First time on NCL. Not impressed

[sanger727]

8 hours ago, TopofWorld said:

https://www.franciscanhealth.org/community/blog/weather-changes-make-you-sick#:~:text=For some people%2C a change,Bast said.

 

 

This is about weather... not your room temperature. It talks about how weather changes affect pollen and people with allergies - very true. Or that viruses spread better in cold/dry vs warm/humid weather. Again, not a thing to do with how your body perceives the temperature in your room. 

 

Lacking exposure to a virus, you cannot catch a cold from being cold. 

Edited May 9, 2023 by sanger727

[ontheweb]

Just now, sanger727 said:

 

This is about weather... not your room temperature. It talks about how weather changes affect pollen and people with allergies - very true. Or that viruses spread better in cold/dry vs warm/humid weather. Again, not a thing to do with how your body perceives the temperature in your room. 

OTOH, there is a mind/body connection. If one expects to catch a cold, is it possible that their immune system recognizes that and allows the cold to be caught?

[DCGuy64]

2 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

If one expects to catch a cold, is it possible that their immune system recognizes that and allows the cold to be caught?

No. If you have a depressed immune system to start with, you're at greater risk. But the immune system doesn't weaken based on your perceived risk of getting a cold.

[tomk3212]

We were on the same TA on the Epic.  We're Sapphire but this was our first time on Epic.  Weird layout but i LOVE the size of Headliners vs. the same club on the Breakaway/Breakaway+ ships; it has at least 30% more seats.

 

I disagree re: The Garden Cafe food.  I'd rate it a 7-8/10.  We ate there a couple of nights when the menu at Taste/Manhattan was less than stellar.  To each their own & rating food is VERY subjective but 'cold'?  Too salty?  Seriously???  Agree on the Specialty restaurants.

 

I agree that entertainment could've been better (no Broadway plays like 'Jersey Boys' or 'Six' ) but we had Leo to sing to us in Maltings and the 'boys' from Howl At the Moon to entertain us when things got boring.  Not too bad.

 

Sucks that they couldn't fix the temperature controls in your cabin.  Ours was kinda flukey also but they did work.

[FitchburgWIFamily]

So this won’t help the OP, but for other people who have not yet cruised: Either at the cruise critic meet and greet, a latitudes event, or maybe even by request at guest services, you should be provided the contact numbers for all of the senior staff.

 

I would never use it as my first course of action, but if I were the OP and had to go to guest services more than once for the same issue, I would be picking up the phone in my room and calling the Hotel Director.

 

In my experience, the staff wants to address the issues while you are on board.  Use them as needed.

 

We had an issue where a fellow cruiser was making it uncomfortable for us to be on our balcony. We notified staff, and asked for a different cabin. There wasn’t one available but the ship understood we wanted to be able to sit outside, and made a private area of the deck available to us.  
 

They didn’t address the problem the way I wanted them too, but the earnestly tried to address the issue.

 

So if you find yourself in the OP’s position, reach out to senior staff.

.

[Georgia_Peaches]

22 hours ago, TopofWorld said:

The 1st day the room was freezing cold. Thermostat n9t working. Duly reported it and it was fixed. Lasted 24hours. Again reported. Again fixed. Lasted 5 hours. Reported again (BTW, caught a cold as a result) and they tried to fix it at 11PM. Next day same game, same result. Reported it again.

Epic is an anomaly among ships, IMO.  But OMG what I wouldn't give for a stateroom thermostat that got broken in the too cold direction instead of the too hot!  Definitely understand that not everyone likes sleeping in a meat locker like me 😁.  Appreciate your thoughts!

Edited May 9, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[MSUjohn]

19 hours ago, Liljo22 said:

There is a reason Epic was the only ship in its class.

I read somewhere that there were going to be three ships in the epic class. originally 

[schmoopie17]

All this anti-Epic talk is giving me the willies. We booked a Greek Isles cruise on Epic for September, 2024. And even more concerning is the fact that we talked our neighbors into joining us...and this will be their very first cruise. Not a great introduction to cruising or NCL.

 

Yes, I've been around this board for several years and I've heard that the Epic is not exactly everyone's favorite ship. I know about the weird cabin layout, the bathroom, the deck plans, etc., but figured we could overlook those things. But now it sounds like it's a hellhole.

 

Might have to do some fancy footwork to find something else. Which is too bad, because the itinerary is awesome. I need someone to talk me off the gangplank...

[MSUjohn]

3 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

All this anti-Epic talk is giving me the willies. We booked a Greek Isles cruise on Epic for September, 2024. And even more concerning is the fact that we talked our neighbors into joining us...and this will be their very first cruise. Not a great introduction to cruising or NCL.

 

Yes, I've been around this board for several years and I've heard that the Epic is not exactly everyone's favorite ship. I know about the weird cabin layout, the bathroom, the deck plans, etc., but figured we could overlook those things. But now it sounds like it's a hellhole.

 

Might have to do some fancy footwork to find something else. Which is too bad, because the itinerary is awesome. I need someone to talk me off the gangplank...

there is no way around it; the epic sucks.

if you are going in summer it should be very easy to find another Mediterranean cruise by NCL.

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 minute ago, schmoopie17 said:

All this anti-Epic talk is giving me the willies. We booked a Greek Isles cruise on Epic for September, 2024. And even more concerning is the fact that we talked our neighbors into joining us...and this will be their very first cruise. Not a great introduction to cruising or NCL.

 

Yes, I've been around this board for several years and I've heard that the Epic is not exactly everyone's favorite ship. I know about the weird cabin layout, the bathroom, the deck plans, etc., but figured we could overlook those things. But now it sounds like it's a hellhole.

 

Might have to do some fancy footwork to find something else. Which is too bad, because the itinerary is awesome. I need someone to talk me off the gangplank...

I've sailed her twice.  My only complaint is that (like many other ships) she lacks an Observation Lounge.  The bathroom thing is just whining.  Many folks like to be able to use the toilet while someone else is in the shower.  Otherwise, she's a fine ship.  Nice forward facing buffet.  Large pool deck with Spice H2O at the rear.  Not a single reason not to have a fantastic time. 😎

[ChiefMateJRK]

2 minutes ago, MSUjohn said:

there is no way around it; the epic sucks.

 

Just now, ChiefMateJRK said:

Not a single reason not to have a fantastic time. 😎

That's CC for ya'!  🤣

[Two Wheels Only]

14 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

And even more concerning is the fact that we talked our neighbors into joining us...and this will be their very first cruise. Not a great introduction to cruising or NCL.

 

The neighbors won't have anything to compare/contrast as far as other ships. You can tell them that on other ships, guests share a bathroom down the hall. Compared to that, Epic's "bathroom" set-up is great.

 

Epic's ugliness will be exposed anytime that another ship is in port. There's not much that you can do about that. 🫤

[ChiefMateJRK]

5 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

Epic's ugliness will be exposed anytime that another ship is in port. There's not much that you can do about that. 🫤

That's a feature, not a glitch.  When you're on the Epic, you can't see what she looks like but you can admire the attractive ship next door.  It's those poor suckers that have to look at the b$tt ugly Epic.  😎

 

It's like back when I owned a house.  I didn't have much landscaping to block the very nice landscaping that my neighbors paid for and maintained.  Worked for me!

[cruisinmeme]

Sorry to hear you nearly froze to death. I could handle adding bedding. We had a cruise on carnival that we could not stay in our cabin it was so hot. We raised hell at one point and the repairman brought security. So for 7 days we were miserable. Nothing done. It was hard getting dressed for the evening meal and hot and sticky and sweating the whole time.

we never got a sorry or anything like that for a week from hell.  We had a cabin on carnival that flooded. Another story.  I believe we got a 50.00 credit and moved us. Keep in mir i had picked my location and paid for that upgrade only to be given a random cabin.

if we ever had an issue with NCL it was addressed in a very fair way.  Just hope i am not jinxing myself.

[Jldevlin]

7 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

All this anti-Epic talk is giving me the willies. We booked a Greek Isles cruise on Epic for September, 2024. And even more concerning is the fact that we talked our neighbors into joining us...and this will be their very first cruise. Not a great introduction to cruising or NCL.

 

Yes, I've been around this board for several years and I've heard that the Epic is not exactly everyone's favorite ship. I know about the weird cabin layout, the bathroom, the deck plans, etc., but figured we could overlook those things. But now it sounds like it's a hellhole.

 

Might have to do some fancy footwork to find something else. Which is too bad, because the itinerary is awesome. I need someone to talk me off the gangplank...

Let me talk you down ...We are also cruising next September on the Epic. Taking 3 other couples because we love the itinerary also. The ship is great...We were on it before and find it no different than any other ship. Some cruises are great...some not...but we had no issues at all.

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

All this anti-Epic talk is giving me the willies. We booked a Greek Isles cruise on Epic for September, 2024. And even more concerning is the fact that we talked our neighbors into joining us...and this will be their very first cruise. Not a great introduction to cruising or NCL.

 

Yes, I've been around this board for several years and I've heard that the Epic is not exactly everyone's favorite ship. I know about the weird cabin layout, the bathroom, the deck plans, etc., but figured we could overlook those things. But now it sounds like it's a hellhole.

 

Might have to do some fancy footwork to find something else. Which is too bad, because the itinerary is awesome. I need someone to talk me off the gangplank...

Go with the attitude of I am on a cruise and the itinerary is wonderful, and you will enjoy the cruise immensely. Go with the attitude that this ships sucks and I will have a terrible time, and it will become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

 

We did a Western Mediterranean cruise on the Epic in 2012. Yes, there were somethings that were far from perfect, but my one lasting memory of that cruise was how wonderful Florence was.

[dexddd]

12 hours ago, MSUjohn said:

I read somewhere that there were going to be three ships in the epic class. originally 

I'm fuzzy on if three but definitely two.  They paid reportedly $600 million to get out of second.

[njkate]

On 5/9/2023 at 12:03 AM, fshagan said:

I think you have a really valid complaint about the air conditioning and the handling of it, and it's one that would give me pause about cruising again with them. It doesn't sound like a pre- or post-pandemic thing to me; you can always be responsive to the guest, and offer to move them if you can't resolve the issue. That should have been offered.

 

We are trying Celebrity again after having a less-than-stellar cruise with them a few years back. We're trying one of their newer ships, the Apex. I hope we don't run into the same issues we did back on the Infinity. If we do, I suspect we won't try them again.

 

If you do find an itinerary that appeals to you ask here about the ship and recent experiences on it. Usually the on-board experience with NCL is really good.

I have friends on the Apex right now and they have nothing but stellar reviews on the ship

[Two Wheels Only]

1 hour ago, dexddd said:

I'm fuzzy on if three but definitely two.  They paid reportedly $600 million to get out of second.

 

It was 2 with an option for a 3rd. The option for the 3rd wasn't taken then the 2nd was cancelled. 

[DCGuy64]

We loved the Epic, and I actually enjoyed the bathroom layout because it allowed me to shave and brush my teeth while my wife was showering. Also, my understanding is that no more ships were built in Epic's class due to a dispute with the shipbuilder, not because of the design, per se. However, I've also heard it said that Epic's design was more expensive to build because of the curved, wavy cabinets and other furniture. But regardless, we loved the ship, design and all, and would not hesitate to book her again.

[MedCruise_2022]

On 5/8/2023 at 9:22 PM, Liljo22 said:

There is a reason Epic was the only ship in its class.  It’s a funky ship with lots of complaints.  I would give NCL another try on a Breakaway or Breakaway+ class ship.  Preferably the Escape or the Joy.

Now I am worried haha!

We are booked on Norwegian Epic for October 29-Nov 10, 2024 from Haifa to Rome.

We booked this particular cruise because of its "epic" destination/ports of call: Israel (Haifa and Jerusalem), Cyprus, Turkey (Istanbul and Kusadasi),  several Greek isles, and Italy (Naples,  Livorno, Rome).

Hoping for the best!

[fshagan]

1 hour ago, MedCruise_2022 said:

Now I am worried haha!

We are booked on Norwegian Epic for October 29-Nov 10, 2024 from Haifa to Rome.

We booked this particular cruise because of its "epic" destination/ports of call: Israel (Haifa and Jerusalem), Cyprus, Turkey (Istanbul and Kusadasi),  several Greek isles, and Italy (Naples,  Livorno, Rome).

Hoping for the best!

 

The main complaint is the translucent doors on the toilet and shower that are in the room and not in a separate little bathroom. NCL did add a curtain you can draw between the toilet and shower enclosures (which are next to the door) and the rest of the cabin.There are a ton of photos of it; the one below shows how much you can see when someone is showering. It wasn't a big deal for my wife and me, but for friends traveling together, families with shy teens, etc. it can be an issue.

 

I had a different negative reaction to the Epic, which was the way it is inward focused. It would be easy to sail for days without seeing the ocean if you didn't have a balcony cabin. Even the promenade deck has obstructed views due to the lifeboats. But we really enjoyed the ship itself, with the Broadway style shows and clubs.

 

I would take the Epic again if price / itinerary are right.

 

[MedCruise_2022]

7 minutes ago, fshagan said:

 

The main complaint is the translucent doors on the toilet and shower that are in the room and not in a separate little bathroom. NCL did add a curtain you can draw between the toilet and shower enclosures (which are next to the door) and the rest of the cabin.There are a ton of photos of it; the one below shows how much you can see when someone is showering. It wasn't a big deal for my wife and me, but for friends traveling together, families with shy teens, etc. it can be an issue.

 

I had a different negative reaction to the Epic, which was the way it is inward focused. It would be easy to sail for days without seeing the ocean if you didn't have a balcony cabin. Even the promenade deck has obstructed views due to the lifeboats. But we really enjoyed the ship itself, with the Broadway style shows and clubs.

 

I would take the Epic again if price / itinerary are right.

 

Thank you for this information. I am somewhat reassured!

Yes, after booking, I have read and looked on You tube videos of NCL Epic and the issue about the bathroom was a concern raised by some.

My husband and I have booked a Large Balcony on Deck 12 (--and the bathroom may not be an issue).

We are excited for this cruise mainly because of it starting in Israel and ending in Rome--which we want to re-visit, and for the many ports of call along its route.

Thank you again!

[Viajera7]

On 5/8/2023 at 4:25 PM, TopofWorld said:

Guest services: the weakest link. 0/10. The 1st day the room was freezing cold. Thermostat n9t working. Duly reported it and it was fixed. Lasted 24hours. Again reported. Again fixed. Lasted 5 hours. Reported again (BTW, caught a cold as a result) and they tried to fix it at 11PM. Next day same game, same result. Reported it again. Fixed. When going to sleep, the fan noise was so loud, it was like trying to sleep in a plane. Repairmen came again at 12 midnight. Solution: everything disconnected. No noice, no access, but at least we could sleep for the remaining 10 days. During the 5 days, guest services personnel was either indifferent or downright dismissive and rude. I repeatedly asked for a manager and she was either on a break, away, meeting....

0/10 and if I could I would give them a negative score for wasting my time standing in line.

 

Small details: many smaller issues that could have been avoided Notable detail.: they sent to our room the chocolate covered strawberry. Yes, singular. A single strawberry. This made us smile.

Overall: 7/10 from me, 8/10 from the wife. In short, given the lack of recent experience with RCL (maybe they downgraded their quality as well) I can not reject NCL. But we were not impressed, and to sail with them again the price should be just right and the itinerary a gorgeous one. Just our subjective opinion.

 

 

 

I have been on the Epic several times. Last time b2b2b in December. I had 2 issues : one during the first cruise and the second one regarding the disembarkation/embarkation from the first cruise to the second one. I wrote to the general manager about the issues as feedback so they could be improved in the future. He called and left a message and I saw that the problem was solved for the next disembarkation/ embarkation.

On the Joy in January, there was another issue and I wrote to the general manager This time, the person who called me was the assistant cruise director. We met and she explained the reason why the problem was happening and I was satisfied that at least they are reading the notes and contacted me. Those are the only times that I had written to the general manager in 65 cruises but it works.

Regarding the single strawberry, that’s strange and funny. I got 5 each time.

[Liljo22]

12 hours ago, MedCruise_2022 said:

Now I am worried haha!

We are booked on Norwegian Epic for October 29-Nov 10, 2024 from Haifa to Rome.

We booked this particular cruise because of its "epic" destination/ports of call: Israel (Haifa and Jerusalem), Cyprus, Turkey (Istanbul and Kusadasi),  several Greek isles, and Italy (Naples,  Livorno, Rome).

Hoping for the best!

 

You are cruising for the itinerary and not for the ship so it will not be as big of a deal for you I would think.  I am guessing that you probably have no sea days with the amount ports you are listing.