Epic - Worst Cruise Ever

[newmexicoNita]

19 hours ago, Crzicriter said:

We actually have reached out to NCL both on and off the ship.

 

I feel like I'm being attacked for having an opinion that differs from some "Loyal NCL Cruisers" in this thread.

Doesn't matter if they have sailed it 1 time or 100 times everyone is different , not everyone sails in the "haven".

Not everyone likes the beds. Just because their bed was wonderful and they slept great not everyone does.

Just because they experience what we did doesn't mean it didn't happen.

It even went so far as so FitchburgWIfamily researching me on different threads and posts..

 

“Never sailed NCL but had a bunch of posts in an NCL Pearl roll call.

Sailed EPIC but never joined a roll call...but is actively participated in roll calls for other sailings on other lines.

Didn't give dates so other passengers on same cruise could substantiate.”

 

That was not necessary at all. Previous post and roll calls had nothing to do with this cruise..

I don't have to have other substantiate my opinion.. unless they were with us 24/7 they don't know all that we experienced. 

Just because I didn't list all the good and I didn't list all the bad either.. It just means that this cruise ship or line was not to our liking.

 

 

I am no sure anyone is attacking you but if you read your post objectively I think you might understand how it comes across. AS I mentioned originally, some of your complaints were legit and would upset almost any of us. Many of your complaints were nit picking, probably out of frustration. Even when one person suggested you may have wanted to attend the M&G your comment was very negative: you mentioned you were not interested in M&Gs: all anyone wants to do in gamble and do cabin crawls. For many of us, there is a lot more to them.

 

Even your last comment above: indicates you would rather complain than give a fair appraisal. If you could have found some positives and no matter what I am sure there were some, more than just the food, you would be taken more seriously. 

 

There is nothing wrong with the line not being to your liking. We all have preferences. I believe the saying goes something like this: "it isn't what you say, but how you say it" 

[misstamster]

On 5/1/2019 at 2:17 PM, JamieLogical said:

I am sorry you had such a negative experience. Some of what you mention is experienced across several ships/the entire fleet, but it sounds like it was much worse in your case.

 

1. The lights in the room ARE confusing. You find that set-up on the Epic as well as the Breakaway and Breakaway Plus class ships. I needed help figuring it out the first time too, but once I did, it wasn't a big deal.
2. I haven't sailed on the Epic, but the beds on the three NCL ships I've sailed on have all been incredibly comfy. So comfy in fact that I have researched buying the brand of mattress NCL uses on their ships!
3. Late into port can happen on any cruise line. Sounds like very bad luck that you were late into *every* port!
4. There are usually announcements mad, instructions in the Daily, and a separate instruction sheet provided regarding tender tickets. I don't know what communication was so poor in your case.
5. I have never noticed servers being more attentive to drinking customers vs. non-drinking. If anything, I have found drink service to be fairly slow in the MDRs, because the don't have bars inside of them.
6. Breakfast room service is free, if you order from the continental breakfast menu. But yes, the $8 delivery for hot food at breakfast or any food throughout the rest of the day is steep. I just order my free breakfast every morning and skip room service the rest of the time.
7. Were your port excursions booked through NCL? If so, I don't find it acceptable that they were so disorganized. I have only done two formal excursions through NCL and both times they were well-managed and directions were clear.
8. Can't speak to your allergy issue, since I don't have any food allergies. It does sound annoying!

I have seen a lot of recent reviews about poor service on the Epic specifically. Please don't assume that to be the case across the NCL fleet. I have sailed the Gem, Escape, and Bliss and received excellent service all around, other than occasionally slow service in the MDRs at peak times.

We just got off 10 days on the Norwegian Pearl, we were very disappointed....certainly never met our expectations..they seem to be focused on CruiseNext, think they need to focus on meeting the needs of those on the ship now!!!

[disneyochem]

I also have about 12 cruises under my belt.  For the most part, they have all been wonderful.  But I certainly see where one bad interaction with staff (or on board experience) can sour a cruise.  I have non-celiac gluten intolerance (yes, diagnosed by a board certified physician) and, while I appreciate how wonderful the staff is regarding the allergy, I have had unusually long waits in the MDR.  So much so that we’re tempted not to tell NCL that I need to be gluten-free (gluten causes gastrointestinal distress for me) and just navigate the buffet and menu by ourselves.

 

 

 

[Sparkles87]

On 5/1/2019 at 7:06 PM, Crzicriter said:

8. Having a non threatening allergy to seafood but having to have every meal monitored by a manager.. Had to wait for almost an hour for a ham and egg sandwich in the MDR for breakfast. We were the only table seated in the Section.

 

I am only going to respond to this specific part of your post, as I think the others have been failry well rseponded to.

I have cruised on the Epic many times, including back to back on a couple of cruises. Im also a Platinum Latitudes member and have done the behind the scenes tour so have an understanding of how things work back stage 😉

 

I dont have a food allergy but have cruised with someone who had a bad dairy allergy. The ship has a dedicated 'special dietary requirements' waiter, whose sole purpose is to tend to the needs of those with allergies etc... The second we walked into the MDR, there he was! Confirming your special order in line with your specific requirements and giving you the next day's menu so you he can get your special order prepped for the next day. I have never seen such dedicated service anywhere for special dietary requirements and it made me feel comforted that they take it so seriously when a lot of shore-side restaurants and cafe's treat it with such disregard.

 

In terms of the inner workings back stage. They have a special prep areas for dietary requirements, but with so many diffierent types of food allergies they like to have things pre-ordered so prep is made easier and they have time to steralize the stations and utensils in-between. SO when ad-hoc requests come in, that means finishing what they are doing, steralizing the station then preparing your order. You also have to remember that the ship has more or less one massive galley where all the food is prepared for all MDRs and some speciality restaurants too, so making sure the galley area is cleared of anything that may affect your allergy is going to be a challenge with so much going on - at any one time they have hundreds of different grade chefs working simultaneously on different things. So, making one sandwich to the specifications of your dietary requirements isn't quite as straightforward as grabbing the ham, eggs and bread from the kitchen cupdoard as you would at home.

Edited May 5, 2019 by Sparkles87

[mjkacmom]

14 hours ago, disneyochem said:

I also have about 12 cruises under my belt.  For the most part, they have all been wonderful.  But I certainly see where one bad interaction with staff (or on board experience) can sour a cruise.  I have non-celiac gluten intolerance (yes, diagnosed by a board certified physician) and, while I appreciate how wonderful the staff is regarding the allergy, I have had unusually long waits in the MDR.  So much so that we’re tempted not to tell NCL that I need to be gluten-free (gluten causes gastrointestinal distress for me) and just navigate the buffet and menu by ourselves.

 

 

 

Even after ordering the day before? Dd has celiac, so either pre-orders, or orders something from the menu that is gluten free. We’ve experienced no delays.

[newmexicoNita]

For some reason, it seems OP has gone on to other topics and is no longer responding. I am guessing she was not thrilled with the advise and answers she got from most on the review, if you could call it that. 

[disneyochem]

19 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

Even after ordering the day before? Dd has celiac, so either pre-orders, or orders something from the menu that is gluten free. We’ve experienced no delays.

 

19 hours ago, mjkacmom said:

Even after ordering the day before? Dd has celiac, so either pre-orders, or orders something from the menu that is gluten free. We’ve experienced no delays.

I’m glad you experienced no delays—most days, we did not.  Yes, I ordered a day in advanced but with free style dining, we had different waiters every day.  Some of which knew nothing about our preordering.  We would also have to wait for our designated person to come from one MDR to ours.  He had about 10 people a night with special diets.  

 

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by disneyochem

[mjkacmom]

31 minutes ago, disneyochem said:

 

I’m glad you experienced no delays—most days, we did not.  Yes, I ordered a day in advanced but with free style dining, we had different waiters every day.  Some of which knew nothing about our preordering.  We would also have to wait for our designated person to come from one MDR to ours.  He had about 10 people a night with special diets.  

 

 

On every cruise, Dd would call the dietary manager before leaving the cabin, and the timing was always perfect, even in the buffet. Maybe try that next time? Her dining experience was always better than ours, usually extra treats, and flourless chocolate cake not on the menu. I also think that her status made it easier to get a table. We never made reservations, and never had a wait for an 8 top on any cruise (always went to the largest MDR).

[MichaelCMTX]

7 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

For some reason, it seems OP has gone on to other topics and is no longer responding. I am guessing she was not thrilled with the advise and answers she got from most on the review, if you could call it that. 

I just tend to think a lot of the "Worst Cruise Ever" crowd would be a real peach on any vacation.

Even on the last trip we took -- DW fell by the pool and broke her arm bad enough to need a shoulder replacement-- there was plenty to have enjoyed up to that point.

[newmexicoNita]

12 minutes ago, MichaelCMTX said:

I just tend to think a lot of the "Worst Cruise Ever" crowd would be a real peach on any vacation.

Even on the last trip we took -- DW fell by the pool and broke her arm bad enough to need a shoulder replacement-- there was plenty to have enjoyed up to that point.

Know the feeling. Hubby fell on the deck (tripped over a loung chair) on the Dawn several years ago. He was't paying attention and ended up  with a pretty banged up arm. Certainly nothing like your DW, but bad enough. He still has a scar. The ship personal bent over backwards for him and except for limitations on what he could do, he still enjoyed the remaining days on board. 

[MichaelCMTX]

2 hours ago, newmexicoNita said:

Know the feeling. Hubby fell on the deck (tripped over a loung chair) on the Dawn several years ago. He was't paying attention and ended up  with a pretty banged up arm. Certainly nothing like your DW, but bad enough. He still has a scar. The ship personal bent over backwards for him and except for limitations on what he could do, he still enjoyed the remaining days on board. 

Well..... as there's a bit of disagreement regarding the dollar value of a shoulder replacement were just gonna say there's a reason this next trip is on NCL instead of RC.  If we'd settled for the amount offered, her insurer would've been "We'll take that, thanks, and is there any more where that came from?" 

Go down on a slippery pool deck, 99 times out of 100 it's the forearm that's the weak link and breaks.  I now know of the "Surgical neck" of the humerus.  By all means avoid the shoulder replacement.  It really and truly blows, and ain't cheap.

Other than that, any cruise gripes we've ever had were few and certainly not "vacation ruiners".  After that little incident in October the bar for a ruined vacation has been raised REAL high.

 

 

Edited May 6, 2019 by MichaelCMTX

[katrina1122]

  On 5/1/2019 at 2:06 PM, Crzicriter said:

8. Having a non threatening allergy to seafood but having to have every meal monitored by a manager.. Had to wait for almost an hour for a ham and egg sandwich in the MDR for breakfast. We were the only table seated in the Section.

 

I have celiac disease, which means if I eat gluten it could eventually lead to cancer. Unlike most with Gluten Issues, I react by itching violently from the least bit of cross contamination. I can't even feed my cats their dry food because it has gluten and it makes me itch to put my hand in the bag. I have not sailed any cruise line since my diagnosis, but I am 3 years in and have done many land vacations. I carry an epi-pen, activated charcoal & benedryl everywhere I go. 10 minutes into the smallest amount of cross contamination and I have a rash on my wrists that starts spreading.

 

I can't tell you how many meals I have sent back because it was not prepared safely. I'll gladly wait 45 minutes for a sandwich if I know that I'm not going to end up taking meds to counteract it.

 

I am also sailing with  my mother who is also celiac but has no symptoms at all, however she too could develop cancer from eating gluten. She doesn't know if she's been cross contaminated. She would agree, better slow and safe than fast and ignorant. I can't tell you how many waiters have asked if they should leave the butter off to make something gluten free. Butter is dairy, it has nothing to do with gluten. Being untrained is very common. 

 

I have indicated celiac on both of our bookings (i'm in an inside room, she's in haven suite), I've contacted the special needs department to fully explain our dietary restrictions. They have told us to meet with the Chef the day we board to discuss things even further and to add it to all of our dining reservations.

 

For some reason this was not portrayed to you, or you did not take the time to follow up. I'm sorry your sandwich was cold and took 45 minutes. This does seem a bit unacceptable, but cross contamination is a true and real thing for people, and while it may not affect you, their dietary restrictions cooking staff probably just assumes everyone must not have it in any way shape or form. This can simply lead to extra cleaning of surfaces, utensils, etc. For whatever reason you fell through the cracks, but this is really not a bad thing in the world of food allergies. Caution is always better. I know, I've been in the ER 6 times before we figured out how to order food that is 100% safe for me and how to stop a rash/itch from spreading quickly. If it does happen, I'm down for 2 or 3 days, sometimes longer because it can also trigger GI issues and migraine on the 2nd or 3rd day if it was bad. This would destroy a 7 day cruise. 

 

NCL was just acting in the best interest of anyone with a food allergy. Should they have been faster? Without being there I don't know, but I'd think yes. Am I happy they made sure your meal was safe? 100% yes because I don't want to use an Epi-Pen while on board next month.