Live from the Epic

[riclop]

We're boarding the Epic on Sunday and, as usual I will be posting live during the week instead of doing a review.

 

As this is our fourth go at this cruise, we will tend to be quite laid back, and probably won't have too many exciting adventures to report on, but it will be interesting to see the changes to the ship.

 

As usual, ask any questions and I will do my best to answer them.

 

Looking forward to it.

[KeithJenner]

Did you recall if taxi's were readily available at the port in Barcelona? Since we embark in Rome, Barcelona is just stop for us and we will be heading to Sagrada Familia in the AM. We are hoping to take a taxi from the port.

 

 

 

Taxis are usually readily available at Barcelona. We have usually been able to pretty well get straight in them.

 

However, on one occasion, when there were four ships in port in total, there was a problem as there just weren't enough taxis to go around. We weren't in a great rush, as our flight wasn't until the afternoon, and by the time we got off the queue was huge. It ended up taking about 90 minutes to get a taxi and we nearly missed our flight.

 

That happened just once out of the four times we have disembarked in Barcelona. It's worth checking other ships though, as Harmony of the Seas will also be in Barcelona this Sunday, and I believe it's home porting in Barcelona so that could be a common occurrence. Epic, Harmony plus another ship would probably put quite a strain on the taxis.

 

If you want a taxi into the city then I'd make sure you get off fairly early.

[KeithJenner]

Glad you had a lovely evening!

 

 

 

Do you know if insides have their own hallway? Or do their entrances face main hallway? Trying to figure out if my dh and I could be in balcony with kids across the hall in an inside. Thanks!

 

 

 

The insides are directly opposite the balcony cabins and share the same corridor. Your plan is fine.

[KeithJenner]

Hi Keith,

So excited to follow you. I am on the same cruise in late August. Can you find out what time the thermal spa closes in the evening?

Thank you.

Marilyn

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

 

According the the Freestyle it seems to be open 8am to 11pm

[KeithJenner]

Thanks for letting me know about the bingo! If you can let us know the evening and sea day hours for the kids club, I'd appreciate that too. My kids loved it there on previous cruises!

 

 

 

I've got a schedule for the 10-12 group (they are all reasonably similar so it gives a guide. I'll try to post it later.

[fabnfortysomething]

The insides are directly opposite the balcony cabins and share the same corridor. Your plan is fine.

 

sorry to contradict you Keith but the Epic has a weird set up whereby some insides are indeed opposite balconies whereas others are set in their own corridor and it's not immediately obvious from the deck plan which ones these are

 

Tell you what as a way of working off calories between bars your mission is to wander the corridoors and work out which is which:D

 

Lyn

[KeithJenner]

sorry to contradict you Keith but the Epic has a weird set up whereby some insides are indeed opposite balconies whereas others are set in their own corridor and it's not immediately obvious from the deck plan which ones these are

 

 

 

Tell you what as a way of working off calories between bars your mission is to wander the corridoors and work out which is which:D

 

 

 

Lyn

 

 

 

I bow to your superior knowledge on the subject. :) apologies to everyone for the incorrect answer.

 

I've considered your suggestion and decided that I'll just stay in the bar. :)

[Kfamilycruise]

Well if you do end up with the need for a walk, if you could go all the way aft on deck 13 and let me know what those insides are like (inside corridor via facing balcony doors) that would be awesome.

 

Otherwise, continue to enjoy your cruise and thanks for all of the great info!

[Love.II.Cruise]

For those wanting to escape to some peace and quiet I can highly recommend trying to obtain a weekly pass for the Posh Club up on deck 18 (adults only here though). The $59 I paid out on my first Epic cruise back in June 2015 was money well spent but these passes sell out very quickly. The Posh Club area has some really comfy loungers, there is a bar serving drinks and food, the waiter up there was so efficient and if you wanted to cool off in the pool it was just a quick ride down in the lift to the pool deck

 

Once on board, where do go to by Posh Club passes?

[leekel619]

To answer the earlier question about the Angled Balcony, this is it:

 

 

 

 

 

Nice! How did you post that from Instagram? Don't waste your data answering that but maybe someone else knows.

Have fun! We're going on our cruise June 17. Brand new Dawn out of dry dock [emoji1303]⚓️

[leekel619]

Nice! How did you post that from Instagram? Don't waste your data answering that but maybe someone else knows.

Have fun! We're going on our cruise June 17. Brand new Dawn out of dry dock [emoji1303]⚓️

 

 

 

Sorry. Just saw how to do it [emoji10]

[KeithJenner]

Once on board, where do go to by Posh Club passes?

 

 

 

I don't actually know that (never bothered with them myself). I'd guess Guest Services but I'm sure someone will correct me if wrong.

[KeithJenner]

Well if you do end up with the need for a walk, if you could go all the way aft on deck 13 and let me know what those insides are like (inside corridor via facing balcony doors) that would be awesome.

 

 

 

Otherwise, continue to enjoy your cruise and thanks for all of the great info!

 

 

 

I'll have a wander down there sometime. Are there any in particular you are looking at?

Edited May 30, 2016 by KeithJenner

[Sissaaaaaa]

La Cucina was very good.

 

It is a restaurant that we have had very mixed experiences with. I have always quite enjoyed it, but I have never been with anyone else who has enjoyed their meals. To be honest, the only reason that we went was because you can no longer use your platinum voucher in Moderno.

 

Since the new menus have been introduced, my favourite dish at La Cucina, the Osso Bucco, has greatly improved and was once again excellent. I also enjoyed the Carpaccio, and my wife's Calamari was really good.

 

Overall, for the first time, I would very much recommend La Cucina as a good choice for a meal. The venue itself has always been great and has nicely refurbished. It's position at the front of the ship makes for a great venue during sail away.

 

Afterwards, our son went in the kids club for a while whilst we spent some time in o'Sheehans. I was quite concerned about reports that the staff have seemed too busy to interact with customers and, so far, this has not been our experience at all. Both in Maltings earlier in the day and also at o'Sheehans, the staff have been great and have taken time to talk to us. I haven't noticed an difference to previous cruises.

 

It hasn't all been smooth though. I have already mentioned the problem with our booking at Cirque, and we also had some trouble when we headed up to the sports court in the evening to check whether the bungee trampoline is still there. To get there you have to walk through Spice H2O (although it is up the stairs and round the edge so not a problem even though, for example, under 18's aren't allowed in Spice). However, today a group were holding a private function in Spice and their representative (not a NCL employee) was policing the entrance. We explained that we were just trying to get to the sport court, but all they were interested in was making sure we didn't gate crash their party. In my opinion, NCL staff have the right to say where we can go, but other guests don't. These groups had better not spend all week throwing their weight around, or I will really fall out with them.

 

Anyway, it's been a good day. We've had loads of goes in the plunge. I am always amazed how few people use the slides on embarkation day. For quite a while we were the only people using them. I'm enjoying my bottle of wine sitting on the balcony right now, and we are looking forward to a lazy day tomorrow. There is no CC meet and greet, but we may do the behind the scenes tour if our son wants to go to the kids club in the morning. I'm not sure when I will next check in here.

 

There is bingo, by the way. No idea how it works though.

 

Glad to hear La Cucina was good. We are going to use our Platinum certificate for that.

 

Regarding the group policing the doorway - I would have walked in anyway ;) People like that annoy the you know what out of me!

 

Glad you're having a nice time. I am SO looking forward to being on this ship for the 3rd time!

[KeithJenner]

I just walked to our room (deck 13 forward) from the aft stairs and all of the inside rooms appeared to be accessible from the same corridor as the balcony rooms. I couldn't see any internal corridors.

[Kfamilycruise]

Thx! I was looking at 13275

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

Thx! I was looking at 13275

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

 

Ok, I'll check that one later

[KeithJenner]

We've had an incredibly lazy day so far.

 

Our son didn't fancy the kids club this morning, so my wife did the behind the scenes tour by herself. She said it was very interesting. A couple of small facts about the menus.

 

The menus are selected based on the expected passengers. For example, if there are lots of people onboard from particular countries then they use the menus that tend to appeal to those countries. Lots of seafood for the French was an example given.

 

As there are lots of kids onboard this week, due to school holidays, they get extra chocolate milk in, was another example given.

 

After that, we have spent a few hours at Maltings playing cards. Luigi, who works there, is our favourite barstaff so far, although we have also found the o'Sheehans staff to be really good. No complains at all with bar or restaurant staff.

 

Ate breakfast and lunch in the buffet, but my wife and I are heading to Le Bistro tonight for our second platinum meal. Looking forward to it.

 

One thing I forgot to mention from yesterday, when we went to La Cucina, it was using one of our platinum meal vouchers, but we also took our son along. As we were going to Cirque and Moderno with him, it meant that it was only a very small amount extra to get the three meal package for him and we decided on La Cucina.

 

He ordered an Entree and also had some ice cream for desert, but they didn't take the dining credit as they said he hadn't ordered enough. He basically got the meal free. It doesn't make any difference as we are unlikely to use the credit elsewhere but it was a nice gesture.

 

The staff were excellent in La Cucina yesterday. Service was paced just about right. As we ate early it wasn't overly busy but we weren't rushed either.

[KeithJenner]

This is a silly question, but my husband I were wondering if they do bingo on this cruise? If they do, we were confused how it would work with the multiple embarkations and port intensive itinerary. Bingo is a favorite of ours!

 

 

 

I heard an announcement this morning that they were picking the King and queen of bingo today, which sounds like the sort of thing that would happen at the beginning. Perhaps they work it from Barcelona, which won't help those people who board in Rome.

 

Can they have multiple kings and queens?

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Keith, I'm so enjoying your updates--thanks for taking the time!

 

I visited O'Sheehan's every day on my cruise in March, and some of the staff would stop and chat with me now and then. Like you, I found the staff to be friendly and they provided good service. I was concerned because of some of the reviews I'd read, but all of the crew I interacted with were great!

 

Why no CC meet and greet? Was it a small roll call or no one took the initiative?

 

I saw one of the angled balconies and our CC cabin crawl and would definitely try to book one if I weren't traveling solo. :D

[Dramamamahil]

I heard an announcement this morning that they were picking the King and queen of bingo today, which sounds like the sort of thing that would happen at the beginning. Perhaps they work it from Barcelona, which won't help those people who board in Rome.

 

Can they have multiple kings and queens?

 

I don't know but as long as we can play bingo, I'm good! We never win anyway, so the jackpot part of it is pretty meaningless, lol!

[KeithJenner]

Why no CC meet and greet? Was it a small roll call or no one took the initiative?

 

 

 

It just never happened. It was a fairly active roll call, but not huge numbers of posters. Nobody volunteered to organise a meet and greet.

 

The same applies to the roll call for the Star in the Summer. Other than the cruise we had with only a couple of families on the Roll Call (in Alaska), we have always had meet and greets, so it's a bit odd not having one. The roll call was helpful though and some people have organised trips so they were still worth while.

 

I've never really been too fussed with them, to be honest. We usually just go to show our faces.

[KeithJenner]

Thx! I was looking at 13275

 

 

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13275 is directly opposite 13277

[Sissaaaaaa]

Who is your CD?

[KeithJenner]

Cd?