Why is the Epic so unpopular?

[sarlin]

We have been on the major cruiselines as well-We have been on 6 cruises for NCL and have loved every minute-

We did the Med. last year on the Epic-We had an amazing time and we are booked to go to the Med again on the Epic=The ship is not so bad that we would not sail again on her-

 

I love every cruise I have ever been on-I refuse to get sucked into negativity-To be able to see the Vatican, Naples, Tuscany, Pisa, Cannes and my love Barcelona is absolutely a dream come true-when I can't sleep at night I go through every day or our cruise so I will not forget it-I am so thankful to go again next Fall

 

You will not regret it I promise you-

-

[AL3XCruise]

6 hours ago, Newleno said:

The Epic is so bad that they cancelled making the sister ship,(cost millions in planning)

 

14 hours ago, MikeC1610 said:

Not sure how accurate this is but was told that there were initially plans to build more ships in the Epic Class, however these plans were scrapped when the ship turned out to be not as popular as was expected.  

 

She was supposed to have a sister ship, but it was not cancelled because of customers disliking the ship.  The second ship was cancelled in 2008, well before Epic's 2010 service entry.  As such, feedback from customers had nothing to do with it. 

 

Three ships were planned (two orders and an option) when the contract was signed.  NCL's ownership changed, and this led to design changes and friction between NCL and the shipyard.  For a time NCL considered cancelling Epic and writing the project off, but ultimately the first ship was completed, the second never started, and the third option never exercised.  

 

Epic seems to have a loyal following while some design features are quite divisive.  I do wonder what a second Epic-class ship would have been like if some changes could have been incorporated.  

 

11 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The Epic was NCL's first megaship and for a very short time, was the biggest cruise ship in the world

 

She never was the largest.  Oasis OTS entered service in 2009.  She also was the first ship to have a full Broadway production onboard, though I'm not sure how her other entertainment options compared with Epic at launch.

[clean1owner]

Because she is butt ugly!

 

Not bad enough that I wouldn't sail her again, just wouldn't be my first choice.

 

Here is a link to my Epic review

 

 

[coffeebean]

17 hours ago, MikeC1610 said:

Glad we tried the Epic but in future will stick to the Jewel Class ships as we feel they are the perfect size and have a lot of what the Epic has without the crowds.

I've sailed the Epic twice and have been on Pearl and Jewel. In my opinion, the Epic blows the Jewel class ships out of the water. I LOVED the bathroom set up but we had the bed by the sliding glass door, not near the sink. With the wave design cabins, it is easy to figure out which cabins have the bed by the sliding door.

 

The bathroom is compartmentalized with the sink and mirror in the cabin. There is a toilet room and then a separate shower room. This makes it easy as pie for getting ready as no one is in anyone's way. The toilet room and shower room can be private from the rest of the cabin with a curtain that can be pulled. As for the opaque glass which comprises the doors to the toilet room and shower room, these doors allow natural light or light from the cabin into these areas. It was awesome during the day to have natural light in these spaces. You don't have that in standard inside, outside or balcony cabins on any other ship.

 

The spa area on the Jewel class ships can not compare with the Epic. In fact, the Epic spa is the nicest spa I've seen in my 49 cruises. It is an exceptional area.

 

I know I sound like an Epic cheerleader and that is because I am.

 

Edited February 6, 2019 by coffeebean

[Oakman58]

2 hours ago, clean1owner said:

Because she is butt ugly!

 

Not bad enough that I wouldn't sail her again, just wouldn't be my first choice.

 

Here is a link to my Epic review

 

 

 

Since you felt ambushed by the subject matter of Priscilla I will give you a heads up. When the Encore is launched later this year the main production show will be the musical Kinky Boots which also will feature Drag Queens.

[All4chaneys]

We sailed on the Epic for the first time on 1/23 from Port Canaveral in an Aft Haven Suite on the 11th deck.  This was our 5th NCL cruise having been on the Sky, Escape, Jade and Getaway.

 

The bathroom design was hard to get used too but by the end of the 10 day cruise we decided we liked it better than the tight entryways to other bathrooms on Jade and Getaway.  It was just the two of us so privacy wasn’t an issue.  There was a wooden two step stool with a brace for your hand that helped getting in and out of the tub as it is a little wide and my short legs would have struggled so that was a nice touch.  

 

It was our opinion that the food on this cruise was the absolute best we have ever had. We ate in the Haven restaurant, Moderno, Cagney’s, Le Bristo, Teppanyaki and O’Sheehan’s.   Never had a bad meal anywhere.  It was all fantastic.  The servers were so nice and always smiling.   Riomel “Mel” in the Haven restaurant was the sweetest, nicest server I have ever had the pleasure to know.  Always smiling!  Even on the days he wasn’t assigned to our table he went out of his way to stop by and chat.  Every bartender was so nice and I only had to wait once at the bar in O’Sheehan’s.  Our steward was so nice and attentive.  Omar O’Besso, the Concierge, is the best that we have had the pleasure of sailing with.  We have had him on two sailings and he has a great personality and a willingness to go above and beyond to make your vacation fantastic. His assistant was very helpful and nice as well. Renson was our Butler and he did a fantastic job too.  

 

The entertainment was very very good. Burn the Floor and Cirque were top notch. 

 

The Epic does feel more closed in than other ships.  To me, everything seems so much closer together.  The casino is so spread out and I spent a lot of time just walking around in circles!  I really loved how large the stores were though.  Loved that they had a Chico’s woman’s clothing section.  That is my favorite store and it was a nice surprise. The “Atrium” is not open like other ships and I didn’t really care for that or that I could look down one floor and see people enjoying their dinner.  

 

We really enjoyed our Epic cruise.  I was nervous about it like many others because of all of the negative comments but to us, it was pretty great.  I would encourage everyone to not be like me. Don’t worry about the negative comments. Just go with an open mind and have a great time.  

[clean1owner]

21 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

 

Since you felt ambushed by the subject matter of Priscilla I will give you a heads up. When the Encore is launched later this year the main production show will be the musical Kinky Boots which also will feature Drag Queens.

  

 

Yeah

[Cruisercl]

We love the Epic!! It really depends on what you are looking for.

Entertainment is great.

Room configuration is just fine, some from the USA seem a bit fussy about this.       This is called traveling in other parts of the world. ☺

Spice H20 is the best in the fleet.

Some comment on the 'flow of the ship'. What does that even mean; so you need to walk somewhere? Chill.

Every ship is different and have found nothing on the Epic to make it unenjoyable.

We love it.....😊

[Bonobochick]

I have only been on the Epic once for a Western Caribbean out of Port Canaveral. It had pluses and minuses for me.

 

I was in a studio and I loved the color changing lights but the Epic studio seemed noisier via hallway foot traffic than when I stayed in the studios on the Breakaway. I also noticed the ship seemed stuffier, warmer, and more stale air circulation-wise than Breakaway / Getaway / Escape so that promenade does make a difference IMO. Epic has the show I have enjoyed most of all my NCL cruises in Priscilla Queen of the Desert. I recall the only bad service I had was in O'Sheehans one night but had no issues otherwise. I also liked the restaurant set up for Taste & that was some of the best MDR food I have had of all my cruises. I hated everything about the elevators on Epic, though. 

[CruisingNole]

Epic is inferior. Cruise on Oasis class.

[wickedstepmum]

I disliked the Epic first time I sailed on it.  However, having a chance to meet old friends on it, I went again.  The interior cabins are horrible, so dark.  The balcony cabins are beautiful especially with an angled balcony and a coffee maker.  It seems unstable if going transatlantic but around the Caribbean you never felt any movement at all.  The bathroom set up is definitely different and could be a problem if just sailing with a friend.  The speciality restaurants are excellent, especially Le Bistro;  Just make sure you book everything before boarding, otherwise be prepared for a wait.  Boarding was a bit of a problem as you had to take the elevators and they were mobbed.  Had a great time 2nd time.

[hladygirl]

I have not been on the Epic but the bathroom (or lack of) set up, rounded beds and no true promenade will always prevent me from booking her.

[BirdTravels]

On 2/5/2019 at 12:23 PM, Newleno said:

The Epic is so bad that they cancelled making the sister ship,(cost millions in planning) We are all different, for us, one of the biggest likes about cruising is sight  lines, Epic feels like a closed box.  We love to able to walk around the ship outdoors and view the wonderful ocean. Epic that aint gonna happen.

 

On 2/5/2019 at 4:10 AM, MikeC1610 said:

Not sure how accurate this is but was told that there were initially plans to build more ships in the Epic Class, however these plans were scrapped when the ship turned out to be not as popular as was expected.  The Epic was a bit of an experiment as it is totally different to previous Norwegian builds.

Not accurate at all. 

 

NCL and the French ship builder got embroiled in a dispute stopping construction of the Epic, plans for her sister, and option for the third. The resolution of the dispute was to take delivery of the Epic and cancel everything else. And switch to Germany for the -away class ships. And Italy for the Leonardo class ships. 

[BirdTravels]

Epic is currently unpopular because it has two holes in her hull 

 

[Son of a son of a ...]

Nobody likes crapping in a hamster tube

[Carnac767]

If you can afford it, Epic has the best Haven in NCL's fleet, imho.  I haven't sailed on Bliss or Breakaway, so I can't comment on them, but I have tried all the others.  Don't really care for the overall ship design, however.  Epic is NCL's redheaded step-child.  It was the first to feature solo cabins.  To accommodate those cabins the midship elevator banks had to be removed from the design.  The promenade deck is odd, in that it doesn't make a lap around the outside of the ship.  You have to walk back and forth on the same side.  We sailed on her last April on the TA and liked the Haven so much we're doing it again in two months.  We made a lot of new friends on the last crossing.  Most of them were fine with their cabins, though some of the taller dudes said the bed was too short for them.  The entertainment was great.  Cagney's, Moderno, Teppanyaki, and Le Bistro were first rate, as was the Haven restaurant.  My pasta at La Cucina was not very good.  We ate in the main dining room a couple of times, and thought the food there was fine. 

[SeaTheW0rld]

I disliked EPIC because:

 

• It was very grimy and dirty.  I'm talking ground-in dirt caused by years of neglect. Engine room must be the same.
• The bathroom.  I was solo, but if one was traveling with a non-intimate companion, these bathrooms offer 0 privacy. Who thought this design was a good idea?  
• The lack of a central elevator is another big design flaw. This chops up the flow. 

 

I could go on and on.  

[rocklinmom]

This is great to know as I am considering booking Epic for next summer in the Med.  Clean1owner, I especially enjoyed your review.  I appreciate first-hand perspectives.  

[StampedersFans]

We recently sailed with NCL on the Epic for the first time and will never sail the Epic again.  We've only sailed RCL in the past and loved it. 

The stateroom looks very nice but it is very tight when 2 or more people are trying to walk in there.  I had to sit on the couch or bed to let someone walk by. 

There are not enough elevators on the ship for the amount of people and the elevators are so small.  Always a long wait for elevators.  Lots of the lights were broken/out on the elevators and wern't fixed during our cruise.

The food was not as good as RCL in my opinion.

We  had to wait in long lines for everything.  Buffet, freestyle dining, to get drinks, etc, etc

The service from staff was sub par.  They always seemed to be stressed and overworked.  Not very friendly people.

The casino was very very big and very smokey and you had to walk through it to get to most things.

The toilet and shower layout was not a big deal for us.

Our room steward only cleaned our room 1/2 time and did a lousy job even when we commented to guest services.

Lots of broken things on the ship that weren't fixed during our cruise.

Very chaotic and disorganized embarkation with no communication with staff.

The floor in the Garden Cafe was extremely slippery when it was humid.  We saw several people fall.

The pools are tiny for a ship with 4000+ passengers

We sailed the Epic because we wanted to try NCL and we loved the ports it was going to and the price was right.  I guess you get what you pay for.

 

 

We still enjoyed our cruise and will cruise again.  We loved the games room and library and the Spice H20 deck. 

 

[ggooglyboogly]

On ‎2‎/‎4‎/‎2019 at 11:28 PM, Bribrittmom said:

We’re veteran cruisers with many sailings on Carnival and Royal but cruising Norwegian for the first time in August. Sailing on the Epic to the Mediterranean. It’s for our 40 th anniversary and I was so excited but now starting to be nervous about my decision. I’ve never seen so much negativity toward a ship as the Epic gets here. What is it about the ship that so many dislike?

 

I've been on the Epic 4 times and absolutely love it.  Some people don't like the bathroom set up, but the ship is probably my favorite in the NCL fleet.  

[graphicguy]

EPIC....first time trying "FREESTYLE"...only 2nd cruise on NCL (first was on SS Norway).

 

Still one of my favorite cruises.  Several years ago, but here's the review of it, then.....

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1411474

 

OP...don't worry.  All ships on all lines have their detractors.  I'm certain you'll love the EPIC!

Edited February 15, 2019 by graphicguy