Very concerned about the EPIC

[dolita22]

Sometimes!! :D Our cabin was missing the curtain and hooks and didn't even notice the track until I saw a curtain in another cabin the second to last day of the cruise.

 

Oh no!

[Out to sea!]

Oh no!

 

Hence the reason I'll never sail the Epic again!

[cyndepet]

My DH and I had our first NCL cruise on Epic Med (Rome to Rome) in 2013. It really got us hooked on the freestyle aspect of cruising - we like everything about it. The bathroom didn't bother us at all - we just kept the curtain closed :) I don't recall making reservations in advance for anything, and we were able to do all the shows so that was not an issue. Not many kids at all on our sailing that we noticed.

 

We liked it so much that we did the Breakaway Bermuda cruise last May and have POA booked this May. And we have another Breakaway cruise booked for DH's birthday in March 2016.

[sunnylasvegas]

Yes, the bathrooms are that bad.

 

Never saw kids in the adult pool but then again, being only 15x20ft in size, not much room for them there. All other pools are made pretty much only for kids.

 

They have dress up nights, just not many people dress up f

No, you can book shows on board or even stand in the standby line just before the show. May or may not get in but it's not a requirement to book before boarding.

 

thanks!!! That answers a lot of our questions right there! We really don't "cruise by the reviews"----but this is our first time on NCL--fortunately it's just the two of us in our cabin and we definitely do not have any "see-thru" issues with each other! Very excited about this cruise. Hey, I got it for FREE thru Casinos at Sea here in Las Vegas. I am NOT complaining!

[Partyatsea]

I would never spend thousands of dollars and precious vacation days on a trip I was "very concerned about". JMO.

[sunnylasvegas]

Who goes on a particular sailing, you have NO control over, unless the cruise is contracted. This is true for ANY cruise. There aren't any magnets selecting all the unruly kids to a particular ship. :) So, I give all those comments no concern, and all in hindsight.

 

I sailed the Epic on last year's transAtlantic. The room set up, meant nothing to me, and was NO inconvenience. There is a heavy curtain that separates the sleeping area. I like the sink being open, and couldn't care less about the bathroom or shower. With the curtain shut, you had a good amount of privacy, if you wanted. There were complaints about poor lighting at the sink for those who have to apply makeup, I don't.

 

I will say, I would not pick a 7 day cruise for the Med, as it's too short in my opinion. I have sailed those ports many times and enjoy having a lot of port stops. :)

 

There was the ability to book entertainment on board, but it is necessary- if you are particular about seating to be in lines early. Some shows did "sell" out, but the schedule does have a good amount of repeats available, again, another plus for longer cruises. With a 7 day, I would have reservations made in advance.

 

There is a formal, or not night, kind of like IF you want to dress up, you shouldn't be the only one. :) Do understand, NCL will always have a number of passengers on board who have no interest in this. :)

 

A slight inconvenience with this ship is elevators are only forward and aft, no mid elevators, so you can have some long walks.

 

The buffet is forward, with spectacular expansive viewing. An area I greatly enjoyed. :) (especially on all those boring sea days :) )

 

The whole point will be what YOU want out of a cruise? IF any of the NCL set are NOT what you want, then look elsewhere, but it's a ship I greatly enjoyed.

 

"BUdget"----thanks so much! You obviously are a seasoned cruiser and CC-er! We also wouldn't have chosen a 7-day W Med, but, it was FREE--courteous of Caesar's Entertainment (CAS) here in Las Vegas. I can't complain. I think now we can deal with the bathrooms, etc. Everyone has really set my mind at ease! This is why I love CC! (PS: Syracuse---I'm a NYorker too----Jamestown, NY not too far from you!)

[Out to sea!]

I would never spend thousands of dollars and precious vacation days on a trip I was "very concerned about". JMO.

 

The OP just said in the previous post the cruise was for FREE! :rolleyes:

[ErinG]

We have cruised many times, but never on NCL. I've been reading many reviews about the Epic that aren't very positive. I realize that reviews can be misleading, but many of these seemed to repeat the same problems. Can someone clarify things for me?

 

We are doing the West. Med. on the Epic--Aug 23-30, 2015.

 

1) Are the bathrooms really as bad/awkward as people say they are?

 

2) Kids running/misbehaving all over the ship---in the adult pools? Sitting on their mother's lap in the casino? That one was hard for me to believe.

 

3) No elegant/dress-up nights in the MDR?

 

4) Do we have to book shows BEFORE the cruise? People say the showroom is small for such a huge ship.

 

Thanks!!

 

 

We were just on the Epic last week.

 

1) It depends on what you think is awkward and who you are traveling with. For my husband and I it wasn't bad. Yes, the sink is small, but it works and that's all you need. There is a curtain if you want extra privacy. The only real negative was when you had to get up at night and the light in the toilet lit up the room. But that only happened twice. The bathroom didn't bother us at all.

 

2) Unless we were in the pool area, I barely noticed that many kids. Not once did I have a negative experience with kids.

 

3) Day 2 is a "dress up or not" night. Lots of people dressed up. We did. Day 3 is also kind of a dress up night. We dressed up a lot of nights. It's fun!

 

4) I would recommend pre booking the big shows like BMG or Cirque. They seemed to fill up fast. Even Second City was booked through many nights of the week.

[mrobstad]

I, too, love the Epic. The theatre where BMG performs is the largest I've seen. I don't want to be near kids, either, so I head to Spice, where no kids are allowed. The studio bathrooms are awkward, but there's so many other pluses- the entertainment, the specialty restaurants....its a great ship!

[Diver2014]

We sailed on Epic last year and absolutely loved it. I can think of only two things that I thought could use improvement:

1. my husband almost poked his eye out on that silly high faucet at the bathroom sink - if you can call that bowl thing a sink. Needs to be lower.

2. There is no place to sit (inside) to have a cocktail and look out at the water (or the sunset or whatever) other than our own balcony. I like a lounge on the upper decks to sit and watch the water while having a drink, especially before dinner.