Epic review 2/24 to 3/3

[cincicruisers]

I am not great at writing but thought I would share some info from our cruise vacation. I also do not have picture sorry.

 

This cruise was our first on NCL and our ship was the Epic. We are Diamond on Royal. We wanted to try something new and I am glad we did.

 

We flew in a day early and stayed at the Raddison at the Port. Our room was nice with living room/table and chairs. Bedroom had two Queen beds. We requested a roll away bed and that worked out great. I had heard that the rooms were dated, but everything in our room was fresh and clean.

 

We had pre-arranged a private shuttle from CB Shuttle. When I called after getting luggage they arrived in less than 10 minutes.

 

While we were waiting for my daughters flight we got some appetizers. We had 4 beers, 1 soda, fries, onion rings, and spinach dip. The total was only $48 before tip. We listened to the music and relaxed by the bar.

 

When my daughter got there we headed over to Grills for dinner. It was ok, not a favorite for me, but the family liked it. We used Uber to take us there and again to take us back. Very reasonable prices and a funny driver.

 

We stayed up late as we didn't want to wait in line that long.

 

 

Traveling were me (53), DH (56), DS (34), and DD (30).

[rmurray847]

Great so far. Keep it coming!

[cincicruisers]

We used Uber to go to the port. Quick and easy.

 

Time to board the ship!! We arrived at the port at 11:15 and walked on the ship at 11:50. I do have a walker so I was taken to a different line. The overall lines were not very long.

 

We went to Shore Excursions to book our clam shells for GSC. Your ticket will get you on early tender.

 

We went to Taste for lunch, it was very good. We had fish and chips, philly, and other items that were delicious.

 

From there we went to headliners to book comedy shows. We had already booked Burn the floor and Priscilla online.

 

We went to the atrium to get a drink and wait for the rooms to ready. There was a lady who was very loud and obnoxious about the rooms not being ready. Her husband looked embarrassed and tried to get her to quiet down. I was hoping I would not run into her during the cruise, thank goodness I did not.

 

 

Our rooms were ready and we headed that way. We had 10276 & 10282. We had a HA cabin. My scooter was already in the room. I walk with a walker, but I was nervous I would not be able to do the long walking. The room was nice. The bathroom had a shower seat, and a ramp to the balcony. Our balcony was very large. We had two loungers, 2 chairs, and a table. The bed was comfortable and we slept well. The only issue with the room was the water pressure. I have long thick hair and it took forever to rinse out. When your in an HA cabin there is no sofa. There is one chair by the desk. I sat on my scooter and Greg sat in the one chair. Truthfully we spent most of our time on the balcony. The scooter and rollator walker would not fit in regular balcony.

 

 

We met our Stewart Jerome. We tipped him and made a few requests- 3 beach towels daily, Ice 2x daily, extra coffee pods. We called him Ninja as everything was taken care of, but we did not see him.

 

 

The kids room was an inside 10282. It was really small but they managed. They hung out on our balcony a lot.

 

 

Muster was quick and painless.

 

 

We went on the spa tour and my daughter signed up for a hot stone massage and acupuncture. She had the acupuncture at 4:45 so she met us at the buffet.

 

One thing I did miss was that there was not a Welcome Aboard show. Normally you get a sneak peak of the entertainment for the week. They had a Beatles show which was good.

 

We hit the casino for awhile and made a donation.

 

Finished the night with wings from O'Sheehan's.

[cincicruisers]

Day 2, Nassau

 

Ordered coffee to arrive at 7:30. I got spoiled having coffee delivered everyday. We went to Taste for breakfast.

 

We had purchased Resort for the Day for the Hilton. The pool was nice as was the beach. It kind of cool that you can see the cruise ships from the beach. Would not want to doze off and wake up to see the ships moving.Yikes!

 

The cost was $79 each. You got a $40 food/beverage credit. We had really poor service. We ended up leaving around. 2 pm and we did not use all our our credits.

 

I would not recommend this resort. It's about a 10-15 minute walk. I used the scooter. We had no problems going thru the straw market. A simple no was good enough.

 

My husband and I dined at La Bistro for dinner. We had a lovely meal of onion soup, filet, and desert. My husband is not usually a desert person. I ordered the cream puffs (don't remember its fancy name) and the chocolate fondue. Let me just say that my man suddenly eating up all the deserts. I gave him the 3rd cream puff and we shared the fondue. This was one of my favorite meals on the ship.

 

We waddled out of here and headed to the Love and Marriage game. It's always funny. Comedy was at 11pm. I was so tired I had to turn in for the night. We had a great day.

 

More later

[drafterdw]

We used Uber to go to the port. Quick and easy.

 

Time to board the ship!! We arrived at the port at 11:15 and walked on the ship at 11:50. I do have a walker so I was taken to a different line. The overall lines were not very long.

 

We went to Shore Excursions to book our clam shells for GSC. Your ticket will get you on early tender.

 

We went to Taste for lunch, it was very good. We had fish and chips, philly, and other items that were delicious.

 

From there we went to headliners to book comedy shows. We had already booked Burn the floor and Priscilla online.

 

We went to the atrium to get a drink and wait for the rooms to ready. There was a lady who was very loud and obnoxious about the rooms not being ready. Her husband looked embarrassed and tried to get her to quiet down. I was hoping I would not run into her during the cruise, thank goodness I did not.

 

 

Our rooms were ready and we headed that way. We had 10276 & 10282. We had a HA cabin. My scooter was already in the room. I walk with a walker, but I was nervous I would not be able to do the long walking. The room was nice. The bathroom had a shower seat, and a ramp to the balcony. Our balcony was very large. We had two loungers, 2 chairs, and a table. The bed was comfortable and we slept well. The only issue with the room was the water pressure. I have long thick hair and it took forever to rinse out. When your in an HA cabin there is no sofa. There is one chair by the desk. I sat on my scooter and Greg sat in the one chair. Truthfully we spent most of our time on the balcony. The scooter and rollator walker would not fit in regular balcony.

 

 

We met our Stewart Jerome. We tipped him and made a few requests- 3 beach towels daily, Ice 2x daily, extra coffee pods. We called him Ninja as everything was taken care of, but we did not see him.

 

 

The kids room was an inside 10282. It was really small but they managed. They hung out on our balcony a lot.

 

 

Muster was quick and painless.

 

 

We went on the spa tour and my daughter signed up for a hot stone massage and acupuncture. She had the acupuncture at 4:45 so she met us at the buffet.

 

One thing I did miss was that there was not a Welcome Aboard show. Normally you get a sneak peak of the entertainment for the week. They had a Beatles show which was good.

 

We hit the casino for awhile and made a donation.

 

Finished the night with wings from O'Sheehan's.

How much was Uber to port?

Wer?e pods for coffeee Keureg type or other

[rmurray847]

 

One thing I did miss was that there was not a Welcome Aboard show. Normally you get a sneak peak of the entertainment for the week. They had a Beatles show which was good.

 

Finished the night with wings from O'Sheehan's.

 

Funny, I actually wouldn't mind missing the Welcome Aboard show...we go to all the shows anyway, so don't need a sneak peek. And a Beatles show sounds like a great substitute to me!

 

And we love O'Sheehan's. A concept Royal has completely missed out on, to my chagrin. Love a late night snack of substance!

[cincicruisers]

Day 3, Sea Day

 

We had breakfast on the balcony. It was 7.95. Food was good and we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast.

 

We did the following today..

Culinary Cooking demo

How to run a floating hotel

Deal or no deal

Skeeter ball (we had a tournament between the four of us. I lost, my daughter won for the week)

Napping

Dinner at O'Sheehans (everything is yummy. We ate snacks at here throughout the week)

Priscilla Queen of the desert- the show was ok, just not my cup of tea. It was long..

Howl at the moon-so fun

Casino-another deposit..

[cincicruisers]

How much was Uber to port?

Wer?e pods for coffeee Keureg type or other

 

The pods were not for Keureg. Standard one cup pot. The coffee was actually pretty good.

 

Uber was $12

[cincicruisers]

Day 4, Falmouth Jamaica

 

Had breakfast at The Great Outdoors. We were planning on going ashore to go to Margaritaville. We were laying out by the pool, which was basically empty. We decided we would just stay on the ship. Why pay for drinks and food when we have at free on the ship.

 

My daughter had her massage today and also bought a day pass for the spa. She had a great relaxing day.

 

We had dinner thais night at Teppanyaki. Was a fun time and we had great folks at our table. Whatever you do try the wasabi cocktail. It is not spicy or hot. It's just delicious! Lots of food, the shrimp and steak were yummy.

 

We hung out in the casino this night.

[cincicruisers]

Day 5, Grand Cayman

 

The family went ashore and I stayed on board. It's a pain getting around with the walker sometimes. I stayed by the pool and read. So relaxing.

 

I went to O'Sheehans for lunch. I had the fajitas which were great.

 

I took a nap and we got ready to go to dinner at Cagneys. We had a nice time. The shrimp cocktail was good. I finished my meal with an Irish Coffee. I am not a big drinker and this drink made me tipsy.. I provided my family some entertainment.

 

Howl at the moon, great again. You need to go early to get seats. It's a small venue.

[Krisco]

Following. We were on this cruise too. Wasn't the weather the most perfect you could have asked for?

[rav4lady]

I've been on Epic 3times and booked this fall out of Barcelona for B2B with W Med then TA for repositioning. I'm curious about the changes since refurbishment. Sounds much The same which doesnt upset me.

[bluehawks47]

Thanks for your review. We will be getting on the Epic this Saturday :)

[Clarea]

Enjoying the review.

[cincicruisers]

Following. We were on this cruise too. Wasn't the weather the most perfect you could have asked for?

 

Yes the weather was awesome.

[DGP1111]

Yes the weather was awesome.

Agree. Agree. Agree!! :D

.

[Keith1010]

Very much enjoying your review/report.

Keith

[Lindys]

Good review enjoying the good info! Getting me excited for my TA on her in a few weeks

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

[cincicruisers]

Good review enjoying the good info! Getting me excited for my TA on her in a few weeks

 

Sent from my SM-G930T using Forums mobile app

 

Will finish up the review later this afternoon.

[cincicruisers]

Day 6, Sea day

 

Breakfast in Taste. Lunch at buffet. Dinner at buffet.

 

Today's activities

Towel folding

Bowling

Skeeter ball

Shopping for trinkets

Water slides

Final bingo

Burn the floor show

Hanging by the pool

[cincicruisers]

Day 7, Great Sturrip Cay

 

We got on the first tender with our clam shells reserved. This tender can hold several hundred people. When you are selecting your clamshell domtwo things. 1. Select the first row of clamshells or you will end up with a view of only clamshells. We chose to stay on the first beach as it's hard for me to get around. We had a bar right beside us the taco place was right there. The walk to the buffet was a hike, but the food was good. When we got there the tide was in, as the day went on the tide went out and massive coral was everywhere. We were thankful we brought our swim shoes. There was some great waves in the morning. I would definitely go back here.

[cincicruisers]

Odds and ends

 

1. It was strange to nor have access to the outside from only top floors.

2. Bingo is not as good as on RCCL. Everyday they increase the number of balls to get snowball jackpot. On the last day they give away the snowball jackpot (usually around 6-7). Epic only gives $5000.

3. Food across the board is better on NCL. Loved , O'Sheehans.

4. Missed the promenade.

5. Need some bigger venues, the atrium is not big enough for some of the shows.

6. Perfect couple was very funny.

7. We did napkin folding. I did not get one right and my husband got them all right. Lol

8. The casino w,as ve

[cincicruisers]

We had a fantastic cruise. I did not have excess wait times for anything.

Looking into another cruise with NCL. The only bad thing was the tight casino.

[LMKakaThing2]

Day 7, Great Sturrip Cay

 

We got on the first tender with our clam shells reserved. This tender can hold several hundred people. When you are selecting your clamshell domtwo things. 1. Select the first row of clamshells or you will end up with a view of only clamshells. We chose to stay on the first beach as it's hard for me to get around. We had a bar right beside us the taco place was right there. The walk to the buffet was a hike, but the food was good. When we got there the tide was in, as the day went on the tide went out and massive coral was everywhere. We were thankful we brought our swim shoes. There was some great waves in the morning. I would definitely go back here.

 

I was on that same cruise and in the same row of clamshells as you! The rocks/coral was horrible when the tide went out. If you saw someone cussing and bleeding around 12:30, that was me. Lost my footing and ended up slicing my ankle open. It wasn't until Saturday evening when I discovered how badly I had gotten cut up from the coral. I too wore swim shoes but with the coral and the waves, I kept getting knocked down.

[cincicruisers]

I was on that same cruise and in the same row of clamshells as you! The rocks/coral was horrible when the tide went out. If you saw someone cussing and bleeding around 12:30, that was me. Lost my footing and ended up slicing my ankle open. It wasn't until Saturday evening when I discovered how badly I had gotten cut up from the coral. I too wore swim shoes but with the coral and the waves, I kept getting knocked down.

So sorry to hear you got hurt. My husband broke his toe because he went in without water shoes. hope you healed quickly.