Attn: NCL.... suggestion to solve bathroom 'issues'

[lusitanica]

[quote name='sjbdtz']
I see a much wider-than-usual entry hallway....looks quite welcoming.

I see a guy sitting comfortably on a couch, drinking coffee (or something). [/quote]

LOL. Poor addicts!
Anyone in his right mind will see here what anyone in his right mind can see.:)

[IMG]http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/6909/50159328.jpg[/IMG]

[CanadianTwosome]

[quote name='lusitanica']LOL. Poor addicts!
Anyone in his right mind will see here what anyone in his right mind can see.:)

[/quote]

Okay, you busted me for misreading the bit about 'misguided priorities'... are you really going to go there? :p

[lusitanica]

[quote name='CanadianTwosome']Okay, you busted me for misreading the bit about 'misguided priorities'... are you really going to go there? :p[/quote]

Dear CT,
Cards are on the table.

2 variations of Epic balcony cabin design.
In both cases an open entrance door hits the shower curve.
Variation #1 (left). Once entered the cabin, one more step is enough to trip over the bed.
Variation #2 (right). The width of the space between the sofa and the wall (what is usually a "living room" on other ships) is equal to 2.5 boots.

Please tell us that you love it!:)

[IMG]http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/6909/50159328.jpg[/IMG]

[sjbdtz]

[quote name='lusitanica']Dear CT,
Cards are on the table.

2 variations of Epic balcony cabin design.
In both cases an open entrance door hits the shower curve.
Variation #1 (left). Once entered the cabin, one more step is enough to trip over the bed.
Variation #2 (right). The width of the space between the sofa and the wall (what is usually a "living room" on other ships) is equal to 2.5 boots.

Please tell us that you love it!:)

[IMG]http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/6909/50159328.jpg[/IMG][/quote]


Exactly.

Other ships don't have what EPIC has, and people are relegated to their "living rooms" in their cabin.

Epic guests are out & about & enjoying the WHOLE SHIP, not just their bunk.

[negc]

[quote name='sjbdtz']Exactly.

Other ships don't have what EPIC has, and people are relegated to their "living rooms" in their cabin.

Epic guests are out & about & enjoying the WHOLE SHIP, not just their bunk.[/quote]

While I agree that EPIC offers many things to occupy and entertain guests when they are not in their room, perhaps you might concede that it is some of the negative qualities of the staterooms that "forces" them out of what you refer to as their "living rooms". If the things that EPIC has are so marvelous, perhaps they should also have cut back on the amenities that will cause some guests to remain cloistered in their private enclaves away from all thos wonderful things that might cause them to interact with their lower class fellow cruisers.;)

[coffeebean]

For the person that stated there is a medicine cabinet over the sink...have you sailed this ship, because I kept trying to open it and then realized it DIDN"T open ! I am wondering if anyone else's cabinet opened ? :rolleyes:

One poster said the medicine cabinet in the cabin was HUGE and held lots of things. I would imagine that medicine cabinet opened. Maybe there's a secret way of opening it. I'll ask the cabin steward about it.

[coffeebean]

Just finished reading this entire thread, almost word for word. I had my popcorn so I was good.

 

One thing I'm a bit concerned about...I understand the door on the toilet room in a regular balcony cabin is made of glass and it is sort of opaque. That is not a concern at all of mine. Having said that, there is quite a bit of talk about the odor that can go into the main part of the cabin. Does the glass door to the toilet room enclose the toilet room completely just like a regular door on a bathroom does??? If so, I don't understand the concern at all about odors leeching into the main part of the cabin. Just close the glass door to the toilet room. Right???

[sjbdtz]

Just finished reading this entire thread, almost word for word. I had my popcorn so I was good.

 

One thing I'm a bit concerned about...I understand the door on the toilet room in a regular balcony cabin is made of glass and it is sort of opaque. That is not a concern at all of mine. Having said that, there is quite a bit of talk about the odor that can go into the main part of the cabin. Does the glass door to the toilet room enclose the toilet room completely just like a regular door on a bathroom does??? If so, I don't understand the concern at all about odors leeching into the main part of the cabin. Just close the glass door to the toilet room. Right???

 

Most of the concern about odors was posted by people who not only had not YET been on the ship....but who were not planning on EVER going on the ship.

 

There's a continuous-pull fan in the toilet, the same as every other NCL ship (with the exception of one poster's room on the 13th deck)

 

The glass door is a sliding glass door. Yes, it covers the toilet-room from floor to ceiling.

[Donh44]

Again, for the umteenth time, the idea is to find out the problems before you get on the ship. I have six regular balcony cabins booked for clients on the Epic in January. They are all seniors and most are friends of mine. I do not want to have these people mad at me. I have a Spa Suite so I do not have the same problem. Check out Mr. Luckytoo's post on the Epic Bathroom thread. He was on the ship. The arrangement is unacceptable for people who are used to cruising. I certainly will not tell my clients to use the public bathrooms like some *&^%* have suggested (being kind).

Stop complaining until you cruise and see the ship. I have known about the bathroom arrangements ever since Feb when the ship was still under construction. Not a concern to me. Get a life.

[coffeebean]

Most of the concern about odors was posted by people who not only had not YET been on the ship....but who were not planning on EVER going on the ship.

 

There's a continuous-pull fan in the toilet, the same as every other NCL ship (with the exception of one poster's room on the 13th deck)

 

The glass door is a sliding glass door. Yes, it covers the toilet-room from floor to ceiling.

In the middle of the night, I'm quiet as a mouse when I get up to go to the bathroom, especially in such close quarters as a ship's cabin.... don't want to wake up hubby. Does this sliding glass door close quietly in the toilet room??? Also, is there a place in the toilet room to place a tap light??? I understand the light in the toilet room lights up the whole cabin when all the lights are off. How am I going to make that middle of the night trip to the bathroom and not disturb my husband???

[NewHere]

concern isn't smell (have been on the ship) or seeing 'in' from inside the cabin. The concern is if the cabin door is opened while you are in the shower or toilet if can be seen from the hallway. And the deadbolt allows access with a cardkey, so if your cabin mate/kid comes in the cabin while you are in the shower and someone is in the hallway there is no privacy

[intrepid_guy]

Just wanted to say that I am boarding the ship tomorrow. And I have a tape measure with me.... Who measures "2.5 boots" I will be using inches and perhaps for our Canadian friends, centimeters.

 

~Intrepid <-- Tight but it's right.

[sjbdtz]

In the middle of the night, I'm quiet as a mouse when I get up to go to the bathroom, especially in such close quarters as a ship's cabin.... don't want to wake up hubby. Does this sliding glass door close quietly in the toilet room??? Also, is there a place in the toilet room to place a tap light??? I understand the light in the toilet room lights up the whole cabin when all the lights are off. How am I going to make that middle of the night trip to the bathroom and not disturb my husband???

 

Depends how deep a sleeper your husband is. WE bring small foam earplugs, so that we're not woken by creaking, or hallway noise, or noise from deck above...and have added benefit of not being disturbed by bathroom noise either. $4 for pack of 8, and they're re-usable. The toilet light is on a motion detector. Just come past the curtain, draw it...and the light will be on the bathroom side, not the bedroom side.

 

 

 

concern isn't smell (have been on the ship) or seeing 'in' from inside the cabin. The concern is if the cabin door is opened while you are in the shower or toilet if can be seen from the hallway. And the deadbolt allows access with a cardkey, so if your cabin mate/kid comes in the cabin while you are in the shower and someone is in the hallway there is no privacy

 

 

Agreed. I've never understood why they don't simply install a 2nd curtain track in front of the door so that the toilet & shower are between two curtains. It's an easy, relatively inexpensive fix.....then again, maybe they ARE fixing this.... and are at the stage of measuring & ordering....

[coffeebean]

concern isn't smell (have been on the ship) or seeing 'in' from inside the cabin. The concern is if the cabin door is opened while you are in the shower or toilet if can be seen from the hallway. And the deadbolt allows access with a cardkey, so if your cabin mate/kid comes in the cabin while you are in the shower and someone is in the hallway there is no privacy

Doesn't the shower door become more opaque from the steam which is produced by the hot water in the shower??? Can't really see anything through even a clear steamed up glass shower door.

 

I would imagine the problem would arise if someone is entering the cabin from the hallway at the same time someone is exiting the shower room. THAT could be a bit of a problem. Oops!!!

[lusitanica]

Can't really see anything through even a clear steamed up glass shower door.

 

 

Other people can see.

It was documented long ago.

 

[NEW 2 CRUISIN]

I participated in a Cabin Crawl with many others from the board, and we saw most if not all cabin types. I photographed many of them, here: http://community.webshots.com/user/sjbdtz

 

 

 

Hi Stephen,

 

Which folder are your EPIC pics in? I'm booked for next year and would love to see them, but didn't see one for the EPIC.

 

Thanks!

~Barry

[cowbuoy]

concern isn't smell (have been on the ship) or seeing 'in' from inside the cabin. The concern is if the cabin door is opened while you are in the shower or toilet if can be seen from the hallway. And the deadbolt allows access with a cardkey, so if your cabin mate/kid comes in the cabin while you are in the shower and someone is in the hallway there is no privacy

 

 

You cannot see into the toliet or shower from the hallway.

 

The orientation of the shower and toliet doors is all wrong.

 

It would be impossible to see from the hallway.

 

Just look at the floorplan and you can see for yourself.

 

When I look at it, the door swings to cover to shower door (which is curved and would be more exposed than the toliet but in any case, the orientation is all wrong)

 

Even with the cabin door 100% open, no one can see you - (or, more precisesly, your shadow) in the toliet or the shower from the hallway.

 

But yes, if you were standing outside the shower, someone could see you from the hallway.

 

The same way someone could see you outside the bathroom from the hallway in a traditional setup.

 

I doubt that anyone actually gets dressed in the tiny traditional bathrooms.

 

You get dressed in your room.

 

The only loss of privacy that I can see, is when you are drying off when you are done with the shower.

 

In a traditional setup, I do this inside the bathroom and then put on a robe.

 

In the set up with the Epic, I will step out of the shower (behind the curtain if necessary), dry off in the bathroom area and then put on a robe.

 

So I guess that the only time that I could possibly be exposed naked to the hallway, is if someone opened the cabin door while I was drying off.

[sjbdtz]

Hi Stephen,

 

Which folder are your EPIC pics in? I'm booked for next year and would love to see them, but didn't see one for the EPIC.

 

Thanks!

~Barry

 

 

1st directory in the upper left. (Although I may add my Budapest & vienna pics.... so not sure it it'll get moved....but it's near the top of the first page....

[SueSea]

I doubt that anyone actually gets dressed in the tiny traditional bathrooms. You get dressed in your room.

 

As one who travels with extended family, friends, and once with a cabin mate arranged by my TA, I dress in the traditional bathroom, as do the people I travel with. It's never been a problem for us.

 

I've seen this same idea expressed in a number of posts. I can certainly see why some don't need to dress in the bathrooms. I'm not sure why a number of people think that because they don't, no one else does. I don't have kids, but I can imagine that many teenagers don't want to dress in the cabin with family members of the opposite sex. Parents of teens may have the same reluctance.

[sjbdtz]

As one who travels with extended family, friends, and once with a cabin mate arranged by my TA, I dress in the traditional bathroom, as do the people I travel with. It's never been a problem for us.

 

I've seen this same idea expressed in a number of posts. I can certainly see why some don't need to dress in the bathrooms. I'm not sure why a number of people think that because they don't, no one else does. I don't have kids, but I can imagine that many teenagers don't want to dress in the cabin with family members of the opposite sex. Parents of teens may have the same reluctance.

 

That's why there's a curtain, separating the whole bathroom AREA, from the rest of the cabin.

[eroller]

That's why there's a curtain, separating the whole bathroom AREA, from the rest of the cabin.

 

 

The bathroom arrangement doesn't bother me at all, but I believe the curtain does not divide the bathroom sink if I remember correctly. I think the ideal situation would be if the curtain separated the sink area as well from the rest of the cabin.

 

Ernie

[NewHere]

You cannot see into the toliet or shower from the hallway.

 

The orientation of the shower and toliet doors is all wrong.

 

It would be impossible to see from the hallway.

 

Just look at the floorplan and you can see for yourself.

 

When I look at it, the door swings to cover to shower door (which is curved and would be more exposed than the toliet but in any case, the orientation is all wrong)

 

Even with the cabin door 100% open, no one can see you - (or, more precisesly, your shadow) in the toliet or the shower from the hallway.

 

But yes, if you were standing outside the shower, someone could see you from the hallway.

 

The same way someone could see you outside the bathroom from the hallway in a traditional setup.

 

I doubt that anyone actually gets dressed in the tiny traditional bathrooms.

 

You get dressed in your room.

 

The only loss of privacy that I can see, is when you are drying off when you are done with the shower.

 

In a traditional setup, I do this inside the bathroom and then put on a robe.

 

In the set up with the Epic, I will step out of the shower (behind the curtain if necessary), dry off in the bathroom area and then put on a robe.

 

So I guess that the only time that I could possibly be exposed naked to the hallway, is if someone opened the cabin door while I was drying off.

 

 

I was on the ship and do not need to look at the floorplan. You can absolutly see into the shower/toilet from the hallway

[lusitanica]

I believe the curtain does not divide the bathroom sink if I remember correctly.

 

No, you remember incorrectly.:(

 

[sdmike]

This is all so terribly amusing.

 

We had 11 people in 3 rooms, including 5 kids. We also went in and out of each other's cabins using the connected balconies. There was NEVER once an issue of smell, people walking in on each other, strangers seeing someone in the toilet, the cabin steward walking in on us, etc. Never.

 

Seriously folks. Be logical about this. Let's say you're on the toilet for 5 minutes, or standing in a towel outside the shower for a minute or two. During those few minutes, the probability of a cabin mate walking in at that exact time is tiny. The probability of a stranger happening to be outside your door at the exact moment that this cabin mate comes in, in the exact couple of minutes that you're "exposed" is nearly the probability of my dog waking up in the morning and brewing me a pot of coffee. There's not some steady stream of people in the hallway. The halls in the guest room areas are quiet and not high traffic. You keep your steward out with a do not disturb setting on the door sign

 

As for nighttime visits to the loo, a little common courtesy goes a long way. When we went to bed we drew the curtain most of the way. My wife is a very light sleeper and she was never awakened by anyone in the bathroom. That means either nobody turned on a light and used the bathroom (there are LED's and other ambient lights that make it easy to see once your eyes adjust), or the curtain did an adequate job of knocking the light down to manageable levels. It's not a bright light in the toilet area anyway. We didn't flush pee in the middle of the night because the toilet is loud and, for cripes sake, it was just pee.

 

Now, having said this, I will also tell you that nobody in our family discussed this or had some complex master plan. We just went about our business as usual and were smart and courteous just like any other time you might share a room with someone else. If we were showering or changing clothes we just closed our balcony curtains as a signal to not come in from outside (again, we room hopped). When my shy 15 year old son (puberty is a bitch) showered, he just drew the curtains, put his clothes next to the shower, and 10 minutes later he emerged dressed and ready to go.

 

The amount of discussion on the bathroom is simply insane. If anyone was going to have privacy issues it was going to be us. 11 people running around between 3 cabins for a week. Because of the timing of when things happen, remote probabilities and simple courtesies, we never once had any issue. Not one. Never.

 

As for other questions:

 

Yes, there is plenty of room for a "tap light" wherever you want to put one. Having said that, the toilet light isn't very bright anyway.

 

The cabin door opens with the shower behind the door. Nobody walking by in the hall will look through a partially opened door and see your shower.

 

Yes, there is a fan in the shower and toilet area that always draws air. Smell wasn't an issue for us. Exit, close the door, wait it out. Nobody "stunk up" the cabin (well, except for my 13 year old that found it hilarious that he could pass gas and completely destroy that small room. I guess us laughing and yelling at him as we ran out of the room just served to egg him on. The good news is that if you open your balcony door a foot then go open your cabin door a foot, you can create a windstorm through the room that could clear any odor literally in seconds...but I digress)

 

By the way, that picture showing the guy in jeans sitting on the toilet is really strange. I really could NOT see that much of any person sitting in our toilet area. We could see that someone was in there by a fuzzy figure, but we could not tell who it was, what they were wearing, or even whether they were kid or adult. I'm not sure why that picture is so dramatic. Our toilet and shower were not nearly that translucent in practical use.

 

I can also honestly tell you that we really loved the separation of the bathroom components. More than once my wife and I noted that we had 4 people doing 4 different things at the same time, and it was very convenient that it was all separated.

 

 

I can assure you that there is a large, mirrored medicine cabinet and that it opens.

 

The bath mat is out of the way

 

 

There is a waste basket inside the toilet area where you can put a tap light if desired

 

 

The shower and toilet area have an "always on" (and quiet) exhaust fan

 

 

The one in the toilet area

 

[sdmike]

Another view showing that the shower will be behind the door in a BA. This is the adjoining room to the one shown in the previous post.

 

 

The amazing device that will stop a steward in their tracks and keep them from coming into the room. Can also be used for cabin mates if that's the arrangement.

 

 

Hallway in the morning. Notice the hundreds of people standing there just waiting to peek in your room when the door is opened.

 

 

What people should be doing instead of worrying about the bathrooms