Semi/Live: an "Epic" TA, 15 nights NY to Barcelona 04/22/23 - 05/07/23

[mking8288]

12 minutes ago, shof515 said:

The Epic is going to pass the Prima shortly. Prima appears to be docking at around 1am

Thanks ... mark the GPS coordinates, still on my LTE cellular home signal at 11:25 pm EDT, skipping the need to upgrade to unlimited WiFi for at least Day 1 for sure.

 

That saved, non-refundable OBC available for use will paid for some of that water cartons, etc. 

 

Posting this on my backup Google Pixel 4a 5G on Mint (Band 12, eSim) & Google Fi Wireless - signal should fade anytime soon 😞

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by mking8288

[bedfordmom]

Wow they are getting stingy with those chocolate covered strawberries. We were given six on our Feb cruise.  It was a lifesaver when I was hungry late the first night and the buffet was closed LOL

[mking8288]

2 hours ago, bedfordmom said:

Wow they are getting stingy with those chocolate covered strawberries. We were given six on our Feb cruise.  It was a lifesaver when I was hungry late the first night and the buffet was closed LOL

Good morning, we did get 6 of them, a bit smaller but DW and sister ate them before I take that picture late night. It was fine.

 

Seas a bit choppy, about 460+ nm to Dockyard, breakfast at Taste now.  More post later 

[mking8288]

Posting over "free" a WiFi onboard, not using minutes on this account.

[spenecer]

2 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Posting over "free" a WiFi onboard, not using minutes on this account.

 

 

 

 

Reasonable speeds?

Edited April 23, 2023 by spenecer
Fixed spelling

[bedfordmom]

28 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

Good morning, we did get 6 of them, a bit smaller but DW and sister ate them before I take that picture late night. It was fine.

 

Seas a bit choppy, about 460+ nm to Dockyard, breakfast at Taste now.  More post later 

Good to hear about the strawberries as they need to be consumed that day. Though I did save half in fridge in a zip lock as DH doesn’t like them ( can you imagine ) but they were a tap weepy the next day but still good. Sorry it’s rocky it’s absolutely miserable in the Boston area with big downpours so I’m not surprised. 

[www3traveler]

Have you heard a reason for your very late departure yesterday?

 

Enjoy your cruise

[mking8288]

1 hour ago, spenecer said:

Reasonable speeds?

Let's say, apparently usable speed with this free access to CruiseCritic site, pix uploaded very slowly on the Pixel 4a.  

 

Going to convert our 300 or 600 minutes to unlimited later, but going to check out things with the iPad mini 5 first and head to the CC Meet & Greet shortly, 11 am at Cagney's.  Sitting near the AFT elevators on Deck 7 ... comfortable leather chairs but on the low side, foam paddings can be firmer.

 

Ships 5-6-7 public deck space has its unique layout and is different, getting used to it  ... more comments & thoughts about it later. Plus how we are managing 3 to a angled large family balcony. 

[dexddd]

Seems the 9 a.m. arrival is going to be pretty close.

 

Enjoy the day while rest of us do our once daily cleaning and make bed up.  We will do our best to 'Stay and Sustain', for our convenience, of course.

Edited April 23, 2023 by dexddd

[shof515]

43 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

Have you heard a reason for your very late departure yesterday?

 

Enjoy your cruise

it might be a schedule departure. For my cruise on the Escape in October the schedule departure time is around 6pm

 

they are a few TA cruises with a 7/8pm departure time on the ncl website

[spenecer]

28 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

 

 

Ships 5-6-7 public deck space has its unique layout and is different, getting used to it  ... more comments & thoughts about it later. Plus how we are managing 3 to a angled large family balcony. 

 

 

Should you ever choose to walk from mid-ship to the front (fore?) on Deck 7, I would recommend not doing it.  There is only a walkway on one side going past the Ice Bar and photographers hang out there to shoot photos (the paid ones) so it is very crowded and constantly blocked with people standing/posing, waiting to get into the ice bar, or getting coats for the ice bar.  It is very difficult to walk that path with a martini in your hand and not pour it down someone's front (or back).  I managed it on my cruise at the end of March, but I'm sure I looked super dangerous with my martini glass.

[mking8288]

2 hours ago, www3traveler said:

Have you heard a reason for your very late departure yesterday?

Enjoy your cruise

Thanks.  GM was asked about the sailing time. Leaving at 8:10 pm for a scheduled 7:30 pm departure isn't late, they were monitoring river current & also need to slot the time for the pilot boat. 

 

We are probably going to push the engine room to go as fast & safely as possible to be on time for Bermuda, seas should be better ahead later. 6 to 9 ft. wave is fine.

 

 

[mking8288]

3 hours ago, www3traveler said:

 

 

Enjoy these photos

 

 

 

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by mking8288

[AtSeaAlways]

There was an impressive turnout of officers + snack at our CC Meet and Mingle.  They stayed the whole time and must still like us 🙂  I will tell you on other lines they do not show up.  Points to NCL.  This is a quirky ship but so far so good.   The Epic is headed to Europe for a while it seems. 

[mking8288]

M&G - senior officer's name and title, etc. 

3,825 pax onboard & 1,600+ crew on this sailing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[mking8288]

Epic's Bridge Viewing Room, Deck 13 Fwd Starboard - similar to and larger than the one on the Gem, open on sea days.

 

While I don't have my 2 meters/70 cm portable at sea, there's an app for VHF to monitor marine radio traffic on Ch.16 when there's action.

 

[mking8288]

Mrs wanted her unlimited WiFi upgrade, non-streaming for 14 days, done & going to be offset by non-refundable OBC. We should stay "live" for most of the cruise - $220 to be posted as a charge, no other discount or savings can be applied.  My 300 minutes remain available after hers got converted with partial credit.

 

Seas are calm now at about 1 meter or 3 to 4 ft. waves - view from ship's AFT.  Bridge is sending commands to the engine room to run it, full speed ahead.

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by mking8288

[mking8288]

Photo of Cagney's with the private function sign for the well attended M&G organized by John. Clay doing his live'ish Epic report & I got the chance to chat and share a little insider's tip. 

 

[mking8288]

Lunch at Taste, there was a 30 to 45 minutes wait and given a pager.  Luckily, being Sapphire might've help, we got seated in about 20 minutes, or less.

 

Bay scallops were butterly good.  Portions are larger than dinner, served near ideal temperature & tasty but not salty, credits to the executive chef & gallery team.

 

[mking8288]

First set of speedtest results - unlimited basic plan, on a sea day sitting in the buffet over coffee & fresh fruits 

 

[YVRteacher]

Enjoying this live! Thank you!

[mking8288]

Photos from the CC Meet & Greet this morning at Cagney's - thank you, John for putting the time & effort to arrange this.  Kudo to the officers for coming by and taking questions & also talked about the future direction of the Prima class ships.

 

That's Amir Tikvesa, the GM with the microphone - he was on the Gem before coming to the Epic.

 

 

 

 

John chatting with fellow CC'er & several brief announcements about LCR, 4 pm on sea days, cabin crawl and slot pull for those interested, with help from others volunteering to help. 

Edited April 23, 2023 by mking8288

[Suetravel]

Thanks for the wonderful pictures and sharing 

[mking8288]

Cloudy afternoon, on the windy side out in this angled secret large balcony.  There's room out there for at least 2 loungers, or a table plus an extra chair for breakfast 😁😁😁   We can get really creative next ... 

 

Mini refrigerator emptied out so we can store our own stuffs, including ice in the bucket, and coffee/hot water maker with the set-up, and 3 cups. 🫢

 

Key numbers - speed at 19.2 knots, 328 nm to Heritage Wharf at Dockyard at 4:45 pm ship/Bermuda time.

 

 

 

 

New brand of coffee pods in stock now. 

Edited April 23, 2023 by mking8288

[PistolPete13]

Thanks for all of this and looking forward to more!

 

I’ve been buried with work moving two offices and got the big data center moved yesterday finally.  Left the office around 10 PM right into a heavy thunderstorm. 
 

You must’ve been past the Verrazano by this point. 
 

You mentioned seeing last minute insides were still available in an earlier post.  You were still able to access this sailing on the website within 7 days of departure?