Epic Cruise - January 22, 2011, Western - mother/daughter cruise

[Why Knot Me]

My Epic review with my DD (age 13), Western Itinerary, January 22, 2011

We flew to Miami direct from MPLS on January 21. I used Priceline to book the Marriott Bayside at $100.00. It was a lovely hotel, good service, clean room, Bath and Body Works products and an extremely comfortable bed. So comfortable, I kept thinking it was an NCL Bliss Bed. As luck would have it, we were on the 15th floor with a balcony and a decent, but distant view of the port. We would book this hotel again!

By the way, we used taxis from the airport to the hotel and from the hotel to the port. I prefer to set my own time, leave when I want and not be tied to a specific schedule or waiting for a shuttle to fill with other people.

For dinner, we dined at a restaurant which was in an attached shopping area. I wished I remember the complete name of the place but somehow it escapes me… Bleu was definitely in the name. Food was good and service met the needs. We were definitely in vacation mode by then so all was good.

Since we left MPLS with a temperature of 14 below zero and arrived in Miami to 75 degrees, we finished our dinner about 9:30, promptly headed back to our room, put on our swimsuits and spent about 1 ½ hours at the hotel hot tub and pool area. It’s a nice area and we really enjoyed this aspect of the hotel. We got back to our room, completely relaxed, took quick showers, and got into bed to dream about boarding the Epic the next morning. We awoke to haze and fog, made coffee for myself and sat out on the balcony. Eventually, the fog started to clear and in the distant, there she was, the Epic. Lucky me, I was cruising on the Epic for the second time; the first being last summer when my husband and I were on the Trans-Atlantic. This time, it was me and my daughter for quality time together to celebrate her 13th Birthday.

By the way… a little cruising history. We’ve cruised exclusively NCL since 1997. Prior to that, we did land vacations. Now, we do a combination of land and cruises. For us, Freestyle fits us perfectly. We’ve never had a bad cruise; some we enjoy more than others but they have always met our needs and desires. We began cruising in balconies and eventually penthouses. Since our first experience of a penthouse on the Spirit many years ago, we’ve only booked penthouses… until this trip. Since it was just me and DD, I thought a balcony would completely meet our needs and decided that splurging on a penthouse would be reserved for me and DH or when all of us were cruising together. Getting close to the trip, I started having regrets and tried to first upgrade and then I had to hope for the upsell fairy to call but neither happened.

I chose a standard balcony cabin (12242) due to its large balcony. Coming from Minnesota, I love a balcony to enjoy as much warm, sea air as possible. This room did not disappoint and in fact, I’d book it again. Its location was excellent with just a short walk to the aft elevators, a few decks below the pool; a few decks above the hub of decks 6, 7, and 8. I was anxious to see how the bathroom setup and sink issues would work for us. Neither the layout nor the sink which is much complained about was a problem for us. Considering I had my modest 13 year old on this trip, she never said a word about the bathroom configuration. I tested the sink to see just how much I could make water splash and frankly, I just don’t see the problem. It might be a bit cumbersome to wash my face but in all reality it all worked for us just fine. The only thing that I think would help this area is a towel ring to hang up the hand towel. A few other highlights of this room is the excellent and abundant storage, a decent coffee maker with decent coffee, great water pressure in the shower and of course, the large balcony. We used the balcony a lot, for afternoon naps, a glass of wine in the afternoon, reading and playing games with DD. One morning, she went to the buffet and treated to serving me breakfast on the balcony complete with fruit, pastries, crunchy to die for bacon, scrambled eggs and other breakfast type items. Pretending to be, and me imagining her as my butler, pouring me a second cup of coffee had us laughing and realizing there is life in a balcony after consecutive cruises in penthouses. More on that theme later.

[Why Knot Me]

We ate at Moderno, Shanghai, Noodle Bar, Le Bistro (two times), Cagney’s, La Cucina, the Jazz Brunch and the buffet. None disappointed, but I would mention that if possible when going to Le Bistro ask to be seated in the main area of dining. There is a section which has open windows to the walkway that goes to the atrium area. The live music being performed in front of the big screen interferes with the overhead music in Le Bistro and the ambience of the restaurant. It won’t ruin the experience but it can be distracting. We especially enjoyed Moderno. The salad bar is excellent and the meat is simply wonderful. Le Bistro is always our favorite on any ship which meant another night there. Ronnie, the Maitre D was friendly and took good care of us too. He’s a delightful individual and cares that you are enjoying your meal and cruise. Service in all restaurants was good to excellent. Special thanks to Sanja who made sure that my daughter who is lactose intolerant had a dessert every evening, no matter where we dined.

Specifically, I want to mention the Jazz Brunch. We have not done this before despite seeing it offered on other ships. We did go this time and I won’t miss it again. The food was well prepared, delicious and the live music complements the whole experience. I would recommend a Screwdriver or Bloody Mary to start. There is a buffet with salads, Caesar Salad with shrimp or chicken, vegetables, fruit, a pasta station, dessert bar, cheeses, breads and pastries. Then, there is a hot buffet area with pancakes, waffles, French toast. I ordered off the menu the Le Bistro Tenderloin with Béarnaise sauce. It was excellent and especially tender and juicy. By the way, the Jazz Brunch was offered one time, on Friday, our last sea day. Try it! It's an excellent value and I don’t think you’d be disappointed.

I also want to mention the buffet. Again, since we normally book penthouses, the buffet is something we’ve not used much since our earlier days of cruising. I have to say we were impressed. Fresh, hot food, huge variety and we never had a problem finding a place to sit either inside or just outside near the pool area. I especially enjoyed the fresh salad bar, with a pretzel roll, ice tea and sitting outside in the fresh air.

Moving on to other aspects of this trip… the debated pool deck. Since the Trans-Atlantic did not have weather that was conducive to using the pool deck, I was looking forward to it on this trip especially with a 13 year old. It was a blast. We swam a ton, used the hot tubs and like every one else scrambled for lounge chairs. Yup, it looked like some chair hogs were active but we always found two chairs together. It was just a matter of a couple trips around the deck to find them. One day, it wasn’t in a great location, but within an hour or so, more chairs became available and we moved. We spent a lot of time on the pool deck and it never seemed over crowded to us. The pool size never prevented us from having a great time as I know the opinion of many is that the pools are too small. At times the hot tubs were packed but we simply waited until some people left.

One other aspect of the pool deck we enjoyed was the Ping Pong tables. We played daily, never having to wait for a table. There are four or five of them just before the entrance to Spice H2O.

We also enjoyed the market area on the pool deck where NCL sells various merchandise. We find it fun browsing through the daily goods. I bought a scarf for my older daughter which turns out she loves.

More to come...

[youngestof9]

WKM - I'm loving your review! What a nice trip to take with your 13 year old. :) Can't wait to read more.

[r2mach1]

Sounds like you two had a great time! We sure enjoyed the Epic too :cool: I need to get to work on my review.

 

Anxiously awaiting the rest of your review...:)

[coffeebean]

Sounds like you had a great time on Epic. I'm glad to hear positive reports about the standard balcony cabin. One thing folks never seem to say when they complain about the standard balcony set up is that the balcony is larger than standard balconies on other ships. I was quite surprised to see how much roomier the balcony is.

 

Just wondering if you or your daughter went on the water slides. I had a ball on them and I'm looking forward to be back on Epic in a couple of weeks so I can enjoy those slides again. Love Epic Plunge.

 

Is Paul Scally CD? Hope so.

[Why Knot Me]

Our ports of call were interesting and varied…

At Costa Maya, we simply got off the ship and walked around taking in the local flavors. My DD got a henna tattoo which was a highlight for her. We bought some sterling jewelry and watched the Dolphin Swim happening right at the port area. Since the weather wasn’t great, we went back to the ship and enjoyed the quietness that a port day offers on-board the ship.

I had been to Roatan before and loved it. I hoped it would be similar this time and it didn’t disappoint. We shopped immediately off of the dock area and then ventured into the straw market area. We “hired” an 8 year old to escort us around. An escort is certainly not necessary; it was our attempt to spread some money to the area. When we were done shopping, we simply talked to this young man to learn about him, his family and life in Honduras. It was a blast. Our purchases at this port were mainly fun and interesting jewelry for DD and all her friends. Almost every piece is priced at a dollar so it made it great for her to be able to bring stuff back for all her friends. I purchased three pieces of lovely pottery. I started a travel tradition years ago of finding some piece to bring back for my office shelves. It was a challenge getting it back safely but well worth the effort. I’ll try to upload a picture in the next day or two because the pieces are spectacular. One other note I’d like to make about this stop. We were on the port side of the ship which meant we were overlooking the port area. This was especially fun since Roatan does a nice job of welcoming the ship. In the morning, there was a Honduran band and traditional dancers who performed for quite some time. They were still there when we exited the ship and available for photos. Please remember to tip them. When we were leaving, there was another band playing for us and sending greetings of thanks for visiting them. Tons of people were on their balconies dancing and waving good-bye. With the completion of each song, there was clapping of hands and shouts for more music. It was a fun and festive way to be welcomed to the island and warm send off. On our balcony, with wine in hand for me, and Sierra Mist for DD, we toasted to our wonderful visit to this beautiful island and to the warm and friendly people of Roatan. I love this island and will look forward to going back again!

For Cozumel, I pre-booked the Royal Dolphin Swim at Chankanaab Park. My DD could hardly wait… this was a dream for her. For weeks prior to the cruise, she was pleading for me to look into this. I played along, told her it was too expensive and that we would just have to wait and see. In all reality, I had already booked it, but wanted to surprise her on the day of our visit to Cozumel. With all of her excitement and desire, she kept asking to go to the shore excursion desk to check things out. Knowing that this was not going to work since I pre-booked, I decided to surprise her in a different way. I had my Ipad along and we play Hang Man quite a bit on it. So, I set up the game with the first stretch of words to read, “We are going on” and the second stream of words were “The Royal Dolphin Swim”. It took two games to play, but when she read the second line I thought for sure that security was going to come running to her aid. Her excitement surpassed anything I could have imagined. This event did not disappoint. We were really lucky in that nobody else had booked the Royal Dolphin Swim at our time; there could have been as many as 10 people in a group. Thus, it was her, me, the trainer, the photographer and two dolphins. We enjoyed every minute of this fun-filled, delightful experience with the dolphins. If you can swing it, book this package as it gives you every “trick” the dolphins provide including the foot push, which was amazing. The pictures are expensive and we got hooked. One picture is $25.00 but a CD with 154 pictures was $115.00. I figured why not. How often do I get to travel alone with my DD? When would we ever do this again? In the end, I’m glad that we have every image and don’t regret spending the money. Keep in mind too, that the fee for the swim includes entrance into the park, use of the facilities and if you book the Royal Swim they provide transportation back to the port. However, we had to push by showing our reservation that “bus service back to the port is included”. When I produced my copy of my booking, they provided a voucher for a taxi ride back. Needless to say, this excursion kept smiles on our faces for a long time. To this day, we have recounted over and over what an experience this was.

[Why Knot Me]

Sounds like you had a great time on Epic. I'm glad to hear positive reports about the standard balcony cabin. One thing folks never seem to say when they complain about the standard balcony set up is that the balcony is larger than standard balconies on other ships. I was quite surprised to see how much roomier the balcony is.

 

Just wondering if you or your daughter went on the water slides. I had a ball on them and I'm looking forward to be back on Epic in a couple of weeks so I can enjoy those slides again. Love Epic Plunge.

 

Is Paul Scally CD? Hope so.

 

Hey Coffeebean!

Yes, the balcony was large but we were also on the bumpout so it was not just large, it was huge!

 

DD did not go on the water slides. Things like that are not her thing. I went however. The plunge was very slow on the Trans-Atlantic. They've sped it up significantly with more water to push you through. I screamed, then laughed all the way down.

 

Yes, Paul was on-board.

[NengEuis]

I'm also enjoying your review!

 

When I was 13 my Mom took me to NYC for a week of shows and fun. It was such a great trip and we still talk about it, 20+ years later. How fun for both of you.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest.

[Keris]

Thank you for your review! We're in a similar cabin, on the bump, but on deck 11 and I'm thrilled to hear that you liked it. Was it big enough for a lounger, and if so, did you have one?

[Why Knot Me]

Nightlife with a 13 year old, does it exist on the Epic?

Of course it does. We booked Blue Man Group in advance. We were in row 3, center stage. My DD has never seen BMG before so this was a new experience which she loved and I enjoyed for the second time. The last portion of the show while anticipated for me was just as crazy and laughable as the first time. I’m not going to explain it here for those who have not seen it yet, but it’s just pure fun. Not typical for her, she wanted her picture taken with one of the Blue Men. We were easily able to do that by waiting just outside the main doors after the show ended. Totally a blast of a show, even the second time around for me.

Legends was good with new singers since the TA so that was a treat for me. DD enjoyed it too but was dumbfounded about who Neil Diamond is, much less that I knew the music. Typically, I don’t enjoy these types of shows too much, but it was good, worth the time and kid friendly even if my daughter didn’t recognize most of the songs. She really enjoyed the dancers so there was something for both of us. We had no trouble finding seats with walking-in with just minutes to show time.

We didn’t attend Cirque Dreams. I left that one up to DD. On the TA, the first 5 minutes of the show lost my attention, but then I caught on with the storyline and ended up loving the show and the dinner. DD has seen multiple types of these shows so there wasn’t a huge draw for her. Like me, she loves a slow paced, elegant, fine dining experience, so that in the end won out for her instead of attending Cirque.

DD was very much interested in attending the White Hot Party. She’s heard about them through me, DH and her older sister. She watched all week to make sure we didn’t miss it. We attended, had a blast, especially when I pulled her up to the dance floor. I had a lot of fun watching her on the dance floor and I couldn’t help to think that she’s growing up fast. But opps, as we left the White Hot Party which is held at Spice H2O that the adult only sign was posted. Spice H2O is an adult only area during the day, but I never gave it a thought for the party thinking that this party was for anyone. I don’t know if the sign is there permanently for daytime and if kids are excluded from this fun, exciting party. Sorry to cruise mates or NCL if she shouldn’t have been there… but we did have have a great time! Future cruisers may want to ask before hand to avoid any breaking of rules.

Fat Cats has some seriously good things happening and it is not to be missed. There is some incredible music and ability by this team of musicians. Seriously, as I’m there enjoying, I couldn’t help to feel that I was experiencing a rare event of gifted, talented musicians that I might not ever be able to be part of again. The music excellent, crowd participation fun and I could have stayed for hours. In addition, there were some people in the audience that joined in and could play like none other. There’s no way to put to words this phenomenal time in Fat Cats… pure pleasure and wonder to the music, musicians and venue. If nothing else was available on the Epic, I could have been here every night.

Another thing we enjoyed was simply going back to our cabin after a long, leisurely, excellent dinner, put on some Norah Jones on DD’s Ipod/portable speakers. We’d sit in the dark on the balcony, talk about our day, and we’d continue our discussions from dinner. A mother, daughter cruise provides an opportunity to connect with your child in special and unique ways. While at home, we get distracted in day to day living, busy schedules, school, work and friends. A week long cruise provides for quality time for deep discussions, sometimes silly conversations, and lots of laughs. I thoroughly enjoyed talks like… “what do you like best about yourself”, “if you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be”, “if you could change one thing about the world, what would it be”. Okay, serious topics but it also included things like “what was the funniest thing you ever saw” and “what’s your favorite memory”.

TV in the room is sometimes a debated topic. We found MSNBC to be more than adequate when we wanted the TV on. In fact, rarely at home do I sit down to watch TV and when I do I enjoy those crime stories, murder mysteries etc. MSNBC ran several of those. DD enjoyed TV at other points, more kid related stuff but I can’t tell you what shows they were. Epic Live is a real time show on TV in your stateroom. We watched it and enjoyed it. It mainly is broadcasted from Spice H2O but they also stream-in to the large screen area, in the atrium area where they get guests to do silly things for tickets to Cirque.

Another part of nightlife for us was getting our picture taken together. On two different nights, we planned outfits and intentionally went to several photographers located around the ship in hopes of getting the perfect picture of us together and one of her alone to mark the occasion of her 13th Birthday. Photos were taken and the next day they are available in your unique folder, labeled by stateroom number. In the end, we had so many to pick from and we purchased three single pictures of her and one of her and I together. You know I’m going to treasure that one for years to come!

[Why Knot Me]

Thank you for your review! We're in a similar cabin, on the bump, but on deck 11 and I'm thrilled to hear that you liked it. Was it big enough for a lounger, and if so, did you have one?

 

The balcony has two metal chairs with a mesh like fabric. They recline making it comfortable for lounging, reading, sunning and napping.

[coffeebean]

Hey Coffeebean!

Yes, the balcony was large but we were also on the bumpout so it was not just large, it was huge!

 

DD did not go on the water slides. Things like that are not her thing. I went however. The plunge was very slow on the Trans-Atlantic. They've sped it up significantly with more water to push you through. I screamed, then laughed all the way down.

 

Yes, Paul was on-board.

You had a "hump" cabin...that's why your balcony was so large. Royal Caribbean fans are always talking about the "hump" cabins on those ships...yes, you get a much larger balcony.

 

Glad to hear they added more water to the Epic Plunge. I'm afraid I wouldn't make it down if they hadn't added that water. Whew!!!

 

Paul had just arrived on board when DH and I were on Epic mid October 2010. That cruise was his first on Epic so I can't wait to see how he has settled in to this new type of ship. Just curious...was there a crew show??? I had mentioned to Paul back in October that I miss the crew shows on these mega ships. At the time, the hotel director overheard our conversation and said they were "looking into that" and hopefully could do something for a crew show on Epic.

[Why Knot Me]

More general information not covered already…

I found the clothing/souvenir shops on-board to be more interesting and varied in items than the TA. We ended up buying a Roxy Beach Bag/purse for DD, T-Shirt for DH, and a scarf for DD. Usually, I stock up on Clinique products but I was already feeling nervous about our weight limit considering other items purchased in ports. Over the years, we have learned to pack light and we allow ourselves one carry on bag each, so it can make it tight for bringing more than “typical souvenirs” home. As noted previously, I had three pieces of pottery to get home.

One thing about the fine jewelry selection; I couldn’t quite think of what was missing until thinking about it once I was home. Years ago, the onboard jewelry shops carried a larger range of items. Thus, you could easily find items priced in the area of $100-$500.00. The current shop carries a lot of high priced items and what I’d call specialty items or items not worn other than for formal wear. Just an observation and perhaps I’m wrong, but I couldn’t spot anything that I was willing to pay for, or an item that I’d get a lot of use of.

Our Meet and Greet was well attended. Thank you to Joyce for organizing us. Thank you too to NCL for providing the location and treats. We did a state gift exchange that was a lot of fun.

Our room steward was great. He and my DD had a note exchange each day regarding towel animals. My DD would request various animals and he’d do his best to create each one. Our favorite was a monkey hanging from the ceiling.

The crew of the Epic is exceptional, always a smiling face and greeting. I left 5 or 6 Style cards for various crew members. I tipped extra around the ship for service above and beyond or special treats provided to us.

On the pool deck, along the railing area on each side is a covered platform area with comfy mattress type things to lie on. We loved this area for later in the day when we had enough sun. It’s a perfect rest area!

DD did not attend the teen club. We did stop in and register and to see the Entourage area. Since this cruise was about time together, we knew in advance that most likely she would not participate. However, the Entourage area looked really fun!

We had no problem with smoke in the Casino!! We saw no “haze” of smoke either.

The Epic has so much to offer it’s not possible to do and see everything in one week. Even with my second time on her, I have not been to Taste, and Manhattan only one time for dinner on the TA. I did not rock climb on either trip, even though I had planned on it. Never made it to Spice H2O on the TA since the weather did not cooperate and I didn’t make it there this time during the day since it is adult only. I peeked in and it sure looked nice.

Boarding and disembarkation were very smooth, easy and quick. Since we were not leaving Miami until 6:00 p.m., we did our own walk off. We had a leisurely breakfast and went back to the room to put last minute things in our bags. In order to assist our room steward in getting the room ready for the next guests, we left the room at about 9:30. We went and sat in comfy chairs on deck 7 and waited for last call to be off the ship which was about 10:15. When we left the ship, we took a taxi to Bayside Marketplace, did a little bit of shopping and eventually found some chairs to relax and people watch. Time moved quickly and we made it to the airport at about 4:00.

So, back to the question, is there life in a standard balcony cabin after penthouses:

Long about day three of our cruise, my DD says to me…

You know what mom, cruising on this beautiful ship, in our standard balcony cabin brings back a lot of good memories from years ago when we first started cruising. We didn’t have penthouses then and we don’t now, but this trip reminds of what cruising is and can be. You make it what you want. I’m having fun finding chairs by the pool each day just like everybody else, there’s no Courtyard, so what. I love the pool deck and I love walking thru the buffet and finding exactly what I want. I forgot what a cruise can be and it reminds me of all the great memories from our first few cruises.

Okay, so that wasn’t it word for word, but it’s darn close. I thought to myself she got it right at only 13 years old… a cruise is what you make of it, and a cruise doesn’t always have to be in a penthouse (although it sure is nice). We fell in love with our standard balcony cabin, it was ours, we owned it for the week and were reminded of all of our wonderful memories from years ago. But bottom line, the best part was 8 days together on our mother, daughter cruise.

Next up… we’re already looking to book our next cruise. It could be as early as March 11th on the Dawn. If we can find decent air, and a few business things get cleared, we’ll be on it. Otherwise, we are looking further out, maybe summer to Alaska again. We’d love to join a group of friends on the Star, Panama Canal this coming fall, but don’t think that will work for us at this time.

Once again, NCL delivered a great cruise with exceptional service, excellent food and a fun time for our mother/daughter cruise! Thanks NCL!!

[Why Knot Me]

A few pictures of the Jazz Brunch:

[Why Knot Me]

The LARGE balcony on the bump out:

[Sauer-kraut]

WhyKnot,

I loved your review, got a bit teary eyed too when you quoted your daughter. I am dreaming of taking my young niece on a cruise but the stars and planets have not yet aligned enough to satisfy her parents in allowing her to come with me.

 

Thanks for posting your experiences, I enjoyed the comparisons with your TA and this 8-dayer. :)

[Mary Ellen]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[CruzinMel]

Thanks so much for your review, Knot - DH and I are going on Epic for the first time and my parents are tagging along for their second-ever cruise. They are very particular folks, and I have been worried that they will not enjoy themselves. Your story reminds me of exactly the right thing that I need to remember: A Cruise Is What You Make It! I resolve to make it great and not worry so much! :)

[Why Knot Me]

Thanks so much for your review, Knot - DH and I are going on Epic for the first time and my parents are tagging along for their second-ever cruise. They are very particular folks, and I have been worried that they will not enjoy themselves. Your story reminds me of exactly the right thing that I need to remember: A Cruise Is What You Make It! I resolve to make it great and not worry so much! :)

 

Good for you, go and enjoy yourself. It's easy to do on the Epic!

[Zeno]

One question:

 

Did your balcony have shade?

[Why Knot Me]

One question:

 

Did your balcony have shade?

 

Yes it had shade as well as sun depending on the angle of the sun. Not only that, but one day we had an afternoon rain shower for about an hour, then sprinkles for another hour. The balcony is so large, you can still be on it and we never got wet from the rain.

[allexcited]

:)I really enjoyed your post as I am taking a mother/daughter cruise in October on the Epic as I will be celebrating a big birthday (with a zero on the end!) whilst away and she will be 18 the week we return home.

 

She wanted to go to the white hot party but we were not sure if there was an age restriction. I presume as no one mentioned anything to you that there isn't so she is really pleased.

 

Did you both take in any spa treatments? We have a Spa balcony and we are looking forward to a mother/daughter massage and wondered if you had any other recommendations.

 

Sounds like you had the catch up /bonding holiday we are so looking forward to. As you say with life, work, sixth form, exams etc its nice just to make a special time to just be with each other as they grow up so soon.

[aam3]

Thanks for your epic review!

You mentioned that your daughter had lactose free desserts every night. How did you arrange for that...did you just ask each night, or was it pre-arranged? I am also lactose intolerant :mad:

We would love to see pictures of the pottery you bought in Roatan! We also buy a piece wherever we go, and have yet to visit Roatan, so I'd love to see what they have available there!

[coka]

Your review brought a lot of smiles to my face with Epic memories as well as good tears to my eyes regarding your mother-daughter moments. Thank you for sharing your experience, your intimate conversations, and the picture of that huge balcony. What a treat!

 

coka

[KateH]

Thanks for the GREAT review! You mentioned that you had afternoon naps on your balcony. Were there lounge chairs on your standard balcony? I am boarding EPIC in 3 weeks!