The Wait Is Over! A review of the Epic's maiden crossing June 24th - July 1st

[okiebaugh]

We were in an A3 also. From what I saw, all of the ones on deck 16 had the pink tones, the ones on deck 17 had burnt orange.

[AussieKathy]

Thanks for taking the time to post a review!

[hencoll]

Cubechick, I'm enjoying your review. My 7 yr old daughter just walked by and saw the pic of the Epic Club menu and said "Aww, the Epic Club- they have great hot chocolate!" LOL The Epic club and lounge staff absolutely spoiled my daughters.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review!

[Cubechick]

Hi Cubechick, I am enjoying your review and pictures. At first sight I thought what a bummer about the promenade...but then thought with a ship so big, it will be fun walking the stairs, decks, and basically all over. Regarding the upper deck above the pool area where the water slides are...can one walk all around with more space up there...or is it cut off too by the courtyard? I guess I am asking if there is any outside deck area where one can walk from front to back to side and front to side again. Thanks in advance and look forward to reading more!

 

Time2cruise1, I enjoyed seeing your Epic plunge pic !

 

coka

 

Hey Coka, as far as I could see there was really no place to walk as you described. The pool deck was as close as you could get but the forward section is the Garden Cafe and the aft is Spice H20 the middle you're walking around pools and chaises. I saw people on the sun deck (deck 16) trying to do "laps", but if you look at the map of the Epic, you'll see they were tiny laps indeed!

[crew mom]

Enjoying your review and pictures. The Madhatters have done a wonderful job of sharing their "Epic" experience! Thank you!

[Cubechick]

Day three…

 

Decided to try out the buffet for breakfast. The woman at the entrance let us know that there were tables available to the left. We did the circuit, deciding what we wanted to eat. They really have everything you could want from cold and hot cereals to pancakes and waffles to made-to-order eggs to corned beef hash and sausage and biscuits. Not to mention all of the fresh fruits, breads and your typical breakfast standards of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, etc. I settled for an egg white omelet at the omelet station and DH got 2 eggs over easy to go with his corned beef hash. All were delicious and although one of us guarded our table while the other got their food, we could have picked our food first then found a table together. The seating was ample this morning.

 

Later in the cruise people would realize that being in the front of the ship, the buffet had some stellar views. After that we’d find people staked out at the tables near the windows and seating got tighter (still never waited for a table though!).

 

 

Since I was off to a good start with my egg whites, I decided to check out the fitness center (plus it was foggy and chilly out). This is a good sized space with every piece of equipment that I can think of. Ample treadmills and ellipticals meant there was never a wait.

 

There were four stationary bikes (and only three worked) so those were a hot commodity. There were a number of recumbent bikes though, weight machines, pilates machines and a room set up for spin-classes.

 

They offered numerous classes throughout the cruise, although most for a fee. You could sign up at the beginning of the cruise, but if you did, you had to sign up for four sessions. I found this to be both expensive and not necessarily good schedule-wise. For example four bootcamp classes were $160 and two were at 9:00 am and two at 3:00 p m (different days of course). You could show up the day of the class, but if you weren’t pre-registered, you could be turned away (I noticed a few of the classes filled up that first day). I understand needing reservations with that many passengers on board, but would prefer that you didn’t have to buy a package for the privilege of a reservation.

 

We enjoyed the buffet so much for breakfast that we went again for lunch. For those of you who like Indian food, NCL has some of the best in their buffet. DH enjoyed that while I had a little bit of everything (seems like I always eat too much at a buffet) and had one of my favorite items at sea…a pretzel roll!

 

We can see that things are slowly improving on board. There are less and less people complaining at the concierge desk, less lines at reception, less key cards being replaced, printers and computers are up and running and you can see the tension slowly leave faces as everyone, passenger and crew alike got into the routine of being on a cruise. Every day new channels on the television go live (finally have a navigation channel...haven't gone very far have we?).

 

We’ve been really lucky so far. The only thing we’ve found wrong with our room was that the stopper in our spare bathroom sink was permanently in the “down” position. We were overdue to hit a snag!

 

Dressing for dinner had a note of excitement, as we were getting ready for the Cirque Dreams dinner. This is one of the primary reasons we’d booked the Epic, a chance to check out all of the entertainment and innovations that were unique to her.

 

We arrived at the Spiegel Tent about 10 minutes before show time. There was a fair line (Hey, there’s a couple in line that was on a tour with us in Iceland! What are the odds???) but it moved quickly. After our cards were scanned (they don’t issue paper tickets, instead everything is tied to your key card) it became clear that there was a problem. The movement of the line slowed to a crawl and the woman who was seating people was clearly agitated. Other employees joined her, scanning the seating area and whispering. This didn’t bode well…and sure enough, when we were next to be seated, the curtain was literally closed in our faces as my group of four and about 6 others were turned away.

 

Now we didn’t book this cruise without expecting some issues. I think you’d have to be crazy to expect the maiden voyage of any ship to be without flaws, let alone the Epic with all of her one-of-a-kind products. I’m not one to make a fuss, especially with the people who’d been behind us doing that quite well. I stood by quietly while the men from the individual parties were yelling at the poor box office manager Clair that they’d “made reservations a month ago and that this was unacceptable, I demand compensation”, yadda, yadda, yadda. Clair held her composure and in between the squawking being hurled at her she told us that we could be switched to another of two shows. So no problem. After the other parties had stomped away with much higher blood pressure (I think one of them shook his toupee loose), we changed our reservation to Tuesday and she assisted us in getting into LeBistro right away, as that was what we currently had planned for Tuesday night. (In fact her assistance was unnecessary as LeBistro wasn’t full, but it’s the thought that counts.) Would I have been more upset if we’d been told we’d miss the show altogether? Sure. But that wasn’t the case, so we moved on.

 

Here we encountered a kink in the system. Our dinner at LeBistro is complimentary as we are Platinum Latitudes. That means we get a free bottle of wine from a limited wine list. Well the “sommelier” came over and began asking me about what wines I like, white, or red, fruity, dry, etc. I finally asked if I could just see the list and was told they didn’t have one yet. Ah. Okay. So I asked for a sauvignon blanc. Well, she brought out a fume blanc that I don’t really care for so I rejected that bottle. She kind of argued for a moment until I firmly told her no. She brought out a better bottle after that. I really don’t like to argue, and maybe I was a little aggravated after the Cirque issue, but why should I be forced to have a wine I wouldn’t order myself?

 

Past that snafu, dinner was great. Our respective people consumed wonderful escargots, mushroom soup, French onion soup, beef tenderloin, and lamb chops. (I know, I know, some of you are thinking with all that meat, the convention is to have red wine, but I prefer white!)

 

 

After dinner we paused in the atrium to watch some of the World Cup match being shown on the big screen. Klaus walked by and DH snagged him to let him know what happened with the Cirque dinner. His immediate reaction was that we should have called him, but we assured him that it had been handled, we’d been rescheduled and the main reason we were telling him was to make him aware that they had a problem (and some angry customers). Clair insisted that people had gotten in who didn’t have a reservation as it was impossible that they’d over-booked. I think it was probably a combination of over-booking and people sneaking in. Regardless, it is a problem to be addressed.

 

We returned to our room to change out of our dinner clothes when there was a knock on the door. It was Karan letting us know that the Legends in Concert would be performing the next evening. Klaus had told us the first day that they weren’t quite ready yet, but that he’d been hopeful that they’d be able to have a show later in the week. As they share the Epic Theater with the Blue Man Group, they would have two performances in the theater the same night and would have two “unplugged” shows at the Manhattan Room. This would be on a first come first serve basis as they hadn’t been any way to allow for reservations when they didn’t know if they’d even be performing.

[time2cruise1]

Day three…

 

Decided to try out the buffet for breakfast. The woman at the entrance We arrived at the Spiegel Tent about 10 minutes before show time. There was a fair line (Hey, there’s a couple in line that was on a tour with us in Iceland! What are the odds???) but it moved quickly. After our cards were scanned (they don’t issue paper tickets, instead everything is tied to your key card) it became clear that there was a problem. The movement of the line slowed to a crawl and the woman who was seating people was clearly agitated. Other employees joined her, scanning the seating area and whispering. This didn’t bode well…and sure enough, when we were next to be seated, the curtain was literally closed in our faces as my group of four and about 6 others were turned away.

 

.

 

Perhaps the problem was you arrived too late. All reservations are canceled 15 minutes before the show and those in line are seated on a first come first serve basis until the place is full. No saying there were not problems with the reservation system as I got into a rather heated exchange 30 minutes before the show when they cirque people insisted some of our group did not have reservations. Thankfully Anshuman and Karen stepped in and we were all seated.

[time2cruise1]

Day three…

 

Here we encountered a kink in the system. Our dinner at LeBistro is complimentary as we are Platinum Latitudes. That means we get a free bottle of wine from a limited wine list. Well the “sommelier” came over and began asking me about what wines I like, white, or red, fruity, dry, etc. I finally asked if I could just see the list and was told they didn’t have one yet. Ah. Okay. So I asked for a sauvignon blanc. Well, she brought out a fume blanc that I don’t really care for so I rejected that bottle. She kind of argued for a moment until I firmly told her no. She brought out a better bottle after that. I really don’t like to argue, and maybe I was a little aggravated after the Cirque issue, but why should I be forced to have a wine I wouldn’t order myself?

 

.

 

I see you met my favorite “sommelier”. Had exactly the same experience. You will pleased to know that “sommelier” is no longer on the Epic. ;)

[Cubechick]

Perhaps the problem was you arrived too late. All reservations are canceled 15 minutes before the show and those in line are seated on a first come first serve basis until the place is full. No saying there were not problems with the reservation system as I got into a rather heated exchange 30 minutes before the show when they cirque people insisted some of our group did not have reservations. Thankfully Anshuman and Karen stepped in and we were all seated.

 

We've heard that since then...I believe it may have gone into effect after our show. When we arrived there were still a good 50-60 people waiting to be seated and they were asking people who did not have reservations to step aside and wait and see if they could be seated after everyone had been checked in...

 

ETA: We even asked Clair at the time if we should have arrived sooner and she said, "No, you shouldn't have to." So I definitely think the 15 minute rule was instituted later on...

 

I see you met my favorite “sommelier”. Had exactly the same experience. You will pleased to know that “sommelier” is no longer on the Epic. ;)

 

I believe I heard you mention having a similar problem and it wasn't just me being cranky. Good to know they acted on that! ;)

[mbisson]

Hey Cubechick-I haven't had time to do more than scan this-but I like what I've seen.

 

You tryin' to convince me to 'Epic'? ;)

[Pennypocket]

Absolutely facinating that NCL, the line whose sucess has been built on down market travelers has put in a First class section reserved just for the "beautiful people" how very non-American in nature.

[pambo]

Thank you so much for posting this review with photos! We are sailing on EPIC next April and cannot wait. I appreciate the time you took to do this!

[ukbecky]

Absolutely facinating that NCL, the line whose sucess has been built on down market travelers has put in a First class section reserved just for the "beautiful people" how very non-American in nature.

 

Inventing new ways to make more money is very American :D

[r2mach1]

Absolutely facinating that NCL, the line whose sucess has been built on down market travelers has put in a First class section reserved just for the "beautiful people" how very non-American in nature.

 

:confused::confused: NCL has had the Courtyard and Garden Villas for years while the Epic has a different and larger configuration it nothing new for NCL.

[kpg]

Cubechick, I'm enjoying your review. My 7 yr old daughter just walked by and saw the pic of the Epic Club menu and said "Aww, the Epic Club- they have great hot chocolate!" LOL The Epic club and lounge staff absolutely spoiled my daughters.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review!

 

Thanks Cubechick for the great reviews & pics!! :) I saw the post above from Hencoll and I was wondering how your experience was while traveling with children? Did they participate in the kids club? Any info will be greatly appreciated as I will be traveling with my 2 kids in November!

[familyof4cruising]

Thanks for the review and pictures!

[samnewbie]

Absolutely facinating that NCL, the line whose sucess has been built on down market travelers has put in a First class section reserved just for the "beautiful people" how very non-American in nature.

 

 

Hi Pennypocket,

 

Interesting comment.

 

For the record, I don't consider myself 'down market'.

 

I'm very well travelled and have stayed in all manor of accommodation from beach huts to private 5* villas with our own pool, on the Oriana and many many 6* hotels all around the world and I'm very much looking forward to our first family cruise with NCL and no, we are not in a villa, we have a very lovely large balcony cabin in what I expect you would class as 'steerage' which does not make me 'down market' just versatile.

 

I am quite sure I am not unique in this either and even if I were not well travelled I would not consider myself nor NCL as 'down market'

 

I also think as you have already had pointed out to you by ukbecky this feature is not new to NCL and making money and enterprise surely is the american way!

 

Cubechick, loving your review and photos, many thanks for taking the time to give us your thoughts on your cruise, much appreicated.

 

Sam :)

[benzygirl]

Cubechick...your photos are crystal clear. Do you mind telling me what kind of camera you use?

 

Thanks!

[Moprachcruise]

Thnak you for taking the time to post your review> Very informative.

[goodml]

:)Fabulous review as always Aimee and your pics are stunning! So glad you guys had a great time and I look forward to reading the rest. I hope you'll post a link to the review of the land portion as well.

[Cubechick]

Cubechick...your photos are crystal clear. Do you mind telling me what kind of camera you use?

 

Thanks!

 

Two different Sony's. An older DSC-H1 which is 5.1 megapixel, but with 12X zoom. The other is a smaller, pocket camera, DSC-W170 w/ 5X zoom and 10.1 megapixel.

 

We've been very happy with both cameras.

[Cubechick]

Thanks everyone for the compliments. ML, I'll be sure to send you my land based reviews...Iceland was just stunning...

[amybeth4]

I've only been on the Norway, so I'm not an "NCLer" but I WOULD like to try the Epic (ugly as she is on the outside, haha), once the prices come down.

 

Therefore I'm loving the review and, even moreso, loving the pictures. This...ship...is...GORGEOUS! Please post more pix. I like seeing them here, rather than going through your entire album from the link you posted on page 1.

 

I wish you had a picture of a studio. Those look beautiful!

[TexDisneyMom]

Thanks for the review!

[Cubechick]

Day Four…

As I mentioned before, we’d received notice that we could take advantage of the Platinum Perk of having the free bag of laundry done (not including dry cleaning). The letter was a little confusing. The beginning of the letter stated you could do this on the day of your choosing (yay!). But the second paragraph said to wait until the $25 bag special. Well I hadn’t seen the special offered at this point and decided to take a shot and gathered up our laundry. I figured I could always point back to the letter if there was a problem. So we left the bag of laundry for our steward, Orlando, and went to breakfast.

 

Breakfast at Epic Club (eggs benny) then off to explore and do a little shopping.

 

The shopping area on deck seven is massive compared to what is offered on the rest of NCL’s ships. There are four separate stores just for souvenirs, clothes (from souvenir T’s to name brands like Guess), accessories, (purses, scarves, sunglasses, etc). They have a small candy store with numerous old-style treats that you purchase by weight, which is kind of neat. There is of course a jewelry store and a central, circular area the main hallway cuts through with your perfumes and high-end cosmetics. As you continue down the hall they have an area set up where they put out the specials that changed daily (watches one day, jewelry by the inch another…). Oddly the duty free alcohol and cigarette shop isn’t with the other shops. You continue toward the aft of the ship, passing bar central and Wasabi/Teppanyaki, and you’ll find it by the Barber Shop. The Barber Shop is a great idea by the way and we saw numerous men taking advantage of haircuts and professional shaves.

 

Deck six houses the casino, which is, like so much on Epic, enormous. I’d estimate that the casino takes up a quarter of deck six. If you’re passing from on end of the ship to the other on deck six, you have to walk through the casino.

 

The escalators (yes, I said escalators) from deck 5 bring you right to the casino.

 

Pretty smart on NCL’s part to facilitate the use of the casino in this manner. (Although I have to admit we didn’t gamble at all on this trip!) For restaurants, deck six has, O’Sheehan’s, (which has bowling lanes in addition to what can be found in Bliss), the Manhattan Room (a main dining room),

 

Shanghai’s and the Speigel Tent. Headliner’s Comedy Club and Fat Cats can be found here as well.

 

Deck Five houses the other main dining room, Taste (with a great view of the the largest LED chandelier at sea),

 

Le Bistro, your reception area along with the Internet Café and photo gallery. The Atrium is here as well and throughout the cruise we’d see people playing Wii on the big screen or watching the World Cup. O’Sheehan’s overlooks the big screen as well and on match days this area could get quite crowded.

 

 

 

The weather was still murky, but maybe a tad warmer so I hit the jogging track for an hour. My timing was excellent as I reached a space between two lifeboats and spotted a pod of dolphins frolicking along side the ship. I paused for a minute to watch them, and then continued on. Have to do something to combat all of the food!

 

While in our room, dressing for dinner, Orlando delivered our freshly washed and folded laundry. I couldn’t believe that it arrived the same day. Neither could he. He said he was just checking on the status and found that it was done. Had I known the turn-around would be so quick, I would have sent a couple of more items! I wouldn’t count on this next time though. I imagine with the ship full, the folks in the laundry will be up to their eyeballs, but it was a lovely surprise.

 

Tonight we had dinner at Shanghai. The atmosphere is lovely and the waitresses all wear Asian style dresses in keeping with the theme.

 

Didn’t receive the edamame snack that I’ve had on other ships. Instead they gave us a bowl of puffed rice chips (for lack of a better description…they kind of looked like big pork rinds) and three dipping sauces to sample. The food was not the best. DH loved his lamb and my Singapore noodles were good, but the hot and sour soup had no “hot” and my friend’s cashew chicken had no cashews. Oh and the chicken for my lettuce wraps was stone cold (tasty but cold) while the rest of the table’s chicken was hot. Not anything worth complaining about, but not the best meal I’ve had at an Asian restaurant on NCL.

 

In anticipation of the Legends show, we were at the Epic Theater an hour early. Although this was a tedious hour to pass, I’m glad we were there. Many, many people were turned away and we’d later hear that the line, after the doors had closed, stretched all the way to O’Sheehans (mid-ship). Simon finally made an announcement to those who were holding seats for friends that the doors were closed, that their friends or family weren’t getting in, and they needed to stop holding those empty seats.

 

I’m glad that the show was able to take place and that we were able to experience it. The performers currently with the show are Tina Turner, Madonna, and Elvis. They performed in that order and I think their skill level was in that order as well. Tina was okay, the woman doing Madonna better and the guy doing Elvis seemed to me to have “The King’s” voice spot on. I hadn’t been to a Legends show before and found it interesting that they play video of the real singers performing (except for in Madonna’s case where they showed clips from her videos) the same songs and in the case of Elvis, even in the same outfit. It really brought the whole experience to life. It was a very good show and I think it has a leg up on the other shows on Epic in that the artists will change. So for example Elvis will move on and could be replaced by Michael Jackson or Tom Petty. So the Legends show will be constantly changing while Cirque Dreams and Blue Man Group will remain the same. For the repeat cruiser, the change will be appealing.