An EPIC Cruise Review From A Carnival Cruiser

[havanadaydreaming]

really enjoying this review! I do respect all opinions, after all its your/my/their reality.

 

wife ordered lasagna on Sky in Feb, MDR I think. didn't finish it but I did. good not great.

 

i find good food on every cruise line and some that's just ok, and im fine with that. i love the Fieri burgers on Carnival. like the MDR and deli. i prefer buffet on ncl and MSC.

 

i had a blast on all three. i think carnival had better balcony rooms but I can't really describe why.

 

we only had carnival Italian joint on a free lunch day. it was good! I didn't consider specialty upgrade restaurants til my 5th or 6th cruise, post Carnival. i thought ncl outdid MSC.

 

i guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

[riclop]

Epic is horrible.

[Sailing12Away]

Epic is horrible.

Care to elaborate on that? I climb aboard in just 3 days out of Rome.

[Sailing12Away]

To compare, Carnival's Italian is $30 for two. Their steakhouse for two is $70.

 

I would never expect to pay NYC prices on a cruise ship. I have already paid for a meal, I should only be paying for the experience of a nice restaurant serving higher quality food than the MDR. In my opinion, this was a miss on both levels. :)

 

If I find a porterhouse for 2 and the price is <$100, I'm questioning where this cow came from and how long he's been dead (dead and not intentionally aging, that is).

 

Did you actually have any costs at these specialty restaurants, outside of alcohol if it wasn't included in your plan? Because you're making it seem like you paid for your ticket which includes MDR, and also had to pay at the specialty places despite you taking the dining as your free at sea offer.

 

We've got $140 onboard credit to use towards dining, so I'll let you know which one we end up going with in about a week or two when we're back on land.

[Tutontow]

Care to elaborate on that? I climb aboard in just 3 days out of Rome.

 

I sailed her twice and loved it both times. The staff, drinks, food, entertainment were all wonderful. The only heartburn was disembarking at Port Canaveral and I have read that NCL will no longer be sailing their megaships out of PC because the port is not set up to handle that many people at once. I will say the pictures of LaCucina's food posted here and the ones posted by Doug in his Live Bliss thread look entirely different. They must have had a lousy chef on jams cruise.

[jam19872016]

really enjoying this review! I do respect all opinions, after all its your/my/their reality.

 

wife ordered lasagna on Sky in Feb, MDR I think. didn't finish it but I did. good not great.

 

i find good food on every cruise line and some that's just ok, and im fine with that. i love the Fieri burgers on Carnival. like the MDR and deli. i prefer buffet on ncl and MSC.

 

i had a blast on all three. i think carnival had better balcony rooms but I can't really describe why.

 

we only had carnival Italian joint on a free lunch day. it was good! I didn't consider specialty upgrade restaurants til my 5th or 6th cruise, post Carnival. i thought ncl outdid MSC.

 

i guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

 

Sent from my SM-G955U using Forums mobile app

 

Those burgers are so so bad but so so good. I try to only eat one a cruise so I don't have a massive stroke on the Lido deck. :D I will also give the slight edge to NCL on their buffet, but honestly both left a bit to be desired.

 

Epic is horrible.

 

I disagree completely. There were some odd choices with the design of the ship that can be easily forgiven as it was NCL's first try at a ship this large. They went back to the drawing board and I believe made significant improvements.

[jam19872016]

Care to elaborate on that? I climb aboard in just 3 days out of Rome.

 

I doubt you will get an explanation, and I personally tend to discount one liner opinions that offer no reasoning behind how they reached their conclusion.

 

If I find a porterhouse for 2 and the price is <$100, I'm questioning where this cow came from and how long he's been dead (dead and not intentionally aging, that is).

 

Did you actually have any costs at these specialty restaurants, outside of alcohol if it wasn't included in your plan? Because you're making it seem like you paid for your ticket which includes MDR, and also had to pay at the specialty places despite you taking the dining as your free at sea offer.

 

We've got $140 onboard credit to use towards dining, so I'll let you know which one we end up going with in about a week or two when we're back on land.

 

Don't think of it as paying $100 for two high quality steaks. Think of it as the difference in price between their cheapest flat iron and their highest quality steak but in a more elegant setting. Because essentially, that is what it is. You have already paid for their basic meal, this is simply an upgrade charge to a higher quality cut of meat with a nicer ambiance.

 

No, there was no charge for me I was simply quoting the price that I would have paid without the dining plan. I am by no means an Italian food expert, but I think on a good day with food that tasted the way NCL intended it to taste it would still be on par with say an Olive Garden. Without alcohol purchases, and not including tax and tip, I would never expect to pay $64 at Olive Garden. I highly doubt the NCL execs intend for this place to be comparative in quality to a fine dining NYC Italian place.

 

Enjoy your cruise and I look forward to hearing about your experiences. I was hoping to make it to Europe for a cruise this year, but alas poor financial responsibility on this trip has caused me to have to table that idea for another year.

[jam19872016]

I sailed her twice and loved it both times. The staff, drinks, food, entertainment were all wonderful. The only heartburn was disembarking at Port Canaveral and I have read that NCL will no longer be sailing their megaships out of PC because the port is not set up to handle that many people at once. I will say the pictures of LaCucina's food posted here and the ones posted by Doug in his Live Bliss thread look entirely different. They must have had a lousy chef on jams cruise.

 

I agree on all points except the food. If I had a problem with the entertainment, it would be that I was not prepared for the fact that reservations were a must and I wasn't willing to go standby. That's on me.

 

Interestingly about the port, I'm not sure how true it was but our shuttle driver on the ride over said when they redid the port to accommodate the larger Epic they actually made it harder to handle the crowds. He could load and unload more people because there were two drop off points and now only one and in an inconvenient location that caused porters to have to cross traffic to load luggage.

 

I also looked at Doug's pictures and thought to myself "man that food looks much better than what I ate".

[jam19872016]

Day 5: Grand Cayman

 

Today we were in Grand Cayman. I have now been here six times which is more than I've been to any other port of call. Since we have to take a tender, it is a bit of a hassle but I do think it is worth the ride in unlike some other ports I've had to tender into (looking at you Belize).

 

I booked us an excursion through NCL for our day in Grand Cayman. I took a similar tour my first trip here but with one more stop (on a semi-submarine) for about $40 per person from someone at the docks. Through NCL, this tour was about $80 per person and did not include a ride on a semi-sub. Quite the markup but I really appreciate that NCL does not market themselves as cheaper than booking independently. Carnival's excursion marketing is at best misleading, and at worse false advertising.

 

Things today got off to a rocky start. Our tickets said to meet at the dock at 8:30 and allow for 30 minutes for the ride over. So we needed to grab a tender at 8. My mom was up before me (naturally) and I heard her come back in the room at some point. She said she was not going back to sleep and would wake me up in time for breakfast.

 

I woke up around 7, and she was in fact sleeping. I don't like to be woken up, so I quietly got dressed and headed out for breakfast. It was 7:44 when I returned to the room, and my mom was gone. Not only was she gone, but so were the tickets for the shore excursion. There was a message on the answering machine, but it was just a hangup no actual message.

 

I searched everywhere I could think of. I checked the Library for her. She wasn't there. Went back to the room. Not there. Checked the theater where people were meeting for tenders. Not there. I was really starting to panic so I went to guest services to fill out a lost mommy report and they suggested checking at Moderno where they were also loading tenders. As I was walking towards Moderno - there she was.

 

I am obsessively early for things. I get that from her. But this was a bit ridiculous. When I wasn't back at 7:40 (for an 8 meeting time) she left thinking I would just meet her there because I was running "so late". Really?

 

I moved passed it so it wouldn't put a damper on our day but I was still a little concerned about missing the excursion now. I knew there was another tour offered in the afternoon and if their was room, we could probably get squeezed in. I also knew these things never start on time because some jerk was always running late. Today I would be that jerk. We made it and they hadn't even loaded yet so I didn't have to be known as that jerk to everyone else. There was enough chaos (seemingly controlled chaos, but chaos nonetheless) that I don't think anyone knew I was the hold up. Phew. We boadred about 8:40, so not too late.

[jam19872016]

Tender ride over.

 

The Epic.

 

 

 

Carnival Paradise.

 

 

 

 

HAL Eurodam.

 

[jam19872016]

The first stop on our tour was to Hell. This was what sold my mom on this tour - she loved telling her friends that she was going to Hell. It was a fun little stop but perhaps my mom had higher hopes for this place than what it was. It is essentialy a small tourist trap shop. But it is a cute one.

 

Limestone formation in Hell.

 

 

My mom posing with the devil.

 

 

She did not want to pose for this one because "that is not the devil, that is some guy wearing horns". lol

 

 

Next we stopped at a gift shop with rum cake samples. I was hoping this was the same place I visited the last time I was here. It was. When everyone runs for the rum samples, head to the back of the store and buy an empenada. BEST EMPENADA EVER!!! I have longed for another one of these for over two years and finally got one! These things are the bomb and not long after I got one I kept getting asked where I got it from and then everyone seemed to have one. Very yummy. I would imagine most tours stop at this particular shop, but in case they don't, it is right next to the Craked Conch.

 

 

I'm not sure why I had the forethought to take a picture of what it was next to, but not to grab a picture of the actual building. Oh well, it is so worth it if you decide to look for it.

[jam19872016]

While others were inside shopping, I took a walk by the water behind the store.

 

 

 

 

We're gonna have to work on her "smile for the camera face". Maybe if I tell her to say cheese?

 

 

 

 

The next stop on our tour was to the turtle farm.

 

 

 

That picture does not really show how big these turtles get. They are HUGE and I wish I had captured that better.

[rtkenmore]

The first stop on our tour was to Hell. This was what sold my mom on this tour - she loved telling her friends that she was going to Hell. It was a fun little stop but perhaps my mom had higher hopes for this place than what it was. It is essentialy a small tourist trap shop. But it is a cute one.

 

 

 

Limestone formation in Hell.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My mom posing with the devil.

 

 

 

 

 

 

She did not want to pose for this one because "that is not the devil, that is some guy wearing horns". lol

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next we stopped at a gift shop with rum cake samples. I was hoping this was the same place I visited the last time I was here. It was. When everyone runs for the rum samples, head to the back of the store and buy an empenada. BEST EMPENADA EVER!!! I have longed for another one of these for over two years and finally got one! These things are the bomb and not long after I got one I kept getting asked where I got it from and then everyone seemed to have one. Very yummy. I would imagine most tours stop at this particular shop, but in case they don't, it is right next to the Craked Conch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm not sure why I had the forethought to take a picture of what it was next to, but not to grab a picture of the actual building. Oh well, it is so worth it if you decide to look for it.

 

 

 

Our last trip on Escape, we finally did the excursion that included Hell... I send all of my friends a postcard from Hell!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[jam19872016]

This guy was happy to have his picture taken. He even posed for me. I almost think I could have picked him up and petted him.

 

 

I'm not even sure what this first face is supposed to be. But by the second one, her smile face is coming along nicely.

 

 

 

All kidding aside though, I love those two pictures of her holding the turtle. I will cherish them forever.

 

Some random pictures that I don't know why I took.

 

 

 

This random picture was for my mom. She was fascinated by the colors of the building and flowers and wanted a picture of it on the ride back.

 

 

I asked my wise Uncle Google about it when I got home and this is what he told me.

 

The Avalon Condominiums offers luxuriously appointed rental condos on the broadest and most beautiful 300 feet of Grand Cayman’s Seven Mile Beach, a destination renowned for its white, powdery sand and turquoise waters. Every condo is full beachfront, guaranteed, providing each unit with stunning views.

 

Making an already picture-perfect vacation that much better, The Avalon is one of the few remaining low-density luxury properties on Seven Mile Beach. Enjoy serene seclusion and privacy with no need to worry about crowds ruining your view or disturbing your peace and quiet! Our luxurious condos also feature 3 bedrooms per unit, meaning you can get away to the Caymans with family or friends for less, and still have plenty of space to spread out.

 

During low season, a group of up to 4 can book for $495 per night minimum three night stay.

[jam19872016]

The ships coming back into view.

 

 

 

 

All in all, I felt like it was a great tour. It was a bit expensive for what it was. You can absolutely get a better value by shopping around. I am sure in addition to the normal markups associated with cruise line bookings, they mark it up a bit more to subsidize the shore excursion perk. As long as you know you will be paying more, I would recommend this excursion through NCL. It was not excessively crowded and it was a comfortable and climate controlled ride with a knowledgeable guide who was easy to understand.

 

Once back my mom walked around the shops a bit but could not find anything she was interested in. Grand Cayman is much richer than most of the islands and as such the bargains are not as plentiful for a thrifty shopper like my mom.

 

Back on the ship we hit the Garden Cafe for lunch again.

 

The balance of my afternoon was spent either watching TV or walking around outside on the pool deck. I finally started to get a handle on the TV situation. There is one channel that plays shows sporadically and I was getting good at figuring out the schedule which was less sporadic than it appeared, just not a normal time for shows to start.

 

My mom continued to make good use of the library.

[jam19872016]

Tonight's dinner menu.

 

 

 

For my starter I had the slider.

 

 

For my main I hate the spaghetti bolognese and the short rib ragu.

 

 

 

The spaghetti was fantastic and could easily be a fall back option when nothing else looks good. The short rib ragu was just plain nasty. Other than last night's meal, I don't usually rate food this bad but this was awful.

[jam19872016]

Dessert menu.

 

 

For dessert I had the warm chocolate lava cake and strawberry napoleon.

 

 

 

I wasn't sure how NCL's signature dessert was going to stack up against Carnival's signature dessert - the warm chocolate melting cake (WCMC) and went in with low expectations considering my overall impressions of the food so far. I was very pleasantly surprised. It was very good and right on par with the WCMC. The WCMC is not always consistently good ship to ship (but usually night to night on the same ship) so I will call this a tie (but maybe this is not consistently this good ship to ship?). The only thing I think could make Carnival's better, is if they added those strawberries. I may ask for some next time to test this theory. For research purposes.

 

The napoleon was ok.

 

Service tonight was again quick and efficient while food was again hit or miss.

 

After dinner there were a couple things we were looking at maybe doing. One was Legends Live in Headliners. But it was on standby so we decided to pass. I was also interested in checking out Priscilla Queen of the Dessert. This was also only on standby. I did not care to make reservations and I wish that I had as it was always on standby only. Lesson learned and although I don't like the idea of having to plan ahead, I like the idea of missing out even less so I will be making reservations ahead of time in the future.

 

With that a bust, I headed to the casino while my mom headed to the room. She had expressed interest in going to the Johnny Cash tribute but went to sleep instead. Lame.

 

I casino'd for a bit then I went to bed also. Also lame.

 

Tomorrow will be our final sea day.

[jam19872016]

Our last trip on Escape, we finally did the excursion that included Hell... I send all of my friends a postcard from Hell!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

I love it! I love how versatile the word Hell is and how many creative ways they used it on shirts postcards etc. If I ever go back I will have to get past the sticker shock and buy myself one of those t-shirts.

[adjensen]

I've never had osso bucco before and so I may just not like it. It was bad enough that I will probably never be willing to try it again to find out. The risotto that it was served with was a pile of mush. It had no flavor except mushy nastiness in my mouth.

 

Not to quibble, but you ordered something you never had before, didn't like it, and that contributed to your worst meal experience ever? Can't you have just said "I don't like this, give me something else?" Maybe you can't do that in the specialty dining rooms, like you can in the main dining rooms.

 

Anyway, you missed a bet on this one -- I ordered the Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola crust when I was on the Escape in February, and it was fantastic. My wife and I agreed that La Cucina that night was one of the best meals we've had while cruising. Different strokes for different folks, though -- having sailed on both Carnival and NCL many, many times, the food on NCL is far superior. Apart from Guy's burgers, there's nothing, food wise, that I would favour on Carnival over NCL.

[ksy8384]

We are plat on Carnival and we are thinking of booking the Transatlantic next April. My husband loves the casino so I have to ask how is it with the smokiness compared to your experiences on CCL? Sorry if this has been answered already I am only on page 2 but wanted to ask.

[camper49]

I sailed her twice and loved it both times. The staff, drinks, food, entertainment were all wonderful. The only heartburn was disembarking at Port Canaveral and I have read that NCL will no longer be sailing their megaships out of PC because the port is not set up to handle that many people at once. I will say the pictures of LaCucina's food posted here and the ones posted by Doug in his Live Bliss thread look entirely different. They must have had a lousy chef on jams cruise.

Sure hope Epic is sailing out of PC on 02/02/2019! That's what our reservation says....

[jam19872016]

Not to quibble, but you ordered something you never had before, didn't like it, and that contributed to your worst meal experience ever? Can't you have just said "I don't like this, give me something else?" Maybe you can't do that in the specialty dining rooms, like you can in the main dining rooms.

 

Anyway, you missed a bet on this one -- I ordered the Filet Mignon with Gorgonzola crust when I was on the Escape in February, and it was fantastic. My wife and I agreed that La Cucina that night was one of the best meals we've had while cruising. Different strokes for different folks, though -- having sailed on both Carnival and NCL many, many times, the food on NCL is far superior. Apart from Guy's burgers, there's nothing, food wise, that I would favour on Carnival over NCL.

 

I am sure I could have had it replaced with another item if I had spoken up. I do not consider the osso bucco to be a contributing factor to my poor meal. I frequently try new items (one of the great thing about cruising) and they don't always being something that I like. This was one of those times and it just happened to be something I tried on a meal that failed on almost every dish. I can honestly say the Osso Bucco was the least of my concerns.

 

It seems many would agree with you based on other comments from people who have sailed both lines. But that does not change my opinion of the food or how I experienced the quality of food on NCL versus the quality on Carnival.

 

If I somehow find myself in La Cucina again, I will try the filet, but if I don't like it you're gonna be held personally responsible :D

 

We are plat on Carnival and we are thinking of booking the Transatlantic next April. My husband loves the casino so I have to ask how is it with the smokiness compared to your experiences on CCL? Sorry if this has been answered already I am only on page 2 but wanted to ask.

 

I read a thread on here recently complaining about the smoke in the Epic casino. I found that odd as I was personally very impressed with how little smoke I noticed. I still smelled like an ash tray when I got back to the room but unless I was sitting next to someone smoking, I never smelled smoke. I also spent more time in the casino than I ever have in one week and suffered no breathing problems. The smell does not really bother me, but on Carnival if I spend a large amount of time playing I do have trouble breathing and usually will end up with a nasty cough that persists for several days after the cruise. This did not happen this time.

 

For certain, there is no way that Carnival could have a dining room located one deck below the casino with an open ceiling like NCL does. They are doing something better than Carnival at controlling the smell. It may not be good enough to not still generate complaints from time to time, but it was much much better controlled than on Carnival.

[jam19872016]

Sure hope Epic is sailing out of PC on 02/02/2019! That's what our reservation says....

 

The Epic will be returning to PC for one more season at the end of this year. I believe the Breakaway will be the seasonal ship from PC after that. I still think that will be more people than this port is equipped to handle, it was a mess to say the least.

[Bobrunner]

I am sure I could have had it replaced with another item if I had spoken up. I do not consider the osso bucco to be a contributing factor to my poor meal. I frequently try new items (one of the great thing about cruising) and they don't always being something that I like. This was one of those times and it just happened to be something I tried on a meal that failed on almost every dish. I can honestly say the Osso Bucco was the least of my concerns.

 

It seems many would agree with you based on other comments from people who have sailed both lines. But that does not change my opinion of the food or how I experienced the quality of food on NCL versus the quality on Carnival.

 

If I somehow find myself in La Cucina again, I will try the filet, but if I don't like it you're gonna be held personally responsible :D

 

 

 

I read a thread on here recently complaining about the smoke in the Epic casino. I found that odd as I was personally very impressed with how little smoke I noticed. I still smelled like an ash tray when I got back to the room but unless I was sitting next to someone smoking, I never smelled smoke. I also spent more time in the casino than I ever have in one week and suffered no breathing problems. The smell does not really bother me, but on Carnival if I spend a large amount of time playing I do have trouble breathing and usually will end up with a nasty cough that persists for several days after the cruise. This did not happen this time.

 

For certain, there is no way that Carnival could have a dining room located one deck below the casino with an open ceiling like NCL does. They are doing something better than Carnival at controlling the smell. It may not be good enough to not still generate complaints from time to time, but it was much much better controlled than on Carnival.

 

Just got off the Carnival Sunshine and the the smoke :eek::eek:in the casino was the worsted I have ever experienced on any cruise ship. And we play the casino all the time.

[jam19872016]

Just got off the Carnival Sunshine and the the smoke :eek::eek:in the casino was the worsted I have ever experienced on any cruise ship. And we play the casino all the time.

 

Hope you had a great trip otherwise. It gets a lot of bad reviews, but Sunshine is my 2nd favorite ship I've been on. Sad to see it is leaving Florida next year.