Condition of Epic

[Captain-John]

Currently onboard. Surprised it hasn't been widely mentioned on these boards. I think Epic is looking very tired and in need of a dry dock and renovation. I was on her third sailing out of Miami in 2010 and it's sad to see how she is now. Lots of rust, varnish peeling off wood, staterooms tired and worn - looks much older than her actual age. Yet I've been on Jade (pre refurb) and she had held up much better despite being older. 

 

Public areas generally OK but there is a coating of yellow on the upper decks (presumable relates to the closure of Spice H20/snoke stack issues). Also the 'flooring' on the upper decks is dirty and tired. Patchy paint repair works with shades that don't match abound. The spa too needs some TLC/regrouting on tiled areas. The top step into the hydrotherapy pool is loose and broken. 

 

I hope for the sake of future cruisers a dry dock and renovations are planned, too late for me. 

 

Can't upload pictures just now but will as soon as I get the chance. Curious if others have noticed the same or is this just a standard we need to accept now? 

 

 

[Captain-John]

https://postimg.cc/gallery/LXtZN5d

 

Can't upload to CC but some in link above. 

Edited October 24, 2022 by Captain-John

[Laszlo]

58 minutes ago, Captain-John said:

https://postimg.cc/gallery/LXtZN5d

 

Can't upload to CC but some in link above. 

Those photos of rust remind me of the Escape in 2019, our Haven balcony had a ton of it

[Two Wheels Only]

56 minutes ago, Captain-John said:

Can't upload to CC but some in link above. 

 

There are certain image hosting sites that Cruise Critic doesn't like. 

 

Epic is already ugly enough. The least that NCL could do is keep the ship well maintained. 

[Goldconnection]

Our first sailing on the Epic was 2011 and our last 2021. I will have to agree. She is looking pretty tired. In need of a serious renovations. 

[Captain-John]

Glad I'm not being unreasonable. Will take more pictures as I go of the TLC required I think prospective cruisers need to know it's not as it appears in the brochure anynore. I've got to say when I opened the door to our Spa Balcony I was incredibly disappointed. I could have upgraded to Haven (not through bidding, just outright) but didn't pull the trigger - regretfully - as those are the only cabins to be refurbed I gather (and are beautiful). This wasn't a 'cheap' cruise to start with either. 

 

I remember Spirit pre-refurb in Europe used to be pretty cheap as it was badly needing done. Epic is in the same category now sadly. 

[ysolde]

That's bad.  I remember taking a couple of Costa Cruises back in the 80s (including my HS class senior cruise).  They looked like that.  We were teenagers, so we didn't care.  Nowadays, yikes!

[dandelpino]

I thought Epic had a pretty extensive drydock last year? Maybe the crew is just bad at upkeep?

[Goldconnection]

7 minutes ago, dandelpino said:

I thought Epic had a pretty extensive drydock last year? Maybe the crew is just bad at upkeep?

I believe the Haven was only renovated. 

[JustAPilot]

It’s in line with the rest of their non-new ships, Star is even worse with that cafeteria style garden buffet. 

[Captain-John]

I definitely won't be getting on one >5 or one that hasn't had a full refurb < 5 years ago now. It's amazing how much it impacts the experience when it's in your face all the time. 

 

I assume during Covid they let things go to save money rather than used the down time to spruce things up... 

[Captain-John]

[Captain-John]

[jkbec101]

Sorry, you're nit-picking.

 

We were on the Epic in September and the entire Ship was fine, clean and extremely well maintained.  The crew was constantly cleaning and painting.  Let's all remember that this is a metal ship in sea water, there will be rust and this isn't your 30 ft pleasure craft, it's a small city on water, it takes time to get to everything.  

[nferr]

I was on the Epic in April and I thought overall it was in fine shape. No, it's not brand new, and yes there was some rust on my balcony but nothing more than i've seen on any ship more than a few years old. The interior of the ship was very well kept.

[Jltjr1999]

7 hours ago, jkbec101 said:

Sorry, you're nit-picking.

 

We were on the Epic in September and the entire Ship was fine, clean and extremely well maintained.  The crew was constantly cleaning and painting.  Let's all remember that this is a metal ship in sea water, there will be rust and this isn't your 30 ft pleasure craft, it's a small city on water, it takes time to get to everything.  

Thank you for this. We've been planning this cruise for nearly 2 years and I was about to regret our decision to take this ship. We've been on the Epic before and are one of the few who actually enjoy the bathroom setup! I have to remind myself that we're going for the ports, not the ship! But we do love the Epic 🙂

[mskaufman]

I was on Epic in August and still had a great cruise.

[laudergayle]

From my perspective, it appears that the OP may have a nautical background (i.e., CC name Captain). Therefore, I appreciate his/her attention to detail.  I do that every time I enter a hotel room based on my background.  But as a guest, I am more oblivious to the small details.  We’re there for the all-inclusive experience of food, fun and memories.  But thankfully, there are people like the OP keeping standards top of mind.  

[Captain-John]

Yes if you're happy with the condition, by all means go. I'm just bringing awareness for people like me who pay attention to these things and who may also be disappointed as they've been told 'it's fine.' It's been a learning curve, I'll now only sail on new or refurbished ships, as those issues won't be as present, therefore won't bother me as much. Or a deeply discounted sailing on an older ship. 

 

But IMO only, she's in middling condition at best. 

[dexddd]

Looks like a Carny.

[laudergayle]

Kinda of sad as it looks like some of this could be easily corrected with a thorough cleaning and sanitizing ☹️

[DCGuy64]

I have to agree with the OP based on his photos. There are some areas that clearly need some TLC and elbow grease. We're supposed to sail on her in December and will keep an eye out. I hope he mentioned these things while onboard and/or in the post-cruise survey. As helpful as these photos are, they're not likely to lead to change unless NCL is made aware of them. My experience (I'm a nitpicker, too, BTW, and a clean freak) is that when I say something to a crew member, I'm thanked and someone takes care of stuff right away. And I'm always VERY nice, because first impressions count. Think "good morning, so nice to see you! I was just wondering, the soap dispenser isn't working in the men's bathroom here, could you have someone look at it? Thanks!" vs "Hey, there's no soap in the men's bathroom, what the h*** is wrong with you? Fix it!" (I exaggerate deliberately for the purposes of illustration) 😉

[BermudaBound2014]

With the current state of finances on all three of the major cruise lines, I'm seeing more and more posts crop up like this. I believe budget reductions maybe a root cause. This lack of upkeep is showing across the entire industry. I remember when crew was constantly attending to things like rust spots (always painting, cleaning, etc..). Seems that is a thing of the past. 

 

If this is what the front line looks like, it always makes me question how bad things might be behind the scenes :(. 

[Captain-John]

Thanks for your comments all. I am still onboard and will be until 11/03 (on mobile so harder to respond to each of you) , but haven't yet pointed out a number of the items that are below par to the crew onboard - mainly as I don't want them repainting my balcony whilst we are trying to use it etc. Some of it is definitely cleanliness, some of it is just general maintenance. In the shot below, the minibar has obviously been removed and damaged the fascia. I'd expect my cabin steward to report this (or the person who did the damage) for later repair but it just gets ignored. Same with the rust on the balcony. To top it off, the toilet backed up and flooded into the cabin, although this was dealt with quickly. 

 

I am also in contact with NCL senior management about an issue with another booking I have, and I'm going to follow up on these issues with them too. I totally accept the point about raising onboard, but there aren't many 'quick fixes' I can identify, rather wider and larger maintenance jobs. 

 

Another couple of shots are of mould at the back of the sink and around the plug hole in the shower - obviously accumulated over a while and the fault of no one individual steward. Same with the ingrained dirt in the shower tray. Deep cleans and maintenance would fix all of these things, not the twice daily sweep overs. 

 

I'll continue to document any shortcomings I see, and you can judge for yourself if it's acceptable or if it's nitpicking - I can only speak for my own disappointment and not how others may feel but if the facts are out there, decide based on your own comfort level. 

 

For me, for a ship they advise was refurbished a few years ago, it's a let down - I've been on older ships with other lines in much better shape (albeit not post shutdown). Doesn't mean it's OK though as this cruise was more expensive than anything pre-shutdown. 

 

 

 

[Captain-John]