Just Off Epic Week of 3/22

[lbrandon]

We just got off the Epic this morning. We are exhausted but had a great week. This was our second time on Epic but a different itinerary from our last cruise.

 

A few comments about the trip:

 

1. We got to the port at 9am in hopes of buying Posh passes. We were the 2nd people in line at Guest Services and we were told that the Haven suites were completely full and they would not be selling my Posh passes on this sailing. We were a bit disappointed since we did everything we could to get there early. The people in line in front of us were very upset and demanded to talk to a manager. It didn't get them anywhere. In the end, we found the quiet zone on deck 17 that had the same cushioned loungers as Posh.

 

2. Service in Cagneys was extremely slow and a lot of people were complaining about it. We were there 30 minutes before someone took our order and our salads arrived a full hour after we were seated. Total time for dinner was 2 hours and that didn't include dessert which we skipped because we didn't want to sit here any longer.

 

3. Main dining room food was excellent. No real need to do the specialty restaurants as the main dining rooms always had something good on the menu. Service at Taste was noticeably faster than Manhattan Room.

 

4. Mini suite was a nice step up from the balcony room we had last time. There was more storage in the mini suite and the bathroom was noticeably larger.

 

5. Bars were a little understaffed, especially outside by the pool. Bartenders were running around so much it was hard to actually get to know any of them like we have on past cruises.

 

6. UBP - best part of the cruise. No more worrying about a giant bar tab at the end of the week. Most bartenders would ring two drinks on one card once they saw we both had the UBP. At Shakers they actually ran a tab for us a couple nights so we only had to sign once. Only a few times did they take both cards and ring the drinks separately.

 

7. New bar menu is pretty limited. We had no problems requesting drinks that were not on the menu though. At Shakers we actually just told the one bartender Gatot to just surprise us with something not on the menu. He made fantastic chocolate and rum cake martinis as well as some bourbon martini.

 

8. Deal or No Deal - on the last day a contestant picked the $1,000 case but took a deal for $198. There was the loudest collective groan from everyone in the atrium when we saw what he could have won.

 

9. Entertainment. We skipped Blue Man and Cirque because we saw them last time we were on Epic. Both were really good then but didn't feel a need to see them again. Legends has Aretha Franklin, Adele, and Jimmy Buffett. The Jimmy Buffett impersonator was awesome. In addition to the Legends show he performed at the pool one day and at the Margaritaville in Ocho Rios. He really looked and sounded like the real thing. Howl at the Moon was our favorite again. All 3 performers were excellent and they packed the place every night. We didn't bother with Second City as it got bad reviews here and people on the ship told us they actually walked out of the show. We also saw Nadeen the hypnotist. She was very good and entertaining.

 

10. When we ate at Cagneys we were not charged the new 18% gratuity even though it was listed on the menu. I think it was because we prepaid our cover charge before the new gratuity went into effect earlier this month.

 

We put money down on a future cruise credit while we were on the ship. Can't wait to start planning our next trip!

Edited March 29, 2015 by lbrandon

[portofrome]

Thank you for the review.

[vanchelle]

Thanks! How was spice h2o area....did u visit? Was it difficult to get loungers up on 17?

 

Sent from my KFSOWI using Tapatalk

[lbrandon]

We only got a spot in Spice H2O on the last day because it was cooler and windy and less crowded. The other days the chair hogs all got there before us.

 

No issues getting chairs on 17. It did fill up by late morning but we didn't have to get up at the crack of dawn to claim our chairs. It did get more crowded late in the week as people discovered the area.

 

One other thing. If you care about pro or college sports be careful which week you choose to cruise. Not one NCAA basketball game on TV all week anywhere on the ship, even in O'Sheehans. Soccer and tennis were on the TVs all week.

[ddavis4040]

Thanks for the review. I'm sailing on Epic from Barcelona in November. Can you explain the Posh passes?

[funat55]

Glad to hear you had a nice trip. I'm on the computer looking at the Port of Miami web cam and the Epic web cam, watching the ships leave port. Soon it will be my turn. I can hardly wait.

[Tiggertastic]

Thanks for the review, you say the itinerary was different, where did it sail to

[lbrandon]

Our first cruise on Epic was an eastern caribbean itinerary. This time we did the western caribbean that went to Ocho Rios, Cozumel and Grand Cayman.

[ilovetotravel1977]

We only got a spot in Spice H2O on the last day because it was cooler and windy and less crowded. The other days the chair hogs all got there before us

 

What time did you go to Spice in the morning? Just trying to figure out how early we have to get there to find loungers.

[lbrandon]

If you want a lounger get there by 7 or 8am.