Random thoughts from first Epic cruise from Port Canaveral (Nov. 12-19)

[danthefan]

My wife and I were on the first Epic cruise out of Port Canaveral on Nov. 12. We just walked in the door in our home after a long drive back to North Carolina. Here are random thoughts, I’m sure I’ll think of more.

 

 

Parking

• We arrived at 9 a.m. at Terminal 1. We knew that they were leaving from Terminal 1, but didn’t know where to park. When we got there we dropped our bags with the porters and were told to park upstairs in the deck, which was wrong. We were supposed to go park at Terminal 10 and take the shuttle. It worked out better for us though, not to have to go to Terminal 10 and back.
  

 

Boarding sucked

• We were in line to enter check-in at 9 a.m. Our check-in time was 9:30 a.m. We were about 20 people back. We knew that it would be difficult since this was a new ship, at the wrong terminal, with an untrained check-in crew.
  
• We waited an hour outside, then an hour inside in the security line before they even opened security. The main reason they let us inside was because the line was getting too big. What sucked was that we were standing on concrete waiting and couldn’t even leave to use the restroom.
  
• Once the check-in folks were finally ready security opened and we headed upstairs to check-in. Because we were early we checked in quickly and then sat down for another hour before boarding the ship around noon.
  
• Honestly, we thought the terminal crew did their best given the difficult situation they were in. They remained friendly despite the huge crowds of people.
  

 

Day 1

• Once on board we sprinted to Guest Services on deck 5 and purchased our Posh passes. We weren’t the only one there, so if you want them get there early.
  
• Next we checked on our room and it wasn’t ready, so we took our bags and ate lunch at Taste. That was a good choice because it wasn’t crowded at all and we could sit and finally relax.
  
• After lunch we headed to our room, which was ready around 1:30. We dropped our bags and explored the ship.
  

 

Posh

• Posh was awesome. We loved the friendly bartenders and relaxed atmosphere. It was a great place to view the pool deck and surroundings without being in the crowd. We were up there for pretty much every sail away.
  
• The downside of Posh is that it is very windy when at sea. On the really windy days they didn’t put the cushions out because they were blowing onto the pool deck. And there isn’t much shade either. They also have a smoking area on one side of the bar that we avoided.
  
• If you plan to buy a Posh pass get a room in the front the ship. It will make it much easier to go directly to Posh via the forward elevators.
  

 

Restaurants

• We loved Le Bistro, Cagneys and La Cucina. The food was delicious and relaxed atmosphere. Make sure you get your reservations early. All the reservations were gone early in the cruise. Some folks did successfully wait for a cancellation, but it’s pot luck as to whether you will get in or not. Warning for La Cucina, it’s a front the front of the ship and swayed quite a bit more than other areas of the ship.
  
• Manhattan room was our favorite free restaurant. Usually about a 20 minute wait to get in and get a table.
  
• Taste was good, more casual than Manhattan.
  
• Shanghai had decent food, but we hated the loud room with very close tables.
  
• Honestly we didn’t like O’Sheehans. The staff wasn’t as friendly as the other restaurants and the food wasn’t as good. One breakfast our eggs were awful and we learned that they use an egg mix and that we had to request fresh eggs.
  

 

Pool Area

• Pretty crowded, but manageable. Water slides were closed at sea due to high winds. They were available in port and when we first sailed from each port. Really enjoyed riding them, but be aware the green one is very fast and will get you dizzy!
  

 

Casino

• Very friendly, good mix of tables.
  
• Very smoky most of the time. Made it hard to breath. Even the non-smoking tables were bad because people smoked at the slot machines next to the tables.
  
• Hit or miss on drinks in the casino. Sometimes it was great and sometimes the servers were nowhere to be found. If you are headed to the casino grab a drink at the O’Sheehans bar and take it with you.
  

 

Bingo

• Rip off. Very expensive with small cash prizes and a few other small prizes. I calculated the ship made at least $5,000 at the game I was at selling cards and only gave away $650 in cash.
  

 

Shows were great

• Saw Epic Beatles (awesome), Burn the Floor (impressive), Priscilla (a little risqué with awesome music), Comedy Magic (fun), Comedy show (funny)
  
• Get reservations for each show. If you don’t get reservations 10 minutes before shows seats were released to standby line.
  

 

Tortola

• We were the only ship in port, not crowded.
  
• Took group taxi to Cane Bay for $8 per person each way. It was 20 minutes up and down the 2,000 foot mountain. Great views if you aren’t afraid of heights.
  
• Chairs and umbrellas available to rent for $5 each
  
• We stayed on the beach by the small market had people that brought you beer for $3 and other food for sale. They were a little slow, but friendly and convenient.
  

 

St. Thomas

• 3 ships in port (Aida Vita & Regal Princess)
  
• Typical crowds in town.
  
• We took group taxi to downtown shopping $4 per person (15 minutes). We were uncomfortable though when the driver pulled over on road halfway and made us pay before we got there.
  
• Lots of shops near the ship, but shopping much better downtown.
  
• Leaving at 2 pm sucked, we would have liked to have more time. The ship wound up leaving port late though because they had to wait for an injured passenger.
  

 

Nassau

• 5 ships (NCL Escape, MSC Divina, Carnival Valor, Grandeur of the Seas)
  
• Huge crowds – we did not attempt to shop
  
• Booked Balmoral island dolphin encounter and beach excursion. It was a 20 minute board ride each way to the island. We loved the dolphin encounter, standing in waste high water and interacting with the dolphins. We had 8 people in each group with a guide and dolphin. Our dolphin was Fiona who had a 5 month old calf that followed her around. Very fun.
  
• Luckily we were the first ship to reach Balmoral Island so we got the first choice of beach chairs. More boats arrived and beach chairs quickly filled up. Also food and drinks were very expensive on the island. (example $8 for beer).
  

 

Disembarkation sucked

• We returned to Terminal 10
  
• We were amazed that there was very little ship staff to manage the crowds and tell you where to go. There were announcements over the PA, but they should have had people stationed on each floor to direct you to specific elevators and exits.
  
• We chose to take our bags off the ship ourselves, and had to wait a long time for the elevators. One elevator on our side was out of service.
  
• After going down to floor 7 and standing in a huge line we discovered that it was faster to exit out the back of the ship. We wished we had known and taken the elevators in the back from our floor down to 7.
  
• The line snaked all the way from the front of 7 to the back of 7, along the outside of deck 7 to the gangways, into the terminal, down into baggage claim and finally into customs. We were in line for about an hour and a half before we finally made it out of the building.
  
• Since we had parked at terminal 1 we had to find a member of the Port staff to take us back to terminal 1. Luckily we weren’t the only one and they were ready to drive us over. We hopped in a Ford Escape with a supervisor and he took us all the way to our car in the terminal 1 parking deck, which was awesome.
  

 

Whew, I’m sure I forgot something. Ask questions and I’ll try to answer.

 

Daniel & Angie

[BermudaBound2014]

ThANk you for sharing your review. Would you mind expanding upon lack of shade in posh? I'm really torn about posh passes. I like some sun, but prefer to be in shade for the long haul. Can you estimate how many shade lounge chairs are available? I realize there are some shade chairs, but I'd be interested in a lounger in the shade. Ty :)

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Namlsnik]

Thank you! I enjoyed your detailed review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[easyboy]

Thanks for your review. Was the $650 already the jackpot on last bingo day? Must really been a rip off.

 

Sent from my SGH-M919 using Forums mobile app

[Jenna2407]

How much were the posh passes?

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Forums mobile app

[ainz32]

Hi can I just check is Posh the area at the front of the ship with the loungers that are like beds?

Last year when I was on the Epic we didn't need a pass for here. Is this a new thing?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Callimero]

How much were the posh passes?

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Forums mobile app

 

 

59,-$ for a week

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[BirdTravels]

Hi can I just check is Posh the area at the front of the ship with the loungers that are like beds? Last year when I was on the Epic we didn't need a pass for here. Is this a new thing?

 

The Posh Club on the Epic is the private Havens sun deck on Deck 18 and 19 (behind the walls of the public sun decks). The ship sells a very limited number of passes to non-Havens guests.

 

Edited November 20, 2016 by BirdTravels

[Daddyrob81]

If you happen to have the Dailies still for this sailing, I bet there's a bunch of us who would love to see them. :D

[Callimero]

If you happen to have the Dailies still for this sailing, I bet there's a bunch of us who would love to see them. :D

 

 

Don has promised to post them, but please give him some time to breathe [emoji6]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

Edited November 20, 2016 by Callimero

[danthefan]

More details on Posh for those who asked:

 

• As you can see in the pictures that were posted, Posh has flat beds for laying out, reclining lounge chairs with NCL towel covers, oversized chairs and some round two person chairs with a flip up canvas cover. The pictures are accurate, although all the cushions have been recently replaced with a light brown color. They aren't red like in the photo. The chairs themselves appear to be the same.
  
• For shade, a few of the chairs will receive shade from the ship or the bar. They also have huge umbrellas that they can move around if it isn't windy.
  
• There are two levels (18 & 19). 18 has the nice bar with a shade cover and large stools, the smoking area with oversized chairs and two person flip up canvas chairs, beds along the rail, then two rows of reclining lounge chairs, and one section of oversized chairs that is non-smoking.
  
• 19 has more beds, oversized chairs and two person flip up canvas chairs. It was usually pretty empty up there because it was more windy. Of course when you were in port you'd have little wind and the place to yourself.
  
• The rest of 18 is open to the public and has plenty of regular lounge chairs around the left and right front the the ship, and the very front over the bridge. There is a shower available but no bar. It was not crowded, other than the chairs in the very front which were popular.
  
• As someone else mentioned, the passes are $59 per person for the week.
  
• You can easily get complimentary towels in Posh, and they have a private men's and women's room available.
  
• The sail away from Port Canaveral was packed at Posh. The bartenders were working hard to get everyone drinks, since everyone was up there. The rest of the week we could quickly get drinks. The bartenders also walked around with fruit skewers sometimes to share.
  
• On nice weather sea days most of the chairs were full, but you never felt crowded.
  

 

Personally I wouldn't think twice about getting Posh passes. We loved that we could escape crowds, it was one of our favorite places on the ship.

[danthefan]

If you happen to have the Dailies still for this sailing, I bet there's a bunch of us who would love to see them. :D

 

I knew someone would ask, but I didn't keep them. I'm sure that someone else will post. If you have specific questions I'll try and answer though.

[danthefan]

Thanks for your review. Was the $650 already the jackpot on last bingo day? Must really been a rip off.

 

There were 3 games, the first being standard line, the second being 4 corners and the third a cover all for the jackpot. I think the jackpot was around $2,500 at the time, and you had to cover all in 47 numbers or less to win. No one was close and the winner instead got $300. They also raffled off some small prizes like bottles of wine and things from the gift shops.

[BermudaBound2014]

More details on Posh for those who asked:

 

• As you can see in the pictures that were posted, Posh has flat beds for laying out, reclining lounge chairs with NCL towel covers, oversized chairs and some round two person chairs with a flip up canvas cover. The pictures are accurate, although all the cushions have been recently replaced with a light brown color. They aren't red like in the photo. The chairs themselves appear to be the same.
  
• For shade, a few of the chairs will receive shade from the ship or the bar. They also have huge umbrellas that they can move around if it isn't windy.
  
• There are two levels (18 & 19). 18 has the nice bar with a shade cover and large stools, the smoking area with oversized chairs and two person flip up canvas chairs, beds along the rail, then two rows of reclining lounge chairs, and one section of oversized chairs that is non-smoking.
  
• 19 has more beds, oversized chairs and two person flip up canvas chairs. It was usually pretty empty up there because it was more windy. Of course when you were in port you'd have little wind and the place to yourself.
  
• The rest of 18 is open to the public and has plenty of regular lounge chairs around the left and right front the the ship, and the very front over the bridge. There is a shower available but no bar. It was not crowded, other than the chairs in the very front which were popular.
  
• As someone else mentioned, the passes are $59 per person for the week.
  
• You can easily get complimentary towels in Posh, and they have a private men's and women's room available.
  
• The sail away from Port Canaveral was packed at Posh. The bartenders were working hard to get everyone drinks, since everyone was up there. The rest of the week we could quickly get drinks. The bartenders also walked around with fruit skewers sometimes to share.
  
• On nice weather sea days most of the chairs were full, but you never felt crowded.
  

 

Personally I wouldn't think twice about getting Posh passes. We loved that we could escape crowds, it was one of our favorite places on the ship.

 

It's the 2 person flip up covers and huge umbrellas you mention that I can't seem to locate in any of the photos posted of Posh. I'll trust they are there and some shade is possible and make the commitment to do the mad dash to guest services :). Thanks again. I know we are bombarding you with questions, but we are all so eager to read about the Epic state side.

[Callimero]

Thanks so much Daniel for these insights!

I'm about to sail the same tour you've made next Saturday on board the EPIC, so these topics helped me a lot :)

Two quick questions:

1.) On which deck you've boarded? Or have you seen on which deck the new cruisers has boarded yesterday on Terminal 10?

2.) Is there a place where you can store your luggage when you cabin is not ready? I've seen it on other ships that they've opened a restaurant or similar for the short time storage.

Also: do you have any bartenders you'd like to mention by name, for excellent service?

 

Thanks Oliver

[danthefan]

Thanks so much Daniel for these insights!

I'm about to sail the same tour you've made next Saturday on board the EPIC, so these topics helped me a lot :)

Two quick questions:

1.) On which deck you've boarded? Or have you seen on which deck the new cruisers has boarded yesterday on Terminal 10?

2.) Is there a place where you can store your luggage when you cabin is not ready? I've seen it on other ships that they've opened a restaurant or similar for the short time storage.

Also: do you have any bartenders you'd like to mention by name, for excellent service?

 

At both terminal 1 & 10, we boarded and disembarked using gangways on deck 7. I suspect that's the way it will stay all of the time for the Epic. In port we went out the lower doors on deck 4.

 

I didn't see a place to store luggage, but I heard someone say you could do it in Headliners on deck 6. I also heard you could put it in your room even if it isn't ready yet, you just couldn't stay there. We decided to hang onto ours while we ate lunch.

 

At Posh we received great service and enjoyed talking to Nash and Heera. I'm sure I've spelled their names wrong, but that's how they pronounced their names. Both worked hard and were good to talk to. Please tell them we said hello and thanks.

[tbae]

Hi Dan--we are on the ship Dec. 10 and am wondering if you know what day was your white hot party? How about party to see the Captain? Thanks so much for being so awesome and helping your fellow cruisers:).

[danthefan]

Hi Dan--we are on the ship Dec. 10 and am wondering if you know what day was your white hot party? How about party to see the Captain? Thanks so much for being so awesome and helping your fellow cruisers:).

 

I'm going on memory here, I think they had a panel discussion with the captain and senior crew members on Sunday morning at sea. The white hot party was on Thursday night (we didn't go).

 

Have fun on your cruise!

[llkoolj40]

How long does the Show Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Run?

[tbae]

Many thanks Dan!

[danthefan]

How long does the Show Priscilla, Queen of the Desert Run?

 

About an hour and 45 minutes. I really enjoyed it by the way. Lots of humor with really great live music and dancing.

[SuiteCruiser]

It's the 2 person flip up covers and huge umbrellas you mention that I can't seem to locate in any of the photos posted of Posh. I'll trust they are there and some shade is possible and make the commitment to do the mad dash to guest services :). Thanks again. I know we are bombarding you with questions, but we are all so eager to read about the Epic state side.

 

Those are old Posh pics. The red cushions are gone, and they've replaced the umbrellas. The covered round seats are on the port side.

[Jenna2407]

Another question... we have been given a check in time of 10-1030, we are first time cruisers.

So if we check in at this time, do we then get straight on the ship?

What are our chances of posh passes with that check in time? (I expect 0% haha)

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Forums mobile app

[rhiannon35]

Great review, thanks for taking the time to post.

 

Is the White Hot Party outdoors at Spice H2O? In some pics it looks like it's indoors at the nightclub, but it's been outside on our other ncl cruises.

And, did they have an '80s party? That's always a highlight for us!

 

Thanks!

[mjkacmom]

Another question... we have been given a check in time of 10-1030, we are first time cruisers.

So if we check in at this time, do we then get straight on the ship?

What are our chances of posh passes with that check in time? (I expect 0% haha)

 

Sent from my SM-G925F using Forums mobile app

 

Boarding doesn't start until closer to noon. It's been reported here that they don't seem to be enforcing the check in times, but who knows.