Epic Disappointment

[mjane1999]

1. The atrium was noisy because the World Cup was being broadcast on the 2-storey screen.....

The atrium was noisy even when the world cup wasn't playing. The atrium was an awful design. As sitting in the quite areas on deck 7 you could still hear the loud screen from the atrium or the crappy hillbilly band that played when the world cp wasn't on!

2. The pools were closed because the sea was a little choppy. The pool you photographed was not the only pool. There's another beside it, another at the rear of the ship, another in the Courtyard (not accessible to everyone, but reducing the number of people who would be likely trying to use the pooldeck)

There will be many families on future cruises that have plenty of kids and can not afford the "Courtyard suites". Be realisitic for once would you? The pools will be overrunned by kids once the ship gets to the caribbean. The water slides are right there next to the 2 mini main pools. the design of the slides are faulty as water was spilling over all over the deck with the crew constantly sweeping it into the drains. It will be a huge mess if they don't fix that problem as the weather was cold and not a lot of action at the pool but when it was warm the pool area is the major place to be for most people doing caribbean itineraries.

3. We hardly saw any kids during the TA. Maybe because we hung out in the casino, and not in the kids club? Go where kids go, and you'll find kids. Go where adults go, and find fewer kids. Logical.

I hung in the casino also. And I saw plenty of kids even in the casino! as they were taking photos in front of the chandelier.

4. I loved the euro-style rooms....simply loved them. The frosting on the toilet door is opaque. You could NOT tell someone was in the bathroom. Yes, there were a couple of other issues, but they were mostly fit & finish issues which will work themselves out over a short period. (lighting, and noisy door on toilet). The majority of rooms have an opaque curtain to create privacy. The Spa Suites curtain is more decorative, and DOES create a lighting issue in the cabin. We got around it by bringing tiny foam earplugs and airline-style eye masks......maybe while things shake-out, NCL could provide these in-cabin.

Did you happen to be cruising solo? As that is the only way these cabins would be comfortable. The deluxe family balcony is a terrible design. I could not imagine having more than 2 persons in that cabin. It was crowded with just my husband and I. Not functional, not practical! And you can see through the toilet door. I have photos to show just that. My husband took some photos to see if it was see through would you like to see them to prove that you are wrong? And they are very small as I am only 5'2 and felt cramped. The sink in the living room is far the worst design I have ever seen. You could not do anything without splashing water all over the floor. The curtain dividing the shower and bathroom is so tacky looking! And does nothing but cover you while you are in the shower.

5. We found nice quiet areas in the EPIC Lounge (for suite & courtyard guests), noticed people reading just outside of Wasabi (next to Maltings), and again in the lounge next to the Ice Bar. The Living Room (for Studios) also seemed like a fairly subdued zone, and the Art Gallery / Internet Cafe / Photo Studio were a huge collective space which was mostly unoccupied, the entire cruise.

Once again Courtyard guests and studio guests are only a percentage of the passengers. For the other half of the passengers they would like to have some quite spaces also. There was no seating in the internet cafe unless you were using it. The photo gallery is a huge wasted space. Although there system having seperate slots for the photos was a great idea. I agree it was a huge collective space but not an area you want to hang out and relax unless you want to stand?? The art gallery was nice but every seat was taken as well as the lounges on deck 7. The seating is limited and if you are not an early bird you don't get the worm.

[sjbdtz]

The pools will be overrunned by kids once the ship gets to the caribbean.

 

I've never done the Caribbean. Sailed all over the world, but that particular piece of paradise holds no interest. Not surprising that EPIC will be returning to Europe next year.

 

 

 

 

4. I loved the euro-style rooms....simply loved them. The frosting on the toilet door is opaque. You could NOT tell someone was in the bathroom. Did you happen to be cruising solo?

No, we were 2, in a spa suite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see, in the pic....it is impossible to see Daniel in the toilet compartment. The 2nd picture shows him standing there, 1/2 - in; 1/2 - out. These two pics were taken for the express purpose of proving / disproving this concern.

[sjbdtz]

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.

 

 

One simple reason. If you are stating a fact "I'm just saying what I saw with my own eyes", but are inserting presupposition "when it gets to the caribbean it WILL BE", then it needs clarifying.

 

I'm glad YOU can weigh both posts, but most people would read the OP, and walk away....and I think they would be doing themselves an injustice... and when Mr Lucky makes a claim of factual representation, which is unfounded, then I see no harm in challenging it.

 

 

At no point that I either saw, nor heard of, during the TA, were the pools packed like sardines. Mostly they were entirely empty.

 

All else is conjecture and presupposition. MrLucky believes it will be a problem in the Caribbean, and NCL, and their ship architect have bet $1.2 Billion that it won't be.

[Parttime Cruiser]

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 we are talking about something that the Cruises in the future will have a better time telling how this area works. It was so cold, wet and windy that I had to force myself to go on Wednesday just to say I went down the water slides. I then headed straight to the spa to warm up.

[rsinj]

At no point that I either saw, nor heard of, during the TA, were the pools packed like sardines. Mostly they were entirely empty.

 

All else is conjecture and presupposition. MrLucky believes it will be a problem in the Caribbean, and NCL, and their ship architect have bet $1.2 Billion that it won't be.

 

And you know, when Enron, Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac, WorldCom, and lots of other high-flying corporations were doing "so well" there were one or two people here and there that said these companies were doomed - even when their management came out and told the world how wrong they were - and who should we believe - management, who has the company and all shareholders best interests in mind, or these one or two people shouting fire?

 

Conjecture and presupposition? Come on, let's be real. Some people here have been, making logical analysis and drawing conclusions from the facts - others, like yourself are stretching to ignore what is pretty clear.

 

Of course the pools weren't "packed" on your cruise - was the weather such that people really wanted to be in the pools, or needed to be?

 

I've said similar things seeing how much of the upper deck the courtyard complex takes up - it's about a third of the deck. You've taken away a good portion of it from the masses and given it to relatively few. Now, with that smaller remaining space (comparable to an entire upper deck on smaller ships with less passengers) you have to accommodate numbers which are much larger than those smaller ships. Bottom line, as someone else who can see the forest through the trees has been posting on these threads - NCL designed this ship to generate the most revenue they can - and by making the courtyard complex bigger, they are looking to sell more high-priced space plus residuals and allocated more physical space to it. Likewise, making the standard cabins tighter and cutting corners, they are also looking to pack more standard fare people into less space. So there, now you have another person which is not putting on the rose-colored glasses and being bowled over by the $1.2 billion paid for this behemoth.

 

Yes, it is a huge bet/gamble that NCL is making, and probably one of the reasons there was such difficulty in getting this ship built and in service from the investment side of things. However, again, that still doesn't take away from the fact that I take great exception with your statement that Mr. Luckytoo should not be taken seriously because he is just one person, and we should rather put faith in a corporation/investors because of the fact that they bet over $1 billion on this.

 

Howard

[erdoran]

I agree that you can see through the toilet & shower door. A solo friend and I did the experiment (fully dressed) and I was able to see her in each of them through the door, although blurred. I had a great cruise and am going again in December, but facts are facts.

[Mr. Luckytoo]

As you can see, in the pic....it is impossible to see Daniel in the toilet compartment. The 2nd picture shows him standing there, 1/2 - in; 1/2 - out. These two pics were taken for the express purpose of proving / disproving this concern.

 

While we can disagee on other things this is what happened in OUR cabin on deck 9:

 

You can see if the person is standing, sitting, etc. There is no "buffer" to the noise as the glass is only 1/2 inch thick.

 

My wife told me that she felt more confortable using the public rest rooms if she had to use the toilet than she did using it in our cabin.

 

I can only imagine how a mother will feel with a young child and her husband less than 20 feet away and everyone hearing everyone else.

 

The BIGGEST problem is in the middle of the night, trying to get to the bathroom, past the bed, close the curtain, find the light switch, etc.,

[Fossilbone]

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

 

 

 

Hi,

Just thought I would throw in my 2 cents worth.

 

Not sure if you used the "library" but it had three books and was very hard to find as the crew didn't know about it when we asked at O'Sheehans.

 

The pool deck was in use the first day and with ten people in the pool it was crowded and the deck was packed with people and it was very difficult to navigate your way through the deck chairs.

 

As far as the staff, I found quite a few new staff were rude and/or useless, we had drinks practically thrown at us in Headliners, being told to sternly to back off while waiting for a table in the Garden Cafe, to waiting one hour in the Manhattan room for breakfast, even after telling the staff, the waiter couldn't understand anyones accent, not really sure he could speak English, (we had Americans, English and Australians on the table). That said, from our experience, the staff that came from other ships were excellent, there was wonderful service.

 

A few other things, no prices for some drinks on the drink menus, and when we asked it was "8.95 or 9.95 or 7.95", also the cover charges should be clearly stated, you had to ask for everything to be clarified, I hope this changes.

 

Just a few of my observations, please don't shoot me!

Fossilbone

[Mr. Luckytoo]

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?

 

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

 

Ernie, I felt like you hit the nail on the head concerning the Epic. Most of the minor problems such as the phones or TV's in peoples rooms not working (was NOT a problem for us) or having a shower that didn't work or not having a stopper for the tub - WILL be worked out in the week between now and the first cruise from Miami.

 

Issues such as the cabin sink, cabin toilet, cabin space will NOT be dealt with until NCL has more feedback. In order to make the cabin privacy issue a "non-issue" my wife suggested that the curtain would need to be replaced with a sliding door that is not see thru. (her idea so I give her credit).

 

With the pool area - for me it's all conjecture since the weather did not allow myself full use of the pools. To all the brave souls who did use the slides you get nominated for the polar bear club awards.

 

I did do the rock climbing and repelling while on board. The rock climbing was a let down because the walls are too short. It took me 2 minutes to do the easy and 3 minutes to do the medium vs. 8 minutes on the RCL. I think they're geared more for kids.

 

there was almost 1/2 inch of water on the decks because of the overflow from the slides and the worker at the repelling wall was using squeege to direct the flow. The repelling wall - first time I did that and after it was done I was lik...that's it? It takes longer to put on the shoes, harness and helmet than come down.

 

My biggest beef was the bungee jump on deck 17. I went up there on day 7 at 5:05. There were 4 kids in line and a woman was doing the jumping herself. There was 5-7 staff milling about being trained on how many of the elastics to use. I stood in line until it was my turn and then the staffer comes over with the scale for me. At 230 pounds he says,

 

"I'm sorry but our weight limit is 200 pounds...you can't use this..ships safety rules". That was 5:45 pm. 40 minutes wasted.

 

1. I'm done this same bungee 18 months ago when I weighed 220 so I know his statement about the actual machine is false but since it is on deck 17 and I know how high I got I don't argue. I did ask him, "why isn't anything posted about this [weight limit]"

 

All I got was shrugged shoulders. I expected an apology for my waiting or more of an explaination but he simply said you can't use this...and went on to the next person in line.

 

His attitude I found representative of the attitude of Corporate NCL. Let me be VERY CLEAR - the waitresses/waiters/restaurant works/managers, etc., were VERY helpful, friendly and accommodating.

 

However during the cruise I turned in 8 comment cards. 5 were positive reviews of individuals who provided exceptional service(s) and 3 were complaints about the physical ship itself. We logged over 5 complaints with the front desk about getting the cabin AC/shower mixer/stopper and it took 2 days before 2 of the 3 were fixed.

 

We didn't get a letter from NCL apologizing for any inconvenience. In fact there was nothing that would have made this cruise any different than cruising from Miami in August - except that the ship will have these issues fixed by then.

 

I'm sorry but when you pull your flagship out for it's maiden voyage and you charge customers full fare and you don't make a big deal of it and disregard their complaints - that fell short.

 

For example coming into NYC - why did we enter at 10:00 instead of the usual 6:00 like the QM2?

 

I thought that NCL had something special planned. Sure it was nice to see the skyline but why not put little flags (NCL) or towels in peoples cabins so they could be waving them? Ever go to a NFL playoff game? You get little things like that to make it special.

 

Corporate NCL rushed the Epic into service and I feel disappointed. Maybe I set the standard too high. Maybe I listenend to the stories of other inaugural cruisers and had unrealistic expectations or maybe NCL has so many other passengers booked and ready to go that my little silver lattitudes membership means nothing to them...

[sjbdtz]

And you know, when Enron, Fannie Mae, Freddy Mac, WorldCom, and lots of other high-flying corporations were doing "so well" there were one or two people here and there that said these companies were doomed - even when their management came out and told the world how wrong they were - and who should we believe - management, who has the company and all shareholders best interests in mind, or these one or two people shouting fire?

 

Conjecture and presupposition? Come on, let's be real. Some people here have been, making logical analysis and drawing conclusions from the facts - others, like yourself are stretching to ignore what is pretty clear.

 

Of course the pools weren't "packed" on your cruise - was the weather such that people really wanted to be in the pools, or needed to be?

 

I've said similar things seeing how much of the upper deck the courtyard complex takes up - it's about a third of the deck. You've taken away a good portion of it from the masses and given it to relatively few. Now, with that smaller remaining space (comparable to an entire upper deck on smaller ships with less passengers) you have to accommodate numbers which are much larger than those smaller ships. Bottom line, as someone else who can see the forest through the trees has been posting on these threads - NCL designed this ship to generate the most revenue they can - and by making the courtyard complex bigger, they are looking to sell more high-priced space plus residuals and allocated more physical space to it. Likewise, making the standard cabins tighter and cutting corners, they are also looking to pack more standard fare people into less space. So there, now you have another person which is not putting on the rose-colored glasses and being bowled over by the $1.2 billion paid for this behemoth.

 

Yes, it is a huge bet/gamble that NCL is making, and probably one of the reasons there was such difficulty in getting this ship built and in service from the investment side of things. However, again, that still doesn't take away from the fact that I take great exception with your statement that Mr. Luckytoo should not be taken seriously because he is just one person, and we should rather put faith in a corporation/investors because of the fact that they bet over $1 billion on this.

 

Howard

 

Ernie, I felt like you hit the nail on the head concerning the Epic. Most of the minor problems such as the phones or TV's in peoples rooms not working (was NOT a problem for us) or having a shower that didn't work or not having a stopper for the tub - WILL be worked out in the week between now and the first cruise from Miami.

 

Issues such as the cabin sink, cabin toilet, cabin space will NOT be dealt with until NCL has more feedback. In order to make the cabin privacy issue a "non-issue" my wife suggested that the curtain would need to be replaced with a sliding door that is not see thru. (her idea so I give her credit).

 

With the pool area - for me it's all conjecture since the weather did not allow myself full use of the pools. To all the brave souls who did use the slides you get nominated for the polar bear club awards.

 

I did do the rock climbing and repelling while on board. The rock climbing was a let down because the walls are too short. It took me 2 minutes to do the easy and 3 minutes to do the medium vs. 8 minutes on the RCL. I think they're geared more for kids.

 

there was almost 1/2 inch of water on the decks because of the overflow from the slides and the worker at the repelling wall was using squeege to direct the flow. The repelling wall - first time I did that and after it was done I was lik...that's it? It takes longer to put on the shoes, harness and helmet than come down.

 

My biggest beef was the bungee jump on deck 17. I went up there on day 7 at 5:05. There were 4 kids in line and a woman was doing the jumping herself. There was 5-7 staff milling about being trained on how many of the elastics to use. I stood in line until it was my turn and then the staffer comes over with the scale for me. At 230 pounds he says,

 

"I'm sorry but our weight limit is 200 pounds...you can't use this..ships safety rules". That was 5:45 pm. 40 minutes wasted.

 

1. I'm done this same bungee 18 months ago when I weighed 220 so I know his statement about the actual machine is false but since it is on deck 17 and I know how high I got I don't argue. I did ask him, "why isn't anything posted about this [weight limit]"

 

All I got was shrugged shoulders. I expected an apology for my waiting or more of an explaination but he simply said you can't use this...and went on to the next person in line.

 

His attitude I found representative of the attitude of Corporate NCL. Let me be VERY CLEAR - the waitresses/waiters/restaurant works/managers, etc., were VERY helpful, friendly and accommodating.

 

However during the cruise I turned in 8 comment cards. 5 were positive reviews of individuals who provided exceptional service(s) and 3 were complaints about the physical ship itself. We logged over 5 complaints with the front desk about getting the cabin AC/shower mixer/stopper and it took 2 days before 2 of the 3 were fixed.

 

We didn't get a letter from NCL apologizing for any inconvenience. In fact there was nothing that would have made this cruise any different than cruising from Miami in August - except that the ship will have these issues fixed by then.

 

I'm sorry but when you pull your flagship out for it's maiden voyage and you charge customers full fare and you don't make a big deal of it and disregard their complaints - that fell short.

 

For example coming into NYC - why did we enter at 10:00 instead of the usual 6:00 like the QM2?

 

I thought that NCL had something special planned. Sure it was nice to see the skyline but why not put little flags (NCL) or towels in peoples cabins so they could be waving them? Ever go to a NFL playoff game? You get little things like that to make it special.

 

Corporate NCL rushed the Epic into service and I feel disappointed. Maybe I set the standard too high. Maybe I listenend to the stories of other inaugural cruisers and had unrealistic expectations or maybe NCL has so many other passengers booked and ready to go that my little silver lattitudes membership means nothing to them...

 

 

Just because one chooses to yell 'fire', doesn't make them any more believable than someone yelling "all clear".

 

 

The EPIC was postponed, and then after the shipyard considered it 'complete', circumstances were such that the ship needed to be pulled out of the yard.

 

I started a roll call for this trip last March (2009) , but it wasn't until August when they announced the ship would sail in May 2010. It was the delayed until the end of June, so it's not that they "rushed the ship into service".....they tried to avoid disappointing thousands of customers.

 

The alleged sabotage is the culprit for the majority of the issues, but would you rather have received the phone call saying "sorry....yes we're sailing the ship across the Atlantic but you can't come anymore"? or put up with a few minor irritants. I'm glad I still got to take the trip....and rather than post all of the minor things online, in a negative tone, I documented those in a letter to NCL, and I acknowledge them, but expect they will be fixed.

 

 

As for the inaugural....this wasn't it. The maiden sailing was from Rotterdam to Southampton, 3 days before you boarded. The inauguration ceremony wasn't until July 2nd with Reba McEntire, and the inaugural SAILING is a non-revenue sailing from 2nd - 4th.

 

The inaugural REVENUE sailing will be July 10th out of Miami, after all of the celebrations planned there. THAT is the kick-off for this ship.

 

 

THIS was just a repositioning cruise, a transatlantic, yes..the maiden one, but not important other than that, and in my opinion...it WAS discounted.

 

 

At the end of the day, I think you realized that indeed your expectations were unrealistic. We were on the same ship, and came away with a continued feeling of being family. I'm not sure how you came away from the same experience with a feeling of being mistreated by a corporation.

[Cruising89143]

I agree that you can see through the toilet & shower door. A solo friend and I did the experiment (fully dressed) and I was able to see her in each of them through the door, although blurred. I had a great cruise and am going again in December, but facts are facts.

 

On another cruise site, someone posted a photo of a person sitting on the toilet and you could easily see the person sitting and the outline of what they were doing.

 

I cannot believe the one poster on this thread that is trying to discount all of the other posters comments about this ship. I think that they are the one to be ignored.:rolleyes:

 

I do hope that the Epic is a success for NCL. The company needs this and so do we the cruising public. I will wait until she has four to six full Caribbean cruises under her belt before I make any kind of decision as to this is a ship that I would try. I have cruised with NCL twice within the last three years and overall both were good cruises. Not as good as some of the other lines but not enough to keep me from cruising with them again. After all NCL was the reason that I got hooked on cruising 24 years ago. :)

[david_sobe]

Everyone is forgetting this is a forum and not an argument. It is ok to have a different opinion. You dont need to repost someone else's post and dissect it line by line with another opinion. We all learn and share by listening and expression our experiences here. I dont know why a post that is 75% positive of the TA ship voyage has angered anyone.

I love NCL and know I will love the Epic. Even without being on board yet, I can see there are some flaws or issues that could have been better. It is a shame the fires delayed the ship to the fact the TA had no pools for a few days and other parts not finished. I am sure that is not what NCL intended but they did not want to lose money and disappoint so many and kept the schedule.

The pools - way too small. Almost unreal. There are larger pools in backyards.

The cabins - pretty small but everyone should have known that since they posted the square feet online before the debut. The Penthouse is over 100 sf smaller than the Sky.

The sinks and showers have issues that many will not like

I read the spa was so packed that some demanded their money back since they could not use the spa 4 days in a row after paying for a spa pass.

 

However, if I am ever stranded at sea, this is the ship I want to be stranded on. 21 restaurants, the decor is very luxurious and not flashy or tacky like Carnival ships. I cant wait to get on her in Decemeber.

 

The first carribean sailing is next week so we will soon find out if the sun decks and pool area was not planned well enough. I looked at the pool on the Oasis and it also is quite small. It is not as small as Epic but very small. I think these large ships have so much on decks that they cant fit a large pool?

[Joanne G.]

NCL, and their ship architect have bet $1.2 Billion that it won't be.

 

Unfortunately, the size of the bet doesn't necessarily mean it will pay off! NCL bet a lot on filling 3 ships in Hawaii, and that didn't work out for them.

 

NCL has always been innovative, going back to when they converted a then-huge ocean liner to the SS Norway for year-round Caribbean cruising. Other innovations have been widely copied by other cruise lines, such as a private island, alternative dining choices, freestyle dining, and Caribbean cruises out of New York.

 

I have had 8 delightful cruises on NCL going back to the late 90's, and I wish them great success with this unique ship, even if it isn't quite what we are looking for in a cruise vacation. Many thanks to those who have posted their descriptions of what they have experienced on board.

[Joanne G.]

I've said similar things seeing how much of the upper deck the courtyard complex takes up - it's about a third of the deck. You've taken away a good portion of it from the masses and given it to relatively few. Now, with that smaller remaining space (comparable to an entire upper deck on smaller ships with less passengers) you have to accommodate numbers which are much larger than those smaller ships.

 

On a related note, my sister saw the ship in New York the other day, and she commented on the apparent lack of public (meaning non-balcony and non-Courtyard) open deck space where one can simply stand or sit and look out at the ocean, where one can feel the wind up front or watch the wake at the back. Even though we book balcony cabins, we want lots of open, public outdoor deck space, and that means other than what's around a pool. And indoor windowed space, such as a lounge up front. That's a really big deal to us, though I fully understand it may not mean anything to someone else.

 

We also love a wrap-around outdoor promanade for walking or sitting; I haven't seen any information one way or another if the Epic has anything like that. Does it?

[negc]

NCL, and their ship architect have bet $1.2 Billion that it won't be.

Does that $1.2 Billinon include the significant penalty that they had to pay to cancel the next Epic Class ship and the option for a third? Sounds to me like they had doubts about just how successful this ship would be and didn't want to compound the error by building more.

[sjbdtz]

Does that $1.2 Billinon include the significant penalty that they had to pay to cancel the next Epic Class ship and the option for a third? Sounds to me like they had doubts about just how successful this ship would be and didn't want to compound the error by building more.

 

 

I'm not sure whether it includes the penalty they paid for realizing the economy was starting to tank, and not wanting to be on the hook for another $1 Billion....or maybe they recognized that dealing with STX was harder than anticipated when they booked two, and optioned a 3rd.

 

 

This ship differs from those with big pools, by spreading people around the ship. Approximately 10% of passengers have Courtyard access, others will be out at Spice H20, others will be on the slides, others in the casino, others in the spa (with large thallasotherapy pool)....not everyone will be on the pool deck the way they are on many other ships (according to y'all)

[rsinj]

On a related note, my sister saw the ship in New York the other day, and she commented on the apparent lack of public (meaning non-balcony and non-Courtyard) open deck space where one can simply stand or sit and look out at the ocean, where one can feel the wind up front or watch the wake at the back. Even though we book balcony cabins, we want lots of open, public outdoor deck space, and that means other than what's around a pool. And indoor windowed space, such as a lounge up front. That's a really big deal to us, though I fully understand it may not mean anything to someone else.

 

I agree with your sister, and had not taken notice of these things until I saw the ship myself on Thursday.

 

Howard

[UK_Cruiser]

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.

 

That "70's interior look" is actually in vogue in Europe and the States will soon catch up.

 

For the record our Kitchen is very similar looking. This isn't our actuall Kitchen but this is the exact Kitchen range we have at home:

 

[UK_Cruiser]

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.

 

Funniest thread of the year 2010 :D

[Fairhope]

So everything over there doesn't look like Coronation Street? :confused:

[UK_Cruiser]

So everything over there doesn't look like Coronation Street? :confused:

 

 

Errrrrrr No

 

Well parts of the North do yes.

[Fairhope]

Errrrrrr No

 

Well parts of the North do yes.

:p.

[TNDeejay]

does the cabin have a refrigerator?

[eroller]

 

The first carribean sailing is next week so we will soon find out if the sun decks and pool area was not planned well enough. I looked at the pool on the Oasis and it also is quite small. It is not as small as Epic but very small. I think these large ships have so much on decks that they cant fit a large pool?

 

The pools on OASIS are actually about as large as you will find on any ship. Plus there are six of them. The pool in the Solarium is quite small but the others are large (relative to other ships). The aft pool on OASIS in the Aqua Theater is currently the largest pool on any ship. It was meant for passenger use when shows were not taking place, but so far I don't believe that has happened (technical issues). The pools on EPIC are unusually small, but not the smallest I have seen. That might go to WINDSTAR but of course that ship was only a fraction the size of EPIC. On large ships, I'm always surprised how small the pools are on Carnival. Take the Destiny Class, they are no larger than anything on EPIC. I've seen them so packed you could barely move if you were in one. Nasty!

 

You are never going to find massive pools onboard ships like you would at a hotel, at least with todays technology. Having large pools onboard a ship presents several engineering challenges. Weight and momentum are probably the hardest to overcome. Even with todays small pools, the decks underneath have to be strengthened to support the weight of the water. The bigger challenge is momentum. Most pools are high up, and even with their relatively small size today it doesn't take much ship movement for the water to come splashing out. Now multiply that water volume by 10 and you can see why ship pools are not larger.

 

On OASIS, both the large aft pool and the giant jacuzzi's perched over the side of the ship have buffers that divide the water into smaller areas. This prevents momentum from building when there is movement.

 

Ernie

[Cruising89143]

The pools on OASIS are actually about as large as you will find on any ship. Plus there are six of them. The pool in the Solarium is quite small but the others are large (relative to other ships). The aft pool on OASIS in the Aqua Theater is currently the largest pool on any ship. It was meant for passenger use when shows were not taking place, but so far I don't believe that has happened (technical issues). The pools on EPIC are unusually small, but not the smallest I have seen. That might go to WINDSTAR but of course that ship was only a fraction the size of EPIC. On large ships, I'm always surprised how small the pools are on Carnival. Take the Destiny Class, they are no larger than anything on EPIC. I've seen them so packed you could barely move if you were in one. Nasty!

 

You are never going to find massive pools onboard ships like you would at a hotel, at least with todays technology. Having large pools onboard a ship presents several engineering challenges. Weight and momentum are probably the hardest to overcome. Even with todays small pools, the decks underneath have to be strengthened to support the weight of the water. The bigger challenge is momentum. Most pools are high up, and even with their relatively small size today it doesn't take much ship movement for the water to come splashing out. Now multiply that water volume by 10 and you can see why ship pools are not larger.

 

On OASIS, both the large aft pool and the giant jacuzzi's perched over the side of the ship have buffers that divide the water into smaller areas. This prevents momentum from building when there is movement.

 

Ernie

 

 

Ernie, I agree about the pools and deck space on Oasis. Having cruised on the ship twice, the four pools up on the pool deck are larger than most pools on any other ship. There is also plenty of wide open deck space. This is not a problem on Oasis.