A Real Epic Review!!!

[seaexplorer11]

Just got back from the Epic Nov. 9-16 and here are my general thoughts from start to finish.

 

Embarkation was simple and fast. I got there at 11am and was on board by noon. I was able to go to my room around 1:30.

 

Very crowded on day 1 to walk around. I recommend sitting somewhere or going to Osheehans to eat while you wait for your room. I bowled a few games, that was fun.

 

Early observations: The ship is huge! Took me a day or two to get my bearings.

 

I immediately noticed that every bar is packed and it is hard to get a drink. The bartenders seem to work at a slow but steady pace. I had quite a bit to drink night 1, but the blue man group was pretty good. It seems like everything is geared toward the Casino. The poker table is a $2/$5 no limit cash game.

 

Day two : Sea day, played the poker tourn. at 11am. It is $100 buy in and you start with 2000 in chips. Unlimited rebuy. If you win, it will last till around 2:30.

 

After that, I enjoyed my balcony a bit and took a nap. After that I went and played some hoops, however, it was too windy.

 

Day three was pretty much the same as day two.

 

Some mid cruise observations: Some spots on the ship need more staff. Fat Cats doesn't seem used very well/at all. The Jazz band was playing mostly in the atrium before the nightly movie, which has a nice picture, but with all the lights on around you, it feels out of place.

 

St. Maarten: Make sure you have a shore excursion or know what you are going to do before you get here. If you don't you will spend half your time wondering what you should do. The pier is nice and taxis are easy to find, you just need to know where you are going.

 

St. Thomas. TONS to do. You won't have an issue finding something here. However, use your time wisely, or you will be in a rush. Not much time in this port for how much there is to do.

 

Sea day : Starting to notice the ship is understaffed. A few of the employees went above and beyond, especially my cabin steward and a few waitresses in the casino. However, many of them seemed like they were just going through the motions. Some of the casino staff were flat out not nice. I also started to notice that pretty much everything you do is a violation of the rules, I had a cookie at the poker table and they acted like I was about to be thrown overboard. I heard multiple people complain about too many rules.

 

Nassau: A great place for people to go to Atlantis and check out some good Bahamian foods and historical landmarks or just go to the beach. I tried out the waterslides and the Epic plunge. I thought they would be lame, but I was wrong!!! It was fun!! No lines at all. I went down all the slide about 5 times.

 

Overall I had a great time. I took most of the issues in stride. One passenger was mad that the newspaper "wasnt dropped on board each day like they are on princess" I just laughed at him and walked off. I like the Epic a lot, lots to do and the food was great. I am going again next month! haha!

 

Some improvements I would like to see

 

1. A lot of the friend foods are luke warm. I would like to see them a bit warmer.

2. If you order room service after midnight, they will almost certainly mess up your order.

3. I would like to see more activities in the evening, expand the kareoke time. They have it only for 1 hour a night. It should be for about 3 hours and have 2 bartenders serving drinks. They would make a killing. People love that stuff. An hour? People are just getting warmed up.

Id like to see the lights turned down a bit during the movie at night.

 

Any questions? Post em below and I will try and answer.

[Sunshine101]

Thanks for your review! We're sailing over Xmas and the comments about shortage of staff from a few peeps on here is worrying me.

 

Did you use the slides when in port or on a sea day?

 

How was the food in the MDR?

[seaexplorer11]

Don't worry! You will have a fabulous time! I did use the slides when in port. It was a lot of fun and there weren't any lines when I used them. The food in the MDR was pretty good! There are tons of options!

[Va. Plumber]

Don't know, but crew shortage could be due to leaves of absence to deal with families in Phillipines.

[SASA13]

Thanks for the review. We sail in 9 days, and can't wait. Do you remember what drinks were available at the buffet station during the day ? There has been talk of "flavored water", something like Crystal Light ??

[brookie848]

We'll be on the Epic in January and I'm trying to plan on week. Do you happen to remember which night the chocolate buffet was? My Mom mentioned to me that she's never gotten a chance to go to this (it will be her fourth NCL cruise) and I want to make sure we get a chance to go.

 

Thanks!

[mandms40]

Thank you for your review, we will be on her this saturday! YEAH! Did it seem to you that the lounge chairs were always full, do I need to get a Posh pass? I do like to lay in the sun, and I hate to fight over a chair.

 

You said the food was good, did you go to any of the pay restaurants?

[cazzi]

Sasha u seem to go the same week every year in each year is it very busy just wondering

[xcell]

What were the movies playing? New stuff or old?

 

Were the ship excursions reasonably price. I want to go to st John's when docking in St Thomas but not sure if I should do it by myself or via ship.

 

Did you go to Atlantis in Nassau?

 

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[Demonyte]

We'll be on the Epic in January and I'm trying to plan on week. Do you happen to remember which night the chocolate buffet was? My Mom mentioned to me that she's never gotten a chance to go to this (it will be her fourth NCL cruise) and I want to make sure we get a chance to go.

 

Unfortunately the Chocoholic Buffet is not offered on Epic (unless things have miraculously changed since last Feb, on our cruise and before that there was no choco buffet - Epic is one of few NCL ships that doesn't have it).