Epic Fun

[BunnyLove123]

DH and I just got off the Epic yesterday, and now the post cruise vacation, back to reality blues are setting in, so I thought I would write up a little review as I haven't seen many on the Epic recently.

 

Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our vacation, it was our first time cruising with NCL, and we could be persuaded to try them again;). We were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and it was fun and interesting to try something "new'. We have previously sailed with Royal and CCL... and we really like both. If I had to say anything negative about our trip, it would probably be the cleanliness of our stateroom, and our stateroom steward. I will break down the review in sections.. so without further delay.. Come Sail Away!

[BunnyLove123]

We traveled with some of our best friends leaving Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. Our plane ride was uneventful (just the way I like them) and we landed in Miami on schedule. It was beautiful. It was Sunny. It was anywhere but home! We're on vacation! It's warm! Things are off to a fabulous start.

 

We took a shuttle from MIA to our car rental company. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say the name on the boards, but it starts with an A and ends with an S. It's also a term used in Mexico meaning "friends":o;)

 

Can I just tell you that they were a pain to deal with. After some confusion on their part, they ended up honoring the deal we had online. They wanted to charge us for a 2 day rental when we would be returning the car VERY early the next morning. It just didn't make sense.. but again,,, WE ARE ON VACATION! In the grand scheme of things, even though they told us we couldn't fit all our luggage in the car, we made it work and arrived at our hotel for the afternoon a little while later. We stayed at the Residence Inn Marriot Miami Airport, and had a two bedroom suite since we were traveling with friends. It was perfect, clean and comfortable. After settling in, we decided to go to South Beach and the Lincoln Road area downtown. Ended up eating pizza for dinner at Spris. Very good, and the outdoor seating and people watching were wonderful! I love traveling, and more importantly traveling with people I love. It was SO fun just being on vacation with my sweet DH and best friends! Life is Good!

 

Stay tuned for embarkation..... :)

[vanchelle]

waiting to hear all about it!

We just booked-we're new to NCL, have cruised with HAL and CCL most recently. Looking forward to hearing about your experience.

[IrishShel]

We leave in under a month on the Epic. Would love to see your review!:D

[BunnyLove123]

:p

 

Since we are used to traveling on Royal and CCL, we had no idea really of what to expect with NCL's embarkation. I have to say, this was one of the smoothest one's we've ever experienced. It looked like a mad house after the shuttle dropped us off, but after we figured out where to go, it was a peace of cake. Through security, getting our sea pass cards and up to the waiting area in under 30 minutes I would say. Plus 1 for NCL.

Waiting to board is always one of my favorite parts of starting a cruise....everyone is happy and excited! Adventure awaits, and we (I) desperately needed this time away. Some issues with family and stress meant that this vacation coming at a perfect time. I will say that walking on to the ship I was a little underwhelmed. It seemed dark as we entered on deck 6 near the Epic Theater.. and it was a little congested. "Washy washy, Happy Happy" became the mantra for the week, and it made me smile.:)

 

We actually went straight to our room to drop off our luggage when we boarded. We didn't expect them to be ready, but we wanted to check and see. We had an aft balcony. First. Time. EVER!! Aft balcony fans unite!! :D I loved the location of our room, and our friends were right next door. We may or may not have opened our balcony divider on more than one occasion....shhhhhh!!!!!

 

Now on to the disappointment factor of our rooms. Our rooms were ready when we walked in. First day planner on the bed.. and the scrolling marguee outside the door saying Welcome. Walking in, first impressions... I will say that the bathroom layout was just odd. It didn't really bother me, because I was traveling with my DH, but it was just weird. I quickly got over it, and decided our theme to the week would be "try something new". This is where it gets sticky.... literally!! We had MOLD in our room. Yes, MOLD. There is a hook right by the shower and door where you can hang towels or whatever else you would like, and on the wall below the hook we found the mold. The comforter on our bed was stained with what looked like (i pray!!) suntan/sunscreen and it just did not appear clean. There was also coffee stains on our vanity area, and after wiping everything down with clorox wipes that I brought, they were noticeably dirty. Not just a little, a lot!! Our Shelves were dusty. Our friends found a pair of shoes left from previous guests in their room. We found bobby pins on one of the shelves by our bed. They were not mine! Now... on to the disclaimer. My DH and I are laid back, and consider ourselves to be pretty seasoned travelers. It takes a lot to make us upset. First impressions of our accommodations on Epic were not good, and our friends found their cabin to be in much worse conditions than ours. It takes a long time for things like mold to build up, and this showed just a complete lack of upkeep and regular maintenance. If we had been at a hotel, we would have asked for another room, but we could't, so we made the best of it. I want to make it clear that we in no way shape or form were suffering, but we just expected more!

The one positive was the shower was a decent size we thought. I didn't mind the sink area at all, and found the storage was really very good.

The REALLY positive was our balcony. Stunning. Can I move the bed out here for the week?

The beds: HARD AS A ROCK. We did get a egg crate topper and it did help. We slept good all week, so I guess it wasn't that bad. :rolleyes:

 

Next up: Lunch and exploring our home for the next 7 days!:cool:

Edited February 17, 2015 by BunnyLove123

[BunnyLove123]

The choices for food and dinning on Epic are very good. We never went hungry and were really very satisfied with everything that we ate. There were several times where we all agreed that our meals were delicious! Plus 2 for NCL:)

 

After leaving our luggage in our rooms, we made our way up to get some lunch. Our cabin location in the aft was very convenient to the elevators, and we never had trouble getting where we needed to go.

Deciding on O'Sheehans for lunch we ordered wings, chicken tenders (my fav) and mozza sticks. I did decide to get the Soda package, even after learning they serve Pepsi products, ha! I'm from Atlanta,, in Atlanta, we drink Coca-Cola;). I don't regret my decision, it was nice having something different to drink at meals besides the tea/lemonade/water. Lunch was pretty good. I think we all agreed that this area is a great idea, and just a great area to sit and chat, have a drink, and people watch. The bowling alley is also in this area. We did not take advantage of this as it was an upcharge per person, per game. We expected bowling to be free! Maybe thinking that is wrong, but we were surprised!

After lunch, we realized just how many different places to eat that there are on board. It was pretty neat knowing that it was truly "Freestyle".

I didn't care for some of the decor on the ship, wear and tear is showing in a lot of areas, and dry dock will be much needed, but the Epic definitely has a Las Vegas style, that grew on me as the week went on. We did miss a "central" place just to grab a quick snack during the week, ie the Royal Promenade, but it didn't make or break our fun:)

Our muster drill was really lax. Since our cabins were in the Aft of the ship, we had muster in the Manhattan Dinning Room, which is beautiful by the way. I was taken aback that even tho we had to be checked off on a list that we were present, the crew member kept saying, 'don't worry folks, it will all be over in just a few minutes and you can move on.' It was almost like it was an afterthought.. at least where we were. In previous cruises, muster is taken VERY seriously and we expected the same. One note..our life vests were located in our cabin in a properly marked closet...as is required by law. Our friends' life vests were not where the signage posted that they would be. It was weird. In an emergency situation, this could be very dangerous if someone had to go back to their cabin to hunt for life vests hurriedly in the dark. They obviously made sure that they knew where there's was located just in case..but still:confused:

 

Anyway... Sail away from our balcony was beautiful, and the Vitamin D was glorious! It was so much fun admiring the beautiful homes and MASSIVE yachts on Fisher Island,, and knowing that for the next 7 days we didn't have anything to do but enjoy!

 

Next up: 2 days at sea..

Edited February 17, 2015 by BunnyLove123

[Cruisingal22]

Which aft cabin did you have? We have an aft balcony in April on deck 10. Happy to hear you liked the location....and enjoying you review!

[apmecruise]

Thanks for sharing[emoji5]️ can't wait to read more! I went on the epic a few years Go and loved it! The entertainment is top notch

[kenlyn]

I was on same cruise and also on aft. 10319 to be exact. Our room was super clean and we had the best steward we have ever had. Sorry yours wasn't so great. My daughter was two doors down also aft, and her room was perfect too, must be we got the best steward on the ship! I can't believe you have the energy to start your review I am still looking at three loads of laundry and of course looking at cruises for next year!

[Cruisingal22]

I was on same cruise and also on aft. 10319 to be exact. Our room was super clean and we had the best steward we have ever had. Sorry yours wasn't so great. My daughter was two doors down also aft, and her room was perfect too, must be we got the best steward on the ship! I can't believe you have the energy to start your review I am still looking at three loads of laundry and of course looking at cruises for next year!

 

We are in 10318, must be opposite corner? My sister is next to us in 10320. Happy to hear you were pleased with your cabins.

[AandBmom]

I was on same cruise and also on aft. 10319 to be exact. Our room was super clean and we had the best steward we have ever had. Sorry yours wasn't so great. My daughter was two doors down also aft, and her room was perfect too, must be we got the best steward on the ship! I can't believe you have the energy to start your review I am still looking at three loads of laundry and of course looking at cruises for next year!

 

I was also on the same cruise and we fortunately had a very clean room as well and our cabin steward was okay. Kind of quiet from what we're used to but a nice guy.

 

I hear you on the laundry, I just did 10 loads (we're a large family).

 

I too am looking at cruises for next year - CCL Sunshine maybe or the RCI Oasis or Allure. I didn't love the Epic so I don't think I can do another NCL for a bit.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[asda]

Hi we were on the same cruise and had a fantastic time,but got to admit our mini suite really did need a good clean. I found a old pair of slippers.a toothbrush set,some tablets and every where was dusty, the wardrobes and mirrors needed a good polish. In one cupboard we found a full container of Money (coins and notes) which we handed to our room steward not sure if it was his tips or the guest befores slot winnings. We really should have complained but they are worked off there feet.

[BunnyLove123]

Yes, the umpteen loads of laundry and a little thing called work has kept me busy today. Reality is settling in. I need a pina colada like yesterday!!! So... as I said will continue the review with our two days at sea.

Does anyone else love sea days like I do? I mean, it is completely the epitome of relaxation to me!! There's no time frame, no schedules, do what you want when you want. Well, that is exactly what we did. It was a whole lot of eat, sleep and repeat..very often for those two days. We ate our first breakfast in Taste, and it was good, but not very warm . We found the free "quiet zone" at the very front of deck 18 and it is a wonderful area, but again I truly don't believe there was a lot of thought put into it. Almost like a leftover, what do we do with this space, type of feeling. I understand that we could have bought the posh pass, but we really didn't feel the need to spend extra. We enjoyed our time here, reading and napping and napping and reading, and having one too many ice cream cones. The first two sea days were a bit overcast, but that did not keep us from having a good time.

 

We ate our lunches in the Garden Cafe and found the selection to be great! It was clean and the food was a step above typical buffet food we thought. My favorite was a hamburger without the bun, grilled onions and mushrooms and fresh fruit. They also had delicous

[BunnyLove123]

Soup! My friend ate this for lunch nearly everyday. It was Pho?? I believe that's correct. A tasty broth with noodles, a protein and veggies. I'm still sad I didn't try it!

 

We didn't participate in any poolside activities, because our main goal was relaxation. I do believed we achieved it.

 

I will touch on our experiences at the specialty restaurants in the next post.

 

Right now, I'm typing this from my Galaxy S5, and its a little awkward.. Bear with me!:rolleyes:

[BunnyLove123]

Hi we were on the same cruise and had a fantastic time,but got to admit our mini suite really did need a good clean. I found a old pair of slippers.a toothbrush set,some tablets and every where was dusty, the wardrobes and mirrors needed a good polish. In one cupboard we found a full container of Money (coins and notes) which we handed to our room steward not sure if it was his tips or the guest befores slot winnings. We really should have complained but they are worked off there feet.

 

We were in 11319 and yes, we completely loved the location of our room, but like I said, we were completely shocked by the lack of upkeep. We couldn't figure out what the problem was, and were almost under the impression that this was our stewards last contract and he had kind of given up.

We don't usually complain, and I know they work very hard, long hours for really very minimal wages. It made me kind of sad, having missed the connection we usually develop with our cabin steward. On Oasis, I wanted to take ours home.. She was literally the sweetest ever!!!

 

I will also be discussing what led to a comped dinner in Teppanyaki after my post about Moderno.

[BusyFLmom]

OMG...we are booked in 11314 and I hope we don't have the same cabin steward :eek:

[BunnyLove123]

OMG...we are booked in 11314 and I hope we don't have the same cabin steward :eek:

 

Well, I will tell you that you shouldn't hesitate to say something to someone if you find that your cabin needs attention. We actually went to the Hotel Director/Manager. We just felt that it was totally unacceptable, especially when you pay for things to be nice!

[BusyFLmom]

Well, I will tell you that you shouldn't hesitate to say something to someone if you find that your cabin needs attention. We actually went to the Hotel Director/Manager. We just felt that it was totally unacceptable, especially when you pay for things to be nice!

 

Thank you!! So glad you posted this :)

[BunnyLove123]

We had booked Moderno, the Epic's Brazilian Churascaria to see how NCL's version might stack up to a land based restaurant. We were impressed! Our food was absolutely delicious.

 

We had reservations and were promptly seated in a cozy half booth. Moderno and Cagney's Steakhouse share the same space but are each separated by a salad bar. We were given menu's, just to explain what we were being served, and our dessert selections.

 

The salad bar had different cheeses, pasta salad, veggies in marinades, and regular leaf lettuce salad with normal dressings. I have to say that this was my favorite specialty restaurant experience that I've ever had on a cruise ship. It was a really neat experience and the food was delicious.

 

Returning to our table, we flipped our cards to the green side and servers began to bring out the different meats. We had lamb, garlic steak, filet mignon, chicken breast wrapped in bacon, and shrimp. To accompany our dinner they brough out dipping sauces, rice and beans, fried plaintains, and garlic mashed potatoes. There was SO much food, and we were all stuffed.

We did eat dessert and I had the coconut flan. A+ NCL!!!

 

Since we had had some problems and disappointment with the cleanliness of our cabins and the cabin steward, we did go to the Hotel director/manager as I previously stated in the post before. Our friends were sent chocolate covered strawberries and a bottle of wine. They did comp a meal for all of us in one of the other specialty restaurants and we all decided to try Tepanyaki.

 

While the food was again excellent, the noise in the restaurant was extremely loud! We did enjoy our chef, and appreciated the effort that NCL had given us.

 

Having said all of that , would I eat at Moderno again? You bet!!

 

Tepanyaki? Not sure. It kind of gave me a headache:o

[BunnyLove123]

Our ports on this cruise were Ocho Rios Jamaica, George Town, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel, Mexico. The Western Caribbean is my favorite, and Grand Cayman and Cozumel are my absolute favorite ports. We have discussed doing a Southern Caribbean cruise as well.. and look forward to having the opportunity one day. Will NCL earn our business again? Keep on reading!;)

 

 

 

Ocho Rios, Jamaica-

 

Jamaica has never been on my top "I must go here again" list, and I know other people either love it or hate it. I'm not saying that I hate it, but I don't love it. We did however have a really great day here!

We wanted to go to Scotchie's. Our friends had been before in Montego Bay, and raved about how great it was. Well, I had to try said great restaurant. We were on mission. Asking around inside the port area was a complete and total failure. The "licensed" taxi drivers wanted $25 per person (remember, there's 4 of us) to take us 20 minutes up the road. $100 bucks, plus the cost of lunch. No tour, no beach stop, nothing extra. We were bummed, but we kept on walking.

We were about to cross the street to head towards the Taj Mahal shopping area and that's where we met "Cool Bob". Yep, that's his name. :)

We stopped and talked with him for a few minutes, and feeling comfortable we asked how much he would charge to take us to Scotchie's for lunch and bring us back. We also offered to buy him lunch there. So, for $50 we got a tour of Ocho Rios where most of the locals live, a stop at the beach..I think it was Bamboo Beach Club, and finally ending at Scotchie's. Lunch was delicious and we had so much fun! Cool Bob explained that the licensed taxi drivers are told to charge the tourists much more for tours that could be relatively inexpensive, and that the money doesn't go back to the people, it goes to the government. It's pretty sad. I'm not telling you to automatically go with someone you just meet off of the street in Jamaica, but we ended up having a really nice day overall. I would go again in a heartbeat! We felt safe which is a big deal to me.

Next time that you are in Ocho Rios, don't go with the first person that offers you a taxi. Look for a local, I would almost bet you would have more fun, and you would be helping support them personally.

 

Next stop...

 

Grand Cayman Jeep Rental, Turtle Farm, Hell and Cemetery Beach.. :D

[BunnyLove123]

Thank you!! So glad you posted this :)

 

 

I'm sure you will find everything as it should be! I wouldn't worry- I know you will have a fabulous trip!!;)

[debk68]

We were on the same cruise!

We were in 10320. When we arrived there was dust in the drawers, I wiped them out. Other than that, our room steward, Reggie was great!

 

We had a posh pass and LOVED it on the sea days. We also purchased spa passes. We had them on the Getaway. Once you purchase a Spa pass, you will never cruise again without the spa!

 

Food was hit or miss in Taste. I ordered Salmon one night and it was a hockey puck, sent it back and received a new one that was awesome!

 

Deb

[BusyFLmom]

We were on the same cruise!

We were in 10320. When we arrived there was dust in the drawers, I wiped them out. Other than that, our room steward, Reggie was great!

 

We had a posh pass and LOVED it on the sea days. We also purchased spa passes. We had them on the Getaway. Once you purchase a Spa pass, you will never cruise again without the spa!

 

Food was hit or miss in Taste. I ordered Salmon one night and it was a hockey puck, sent it back and received a new one that was awesome!

 

Deb

 

What time did you get to port to get the posh and spa passes? That is something dh and I really want on this cruise :)

[igolfleft]

:p

 

I will say that walking on to the ship I was a little underwhelmed. It seemed dark as we entered on deck 6 near the Epic Theater.. and it was a little congested. "Washy washy, Happy Happy" became the mantra for the week, and it made me smile.:)

 

We actually went straight to our room to drop off our luggage when we boarded. We didn't expect them to be ready, but we wanted to check and see. We had an aft balcony. First. Time. EVER!! Aft balcony fans unite!! :D I loved the location of our room, and our friends were right next door. We may or may not have opened our balcony divider on more than one occasion....shhhhhh!!!!!

 

 

Hello so I'm curious on this.. you had a AFT balcony but boarded on the front of the boat?? Does anyone know this is the norm?? we have an upcoming cruise and trying to plan the fastest way to get to guest services for a posh pass so like to have an idea of where we will be entering..

 

Thanks!