Epic Disappointment

[Joanne G.]

Mr. Luckytoo, thank you for taking the time to share your impressions. That's what Cruise Critic is for - sharing first-hand information that we may not get from the ads and brochures. Probably many travel agents don't even know all the new and unique features of this ship, and even if they know about them, they won't fully understand them if they haven't experienced it.

 

At least we CC readers can make an informed choice. I imagine there will be plenty of people, booking on their own or with an ill-informend travel agent, who will be quite surprised - maybe pleasantly, maybe not - by many of these features.

 

I do plenty of research before booking cruises, but there are still some things I have taken for granted, for example that the evening entertainment doesn't have an extra charge and that there will be a library. These issues aren't deal-breakers for me, but it is very helpful when people share this information. It isn't too helpful when people simply respond to those who share information with, "you should have known that."

 

Thanks again. Would love to SEE the Epic, but not yet convinced that I would love to CRUISE on her. :rolleyes:

[PokerDave]

My daughter will be 15 when we sail next August in the Med

 

I will just be shocked if this ship isn't one of the VERY favorites of teenagers. The Teen room is awesome, the entertainment WAY better than what's on other ships for that age group (and probably all age groups), and I think they'll consider the water park light years ahead of the admittedly larger pools on a typical large cruise ship. Can't imagine the slides/fountains don't more than compensate for small actual pool area...

 

But as others said... it's all speculation at this point until it does some sailings in the Carib full of kids we won't know...

[samnewbie]

I will just be shocked if this ship isn't one of the VERY favorites of teenagers. The Teen room is awesome, the entertainment WAY better than what's on other ships for that age group (and probably all age groups), and I think they'll consider the water park light years ahead of the admittedly larger pools on a typical large cruise ship. Can't imagine the slides/fountains don't more than compensate for small actual pool area...

 

But as others said... it's all speculation at this point until it does some sailings in the Carib full of kids we won't know...

 

Hiya,

 

Yep teen areas look amazing, daughter hasnt actually seen 'real' pics yet and i'm sure once she meets a few other nice teens she will settle into it all and have a blast! :D

 

I'm not so sure about them 'compensating'...personally I would rather have it all, slides, fountains AND decent sized pools one can actually swim in! ...perhaps i'm being greedy ;) :D

 

Just showed my husband photos of pools (after dreading that for ages:eek: ) but the ones with the fountains, his comment, "looks nice, pools are way too small though, look more like paddling pools and not something one could swim in".

 

He isnt deterred though so it's all good, he is just looking forward, like me, to the overall experience and we will be on the water slides with all the kids big and small! :)

 

Thanks again for that link btw, much appreciated

 

Sam :)

[Fairhope]

I just hope every review doesn't do a play on the word "Epic" in it. I get enough of that on the Carnival boards. :(

[PokerDave]

Was my cruise experience terrible? No!

 

Certain aspects such as Cirque Dreams, O'Sheehans, La Cucina and Moderno did that. Other parts of the ship didn't.

 

Lucky, when you drop out a "5 reasons the Epic sucked" list without any balance you are going to get re-butted, plain and simple.

 

Your observations are exactly what CC is here for. There IS someone with similar tastes as yourself that you will likely save from either false expectations or even taking a cruise they wouldn't enjoy.

 

But without balance I feel you also will make many others question their upcoming cruise, perhaps unnecessarily. In particular, knocking the pool area when it is on a cruise that it wasn't even in use isn't very fair. I believe your follow-up statements to be factual ( not much actual pool area ) but lacking any context ( did it really matter in the larger context of the water park theme )... And your original statement was simply, "Do you use the pool deck a lot, in particular the pools? If yes this in NOT the ship for you". You had to know making a definitive slam on the Pool Deck on one of the most innovative ships in the water park department ever was going to raise some hackles...

 

Looking forward to your more complete and balanced review, and in no way would dispute that for you, your cruise dissappionted. Just make sure you provide the information in a way that gets it to those of like mind, but doesn't miss-inform others...

[time2cruise1]

I do plenty of research before booking cruises, but there are still some things I have taken for granted, for example that the evening entertainment doesn't have an extra charge and that there will be a library. These issues aren't deal-breakers for me, but it is very helpful when people share this information. It isn't too helpful when people simply respond to those who share information with, "you should have known that."

 

. :rolleyes:

 

Just for the record the only evening entertainment with a cover was Cirque Dreams. Everyone will have their own opinion but for me the best 2 hours I ever spent on a cruise ship. It put a smile on face from beginning to end and the time flew by.

As far as the library as posted there is no dedicated space but they did offer library services for several hours each day in O'Sheehans.

As far as the pool area I just went through 960 pictures from the cruise an was unable to find one picture with anyone in the pool but did see 100s of chairs open in every picture. There is no way to judge that area on this cruise with temperatures in the high 50s each day.

The good news about the weather I was able to do the Epic Plug over and over with the slide to myself. It was a blast. I will say after 1/2 hour I looked like a member of Blue Man Group :D

 

[eroller]

I appreciate your review. Of course you are going to get a lashing from the NCL cheerleaders, some of who refuse to acknowledge any issues with EPIC, but that is to be expected. It's natural for people that have future cruises booked on EPIC, who are spending a lot of money, to not want to read anything negative about "their" ship. Some tend to over rationalize to convince themselves that none of the issues will impact their vacation, and perhaps that is true in some instances?

 

People take these reviews (and cruise lines for that matter) far too personal. I find the reviews rather helpful (both the positive and negative). I don't take any of them at face value and realize they are all quite subjective. Some reviews are glowing beyond reality, and others focus purely on the negative. In all my cruises I've never found a ship that was 100% perfect or 100% negative. It's usually somewhere in the middle. The best reviews are by those that can recognize that balance.

 

Anyway, I always appreciate when someone takes the time to put together a comprehensive review of their experience. More than anything I think your review points out that EPIC was not quite ready for prime time, and I think even NCL executives would agree with this. Of course it was probably in their best interest to just to take delivery of the ship, and get it out of that shipyard before any additional sabotage occurred. It's hard to believe that NCL signed off on some of the issues that exist, but my guess is they decided to sign off anyway just to get the ship out of France. Luckily, most, but not all of the issues will be easy fixes in time. There is always a risk when booking a first cruise on any ship and line that things will not be quite perfect, and this always has to be taken into consideration. NCL didn't give EPIC a lot of "shake down" opportunity. Royal Caribbean deadheaded OASIS (and ALLURE too) from Europe to the US. I think this was the right thing to do, especially for a brand new ship design. It gives the crew a chance to get acclimated with the ship and shipyard workers the opportunity to finish what needs to be done. Of course it means losing revenue for the cruise line, but in the long run I think it pays off. Anyway, it the problems still exist a month or two after EPIC has been in active service, then there is real cause for concern. Personally I don't think it's anything to worry about. NCL needs EPIC to be a success, so I think they will take whatever measures necessary to make that happen.

 

Ernie

[sverigecruiser]

What is european style with the cabins?

[sjbdtz]

I sailed the inaugural cruise from Southampton to NYC on the Epic. I have been excited about this inaugural sailing for the past few months and unfortunately NCL missed a great opportunity with this ship and this sailing. I disagree. I think they got their ship across the Atlantic in one piece, which was the #1 aim of the TA. The secondary aim was to provide a discounted transit for a semi-shipfull of people who wanted time to explore the new vessel. Both opportunties fulfilled.

 

The disappointments started right from the beginning in Southampton England. The boarding process was smooth -the lines were extremely long but once thru security people were allowed to board. After walking on board this is the first time I can remember not being greeted with either champagne or a mimosa.

 

Considering how fully you researched everything, I'm surprised you missed all of the threads about NCL discontinuing the 'champagne'...I think the consensus was that it was no big deal.

 

 

We did however find a joint that had a 2 inch gap open - apparently the cover/caulk hadn’t been completed.

 

Really? The Garden Cafe is HUGE....how meticulous was your inspection, to find a 2" gap?

 

Our luggage had arrived and we attempted to unpack. Firstly lets talk about this cabin. We stayed in cabin 9093 which is a deluxe family balcony,. Don’t believe NCL. And you wonder why people with different perceptions speak up? This is a sweeping statement. For the two of us it was fine but for more than 2 people you WILL be disappointed. I saw one of these on the cabin crawl, and thought 2 + child would work just fine. The seat part of the couch pulls out, forming a 2nd bed....and the seat backs open-up to provide storage.

 

On several occasions she bumped her head into the overhead storage areas when I left them open ...... I like that you continued to leave them open, after observing the first bump-age! :D:p;)

 

There is a curtain that separates the shower/tub and toilet from the remainder of the cabin. This is one of those ideas that may seen good on paper but in practice many people, the wife especially, did not care for it one bit. The toilet has a frosted glass sliding door which is supposed to provide privacy but don’t believe it for a moment. Seemed quite private in our cabin. In addition due to the curve in this cabin this toilet area made me feel claustrophobic with the door closed. I am 6’ 230 pound former football player. It was cramped for me to use the toilet. If you are 300 pounds and larger you will have a difficult time shutting the door -that was why they made the door frosted otherwise you would feel like it was a coffin. Yes, they are quite small..I'll give you that!

 

The other problem is the sound. You can hold a regular conversation with your cabin-mate without much difficulty. Unfortunately my wife didn’t like that fact and if you make any noises while on the toilet the other passengers in the cabin will know it as well. Because of the lighting if someone uses the toilet at night and turns on the light without closing the curtain everyone in the cabin knows. Does your wife think that the typical laminate bathroom door is camouflaging the sounds? It doesn't.

 

The cabin looked like something out of an IKEA showroom floor, very compact and efficient. It had the feel of a luxury European room. While that is nice in Europe the American market, my wife and I in particular, were not happy and would not re-book on this ship because of this cabin configuration. Good thing it's off the European market next year, I guess.

 

The rooms throughout the ship are done very nicely - except for deck which has an unfinished feel to it. Which deck??? They all seemed finished to us.

 

My biggest complaint about NCL and the Epic is that I feel the passengers on the TA were short changed. NCL didn’t really do anything to make this trip special. Why would they? It was just a standard transatlantic. The Inaugural sailing might have some more pomp & circumstance. That said, it DID feel special...because that's just the way NCL makes us feel....like family. On the last night they provided free wine and beer between 5-6 but they cancelled the sail-away lattitudes party so… we had a Latitudes party.... didn't see you there, though.

There were many little things that were fixed by the end of the cruise, for example the dining signs on NCL showing which restaurants have waiting lines. The entrance to NYC was nothing special, the debarkation was a clusterf*** as well. Our butler escorted us to our cabin upon embarkation, and down a crew stairwell to the gangway at 10:45 am. yesterday. Quick, efficient, and after a 1/2 hour wait in customs (the source of the bad word you used), we were in an NYC traffic jam.

 

Not installing a AC unit and having cabins in which the shower mixer is not working is just shoddy workmanship. If this ship were a new car that I was purchasing from an auto dealer I would not have taken it home until they fixed all the bugs. When your ship is potentially at risk from saboteurs, you get it off the lot ASAP, and fix the bugs later. Besides....ever bought software???????

 

 

 

There were French workers/contractors on board working throughout the TA and that just wasn’t right. Exactly. After the way the French mucked things up to begin with, they should have found some Germans to efficiently finish everything. :rolleyes:. NCL rushed this product to delivery (the ship was delivered 6 weeks after initially scheduled....but last-minute strikes, fires, engine seizures, and other shenanigans delayed some of the final finishes, unexpectedly. The option to delay everything further wasn't JUST a complete PR nightmare, but also exposed the ship to risk of future sabotage) and that left me feeling like they didn’t really care about me as a passenger.

 

I honestly don't understand how ANYONE could cruise on an NCL ship and not feel cared-about. Hospitality is their STRONG SUIT. Would I take time to document some of the deficiencies, so that they can have an opportunity to remedy them (for others, and perhaps to remedy your own situation).... vs. posting slamming comments on a public board? You bet I would.

 

Nothing ever goes perfectly in travel, flights are delayed...connections missed, rental cars substituted, luggage delayed, damaged or lost....it doesn't matter what mode of transport...you are involving multiple moving parts and there are always minor irritants....the hallmark of a good company is the way the handle these issues AFTER they're made aware of them, and in our experience NCL has always scored top marks. They are constantly refining the experience to make it better (or at least with the intent), but when things go wrong, they make an effort to fix them.

 

Did you speak with management onboard about your concerns? Did you come to the Meet & Greet where they practically begged us to call them first, giving them a chance to make things write? Just dial 8888 for Klaus, or 8800 for Sean.

 

 

dmwnc, you've missed the pool part completely. I'm just telling you what I saw, first hand, not from pictures or drawings.

 

The two pools are very small. If you spend a lot of time in the pool just be prepared to be like a sardine.

 

Mr.Lucky, this is a perfect example of why I'm responding in so much detail to your posts. You state that you're telling what you saw first hand....yet, not once during the TA was ANYONE packed like a sardine in any of the pools...in fact they were mostly empty.

[erdoran]

I need to stop reading CC and get back to work so I'll keep this short. I was on the TA and yes, I had issues BUT it wasn't a big deal. Whenever there were LEGITIMATE problems and we reported them, they were addressed. NCL staff went out of their way to fix where they could and come up with an alternative solution where they couldn't!

 

Many things that have been discussed: pools, libraries, kids--are individual preference. Not a big deal. If you want a ship with a library then make sure you check in advance. If you don't want a lot of kids then sail during the school year.

 

My overall experience on the Epic TA was wonderful, in spite of weather & new ship teething pains. I would do it all over in a heartbeat, even if I knew about the issues I'd run into! You expect bumps in the road on a maiden voyage!

 

And as far as the bathrooms are concerned, another cruiser and I did an experiment--and if you are looking at the toilet or shower door while someone is in there, you can see the person inside. Their outlines are definitely blurred, but you can see whether they are sitting, standing, arms raised, etc. Also someone else pointed out that if you close the curtain when you use the bathroom, the sink is OUTSIDE the curtain so you are opening the curtain with unwashed bathroom hands after you are done. Just something to consider.

[sdmike]

The pool area will be a lot "bigger" when they turn on the fountains

 

[eroller]

The pool area will be a lot "bigger" when they turn on the fountains

 

 

 

 

I see this as a positive and negative. Positive in that there is more water, a negative in that it turns the entire pool area into a giant kids "H20 Zone" like on Royal Caribbean. I see the area overrun with kids running through all those fountains which leaves only the very small pool aft to escape the kids.

 

Ernie

[sdmike]

I see this as a positive and negative. Positive in that there is more water, a negative in that it turns the entire pool area into a giant kids "H20 Zone" like on Royal Caribbean. I see the area overrun with kids running through all those fountains which leaves only the very small pool aft to escape the kids.

 

Ernie

 

As you say, it's all subjective. Since I have 3 kids I love this. :)

[eroller]

As you say, it's all subjective. Since I have 3 kids I love this. :)

 

 

Very true! I don't have kids so it's an issue for me. Believe me, I want the kids to have fun. I was a kid once so I can relate! :) I would just prefer it if they were having their fun a little bit farther away from where I am having my fun. LOL I know the aft pool is adults only, but it looks to about the size of the jacuzzis on OASIS OF THE SEAS!

 

Ernie

[hat776]

You stated that the cabins were extremely narrow and two people were constantly bumping into each other.

You added <<The cabin looked like something out of an IKEA showroom floor, very compact and efficient. It had the feel of a luxury European room. While that is nice in Europe the American market, my wife and I in particular, were not happy and would not re-book >>

The European hotel rooms are not as large as those in America but I've never been in a luxury 5* room in Europe that wasn't roomy enought to be able to move freely about.

Many mentioned that on the TA the weather wasn't suitable for the pool. I really wonder why American ships don't have sliding roofs for the pools.

[MMMD]

I honestly don't understand how ANYONE could cruise on an NCL ship and not feel cared-about. Hospitality is their STRONG SUIT. Would I take time to document some of the deficiencies, so that they can have an opportunity to remedy them (for others, and perhaps to remedy your own situation).... vs. posting slamming comments on a public board? You bet I would.

 

Nothing ever goes perfectly in travel, flights are delayed...connections missed, rental cars substituted, luggage delayed, damaged or lost....it doesn't matter what mode of transport...you are involving multiple moving parts and there are always minor irritants....the hallmark of a good company is the way the handle these issues AFTER they're made aware of them, and in our experience NCL has always scored top marks. They are constantly refining the experience to make it better (or at least with the intent), but when things go wrong, they make an effort to fix them.

 

Did you speak with management onboard about your concerns? Did you come to the Meet & Greet where they practically begged us to call them first, giving them a chance to make things write? Just dial 8888 for Klaus, or 8800 for Sean.

 

 

 

 

Mr.Lucky, this is a perfect example of why I'm responding in so much detail to your posts. You state that you're telling what you saw first hand....yet, not once during the TA was ANYONE packed like a sardine in any of the pools...in fact they were mostly empty.

 

So which one of you should we believe? What makes YOUR experience the correct one?

 

Why must opinions be picked over and dissected to death?

 

MrLucky stated his observations and gave his opinion, as did you. I will now combine all the statements and decide what is most important to me.

 

I appreciate all views and don't feel the need to be 'right' or to 'set someone straight'.

Personally this has become the most annoying part of CC lately.

 

To those that took the time to write about your experiences on this new ship, thank you.

[gagal1233]

I was on the TA cruise and agree with Mr. Luckytoo's observations. I liked the ship but decided I'll never cruise it in the caribbean as the pools are just too small. Even the adult pool is partially under a screen where you can watch movies or whatever they put on. I've cruised the caribbean about 6 times on carnival, princess, royal caribbean and wouldn't get on this ship simply because there's less pool space on this ship which carries 4100 passengers than ships that i've been on that carry 3100 passengers. I think his pool observation is fair and accurate and berating his post is ridiculous. Do you work for NCL or something?

[sjbdtz]

I was on the TA cruise and agree with Mr. Luckytoo's observations. I liked the ship but decided I'll never cruise it in the caribbean as the pools are just too small. Even the adult pool is partially under a screen where you can watch movies or whatever they put on. I've cruised the caribbean about 6 times on carnival, princess, royal caribbean and wouldn't get on this ship simply because there's less pool space on this ship which carries 4100 passengers than ships that i've been on that carry 3100 passengers. I think his pool observation is fair and accurate and berating his post is ridiculous. Do you work for NCL or something?

 

 

I think you're both wrong, and no I don't work for NCL.

[gkbiiii]

The Epic is a ship that is structurally flawed for the Caribbean market. Most areas of the ship (excluding cabins) you can hardly see the ocean. Many areas of the ship are very narrow and the cabins are all smaller (this includes all categories) than on other ships in the line. A very strange supposedly European cabin design will not be liked by many Americans. Other than great shows and goo above average dining, the ship is a boring place. There is no library or card room and a very "That's 70s" interior look; with lots of dark brown colors etc.

The guest relations are the worst individuals I have dealt with in seven cruises and yet their officers are some of the best I have seen. NCL has a true White Elephant that will have (in my view) difficulty competing in the Caribbean market. Most of the newer (post 2000) vessels are significantly better, with ships that actually posses a soul. There is nothing onboard that makes one think of a ship, rather a large Harrah's strip casino.

[gkbiiii]

I sailed the inaugural cruise from Southampton to NYC on the Epic. I have been excited about this inaugural sailing for the past few months and unfortunately NCL missed a great opportunity with this ship and this sailing.

 

The disappointments started right from the beginning in Southampton England. The boarding process was smooth -the lines were extremely long but once thru security people were allowed to board. After walking on board this is the first time I can remember not being greeted with either champagne or a mimosa. Instead we entered into the ship’s atrium where people were milling about and long lines had already formed at guest services. NCL didn’t provide people to give directions and it was mass confusion. Part of the problem was that the port had a cruising convention on board the ship as well as passengers.

 

Since it was already past 1 pm we went directly to our cabin to drop off our bags. To our dismay the cabin was dirty. While the bed had been made the coffee maker still had coffee in it with spilled coffee on the counter top. The mirrored cabinets had finger smudges all over them and a light coating of dust was on the end build-in. In addition we noticed that the air conditioner (AC) control panel was sitting on the counter and not installed.

 

After finding my cabin attendant and pointing out these things, he apologized and said he would get right on it. We left to walk around the ship. We had lunch in the Garden Café which is very nicely decorated. We did however find a joint that had a 2 inch gap open - apparently the cover/caulk hadn’t been completed.

 

When we returned to our cabin our luggage was there and we unpacked. Our cabin was a deluxe family balcony. That means that it has a tub and additional length.

 

Our luggage had arrived and we attempted to unpack. Firstly lets talk about this cabin. We stayed in cabin 9093 which is a deluxe family balcony,. Don’t believe NCL. For the two of us it was fine but for more than 2 people you WILL be disappointed.

 

The bed is very comfortable. The pillows and linen are fantastic. The lighting in the cabin is nicely done. The cabin colors are very relaxing. There are more build-ins then I could have imagined and it is a lacquered oak. The cabin TV was a flat screen. There is a coffee maker in the room with a nice (according to the wife) hair dryer. The cabin is stylish and very attractively styled.

 

Now for the problems and they are many: the cabin is too narrow and we were constantly bumping into each other. On several occasions she bumped her head into the overhead storage areas when I left them open and this was just the two of us. With 3 or more people in this room it will feel very cramped.

 

There is a curtain that separates the shower/tub and toilet from the remainder of the cabin. This is one of those ideas that may seen good on paper but in practice many people, the wife especially, did not care for it one bit. The toilet has a frosted glass sliding door which is supposed to provide privacy but don’t believe it for a moment. In addition due to the curve in this cabin this toilet area made me feel claustrophobic with the door closed. I am 6’ 230 pound former football player. It was cramped for me to use the toilet. If you are 300 pounds and larger you will have a difficult time shutting the door -that was why they made the door frosted otherwise you would feel like it was a coffin.

 

The other problem is the sound. You can hold a regular conversation with your cabin-mate without much difficulty. Unfortunately my wife didn’t like that fact and if you make any noises while on the toilet the other passengers in the cabin will know it as well. Because of the lighting if someone uses the toilet at night and turns on the light without closing the curtain everyone in the cabin knows.

 

The bathtub is larger than a regular tub. It is also higher. Therefore if you cannot step over a 30 inch wall to get into the tub/shower - don’t book this cabin type. Getting into the tub wasn’t a problem. Getting out onto the wood floor in rough seas “could” be a problem for some cruisers.

 

The sink sits in an area on top of the counters and is too small in diameter and too shallow. 85% of the time there is a mess after using it. The bright spot is the amount of cabin space for toiletries but larger sinks will have to be installed. The only garbage bin in our cabin was located under the sink and it was a build-in drawer.

 

The cabin looked like something out of an IKEA showroom floor, very compact and efficient. It had the feel of a luxury European room. While that is nice in Europe the American market, my wife and I in particular, were not happy and would not re-book on this ship because of this cabin configuration.

 

There were 11 settings on the TV

4 - Muster Drill continuous loop, 21 - view from the ship’s bridge, 22- interactive map showing ships position, weather conditions, etc., 23 - Nickelodeon, 24 - NCL promotions, 25 - MSNBC, 26 - Sky News, 27 - BBC World news, 28 - Sky 1HD, 29 - CNBC, 30 - composition of various taped programs

Interactive TV - this is typical of most hotels in which you can check on your account, description of shows, dining, services, etc. Many passengers on board did not have TV services but from what we observed they weren’t really missing anything. At night on channel 30 it was taped shows of Scrubs, friends, etc.,

 

The rooms throughout the ship are done very nicely - except for deck which has an unfinished feel to it. The service of the wait staff varied from eatery to eatery. The staff of O’Sheehans was by far the most friendly and efficient that we encountered on the ship. By the end of the cruise it felt like we were walking into Cheers! The food there was also great for breakfast and lunch and late night snacks.

 

We dined in the Moderno (Texas de Brazil) restaurant, Tappanyaki and La Cucina (Italian). Service in all three was very good, with exceptional service at Moderno and La Cucina.

 

Main Dining experiences in the Manhattan Club and Taste varied wildly. On the two occasions in which we ate at the Manhattan club (breakfast and lunch) the food took awhile to get there an was ok. We dined at Taste for dinner twice and really enjoyed the food and service was better. After talking to the staff it turns out that the galley for the Manhattan Club is located on deck 4 so the servers do a lot of up and down walking which may explain the longer wait times for food.

 

My biggest complaint about NCL and the Epic is that I feel the passengers on the TA were short changed. NCL didn’t really do anything to make this trip special. On the last night they provided free wine and beer between 5-6 but they cancelled the sail-away lattitudes party so…

There were many little things that were fixed by the end of the cruise, for example the dining signs on NCL showing which restaurants have waiting lines. The entrance to NYC was nothing special, the debarkation was a clusterf*** as well.

 

Not installing a AC unit and having cabins in which the shower mixer is not working is just shoddy workmanship. If this ship were a new car that I was purchasing from an auto dealer I would not have taken it home until they fixed all the bugs. There were French workers/contractors on board working throughout the TA and that just wasn’t right. NCL rushed this product to delivery and that left me feeling like they didn’t really care about me as a passenger.

 

 

I really believe after this expereince that NCL could care less about passangers. After this experience, I have much greater reguard for RCCL and will make Royal my main line for life. Loyalty matters at Royal unlike at NCL, which does not care for anyone, only for money!! Royal cares about me and I will continue toward Diamond Plus in two years.

[sjbdtz]

I really believe after this expereince that NCL could care less about passangers. After this experience, I have much greater reguard for RCCL and will make Royal my main line for life. Loyalty matters at Royal unlike at NCL, which does not care for anyone, only for money!! Royal cares about me and I will continue toward Diamond Plus in two years.

 

 

...and the daily service charge...did you take it off?

[gkbiiii]

I prepaid the service charge and tipped $10 for the outstanding Steakhouse.

I guess it is a good ship for Harrah gamblers; however I don't see it being a success. Most NCL past guests I met, indicated they would not return to the Epic and many other (first time NCL) like myself will not return to the line after this experience! Its times like these you grow to admire and thank those companies that really do care for you: here is a toast to you Royal Caribbean; your true excellence comes shinning through.

From my outstanding May 2 transatlantic on the Adventure; I see now why you have the strongest loyalty in the industry. This cruise with one of your competitors, won me over. Nothing other lines have (mainlines) can come close to Navigator Class and above. I want those of you loyal to NCL to know, that I can aboard with an open mind. From the start of the trip in Southampton to New York, NCL Corporate showed me how it chooses to do business. You know we have a choice, perhaps that’s why, NCL you are a distant third in the cruise industry.

You see at Royal, loyalty matters; with this the company has continued to grow and prosper. Perhaps your company should study this concept. It is after all a two-way street, company & clients.

[PokerDave]

I prepaid the service charge and tipped $10 for the outstanding Steakhouse.

 

 

I guess it is a good ship for Harrah gamblers; however I don't see it being a success. Most NCL past guests I met, indicated they would not return to the Epic and many other (first time NCL) like myself will not return to the line after this experience! Its times like these you grow to admire and thank those companies that really do care for you: here is a toast to you Royal Caribbean; your true excellence comes shinning through.

 

From my outstanding May 2 transatlantic on the Adventure; I see now why you have the strongest loyalty in the industry. This cruise with one of your competitors, won me over. Nothing other lines have (mainlines) can come close to Navigator Class and above. I want those of you loyal to NCL to know, that I can aboard with an open mind. From the start of the trip in Southampton to New York, NCL Corporate showed me how it chooses to do business. You know we have a choice, perhaps that’s why, NCL you are a distant third in the cruise industry.

 

You see at Royal, loyalty matters; with this the company has continued to grow and prosper. Perhaps your company should study this concept. It is after all a two-way street, company & clients.

 

Wow... "your" company should study this concept... sounds like an open mind to me... Trust me, I'm no NCL fan-boy. Sounds like the first cruise of the Epic was a goat rodeo. Yeah, you should base your opinion of NCL in general on that... So, any comments on what makes NCL different? Not like Free-Style dining? I've been on Royal Caribbean. Was great. But so have all my cruises been. Been on 5 lines. How ANYONE could pick one as head and shoulders above the others I find amusing...

[JLC@SD]

I was able to do the Epic Plug over and over with the slide to myself. It was a blast. I will say after 1/2 hour I looked like a member of Blue Man Group

 

..........looks more like the Epic Flush.....:D:D:D

[mjane1999]

If you are thinking about booking a cruise for the Epic you need to ask yourself certain questions in order to not be disappointed:

 

1. Do you use the pool deck a lot, in particular the pools? If yes this in NOT the ship for you Nope, can't be out in the sun for long.

 

2. Do you like to see/hear lots of kids? If no then DON'T book on this ship?

That's why I have a nice large balcony - for a quiet place all for me and DH.

3. If you spend lots of time in your cabins be SURE you don't mind a European style room

I do love that style!

4. If you are modest in the least, you will be disappointed with these cabins. If you or your partner goes to the bathroom in the middle of the night expect to wake up the other person - there is NO PRIVACY

No problem, not an especially modest person.

5. If you prefer a quiet ship - Don't book this ship. There is no library, the atrium is noisy with a crappy coffee area. Actually prefer lots of activity on most cruises, now the crappy coffee is another issue :D

 

Thanks for the update, sounds like I will have a fabulous time in September!

 

You are not the norm!