Tim's EPIC, NCL EPIC Review

[Timsierramist]

This was my second cruise and my very first adventure into the Caribbean/Bahamas. So this entire experience is reviewed through the perspective of a first timer. Hope it helps or is informative in any way. I've also included a dozen or so videos to go along with the pictures as they can often display a story or review better than a picture can.

 

I'll continuing adding to this as I go. It's a monster of a review with hundreds of pictures and dozens of videos.

 

Questions/comments always welcome and appreicated. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Although a 7 day Western Caribbean Cruise is one heck of an adventure in it's own right, I couldn't pass up the opportunity during my 3 weeks vacation to extend it before and after. I decided to do something I have wanted to do my entire life and take an "EPIC" Cross country road trip to Florida from Southern California, visiting all the major attractions, museums, national parks, battlefields, landmarks and tourist traps along the way. So although my cruise started on the 14th, I left home in my trusty 2012 Prius C on January 5th making my way cross country on interstate 40 and made my way back afterwards on interstate 10 finally arriving home on January 25th.

 

 

So back on track, I woke up in my resort hotel room at Disney's Art of Animation Resort on January 14th after a few days at my second home, Walt Disney World and stepped outside to grab some breakfast. It was a beautiful foggy morning at Hourglass Lake, Orlando, Florida.

 

I headed down interstate state route 528 to Port Canaveral to the Doubletree Oceanfront Hotel in Cocoa Beach, Florida. I had snagged an amazing deal from Go Port Canaveral website offering parking for the entire length of my cruise and roundtrip transportation for 2 people for only $20. A bit less convenient than parking directly at the terminal, but the amount of money you would save was just too good to pass up. I arrived to confusion however. There was only one representative walking around the parking lot telling people to park in certain rows for certain cruise ships and then not to park in other rows or you would be towed and no signs or additional staff to help. It seemed like this entire operation was poorly executed, but I by chance managed to park in imaginary NCL Epic row and still thought it was worth the money.

 

Our luggage was loaded on a trailer being hauled in the back and we all crammed into the small bus with passengers from different cruise ships and made our way up North Atlantic Avenue to the Port Canaveral Cruise terminal a few miles away.

 

After getting off, we were not free to leave yet. We were gathered around in a circle around and told we needed to make sure we tipped the driver seen here.

You'll see as we go on in the review this is a pet peeve of mine. I tip, usually generously, but I absolutely loathe being told to tip or being put on the spot to do so before I have a chance. Often, when this happens, I'll tip the minimum 10%. And if I felt the service was genuinely terrible, I'll cross my arms and flat out refuse at all. You don't have to like it or agree with me, but I feel strongly enough on the issue that tipping was once a reward for good service and not a mandatory thing absolutely expected. Anyways, I tipped the driver his 10% and gave the NCL bag porters who didn't ask extra.

 

I had heard all the horror stories of how long it took to get onboard NCL Epic. How big of a ship it was with too many passengers and how unequipped the cruise terminal was to handle it all and was expecting the worst. It was about noon now and when I walked in, I was almost able to walk right up to an awaiting NCL representative and hand over documents/credit cards/ID's and obtain my ship card. Literally, there was only 1 person ahead of me when I walked in. I don't know if it was worse later, but it certainly wasn't worse earlier because everyone had recieved calls that they should not arrive at the port until 1200 (noon) because boarding was being delayed.

 

So here is the inside of Terminal 10. You can see the lines to get help are basically empty and everyone on the right is just waiting for their "color" (based on room location/status) to be called so they can scan their cards and go onboard. Everyone is in high spirits including me. I should mention I am taking this trip SOLO and that is the main reason I chose this cruise line. For their awesome Solo cabins.

[Timsierramist]

Here is what your ships card looks like. As you can see, I'll drink plenty of soda, but not alcohol. I have never consumed an alcoholic beverage in my life and don't plan to. It used to be for religious reasons back in the day, but now it's almost a contest with myself to see if I can add to my grave "never drank a beer in his life"! And as such, I save a buttload (yes that's a real word by the way) of money and I can remember most of my vacation.

 

They began calling people to board in rapid succession. About 10 minutes after I received my card, they called my group (12) to board and I immediately went to the security checkpoint. Here is complete, raw footage from security checkpoint to ship's atrium of the boarding.

[YOUTUBE]

[/YOUTUBE]

 

So here I was. Onboard Norwegian Epic after watching the countdown widget on my phone slowly crawl close to zero for an entire year. I'm also happy to report that it seems they've got the new port boarding thing down, as from curbide to stepping onboard took about 25 minutes total! :) In port with us on the 14th was Disney Fantasy and Carnival Magic. We would all be departing about 10 minutes apart from each other later.

 

Oh Captain, My Captain! An entire photo setup of all senior crewmembers on the ship is posted at the entrance to the buffet.

 

The buffet was crowded as expected and it remained so for most of the cruise. However, thankfully, I am a member of the Cruise Critic Forums, a previous review from mitsugirly hinted that I could go downstairs to the LA Cucina dining room for some peace and quiet as well as leg room during breakfast/lunch. This was definitely the best advice I can pass on to you as well. Most people are too lazy to walk the few feet downstairs or think it's closed. Don't be that person. Go down there and enjoy the beautiful setup, the quiet and often a dining room almost all to yourself. There is juice/coffee/water machine down there and usually at least 1 staff member to clear plates and clean tables.

 

I wasn't that hungry, but I grabbed a light lunch from the buffet and enjoyed my first meal onboard.

[Timsierramist]

I was, however, very thirsty. So I filled up on some water and just overall enjoyed the view from my own private dining room.

 

Seriously though. Out of all the dining rooms, this was my favorite. Loved all the decorations and, again, the peace and quiet from the hustle an bustle upstairs.

 

More shots:

 

I didn't want to pay the supplemental to dine here, but I was happy to enjoy buffet breakfasts and lunches here for free.

 

Now contrast with how busy it is upstairs. None the less, the Garden Grill buffet was fantastic! I enjoyed all the food upstairs and they have different meals on different days of the cruise. For example, Sea Food night and Caribbean Night, etc.

 

After grabbing a light snack in the buffet, I realized I was in fact hungry. So I went over on the other side of the ship and decided to try one of the main dining rooms via TASTE.

[TheDougOut]

Not sure if it's just me... but I'm getting an error attempting to play your first video. Maybe it's because I like beer?

[boatfun58]

I was deeply interested in this great narrative but it suddenly stopped! Got to find the rest of his story about NCL Epic as I will be taking the same cruise on March 25, 2017, and found it fascinating, Help!

[Timsierramist]

Not sure if it's just me... but I'm getting an error attempting to play your first video. Maybe it's because I like beer?

 

It's not you. The youtube insert button doesnt work when writing a post and ill have to figure out how to get around it. Please standby, but for now:

[hhalliv]

Thank you so much for taking the time to write this great and detailed review, I look forward to reading every sentence!

[Timsierramist]

I was deeply interested in this great narrative but it suddenly stopped! Got to find the rest of his story about NCL Epic as I will be taking the same cruise on March 25, 2017, and found it fascinating, Help!

 

Hang in there. I can only post 6 images at a time. And with hundreds more to go, it's going to take me a few hours/few days to get through it!

 

I was getting hungry, so I went for an In N Out run. It's only been 30 minutes, lol.

[Timsierramist]

YES! I figured out the issue with video posting. Good thing I'm a geek.

 

When posting youtube videos you use the video ID, not the entire link address. For example, the link to my video was https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxYwt9EkCwU. But I don't put that entire address in with the code, I just use mxYwt9EkCwU. Interesting.

 

Anyways, since now there isn't a way to simply edit my previous post for whatever reason, here is the complete, unedited raw video of boarding from Security to the Atrium:

 

[YOUTUBE]mxYwt9EkCwU[/YOUTUBE]

Edited January 28, 2017 by Timsierramist

[Timsierramist]

So anyways, back on track. The bottom of the Atrium is in fact the Taste dining room. I liked Taste because they had virtually the same exact menu as the Manhatten room, it was open for breakfast lunch and dinner (instead of just dinner) AND I didn't have to put on a pair of pants to eat there. There is a strict dress code in the Manhatten room.

 

When I remembered, I took snapshots of the menu along with my food. Here are the lunch options in Taste during Embarkation.

 

They need to clean the windows, but it was still nice having a window seat with the view of the other two ships in port.

 

So, if you are like me, a normal average every day human being that wasn't raised in 5 star restaurants, you have no flippin' clue what half the junk is on the menu because you forgot your copy of Rosetta Stone at home. So you just pick what you think sounds best, usually when there is key words like "beef" or "chocolate" mixed in with all the fancy words.

I started with the Chicken Nachos as a starter

 

Main Course Roasted Leg of Lamb

 

Dessert: Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake. Cheesecake is my favorite desert beside Ice Cream.

Edited January 28, 2017 by Timsierramist

[Timsierramist]

After lunch, I did a bit of exploring on deck 15 towards the end of the shop. The ships Rock Climbing wall on deck 15 between the main pool area and H20 Club. After that Cheesecake, I was in no mood for rock climbing which is okay because it wasn't open anyways on embarkation.

 

The very back of the ship on deck 15 is Spice H20 Club. There are two whirlpools, a small pool, plenty of open air seating, a bar and a grill featuring staples like hot dogs, burgers and fries. There is also a big screen TV which features movies on certain nights which you'll see later.

 

On deck 17 between Spice H20 and the Rock Wall is the Sports Complex featuring a full basketball court.

 

Didn't get a chance to try this. I wanted to but I kept forgetting.

 

Also on deck 15 betwen the Rock Wall and Spice H20 is this arcade. Conveniently located below the Teens Club, Entourage.

Edited January 28, 2017 by Timsierramist

[Two Wheels Only]

It's not you. The youtube insert button doesnt work when writing a post and ill have to figure out how to get around it.

 

The tag is wrong.

 

mxYwt9EkCwU

 

Just wrap the "mxYwt9EkCwU" with {youtube} {/youtube} (use [] instead of {} around youtube)

 

*EDIT - Never-mind, you got it.

Edited January 28, 2017 by Two Wheels Only

[Timsierramist]

It was finally time for the safety drill. My location ended up being the Epic Theater, which is a nice and comfortable place to hold a quick briefing.

 

If I was just a little bit "richer", I would have gladly gone on a Disney cruise. I'm a major Disney fan and geek. But alas, i'm not spending $5,000 for inside room 7 day Western Caribbean cruise just so I can watch Frozen instead of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert in the theater (though it's tempting, believe me).

 

Besides. They actually have to shuffle outside on the deck and stare at each other in uncomfortable close proximity until the all clear is given...and we don't.

 

For Sail Away, I chose the only spot I could find in front of the ship in the open air. The sundeck on Deck 15 at the very front of the ship! And, I took a video of the entire sail away in case you were curious.

[YOUTUBE]sHVkRqJevOQ[/YOUTUBE]

 

We got an escort from the Coast Guard out of Port.

 

By the time we reached open ocean, Carnival Magic was way out ahead.

[Timsierramist]

And Disney Fantasy was close behind.

 

The sun starts to set as we pull farther away from land.

 

 

Something I have always wanted to see was the debarking of a Port/Harbor Pilot. I finally caught one on video. To learn more about what they are and what they do, see here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maritime_pilot

[YOUTUBE]OQtuxeyTvdE[/YOUTUBE]

[Timsierramist]

You can expect the line at guest services to be...well, EPIC on the first day and the last night of the cruise. In this instance, I got in line to inquire why I had been charged for all my excursions, but had not received my $50 off deal that I booked with. This was a new experience, and I was informed after I did my excursions, I would be credited back to my credit card on file $50. Reminds me of our overall banking system here in the states. We'll charge you now, but receiving money takes a few days...

 

After Guest Services, I went to the Comedy Club. It is true that you have to book shows onboard as there is more people than available entertainment. As soon as you get onboard, the shows should be available for booking. I would download iConcierge as soon as possible and start setting up the shows you would like to see and when. They will fill up fast and we all know waiting in standby sucks. My last experience with comedians was on Carnival Imagination, they were absolutely amazing! On Norwegian Epic, meh. Not so much. This was the only comedy show I went to with the exception of the Comedy Magic Show.

 

For dinner, I decided to try O'Sheehans. I heard terrible reviews about the service, but I was in the mood for some of their "comfort foods". Plus it was closeby.

 

Fish and Chips at O'Sheehans

 

And BBQ Wings

 

As I was finishing up, this lady approached out of nowhere and asked if someone was sitting on the opposite side of my two person table. Puzzled, I said no. She said ok, and promptly sat down. Turns out, she was friends with some folks at the table next to mine. She grabbed some of their food and started chatting with them. I'm kinda an introverted and personal guy, and I'm not sure where this lady grew up, but where I come from, this would probably be considered rude. In any case, I'm not one to make a huge deal of things, so I simply got up and went on my way. But if you are on CruiseCritic seeing your mug here, yes. I'm putting you on blast. The maître d is supposed to seat you. Learn a bit o' matters at O'Sheehans Mate.

[Timsierramist]

Another view of the Atrium as seen from Deck 6 at the Casino, just down the hallway from O'Sheehans (by the way. Is it Oh-She-Hons or Oh-She-Ins?).

 

Went up to deck 15 to do some exploring. This is the entrance to the teenagers club, Entourage. And like the colorful poison arrow frog, it reminds you quite boldly to STAY OUT Parents!

 

Before making a stop to my stateroom, I grabbed some coffee and my favorite dessert, Cheesecake from the Garden Grill Buffet. Sorry for blurry pic.

 

When I got back to my room, I found that my shore excursion tickets had arrived. If there is one thing I definitely do not like, it's guided tours. All the rules, shuffling from place to place in a group, being told where exactly you can go and for how long you can enjoy each and every place. Sometimes there is just something really cool you want to spend more time at like a waterfall or a certain historical location, taking it all in. And other times after 5 minutes of staring at a Iguana (and it back at you), you are ready to move on. It generally ruins any excursion or trip and I always venture out solo. However, being that this was my very first time in the Caribbean and I couldn't access some of the things I really wanted to do without a guide, I made an exception this trip and booked at excursion at each and every island we visited. I assumed the thrill of being in the Caribbean/Bahamas and the once in a lifetime opportunities I was about to experience would more than make up for the group tour thing. In general, I was right.

 

I don't like that NCL has gone back to the Titanic and started with the class thing again (as in the Haven), but after walking down my Solo cabin hallway and checking out the studio lounge (more on that later), I thought, okay. Third Class isn't all that bad. NCL really hit a home run with these studio cabins and I will continue to sail on NCL until the other lines get serious about Studio cabins. It wasn't just younger millenials like me enjoying these cabins either. I saw a huge mix of people. Young and old. Different nationalities. Singles and married couples with connecting cabins.

 

 

Here is a complete tour of my Studio Stateroom. Enjoy!

[YOUTUBE]SFQ_N-naDBE[/YOUTUBE]

[Timsierramist]

So NCL must have been hard hit finding a band to play in their theater. They found some English group called The Beatles to play. Some rock band out of the U.K. that's all the rage with the ankle biters. Seriously, what kind of name is that? I figured what the heck, I didn't have really anything else to do tonight, so I went and watched them perform. These guys were GREAT! I'm telling you, whoever these Beatles are, they are going all the way to the top! Lots of catchy songs about holding hands and some guy named Jude and this girl in the sky with a diamond and... The Beatles on NCL Epic are not to be missed, whether you are a major fan or not. They played in the Epic Theater on the first night, and in the Cavern Club to standing room only crowds on following nights.

 

 

 

Deck 7 facing away from the Barber Shop

 

Yes indeed. There is a Barbershop onboard. I didn't inquire about prices, but it's there if you need it and was usually full so I assume you would need reservations. That's when you know you've reached the top as a barber. When you are a barber on a cruise ship.

[Timsierramist]

Got up early for a special event. My first sunrise over the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Then I enjoyed the ocean heading by for awhile at one of the large windows near guest services.

 

Seriously though. I could sit here all day.

[YOUTUBE]nXr94VkXrnI[/YOUTUBE]

 

Near every elevator is a convenient map to help you find your way.

[Timsierramist]

After lunch, I headed up to the sun deck in front of the ship on deck 18 to try and grow up and do what most adults do. Sit in a lounger with a drink and sleep or pretend to sleep. Like I said at the beginning, I don't drink alcohol. So I sipped on a Jack and Coke, hold the Jack.

 

Catching a few rays and Z's.

 

Of course this isn't me. I'm lazy, but i'm more adventerous which cancels out the laziness in me if that makes any sense. So I started doing some ship spotting with a monocular I brought along with me and an app called Maritime Traffic which details all ship traffic. This was a hard shot to get through my cell phone lense and monocular, but I picked up a Carnival ship headed in the opposite direction.

 

Forgot the name, but it seemed like one of their older ones probably out of Texas somewhere?

 

Trying for a panoramic shot.

 

When I got bored with that, I knew we were in the Caribbean now, so I thought I would supplement the crew and keep a look out for The Pirates of the Caribbean or Commies. Now, I know you are laughing at me, but that's what Mr. Harvey did too when Captain Ron tried to warn him.

[YOUTUBE]I3yu3TC4vzg[/YOUTUBE]

Edited January 28, 2017 by Timsierramist

[Timsierramist]

Panoramic shot from deck 19 facing aft.

 

This is a list of the onboard channels you can select from in your room. iConcierge is confusing enough that it needs an entire channel dedicated to teaching you how to use it. Channel 15 needs a spelling check. Channels 19 and 20 do have some pretty good shows and movies, including top rated Disney films. 21 & 22 are obvious. Sports...meh. And no matter what side of the aisle you sit on politically, there is a news channel for you.

 

What's especially cool about this ship is the Bridge Viewing Room. The room features a full scale model of The Norway, all the awards the ship has recieved from different entities as well as a few bridge-like navigatoin displays. Amazing and well worth a look. You access it via deck 13.

 

Video of accessing the Bridge Viewing Room:

[YOUTUBE]SxKpa4n5WlM[/YOUTUBE]

 

Went to Deck 18 sun deck to view the sunset.

 

 

 

Unedited footage of complete sunset at sea near just offshore from Havana, Cuba.

[YOUTUBE]2dyZg6RpxSw[/YOUTUBE]

[Timsierramist]

After enjoying the sunset, I was making my way to Spice H20 Club via deck 15 pool area and noticed some flickering from underneath the pool deck lighting along the pool itself. I didn't think too much of it until I stopped dead in my tracks. That couldn't have been what I though it was, could it?

 

I looked closer and I noticed a few small black ashes flying out from underneath the railing here. As I got closer I noticed more and the smell of wood burning. I assumed something burning besides food was not a good thing on a cruise ship. I promptly alerted a crewmember working at the bar who inspected and agreed something was up. Before the wood had chance to catch fire however, the LED lighting burned through and broke off thereby ending the immediate fire danger.

 

I waited to see if anyone would come to check up on it. Nobody did. And the exposed wire next to the pool sat there without any attention for the rest of the cruise.

 

This was a serious fire danger that should have been checked up on immediately and I was disappointed in the lack of response. I suppose they need to see flames first.

 

Spice H20 Club in th eevening. They usually play different scenes form beaches throughout the day as seen here.

 

So, I tried sneaking into the Manhattan room with a pair of shorts on. Nope. Was stopped and promptly turned around. I joke of course, because I wasn't trying to sneak in. I genuinely didn't know that shorts were not allowed inside The Prestige Manhattan room, but I still wanted to eat there one night. But it was too much work to go back to my room on the opposite end and deck of the ship to put on a pair of pants, so I went one floor down to Taste and enjoyed the same exact menu, with shorts on.

 

Dinner setup in Taste. I love the bread almost as much as the main course.

 

Jack: Are these all for me?

Molly: Just start from the outside and work your way in.

[Timsierramist]

For dinner, I started with a with the Swordfish Carpaccio since I never had Swordfish. When this came out, I was really disappointed. I ordered Swordfish, not a side salad. I mean look, they didn't even put the dressing on top of the salad. I would have spoke up, but I usually keep my mouth shut until I can think things through to make sure I didn't mess something up, saving me embarrassment on more than one occasion. Better to be thought of a fool than to open your mouth after all...

 

OH!!! That IS Swordfish, not a thin layer of dressing. The image looks better because I sharpened it up a bit, but I swear, it was so thin I thought it was some kind of "swordfish salad dressing" or something. So yeah. So thin it falls right apart as soon as your metal fork comes within contact of it. Swordfish must be really expensive. Yes it was amazing.

 

Main course was the Grilled Shrimp Parmentier.

 

Desert. Who could resist Lava cake with a side of Ice Cream?

 

Now, I am a major Disney geek of course. And the only thing that is second to that fandom is Star Trek. So when I heard Star Trek: Beyond was playing on the big screen at Spice H20 Club, I high-tailed it back there immediately. It was nice of the crew to set it up like a Hollywood Premier or something.

[Timsierramist]

Behold. The future of mankind...

 

...if we somehow manage to make it that far.

[Timsierramist]

I returned to my room and found the Day 3 activity guide on my bed. For some reason, I never got a day 2 guide. But that's okay. Anyways, if you've hung out this far, i'll be posting each day's guide to give you an idea of what to expect on your cruise. Each time I post will signify the next day.

 

 

 

[Timsierramist]

Got up nice and early to see Cozumel coming into view.

 

I thought I was going to be slick as usual and get in and out of the Buffet first thing before the crowds. Everyone else had the same idea. We were supposed to arrive at 0800 hours (8 AM) and it was stated the Garden Grill would open at 0630 (even though the day 3 guide says 7). It didn't open until 7:40, leaving everyone not a whole lot of time to eat and get ready since we actually finished docking around 0730.

 

Breakfast from the Buffet.

 

The crew is also excited for Cozumel.

 

Docking in Cozumel.