrived with a lobster tail on his plate, along with the steak. We politely told the waitress that he could not eat shellfish, as he was allergic. She sort of gave us a blank stare, did not apologize, just took the plate, and brought back a steak (approx 10 mins later) that was well done...he ordered medium.

Cagney's - Day 2 - I ordered the petit filet (medium). It was fine, it tasted ok but, they butterflied it. I have never had a filet, ordered medium, that needed to be butterflied. It too was well done.

Taste - Cream of brocolli soup (very good), but was seated at a table for 6 right near the kitchen (or what we assumed to be the kitchen) which made for a noisy dinner.

La Cuisina - Ordered the seafood fettucine- I cannot describe what was wrong with it, other than it was just plain awful. My DH had the osso-bucco and said it was salty but ok. On the Crown Princess and The Oasis of the Seas their Italian restaurants are truly amazing. Some of the best Italian food we have eaten in restaurant (which is saying a lot) as my DH is Italian, and my MIL is an amazing cook.

 

As far as the crew is concerned....SERVICE

As mentioned, we still do not know the name of our room steward. Not a huge deal for us, just rather odd IMHO.

The general feeling of our party of 6, was that the crew had had a long season, and was just not very friendly. The casino dealers usually are cheerful and talkative, but not so on this sailing.

Being pushed for drinks by the pool is generally the norm, but you could not sit on deck for 10 mins without being asked 10 times if you wanted a drink. This was usually while we had a coffee in hand?

 

Entertainment:

We found Howl at the Moon quite entertaining (apart from one of the male vocalists)

Twice as Nice we also enjoyed.

Legends was ok. Madonna as mentioned previously, not good, as well as being crude. I personally do not blush easily, but there was no age restriction, and children were present as she was grinding up against an elderly male passenger.

The Beatlemannia Cover band was ok.

Also, as I have mentioned the entertainment was not terrible, it was just no better than any other cruise we have been on, and find it funny that NCL boasts about their superior entertainment.

 

We have been on 11 cruises in the past 10 years, and are not married to any one cruiseline. Although I would probably not cruise aboard the Epic again, as I have said, we did enjoy our trip overall. My objective was to share my experiences with fellow CC'ers. After discussing things with my DH, I think we have decided that we prefer the approx. 2000pax ships. Our favorite line to date has been Celebrity, but we did like the Crown Princess almost as much. I guess that's what is great about cruising, is the varied choices available.

 

DH and I love to cruise, and are looking at a Canada/New England cruise aboard Crystal for next fall, which I am told is a whole new type of cruising, so we will see...

[anniversay/grad trip]

Of all the megaships (Epic, Oasis, Allure), the Epic is my favorite. If you're a big fan of Oasis and Allure, Epic offers a somewhat different experience (IMHO, a better experience).

 

While I liked Park Cafe on Allure, all the other free dining venues were woeful.

 

OTOH, we found the free dining venues on the Epic to be above what we had experienced on either RCCL or CCL. We really liked Cagneys on the Epic.

 

That said, we really liked Giovannis on the Allure, too.

 

Epic's entertainment was a step above what we experienced on the Allure.

 

I had high hopes for Chicago on Allure, hoping it was at least close to what Blue Man and Cirque was on the Epic. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

 

Slam Allen is great on the Epic....you should have seen his show.

 

IF there are food allergies involved, I don't know that I'd go to a restaurant, any restaurant, that serves what you're allergic to. But, that's just me.

 

Bottom line, you don't like what NCL does. Epic is our favorite ship (so far). We have high hopes that it will be supplanted by the new Breakaway we have scheduled next June. We're super excited by that upcoming trip.

 

If we avoided the restaurants that served shellfish...DH would not have eaten the entire cruise. I don't believe there was one restaurant on board that does not serve some sort of seafood...Do you????