NCL Epic- Do's,Don'ts and How?

[AboveAverageJoe]

Hi there fellow cruisers!,

 

Going on my first NCL cruise that i booked yesturday out of Miami this year well in 38 days on the EPIC Western Caribbean on Feb 23rd Excited as i just got off the Allure of the Seas back in September. Just looking for a few answers.. well advice.

 

Does anybody know about the "DO'S" on this ship?

-What should i expect comnig from the ALLURE

-What must i do?

(this is about everything as this is only my second cruise)

 

Does anybody know about the "DONT'S" on this ship?

-What dont i do?

 

And last but not least "HOW" do they do things on the EPIC as in any special things i need to know to make my sailing go smoothly?

 

 

Thanks,

 

AboveAvergaeJoe

[sdmike]

Have you read any of the reviews and trip stories from Epic? Your questions are very, very broad, and you might be better served by reading accounts of Epic trips and formulating more specific questions.

 

I would also do a search on "RCL" or "RCCL" and look in the search results for threads on the differences between NCL and RCCL. There are a lot of similarities, but also a lot of differences due to NCL's use of "freestyle". You can get a lot of information that way as well.

Edited January 16, 2014 by sdmike

[AboveAverageJoe]

Looking at going for the drink package as being a younger couple on this cruise in our early 20's is it worth it to buy the drink package? is there a good party scene at night where i know im going to drink 8-10 drinks at night, or am i better off to pay drink by drink.

 

as for dinner, what restaurants are good eats that are included, as we are not going to buy the dinner package? whats the main dinning room food like?

 

ill keep posting as i think of some other questions!

[ColinIllinois]

Again, like Mike said above the answers to your questions are in many threads that are available right here to read and in the review section. Also on NCL.com there is a whole section on Epic freestyle dining that will tell you what venues are included in your fare and what restaurants have a surcharge.

 

Lots of great info. Enjoy.

Edited January 16, 2014 by ColinIllinois

[sanger727]

I'll throw a few at you, but their my opinions, so don't know if you'll agree.

 

DOs:

Go to the very front of the ship, deck 18, there's a sun deck with padded loungers that's open to the public. One side is "posh", but the other side is free, and it's not crowded

 

go to cirque, blue man group, and legends. If you go to cirque get premium seating, you can't see the whole thing from the standard seating

 

go to a second city improv show, better than the skits

 

If you run into a long line at the buffet, keep looking, there are lots of food stations with lots of repetition

 

eat the pizza from the buffet, it's great

 

go to the buffet (the outside section near the pool) or o'sheehans for the late night snacks if you're hungry, heard lots of bad stuff about room service

 

try to get to the rock wall as soon as it's scheduled to open, it gets a long line quick

 

try the yellow water slide, it's the best of the 3

 

Don'ts:

show up to cirque, blue man group, legends, or second city without reservations

 

wait till the last minute to do anything... it's a crowded ship and there are often full shows and lines. if you plan ahead, you'll be fine

Edited January 16, 2014 by sanger727

[sixesandeights]

Again, like Mike said above the answers to your questions are in many threads that are available right here to read and in the review section. Also on NCL.com there is a whole section on Epic freestyle dining that will tell you what venues are included in your fare and what restaurants have a surcharge.

 

Lots of great info. Enjoy.

 

These types of posts are USELESS. If you are not going to provide info DONT REPLY. You are not being helpful you are being a snarky ass...

 

6&8

[Love my butler]

These types of posts are USELESS. If you are not going to provide info DONT REPLY. You are not being helpful you are being a snarky ass...

 

6&8

 

Isn't that like saying 'google it'?

[AboveAverageJoe]

Thanks to that 1 helpful post.. thanks for taking time to actually help me out! Looking forward to heading out in a few weeks.

[AboveAverageJoe]

I'll throw a few at you, but their my opinions, so don't know if you'll agree.

 

DOs:

Go to the very front of the ship, deck 18, there's a sun deck with padded loungers that's open to the public. One side is "posh", but the other side is free, and it's not crowded

 

go to cirque, blue man group, and legends. If you go to cirque get premium seating, you can't see the whole thing from the standard seating

 

go to a second city improv show, better than the skits

 

If you run into a long line at the buffet, keep looking, there are lots of food stations with lots of repetition

 

eat the pizza from the buffet, it's great

 

go to the buffet (the outside section near the pool) or o'sheehans for the late night snacks if you're hungry, heard lots of bad stuff about room service

 

try to get to the rock wall as soon as it's scheduled to open, it gets a long line quick

 

try the yellow water slide, it's the best of the 3

 

Don'ts:

show up to cirque, blue man group, legends, or second city without reservations

 

wait till the last minute to do anything... it's a crowded ship and there are often full shows and lines. if you plan ahead, you'll be fine

 

 

Thanks Sanger727 !

[Twinzma]

OP: Don't expect to do everything that this ship offers, there isn't enough time:D

 

If you board early enough for lunch, head to Taste instead of the buffet. It is less crowded and the calamari is delish.

 

Howl at the Moon is awesome, arrive early for good seating just as you would for anything else.

 

Look up past posts about the slot play coupons if you like to gamble...I can't remember the website off hand, sorry! But for $25 you'll get $50 in play. You can buy one per guest.

 

At breakfast buffet only 2 stations offer eggs benedict, it's worth finding them. They are off to the sides, near the exits to the pool next to an obscure omelet station.

 

Don't waste your time going to the port shopping seminar. The woman is BORING and you can learn everything you need to know searching the web before you go and not kill valuable cruise time.

 

Don't miss the bridge viewing area, open during the day when not docked or pulling in port. Deck 13 all the way forward (obviously).

 

DON'T let any of the bad reviews freak you out. I did, and I was really second guessing my decision. I ended up having the BEST CRUISE EVER on the Epic and loved every single moment. I am hoping to go on her again next season before she leaves the US for good.....

[AboveAverageJoe]

OP: Don't expect to do everything that this ship offers, there isn't enough time:D

 

If you board early enough for lunch, head to Taste instead of the buffet. It is less crowded and the calamari is delish.

 

Howl at the Moon is awesome, arrive early for good seating just as you would for anything else.

 

Look up past posts about the slot play coupons if you like to gamble...I can't remember the website off hand, sorry! But for $25 you'll get $50 in play. You can buy one per guest.

 

At breakfast buffet only 2 stations offer eggs benedict, it's worth finding them. They are off to the sides, near the exits to the pool next to an obscure omelet station.

 

Don't waste your time going to the port shopping seminar. The woman is BORING and you can learn everything you need to know searching the web before you go and not kill valuable cruise time.

 

Don't miss the bridge viewing area, open during the day when not docked or pulling in port. Deck 13 all the way forward (obviously).

 

DON'T let any of the bad reviews freak you out. I did, and I was really second guessing my decision. I ended up having the BEST CRUISE EVER on the Epic and loved every single moment. I am hoping to go on her again next season before she leaves the US for good.....

 

Thanks Twinzma! Im wondering what itll be like compared to my last royal carribean cruise with the Allure of the Seas

[maja651]

If you are not in a suite, get to the port early and go buy a Posh pass first thing after you board. They sell a limited amount to non-suite guests and it is worth it! You will always have a nice lounger to sunbathe, they have a bar up there, and it is for 18 and older only. Sounds like it would be perfect for you.

 

Also, if you plan to drink as many drinks daily as you mentioned, you should probably buy th Ultimate Beverage pass. Search on here for details, but I am pretty sure you will come out ahead financially. (Humm, if it is available. I know they block out some dates due to Spring break).

[AboveAverageJoe]

If you are not in a suite, get to the port early and go buy a Posh pass first thing after you board. They sell a limited amount to non-suite guests and it is worth it! You will always have a nice lounger to sunbathe, they have a bar up there, and it is for 18 and older only. Sounds like it would be perfect for you.

 

Also, if you plan to drink as many drinks daily as you mentioned, you should probably buy th Ultimate Beverage pass. Search on here for details, but I am pretty sure you will come out ahead financially. (Humm, if it is available. I know they block out some dates due to Spring break).

 

I dont know what the Posh pass it or what it allows and how much?

 

And for the drink package im defiently purchasing the UBP as i did on my Royal Carribean Allure of the Seas cruise in september and we defiently drank enough to get our moneys worth... especially in the casino, They seem to go down faster in there.. lol

 

Thanks!

[danh78]

DO read your freestyle daily and come up with a plan of attack for the day. There are a lot of activities, so I found it helpful to try and pick ahead of time what definitely sounded interesting.

 

Have a couple meals and snacks at O'Sheahans, even breakfast. Moderno & Tepanyaki are our two favorite upcharge restaurants.

 

Go see Blue Man, Legends and Second City, even if you think they aren't "your thing"

[bluesea777]

If you like to drink - do get the UBP.

 

The Garden Café is a great place to eat for dinner!!! Give it a try and you'll be surprised!

 

Also, Garden Café makes crepes at dinner time, so make sure to pop in before 9:30pm to have your "fix" between drinks!

 

You'll be pleasantly surprised with the different dining venues on the Epic. We have spent total of 44 days on her and have enjoyed them!!

 

Don't forget to go to martini tastings!! They are fun!

 

P.S. don't forget to take a highlighter to attack the Freestyle Dailies!!

Edited February 5, 2014 by bluesea777

[AboveAverageJoe]

Thanks!

Definetly looking forward to it, was hesitant at first due to alot of not so good reviews.. but we shall see

[danh78]

Thanks!

Definetly looking forward to it, was hesitant at first due to alot of not so good reviews.. but we shall see

 

 

Some people just like to complain. I was on the Epic last month with my wife (our second Epic cruise, second cruise ever), and I actually heard a guy tell a staff member he was bored and there wasn't a lot to do. ***?!?!

 

Will everything be perfect? No. Will it be the best trip ever? Maybe.

 

I've been twice with my wife, both times we had a really good time. Go in with a positive attitude and you'll have a good vacation

[AboveAverageJoe]

Its my first time with NCL so im looking forward to it, and its vacation so im not here to make everything meet standards... just sit back and relax and have fun. A lot of people do that to make it seem like they are the worlds best sailor! kudos to them, something to complain about.

[3DBeach]

I agree with the others, I missed Blue Man Group the first time I sailed on Epic so we made sure we went the 2nd time. We LOVED it! Legends was great too thanks to "Steven Tyler". Katy Perry & Elvis were ok but Steven Tyler was excellent.

We happen to prefer the specialty restaurants so it's more cost effective for us to purchase the UDP, I can't review it since I haven't sailed using it yet. We love the slides especially the epic plunge. We stay on the ship at least one port day to take advantage of the shorter lines.

Hope you love the Epic as much as we did :)

[AboveAverageJoe]

I agree with the others, I missed Blue Man Group the first time I sailed on Epic so we made sure we went the 2nd time. We LOVED it! Legends was great too thanks to "Steven Tyler". Katy Perry & Elvis were ok but Steven Tyler was excellent.

We happen to prefer the specialty restaurants so it's more cost effective for us to purchase the UDP, I can't review it since I haven't sailed using it yet. We love the slides especially the epic plunge. We stay on the ship at least one port day to take advantage of the shorter lines.

Hope you love the Epic as much as we did :)

 

Yea the slides are a new thing to me as on Allure of the Seas it was a Wave rider, which i think EVERY ship should have! lol But looking forward to the daily entertainment on the ship!

[Jotravelnut21]

We sailed on the Epic last summer in the Med. Granted it may be a very different experience from your side of the world but here's my thoughts for what the are worth to you.

 

We always cruised RC before and the Epic was an Epic shock to the system. Mainly due to the indifference of the staff and quality of food.

On the RC you are 'assigned' staff which you see on a daily basis at dinner, cleaning your cabin etc. (Not so on the Epic, which meant it was hard to build any rapport with them.)

The staff on RC always seemed to WANT to do the very best for you, nothing was to much trouble and believe me we are not needy people but they always smiled at you and everyone spoke to you as they passed by.

The staff on our NCL trip honestly couldn't have cared less.

In the Taste MD room we had cracked cups and plates and a fork with bent prongs. One waiter even took a cracked plate from me and slide my dessert of it with his HAND onto another cracked plate and plonked it down on the table! We said nothing but moved to the other MD the next night only to wait 20 minutes for anyone to even bring a menu, hubby did catch one waitress as she whizzed by only to be told "Your not in my section, you'll have to wait" When our waiter did come he absolutely wreaked of body odor! Not what I call acceptable.:eek:

I did complain and waited 22 minutes at CS desk for the assistant restaurant manager to arrive. (I will point out that I was not the only one, there was 5 other people waiting to complain about a variety of things!)

Now in fairness he immediately apologised and comped our next meal in the Italian restaurant the next night and sent us a bottle of wine and I can highly recommend this restaurant.

I know staff come and go and you may not get the same staff as we had or the same dinnerware! However I don't believe it will compare to RC.

We felt the entertainment and food quality was much higher on RC

What positives about the Epic... Definitely the Blue Man group (book before you go as lots were disappointed) also liked Howl at the Moon and the Posh area (It cost us £59 each for the week and is a private Card Entry only area with luxury recliners and beds and private bar) But one poster is right there is a free area beside it most people don't know about that's nice.

Slides are great but pools disappointing for us. Big children's pools but only tiny plunge type pool for adults. We didn't go for the drink package because we wouldn't have drank enough but we did bring our own and paid corkage. The garden restaurant was a nice area (again staff) and Tempanaki restaurant worth a go. Ice bar a must for the experience!! The white party was good as was the late night disco's but everything considered the horrible staff means we would never cruise NCL again. Sorry...

I do however hope your experience is better and you have a wonderful time.

Jo :)