Just got back home from our cruise

[Soextcited]

The ship is gorgeous, the food was above average. No problems getting on or off. The shows were fabulous. The aft balcony room was fine for 2. Had a fabulous time and can't wait to go again.

[mafig]

Thanks for posting.:)

[rolloman]

Were you on the first Epic Caribbean out of Miami? If so tell us more, we have been waiting for the first reviews.

[Soextcited]

Tell me what you would like to know. We just had wonderful time and loved the ship. I wish we never got off in ports( we had been to all of them before. Lot's of pushy salespeople in the islands trying to sell expensive jewelry. but we just looked for an hour and went back on the ship and enjoyed the pool and spa while everyone was touring. Enjoyed breakfast and lunch at Garden Cafe more than Tastes and Manhattan Club. Osheehans had a good breakfast but lunch was still better in the Garden Cafe. The choices were endless. Wasabe and the Noodle Bar were delicious and enjoyed all our other meals at Moderno, Cagneys and LeBistro. I am trying to think of something negative about our trip, but I can't find anything bad on the ship. I tried to remember the bathroom issue, but honestly never noticed anything. If we were in the cabin, we were either sleeping, showering, or having a glass of wine on our balcony, while we were leaving port. The only bad was Nassau, so if you want to get off the ship, take a tour at the Atlantis. Believe me, my friends and family call me a real fuss pot and cannot believe how much I enjoyed this cruise. It was a blast

[Debbie2th]

do you have copies of the dailies?:)

[Soextcited]

Yes I do, but need to go to work Monday to send them. I am a computer illiterate.

[Debbie2th]

oh great!! can't wait. I leave on July 31st on the epic. Thanks for your review and the time you will put in to post copies of the dailies. Really appreciate it!!:D

[stingraycityslicker]

Which of the restaurants onboard were free?

[sdmike]

Which of the restaurants onboard were free?

 

This has been posted several times. Try using the search function. You should find not only which are free, but also the prices for the other ones. You can also find all the menus here.

[cruisinsuz]

Thank you, soexcited for posting. I also just got home from this same cruise and absolutely loved this ship. She is gorgeous and majestic and all the other cruise ships in other ports definitely had ship envy! :) Passengers on the other ships stopped in their tracks whenever we came into port or left port. It was very cool to see the attention she received.

 

I have to agree with soexcited on most points. We have also been to all of the ports of call and the tragic news of the teenage girl's death in St. Thomas didn't help. With that said, I found that the residents of St. Thomas and St. Martin were so gracious...Nassau, not so much, but not terrible. This is just IMO.

 

The food was excellent and I agree about Taste and Manhattan Room-these were fair, but the Garden Cafe was always very good and there were so many choices! The specialty restaurants we tried were exceptional. The Noodle Bar was superb-ate there twice. Teppanyaki was outstanding. Cagney's was excellent. We canceled Le Bistro on the evening we had reservations because we were pooped! Also, we ate in O'Sheehans at least once a day...this concept was very well thought out and was very successful for what we needed, as we had 3 families w/6 teenagers in our party.

 

We had a balcony room and enjoyed it. I will be honest and say that the rooms are small and I was so happy that we had a bed next to the balcony. Our friends were right next door and had the opposite configuration and you felt like you opened the door to the cabin and fell right into bed. :D The bathrooms worked fine, but if you are looking for privacy, forget about it. It was fine for us, but I can see why some here are concerned. Would it keep me from sailing the Epic again? Of course not!

 

Something to note: as we sailed away from Nassau last night, a helicopter circled the ship for about 1 1/2 hours shooting video. We assumed it was for promotional purposes and was very cool to watch. They got very close to the ship and I am so excited to see how the footage comes out!

 

Like soexcited, I am very happy to answer questions, if I can!

 

Oh, and we did not want to get off the ship this morning, either!

 

ETA: Forgot to mention that we attended a performance of Cirque Dreams. Enjoyed the performance very much...it was interactive and entertaining. I would think twice about bringing children under 14 if you don't approve of suggestive themes. We don't mind, but just thought I'd mention it. Reminiscent of Moulin Rouge.

The food was meh.

[cruisinsuz]

I also failed to mention that the balconies do connect (at least ours did and so did others that we were able to see) and our rooms were not adjoining. We had the best time with our friends who were in the room next door sitting on our balconies at sailaway, having cocktails and enjoying each other's company.

 

In addition, Blue Man Group was outstanding. We've seen them in Vegas and this was every bit as good.

[sdmike]

Thanks a million for your info, suz. My brother and his wife tend to be very sensitive to anything mildly suggestive, so I passed on your info about Cirque to them. They can decide whether to stay or cancel based on how they feel about it.

[Adkmom]

Thanks for the great review wonderful to hear people love the ship.

[shoopa3]

My son 12 didn't really catch on the things said in Cirque Dreams. But he also didn't seem to interested.

 

We noticed the helicopter during dinner and watched it as well.

 

My sisters did exp. something while on an NCL excursion in St. Thomas - They said that they were shopping when a store owner pushed a resident out of a shop and they were both shouting. They said that they ran out of the area. We felt sorry of the girl that had died earlier in the week.

 

We too enjoyed the cruise and will def. go back to sail again!!

[AussieKathy]

The only bad was Nassau, so if you want to get off the ship, take a tour at the Atlantis.

 

thanks so much everyone for posting your thoughts.

 

What did you mean by the only bad was Nassau?

[coka]

The ship is gorgeous, the food was above average. No problems getting on or off. The shows were fabulous. The aft balcony room was fine for 2. Had a fabulous time and can't wait to go again.

 

Thank you for posting. Can you tell a bit more about the aft balcony? For example was it aft stern, bigger or not, noisy or not (due to wake)? What deck were you on and did it work for you due to size of ship? Anything else you can think of?

Thanks in advance!

 

coka

[dreadlockjack]

Great you had all aa fantastic cruise! Ours is still a few month away....:)

 

Does anyone of you guys notice, what the height requirements for the slides are? Our son has now 48 inches, and we are wondering, if and what slide he can use!?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

DJ

[maja]

I'd like to hear more about the aft balconies also! We are booked on deck 12.

I'm trying to find out if all aft balconies have 1 1/2 closets or is it 1 closet & an indented area with a curtain? The drawings show a swiggly across the cabins with the bed by the balcony. Not sure why this is if some are missing the extra closet space if they're not connecting. Looks like from the drawings the only connecting aft cabins are next to the penthouses in the center.

[ggcruiser]

Great you had all aa fantastic cruise! Ours is still a few month away....:)

 

Does anyone of you guys notice, what the height requirements for the slides are? Our son has now 48 inches, and we are wondering, if and what slide he can use!?

 

Thanks for the help!

 

DJ

 

42" for all "rides"

[DGP1111]

Thanks for posting the recent info. :) :)

[Soextcited]

Thank you for posting. Can you tell a bit more about the aft balcony? For example was it aft stern, bigger or not, noisy or not (due to wake)? What deck were you on and did it work for you due to size of ship? Anything else you can think of?

Thanks in advance!

 

coka

Our balcony was aft stern on 8th floor. Balcony was big enough for 2 lounge chairs. Felt no vibrations. When sitting on balcony you have waterfall sounds, which we love4d. But no sound at all in cabin. Aft is elvators were great. We had no problems getting anywhere. Actually wish we had to walk more than we did. It was great.

[Soextcited]

I'd like to hear more about the aft balconies also! We are booked on deck 12.

I'm trying to find out if all aft balconies have 1 1/2 closets or is it 1 closet & an indented area with a curtain? The drawings show a swiggly across the cabins with the bed by the balcony. Not sure why this is if some are missing the extra closet space if they're not connecting. Looks like from the drawings the only connecting aft cabins are next to the penthouses in the center.

We had 1 1/2 closets with the bed by the balcony and so much storage space. If you bring alot of clothes, like me, bring some hangers. I brought the kind that hold 4 skirts, pants and one that holds 5 tops and it worked great in the half closet

[Soextcited]

thanks so much everyone for posting your thoughts.

 

What did you mean by the only bad was Nassau?

We just walked through the town and straw market. I personally felt it was like going to a flea market. Town had some tee shirt shops and fancy diamond shops. Nothing worthwhile for us. I would taka tour of something at Atlantis , (we have been there before) or stay on the ship.

[lcherk]

You have mentioned that you had teenagers in your group; can you tell a little more about their experience...teen lounge, activities? Have you gotten a soda pass for them, were they joining you for dinners or they had something else going on?

 

Thanks...very much appreciate your response.

[Soextcited]

You have mentioned that you had teenagers in your group; can you tell a little more about their experience...teen lounge, activities? Have you gotten a soda pass for them, were they joining you for dinners or they had something else going on?

 

Thanks...very much appreciate your response.

I didnot have teenagers with me, but met up with several and they were all having a great time. A bunch of them were sitting next to us at lunch and I was surprised to hear them tell me none of them knew each other before the cruise. Listening to them you would have thought they were friends for years. Even many groups of I'd say 10 to 13 year olds all seeming like they were having a blast. Saw very few of them hanging out with parents