Post Review —Epic 2/5

[laudergayle]

I’ll post this in sections so as to not overwhelm myself…after all, I’m just back from an amazing cruise, no need to jump into the deep end so quickly.

 

FLIGHT: Took NCL air offer ATL to SJU. $260 pp. got our flight details exactly 60 days in advance.  They booked us on SWA with a connection through Orlando.  Return trip had us arriving in Atlanta at midnight and we have a 90 min drive home.  Plus this is when SWA was in their midst of their meltdown.  We booked nonstop flights on Delta and ate the cost of NCL air.

 

EMBARKATION:  We researched embarkation at San Juan Pan American pier prior to arrival, and our arrival was timed perfectly.  The chaos that was seen in January was due to carnival and bad traffic flow.  Carnival is over and they have altered the outbound taxi/car route elevating some of the backup.  
 

We left our hotel in Condado Beach at 9:35 by taxi  we’re at the pier right before 10.  Taxi driver knew where to drop us off and pointed out the luggage porters. Cost $30 plus tip.  We went directly through security into the warehouse and got a seat.  We were about 1/3 away from the front. By 10:20, the warehouse was full and all other arrivals were held outside of security and outdoors until boarding, which was at 11:20.

 

They didn’t call for any Latitude status…if you were inside the warehouse, you boarded based on where you were seated.  They also didn’t check docs for checkin time…which we did have the earliest at 11 am.  We were onboard by 11:30 and were about 3rd in line at GS to request Posh passes, which were successful (more about that later). Off to explore the ship.

 

We were in our cabin 12017 large balcony, fwd by 3:00.  Muster Drill at 4:30, for us in Bliss Lounge.  We arrived at 3:45, drinks in hand, and waited for the others to arrive.  There was no issue with passengers and drinks for our drill.

 

I’ll post more soon…but I’m not sure dailies and entertainment options will be helpful as it looks like The Beatles are back on board starting this week (yay for future cruisers).

 

 

[brookie848]

Thanks for this. We will be on board in two weeks. This is our third time sailing out of San Juan on NCL. The arrival information matches up with my plans -- I'm glad it worked for you.

[laudergayle]

DAY 1 FOOD:  Lunch at O’Sheehans.  DH has wings and Fish & Chips. I had the Grilled Chicken Salad Sandwich.  The wings were soggy and lacked flavor.  Fish & Chips…same as usual…frozen cod filets.  Chicken Salad Sammy was excellent.  Service fast and friendly.

 

Dinner at LeBistro.  TIP: 7:30 pm dinner and the restaurant was not busy.  They said first night it’s always slower.  Dinner exceeded our expectations. DH had the Dover Sole and I had the Filet with Fois Gras ($10 upcharge) cooked to a perfect medium. Salad was beets with fried goat cheese…OMG that cheese.  But my dessert was by far the best dessert I have tasted…maybe ever.  I had the Ile Flotante—meringue floating in vanilla crème anglaise with Raspberry coulis.  It beat out Cagneys OMG Butterscotch Cheesecake.

 

Edited February 13, 2023 by laudergayle

[laudergayle]

THE SHIP: Occupancy was 4350 so over 100%, but with the exception of right after the muster drill, it wasn’t really an issue. Waits for elevator less then 5 mins. There was minimal soot at Spice H2O most days.  During our stay they sanded the balcony rail for varnish and bonded the steel that had started to rust.  The rest of the ship seemed fine to us…but we’re not overly picky on some things.  Lots of fun activities with the pools, hot tubs and water slides. Casino is huge…which we liked, although we’re not big gamblers. The stateroom bathrooms are indeed funky, but not a big deal for us.  Mattress in cabin was perfect…must be fairly new.

 

Answer to JADE on account profile.  This mysterious designation on your NCL account page is indeed tied to the CAS program.  We were identified as Jade and were told as soon as we ran our room card in one of the machines it would activate our CAS account.  Looks like Jade gets a CAS boarding privilege…which might be helpful in the future.

 

 

[laudergayle]

Dining:  we ate in LeBistro…food and service were excellent.  Cagneys was a bust.  Too busy and not enough wait staff for volume of diners.  Steak sat under heat lamp and then arrived 5 minutes before our sides.  Tomahawk chop was still on Cagneys menu with $30 upcharge, $10 for Porterhouse. Moderno, sad to say the lamb chops are gone and they are serving lamb sirloin.  So…if you want lamb chops…get them at Cagneys.  LaCucina was basic food and service.  Taste always had a long line starting at 5:30. Fortunately we had made MDR reservation 120 days out so we were able to skip the line.  Food and service was fine…but it did take 1.5-2 hrs for each meal…so plan entertainment accordingly.  Interesting observation: I believe the servers “eye up” the physical size of the diners and serve portions based on size.  Several times DH and I would order same item and his would be considerably larger.  It was especially evident at Cagneys where he got 3 jumbo shrimp and I got 3 smaller shrimp.  My petite filet was about the size of a quarter and his petite filet was the size of a half dollar.  Shanghi was awful…just awful.

 

Garden Buffet was hectic at times, but we still ate breakfast and lunch there several times.  Seats for two were fairly easy to find at the front of the ship.  Also, the garden cafe outside was always a lot less crowded so we ate there many times. Food was basic buffet.

Edited February 13, 2023 by laudergayle

[laudergayle]

Bars:  Pool bar was always crowded and the drinks were WEAK. You can ask for an extra shot of liquor.  Spice bar wasn’t as crowded.  
 

inside, atrium bar was always busy.  O’Sheehans was busy but they were quick.  Shakers was slow due to the complexity of the drinks, and Maltings next door was a good option.  Our favorite inside bar was the Casino Bar…always easy to get served.

 

POSH…we paid to get POSH access and honestly we rarely used it.  We spent most of our time in port or lounging around the pools and water slides.  It was really windy at POSH and very little shade.  It also closed at 6.  The bartenders did make the best drinks…but the Haven guests were a bit pretentious for our simple selves.

[mking8288]

Thanks for this post review on the Epic ... considering doing her on a possible last minute booking (we've never sail her)  How was that sofa - we might have a 3rd adult sharing either a balcony and/or possibly a club suite, although the tiny extra length isn't going to make much difference for space.  How was the balcony compared to other mega ships like the Breakaway, Getaway or Escape, etc. 

 

Sounds just like almost every other dining review onboard NCL lately, hit-n-miss and premier items, either taken off the menu or go with an upcharge that's not worth paying extras for; and, ditto for fine services but don't plan for being out of there in under 90 minutes ... will just plan accordingly & go with the flow.  Could you tell a little more about Shanghai being "awful" 

 

If you happened to attend the M&G and/or recall (perhaps from Freestyle Dailies) who the GM was/is and rest of the senior officers, etc. onboard.  Thanks in advance.  

[www3traveler]

Could you please post a list of the Senior Officers on your cruise?

THANK YOU

[laudergayle]

1 minute ago, www3traveler said:

Could you please post a list of the Senior Officers on your cruise?

THANK YOU

Sorry, I didn’t pay any attention to the senior officers. Daniel was CD and he was awesome.  There was no Meet & Greet.

[www3traveler]

Just now, laudergayle said:

Sorry, I didn’t pay any attention to the senior officers. Daniel was CD and he was awesome.  There was no Meet & Greet.

Thank you

[laudergayle]

3 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Thanks for this post review on the Epic ... considering doing her on a possible last minute booking (we've never sail her)  How was that sofa - we might have a 3rd adult sharing either a balcony and/or possibly a club suite, although the tiny extra length isn't going to make much difference for space.  How was the balcony compared to other mega ships like the Breakaway, Getaway or Escape, etc. 

 

Sounds just like almost every other dining review onboard NCL lately, hit-n-miss and premier items, either taken off the menu or go with an upcharge that's not worth paying extras for; and, ditto for fine services but don't plan for being out of there in under 90 minutes ... will just plan accordingly & go with the flow.  Could you tell a little more about Shanghai being "awful" 

 

If you happened to attend the M&G and/or recall (perhaps from Freestyle Dailies) who the GM was/is and rest of the senior officers, etc. onboard.  Thanks in advance.  

I think three adults in a balcony cabin would be really tight.  The curve on the bed really would be an issue for someone tall.  DH is 5’10” and I’m 5’2” and both of our feet hung off the bed.  The sofa would also be short for an adult IMO.  Plus the bathroom layout would be more awkward for three people in the room.  The sink is right in front of the sofa in some cabins.  
 

we normally book club suite (Breakaway and Bliss) but did regular larger balcony for this cruise 12017.  Loved the location of this cabin…close to Garden Cafe and pool. The balcony was perfect size for 3 adults…just need to request another chair.  The size of the room wasn’t really any larger than a club.  And since the bathroom/shower is funky…IMO getting a larger shower is not worth the premium.

 

Shanghi food was just bad. We did dumplings and spring rolls…which were fine.  The hot sour soup was drenched in chili oil on top with no authentflavor.  DH had sweet sour pork which pork was over cooked. I had chicken shrimp fried rice which was bland, soft and gross.  The green tea ice cream and walnut pastries were good.  This was our second attempt at Shanghi and this one was worse than our first on the Jade.

 

no insight on senior officers and no M&G.

 

[calcruiser64]

Thanks for this. We've been on the Epic on three previous cruises, the most recent in 2017. It's a ship with quirks, but if the itinerary and price are right, it's worth considering. It was a great option in the Med, which is port intensive. Traveling in April from San Juan to NYC and looking forward to it.

[Srpellot]

      Yeah just got off on Sunday and although the nightly entertainment options were a bit scarce, there was always something to do. The after parties at Bliss were lame but the parties at Deck 15 were pretty nice. Went to the Comedy club once and the comedian was pretty funny. The room was a bit small for 3 people (my wife is a 5 ft tiny lady and even her had problems sleeping on that curved sofa). We had a balcony which was way bigger than expected and the views it provided were freaking great (I won't ever sail in a non balcony cabin again).

      Staff is pretty friendly and overall the organization embarking and disembarking was way better than I expected it would be. Food was ok (Mexican food options at Garden were the worst by far on the week) and most dining locations were not that crowded and even without a reservation I was able to sample Taste and Manhattan (they were fine and Manhattan was better). The wait at Taste was pretty manageable but Manhattan was slowwww. Garden Cafe was always crowded but it was very manageable. Food was ok at best (my son ate lots of pizza and told me it was edible but not great). Im not a heavy drinker but my wife had some alcohol Piña Colada that she said we're the worst she's ever had, but she later asked for a virgin PC and she claimed it was delicious so 🤷🏽‍♂️. My family and I had a blast and would do it all over again. 

[CruisingBeans]

Do you remember if there were any theme parties…glow party/80s/etc? We are traveling in 3 weeks and when we were on Encore last year they had theme parties that I wish I was prepared for (in order to fully embarrass my tween)😆

[laudergayle]

Here are the dailies for 2/5-2/12.  I wouldn’t use these as a guide however since it seems that the Beatles and Cavern Club are back.  However, it will give you an idea of what activities are onboard.

 

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by laudergayle

[laudergayle]

[laudergayle]

[laudergayle]

One of my favorites. TIP OF THE DAY:  Remember our shows onboard are complimentary for you to enjoy.  IN other words…don’t ask for any credit for lack of shows (no Priscilla, no Beatles).  However, a day later they did give passengers a $7.50 OBC each.

 

 

Edited February 15, 2023 by laudergayle

[laudergayle]

[laudergayle]

[laudergayle]

[laudergayle]

[laudergayle]

11 hours ago, CruisingBeans said:

Do you remember if there were any theme parties…glow party/80s/etc? We are traveling in 3 weeks and when we were on Encore last year they had theme parties that I wish I was prepared for (in order to fully embarrass my tween)😆

Take a look at the dailies to see what activities/parties may interest you.  Have fun embarrassing your tween 🤣

[vacation44]

Thank you for posting the dailies!!!

[CruisingBeans]

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

Take a look at the dailies to see what activities/parties may interest you.  Have fun embarrassing your tween 🤣

This is awesome!! Thank you so much!! Now to find my 80s outfit!!