Loyal Royal tries NCL....sorry but never again...Epic 1/4

[megnsamsgracie]

Ok, I got the cruise for just port charges and taxes thanks to a casino gift so I went with an open mind. But I won't do it again...not for me. There were some positives but not enough.

Embarkation: with all flight delays, we were there at 3pm amd on the ship by 3:10....luggage (and rum runners) were there shortly after

Food: pay restaurants were GREAT! Cagneys, Moderno, le bistro, la Cucina and Teppanyaki! Would do them again! Dining room service in taste was HORRIBLE! Many people had "forgotten" apps or soups or salad...me included. Forget trying to get water or soda. Buffet was same as every other cruise line, no complaints. We liked the special burgers on the outside deck.

Entertainment: FAIL....we were bored! Blue man group was not fun, Legends was AWESOME though, second city (late show) was ok...dualing pianos were hit or miss depending on crowd. But we had the best time at the waves bar with our fav servers! They were a blast.

 

Now, we had 5 bar servers at waves bar that were AWESOME (best I've ever had), 1 in the casino (had a house drink card in our room waiting I didn't know about) and our room steward were the only exceptional staff we had. Sorry but I'm being honest about this cruise (just got off today). Motion was HORRIBLE and I never get sick. I love the promenade on Royal ships...I felt too closed in on Epic. The worst taste in my mouth was debarktation. THE WORST on any ship. 45 min to get an elevator down...30 min winding to get off ship... We did have an inside room on deck 12 and it really wasn't bad. I know it's different cruises for different folks and I'm sure lots of you love NCL and that's great. I'm glad I got a "free" cruise to at least give them a shot.

Edited January 12, 2014 by megnsamsgracie

[biker@sea]

Ok, I got the cruise for just port charges and taxes thanks to a casino gift so I went with an open mind. But I won't do it again...not for me. There were some positives but not enough.

Embarkation: with all flight delays, we were there at 3pm amd on the ship by 3:10....luggage (and rum runners) were there shortly after

Food: pay restaurants were GREAT! Cagneys, Moderno, le bistro, la Cucina and Teppanyaki! Would do them again! Dining room service in taste was HORRIBLE! Many people had "forgotten" apps or soups or salad...me included. Forget trying to get water or soda. Buffet was same as every other cruise line, no complaints. We liked the special burgers on the outside deck.

Entertainment: FAIL....we were bored! Blue man group was not fun, Legends was AWESOME though, second city (late show) was ok...dualing pianos were hit or miss depending on crowd. But we had the best time at the waves bar with our fav servers! They were a blast.

 

Now, we had 5 bar servers at waves bar that were AWESOME (best I've ever had), 1 in the casino (had a house drink card in our room waiting I didn't know about) and our room steward were the only exceptional staff we had. Sorry but I'm being honest about this cruise (just got off today). Motion was HORRIBLE and I never get sick. I love the promenade on Royal ships...I felt too closed in on Epic. The worst taste in my mouth was debarktation. THE WORST on any ship. 45 min to get an elevator down...30 min winding to get off ship... We did have an inside room on deck 12 and it really wasn't bad. I know it's different cruises for different folks and I'm sure lots of you love NCL and that's great. I'm glad I got a "free" cruise to at least give them a shot.

 

Well thanks for your opinion . I'm don't think Epic would be my cup of tea ether .

[Love my butler]

Sounds like you got about what you paid for. Feel lucky, many pay a lot more for an Epic cruise and are more unhappy than you.

[che5904]

Sounds like you had more of a "ship" displeasure than actually NCL.

 

You are not the first one taking that ship that expressed the "closed in" feeling. Probably the reason the next 2 new builds do not share the Epic design.

 

I, for one don't have any want at this point to try the Epic and yet I'm a huge NCL fan. She is "one of a kind" and some absolutely love her and the design, others dislike her just as much (and again are huge NCL fans).

 

Probably not one of the ships I would recommend to a new NCL cruiser.

 

But I'm sure you know where you are happiest and what you like in your vacation. Enjoy your future cruises with whatever line you choose.

 

Thanks for your honest, balanced review of your vacation.

[freddycruzr]

Fixed 4 U:D

:)

Ok, I got the cruise for just port charges and taxes thanks to a casino gift so I went with an open mind. But I won't do it again...not for me. There were some positives but not enough.

Embarkation: with all flight delays, we were there at 3pm amd on the ship by 3:10....luggage (and rum runners) were there shortly after

Food: pay restaurants were GREAT! Cagneys, Moderno, le bistro, la Cucina and Teppanyaki! Would do them again! Dining room service in taste was HORRIBLE! Many people had "forgotten" apps or soups or salad...me included. Forget trying to get water or soda. Buffet was same as every other cruise line, no complaints. We liked the special burgers on the outside deck.

Entertainment: FAIL....we were bored! Blue man group was not fun, Legends was AWESOME though, second city (late show) was ok...dualing pianos were hit or miss depending on crowd. But we had the best time at the waves bar with our fav servers! They were a blast.

 

Now, we had 5 bar servers at waves bar that were AWESOME (best I've ever had), 1 in the casino (had a house drink card in our room waiting I didn't know about) and our room steward were the only exceptional staff we had. Sorry but I'm being honest about this cruise (just got off today). Motion was HORRIBLE and I never get sick. I love the promenade on Royal ships...I felt too closed in on Epic. The worst taste in my mouth was debarktation. THE WORST on any ship. 45 min to get an elevator down...30 min winding to get off ship... We did have an inside room on deck 12 and it really wasn't bad. I know it's different cruises for different folks and I'm sure lots of you love NCL and that's great. I'm glad I got a "free" cruise to at least give them a shot.

[B6ConMe]

Thanks for your opinion, I think it was said best though as: che5904 said "Sounds like you had more of a "ship" displeasure than actually NCL."

We tried the Epic as well and while we had a great cruise, a great time meeting the crew and other passengers, we won't be doing the Epic again.

 

 

Glad it was a "freebie" so to speak, and I would probably feel the same about RCI as you do about NCL. I love NCL and would be hard-pressed to find a reason to sail Royal, but who knows maybe I'll get freebie someday.

 

Enjoy your future cruises b/c as long it's on water it's gotta be good.

Edited January 12, 2014 by B6ConMe

[DDMau]

megnsamsgracie

 

Thank You, for the review it was a well balanced, fair and honest also Thank You for giving NCL a try.

 

NCL isn't for everyone, at least you did try it a lot don't.

 

As others have said it may have just been the Epic. I know the Epic wouldn't be a good fit for me as well.

 

If you get another good deal maybe you could try NCL again on a different ship.

 

Enjoy all your future cruises.

 

(hope I got everything right here, so freddy won't have to fix mine)

[garycarla]

The EPIC is unique. Some like, some hate it.

 

The rest of NCL is a bit different. Not sure if you would like that, but just saying EPIC is not typical.

[hondarr9]

Ok, I got the cruise for just port charges and taxes thanks to a casino gift so I went with an open mind. But I won't do it again...not for me. There were some positives but not enough.

Embarkation: with all flight delays, we were there at 3pm amd on the ship by 3:10....luggage (and rum runners) were there shortly after

Food: pay restaurants were GREAT! Cagneys, Moderno, le bistro, la Cucina and Teppanyaki! Would do them again! Dining room service in taste was HORRIBLE! Many people had "forgotten" apps or soups or salad...me included. Forget trying to get water or soda. Buffet was same as every other cruise line, no complaints. We liked the special burgers on the outside deck.

Entertainment: FAIL....we were bored! Blue man group was not fun, Legends was AWESOME though, second city (late show) was ok...dualing pianos were hit or miss depending on crowd. But we had the best time at the waves bar with our fav servers! They were a blast.

 

Now, we had 5 bar servers at waves bar that were AWESOME (best I've ever had), 1 in the casino (had a house drink card in our room waiting I didn't know about) and our room steward were the only exceptional staff we had. Sorry but I'm being honest about this cruise (just got off today). Motion was HORRIBLE and I never get sick. I love the promenade on Royal ships...I felt too closed in on Epic. The worst taste in my mouth was debarktation. THE WORST on any ship. 45 min to get an elevator down...30 min winding to get off ship... We did have an inside room on deck 12 and it really wasn't bad. I know it's different cruises for different folks and I'm sure lots of you love NCL and that's great. I'm glad I got a "free" cruise to at least give them a shot.

 

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your trip. I was on this sailing as well. I am also a royal loyalist. I can't say that the Epic itself was perfect, but I didn't have as miserable time as you did. I didn't think that the movement was bad at all. I felt more on Allure. How can you say Blue Man group was not fun??? I wasn't that excited to go to that show but I was pleasantly surprised. I also thought the crew was very friendly for the most part. I wouldn't run to the Epic again anytime soon, but that's mostly because of the bathroom situation. I preferred Breakaway it's like a refined version of Epic. Different strokes I guess.

 

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk 2

[megnsamsgracie]

Ok I will be fair in saying yes it is a ship displeasure vs a NCL issue. Just like I prefer the Oasis to the smaller RCL ships. I have nothing to compare it to. It wasn't "horrible" per se...we had fun...just made our own fun with the crew (which are already on our Facebook we loved them so much). Im glad I only spent $560 on this...a poor lady spent $2000 on a balcony and she hated the epic. Ports were good, food mostly decent, weather was ok. If i do get another freebie on NCL, I guess I would definitely get recommendations based on my likes because the ports don't matter...seen them all...so I enjoy the ship. The casino was good to me the last day though, went up a bit!

[che5904]

Ok I will be fair in saying yes it is a ship displeasure vs a NCL issue. Just like I prefer the Oasis to the smaller RCL ships. I have nothing to compare it to. It wasn't "horrible" per se...we had fun...just made our own fun with the crew (which are already on our Facebook we loved them so much). Im glad I only spent $560 on this...a poor lady spent $2000 on a balcony and she hated the epic. Ports were good, food mostly decent, weather was ok. If i do get another freebie on NCL, I guess I would definitely get recommendations based on my likes because the ports don't matter...seen them all...so I enjoy the ship. The casino was good to me the last day though, went up a bit!

 

If you like that size of ship, you would probably enjoy the 2 new builds Breakaway and Getaway instead of the smaller Jewel or Dawn Class.

 

So if you get the opportunity to try NCL again, you may prefer to research them a little further. They look like beautiful ships. Sorry I had the opportunity to choose one of them for this last cruise with my land casino comp but chose the Dawn again because of the itinerary, so I can't give you a personal account on them.

[sonntags]

Sorry to hear you had a rough time...when we were on the Epic, the seas were a bit rough too.

 

However, we loved the Epic (aside from the bathrooms haha) , but found the service, food, and entertainment top notch :)

[Medtech2]

The EPIC is unique. Some like, some hate it.

 

The rest of NCL is a bit different. Not sure if you would like that, but just saying EPIC is not typical.

This is definitely true. OP, You might like one of the more traditionally designed ships.

Sounds like your cruise was only half dislike and the price was right...

Take that half you liked and put it on one of the other NCL ships and you may have a win-win for you...

[LegallyBlonder]

I've never sailed Epic, and I'm not particularly loyal to any cruiseline (except that I'm finding NCL suite life to be irresistible lately!), but I felt exactly this way after my first RCCL on Vision of the Seas. Turns out, it was totally a function of the ship and weather, because I had an amazing trip on Explorer 5 years later. Who knows what the real deal is, but I certainly would give NCL another try if the opportunity arises, as it is way more similar to RCCL than it is different.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

Edited January 12, 2014 by LegallyBlonder

[MCAT48]

I maybe slow but I'm not seeing what the actual bad part of your trip was besides the one dinning venue and you not liking the blue man group? You had a almost free cruise with smuggled liquor plus free liquor and made great friends with crew members.........but never again on ncl?

[melbur]

I maybe slow but I'm not seeing what the actual bad part of your trip was besides the one dinning venue and you not liking the blue man group? You had a almost free cruise with smuggled liquor plus free liquor and made great friends with crew members.........but never again on ncl?

 

I agree - I read a lot of positives in that review so I'm not getting the never again part:confused:

[newmexicoNita]

Ok, I got the cruise for just port charges and taxes thanks to a casino gift so I went with an open mind. But I won't do it again...not for me. There were some positives but not enough.

Embarkation: with all flight delays, we were there at 3pm amd on the ship by 3:10....luggage (and rum runners) were there shortly after

Food: pay restaurants were GREAT! Cagneys, Moderno, le bistro, la Cucina and Teppanyaki! Would do them again! Dining room service in taste was HORRIBLE! Many people had "forgotten" apps or soups or salad...me included. Forget trying to get water or soda. Buffet was same as every other cruise line, no complaints. We liked the special burgers on the outside deck.

Entertainment: FAIL....we were bored! Blue man group was not fun, Legends was AWESOME though, second city (late show) was ok...dualing pianos were hit or miss depending on crowd. But we had the best time at the waves bar with our fav servers! They were a blast.

 

Now, we had 5 bar servers at waves bar that were AWESOME (best I've ever had), 1 in the casino (had a house drink card in our room waiting I didn't know about) and our room steward were the only exceptional staff we had. Sorry but I'm being honest about this cruise (just got off today). Motion was HORRIBLE and I never get sick. I love the promenade on Royal ships...I felt too closed in on Epic. The worst taste in my mouth was debarktation. THE WORST on any ship. 45 min to get an elevator down...30 min winding to get off ship... We did have an inside room on deck 12 and it really wasn't bad. I know it's different cruises for different folks and I'm sure lots of you love NCL and that's great. I'm glad I got a "free" cruise to at least give them a shot.

 

sorry the Epic wasn't for you, I do not care which line, I am not a lover of mega ships, but everyone has his/her own ideas. That is why we have so many options. Now, can you tell me, what the reason for your posting really was? It doesn't sound like you had many negatives and yet you say you would never sail NCL again. I think your posting shows more a loyalty to RCI than a true negative about NCL overall.

Edited January 12, 2014 by newmexicoNita

[mrobstad]

I, too, see only two negatives and far more positives...just saying...

[3DBeach]

Sorry to hear you were disappointed. I've only sailed RCI and NCL and don't have a "favorite line" love them both for different reasons.

Maybe you will receive another offer from the casino and will be able to give Breakaway or Getaway a chance. Epic is definitely unique.

[che5904]

I, too, see only two negatives and far more positives...just saying...

 

I think the OP's title says it all "Loyal Royal tries...". If you are loyal to one brand of anything, you start with somewhat clouded vision. Obviously the OP would not have tried NCL without a comped cruise and probably did not embark with a complete open mind, but tried to compare past experiences.

 

Although this is somewhat natural you really do have to open minded enough to realize that although they are both cruise ships and the companies are quite similar, you are not comparing apples to apples.

 

Although Miami and New York City are both major cities in the U.S., most would not try to compare a vacation in one city to a vacation in the other. Most would just simply look for the merits of that location. But people seem to do that all the time with cruise ships.

 

I doubt you would see people post somewhere "I vacation is NYC all the time but want to try this vacation in Miami, can people tell me if these to places would be similar?" :D