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Live EPIC Mediterannean 11-Day Cruise from Marseille, France October 2, 2023-with pics!

graphicguy

By graphicguy,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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surfclam2003

surfclam2003

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We still have 188 days to go. She looks lovely. Haven has been on our bucket list for awhile. Got a great deal for TA and couldn't pass it up. We are staying on for an additional 10 days but moving to a club balcony as price for Haven almost doubled. Couldn't justify price for a port intensive cruise. Looking forward to getting spoiled.

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mking8288 "Live from...." Rare

mking8288

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2 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

For some reason CC has quit letting me post pics.  This could be the end of “Live With Pics”!

Will let you m ow in words only, I suppose!

Oh, no - probably just some sort of technical hiccups - server(s) overloaded on this end.  You on still in port b/c I just peek at the ship's live webcam, not sailing until 7:30 PM local time - should still have good 5G or 4G signal from land ISP partner.  

 

NCL did a beautiful modernization with the Haven complex & that 2 BR is stunning ... you got 3 TV's to "monitor" multiple channels plus ship navigation feed & live video cam, and in case you run out of things to do, those 60+ PPV movies are free (just kidding about lack of things ...)   That suite reminded me somewhat of our Joy's spacious 2 BR family inside suites with the virtual balcony, but the deco & trimmings, completely upscale luxury as it should be - it is Haven proper, afterall.  

 

For a change, might want to have the butler order something from Shanghai Noodles downstairs & bring it up as snacks, during our TA - the lines waiting to get in nightly was mad crazy, every night ... the noodles soup & appetizers were good, the fried & sauteed weren't to our liking.  Portions are petite enough.  

 

Do try to keep those pictures coming, bon voyage. 

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cavok

cavok

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We also got on board, in "Steerage" a few classes and decks below... Still a family balcony, though. 

 

Agree that this Haven room looks awesome and modern! Our upgrade bid unfortunately didn't get called upon 😂

Sadly, our impression of the ship so far is more so/so from an average level paying customer's point of view... 

 

And we don't even dislike the often critizized shower/wc/sink setup in the room. That's different, but we like it. 

The room is rather dusty/not very thoroughly cleaned, has little and stupidly thought out storage and in general feels cramped over what we are used to (Mainly TUI Mein Schiff and Celebrity). 

Let's see how our impression evolves over the next few days. 

Balcony showing rust everywhere, balcony door handle almost falls off and more wear and tear can be seen around ship. Also, IT/infoscreens are not up to today's standard, stateroom TV is small and slow, big screen with info about officers near guest services is not touch etc... 

 

Then the whole VAT story is in full swing. "Dear valued customer" letter at checkin, and bartenders are keen to tell you that you only pay tax, while presenting a slip over big and bold $36 or whatever (which you don't have to sign) just to show the VAT. quite confusing. As a Swiss and not part of the E. U. we might even try to reclaim just for the fun of it and principle 😜

Gotta read up on that, they even mention it in the letter. 

 

Checkin was a relative breeze around 11ish, but we saw queues get much longer, later in the afternoon.

Overall, generally pleasant experience.

Also parking is close to perfect and quite affordable for the length of the cruise. 

 

Cruise director and assistant cruise director are somewhat hard to understand, and this from a non-native speaker with a lot of leniency towards less than perfect pronounciation... 

Guess they give them somewhere a chance to try out *LOL*

Also, lots of french speakers / canadian french pax. And rather unusual, even french announcements on board, at least for the safety stuff (from a guy who actually speaks perfect French) ...

 

Initial impression of crew otherwise is quite positive.

 

Upcharge stuff is generally very expensive, not limited to shore excursions. Got for instance stuck with the kids in the arcade hall (didn't spend any but they wouldn't leave and mistreat the buttons for a bit), nothing much below 2$, a "pass" for the cruise going for something like 175$ and not even applicable to all machines?! Yeah right. 

Starbucks much the same, not even the basic of the basics coffe is "free at sea" *lol*

Expected it to be much that way, but considering NCL isn't exactly cheap in the first place, either customers are just very happy to spend big time or they are really trying to squeeze... 

 

And what they consider "premium" and what not really comes down to the fine print and less to common sense 🤣

 

But it's nice to be on another ship and we'll sure enjoy the next almost two weeks! 

 

 

 

 

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jsn55

jsn55

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57 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

For some reason CC has quit letting me post pics.  This could be the end of “Live With Pics”!

 

Will let you m ow in words only, I suppose!

Oh now, we NEED those photos!! 

 

As with all things IT, just wait a bit, restart everything and all should be well.  Laptops sometimes wish to rest all night before beaming up again.  Can't tell you the number of digital toys I've 'fixed' over the years ... good thing, 'cause it's the only fix I know.

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Sugar Magnolia "Live from...." Rare

Sugar Magnolia

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1 hour ago, mking8288 said:

For a change, might want to have the butler order something from Shanghai Noodles downstairs & bring it up as snacks, during our TA - the lines waiting to get in nightly was mad crazy, every night ... the noodles soup & appetizers were good, the fried & sauteed weren't to our liking.  Portions are petite enough.  

 

So true. Been on the Epic three times and never made it to Shanghai Noodles because lines extended all the way to the casino. Never thought to request delivery from butler but won't make that mistake again. I also recommend trying Shanghai Noodles when the casino is not in operation to limit the smoke smells wafting over from the casino.

 

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schmoopie17

schmoopie17

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6 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

Never thought to request delivery from butler but won't make that mistake again. .

 

Not being a Haven cruiser, the next time I'm in steerage I'll try to find someone with the last name of Butler and ask them to stand in line for me.

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DCGuy64 Great Review Rare

DCGuy64

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11 minutes ago, Sugar Magnolia said:

 

So true. Been on the Epic three times and never made it to Shanghai Noodles because lines extended all the way to the casino. Never thought to request delivery from butler but won't make that mistake again. I also recommend trying Shanghai Noodles when the casino is not in operation to limit the smoke smells wafting over from the casino.

 

Weird, I wonder when you sailed. We were on the Epic last December for a TA and ate there twice, no lines at all. We love that place!

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Sugar Magnolia "Live from...." Rare

Sugar Magnolia

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1 minute ago, DCGuy64 said:

Weird, I wonder when you sailed. We were on the Epic last December for a TA and ate there twice, no lines at all. We love that place!

 

Last time on the Epic was this past April. Probably didn't help that it was over spring break. It was also very difficult to get in on the Getaway in February. I am batting 0 for 4.

 

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graphicguy "Live from...." Rare

graphicguy

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Little back story…last time I sailed EPIC was over 10 years ago.  She was new and totally unlike anything I had experienced before.  I was sailing with someone who meant a lot to me.  We sailed in a balcony room.  I liked it, although some malign it.   The ship has perhaps the only escalator at sea, fercryinoutloud!!!!!

 

I view the Epic as the ship that set the precedence for so many other ships and cruiselines. It’s the ship that had me coming back to NCL over and over!

 

So, perhaps I’m being nostalgic.   But aside from some updates here and there, it’s the brick and wood and SOLID feeling ship (no creaks) that I remember.  This ship makes me happy to cruise.  Hope I won‘t wait so long the next time.

 

Really looking forward to this.  She appears

to be in good shape.

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