Epic Western Caribbean - Thanksgiving Cruise 2014

[asubaru]

We just returned from a fabulous vacation on the Epic. I absolutely LOVED this ship, and it sucks that it is leaving the USA, where I'd have easy access. I'm not much of a review writer. These are going to be some very random thoughts, observations, comparisons with my recent Getaway cruise, and info about the Epic. We had both the UDP and UBP. Please let me know if you have any questions. We sailed the Getaway out of Miami on 5/31/14, and this time sailed the Epic on 11/23/14 from the same terminal.

 

::snip::

Entertainment

We really enjoyed Cirque Dreams and absolutely LOVED Blue Man Group. My husband had seen BMG in Las Vegas many years ago, and he said the performance was absolutely identical - not the slightest little difference whatsoever. He didn't mind, though. We would see it over and over again. We tried to do Legends, but ended up getting bored and walking out before it was over. It wasn't bad, it just seemed so cheesy that we felt like rolling our eyes the entire time.

.[/color]

 

Thx for the review and tips. Did you partake in any of the lounge entertainment? Maltings, Fat Cats, Shakers?....

[CruzLover80]

Thx for the review and tips. Did you partake in any of the lounge entertainment? Maltings, Fat Cats, Shakers?....

 

The woman who sang in Fat Catz was amazing... she had that soulful blue's voice that made me think of a New Orleans speakeasy! Definitely worth a visit.

Edited December 5, 2014 by CruzLover80

[Kylie]

I'm glad you asked this!

On Epic we also decided to walk off with our luggage. We ate breakfast at O'Sheehan's, and there were HUGE lines filling the entire casino area (deck 6). We hustled up to our room and grabbed our bags, then joined the line. We were weaved all over deck 6, and imagined it would take forever. The line was just starting to move as we got there, and we heard someone say her husband had lined up at 6am to save a spot! BUT from the time we got in the line until the time we stepped off the ship (at 7:45) was a grand total of 20 minutes. Once the line started moving, only a handful of people got in behind us, so you could say we were toward the back of the line for the walk-offs. I hope that helps.

 

Thanks for this information and good to know. We have a 10:50 flight out of MIA - only choice until lots later - so sounds like we should still be OK. Were there plenty of taxis waiting to go to the airport? Lines at MIA were probably long too.

[lelder1]

The woman who sang in Fat Catz was amazing... she had that soulful blue's voice that made me think of a New Orleans speakeasy! Definitely worth a visit.

She WAS awesome! We went in for a few minutes with my niece and nephew (9 and 11) and she was telling everyone that she had to move from NO to North Carolina (where I live) after Katrina, then proceeded to sing a song about it that she wrote. We all walked around the rest of the cruise singing "Katrina, Katrina....you put a hurtin' on me!"....

[LrgPizza]

Thx for the review and tips. Did you partake in any of the lounge entertainment? Maltings, Fat Cats, Shakers?....

 

 

We never had time to listen to the guitar player at Maltings, but we enjoyed the piano player at Shakers. I agree the Fat Cats singer was phenomenal. It blows my mind why this crowd is usually pretty empty.

[TifffanyD]

Thanks for the review! I loved the Epic several years ago, and am visiting her again in 3 months! :)

 

 

Very interested to hear about your opinions on La Cucina. I didn't care for it much on the Getaway either but we added it to the Epic just to see. Now I can look forward to it.

 

Also glad to hear Le Bistro has a better area. When we did the epic the first time I don't think we did any extra charge dining!

 

Do you remember what days Teppanyaki is open for lunch? Maybe we will squeeze that in since we are UDP :)

[LrgPizza]

Thanks for the review! I loved the Epic several years ago, and am visiting her again in 3 months! :)

 

 

Very interested to hear about your opinions on La Cucina. I didn't care for it much on the Getaway either but we added it to the Epic just to see. Now I can look forward to it.

 

Also glad to hear Le Bistro has a better area. When we did the epic the first time I don't think we did any extra charge dining!

 

Do you remember what days Teppanyaki is open for lunch? Maybe we will squeeze that in since we are UDP :)

Teppanyaki was open for lunch on Monday and Saturday (the first and last sea days). It wasn't listed in the daily as being open on Tuesday, the 2nd sea day.

 

Regarding La Cucina... Maybe the difference was simply that we ordered better. We simply HATED the food we had on Getaway - everything from the starters through the entrees. Also, as I mentioned in my earlier post, we loved the location on Epic. In addition, we had a better server on Epic. The one we had on Getaway was very snooty and stuff, acting like she was working in some fancy restaurant. The Epic one was simply laid back and friendly and joked around with us, like when I made him lift the lasagna with one hand. Service is hit or miss at all the restaurants, but it can help to make a difference. So for us, the food, location, and service were all good. Next time we are on a different ship, we will try again. Who knows.

 

[dansprite]

LrgPizza, aside from Teppanyaki, were any of the other specialty restaurants open at lunchtime? We are on the Epic in February. Also, which night was the night for pictures? Thanks, Suzanne

[LrgPizza]

LrgPizza, aside from Teppanyaki, were any of the other specialty restaurants open at lunchtime? We are on the Epic in February. Also, which night was the night for pictures? Thanks, Suzanne

Shanghai Noodles and Wasabi sushi were both open for lunch on sea days. Those are both a la carte options. None of the other regular specialty restaurants were open.

 

I saw lots of photographers all over the ship every single evening. If there was a particular picture night, I didn't know about it. Sorry.

[dansprite]

Thank you, LrgPizza - Suzanne