Back to Reality after sailing on the Epic

[funat55]

Well it’s back to reality after just cruising on the April 12th to April 19th Epic sailing. All in all I would have to say that we had a very nice trip and I was sad to come home. But work is what will pay for the next cruise so “HiHo HiHo, it’s off to work I go….

 

This trip was with my daughter and her 9-year-old son and her new husband who had not only never taken a cruise, but this was his first vacation ever, unless wherever the army sent him counts. It was so fun to experience this with a cruising virgin. I think he is hooked now because he enjoyed every minute.

 

We left Los Angeles on April 10th and arrived in Miami at 4:00 pm. Taxi was $27.00 to the Hampton Inn in Brickell where we relaxed with our welcome drink before heading out to Bayside Marketplace where we had dinner at Bubba Gumps. Then we walked around the shops and marina before heading back to the hotel. This is the second time I have stayed at the Hampton Inn and the quality and service did not disappoint. However the prices have gone up dramatically since they first opened although not terribly above or below what the Holiday Inn and Intercontinental are charging.

 

Even though we were not scheduled to sail until Sunday, I wanted one full day in Miami to see the town. That didn’t quite happen but we did have a good time. On Saturday we ventured back to Bayside where we were going to catch the Hop on Hop Off Bus. Am I the only person in my family who wants to ride the Hop on Hop Off Bus??? Ok granted, I’m 64 so maybe it’s for old people, I don’t know, but nobody wanted to do it so instead we did a boat excursion that went to the millionaires houses. That turned out to be interesting. After the boat trip we all agreed that a cold drink was in store so we all got frozen margaritas and a virgin one for my grandson. Afterwards we went back to our hotel to clean up for what was about to be the most memorable dinner ever in South Beach. More to come, I promise.

[rochelle_s]

Looking forward to reading more about your holiday. Sounds like everyone had a great time. Welcome home and thanks for taking the time to write your review.

 

 

 

Rochelle

[cruitenn]

We were also on the same cruise. This was our first time on the Epic although We have cruised many times before. We also enjoyed the cruise very much and did not want to come home. Wished we were able to stay on for the transatlantic? ;)

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

[Diver2014]

Waiting to hear more! Since we live in Miami, I was following in your footsteps around Brickell and Bayfront (I used to work in that small brown building between the 2 skyscrapers across from Bayfront Park and the Intercontinental). And no, you are not the only one to do Hop On Hop Off. Whenever we have out of town friends, we take them on that so they can see the city without having to fight the traffic (OMG, Miami's is awful!) or find a place to park (impossible!). Waiting to hear about your dinner in South Beach. So many people who have never been here think Miami Beach is part of Miami....not so. We were on the Epic in 2013 so I'm curious to hear what you think about the ship.

Edited April 22, 2015 by Diver2014

[funat55]

On Saturday night we had reservations at Barton G Restaurant in South Beach. This was a one of a kind experience. Every dish is served in an over the top presentation. For example, our appetizer of lobster pop tarts was served in a large cartoon sized toaster. Popcorn chicken was served in a movie theater popcorn maker. Martini’s were nitro infused and were served with smoke (dry ice type) drifting from the glass. It was a pricey but fun dinner. After dinner we took a cab back to our hotel to get ready for the cruise the next day.

 

On Sunday morning we called for a cab to pick us up at 10:15. We got to the pier at 10:30 and we were in group 3. Not bad. The check in process was very efficient and in a manner of minutes we were in the waiting area, anxious to board. Boarding began sometime between 11:30 and 12:00. Once we boarded, we found out that there were computers set up in the Headliners showroom to handle the entertainment reservations. We went there and made all of our reservations for the shows. I had been concerned because for this particular cruise we were not able to pre-book any of the shows. We also did not know for sure what the shows would be. I’m glad we booked all of our specialty restaurants ahead of time because they were all sold out on the nights that we went. However, if the entertainment schedule had been available prior to boarding, there are some time changes I would have made.

 

After making our show reservations, we went to the Garden Buffet for lunch and had much to choose from. I don’t remember now what I had, but we did not go hungry on this cruise. Everything we had was very good, whether it was the buffet, main dining room or specialty restaurant. On Sunday night we ended up having prime rib for dinner in O’Sheehans. That was the only night we didn’t have reservations. Originally I thought we might go to Cirque the first night, but that wasn’t even offered the first night.

 

More to come, stay tuned.

[funat55]

Looking forward to reading more about your holiday. Sounds like everyone had a great time. Welcome home and thanks for taking the time to write your review.

 

 

 

Rochelle

 

Thanks Rochelle, we did have a great time.

[funat55]

We were also on the same cruise. This was our first time on the Epic although We have cruised many times before. We also enjoyed the cruise very much and did not want to come home. Wished we were able to stay on for the transatlantic? ;)

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review.

 

Were you at the Cruise Critic Meet and Greet? I was there with my daughter, her husband and 9 year old son. We were sitting to the side close to the pool table.

[funat55]

Waiting to hear more! Since we live in Miami, I was following in your footsteps around Brickell and Bayfront (I used to work in that small brown building between the 2 skyscrapers across from Bayfront Park and the Intercontinental). And no, you are not the only one to do Hop On Hop Off. Whenever we have out of town friends, we take them on that so they can see the city without having to fight the traffic (OMG, Miami's is awful!) or find a place to park (impossible!). Waiting to hear about your dinner in South Beach. So many people who have never been here think Miami Beach is part of Miami....not so. We were on the Epic in 2013 so I'm curious to hear what you think about the ship.

 

I know which building you mean. We want to stay at the Intercontinental next time. I stayed at the Hampton Inn before and have no complaints. But to be honest, we ended up there because when I went on booking dot com I only meant to save the hotel using the free cancellation option. I pushed the wrong button and voila, not refundable reservation. I'll post more about my thoughts on the ship.

[funat55]

Thoughts on the Ship

I was on the Getaway last year and I found many similarities between Epic and Getaway.

I was in a studio on this trip and it was very comfortable and cozy for just one person. It was the first time in an inside but my daughter and family were just around the corner in a balcony. They were in cabin 11296. This cabin had the sofa next to the balcony. We originally booked when it was the kids sail free. But after final payment, I waited to see how much a studio for just me would be and when the price was right, I booked. Best decision I made. In retrospect, I can’t imagine how we were all going to fit. It was crowded just when I went to visit. It’s one thing if you have little kids, but three adults and a child would have been very very cramped. My daughter and family had no problem with the bathroom set up. She thought it sounded weird before the cruise when I told her about it, but it worked out fine for them. We were at the very end (aft) of the ship and on each side of the ship, there were aft balconies that anyone could go onto and look at the ocean. I had the very end studio cabin next to the aft cabins and I don’t know if I would have found those “secret” balconies if I hadn’t been that far back. Good news is that the room steward told my son in law that he could smoke on those balconies, just not in his cabin or his balcony. FYI my daughter was happy with all the storage. She always overpacks and they did not use all the storage space they had. She also told me that her mini fridge was empty when they arrived. The studio did not have a mini fridge.

 

On sea days we enjoyed listening to the music on the pool deck and watching the line dancing. Like my last cruise, I feel that NCL really puts in an effort to get the passengers involved and there were a lot of people dancing. I wanted to go on the slides but I didn’t realize how many stairs there are to climb so I never made it but my grandson did and he had a blast. We didn’t have any problems finding a place to sit at the pool deck.

 

I think deck 7 is where the shopping and stores are. I thought that area was nicely laid out and had a nice variety of merchandise to choose from. On Tuesday they opened a $10.00 store and it was packed the first day. My daughter bought a beach bag.

 

Bliss lounge is where we had the meet and greet and although that was the only time I went there, I thought it was a nice venue.

 

All in all I thought the ship was very pretty and I personally didn’t see any signs of wear and tear but I also wasn’t looking for flaws. After the first day, I was able to perfectly imitate the voice of the elevator lady. It was a British voice that announced each floor and would say door opening or door closing. I announced that I could do that job and where did I apply.

[meltingmoments]

All in all I thought the ship was very pretty and I personally didn’t see any signs of wear and tear but I also wasn’t looking for flaws. After the first day, I was able to perfectly imitate the voice of the elevator lady. It was a British voice that announced each floor and would say door opening or door closing. I announced that I could do that job and where did I apply.

 

So nice to read some positives about the Epic amongst lots of negative feedback recently! :( Thank you for posting, I was beginning to worry that we would be sailing a ship that was VERY ready for a re-fit!

 

The bit about you imitating the voice of the elevator lady made me smile.:)

I remember our last trip on the Epic and I would deliberately say "doors opening" BEFORE the automated voice to confuse people! ( I'm British! ;) )

A few people remarked that I should have the job! :D

[SquishTheWhale]

We were at the very end (aft) of the ship and on each side of the ship, there were aft balconies that anyone could go onto and look at the ocean. I had the very end studio cabin next to the aft cabins and I don’t know if I would have found those “secret” balconies if I hadn’t been that far back.

 

Are these just on deck 11? We have a cabin booked near the aft of deck 10, and as it's an inside these balconies would be a nice place for us to go :) Did they have any chairs on?

[funat55]

Are these just on deck 11? We have a cabin booked near the aft of deck 10, and as it's an inside these balconies would be a nice place for us to go :) Did they have any chairs on?

 

Good question. I don't know if deck 10 had them or not. Since that deck is all cabins, I had no reason to wander. The balcony was covered and good sized.

 

Where We Ate.

 

We had dinner two times in the Manhattan room, once at Teppanyaki, once at Moderno, once at Cagneys and the Cirque dinner plus the first night at O’Shehans. I have read complaints in the past about the set dinner that they feed you at the Cirque show, but we thought it was delicious. The shrimp was good sized and the filet was tender and cooked just right. Cagneys, is my favorite and I could honestly eat there every night. Started with the shrimp cocktail, then the baked potato soup and then the 8 oz. filet. Yummy. Teppanyaki also didn’t disappoint and they also threw in (drum roll) lobster for free!! We saved Moderno for our last night. My son in law was adventurous and tried everything. I stuck to beef and chicken. On one of our nights in the Manhattan room, my daughter found a piece of glass about the size of a popcorn kernal on top of her entrée. It was shining and at first she thought it was a piece of ice and that it was odd that ice would be on her food. But when she pulled it off it was definitely glass. She quietly informed the server so she could get another serving. After that, it seems like everyone in a uniform was at our table making sure she was ok. She was fine, no big deal. But they insisted on bringing us a bottle of wine and came to our table several times to check on us.

[Cruisingal22]

Are these just on deck 11? We have a cabin booked near the aft of deck 10, and as it's an inside these balconies would be a nice place for us to go :) Did they have any chairs on?

 

I believe this refers to the crew stairway (some have referred to it as secret stairway) and yes you can access it on deck 10. We were in aft balcony 10318 and it was right next to our door. There were a couple chairs in there but the windows are a bit high for sitting & looking out. It is still a nice spot to go. We took the stairs and it's only 3 decks that you can access. We went out there several times to get a different view from our aft balcony.

[funat55]

Shows We Saw

We saw Legends in Concert, Oh What a night, and Cirque. Legends had Rod Stewart, Sting and Gloria Estevan. We thought the guy who impersonated Rod Stewart was dead on, looked like him and sang like him. Sting was a good singer as well, but Rod Stewart was better. The gal doing Gloria had a good voice but we didn’t think she looked like her that much. Oh What a Night was the show they gave us in place of Blue Man Group. We booked this cruise over a year ago and we were really looking forward to BMG, but the guys who played the Four Seasons were great. We saw them on the Pearl and didn’t mind seeing their show again. Cirque was our favorite and it was simply amazing that some of those acts could be done on a cruise ship. I have a hard enough time walking on dry land, let alone doing a scary balancing act on a moving ship. We also saw the Newlywed Show in the Headliners lounge and Second City. I got the biggest kick out of my 9 year old grandson who was howling at the Newlywed Show and then poking me in the ribs.

[SquishTheWhale]

I believe this refers to the crew stairway (some have referred to it as secret stairway) and yes you can access it on deck 10. We were in aft balcony 10318 and it was right next to our door. There were a couple chairs in there but the windows are a bit high for sitting & looking out. It is still a nice spot to go. We took the stairs and it's only 3 decks that you can access. We went out there several times to get a different view from our aft balcony.

 

Aha, I have heard of the secret stairway before! Good to know its also on deck 10, I'll definitely seek it out :)

[funat55]

Other Things We did

We took my grandson for a haircut at the barber on board and he got a much needed trim. We also checked out the casino but I hardly gambled at all this time. They had a lot of penny machines but I wasn’t seeing a lot of payouts and I needed my money for our excursions. We explored the ships shops, played ping pong and air hockey. One of the things we had hoped to do was the batting cages. My grandson is in Pony League and we promised coach he would practice on board. But sadly, that activity had a minimum age of 16. Grandson did the slides, but there were too many stairs for me. I did a lot of relaxing and really I was very happy to spend some time in my cabin watching movies. I think the reason I love cruising so much is because it really forces or allows me to relax. I have a hard time staying off the computer or phone when I’m at home, so I was able to get a nice rest.