SquishTheWhale Posted January 19, 2016 Author #101 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) Dinner that night was in Taste. I forgot to take pictures of the actual menu so took them off the TV! Starters (in 2 parts as it wouldn't all fit on screen) Mains Desserts To start F had the beef burger slider and I had the roasted tomato soup. F said the slider was good, but then he had a taste of my soup and immediatley flagged down a waiter for order his own bowl, it was that good. Like I said before, one thing that is consistantly excellent in the MDRs is the soup, and I think this was the best one of them all. I wish I could make it this good! Edited January 19, 2016 by SquishTheWhale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquishTheWhale Posted January 19, 2016 Author #102 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) For main F had the turkey sausage lasagna (off the always available menu), which he said was good and it came with more sauce than my beef lasagna the night before I had the carbonara which was really nice, and had a lot of pancetta (more than it looks from the photo, it was hiding). If NCL could start serving garlic bread with their pasta that would be awesome though. For dessert we both had the warm chocolate volcano, which I'd heard about on these forums and wanted to try! It's basically a melt in the middle chocolate pudding with ice cream and strawberry sauce. Was pretty darn good, especially the ice cream. It's on the menu every night so you get plenty of chance to order one! After dinner we had tickets reserved for the comedian Paul Adams. We'd booked these on board, the day before I think, as you can't book online on my NCL. There were two comedians on board- I think the other was called Al Brown. Al lost us when his bio stated that he was a 'squeaky clean observationalist who won an award for top comedian'. Won an award from who, his mother? Anyway, if I tell you that we recentley saw Jimmy Carr live, that might give away that we're not really into 'squeaky clean' comedians. Al also looked a bit like David Dickinson off bargain hunt, so that didn't help his case either. We hoped we were a little safer with Paul Adams as he was British, but the main feeling I got from his show is that he is a funny comedian doing a non-funny routine. The material never got more than a chuckle from either of us, but his ad-lib stuff when he put down some hecklers in the audience was actually really witty. Maybe he has a very dumbed down routine for the cruise ship show, which is a shame! Although we found him only mildly amusing, some people in the audience were actually howling with laughter at every joke. We see a lot of comedy (and visit Edinburgh Festival Fringe whenever we can afford it!) so maybe we just have high standards! Edited January 19, 2016 by SquishTheWhale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquishTheWhale Posted January 19, 2016 Author #103 Share Posted January 19, 2016 (edited) The saga of Blondie and Maggie After the lackluster Mr Adams we once again found ourselves sucked into Howl At The Moon (is it possible to walk by when it's in full swing and not stop??), where the entertainment was on point as usual. We ended up watching this hilarious interaction with a couple of guests. The lady in this (terrible, sorry) photo, hereby referred as Blondie, had maybe had a few too many and took it upon herself to do some sexy dance routines at the front while Howl were playing. Blondie was enjoyed all the attention until Maggie happened. This amazing lady waltzed onto the stage and proceeded to sit on the bench, drape herself over the guy playing the piano and then dance in front of them, stealing all the attention from Blondie. (By this point she had told us she was called Maggie. Hi Maggie!) She is the lady in the orange on the right. She was sitting on the bench and carressing the piano player when the bald guy came back out after his break and started playing the guitar. You can see his face here, he is like 'ummm.... what the heck happened when I was away??' Blondie had given up by this point and gone to sit with her husband who looked like Richard Branson. Blondie then decided she wasn't cool with Maggie was getting all the attention, so got up and had a bit of a dance off with her in front of the stage. Maggie responded by sitting on Richard Branson's lap and stroking his face a lot. I don't think he knew where to look! People in the audience were crying with laughter and all taking pictures- I think Howl were feeling a bit hard done by as they were being over shadowed by the dramas! If you were anywhere else on the ship that night you missed out. If Blondie or Maggie happen to be reading- you guys are amazing. Oh, and the other thing that happened in Howl that night was that the four guys who sing in the band The Other Guys were in there watching the show. F had managed to make friends with them in the gym and promised to go see their show (sadly their last show was the next night and clashed with Priscilla so we only made the very end). But at the end of the night the guys from Howl got them up on stage and they did the most amazing version of uptown funk together. I have to say it again, if you were anywhere else that night on board you missed out!! Edited January 19, 2016 by SquishTheWhale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harcoosto Posted January 20, 2016 #104 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Are they offering the laundry bag special on the Epic this year and if so how much. Love reading your review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobstheboy Posted January 20, 2016 #105 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Crying with laughter at your comments !! We enjoyed the same cruise early December and will be back for a repeat on March 6th, just hope Blondie and Maggie are on board ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquishTheWhale Posted January 20, 2016 Author #106 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Are they offering the laundry bag special on the Epic this year and if so how much. Love reading your review. Yeah they offered it twice- I think the first sea day and then again on day 7 (I remember because F was complaining by that point I hadn't packed him enough underwear- apparentley he requires 2 pairs a day but I thought packing 20 pairs was excessive. We considered doing the laundry special but he decided he would be more frugal with his pants wearing) Here's the info: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquishTheWhale Posted January 20, 2016 Author #107 Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) Crying with laughter at your comments !! We enjoyed the same cruise early December and will be back for a repeat on March 6th, just hope Blondie and Maggie are on board ! Thank you! You must have loved the cruise if you're doing a repeat :) I got lots more pictures of the Blondie and Maggie thing- ones of her sitting on the stage and with the piano player, and of them fighting over Richard Branson- but the pics show their faces and I didn't think it was fair to post them! So sadly I can't treat you to the whole saga. We also kept seeing them round the ship afterwards!! F even said 'hi Maggie' to her in the corridor, I was so embarrassed as she clearly had no idea how we knew her name and she was with her very respectable looking husband! And we even spotted Blondie and Branson out in Las Palmas! There was also a picture of them in the photo gallery on the 'unclaimed pictures wall'. We thought about buying it for posterity but decided that was too weird even for us... Edited January 20, 2016 by SquishTheWhale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquishTheWhale Posted January 20, 2016 Author #108 Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) Day 4- yep you guessed it- another day at sea! It was day 4 at sea, we hadn't yet made land, and just when it seemed that the whole ship might go crazy with cabin fever, we had a hot day!! It was so beautiful and sunny and 4000 people ran up to the deck to try and reserve a sun bed. But first, breakfast. The buffet as usual but for once we sat outside because we wanted to, not because the inside was too crowded! This might be a good time for some buffet tips. 1. Don't enter in the middle, past the room with the stairs and lifts. Only chumps do that. Enter through the side doors (outside to the left or right) as those side parts are always way quieter. 2. Here i'm just repeating a tip said many times, but just in case anyone doesn't know you can take your food downstairs to the Italian restaurant during breakfast. 3. The same food is repeated several times through the buffet- if you've investigated one side and the middle then you don't need to go any further. 4. The drinks machines in the buffet get pretty crowded, the ones by the outside seating are rarely busy 5. The drinks available at breakfast are teas (several different types), coffee (just about drinkable), milk, water, orange juice, apple juice, and another juice which was cranberry for the majority of the cruise and then a very nice pineapple later. The apple juice is much more sugary than the one I am used to at home. The drinks available outside breakfast time are teas, coffees, water, lemonade (which tastes nice and like freshly made lemonade, but is sooooo sugary that I didn't dare have more than a sip), and sugar free water in strawberry and kiwi and mango flavour. 6. When the buffet 'closes' at 10 they shut off the middle section and just leave each side open with a small selection. This is also when the ice cream gets put away :( 7. They put knives and forks on the tables but no spoons, which seems kind of dumb to me. I always forgot to grab a spoon when getting cereal or ice cream and had to go back for one :mad: 8. If they have the good cookies then send me some in the post They often have these nice sticky cinnamon buns as the 'chefs special' for breakfast: We then tried to find a sunbed and as it was 9am we had clearly left it way too late! We headed to H20 which is my fave part of the deck, but there was none in the sun free. There was some out of the sun, but it was a little windy and if you didn't have the sun on you it immediatley got chilly. Because it's winter and the sun stays fairly low in the sky all day, one side of the ship was always in shade. So we made our way along the deck, eventually finding a free one that was kind of half in the sun but was packed in like sardines with the beds around it. After 10 minutes I got annoyed at the partial sun and told F I was off to find the secret sundeck. He probably thought I was insane, but I'd read all about the sun deck on 18 that almost nobody knows about. Well, here's a picture of how crowded the main decks were: And here's just one area of about 4 of the public (non posh club) deck 18 sun areas: As you can see another great thing about this deck is that the beds in the middle are right in the sun, even if it's low in the sky and causing shade over the ones right by the railing. A beautiful sky with the sun sparkling off the sea... that's the view I want on my vacation! To access this sun deck, just take either the black glass lifts in front of the buffet to deck 18 (I originally thought these were just for Haven? I don't know if they are but nobody stops you using them) or take the stairs inside up to deck 18, whilst oggling the Haven areas through any open doors on the way. There is two doors out to deck, one is the beach club one and is clearly marked as so, the other is marked as the public sun deck. Just head out here, there's lots of chairs immediatley but if you keep following it round you'll see some arrows pointing to the 'quiet area' which is where we went. There's bathrooms, showers and a waiter bar service so it was pretty sweet up there, although obviously there's no pools or water slides! Edited January 20, 2016 by SquishTheWhale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting_Cruiser Posted January 20, 2016 #109 Share Posted January 20, 2016 (edited) Again, thanks so much! I love the detail you include. :p 1. Don't enter in the middle, past the room with the stairs and lifts. Only chumps do that. Enter through the side doors (outside to the left or right) as those side parts are always way quieter. Having never been on the Epic, I have no point of reference, but will it be obvious where the side doors are? I don't want to be a chump. Not sure even acupuncture could help with chumpiness. ;) To access this sun deck, just take either the black glass lifts in front of the buffet to deck 18 (I originally thought these were just for Haven? I don't know if they are but nobody stops you using them) or take the stairs inside up to deck 18, whilst oggling the Haven areas through any open doors on the way. There is two doors out to deck, one is the beach club one and is clearly marked as so, the other is marked as the public sun deck. Just head out here, there's lots of chairs immediatley but if you keep following it round you'll see some arrows pointing to the 'quiet area' which is where we went. There's bathrooms, showers and a waiter bar service so it was pretty sweet up there, although obviously there's no pools or water slides! Looks like I'll be looking for the secret sun deck! Your picture of it was helpful--I'll be the only person sitting by the railing in the shade. LOL. That's one of the good things about being a sun-hater--rather than being one of the 4,000 trying to reserve a lounge chair, I'll be heading for the nearest shade and have options. Ha! Thanks for the details on how to find the secret deck. I'll make note of them so I can find it in the event we have nice enough weather to be outside. Great job, Squish! Really enjoying living vicariously. Edited January 20, 2016 by Quilting_Cruiser Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquishTheWhale Posted January 20, 2016 Author #110 Share Posted January 20, 2016 Having never been on the Epic, I have no point of reference, but will it be obvious where the side doors are? I don't want to be a chump. Not sure even acupuncture could help with chumpiness. ;) Hah, but acupuncture can cure anything! :p It's pretty obvious if you're walking up the deck from aft as you'll see all the tables outside, and the main entrance in the middle. The side doors are just to either side of that, past the outside grill areas. They're not exactley secret, it's just most people seem to head straight up the middle! Or they come up the stairs and the middle entrance is right there so they use that. To be fair you'll be fine even if you do go through the main entrance- but if I wanted to do a grab and run of the cookies it was much easier through the side door :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting_Cruiser Posted January 21, 2016 #111 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Hah, but acupuncture can cure anything! :p It's pretty obvious if you're walking up the deck from aft as you'll see all the tables outside, and the main entrance in the middle. The side doors are just to either side of that, past the outside grill areas. They're not exactley secret, it's just most people seem to head straight up the middle! Or they come up the stairs and the middle entrance is right there so they use that. To be fair you'll be fine even if you do go through the main entrance- but if I wanted to do a grab and run of the cookies it was much easier through the side door :D Okay, got it! Being a chump will be avoided thank to you! As discussed, acupuncture is pretty much a cure-all, but even A has its limitations. ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwissLe Posted January 21, 2016 #112 Share Posted January 21, 2016 The saga of Blondie and Maggie After the lackluster Mr Adams we once again found ourselves sucked into Howl At The Moon (is it possible to walk by when it's in full swing and not stop??), where the entertainment was on point as usual. We ended up watching this hilarious interaction with a couple of guests. The lady in this (terrible, sorry) photo, hereby referred as Blondie, had maybe had a few too many and took it upon herself to do some sexy dance routines at the front while Howl were playing. Blondie was enjoyed all the attention until Maggie happened. This amazing lady waltzed onto the stage and proceeded to sit on the bench, drape herself over the guy playing the piano and then dance in front of them, stealing all the attention from Blondie. (By this point she had told us she was called Maggie. Hi Maggie!) She is the lady in the orange on the right. She was sitting on the bench and carressing the piano player when the bald guy came back out after his break and started playing the guitar. You can see his face here, he is like 'ummm.... what the heck happened when I was away??' Blondie had given up by this point and gone to sit with her husband who looked like Richard Branson. Blondie then decided she wasn't cool with Maggie was getting all the attention, so got up and had a bit of a dance off with her in front of the stage. Maggie responded by sitting on Richard Branson's lap and stroking his face a lot. I don't think he knew where to look! People in the audience were crying with laughter and all taking pictures- I think Howl were feeling a bit hard done by as they were being over shadowed by the dramas! If you were anywhere else on the ship that night you missed out. If Blondie or Maggie happen to be reading- you guys are amazing. Oh, and the other thing that happened in Howl that night was that the four guys who sing in the band The Other Guys were in there watching the show. F had managed to make friends with them in the gym and promised to go see their show (sadly their last show was the next night and clashed with Priscilla so we only made the very end). But at the end of the night the guys from Howl got them up on stage and they did the most amazing version of uptown funk together. I have to say it again, if you were anywhere else that night on board you missed out!! Ah I know both of these, Maggie is from Scotland and was in Bliss dancing most nights until late. Blondie I had the pleasure of going to Teppenyaki with her and husband (who was always wearing a novelty shirt). She introduced herself as a second wife, much better looking and that she worked in adult entertainment. Lovely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquishTheWhale Posted January 21, 2016 Author #113 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Ah I know both of these, Maggie is from Scotland and was in Bliss dancing most nights until late. Blondie I had the pleasure of going to Teppenyaki with her and husband (who was always wearing a novelty shirt). She introduced herself as a second wife, much better looking and that she worked in adult entertainment. Lovely! That's hilarious that on a cruise of 4000 odd people we both ran into them! I'm not surprised that Maggie is a party animal, I bet she has some moves. And LOL about Blondie's comments in the Teppanyaki- I can't wait to tell F about that! :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobstheboy Posted January 21, 2016 #114 Share Posted January 21, 2016 We booked both the December and March cruise a year ago as we got a great deal with the choice of 2 "extras" - drinks, dining or OBC. We loved the ship in December so will be at home in March. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellieocb Posted January 22, 2016 #115 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Oh my but your review is so funny and informative !I just love it 😀 can anyone tell me if you got the free drinks package as an extra when booking did you have to pay an extra 18% charge of the retail price of the UBP ? Im so looking forward to the next episode!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
solorizor Posted January 22, 2016 #116 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Oh my but your review is so funny and informative !I just love it [emoji3] can anyone tell me if you got the free drinks package as an extra when booking did you have to pay an extra 18% charge of the retail price of the UBP ? Im so looking forward to the next episode!:) Mine was included in the price of the drinks package Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ellieocb Posted January 22, 2016 #117 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Mine was included in the price of the drinks package Thank you for your quick reply 😊 we got a free drinks package when booking but I have seen a few differing reports about the 18% charge added to guest accounts when boarding.I have emailed NCL for confirmation but I was hoping a cruiser could answer my question in the meantime 😃 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquishTheWhale Posted January 22, 2016 Author #118 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) Well it's been a busy few days and a very busy weekend ahead so I better get updating! :) Last update we were enjoying the lovely weather on the secret sundeck. They'd been making announcements all day about the 'amazing $10 blow out sale' at 12, and my bargain hunting brain had been at war with my logical brain which knew this was going to be a load of rubbish. In the end bargain hunting brain won out enough for me to pop down out of curiosity. I got there about 10 to 12 and there was a thick crowd around the central island in the deck 7 store area where they hold the sales. People were jostling each other for space and it seemed kinda aggressive! I walked round and peeped through the gaps, and saw enough to realise that it was all complete tat (junk). I thought it would be items they were previously selling in the on board stores at a discount, but it was cheapo looking scarves, necklaces and woven bags that had never been out before. I decided I did'nt want to stick around for the feeding frenzy at 12 so headed back up to deck 18 where we chilled out a little longer. We then headed down to the Cha Cha class with Burn the Floor in the atrium. We tried to join in but it was just so busy: How on earth are you supposed to dance packed in like that? I lasted about 5 minutes and gave up. F wasn't having as bad of a time of it as the men's side wasn't as packed, but when he realised I was getting hot and stressed he ducked out too. So we went to lunch instead! We headed to Moderno where they were doing a mexican buffet. Oh man. If you do one food related thing on board, you get yourself to this buffet, it was amazing. The chicken, beef, rice, guacamole, salsa, chimmichangas, nachos, soup, it was just all so good. If they did it every day we would totally have gone every day. Nachos, salsa and cheese sauce Awesome mexican food We only saw this mexican buffet on once, but they did have an indian one twice. We never went to that which I do regret a little as I hear lots of good things about the indian food on NCL. However for me indian food isn't really a lunch time food as it's quite heavy, so we didn't really fancy it both times it was on! I just came across this photo that I forgot to post of the spa special that was in todays daily. I guess a good option if you want to use the spa, as then it's only double the price you'd pay on land... After lunch we continued our very difficult day of relaxing in the sun and reading, until it started to go chilly. Then we went to get ready for dinner that night, which was in the Teppanyaki. I'd pre-booked all our speciality dinners 90 days out using my NCL, but had a bit of an issue booking the Teppanyaki. It kept saying it was clashing with something, I tried lots of different times but eventually removed it from my basket and checked out. However then a reservation appeared for me at the time I originally requested it! So I was hoping we did actually have a real reservation... Edited January 22, 2016 by SquishTheWhale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquishTheWhale Posted January 22, 2016 Author #119 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) Turns out we did have a reservation, which is good! We were also using the 4day SDP package so it was all pre-paid. It was pretty quiet at 7pm, but it filled up a bit as we went on. Sorry no menu pic, but I believe they are widely available to find as the same for all ships! Now you have probably used your exceptional powers of deduction by this point in my tale to know that I am a bit of a fussy eater. Alright, a lot. I love food, and almost all cuisines, so I'm not fussy that way, but there are certain things I just don't eat that most sensible people do. The biggest one of these is eggs. I wish I did, believe me, it would make my life so much easier- but apparentley even as a baby I wouldn't touch them. Egg baked in a cake= fine. Egg in any recognisable egg tasting or egg looking form= no go area. Some of you might be aware that there was a thread on here recentley asking if they could do 'no butter' in the Teppanyaki, and I asked if they would do a rice with no egg. Responses varied from 'sure they will' to 'if you ask you are delaying the meal and ruining the other diners experience'. I can confirm that they will happily prepare rice without egg. I mentioned it when they took my order, and the chef just cooked me a seperate portion of rice before he dealt with the main lot for everyone else. It delayed the meal maybe about 5 minutes, which I'm hoping everyone was cool with. I was polite and waited to eat my rice until everyone was served, and it was still lovely and hot. However asking for no butter or no soy may be more difficult as they put that on everything. So anyway, the starters were this miso soup and edamame beans, then a salad with seaweed on The salad was OK, I liked the seaweed on it but apart from that there wasn't much to rave about. I tried a little miso soup but it's not something I really like. I also tried to eat the edamame beans, but commented to F that they were a really nasty flavour and tough texture. He looked at me, then at the beans, then back at me and said 'You do know you are supposed to pop out the beans from the pod, rather than bite through the entire skin?' What an idiot, no wonder they tasted bad. Doh. After I had carefully hidden my half eaten bean of shame under the rest of the pile, the chef started on the main courses. Edited January 22, 2016 by SquishTheWhale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquishTheWhale Posted January 22, 2016 Author #120 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) Rice with no egg! The chef preparing the rest of the rice and the vegetables Cooking the meat Vegetable stack. I scoffed the carrot off mine without taking a picture so this is a sneaky pic from the plate of the lady next to me... Chicken and shrimp I had the chicken and shrimp, F had the steak and shrimp. I have to confess that I barely managed to touch it. I think they put so much butter in the cooking that it's so rich you just fill up so fast. By the time the meat was served I'd eaten half my rice and was already pretty full. The meat was nice, but again tasted very buttery and rich. I couldn't quite decide what to make of the flavours and if I liked them or not. I think F ended up eating most of mine. Edited January 22, 2016 by SquishTheWhale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquishTheWhale Posted January 22, 2016 Author #121 Share Posted January 22, 2016 (edited) For dessert we ordered one of each on offer- fresh fruit shashimi and green tea cake with green tea ice cream. The fruit was nice and I thought that it would be all I could manage as I was so full, but I tasted the green tea cake and then immediatley demanded my whole 50% share of it. Considering I don't even like green tea that is one delicious dessert! It somehow manages to be cakey but light as air, sweet but refreshing at the same time. So good! My overall experience at the Teppanyaki was good- the show was fun and we had a good chef (the chef at the table opposite finished much faster and didn't do as many tricks). The food was ok- the starters I wasn't a fan of, the mains I didn't quite know if I liked or not, and the dessert was excellent! If we cruise NCL again I don't know if we'll go back- though I would be tempted by that green tea cake. After dinner we had Priscilla booked! We turned up in fairly good time and got seats near the front. This show is fantastic! F and I are huge fans of musicals and west end shows, so we are pre disposed to love it, but it was just fantastic. The singing, dancing, costumes, sets, all amazing. I won't say too much about it, just make sure you see it! Others have said that NCL is pretty brave to choose this as their show on the Epic and I agree. While I would have thought that most people nowadays are very open to all lifestyles and sexualities, there's always those you're going to offend. One sail away (Maderia I think) I was sat by myself (F was having a nap) and I got chatting to an American couple and their daughter who must have been about my age. It was a nice conversation until we got onto the shows- I asked them if they had seen Priscilla and the response was 'heck no, we don't want anything to do with them drag queens and them gays!' :eek: Lets just say I ended that conversation pretty quickly (and thanked my stars that F wasn't there as he would definatley have called them out on it rather than running away). But it just goes to show that Priscilla was not appreciated by all on board. You will have also heard it's not suitable for kids- listen! It's not! There's swear words, kinky outfits and multiple sex references and jokes. I was shocked by the number of young kids that were stubbonly present in the audience. It's like the parents thought 'this show is included in our cruise fare so we are going to see it, even if it does traumitise my 7 yr old daughter!' You're probably safe with teenagers but obviously this is your judgement. Maybe watch the movie first to get an idea of what the show will be like if you have kids and aren't sure! After Priscilla it was time for bed, as in the morning we were actually going to be in port! Hopefully!! Edited January 22, 2016 by SquishTheWhale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatYourBoatSince2003 Posted January 23, 2016 #122 Share Posted January 23, 2016 To access this sun deck, just take either the black glass lifts in front of the buffet to deck 18 (I originally thought these were just for Haven? I don't know if they are but nobody stops you using them) or take the stairs inside up to deck 18, whilst oggling the Haven areas through any open doors on the way. There is two doors out to deck, one is the beach club one and is clearly marked as so, the other is marked as the public sun deck. Just head out here, there's lots of chairs immediatley but if you keep following it round you'll see some arrows pointing to the 'quiet area' which is where we went. There's bathrooms, showers and a waiter bar service so it was pretty sweet up there, although obviously there's no pools or water slides! Thanks for this! And for covering so many days of your trip ALREADY - Very much appreciated. Had to laugh out loud reading about F having to ration his delicates :) and your thinly-veiled sarcasm of said items. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dacsmom Posted January 23, 2016 #123 Share Posted January 23, 2016 I am loving your review. Your half eaten bean of shame was priceless, how were you to know. Green beans are eaten whole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cincicruisers Posted January 23, 2016 #124 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Enjoying your review. Looking forward to the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quilting_Cruiser Posted January 23, 2016 #125 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Some of you might be aware that there was a thread on here recentley asking if they could do 'no butter' in the Teppanyaki, and I asked if they would do a rice with no egg. Responses varied from 'sure they will' to 'if you ask you are delaying the meal and ruining the other diners experience'. I can confirm that they will happily prepare rice without egg. I mentioned it when they took my order, and the chef just cooked me a seperate portion of rice before he dealt with the main lot for everyone else. It delayed the meal maybe about 5 minutes, which I'm hoping everyone was cool with. I was polite and waited to eat my rice until everyone was served, and it was still lovely and hot. However asking for no butter or no soy may be more difficult as they put that on everything. I missed the thread you reference and find it rather funny that people actually commented that it would disrupt other people's enjoyment if someone asked to have their food prepared the way they prefer it. LOL. What about people with allergies? And, as far as asking for no soy sauce, it actually isn't a problem. When I sailed on the Jade about 15 months ago, I ate gluten free and soy sauce is not gluten free, so they prepared my rice and main dish before the rest of the diners' dishes. It delayed the meal by more than five minutes, and TBH it didn't cross my mind to feel bad about that! :eek: Of course, I could have been more considerate of the other diners and gotten really sick from eating the soy sauce! LOL. After dinner we had Priscilla booked! We turned up in fairly good time and got seats near the front. This show is fantastic! F and I are huge fans of musicals and west end shows, so we are pre disposed to love it, but it was just fantastic. The singing, dancing, costumes, sets, all amazing. I won't say too much about it, just make sure you see it! Others have said that NCL is pretty brave to choose this as their show on the Epic and I agree. While I would have thought that most people nowadays are very open to all lifestyles and sexualities, there's always those you're going to offend. One sail away (Maderia I think) I was sat by myself (F was having a nap) and I got chatting to an American couple and their daughter who must have been about my age. It was a nice conversation until we got onto the shows- I asked them if they had seen Priscilla and the response was 'heck no, we don't want anything to do with them drag queens and them gays!' :eek: Lets just say I ended that conversation pretty quickly (and thanked my stars that F wasn't there as he would definatley have called them out on it rather than running away). But it just goes to show that Priscilla was not appreciated by all on board. You will have also heard it's not suitable for kids- listen! It's not! There's swear words, kinky outfits and multiple sex references and jokes. I was shocked by the number of young kids that were stubbonly present in the audience. It's like the parents thought 'this show is included in our cruise fare so we are going to see it, even if it does traumitise my 7 yr old daughter!' You're probably safe with teenagers but obviously this is your judgement. Maybe watch the movie first to get an idea of what the show will be like if you have kids and aren't sure! After Priscilla it was time for bed, as in the morning we were actually going to be in port! Hopefully!! I'm SO looking forward to seeing Priscilla! Like you, I love musicals, so I'm sure it'll be a ton of fun. I actually have reservations for it on two different evenings--that's how excited I am! Sorry about the intolerant, closed-minded Americans you ran across. I promise you that many of us aren't that way at all. :o Looking forward to hearing more. Loving every word! There are only 38 days to live through until I board a plane for Barcelona!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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