An Epic Med Review... from a NCL 'newbie'

[xitappers2bx]

I wasn't going to post a review, it's been years since I've spent the time to put one together (it seems like once you've read 50 you've read them all) but having just disembarked from the Epic in Rome, it felt like a good time to pick back up. I had a lot of concerns about the Epic, and while having many cruises under our belt, this was our first NCL, so perhaps this is a new perspective and less of the same.

 

Plus, we're sitting in FCO, and basically reviewing the ship while sitting here, so might as well be productive. (PS: This post will be long. The rest won't be. I promise) (PPS: Just as a side note, this is just my experience. No need to roast me... that was one of the reasons why I stopped writing reviews, everyone is so negative. If you have questions, I'll do the best to answer based on my own experience or information I can find online for you.).

 

So... the introduction... who am I? Early 30's single mom, who tends to cruise with family (parents, assorted sisters) and my daughter, who just turned 13 this summer, and will hereby be known as the Bug. We live in a small town outside of Philly, and I pretty much work so we can travel. I own my own little business and was fully expecting to work on this trip, turns out the wifi in the ports was weak at beast, and I would have a wonderful, albeit it unexpected, week free from work. But, more on the wifi situation later.

 

Now, for some honestly. I had little intention of ever cruising NCL. I have flirted with the idea of the Breakaway out of NYC, which is pretty close to us and convenient, but never jumped the gun. If I'm to be perfectly honest I thought between Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Princess, and Holland America I had the world pretty much covered, and I was not too keen on the whole freestyle dining concept. Being a single mom, I do like to talk to adults, and was worried that freestyle dining would leave me sitting alone. Turns out, the Bug and I ate dinner together every single day.

 

We booked with NCL because this cruise worked with our dates; we spent a month in Paris, and we had 10 days to 'kill' at the end, and with some stress and gentle prodding from my mom looked at Mediterranean cruises and found this one, and then the longer one out of Venice. We didn't want to leave Paris too early, so we chose the Epic. In selecting a room, I liked the rate for the sail away balcony and the mini suite, I looked at the deck plans, decided I could live with any of the mini suites on the ship, and made the leap.

 

We ended up with what I think is an MC, 8060, and was pleasantly surprised to find that because the bed was next to the balcony that meant we had a bathtub plus shower. I have a lot to say about the bathrooms, and how they compared with the four lines we've been on, but I"ll save that for later. The room itself was awesome (I have photos, but I'll figure out the uploading situation once we land back in Paris) and I was pleasantly surprised from the second we stepped into it. My only real concern about the stateroom was that it was right by the elevators, which turned out to be a non-issue.

 

So... to the beginning. Getting to Rome. I love trains, and the idea of taking a train through Europe seemed really romantic, so we booked the train from Paris to Turin, and Turin to Rome. The Paris to Turin leg was beautiful, the train wonderful, and the upgrade to Business class totally worth the extra space. The Italo train from Turin to Rome I was terrified by. The train was exceptionally fast, largely underground, and about halfway through the train just stopped. And while we were in "primo" class (business) there was no food served, even though it was a dinner time train. I felt terrible as my daughter was starving, and I only had junk food. What should have been about 12 hours of travel turned into 15 hours, and then some chaos on the Rome metro with some questionable signage.

 

Through the same website we booked our train tickets they had offered a great deal on a bunch of hotels. We picked Hotel Stendhal, which was located between the Trevi Fountain and the Spanish Steps. I thought it was a perfect location, a cute little hotel (only six floors, and I think six rooms per floor). We walked to the Trevi Fountain (pretty late, close to 11:30) and got terribly lost, and it was a 10 euro cab to where we needed to be. We also had a wonderful dinner of pizza and pasta on the walk from the Trevi Fountain to the hotel. A friend, knowing we only had one night, made me promise that we'd go to Trevi, she promised that we would not be disappointed, and even with the huge crowd of people, the police constantly blowing their whistles at cars and motorbikes that weren't following traffic laws, and the annoying people hawking souvenirs the Trevi Fountain was still everything I wanted it to be. The room at the hotel was great for just a night, and with the best blackout windows of my entire life, we got a full nights sleep, entirely a world away from the noise of the street below. Pretty much, everything you could ask for in a hotel after a long day of travel. It looked like they had a pretty decent spread for breakfast, but I think it was 25 euros a person, and I knew there were places outside of the hotel that would be just a good for a better price. The gentleman at the front desk suggested a place right at the corner, and it was absolutely delicious, and pretty inexpensive (five pastries, two croissants, and two cups of tea for 11 euros).

 

We booked a car service through the Port of Civitavecchia and while it was 120 euros, the driver was great, on time, and the ride itself very pleasant, even though the streets of Rome were congested, windy, and this was more reliable than the train.

 

Prior to leaving Paris, I made an attempt to ship home a box containing some things we didn't need for the cruise, and then a bottle of whiskey for a friend. After reaching out for help here, I was told to leave it in my carry on and not mention it. So that's exactly what I did. We had many surprises. What happened next was just the first one.

 

In the port we saw a lot of people walking, but the driver was able to bring us right to the ship, which was a relief. We dropped our bags to the porters, and were able to get right into line. This was probably the smoothest, most unusual check in process ever. After filling in the requisite health form, we waited a few minutes before our turn, gave the woman our passports and check in sheet and then we were able to walk right on board.

 

A weird note... having cruised many times with the Bug in the same stateroom the check in online process has always included the credit card information to be used, which allowed me to also ensure she couldn't spend. NCL's online check in did not have me do that, and instead the woman had me fill out a form. Turns out, the form filled out in the port was incorrect, and we would get several letters from guest services needing to add cash to her account before the wonderful on board credit employee was able to connect her spending account to mine, which stopped the letters needing cash for her onboard account.

 

Alright, so back to boarding. Remember that bottle of whiskey? I spent three weeks hunting it down, to bring my friend, who is watching my car, a bottle of French whiskey to add to her collection. When La Poste told me you can't send alcohol to America, I panicked, we have two days in Paris before flying home this weekend, but I didn't want to have to buy another bottle. I knew that this was not an embarkation point for everyone, so I was hoping that if they found it, I could just give it to them to hold for the week. Turns out the stress was useless. My backpack (King Kong... I do highly suggest these bags, they are hands down the most amazing) went through the first scanner, and I was pretty sure that was it. I was prepared to beg and plead my case. The person ahead of us got pulled out to open their bag, and I knew that was it. And then, they sent us right through and onto the ship.

 

I thought we were in the clear, until we get onto the ship, and we have to go through another scanner. I put the bag on it, pretty sure this is where I get caught and then I'm "That Person," and it went through again. A lot stress for something that was entirely a non issue. The Bug and I would laugh about this in the stateroom.

 

Up next... those first few magical steps... right into the middle of someone else's vacation.

[KeithJenner]

Your experience with your daughters account is odd. We have never needed to complete any forms, just get asked at check in how we want things set up, and off we go.

 

It seems that something unusual happened when setting yours up. That isn't how it usually works.

 

The experience with your whiskey is fairly typical though. It is totally random whether you will actually get through or not. I used to take wine onboard and it was about 50:50 whether I was ever asked to pay corkage, even once when I had a few bottles in a carrier bag that I'd bought on the way to the port and actually pointed them out to the staff they never did.

 

This is why I always warn people about taking others experiences as the rule. It is really down to luck.

 

Thanks for the review, by the way.

[NickinNY]

Thank you for this review. We're sailing this itinerary next July with our tween-age kids, and it will also be our first cruise on NCL. So I'm very keen on what you have to say.

[pe4all]

Sailing this itinerary (but embarking at Barcelona) in around 2 weeks. Looking forward to reading of your adventures!

[xitappers2bx]

Your experience with your daughters account is odd. We have never needed to complete any forms, just get asked at check in how we want things set up, and off we go.

 

I knew it seemed weird... but having never cruised NCL I didn't know better and just found it frustrating that it took a few days to get figured out and then corrected the right way.

 

It seems that something unusual happened when setting yours up. That isn't how it usually works.

 

It definitely didn't deter me from buying the cruise deposits. Just thought it was unusual.

 

The experience with your whiskey is fairly typical though. It is totally random whether you will actually get through or not. I used to take wine onboard and it was about 50:50 whether I was ever asked to pay corkage, even once when I had a few bottles in a carrier bag that I'd bought on the way to the port and actually pointed them out to the staff they never did.

 

I was ready to have a heart attack--on other lines they are ruthless in the elimination of illicit alcohol. The Civitavecchia port would best be described as "laid back" making me feel a little silly for nearly giving myself up.

 

This is why I always warn people about taking others experiences as the rule. It is really down to luck.

 

Luck is a good word for it.

 

Thanks for the review, by the way.

 

Thanks... I'm hoping this doesn't turn into a roast fest like some of the nastier boards out there. NCL seems to be more civilized, and less attack-y.

[xitappers2bx]

Thank you for this review. We're sailing this itinerary next July with our tween-age kids, and it will also be our first cruise on NCL. So I'm very keen on what you have to say.

 

I promised to let the 13 year old have her say, but she's quick to point out that she didn't really feel comfortable coming into Entourage in the middle of the cruise with most of the kids her age having already established their alliances for the week. Honestly though, she's been cruising since she was five, and she doesn't really need or care about all of the programming. Some cruises she loves it, some she couldn't care less about missing the kids club or whatever it may be.

[xitappers2bx]

Getting on board...

 

The Epic is the first ship we have cruised that did not have that huge central atrium so while I was not expecting to walk into the center of it all with that "WOW" moment, it was a little surprising that you walk on as if you're just in a port.

 

Because you are.

 

Entering into the middle of everyone else's vacation was a little unusual. If only because there were more than 1000 of us that embarked in Civitavecchia. We went up to get some lunch, and felt really lost, and were lost among people who weren't. It was certainly a different feeling on Sunday at lunch when everyone was new and the (amazing) employees were giving people directions. We walked around for way too long looking for silverware, that was on the tables.

 

Stepping into the ship, even without that special wow feeling is still quite the experience. We got on Deck 4 Aft, and it was clear that this ship was different than any ship we've been on before. We'e done some pretty big ships, Liberty of the Seas and more recently the Carnival Magic, but it was clear this ship was going to be much different and in some really great ways.

 

Weirdly enough, this wasn't our first experience with the Epic. We were embarking on the Carnival Miracle the same day as the big hub bub in NYC where the Epic was "introduced" to the American crowd and christened here. Back then it was pretty cool to watch over on this huge ship next to us all the things that were going on, the extra boats in the river, and so forth.

 

Alrighty... The ship. The first day or so you're lost no matter what, and I think in a way it was nice to not be lost with 4500 or so other people, so if there is a positive to entering in the middle of a cruise that's probably it. I found the ship really easy to navigate and there was no need for a little ship diagram that other lines are all too happy to provide. The interior design is really outstanding, and while the Bug that it wasn't flashy enough, and while we both thought the atrium could be a little bigger, it's really smooth and clean and you don't get that overstimulation other ships seem to employ.

 

Prior to getting onto the ship I had purchased a four dinner dining plan, and made the reservations for Cirque Dreams, Moderno, Cagney's, and Teppanyaki. I had also purchased a soda card for my daughter, and ended up buying one for myself. While I'm not one to game the system, I did find that if I only had my card out, and we both ordered a soda, they wouldn't check her card (and this was like that across all the dining spots, the Atrium Cafe, and the pool bar).

 

So now a confession. By the time we got to the Epic we were pretty toured out. Spending a month in Paris was great, and while it wasn't a vacation everyday, we did to a lot of sightseeing. So while we went to these fabulous ports, (and after a fairly traumatic tendering experience in Alaska pretty much ensuring I only tender to ports that I realllllllllllllly want to see), we actually only got off the ship once. And that was absolutely perfect for us. We got to see and do things around the ship that were nearly impossible on the only sea day.

 

The itinerary itself was a great one:

Rome (Civitavecchia)

Livorno (Pisa, Florence)

Cannes (Nice, Monaco)

Palma Majorca

Barcelona

Sea Day

Naples (or... Napoli which I think sounds so much better)

Rome (Civitavecchia)

 

As a fairly huge history nerd, there are amazing things to see at nearly every port. I only slightly regret not getting off in Barcelona, I would have loved to have gone to the aquarium or seen La Sagrada Familia. We booked this cruise about 60ish days in advance (if that) and I imagine that most of the more desirable excursions were already booked. And the options for Barcelona for "in transit" guests were slim pickings. I will post the information I do about the the excursions though (along with the daily activities, some menus, and the Entourage teen activities).

 

Something I found slightly frustrating (and this goes back to the whole boarding in the middle of a cruise thing) was that excursions for Napoli were not available on the TV until everyone embarked in Barcelona. Anytime I would try and go to the Shore Excursions desk there were crazy lines and I had sort of figured if I couldn't book the one thing we wanted to do, this was really just meant to be a total relaxation vacation (which it was, even with an excursion).

[sweetpea222]

I'm following! We sail out of Civitavecchia next July with our teens, albeit on the Spirit for her 11 day Med & Adriatic sailing. We sailed the Spirit in 2013 from Venice to Barcelona and like you mentioned about the port in Civi, some of the ports were very strict with checking/scanning our bags after our day touring, and some were, as you say "laid back" about it. Glad things worked out for you with the bottle! We are also spending a week in Paris (in 2013 we ended with 2 weeks there) so I am envious of your lengthy stay. That is a dream of mine! Can't wait to hear more. :)

[xitappers2bx]

I'm following! We sail out of Civitavecchia next July with our teens, albeit on the Spirit for her 11 day Med & Adriatic sailing. We sailed the Spirit in 2013 from Venice to Barcelona and like you mentioned about the port in Civi, some of the ports were very strict with checking/scanning our bags after our day touring, and some were, as you say "laid back" about it. Glad things worked out for you with the bottle! We are also spending a week in Paris (in 2013 we ended with 2 weeks there) so I am envious of your lengthy stay. That is a dream of mine! Can't wait to hear more. :)

 

I'm looking at that cruise too! Last summer we spent two weeks in Europe, and the entire time we were in Paris we just kept saying "I wish we could stay longer" so this year I made sure all my clients were good with 100% virtual work, and it all worked out. This was such an incredible experience (even though it's rainy and cold in Paris right now) it sort of almost feels like home. I hope that you get to do this too one day, it was really life changing in an amazing way.

[PaulInPGH]

My wife and I will be doing this itinerary in just over a month, so I'm excited to read about your experiences.

 

We're flying into Paris for a couple days (wish it could be longer) before heading over to Rome, so I'd also love to hear more about your experiences in Paris, as well. What area did you stay in? What were some of your favorite places/things you experienced?

 

Cheers.

[Biris]

Subscribed! We are doing the same itinerary next year, except out of Barcelona. Looking forward to reading more of your journey.

[xitappers2bx]

My wife and I will be doing this itinerary in just over a month, so I'm excited to read about your experiences.

 

We're flying into Paris for a couple days (wish it could be longer) before heading over to Rome, so I'd also love to hear more about your experiences in Paris, as well. What area did you stay in? What were some of your favorite places/things you experienced?

 

Cheers.

 

What would you like to know more about Paris? What are your interest? Notre Dame is pretty awesome, as is Saint Chapelle. Tour Eiffel is something you have to at least see, and the same with the Arc de Triumphe. Lauderee is overpriced, but there is something special about the boxes. And Rue St. Honore is my absolute favorite street. Pont du Arts is where the original Love Locks Bridge was, but now you can put locks down at Pont Neuf (across Il de la Cite) which you can buy for 5 euros. Last year we booked a private, two hour tour of Ancient Egypt at the Louvre, and that was GREAT for getting a "down and dirty" experience with an expert. This year, having spent some time in the Louvre we braved it ourselves, and even getting a bit lost we managed to find our way around and see the Mona Lisa. I think Musee de l'Orangerie and Musee d'Orsay (lots of Monet, Van Gogh, Cezanne) is more to my taste, and Orsay is perhaps the most stunning building. You can see the pyramid at the Louvre, and you can also see a pretty cool inverted pyramid underground at the Carousel d'Louvre. This is also where there is an Apple store, where for 25 euros you can replace a broken lightning plug (which we did. Twice). It's actually a pretty nice Apple store. There are some cool souvenir shops too.

 

I would highly, highly suggest Places des Vosges in the Marais, we ate at Le Place Royale, and the wine, service, and food were stellar. Another place we ate that had the BEST onion soup in Paris (we basically try the onion soup everywhere and then 'grade' it) is Au Petit Suisse Bistrot Parisian located right near Luxembourg Gardens.

 

As for places to stay. Our flat was in the first district, right on Rue de Louvre, and Rue St. Honore. There were some really cute hotels right by my favorite little bakery and butcher, around Rue de Roule. For hotels that we stayed at, last summer we stayed at the four star First Hotel, in the 15th on Boulevard Garibaldi. We stayed in an Eiffel Tower view, and it is there that we fell in love with Paris. There is a Metro stop right there, and it's within walking distance of the tower. We also stayed (and are currently staying) at the five star Renaissance Le Parc Trocadero, which has the most quaint garden in the entire world (and is where we decided that we were going to spend the following summer in Paris). The rooms are about as expensive as the Eiffel Tower view at the First Hotel, but much bigger. The First Hotel has small, typical-sized European rooms. Le Parc (a Marriott property) is slightly bigger. We're in a smaller room this year than last year, but with a better view, so I guess it's all relative.

 

Something I tell everyone coming to Paris... take the Metro. You can buy a Visite pass (the kiosks have an English option) for I believe 2, 3, or 5 days, and it's really affordable and the Metro system is SUPER easy to navigate. It runs late enough to enjoy lazy dinners without having to rush home and is much cheaper than a taxi. In Paris you have to go to the taxi stand, which can get annoying, and traffic is stupid (it's actually not bad this week because the entire city is basically on vacation) which runs up the meter. You also see some really amazing things in the Metro. This summer we saw an orchestra, a children's orchestra, several singers and other musicians, artists, and lots of accordion players (and it's so much fun). I joke around that the Metro is idiot-proof, I would trust my just-turned 13 year old to navigate the Metro (and there are maps everywhere).

 

Okay, so that was seriously long... if you want to ask about specific things in Paris, or things you're interested in, I can probably give you a better ideal. One important thing, if you don't speak French, Google Translate is priceless, and if you try and speak a little French, they will more often than not bend over backwards to help you in English. And eat ALL the bread (no butter!!!), stop in a random boulangerie and buy an 80 cent loaf of French bread and just walk around enjoying something you can't really find in America, and eat ALL the croissants.

[xitappers2bx]

Alrighty... so now we're onboard and we had to eat.

 

The Garden Cafe I think we decided was our favorite buffet thus far. It was generally speaking more civilized than on Royal or Carnival, with a lot less pushing, shoving, and "butting," (or one person holding the space for 10 of their friends). There were fewer options, but there was always something that was appealing. I really loved the fact that there was a carving station during lunch, which was a really nice touch. I like to think I am generally a fairly healthy person (I'm a power lifter turned crossfitter, I like to toss around heavy weights) and am somewhat cognizant of what I eat. I found that there was a good balance between healthy/healthy-ish options and then the hearty, good for the soul more richer foods. The salad bar was great, and there was thousand island dressing and fat free French (the only two I used) and I don't remember the other options, but there were only four "whole" flavor and then two fat free options. The lunch options were really great, and while we did not eat dinner in the Garden Cafe, we would stop up there for dessert or ice cream before bed, and the food options looked great.

 

I really thought the bar was a nice touch, we were able to easily get sodas when we wanted them. And the Indian food (offered every meal... which is better than any other line which may offer Indian a few days during the cruise, and never at dinner time) was OUTSTANDING. I tried it all, and it all was great. The Indian area is kind of hidden away, and this was also a great place to find seating when it was busy (this is also where you would get Halal food if you so wished. It was often a chicken option).

 

Jumping around a bit, we'll fast forward to dinner. I was under the belief that the complimentary eateries were going to be... (not sure what is the right word here) not quite as good or a lesser quality than the optional, additional fee eateries. Having little experience with NCL, I (like many others apparently) was under the misconception that Freestyle Dining and having so many pay options meant that they wanted you to pay for the "better" quality food.

 

I was 150% wrong. We did the four dinner plan, and I was a bit worried that we should have purchased the seven night plan. With the exception of one dinner entree the meals we had in the Manhattan Room were fantastic. The service was better than we experienced in Moderno and Cirque Dreams, (we requested the same server he was so outstanding) and the food was really, really good. On par with any other cruise line we have been on. The dining room was similar to the typical MDR, except that it was just a single story, (with Moderno and Cagney's sharing the space above us). In terms of decor, it was similar to what we experienced on the Carnival Magic earlier this year, tasteful, not too crazy, and well decorated with comfortable seating. The first night I purchased a bottle of Moscato (I'm not a big drinker, and would nurse this bottle all week) and it was delicious.

 

Alright... so misconception one was blown out of the water, and only about six and a half hours after we boarded.

 

I probably should back up a bit to the muster drill. I was a bit worried about this, but it turns out it was smooth sailing (literally). They just call everyone who embarked in Civitavecchia to the Epic Theater, scanned one card from each stateroom, and then we got The Talk. We also had the (first for us) experience of actually seeing and hearing from each of the heads of the various departments. This was a really nice touch and so much better than everyone going to their muster stations, or everyone going out onto the open decks.

 

Next up... I try and figure out how to get the photos from my phone into my out of memory Mac so I can go backwards in time again to our stateroom. I have a lot to say, and 99.9% of it is great.

[PaulInPGH]

What would you like to know more about Paris? What are your interest? Notre Dame is pretty awesome, as is Saint Chapelle. Tour Eiffel is something you have to at least see, and the same with the Arc de Triumphe. Lauderee is overpriced, but there is something special about the boxes. And Rue St. Honore is my absolute favorite street. Pont du Arts is where the original Love Locks Bridge was, but now you can put locks down at Pont Neuf (across Il de la Cite) which you can buy for 5 euros. Last year we booked a private, two hour tour of Ancient Egypt at the Louvre, and that was GREAT for getting a "down and dirty" experience with an expert. This year, having spent some time in the Louvre we braved it ourselves, and even getting a bit lost we managed to find our way around and see the Mona Lisa. I think Musee de l'Orangerie and Musee d'Orsay (lots of Monet, Van Gogh, Cezanne) is more to my taste, and Orsay is perhaps the most stunning building. You can see the pyramid at the Louvre, and you can also see a pretty cool inverted pyramid underground at the Carousel d'Louvre. This is also where there is an Apple store, where for 25 euros you can replace a broken lightning plug (which we did. Twice). It's actually a pretty nice Apple store. There are some cool souvenir shops too.

 

I would highly, highly suggest Places des Vosges in the Marais, we ate at Le Place Royale, and the wine, service, and food were stellar. Another place we ate that had the BEST onion soup in Paris (we basically try the onion soup everywhere and then 'grade' it) is Au Petit Suisse Bistrot Parisian located right near Luxembourg Gardens.

 

As for places to stay. Our flat was in the first district, right on Rue de Louvre, and Rue St. Honore. There were some really cute hotels right by my favorite little bakery and butcher, around Rue de Roule. For hotels that we stayed at, last summer we stayed at the four star First Hotel, in the 15th on Boulevard Garibaldi. We stayed in an Eiffel Tower view, and it is there that we fell in love with Paris. There is a Metro stop right there, and it's within walking distance of the tower. We also stayed (and are currently staying) at the five star Renaissance Le Parc Trocadero, which has the most quaint garden in the entire world (and is where we decided that we were going to spend the following summer in Paris). The rooms are about as expensive as the Eiffel Tower view at the First Hotel, but much bigger. The First Hotel has small, typical-sized European rooms. Le Parc (a Marriott property) is slightly bigger. We're in a smaller room this year than last year, but with a better view, so I guess it's all relative.

 

Something I tell everyone coming to Paris... take the Metro. You can buy a Visite pass (the kiosks have an English option) for I believe 2, 3, or 5 days, and it's really affordable and the Metro system is SUPER easy to navigate. It runs late enough to enjoy lazy dinners without having to rush home and is much cheaper than a taxi. In Paris you have to go to the taxi stand, which can get annoying, and traffic is stupid (it's actually not bad this week because the entire city is basically on vacation) which runs up the meter. You also see some really amazing things in the Metro. This summer we saw an orchestra, a children's orchestra, several singers and other musicians, artists, and lots of accordion players (and it's so much fun). I joke around that the Metro is idiot-proof, I would trust my just-turned 13 year old to navigate the Metro (and there are maps everywhere).

 

Okay, so that was seriously long... if you want to ask about specific things in Paris, or things you're interested in, I can probably give you a better ideal. One important thing, if you don't speak French, Google Translate is priceless, and if you try and speak a little French, they will more often than not bend over backwards to help you in English. And eat ALL the bread (no butter!!!), stop in a random boulangerie and buy an 80 cent loaf of French bread and just walk around enjoying something you can't really find in America, and eat ALL the croissants.

 

Oh, wow, this was great; thanks so much! We've got many of the places you mentioned on our agenda, though we're not planning on hitting any museums this time around. Our interests generally lean more toward wine tastings and food tours more than art, so with only two days we've prioritized accordingly.

 

I'm glad to hear the Metro is so accessible, as we'll likely be using it a fair bit since we're staying in Montmartre. Google Translate is likewise already downloaded (and we'll need it; I'm horrible with languages).

 

Thanks again, for this and your review of the Epic!

[Quilting_Cruiser]

Thrilled to see a review from someone who boarded in Civitavecchia ! I'm leaving for Rome in 39 days to spend a week there before boarding the Epic in Civitavecchia. :) I've read before that it feels like you're on someone else's vacation. Not sure what that means, but i guess I'll find out next month. :)

 

 

Do you recall about what time the muster drill was? Our roll call is having our meet and greet right after since it didn't make since to wait until the sea day at the end of the cruise. Were the passengers who spent the day in Rome back on board yet?

 

 

I'm also interested in the process for tender tickets for Cannes. I realize you didn't get off the ship there, but am hoping you recall some of the details. I posted a thread asking if they hold back some of the early letters for the folks embarking mid-cruise and no one has known yet. I'm hoping that because I'm Gold and priority tender tickets is one of the perks that I'll be fine, but would love to know more.

 

 

I love that you travel with your daughter. My girl is now 22, but I've cruised with her since she was shy of two years old and traveling with her had been a wonderful part of our lives!

 

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review. :)

Edited August 9, 2017 by Quilting_Cruiser

[sweetpea222]

I'm looking at that cruise too! Last summer we spent two weeks in Europe, and the entire time we were in Paris we just kept saying "I wish we could stay longer" so this year I made sure all my clients were good with 100% virtual work, and it all worked out. This was such an incredible experience (even though it's rainy and cold in Paris right now) it sort of almost feels like home. I hope that you get to do this too one day, it was really life changing in an amazing way.

 

My girls will graduate high school this year, the Adriatic cruise is a graduation present (for all of us!)...after that my husband and I hopefully will get to do what you've done. He works from home and I work for a school district, so we potentially have two months every summer to travel and staying in Paris is definitely at the top of our list. We're so looking forward to going back next July! :)

 

The summer we were in Europe, in 2013, we were there for 35 days. Flew into London, then to Venice for two nights and to meet extended family and do the 12 night Grand Med cruise on the Spirit, 3 nights in Barcelona, then two weeks in Paris. It was just amazing and I agree, life changing. Now my girls have seen many of the world's capitals and both of them have a hope to travel and possibly study overseas (which would give us an excuse to go and see them haha).

[xitappers2bx]

Thrilled to see a review from someone who boarded in Civitavecchia ! I'm leaving for Rome in 39 days to spend a week there before boarding the Epic in Civitavecchia. :) I've read before that it feels like you're on someone else's vacation. Not sure what that means, but i guess I'll find out next month. :)

 

It wasn't bad... it was just weird. You miss out on that first day of cruise excitement. Honestly, my biggest regret is not having spent more time in Rome (considering we had the time to do so too).

 

Do you recall about what time the muster drill was? Our roll call is having our meet and greet right after since it didn't make since to wait until the sea day at the end of the cruise. Were the passengers who spent the day in Rome back on board yet?

 

It was at 4:30, and it was over around 5ish. By the time it was over more people had returned to the ship, we hung out on our balcony (facing the dock) and watched people come back from their tours. I'd say by about 6 the vast majority were back.

 

I'm also interested in the process for tender tickets for Cannes. I realize you didn't get off the ship there, but am hoping you recall some of the details. I posted a thread asking if they hold back some of the early letters for the folks embarking mid-cruise and no one has known yet. I'm hoping that because I'm Gold and priority tender tickets is one of the perks that I'll be fine, but would love to know more.

 

There were a few ways to do this. You could "order" them on the TV (very easy system to use), or you could get them from the shore excursions desk and one other place (I don't remember where--maybe the TV screens throughout, but it is probably in one of the daily activity sheets and I will dig them out and check after I drag myself from this bed). From what pretty much everyone said though was that they didn't even scan the cards when gathering to board the tenders). If booking a tour someone said they all gathered together, got their number stickers and then boarded together. I would not expect them to hold anything for us mid-way jumper on-ers. I wasn't able to book our Napoli excursion via the TV until after they boarded on Sunday... everything was pretty much set up that Day 1 was Sunday, and Day 7 was Saturday, and even though our Day 1 was Wednesday, really it was not.

 

I love that you travel with your daughter. My girl is no 22, but I've cruised with her since she was shy of two years old and traveling with her had been a wonderful part of our lives!

 

People think i'm crazy for traveling so much with her... but who else would I share this with? (And, who else will sleep until 12-1pm so I can work all morning?). I love it, I will be so sad when she's "too old" to travel with me. She's already planning an epic around the world trip for her and her best friend after high school. And I'm not invited (but I have been invited to fund it for the pair of them :'))

 

Looking forward to the rest of your review. :)

 

I worry I may have been too negative... I would book this cruise again in a heartbeat... I'm looking at a longer one and then this same cruise again next year, from Rome.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I worry I may have been too negative... I would book this cruise again in a heartbeat... I'm looking at a longer one and then this same cruise again next year, from Rome.

 

 

No worries about being too negative. You just sound pragmatic. :)

 

My Bug and I went on our epic trip when she gradated from HS in 2013. We traveled through Europe (13 countries) for five weeks, including a 12-night Baltic cruise. In five weeks, my 18-year-old and I snapped at each other exactly once. We love spending time together and I feel very fortunate to have that relationship with her!

 

On the tender tickets, I think my biggest concern is whether I'll be able to get off the ship early. I have a car reserved to drive through Provence and I want to spend as much time doing that as possible. My fear is that boarding mid-week will mean all the early tender tickets are gone. I understand how and where to get them just not what I'll end up getting. Hopefully being Gold will help. It's the most important perk! LOL.

[Quilting_Cruiser]

And, I meant to say that not having the first-day hoopla is fine for me. I'm a solo traveler now (see post where I said my favorite travel companion is now 22 :)) and couldn't care less about the parties. :D

[xitappers2bx]

No worries about being too negative. You just sound pragmatic. :)

 

My Bug and I went on our epic trip when she gradated from HS in 2013. We traveled through Europe (13 countries) for five weeks, including a 12-night Baltic cruise. In five weeks, my 18-year-old and I snapped at each other exactly once. We love spending time together and I feel very fortunate to have that relationship with her!

 

On the tender tickets, I think my biggest concern is whether I'll be able to get off the ship early. I have a car reserved to drive through Provence and I want to spend as much time doing that as possible. My fear is that boarding mid-week will mean all the early tender tickets are gone. I understand how and where to get them just not what I'll end up getting. Hopefully being Gold will help. It's the most important perk! LOL.

 

I wouldn't worry too much about the tender, BUT you can try and book it as soon as you board on the screens (the Bug is adamant that this was an option, she played with the giant TVs, I thought they were too big).

[Quilting_Cruiser]

I wouldn't worry too much about the tender, BUT you can try and book it as soon as you board on the screens (the Bug is adamant that this was an option, she played with the giant TVs, I thought they were too big).

 

 

I will absolutely make that my highest priority upon boarding! The Bug is correct (according to a number of other reports I've heard).

[xitappers2bx]

I have a lot to stay about the stateroom, and staterooms in general. As mentioned, we were in a mini suite, stateroom 8060, and the location was great, right by the elevator and yet entirely quiet.

 

I have had the good fortune to travel in each type of stateroom out there, and while I do not particularly like inside and ocean view staterooms, if designed well, they're not all that bad. We cruised in an inside on Liberty of the Seas, and I have to say, the RCCL bathrooms are incredibly well designed. I love the way that they have created shower doors that are solid, and come out from the sides creating enough space to shower, while not taking over the entire space when not in use. We cruised in an ocean view on Princess (both of these cruises were booked super last minute, so we had no real choice where the rooms were or what category... both of these were the literal last rooms on the ship). That was what I'd call standard Carnival. On Carnival we have cruised in a balcony, ocean suite, and grand suite, and on Holland America we cruised in a Neptune Suite. So I feel like I have a pretty wide range of stateroom experience. The bathrooms in the balcony staterooms on Carnival are just meh (exactly the same as on Princess) while the suite bathrooms on Carnival and HAL were much nicer, but still fairly uninspiring or exceptional.

 

Back to the Epic... I'd be lying if I said I had not heard any of the negative comments regarding the staterooms of the Epic. People seem to have very strong feelings, particularly towards the bathrooms. I will admit when we first got there I was worried about privacy but this was absolutely not an issue even in the slightest. With the toilette to the left, and the tub and shower to the right, I thought that the space in this area created what felt like an open and unclausterphobic space even with the doors closed (unlike the other non-suite bathrooms where my short self can reach side to side in the bathroom). I LOVED the tub, it was huge, and made the shower feel pretty big, and after a month using a typical French shower, it was so incredibly luxurious. The curtain between the bathroom space and the living space was more than enough to protect our modesty, and we just made it a point to not shower when the other person was out and about so there would be no risk of unmentionables being seen either by the child (or the parent) or the outside world.

 

So... the bathroom... really not that bad. And by the end of the week we weren't even thinking twice about it. The rest of the stateroom..

 

Let's talk about the storage space. I have never traveled with as much clothes as we have traveled with. We essentially had to pack for two climates (Paris is about 25 or so degrees colder than Rome and the Med... we went from 94 this morning in Rome to 62 and wet in Paris this afternoon) for about six weeks, and we each had a large suitcase, plus one backpack. I was really worried that everything wouldn't fit, and we'd just store extra stuff in the suitcases.

 

We didn't need that. We unpacked everything, and there was STILL leftover space (an insane amount). This is the kind of storage stuff I dream about anytime I am on a Carnival ship. There was a wardrobe with more than enough hangers (never enough on CCL or RCCL) for a small army of children. All of our shoes fit in the bottom, next to the multitude of life jackets (my poor Bug is so tiny, the steward had no clue if she was an adult or a kid). Next to the wardrobe there was a half-sized wardrobe (to the counter, and then under neath that was the mini fridge) with the safe and shelves that were deep enough to hold all of the Bug's clothes that didn't get hung up, with space to spare. There were seven cabinets overhead (making three large storage spaces and one half-sized one perfect for storing snacks). Two large cabinets underneath, each with baskets attached that were perfect for holding socks and underthings and one half-sized space which is where the only outlets were (two European two American) and underneath that ledge is where we put 12 1,5 liter bottles of water we had pre-ordered. These ran the length of the room. At the opposite end, near the balcony door were two wardrobes, one with a rail that held up the laundry bag where our dirty clothes went, and the bottom became a storage spot for our backpack to keep it out of the way, while the second wardrobe was split in half with a shelf, and was perfect for holding all of my clothes. Next to the bed was another huge space with three shelves inside, which held all of my books and my laptop (out of sight, out of mind). The sofa that turned into the bed was pretty cool---I was worried because it's so funky shaped, BUT it pulls out at least a foot, and was about as wide as a twin bed when turned down, and then during the day we could nudge it in a bit and had more room to walk around.

 

Then perhaps the best part. One of the things I really dislike about the other lines we have been on is how there are windows that aren't floor to ceiling, and on Epic I was finally granted what I had longed for--floor to ceiling windows, plus a sliding door, not a typical door. I also liked that the balcony door had a child lock high up. The balcony was HUUUUUUUUUUUGE. It wasn't as wide as any of the other suite balcony's we have had, BUT it was by far the deepest balcony ever, with the exception of the grand suite on Carnival, which was probably about as deep. The only thing that sucked about the balcony was the lack of a lounger. There was more than enough space (I saw a few people make this comment, and thought they were nuts, on any other ship I have been on that would have been insane to consider) for a lounger and I could have taken such wonderful naps out there. Needless to say, I still managed to get comfortable and read hundreds and hundreds of pages out there, and it was truly wonderful.

 

Picture time... in the next post.

[Tiggertastic]

Thanks for this, were boarding in Rome and wondered how muster worked etc.

 

 

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[xitappers2bx]

This was how we entered the ship... I thought we entered aft, but it must have been forward. We were next to a Disney ship too! (One day we shall cruise Disney... did I mention we were in Disney World the week before we left for Europe... we, and my mom, are major Disney dorks).

 

 

In a testament to my shoddy camera work, a blurry 8th floor hallway. Our stateroom was right around the corner from that last elevator on the far side, and I was shocked that we never heard any noise.

 

 

 

The stateroom

 

 

The bath/shower closed

 

 

The bath/shower open

 

 

Seriously... it was huge. I am by no means a "small" girl (I lift heavy weights... and look like it) and I found it to be incredibly spacious. There was also an amazing amount of space in the shower, we each have our own face wash, shampoos, three types of conditioner between the two of us, we had three body washes, and then hung our loufas (no clue how to spell that) on the inside of the shower door handle.

[xitappers2bx]

On the opposite side we have the toilette

 

 

And right after the toilette, the sink

 

 

The sink was tiny, but was fine for hand washing and teeth brushing. It did make some gurgling noises that I found would wake up the Bug, so I had to be super quiet.

 

Here is a panoramic of the room, from the balcony looking towards the door (obviously). And that's the Bug, checking her phone, like most 13 year olds do before being seriously cut off for the week (we fortunately have international data and texting).

 

 

A close up of the bed. Mama pays for the room, so mama gets a whole bed. After sharing a queen for a month, we were over it, and she happily slept on the couch.

 

 

And now the insane amount of space. This is the wardrobe that held all the hangers you'd ever need, plus all the shoes. And then a bit of the shelves and the safe next to it.

 

 

The plugs, the shelf that held our phones and the iPad, and the cabinet that held all 12 bottles of water with room to spare (not that anyone would need 18, but you could probably fit 18 in there).