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Megaship cruiser does Epic 1- 4 - 2014

hondarr9

By hondarr9,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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hondarr9

hondarr9

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This is my first review please bare with me:) I have enjoyed reading many a review on cc and I figure now is the time for me to give it a shot. Here it goes.

 

Let me start with some background. This trip was for my 40th birthday and originally was just dw and I on RCCL Independence of the seas 8 night. As final payment got closer I decided that I really wanted to spend my birthday with our 2 dd's (13&17) as well. I looked in to just adding them to that cruise, but our budget wasn't going to allow for that. Not by a long shot.

 

*****I should probably let you know my previous cruses to put things in perspective. I have been on Oasis of the seas, Allure of the seas, and NCL Breakaway. My most recent being Breakaway back in October. That cruise was my first on NCL and what brought me to consider Epic. After a lot research and number crunching it ended up being $200 less for the 4 of us, as it would have been for the 2 of us on Indy. I want to be sure however to let you know that we would all 4 be in one b5 family balcony cabin. I knew it was going to be tight, but I was willing to sacrifice comfort to have everyone there.

 

Travel day January 3rd

 

We live in Western New York and you might remember that there was a blizzard in the northeast the day before we were to leave. We had an early flight in to FLL so with the weather and all we set out to the airport at 4:30 am. The plows hadn't even been down our street since the storm. I would say we had 20 inches at that point. I will post a picture below of what that looked like.

 

After a slow scary ride we arrived at the airport. I checked the board and believe it or not our flight was still on time! We breezed through security and boarded the plane about a half hour later. After being de-iced twice. We were off! We made a connecting flight in Baltimore that was an hour and a half late so that meant a late arrival in to FLL where we had arranged transportation to Miami through SAS. We collected our luggage and contacted SAS. They had been tracking our flight all the way and were already at the airport! I have to say SAS was great. After a short 25 minute ride we arrived at our hotel

 

We stayed at the Intercontinental Miami. It was really too nice of a hotel for just an overnight, but we wanted to stay near the port, and was the only place we could get in to when booking. Turns out the reason why is the Orange Bowl was happening that weekend, so hotels were full (and expensive!). Our room was on the concierge level. 26th floor I believe. We had access to the concierge lounge but really didn't take advantage other than a light breakfast.

 

After settling in we decided to venture out to shops on the water (can't recall the official name) to browse and get something for dinner. After a so so late dinner at Bubba Gumps we did some shopping and decided to turn in early so we would be rested for embarkation day. Only two if us however got enough rest. More on that later.

 

*

 

*

 

Embarkation day

 

We left the room around 10am, caught a cab outside the hotel. The cab driver said it was too early to go to the port, and suggested he take us around the city. I politely declined. I like getting to the port early, and I knew it was not too early. On we went. The ride was short and only about $8. We dropped our luggage ,tipped the porter, and proceeded in to the terminal. There was a small line formed at the security checkpoint, maybe 25 people ahead of us. They started scanning people just as we arrived. We checked in and were given group 2 for boarding. *

 

 

 

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hondarr9

hondarr9

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I believe it was around 11:30 when they called group 1. Ten minutes after that group 2. We were up! We zig zaged up the gangway and entered on deck 6 near the Epic theater. This was the first NCL cruise for our dd's so they were a little lost as we made our way toward O'Shehans. They are used to a Royal promenade layout *and , I was a bit worried that they wouldn't be impressed. I myself was noticing how familiar it seemed after just being on Breakaway.

 

We made our way through the casino which seemed to go on and on. It really is the largest at sea!

 

My youngest is quite the connisuer of pools so I decided we would go straight up to pool deck. This would also get us away from the chaos that would soon be decks 5,6,7. We took the aft elevators and got off at 15. I noticed spice h2o was right there, so we went to take a quick look. I was impressed by how much bigger it was than on Breakaway. I figured I would spend a lot of time there like I did on Breakaway. That wasn't the case.

 

We left spice and headed toward the main pools. N our way I noticed it seemed to be a wind tunnel in the walkway known as " the Marketplace". I figured it was just that the wind direction was perfect to cause that but as the week went on it always seemed that way.

 

Anyway to the pools! My youngest was so excited to see the variety of water slides. No slidedon Royal so this was a new and novel idea to her. The first thing I noticed was how bad the loungers and chairs looked on the pool deck. They look really really bad. You would think they were 20 years old! During the week we would also find out that many of them were broken too! We made our way to the pools and all I was thinking was these seem really small! *As I was thinking it youngest dd was saying it. They were comming from the Allure and although the pools are not much larger, there are more of them. As the week went on I thought they were sufficient most times and dd never really complained of it again.

 

Later in I would find out they are fresh water. That was a surprise to me after the saltwater pools on Breakaway.

 

Next we decided we should get something to eat. I vowed not to eat at the Garden cafe on embarkation day, but where did we end up? That's right. The Garden cafe. It was right there, and not too busy. So we went for it. I found it to be larger and a better layout than on Breakaway. The food was exactly the same. Good not great. About what you would expect. At least you can get a decent burger there. I'm sorry but other than Johnny Rockets, you can't get a decent burger on Royal.

 

After lunch we decided to just sit around the pool, grab our first drinks if the week, and wait for our cabin to be ready so we could get rid of our carry ons.

 

Our room was ready around 1:00. We dropped our bags and headed for the pool.

 

I skipped over the fact that on our way up to the pool deck we stopped and made a reservation for Cagneys at 8:30 that night.

 

After our swim we went back to our room to do showers. This is where the Epic bathroom set up really slapped us in the face. I really, really, really, don't know how they let this happen! It's terrible. I knew about it. Thought I ready for it, but it still hit hard. As the week went on we did adapt to it somewhat. Maybe with 2 people I would do it again. Na, probably not!

 

It was 7:00 now and I could see it in the faces of our dd's that we were losing them. Lots of yawns and watery eyes. Our early bedtime the night before hadn't done the trick. Not sure why. Maybe it was just all the travel. *I am the old one. I didn't understand. I made an executive decision to try to get into Cagneys early. We headed down and were able to get right in despite how booked it supposedly it was when we made the initial reservation. It was dead. Only 3 tables had diners. Our server was very nice. Tge kids were zombies. We all ordered. I got the lobster and shrimp over pasta. Dw had a filet and lobster tail for a $10 up charge. The kids each ordered a filet. What seemed like an eternity went by before we got the main course. When it came the kids each took one bite and said they weren't hungry. I was agrivated and suggested they just go to the cabin and go to bed. They took my suggestion. We carried on without them and enjoyed our meals. Our server felt bad that they weren't feeling well so she packaged up some dessert for them. It didn't make me feel any better after watching $60 worth of steak get thrown away, but it was a nice gesture.

 

After dinner dw and I decided to check out the casino. It was busy but being so large there was room to move about. I found it to be a little smokey, but much less so than on Breakaway. It would be that way all week. We didn't win anything, but didn't loose too much either. We grabbed a couple drinks and explored some more. We hit up some of the shops just to browse. The shops are layed out much different than on Breakaway. Even in a whole different area of the ship. *My eyes were growing heavy after the busy day and a few drinks, so it was off to bed.

 

 

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bluesea777

bluesea777

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More! More!

 

Funny you went on the Breakaway (and also the Oasis and Allure) before the Epic!

 

We have been on the Epic 3 times (total 44 nights) and loved our time on her despite her few bad things. She has more good than bad.

 

We still haven't decided whether to return to Epic or go on other ships.

 

So, more, more!!

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hondarr9

hondarr9

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More! More!

 

Funny you went on the Breakaway (and also the Oasis and Allure) before the Epic!

 

We have been on the Epic 3 times (total 44 nights) and loved our time on her despite her few bad things. She has more good than bad.

 

We still haven't decided whether to return to Epic or go on other ships.

 

So, more, more!!

 

I hope my review isn't coming off negative. Because there was definitely more good than bad. Just trying to be honest and objective. Without a doubt, we had a blast! More to come. The rest should go quicker. This is harder than I thought!

 

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hondarr9

hondarr9

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*

 

Day 2

 

*

 

Today was a sea day. We are breakfast at the Garden cafe. Standard buffet fare. Ater breakfast it was off to the pool. It was quite a challenge to find any open loungers. As a matter of fact I never found one on this morning. That was ok , we were going to be in the water most of the morning anyway.

 

We went for the slides first. One by one we sampled all three. My favorite was the vortex toilet bowl style. My least favorite was the pink one that went through the stacks. It was dark the entire ride.

 

After lots of stair climbing, we worked up quite an appetite. Lunch! We dried off and headed for O'Shehans. I had the Buffalo wings for an appetizer and a bacon cheeseburger. The wings were really good. Just like I remembered from the Breakaway. The burger was tasty as well. *For dessert I had the apple pie. It was just ok.

 

*

 

After lunch we all showered up (which is a challenge with 4 in one room) The youngest wasn't looking too good and I decided that she needed a nap. We had Blue Man group tonight and I wanted her rested for that. While dw and her were napping I did some exploring. I set out to find the bridge observation room or, peak a boo bridge. Its on deck 13 and is well marked. I had never been on a ship with this and it was pretty cool! They had a couple computer screens in there showing navigational information and radar. I could see that we were following the Independence of the seas. The ship I was originally supposed to be on!

 

*

 

Ok Blue Man time! I believe we were at the 7:00 show. **I wasn't all that excited about this show for some reason. I really didn't know what it was all about. I ended up loving it! It was very cleaver and entertaining. The only bad thing I could say about it was that the audience participants were obviously staged. I kind of insulted my intelligence. Not a big deal though.

 

*

 

After the show it was time for a late dinner. We headed for Taste. We were sat right away even though it looked very busy. I had the salmon tartar for an app and a steak for dinner, rib eye I believe. *I know I know, I ordered seafood at Cagneys and steak at Taste! What was I thinking? I just wasn't in the mood for steak the night before. The salmon was delicious. The steak, meh. Not bad. *A little over cooked almost seemed steamed? I can't remember what I had for dessert.

 

After dinner we split up with the kids. I believe they went to entourage. We headed to the casino to donate to the NCL fund. We hit some slots and the roulette wheel. **It was a little smokey but not too bad. I found the casino on Oasis and Allure to be worse. The long day in the sun and drinking was starting to catch up with me. Off to bed around 11.

 

 

 

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hondarr9

hondarr9

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Sorry this it taking me so long. Work and life have been a little hectic since getting home. I wanted to do more than just a bullet point review. I'm finding out its hard to find the time!

 

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laurie329

laurie329

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Hi I am going on the epic next week 1\25\14. Reading all of the comments I have not read much about the cruise director or comedians, other then second city.The entertainment is usually good any comments.

 

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Cruiser Bruiser

Cruiser Bruiser

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Thanks for the review so far--keep it coming. I suspect folks are going to become very sentimental about Epic now that she's going to be based permanently in Barcelona.

 

I'm doing my first sailing on her in December in a studio and I'm super excited. Thanks for providing the vicarious thrills! :p

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hondarr9

hondarr9

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Hi I am going on the epic next week 1\25\14. Reading all of the comments I have not read much about the cruise director or comedians, other then second city.The entertainment is usually good any comments.

 

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Yes! I forgot to mention the cruise director! Richard. We really enjoyed Richard. We've had some of the best (Richard Spacey, Ken Rush) before and he ranks right up there. Much better than "Dan the man" on Breakaway. Richard was very funny and friendly. He was everywhere! Comedians, Second City is really it. I really enjoyed them on the Breakaway, but I have to say this Troup was not as good. Not even close. I really thought they were quite awful.

 

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bluesea777

bluesea777

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Yes! I forgot to mention the cruise director! Richard. We really enjoyed Richard. We've had some of the best (Richard Spacey, Ken Rush) before and he ranks right up there. Much better than "Dan the man" on Breakaway. Richard was very funny and friendly. He was everywhere! Comedians, Second City is really it. I really enjoyed them on the Breakaway, but I have to say this Troup was not as good. Not even close. I really thought they were quite awful.

 

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Can't believe Richard is still Cruise director! :) I liked Richard. Hope he is on my TA.

 

Wow!! Richard is still on Epic!! He was there on all our 3 Epic cruises!

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anandaindonesia

anandaindonesia

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I hope my review isn't coming off negative. Because there was definitely more good than bad. Just trying to be honest and objective. Without a doubt, we had a blast! More to come. The rest should go quicker. This is harder than I thought!

 

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Loving your honest review. Keep it "as is".

Thank you for sharing.

 

And good pictures, too.

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hondarr9

hondarr9

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Did your kids go to the teen club?

 

Yes, we had to sign them up and sign wavers. Our youngest (13) used it most. They didn't use it as much as adventure ocean on RCCL, but they played ps3 and wii there and liked the staff a lot. They really enjoyed the nichelodian crew even though they are a bit old for that.

 

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