EPIC - a February 2014 sail review

[jordans mom]

Thought I would share some thoughts on our February EPIC sailing.

We all enjoyed the EPIC - for multiple reasons - I am not sure I would go out of my way to sail on her again - but if she were doing a route that I was interested in - I would not avoid her either.

 

This was our first time on the EPIC, we have been on other NCL ships (Platinum level Latitudes) so have some experience on NCL's smaller ships.

 

I was not so sure about sailing on such a big ship – but it fit the families multiple interests – largely because of the childrens program and water park. It was also a long time since we had left out of a Florida port – and while we had planned this to include my uncle (85), he unfortunately had an acute medical crisis and had to go into surgery a week before sailing ( and I thank heaven that he did not have to be at sea when his emergency arose!) – we missed him but we carried on.

 

Now to share some thoughts!

 

CABIN: we stayed in a 2 BR villa in the Haven ; while very nice, the footprint was much smaller than we were used to on other NCL ships we had sailed staying in a comparable cabin level, esp the balcony space. I would say the balcony space was close to 1/3 smaller. It was initially disappointing, but it turned out with so many family members on board – we actually used the room and balcony a lot less than on other cruises…..

 

The 2 br worked out great as our son was able to rise and rest on his own schedule, had his own bathroom, tv and closet space.

 

Cabin was nicely appointed ala NCL style – but showing its age, some worn spots, nicked up edges on the furniture and the balcony furniture and deck itself was showing some wear and tear.

 

The afternoon cabin snacks delivered to the room were kind of boring compared to other NCL trips. Plenty of closet and storage space.

 

Loved that the shower and tub had a water view – and actually, from the bed you could look down the bath space and see the water every morning when we woke up – so that was a pleasant surprise.

 

(as an aside – my sister did have repetitive cabin servicing problems the first 2 days – she was in the Deck 14 spa suites – I finally told her to let the Hotel Director know – once she did, service improved and NCL sent them apologies, a nice bottle of wine and chocolate strawberries)

 

HAVEN: the common space in the HAVEN is probably some of the most underutilized space on the ship – although there is a pool and 2 outside whirlpools, exercise equip, a small sauna and steam room – I have to admit to using the pool deck and spa facility there very little. Again – we were so busy with family – I have to admit largely using it to escape for down time – but other than that – I could not resist the draw of the biggest thermal spa at sea (more on that later) !

 

The Haven restaurant is available to eat all your meals at, and we were able to arrange a family dinner there (by paying a slight upcharge for those not staying in the Haven) one night.

 

I enjoyed their breakfast offerings far more than lunch and dinner – both were fine offerings – but it is the same menu every night, so again – we headed out to other eateries on the ship over the course of the week. The lounge makes the best drinks on the ship by far!

 

The Haven concierge, Ryan, was always very responsive and helpful.

 

Again, the common areas in the Haven are also showing their age here and there (but this was true all over the ship)

 

FOOD: In general – I was ok with the food available - lets face it - you don't sail NCL for a foodie experience;

 

I mostly grabbed the odd bite at the Garden Buffet (in and out) – so while the offerings looked extensive – I never ate a full meal there – what I did eat was hit or miss.

 

We all met the first night at TASTE – I don’t remember what I ate , I was too tired– but it was lobster night and everyone else ordered the lobster entrée and seemed to be happy enough, I was too tired to care what I ate, so I am sure it was fine – I ate it all (lol).

 

I did take my young nephews to O’Sheehans for lunch (to give their parents a break) – now I would say the pub food there is mediocre at best – not sure why they cannot seem to improve as this is a constant comment I have seen on other CC reviews – however, I was not taking them there to eat – I was taking them there to indulge them in GIANT Ice cream sundaes! And they did a great job at the desserts there – esp those ice cream sundares – there is a slight charge for the giant ones – but the kids loved it!

 

I enjoyed the specialty restaurants far more than anywhere else. We tried Moderno, Le Bistro and La Cucina.

 

My husband and son went to the sushi spot and my sister and family did the Teppanyaki and all enjoyed the food and service.

 

in particular, the EPIC’s Moderno is laid out well for ship space – salad bar had an awesome assortment of cheeses, cured meats, fish, greens, breads….the flow of the meat service was steady and accommodating – if one of us was looking for a particular cut – they would bring it over instead of having to wait until it came around – the side dishes were set at the table family style and kept full (there were 10 of us) thoughout our main meal sitting. Servers knew what they were doing at Moderno so that enhance the experience – if you are a meat lover – you cannot miss MODERNO –

 

as a side note , Moderno shares space with Cagneys – so the kitchen is also shared space – while I did not eat at Cagney’s myself this trip – others in my family did and said the beef was top notch.

 

We had a weird experience with our Le Bistro reservation. We booked a reservation at Le Bistro as we loved their menu on other ships! We decided to book it for Valentines Night, well we get there , open the menu and <<shazaaam>> - where did my Le Bistro favorite foods go? Turns out that they had ‘special V-Day” menu that night and no regular menu! Add to that – NOTHING and I mean NOTHING on the V-Day menu appealed to me at all – then I got to the bottom and the upcharge for that night was $59/pp? really, for that menu? Well, I was not interested in their special menu and wine picks – so we asked to be accommodated for the following evening – it was awkward, but we made it happen. Now, as we were walking out – the 2 of us should have at least ‘imagined’ there might be special menu at LB that night – but there was not a string of communication to us – not when we reserved pre-boarding, or when we arrived at the ship – and honestly – I cannot recall seeing any special notation in the Dailies nor having received any special note in the cabin. I only mention the lack of communication on the EPIC as on other NCL ships – they were very particular at letting passengers know of special evets/changes to menus at these venues…..not sure what fell through the cracks on this sailing – but, off we went and ate up at the HAVEN…..

When we did get to LB the following night - the regular LB menu was up again and we dined merrily away (the service was unusually slow - that was a bit of a disappointment - so we took our desert as a carryout and brought it to our cabin for later)

 

 

I will continue my review at a later date, plan to comment on: Entertainment, Ports, Spa, Common Areas, Shopping, Casino, Crew……

[2boyzmom]

What was your cabin number?

[Love my butler]

Was the issue with service in the spa suite from the steward? If so, what issues was your sister having.

[MRBOOKEND]

Thanks for taking the time to post a review of both the good and not so good. Will be first time on Epic in October and really appreciate those who take the time to write about the ship to help us newbies.

[anandaindonesia]

Thank you for sharing.

 

Sent using Tapatalk. Sorry for typho.

[jordans mom]

What was your cabin number?

We were in Cabin 17114

[jordans mom]

Was the issue with service in the spa suite from the steward? If so, what issues was your sister having.

Yes, it was the servicing of the cabin itself. The steward was not servicing the cabin at night (yes the dial was set to turn cabin down) - after calling housekeeping - the problem was not addressed - she had to go to Guest Services and speak directly to the Hotel Director - interestingly enough - while she was down there, she was standing next to someone who came down shortly after her and was having the same issue - 2 cabins down as it turned out......

[jordans mom]

SPA

As I mentioned – the Haven had some small spa facility – but the allure of the largest thermal spa at sea was too much for me to bypass – and it did not disappoint. I did not personally use any of the spa services but others in my family did – more on that later.

 

The thermal spa is fabulous! And I rarely use that word.

 

I spent at least 2 hours every day in there – so I definitely feel I got value for my money.

 

First, the fact that it has its own open balcony facing the aft of the ship and “windows” from the sauna was a big giant plus for me. The herbal steam room was outstanding as well. If you go to online pictures – you will see a large central “pool” with whirlpool sections and waterfall-style cascades – when I tell you that at the times I was there – most times I had that pool to myself, I am not kidding – during the week there was also only 2 times I had another person in the sauna or steamroom with me.

 

The locker rooms and space itself is kept immaculately clean – however, like the other areas of the ship – is showing some wear and tear – but not to the degree I experienced elsewhere on the ship. The heated stone lounges were my favorite, and probably where I would run into the most traffic (getting a lounge chair on outside balcony was a bit tougher too). The pools, sauna and steamroom were all kept at perfect temperatures. Lighting and sound control in the room is set to provide total relaxation.

 

All in all – this space gets an A+.

 

My sister went for a massage and was happy – my son went for a men’s grooming package and was so ectastic about his facial, shave and trims – that the guy who did the work was considered to be his cruise hero…lol…funny coming from my jock son…..:D

[getaway4fun]

Thanks so much for taking the time to write up a review. It is nicely balanced and very informative!

 

Couple of questions:

1) What was different about the afternoon snacks from your other cruises? Is there something you would recommend that we ask for on our upcoming holiday?

 

2) Who was your butler?

 

3) Love that your DS enjoyed his men's grooming package. Definitely want to get my DS in there for that! Do you remember the name of the Spa tech that did his facial?

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review…...