LIVE from the most hated ship in the NCL fleet, Epic, March 26-April 2

[insidecabin]

Not just spa, shops shorex photo on some line all the entertainment including the cruise director/manager are out sourced.

[catgirl411]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

Yes, you're correct. Ok, I won't blame NCL! But I will blame One Spa World. I'm just glad I was sober enough to catch the "mistake!" 

My biggest beef with the onboard spas is the constant up selling. Their services are very nice generally but they always want to sell you products. My local spa at home doesn’t do that and it makes for a more relaxed experience.

[brookie848]

22 minutes ago, catgirl411 said:

My biggest beef with the onboard spas is the constant up selling. Their services are very nice generally but they always want to sell you products. My local spa at home doesn’t do that and it makes for a more relaxed experience.

I had a facial on our cruise a month ago and was pleasantly surprised by the zero upselling. So I don't know if that was a anomaly or if they have gotten away from those tactics.

[mjkacmom]

30 minutes ago, catgirl411 said:

My biggest beef with the onboard spas is the constant up selling. Their services are very nice generally but they always want to sell you products. My local spa at home doesn’t do that and it makes for a more relaxed experience.

Most of the profits are from selling products.

[GALSews]

30 minutes ago, catgirl411 said:

My biggest beef with the onboard spas is the constant up selling. Their services are very nice generally but they always want to sell you products. My local spa at home doesn’t do that and it makes for a more relaxed experience.

When filling out there form for where you're stressed, write in BIG BOLD Letters, NOT INTERESTED IN BUYING ANYTHING ADDIOTIONAL.  Seems to work!

[Fifi1910]

I love the spa but every time I get a treatment they try and sell me Botox or fillers. Every time I come away depressed about how I look. I didn’t think I looked that bad for an old bird 🤣🤣. At a captains party in the Haven on my last cruise I told the Spa manager that it wasn’t good that they were doing this whilst someone’s trying to have a relaxing treatment, he thought it was funny. It certainly puts me off. 

[spenecer]

Day 4, Drink #2 - Pina Colada

 

 

I am ensconced on the secret sun deck hoping to watch Sailaway and I missed the arrival this morning. The deck loungers on the port side are all stacked like legos. This was the same yesterday in Aruba. The only places with sun loungers on the secret sun deck are the front of the ship and the deck right by the stairs/elevator. 
 

There were no pier runners yesterday. I’m wondering if it will be different today.

[spenecer]

Day 4 Freestyle Daily

 

i just realized that my post for uploading the Freestyle Daily didn’t go this morning. My phone kept switching between cellular and Wi-Fi and it was lost in the Aether. Here is today’s daily as a PDF. 

Freestyle Daily 4.pdf

[spenecer]

3 hours ago, catgirl411 said:

My biggest beef with the onboard spas is the constant up selling. Their services are very nice generally but they always want to sell you products. My local spa at home doesn’t do that and it makes for a more relaxed experience.

I said no to all the upselling because they can make claims that their products work a certain way and I could show you how chemistry does my work that way but I suck at languages so they would never understand me. No is much simpler. 

[spenecer]

Day 4, Drink #3 - Melon Margarita 

 

im allergic to melons so this is a bit of dangerous drink for me but I can report that there are no actual melons in this drink because I’m fine. 

[spenecer]

The Snorkel Trip to Turtle Bay involved a lot of snorkeling. At least an hour, maybe close to two hours of snorkeling but the turtles clearly had other things to do today because we didn’t see any turtles. 
 

I had bought an underwater bag for my phone to take pictures. The bag kept my phone completely dry. It also prevented my phone from recognizing any touches under water. The only photos that happened were from me taking photos above water. So, my phone floated in Turtle Bay for two hours unscathed but I don’t have any photos to show for it. 
 

On the other hand, the excursion was a LOT of exercise, like at the end my legs were more tired than after an hour on the exercise bike. I am exhausted. My daughter said she  is fine (I hope she feels the same way when she is 50-mumble-mumble years old).  I was going to take a nap in the sun but I feel completely rejuvenated after two frozen drinks from the Waves Pool Bar (thank you liver for your generous creation of alcohol dehydrogenase, amen).

 

The excursion puts you on an air conditioned bus from the pier to a ‘launch’ somewhere on Curaçao. You get to fill out some liability disclaimer forms on the way. Don’t sue anyone. They are not liable. I got to ensure them that i would not hold them liable for my daughter. There is a driver for the bus and a tour guide who talks a bit about the island as you drive. It was a little informative but not very informative (a historian is not a prior occupation for our tour guide). Then we got on the dive boat which had a ‘marine toilet’. If you have an old lady bladder, you will appreciate the inclusion a toilet. I did (a lot).  You then zip very fast in the boat to turtle bay while they explain the snorkel mask, the fins and how to use the toilet. There is no time for anything else. 
 

Once at the snorkel site, one guide led us around the area with informative information while the other made sure nobody drowned. I got to see one person get a cramp rubbed out.

 

The snorkel mask and fins are provided. I, once again, ended up with a mask which was too big so  it kept loosening and leaking during the entire excursion. I’m sure I have a small head or some kind of issue since this always happens when I snorkel. My mask did fog, but I spit in it which I noticed wasn’t being advised by the tour operators. I think is probably too dangerous now with HIV and other diseases, but I spit in mine! And my view was crystal clear after that!

 

Wild animals cannot be guaranteed and I thought it was a good tour even sans turtles. 

[Aauclair]

8 minutes ago, spenecer said:

The Snorkel Trip to Turtle Bay involved a lot of snorkeling. At least an hour, maybe close to two hours of snorkeling but the turtles clearly had other things to do today because we didn’t see any turtles. 
 

I had bought an underwater bag for my phone to take pictures. The bag kept my phone completely dry. It also prevented my phone from recognizing any touches under water. The only photos that happened were from me taking photos above water. So, my phone floated in Turtle Bay for two hours unscathed but I don’t have any photos to show for it. 
 

On the other hand, the excursion was a LOT of exercise, like at the end my legs were more tired than after an hour on the exercise bike. I am exhausted. My daughter said she  is fine (I hope she feels the same way when she is 50-mumble-mumble years old).  I was going to take a nap in the sun but I feel completely rejuvenated after two frozen drinks from the Waves Pool Bar (thank you liver for your generous creation of alcohol dehydrogenase, amen).

 

The excursion puts you on an air conditioned bus from the pier to a ‘launch’ somewhere on Curaçao. You get to fill out some liability disclaimer forms on the way. Don’t sue anyone. They are not liable. I got to ensure them that i would not hold them liable for my daughter. There is a driver for the bus and a tour guide who talks a bit about the island as you drive. It was a little informative but not very informative (a historian is not a prior occupation for our tour guide). Then we got on the dive boat which had a ‘marine toilet’. If you have an old lady bladder, you will appreciate the inclusion a toilet. I did (a lot).  You then zip very fast in the boat to turtle bay while they explain the snorkel mask, the fins and how to use the toilet. There is no time for anything else. 
 

Once at the snorkel site, one guide led us around the area with informative information while the other made sure nobody drowned. I got to see one person get a cramp rubbed out.

 

The snorkel mask and fins are provided. I, once again, ended up with a mask which was too big so  it kept loosening and leaking during the entire excursion. I’m sure I have a small head or some kind of issue since this always happens when I snorkel. My mask did fog, but I spit in it which I noticed wasn’t being advised by the tour operators. I think is probably too dangerous now with HIV and other diseases, but I spit in mine! And my view was crystal clear after that!

 

Wild animals cannot be guaranteed and I thought it was a good tour even sans turtles. 

I am so sorry your tour was turtle free. Been on a few excursions where the wildlife has not shown up ( whales are notorious for this ). 
 

Glad you enjoyed it anyways, and now with all the exercise, you have no excuse not to sit around and nurse a drink…or three?

[amygutman]

16 hours ago, spenecer said:

Belated Review of Shanghai’s Noodle Bar

 

We are at Shanghai’s Noodle Bar on Day 2 but I wasn’t able to live blog due to my daughter interdiction against blogging at the dinner table (or bar in this case).  There are almost no recent reviews of Shanghai’s Noodle Bar. We showed up at Shanghai’s at approximately 5:30 to see if there were any tables. There was a line which moved quickly and revealed that there were no tables available at the restaurant, only the bar. As sitting at the bar is not one of my daughter’s favorite activities, this put our visit to Shanghai’s at the deficit immediately. 
 

The menu at the noodle bar is done on the dim sum style where you mark the items on the menu that you would like except you are limited to a single main. This was not a problem for us as we did not order any mains. 
 

Sitting at the bar at most noodle joints means that you can watch the chef’s cook and you are served over the bar. Unfortunately, the Shanghai cooks are assembly line prepping dishes so it isn’t very artistic or interesting. When we arrived, there were a dozen bowls of the Seafood Udon sitting on the counter (A dozen pork char sui noodle bowls were on the other side of the counter) and we got to watch the chefs just heat them briefly in a pot of water/soup and then put them in a heated holding area until waiters could take them to passengers. It was fast and let them serve many passengers at once but it wasn’t interesting to watch. Other passengers definitely did not seem to want to sit at the bar. I saw one group leave when they were told only the bar was left and they could not get the restaurant.

 

As for the food itself, somehow my Seafood Noodle bowl came without all the components. Since I could see all the bowls being prepped, I know that each bowl was supposed to receive 1-2 pieces of imitation crab, one piece of squid, 4 shrimps and a cups worth of noodles. My noodle bowl had one mouthful of noodles (about 4 pieces), one piece of squid, two shrimps and no imitation crab. Fortunately, I was very full from the surfeit of food from other meals so I didn’t miss the imitation crab. My daughter’s bowl was very filling. the food was tasty but my daughter said she would only go back if the restaurant was available; she would not do the bar a second time. 

The venue is very small and reservations for Shanghai’s Noodle bar and Restaurant can be made ahead on the NCL website or app.  We did not make reservations. We walked up asked if there was a spot for 2.

It just occurred to me about the role-reversal occurring. We usually spend our non-cruising meals trying to get our kiddo OFF the phone as many parents do. Your kiddo appears to spending her meals trying to keep MOM off the phone. 

Quite ironic. You should have a drink to celebrate your youthful social media indiscretions. 😊

Warmest, Amy

[oldsouthcruisingfamily]

17 hours ago, spenecer said:

The venue is very small and reservations for Shanghai’s Noodle bar and Restaurant can be made ahead on the NCL website or app.  We did not make reservations. We walked up asked if there was a spot for 2.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well that's a bummer... with only 2 weeks until our sailing I've been checking for reservations at Shanghai's and they're still showing "Reservations are not offered" (Shanghai's and Shanghai's Noodle bar) and "Not available to book" (Shanghai's Chinese restaurant).

 

If you hit up Wasabi (which I know doesn't take reservations) I'd love to hear about it!

[spenecer]

1 hour ago, oldsouthcruisingfamily said:

Well that's a bummer... with only 2 weeks until our sailing I've been checking for reservations at Shanghai's and they're still showing "Reservations are not offered" (Shanghai's and Shanghai's Noodle bar) and "Not available to book" (Shanghai's Chinese restaurant).

 

If you hit up Wasabi (which I know doesn't take reservations) I'd love to hear about it!

I think ‘Not Available to Book’ means they are all gone. The space is very small. 

[spenecer]

Day 4

 

 

Drink #4 - Wasabi Cocktail

 

 

Drink #5 - Shaku Shaku

 

 

Our waiter came by after the first round of drinks and asked if we wanted any more. I was only halfway through my Wasabi Cocktail but I said, ‘Yes.’ Our waiter asked if I would like to try to Shaku Shaku and I said, ‘Yes!’ again (because I’m pretty drink now and monosyllabic) and our waiter said, ‘That is exactly what I am trying to sell you.’  Haha, he hasn’t looked at that + on my card yet. 

[spenecer]

Day 4, Drink #6 - Rum Cake

[spenecer]

The teenagers just sang ‘Before He Cheats’ at ‘Family’ Karaoke Night in the Bliss Lounge. I’m definitely too drunk to care but my daughter is like, ‘That’s not a Family song.’  (Broken family, maybe)

[Seas2mountains]

22 hours ago, spenecer said:

Day 3, Drink #8 - Pineapple Gin Collins

 

I haven’t had a good gin drink on the Epic yet and sadly this isn’t it. 
 

 

 

It is impossible to sing along with Howl at the Moon without a drink. 

Thank you for taking the time to post this wonderful and entertaining review!  
 

If you like Gin and since you have P+, I recommend having them use Norwegian ‘66 Gin for your next Gin drink.  My husband and I really liked the taste. It’s fairly new. 
 

 

[Seas2mountains]

Here’s more info on that ‘66 Gin. 
 

 

[spenecer]

9 hours ago, Seas2mountains said:

Thank you for taking the time to post this wonderful and entertaining review!  
 

If you like Gin and since you have P+, I recommend having them use Norwegian ‘66 Gin for your next Gin drink.  My husband and I really liked the taste. It’s fairly new. 
 

 

Can you recommend a gin cocktail?

[spenecer]

Day 5, Drink #1 - Grande Caramel Macchiato

 

 

By the messed up nature of my caramel, today the barista remembered to add the whip cream before the caramel so when I took off the lid for the photo, the caramel was sticking to the lid. 

[Miss_Mono]

18 hours ago, oldsouthcruisingfamily said:

Well that's a bummer... with only 2 weeks until our sailing I've been checking for reservations at Shanghai's and they're still showing "Reservations are not offered" (Shanghai's and Shanghai's Noodle bar) and "Not available to book" (Shanghai's Chinese restaurant).

 

If you hit up Wasabi (which I know doesn't take reservations) I'd love to hear about it!

We didn't have reservations and just lucked out, but I bet if you get on board and check in with them you could make reservations. 

[spenecer]

Something is wrong. I don’t know what but we were supposed to leave Bonaire an hour and 20 minutes ago and we are still docked. 10 minutes ago, the boat docked at the pylon with the ropes (lines?) that keep the ship from floating away left and we are still attached to Bonaire. 
 

I have had a Strawberry Daiquiri and a Classic Margarita while waiting. 
 

At ten past one, NCL had a table with water or drinks at the gate to the pier which would suggest that they were waiting for a late excursion. Then they removed the table.  So, I’m not sure is holding the ship. 

[spenecer]

The captain just came over the tannoy (sp?) and announced that a ‘technical issue’ is keeping us in Bonaire, they don’t know how long it will take and that the Engineer and crew is working on it. In my mind, I am imagining bunches of people staring at a computer going, ‘well, I guess restarting the ship didn’t work.’