New Dailies Epic Western Med 2014

[ShannonSC2]

I doubt whether I will be posting anything else about this cruise. It was out third year of doing the same cruise, so there isn't much to say about this one.

 

Feel free to ask any questions though.

 

2 Questions:

 

1. The port of Civ. how far is the shuttle drop off point from the train station? How far is town center from train station?

 

2. In Palma it says there is a shuttle service for $12/person. Is there a map of all the stops that the shuttle will stop off?

 

TIA!!

[nadeki]

I doubt whether I will be posting anything else about this cruise. It was out third year of doing the same cruise, so there isn't much to say about this one.

 

Feel free to ask any questions though.

 

The fact you have done this 3 years in a row says it all to me.... it is going to be an EPIC trip!!

[KeithJenner]

2 Questions:

 

 

 

1. The port of Civ. how far is the shuttle drop off point from the train station? How far is town center from train station?

 

 

 

2. In Palma it says there is a shuttle service for $12/person. Is there a map of all the stops that the shuttle will stop off?

 

 

 

TIA!!

 

 

The shuttle drop off is about a mile from the train station. There are works going on at the usual place, so the drop off is now further away from the station than it used to be.

 

The walk between the old drop off and the station is easy (just keep the sea on your right and you are fine), but getting to the new place is a little harder. You still keep the sea to your right, but the port is in between so it isn't as clear. I'm sure you can get a map which will help.

 

When you say Town Center, do you mean Rome or Civitavecchia? It's 45-75 minutes to Rome depending on which train you take. I don't know much about Civitavecchia other than where the train station is, so can't really help if you meant that.

 

I've never used the shuttle in Palma, so I'm not sure about that either I'm afraid.

[KeithJenner]

The fact you have done this 3 years in a row says it all to me.... it is going to be an EPIC trip!!

 

 

It's a great cruise. We've done it a few times as it's easy to get to and fits in easily with a weeks holiday for our son from school. The Epic is a fantastic ship. Plenty to do.

[rigs32]

I have the drop box app but can't open the links on mobile. Anyone have suggestions on how to fix that?

[KeithJenner]

I have the drop box app but can't open the links on mobile. Anyone have suggestions on how to fix that?

 

Don't use any apps. Just click on the links through a web browser.

[Greatergroves]

2 Questions:

 

2. In Palma it says there is a shuttle service for $12/person. Is there a map of all the stops that the shuttle will stop off?

 

TIA!!

 

Last year, when we used the Palma shuttle, there was one drop off and pick up point, on the harbour side in front of the cathedral.

[ShannonSC2]

Last year, when we used the Palma shuttle, there was one drop off and pick up point, on the harbour side in front of the cathedral.

 

Is it worth to take the shuttle in Palma?

[Greatergroves]

Is it worth to take the shuttle in Palma?

 

We found it an easy, convenient way to get over to that area. I'm sure most people would just get a taxi but it was perfect for us and we plan to use it again this Summer.

[robandlil]

Thank you so much for all the valuable menus and dailies. Very helpful for our planning!

I see that on the sea day after embarkation it says special seafood in the buffet. Is this the lobster?

Was lobster ever offered in the MDR?

[KeithJenner]

Thank you so much for all the valuable menus and dailies. Very helpful for our planning!

 

I see that on the sea day after embarkation it says special seafood in the buffet. Is this the lobster?

 

Was lobster ever offered in the MDR?

 

 

Yes, the seafood buffet included Lobster. I didn't see it in the MDR, but wasn't looking for it. I assume it wasn't there though, as it was in the buffet.

 

The seafood buffet was the worst eating experience I have ever had on an NCL ship. We went there that night as we were going to the Blue Men and we've always found its easiest to eat at the Buffet that day.

 

Thee are stations all around the buffet where they are serving Lobster, but the majority of people just saw them directly ahead as they entered the buffet and joined the massive queue for that station. Unfortunately, that area also contained a lot of different items which weren't available elsewhere. The result is that those of us who didn't want lobster had to queue up in the Lobster line for 10 minutes to get our food, whilst in other areas there was lobster available for people to just walk up to and take (or with very short queues).

 

Staff were making sure that people didn't jump the queue so there was no way that we could just grab what we wanted. I hope they can improve things there, as it really wasn't good.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[robandlil]

Thanks for the quick reply! You even answered a question I didn't know I had. We will also plan on Blue Man after the lobster buffet. That will work out perfectly. As all we want is the lobster, we will go to a side station with no waiting.

Here are some other questions, and i understand you may or may not be able to answer. We board in Rome. I'm seeing no sign of a sail away party for us, correct?

Will we have any opportunity to buy posh passes, or will the Barcelona people have taken them all?

Is there anywhere else on the ship other then posh with cushioned loungers and shade?

Do we really have to get to shows 20 minutes early if we have reservations?

[KeithJenner]

I can't help much I'm afraid.

 

The departure from Rome is certainly more low key than Barcelona. I've never really taken too much notice of sail away parties, but there seemed to be more going on at Barcelona than Rome. I think there may have been a band as we sailed from Rome though.

 

I'm not sure about Posh passes. I've never seen the need for them, as we've always been able to find somewhere to sit very easily. There is quite a lot of shade on the pool deck, as there is an upper deck that goes round it which shades quite an area. Not sure about cushioned loungers though.

 

We usually get to shows about 20 minutes early, or a bit more than that, mainly to try to ensure we have some selection of seats. I thought it the cutoff was 10 minutes before. I'm really not aware of how strict they are about letting you in if you miss the stated time. If you just arrive 10 minutes before then you may not be able to find seats together for your group.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited June 9, 2014 by KeithJenner

[robandlil]

Please comment on the following dinners and shows we're thinking of doing. I know it's subjective, but I'd appreciate your opinion.

 

Mostly we will eat in MDR but are considering the following:

 

Prime rib dinner at O'Sheeans

Taste of the Islands dinner at Garden Cafe

Taste of the Orient dinner at Garden Cafe

Spanish Fiesta at Garden Cafe

 

We know we want to see Dreamgirls, Blue Man Group, and Legends. But how are:

 

Graffiti Classics show

Ivann: Belgian singer

 

I don't see any comedians on the dailies. Am I missing them?

Again thank you for helping us.

[KeithJenner]

Please comment on the following dinners and shows we're thinking of doing. I know it's subjective, but I'd appreciate your opinion.

 

Mostly we will eat in MDR but are considering the following:

 

Prime rib dinner at O'Sheeans

Taste of the Islands dinner at Garden Cafe

Taste of the Orient dinner at Garden Cafe

Spanish Fiesta at Garden Cafe

 

We know we want to see Dreamgirls, Blue Man Group, and Legends. But how are:

 

Graffiti Classics show

Ivann: Belgian singer

 

I don't see any comedians on the dailies. Am I missing them?

Again thank you for helping us.

 

Firstly, I have to say that I think the new MDR menus are very good. I think you will be pleased if you go there a few times.

 

I haven't seen the Prime Rib at o'Sheehans, but from the posters it looks like what they serve in the MDR. If so then I don't think it really fits in with o'Sheehans. If I eat there I want a burger or a Pot Pie (which I really like). I'm sure the Prime Rib is good, but if I wanted that I'd go to the MDR. I really like o'Sheehans but usually use it for lunch or a late night snack rather than for an evening meal.

 

Because of the new MDR menus, we enticed our son out of the buffet more than we usually do, so I can't really comment on the nights you mention. However, judging from the seafood night, I think they would be good. As well as the themed dishes, they also had a wide selection of other stuff so everyone can be happy (neither my wife or son eat much seafood but we all found lots to eat on seafood night). I imagine the other nights would be less of a bear pit as well.

 

The only entertainment we saw on this cruise were the Blue Men, Howl at the Moon and The Beatles (all of which are excellent), but I have seen Graffiti Classics a couple of times before, on the Breakaway and the Epic last year. They are worth seeing. Nothing unmissable, but a fun way to spend an hour.

 

I didn't see the Belgian Singer. From the description in the dailies he didn't sound like being my thing. I didn't get any feedback from anyone else either I'm afraid.

 

As far as I'm aware there were no comedians onboard.

[kmurph22]

Hi Keith,

 

thanks for posting!

 

Perusing the dailies, I have to ask, was there any impact from the National Train strike shown on Day 5 in Livorno?

 

Interesting that there was no officers' dinner event... wondering if this is typical for med cruises or just this one.

 

Anyway, getting me more excited for my upcoming cruise!!

[KeithJenner]

Hi Keith,

 

thanks for posting!

 

Perusing the dailies, I have to ask, was there any impact from the National Train strike shown on Day 5 in Livorno?

 

Interesting that there was no officers' dinner event... wondering if this is typical for med cruises or just this one.

 

Anyway, getting me more excited for my upcoming cruise!!

 

I wasn't aware of the impact of the train strike. We used the train to get to Pisa a couple of years ago and didn't plan to use it this time. I'm sure it was a problem to some people, but to be honest, the number of people who use the train from Livorno seems to be relatively few.

 

Not sure about the officers dinner either. I don't recall ever seeing anything about one on previous cruises, but it isn't the sort of thing I would notice.

 

Edit to say: The first days details mentions a Chefs Table Dinner on Naples night. Is that not what you mean?

Edited June 11, 2014 by KeithJenner