Epic Failure - live onboard now (1.26.2019)

[gatordad1]

6 hours ago, Newleno said:

great stirrup caye was going to be your best stop, a few months ago we had that port cancelled due to large swells, our room steward: Room steward was terrible (but we never report room stewards) no ice bucket in room until day 3, no notification of tender in Saint Lucia,  on 3 occasions we did not receive a daily,  did not replace coffee or cups 2 times,  we gave up on trying to get  turn down service "clean towels", oh even though we are platinum we had to ask for our bottle of sparkling wine, we never used our free laundry coupons, we were afraid the room steward would lose our laundry, etc for the that guy.

hope you adjusted your tip accordingly.

 

[SeaTheW0rld]

On 1/27/2019 at 5:05 PM, fshagan said:

 

I'm sorry you're not having a good time. The Epic is our least favorite NCL ship but we didn't run into any of the issues you are when we sailed her. Every cruise is different, of course, but we've never run into a lot of "no" on NCL, nor have we ever seen "unchanging menus" ... a complaint I don't know how you can make on your first day of a cruise.  Last time we sailed NCL the MDR had 4 to 6 different entrees each night, along with a list of "always available" options.

 

Edited to add that you can escalate your concerns about a dirty cabin all the way to the Hotel Manager or his boss if need be. We never had to go that far, but one of our complaints about the Epic (and large ships in general) is that you don't see your cabin steward as often as you do on the smaller ships. Usually a word to the steward is all that's needed.

Wow, why didn't I think of speaking to the steward about it? (Sarc). 

 

I had the executive housekeeper and his 2nd in my cabin. The 2nd starting arguing with me about the cleanliness. I dismissed both of them and told them the steward was not allowed in my cabin under any circumstances since they were not up to the task. 

 

My new Steward, Marco, is excellent as I've posted earlier. 

[SeaTheW0rld]

On 1/27/2019 at 4:43 PM, PegNRay said:

When your cruise is completed please post your cabin number. Thanks.

I'll post it now: 9017. It's an in-hull balcony. Can't see the water when sitting but it is VERY private and at least twice as deep as a normal balcony. It's protected from the weather, too. I like it. 

[SeaTheW0rld]

16 hours ago, Newleno said:

how much did the day cost

$50. 

 

Did I post earlier about the taxi driver funeral in Jamaica? There was a procession of local taxis celebrating the life of a driver that was liked. Much honking, flashing of lights and engine reving. It was a very special and highly local experience.

[fann1sh]

26 minutes ago, SeaTheW0rld said:

Did I post earlier about the taxi driver funeral in Jamaica? There was a procession of local taxis celebrating the life of a driver that was liked. Much honking, flashing of lights and engine reving. It was a very special and highly local experience.

 

And there's the thing you'll remember forever about this cruise. 

[JamieLogical]

I'm really glad it sounds like your experience has improved as the cruise has gone on. It's good they provided you with a new room steward. I feel so lucky to have had excellent stewards on all of my cruises so far, but it is encouraging to know that if I have one who is sub-par, I can requests a replacement.

 

Hope you enjoy the rest of the cruise!

[fshagan]

1 hour ago, SeaTheW0rld said:

Wow, why didn't I think of speaking to the steward about it? (Sarc). 

 

I had the executive housekeeper and his 2nd in my cabin. The 2nd starting arguing with me about the cleanliness. I dismissed both of them and told them the steward was not allowed in my cabin under any circumstances since they were not up to the task. 

 

My new Steward, Marco, is excellent as I've posted earlier. 

 

Please accept my deepest apologies. While I misunderstood your initial post, please forgive me, as it was certainly not intentional.

[Stealthdog]

I think it is fairly common in the cruise industry that gyms are not open 24 hrs.  I don't think I have been on a line that does offer 24 hours.  I get the need to keep them closed during sleeping hours though.  I hate going there on peak times and having to wait for equipment - 6AM should be good though because no one else will probably be there.

 

I agree completely about the boring and repetitive menus in the MDR.  I'd mix it up a little with some of the other options - Irish Bar, Specialty Dining, etc. 

 

Stateroom not being clean is not acceptable.  I would ask for your pre-paid gratuities to be credited back to your account and re-distribute them accordingly.

 

Enjoy the rest of the cruise while you can - we are getting snow where I am today and tomorrow is going to be around 15-20 degrees F.

[ColeThornton]

46 minutes ago, Stealthdog said:

Enjoy the rest of the cruise while you can - we are getting snow where I am today and tomorrow is going to be around 15-20 degrees F.

 

 

That's a heat wave.  🙂      Out here in the midwest we'll be looking at -45 wind chill.

[SeaTheW0rld]

53 minutes ago, Stealthdog said:

I think it is fairly common in the cruise industry that gyms are not open 24 hrs.  I don't think I have been on a line that does offer 24 hours.  I get the need to keep them closed during sleeping hours though.  I hate going there on peak times and having to wait for equipment - 6AM should be good though because no one else will probably be there.

 

I agree completely about the boring and repetitive menus in the MDR.  I'd mix it up a little with some of the other options - Irish Bar, Specialty Dining, etc. 

 

 

There's probably 25 to 30 people there at 6am. Kind of surprising. 

 

As for the tips, I will leave them intact since my new steward it's great and I really like the waiter I've been having at dinner (Locksley in the Manhattan dining room). Actually I have no complaints about the food/service in general. 

 

 

[SeaTheW0rld]

5 hours ago, fshagan said:

 

Please accept my deepest apologies. While I misunderstood your initial post, please forgive me, as it was certainly not intentional.

Of course. No harm, no foul. 😉

[Newleno]

On 1/27/2019 at 2:11 PM, ColinIllinois said:

 

It's a musical about drag queens on a journey.   Some folks love it, some walk out and some just don't even go.  It was a big hit on Broadway.

Yeah "Rock of Ages" was a big hit on broadway as well, we hated it, we wont bother to see Priscilla 

[Newleno]

16 hours ago, gatordad1 said:

hope you adjusted your tip accordingly.

 

No, (even though I have done it a few times before)  plus NCL gave us a free upgrade on this trip, We did not even know about it, we went to our assigned room and the key did not work, we went back to front desk, and voila "your key does not work because you have been upgraded"  That upgrade they gave us will cover a lot of mistakes, past, present, future.

[gatordad1]

2 minutes ago, Newleno said:

No, (even though I have done it a few times before)  plus NCL gave us a free upgrade on this trip, We did not even know about it, we went to our assigned room and the key did not work, we went back to front desk, and voila "your key does not work because you have been upgraded"  That upgrade they gave us will cover a lot of mistakes, past, present, future.

Good surprises can make a lot of bad memories fade away. Good job NCl

[SeaTheW0rld]

52 minutes ago, gatordad1 said:

Good surprises can make a lot of bad memories fade away. Good job NCL

It's also difficult to change a first impression. 

 

Despite the way the rest of the cruise had been, NCL has done nothing to apologize for the rocky start. I still won't cruise them again. That reminds me, the Cruise Next people have been leaving messages on my cabin phone. I think I'll go down and ask if they represent any lines besides NCL. Maybe they will get the hint. 

[Newleno]

11 minutes ago, SeaTheW0rld said:

It's also difficult to change a first impression. 

 

Despite the way the rest of the cruise had been, NCL has done nothing to apologize for the rocky start. I still won't cruise them again. That reminds me, the Cruise Next people have been leaving messages on my cabin phone. I think I'll go down and ask if they represent any lines besides NCL. Maybe they will get the hint. 

Well the cruiselines are pretty much like the airlines, in a very general way they are pretty much all the same.  I have been on carnival, disney, holland, royal, windstar, ncl, celebrity, perhaps a few others that I forgot.  In the end I have never been on a bad cruise.

[Shayhooper]

On 1/27/2019 at 12:42 PM, fann1sh said:

 

Great!  Hope you have fun times (and a much cleaner cabin) ahead of you.

 

Like you, for me the ship is the destination. 

Of course no one likes coming into a messy cabin but given the amount of time the stewards have to turn the cabins on the first day, it is understandable that something things might get missed.  The only way I see this as a problem is if they fail to correct it or continue to not clean the room to normal standards.

 

[mjkacmom]

43 minutes ago, SeaTheW0rld said:

It's also difficult to change a first impression. 

 

Despite the way the rest of the cruise had been, NCL has done nothing to apologize for the rocky start. I still won't cruise them again. That reminds me, the Cruise Next people have been leaving messages on my cabin phone. I think I'll go down and ask if they represent any lines besides NCL. Maybe they will get the hint. 

The only rocky start was the room steward, which they corrected. Cruise ship gyms ar3 not 24 hour facilities, the reason why was explained. One side of the menu changes every day. NCL is not responsible for the embarkment or disembarkment. I can’t imagine if you had any real issues. What the heck do you want from NCL, a free cruise?

[fann1sh]

22 minutes ago, Shayhooper said:

Of course no one likes coming into a messy cabin but given the amount of time the stewards have to turn the cabins on the first day, it is understandable that something things might get missed.  The only way I see this as a problem is if they fail to correct it or continue to not clean the room to normal standards.

 

I've been lucky to only have cleaning issues once.   It was obvious from the unmade bed my cabin had been missed/partly missed. 

 

Sounds like SeaTheW0rld's cabin got skipped, too. 

 

I'm surprised there were unpleasant complications.  I've never had an argument with a steward.  IME, they agree with you until you don't have anything left to argue about.

Edited January 29, 2019 by fann1sh

[SeaTheW0rld]

23 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

The only rocky start was the room steward, which they corrected. Cruise ship gyms ar3 not 24 hour facilities, the reason why was explained. One side of the menu changes every day. NCL is not responsible for the embarkment or disembarkment. I can’t imagine if you had any real issues. What the heck do you want from NCL, a free cruise?

Wrong. Go re-read my original post. 

 

As to what I would accept as an apology, it wouldn't take much. More than a tepid, verbal "sorry". If I showed up $1 short on my cruise fare, NCL wouldn't accept "sorry" from me and let me sail. This works both ways. 

Edited January 29, 2019 by SeaTheW0rld
More info.

[SeaTheW0rld]

Just now, fann1sh said:

I've been lucky to only have cleaning issues once.   It was obvious from the unmade bed my cabin had been missed/partly missed. 

 

Sounds like SeaTheW0rld's cabin got skipped, too. 

 

I'm surprised there were unpleasant complications.  I've never had an argument with a steward. 

The steward didn't argue with me. It was the executive housekeeper and his 2nd. 

[fann1sh]

4 minutes ago, SeaTheW0rld said:

The steward didn't argue with me. It was the executive housekeeper and his 2nd.  

 

AOK, got it. 

Lube on a headboard is unacceptable - final stop.

You having to demand a new steward? 

 

I can't imagine it happening on Holland America Line, my next cruise.  Others here disagree, but for me that would be a "never-get-over". 

[SeaTheW0rld]

Leaving Harvest Caye, Belieze. A sandbar wearing lipstick, in my opinion. That's Belieze waaaaaaaaay over there. Harvest Caye is a private-ish island. You have to pay for food and pretty much everything else. Only way to get to the mainland is a ferry ($20) that doesn't go anywhere interesting. 

 

Cozumel, tomorrow, I think. 

 

 

[fann1sh]

I generally prefer sea days to beaches.  OTOH, there's a blizzard whipping outside my window,  as I type. 

[fann1sh]

I agree wait time is irrelevant. 

 

I fidget.  I hate just standing. 

 

Unlike you, I have never worked in a restaurant.  And I can't figure out why "no" either!

Edited January 30, 2019 by fann1sh