ready2cruzagain

We are just the opposite, we love the music playing at dinner it gives it a more sophisticated feel than the Taste dining room. It is something we do not get at home. It is just the two of us so no need for us to converse the whole time. We enjoy listening to the music while we eat. I guess everyone is different but then again, we still dress for dinner where most don't.

There are 2 MDR's on the Epic. One is Taste and the other is the Manhattan Room. The Manhattan room has a band that plays from around 6:30 to 8pm and a dance floor. There is also a dress code for the Manhattan Room which is smart casual. Shorts are not allowed in the Manhattan Room where as you can were shorts in Taste. Been on the Epic 5 or 6 times and they did follow this rule. When we were on the Breakaway they did allow shorts in the Manhattan Dining room. All that being said, we have 6 cruises on the Epic booked and booked the Manhattan dining room for dinner when not in specialty restaurants.

Isn't that the truth! We don't go to big cities much anymore due to the crime. I will stay in my small town. That being said, we will be staying on the ship in Jamaica this year due to the fact that the last time we were there it just did not feel "right".

They were at the back of the ship in the buffet, very back wall. Soda, wine, and maybe beer. I remember because I got wine and orange crush soda there for lunch when we ate at the buffet.

Been on the Epic several times and I can't remember a bar that doesn't make the frozen drinks. Like others have said they are not made from ice cream.

You can pull the bed out from the headboard and gain a lot more length. That is what we do.

We have been on the Epic 6 times and absolutely love the ship. 1. Sometimes the lines can be long. At the pool bar when they are in port the lines would get busy. On sea days seems like more workers and line would move fast. It all depends on the bar. If you go to O'Sheehans right after the muster drill it would take a long time to get a drink. It all depends on the time of day and what is going on. Not all bars will be busy. We never had a problem. 2. We only have one production show on the Epic (we are on the same cruise as you), it is Burn the Floor and it will not be available to book until 21 days before the cruise. It is a great show and I recommend it. If you don't get a reservation then go to the theater before the show and at 10 minutes before if the people that have reservations do not show up then they start letting people in without reservations. We went with friends one year and they did not reserve anything and never had a problem getting into the theater. This was when there was two shows, unfortunately they got rid of Priscilla and did not replace it with another production show as of yet. No other entertainment is available to book in advance. 3. The buffet can be busy at peak times but that is normal for any ship. Go all the way to the back and there is usually seating. Most people don't know it but if you can't find a seat, go all the way in the back and go down the stairs and they will let you sit in the specialty restaurant there, La Cucina. We made our dinner reservations at 125 days out and we even made our MDR reservations. I see for a party of your size, even though 5 of you, you will need to reserve for 6, there is only 5:30 or 8:30 pm in the dining rooms every night on this booking. You can go ahead and book some of those or you can wait and when on the ship either go to Shanghai's I believe upon boarding and make reservations or just try to get in every night. Our friends did not have reservations for the MDR's and it only took them 10 minutes each night to get in except for Thanksgiving and it was a 45 minute wait. You can make your specialty dining reservations as soon as you get on the ship also. O'Sheehan's is delicious and open almost all of the time. Peak hours are busy but we have gone many times and never have a problem. They will give you a pager and you can wait at the bar right beside the restaurant. Shanghai's does not take reservations and it takes about 30 minutes to get into that restaurant. We like to go there for lunch on sea days. Easy to get into because most don't realize they are open. 4. Other than specialty dining there is Manhattan and Taste dining rooms. Manhattan is nicer in my opinion. We have all of our dinners booked there except for specialty. It has a band and a dance floor. Usually the band or singer performs between 6:30pm and 8pm every night. Dress codes have changed and I can't find what they are now. Use to be you have to dress nicer for Manhattan and Le Bistro but here is the dress code link now. https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/what-clothes-should-i-pack If you have any other questions just as, will be happy to help.

We love the Epic and have 6 cruises booked on her but...and a big but...the bathroom situation is horrible. If your kids are in the same cabin as you I would definitely choose the Escape!!!!

We have 6 cruises booked with NCL and received the 10% discount on each one. Not one problem at all! Love it! Call someone else at NCL because even our TA told me that when she tried to book a cabin for us it automatically shows up.

Not that I have ever seen.

I have no idea when they do the excursion listings. I have 3 cruises booked out of PC in January and they are showing no excursions for Great Stirrup Cay except for Villas and the Zip Line. I know there are other excursions such as paddle boarding, swim with the pigs, clam shells, snorkeling, etc but none of these are showing up.

Better be headed there before April considering I have 3 Epic cruises booked in January.

No b2b but we have a b2b2b in January and then another b2b2b in 2025. 14 days is just not enough we prefer 21 or longer.

He didn't care for MSC either, complained a lot. I am thinking maybe Viking or Seabourne might be a better fit.

I remember those days! Back in the late 90s and early 2000's I remember they would wheel out several large round kettle charcoal grills by the pool area and have a big party. It was fun to watch and delicious. I think the last time I seen it was in 2005 on the Dream.

I completely agree with you! I much prefer a good band in a bar, atrium, anywhere over the production shows but it is getting hard to find a band on NCL ships. Yes, there is a band on the Epic which we will be on but plays in the Cavern and I am not going to get in line an hour early for a tiny venue.

You have such high hopes. Given past experiences I find that most thinking it will replace the evening entertainment to be more accurate. But time will tell, we are all guessing.

Same here! I take my phone and it goes straight into the safe. It does not come back out until we are getting off the ship on the last day. Being glued to a phone is no vacation! No, I do not use the NCL app or any other cruise line app as I find them to be annoying. It is bad enough watching people all the time who can't put their phones down but now NCL is encouraging it!🤦

I actually like MSC's entertainment shows in the main theater. Lots of things going on in one show, opera to acrobats. I definitely liked it better than Priscilla which I have seen too many times. We will probably see Burn the Floor again even though we have seen it 5 times.

Just a guess here but Epic has only one show, Burn the Floor, since they got rid of Priscilla. My guess is that they will not be getting another production show to replace Priscilla and will use Wheel of Fortune in its place.

Haven't sailed them since 2015. When they started having the passengers be the entertainment we left.

This is just horrible! I see they are going the way of Carnival. Carnival went with Hasbro game shows for entertainment. We quit sailing Carnival due to the lack of entertainment and the pathetic menus of Golden Corral. We have been sailing MSC and NCL the last 8 years. Have not sailed NCL since the pandemic and when the Epic came back to PC we booked 6 cruises. I thought Deal or No Deal was bad but this is worse. So, instead of entertainment, I get to go on a cruise and watch other passengers as if it were a game show. No thanks, I can watch Wheel of Fortune at home. Guess we will be going back to MSC after our next 6 cruises.

MSC doesn't pay back port fees at least not on the cruises we have sailed with them (12).

I can do a mock booking on NCL when I am signed in and right before you pay it shows you the total 10% off. I think you are including taxes and port fees maybe? If the cruise is $499 each plus taxes and port charges, your 10% would be taken off of the $499 for each of you making your discount a total of $98.

It is a great deal but we currently have 6 cruises booked with NCL and never received 20%. We received 10% of the base price of each cruise.