Review of the Epic - Apr 14-22 (San Juan to NYC)

[genealogyfan]

I was on the Epic cruise from San Juan Puerto Rico to NYC (Apr 14-22).

 

I arrived at the San Juan port about 9am. I wanted to arrive early to try and get a posh pass (luckily I did).

 

San Juan Cruise Port:

 

The San Juan cruise port terminal is a disorganized mess once you go inside. They don't have boarding groups, they don't have a separate priority access line, and I heard there was a separate Haven entrance but I didn't see it.

 

I already had my luggage tag on, so I skipped the first tent and dropped off my luggage. I stood in line and about 50 people were in front of me. Luckily we were under an awning. They didn't open the building until 10am. Then they let people in and we sat in chairs until about 11:30am. They didn't have boarding groups, they didn't have any real order of those who arrived first, tenth, etc.. just the group inside who mostly were sitting in chairs. They did bring those who needed physical assistance or were in wheelchairs first to check in. Then about 11:30am they just announced everyone could proceed. So whoever walked fast enough got to the wide open area to check in made it first. No organized lining up, just went up to the first open line.  I even asked where the priority access line was, and I was told at the ship. There wasn't a priority access line or anything similar.

 

Check In, Boarding Ship:

 

Luckily, I could check in fairly quickly and then we proceeded and walked on the ship about 1145am or so. I walked directly to guest services (same deck) and I swear I think I was the first to ask for a posh pass access. When I walked up, there was nobody else in line. I heard several others ask for one after I was at the desk. All of us who asked for one had been quoted about $69/$79 for the week. The guest services crew told us it was $219 for the week. The posh pass was totally worth it though, but I might call NCL back and ask about being quoted the wrong price. I was told by guest services they only had 15 to sell, someone else told me they were told 20.

 

Had lunch at the Taste restaurant. I highly recommend eating at one of the free sit down restaurants on embarkation day. While eating, they announced something about the cabins or some cabins being ready. I couldn't exactly figure how what they said. I went up to my cabin to check and some were ready and some weren't. Mine was.

 

Observations about the Epic:

 

Despite having about 4000 people on it, the ship never seemed crowded. Majority of the times, when I was walking up/down the stairs they were empty.  The only issue I noticed, was walking from one end of the ship to the other on the main decks 5,6, and 7 that had most of the public spaces - restaurants, venues, etc... It's not designed very well, slot machines and other casino tables right in the middle of walking. One area, you had to walk through O'Sheehans. Another deck, you could only walk around one side. **If you go to deck 7, they have an outer walkway deck that was always virtually empty. You can walk from one end to the other.** In the middle between the lifeboats you can see out.

 

All the crew seemed friendly. Dining venues never seemed crazy crowded. There were lines for the free sit down restaurants and no separate lines for those with reservations. I was in one line for Taste and asked, and was told there was one line. Someone came up to the desk and asked if they had reservations what line do they go to, and they told the same one line. The lines seemed to move fast. The specialty restaurants never had lines, at the most one or two people.

 

Quiet locations: A quiet place to sit underneath a roof is all the way in the back of the ship near the ping pong tables. Even walking on the pool deck wasn't very easy to just get some exercise and walk around.

 

Balcony Cabin

 

I wish the light switches at the door were marked. There are 3 of them, one for the toilet, one for the shower and/or tub and one for some of the lights in the room. I never did learn which was which, just turned them all on/off.

 

Room seemed dark, they need more overhead lighting.

 

Light switch for above sink, is just below the mirror.

 

Light switch over desk area is easy to find.

 

Two power plugs under desk (marked), so bring a multi plug adapter if you have multiple electronics.

 

Lots of storage, behind the sofa, above the bed and the opposite side of the bed/wall,

 

I knew about the bathroom setup ahead of time, so that didn't bother me. I did notice the toilet slider door would rattle if you didn't close it all the way.

 

I had a 12th deck regular balcony room.

 

Dining Options:

 

Taste was always good and large and quiet. One time (not sure what happened) it was extremely slow getting my drink (which was just an iced tea). I had to ask several times and finally got it when I was almost finished dinner. Not a major deal, I had water. All other times, the service was fine, wait staff was attentive and food was decent.

 

Manhattan Room =- avoid if you want to talk to others or hear yourself think. I had a reservation at the same time as the dancing of the performers. Too loud music and just wasn't the right venue to have such a loud performance. I canceled my other reservation after that and went to Taste instead.

 

The one time I ate there and had a reservation, the crew member came out to the long line of people and announced something which most people couldn't hear. When I asked him about those who had reservations, he sent me to the closer check in table inside and they seemed confused about what to do about those with reservations.

 

Moderno - good food but too much food. The red meat wasn't cooked enough, each piece was too red for me. I didn't eat any of the red meat. The salad bar always has enough variety.

 

Cagney's Steakhouse was also good food.

 

Le Bistro was my favorite, good food, especially the dessert.

 

Buffet - only ate there twice, and took my food up to the Posh deck.

 

Entertainment:

 

Epic Beatles - held in the Epic theater. Corny chatting in between performing. Instead of just singing the Beatles songs, they were pretending they were the actual Beatles during their chats. Corny. They were ok, but I walked out half way through.

 

Burn the Floor- Good dancers, but didn't make any sense. I walked out half way through.

 

Ebony and Ivory: Two excellent singers, I wish they had them perform more. Highly recommend. They sang in the Epic theater one night and another venue another night.

 

Comedian: Dylan Mandlsohn in Headliners. He was funny and was very good at improv. I stayed the whole time and the Headliners club seemed full

 

Excursions:

 

Normally, if I'm going on a cruise with a friend, I would try and do private excursions, but I was solo on this cruise and felt more comfortable booking cruise ship excursions. With the $50 credit for each port and the latitude rewards discount, the prices were reasonable too.

 

St. Kitts: I took the Scenic Rail and Sail excursion. It was good, got to see the countryside and pretty views on the train. Our train was stuck for over 30 minutes, as the lead car (car that drives on the rail ahead of the train to make sure it's clear), got hit by another car. When we arrived at the end, the other passengers were waiting for us. The boat ride back didn't seem crowded and was nice, a bit bouncy but we rode around the other side of the Epic to see it, and then to the dock where they let us off. Some excursions had the sail first and then the rail.

 

Antigua: Took the Antiguan experience excursion. It was disappointing. The guide was interesting and personable and friendly but the places we stopped, not what I expected. We stopped at a private home from a woman who's a descendant of settlers from the 15th century. Just looked like a small home filled with knick knacks. Then we stopped at a pineapple farm, which looked like an abandoned place. I think a couple rows of pineapples. They said they were affected by the pandemic and didn’t have places to sell their pineapples. Never saw the Fryes estate, whatever that was supposed to be. The last stop was the beach with lunch. The food was mediocre. Beach was nice. I wouldn't recommend this excursion.

 

St. Maarten: I took the "Beach Rendezvous"  beach excursion which was one of my favorites. We were driven to Orient Bay beach and a lounge chair was included. An umbrella was only $6 more and I shared it with another single person. Beach was very nice, in front of a hotel. The lunch was included and was surprisingly really good. It was at the local restaurant on the beach, and we sat at tables and ordered from a specific menu. Bathrooms were also available. Very nice and relaxing excursion. I would definitely recommend it.

 

St. Thomas: Our Champagne Sail and snorkel cruise was canceled after arriving at the pier where the boat was supposed to be. About 4 shuttle trams had taken about 100 passengers to this pier, We arrived to the other trams stating the boat was broken and was canceled. We were all taken back to the ship (although our guide offered for a fee to take us to a beach). Since we were only in port for half a day, I stayed on the ship and sat on the Posh Deck.

 

Amber Cove: My original excursion (Take a Selfie in Puerto Plata) was canceled, so I signed up for the Coconut Cove Beach excursion. Another fun and relaxing beach day. Everything included, drinks, lunch, a lounge chair and umbrellas. I was in the first group that arrived, so we had good choice for chairs. Nice beach. Food was also really good. Nice facilities, staff was helpful and friendly.

 

It was announced on the ship, you weren't allowed to bring any liquids or food off at the Dominican Republic. When I got off the ship, I saw many people who had brought water bottles. There was a local store (El Cibao)  where we met for the excursion that sold bottles of water for $2 each. The port was very well marked about where to meet for specific excursions.

 

Sea Days;
 

The weather was nice enough to spend time out on the pool deck on both days back up to NYC, on the Posh Deck. It was so nice up there, and definitely worth it. The 2nd day was even more amazing, the ocean was so smooth and calm and the weather was sunny and hot.

 

Behind the Scenes Tour: I took a behind the scenes tour. It was really interesting. We had a nice visit with the stage manager of the Epic theater and saw behind the scenes of the theater, saw the food galley area, saw the laundry facilities and the bridge. Talked with crew members at each stop. We were told that only 50% of reservations are taken ahead of time at the Epic theater, so if you can't get a reservation try the waiting list.

 

Other observations:

 

I talked with my cabin steward and I asked her if she liked cleaning rooms once a day or twice. She and another steward said they have so many rooms now, they don't have time to get off the ship during the day and see the ports. They prefer the old way. I didn't miss the turn down evening cleaning, but wish they would have less rooms so they can get some time off and see the ports.

 

Cabins 13001 and about 4 next to them: If you have booked them, double check the size of the balconies. From what I could see from the bridge, it looks like they don't have much room, just a "juliet" type balcony.

[room with a view]

Thanks for your review and observations . We are on the Epic later this year .