Epic review, April 2nd-9th, LONG with pictures

[CC Help Michell]

Thanks for the "shout out," Nathan. :) It was a pleasure meeting you, and I'm thoroughly enjoying your review of the Epic. You are bringing back great memories of this wonderful ship -- we really had an amazing vacation on her. In fact, as you can see from my signature, we've booked her again for 2013, on the same itinerary. I loved all that beach and relaxation time!

 

Great job on the review, and have fun in Costa Rica this summer!

[K&M2009]

Thanks for the ice cream tip. I saw that in another review and it looked delicious. Dulce de leche sounds so good too. It's been a while since I've had that flavor but it's a good one.

 

I plan on eating plenty once I get on the ship. I just have to tone up a little bit first so I don't feel as guilty!

[CruisingAmazona]

Leaving on the Epic April 30, same itinerary as yours. Enjoyed your review although at first I was not-so-inclined to read it believing your 15-year old perspective of the ship would not be something I would probably enjoy! In fact, and until I saw a picture of you, I was sort of doubting you were actually a 15 year old kid! I was wrong and the review turned out to be wonderful. Thank you.

 

Have you ever considered a career in law? You sound very self-confident a VERY GOOD trait for an attorney! Just a thought.

 

Enjoy Costa Rica, the country is beautiful and the people are very nice!

[nathand95]

Thanks for the "shout out," Nathan. :) It was a pleasure meeting you, and I'm thoroughly enjoying your review of the Epic. You are bringing back great memories of this wonderful ship -- we really had an amazing vacation on her. In fact, as you can see from my signature, we've booked her again for 2013, on the same itinerary. I loved all that beach and relaxation time!

 

Great job on the review, and have fun in Costa Rica this summer!

Thank you so much! This was by far my most favorite vacation ever! I'm going to try to convince my parents to go on her again next year for the Eastern itin. Or better yet, go a European cruise for graduation. The 2nd one is doubtful, but I can dream.:p

 

Leaving on the Epic April 30, same itinerary as yours. Enjoyed your review although at first I was not-so-inclined to read it believing your 15-year old perspective of the ship would not be something I would probably enjoy! In fact, and until I saw a picture of you, I was sort of doubting you were actually a 15 year old kid! I was wrong and the review turned out to be wonderful. Thank you.

 

Have you ever considered a career in law? You sound very self-confident a VERY GOOD trait for an attorney! Just a thought.

 

Enjoy Costa Rica, the country is beautiful and the people are very nice!

Thank you so much! That makes me so happy to read that. If it means anything, I turn 16 in a week.:D

I haven't considered law, more of an engineering type of guy, but my sister who is a freshman at UGA is very similar to myself and is planning on pursuing law...after changing her major twice.

[nathand95]

Dinner in Taste

Tonight was our first dinner in the MDR. We walked in a little after 6:00pm and were seated prompty. Our waiter introduced himself and his assistant waiter. He was very nice, but rather quiet. Another waiter came over about halfway through the meal and began doing magic tricks and was very outgoing and funny. His magic tricks were very basic and easy to figure out but he made them very funny and played off his noviceness. It was nice entertainment. I would have filled out a S.T.Y.L.E. card for him, but I never got his name and when we returned to Taste I never saw him.

The meal began with bread. Might I say that NCL has amazing bread! There are about three different types of bread in each basket. We went through the first basket very quickly and received another basket shortly. My favorite was the bread with, I think cheese on top. I'm not sure, but all I know it was AMAZING!

Then we ordered. I was not too impressed with the main course entrees. I settled for Tilapia(?).

 

For my appetizer I got chicken tortilla soup, and a salad. The soup was very tasty! It had a nice hint of lime in it, which added to the flavor. It was mainly broth with a few tortilla strips and a couple pieces of chicken, but the broth with the nice lime flavor was good in it of itself.

 

For my main course, I wasn't neccesarily looking forward to it. I had actually forgotten what I ordered. One common theme so far in all aspects of the cruise was surprise. i was very surprised by the fish. It had a nice rich flavor, very juicy, and did not have a "fishy" taste.

I actually ended up eating everything and using a piece of bread to sop up the excess juice. It was that good. My mom got the Norwegian Salmon. I like salmon, but oh Lordy, this was the best salmon I have ever had. As i previously mentioned my mom tends to complain alot about food, but she cleaned her plate.

 

Next, came my favorite part, dessert. When I got the menu, my eyes almost jumped out of my head in excitement. The first thing listed was flan! For those who don't know, flan is a typical spanish or latin american jelletin type dessert. I have learned about it in Spanish class so much my teacher would be disapointed if I didn't have it. I got that and chocolate ice cream.

 

The flan was AMAZING!!! I hate jello, but this was nothing like jello. It was just awesome. Here is a picture for y'all to drool over. I kept forgetting to take pictures BEFORE I took a bite.

 

The chocolate ice cream was also very good. I love how there are small ice crystals that you crunch into as your eating. It was also served very nicely in a tall dish, as opposed to Carnival was just 2 scoops on a plate that resembled chocolate milk by the time you got it.

 

After dinner I killed some time with my parents as I had an hour to kill before I met my friends. We just took pictures around the ship.

 

Side pool deck looking forward

 

The Epic has a very grand lobby.

 

I won't bore y'all with what me and my friends did because frankly all the nights run togther We mainly spent time in my friends suite talking, in the teen club, eating, or on the courtyard sundeck at the very front of the boat on Deck 18 or 19 until 1:00am.

 

End of Day 3-Costa Maya

Day 4-Roatan-will be up shortly.

[daisydu]

:)The Epic is an awesome ship. I was extremely nervous before coming on it after reading negative reviews, and being overwhelmed by it's size, but it is the best vacation and cruise I have ever been on. I'm trying to convince my parents to go on the Eastern itin. in 2012 for spring break. :D

I have never gotten that before. Hahaha. Thank you though...that was a compliment right?;)

 

Yes, a compliment! Again, thank you for your great review. I think you have convinced me that EPIC is in my future! You can never really depend on reviews. We were on the SUN the same time you were on EPIC and some of the reviews had me nervous (even though we had been on the SUN before) but our experience was wonderful -- complete opposite of some reviews. Maybe you can find a way to bribe your parents for next year - - you seem clever enough :)

[nathand95]

VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!

One thing i feel like I should mention now before I continue any further is the safety of the ship. My parents give me an immense amount of freedom to come and go to my cabin as I please without having to check in every hour or be within eyesight the entire cruise.

 

Yes, it is a cruise ship and is in no way safer than anyone's hometown. You CAN NOT trust every crew member. It is extremely dangerous to be by yourself, especially at night. However, the Epic is a very safe ship. I have never seen so many visible secuirty guards. They made me feel very safe. I use common sense whenever I go on board a ship. I know to never be around dark areas alone and never llet a crew member take me somewhere alone.

 

TO ALL THE PARENTS WITH TEENS-let your kids have some freedom on a cruise. Give them a talk before going on board about ship safety. No teenager wants their parents always checking up on them and breathing down their neck. We want to be able to have fun, and not always worry if mom and dad are around.

 

Teens going off without parents was the topic of a thread I posted on earlier and some people were dismayed at how my parents allowed to run around the ship. This prompted to me to post the interjection.

 

If anyone has any questions about security, my parent's safety practices, or their own comments, I am open to hearing what everyone has to say. Please feel free to comment with any questions, comment, or concern you may have that may or may not relate to this post in particular. I am more than happy to discuss, rebutle, or ease anything concerns.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Nathan, this is such an awesome review, thanks for taking the time, and also I wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide to do in your life--you obviously are a kind, intelligent, thoughtful person and have a lot to offer this world! I'm sure you have many, many cruises ahead! Thanks again for sharing yours with us.

[nathand95]

Day 4-April 5th,-Roatan, Hondorus

Today was another early day. It began at 7:00am when I woke up to my mom knocking on the door. She knew I did not want to get up even earlier and go to the Garden Cafe for breakfast so she let me sleep and brought me back a bagel and cranberry juice.

We docked early in Coxen Hole about 7:50 and the disembarkation process began soon after. We had to meet our excursion on the dock at 8:30 so were again among the first off and were met with no lines. We found our excursion easily and met Rudolph who would give us a tour of the island on the way to Gumbalimba Park where he would serve as our tour guide there also. Our excursion was named "Gumbalimba Park and Tabyana Beach". We then boarded an air conditioned bus and headed off towards Gumbalimba Park.

 

The ship from the bus as we were leaving

 

The ride to Gumbalimba Park was abotu 20 minutes along the coast,through the jungle and to the highest point on the island. Along the way Rudolph was very informative on island life and it's history. Other than that it was an uneverntful ride.

 

Soon we arrived at Gumbalimba Park. When we first arrived we had about 15 minutes to get put our stuff in the lockers, use the restroom,etc. Then we set off on your nature walk throughout the extensive grounds of the park. Our first stop was a cahsew tree. A cashew is actually a fruit, with the more familiar cashew nut inside.

 

The cashew fruit with the nut from inside.

 

Next we stopped alongside a stream, and got pictures with a waterfall in the background. I am leaving out some things along the way, but these are the highlights.

 

Part of the grounds of Gumbalimba

 

The family in front of the waterfall

[nathand95]

After that we went inside a small, air-conditioned, cave. Inisde was mainly the history of Isla Roatan. In the first room was the geography of Roatan with how it was settled by pirates along with various maps lining the walls.

 

The topographical map of Isla Roatan

 

The next room was devoted to John Coxen who orginally landed on Roatan. There was a large statue of him along with various weapons lining the walls. We were also told a story of John Coxen hiding his "booty" in various places around the island. There may still be some of Coxen's "booty" hidden somewhere around the island that has not been discovered.

 

One of Coxen's favorite weapons; half sword, half gun

 

Next we stopped by a Gumbalimba tree for which the park got it's name. I was surprised the tree was relatively small and had a whole park named after it.

 

There are many iguanas roaming around the park, so watch where you step. There were several in one are and we witnessed an iguana feeding of lettuce. All of a sudden a huge iguana comes out and the smaller iguanas scatter! I have never seen one that big with such vibrant colors. It was quite comical to see the smaller iguanas fleeing.

 

[retiring soon]

Hi all!

 

Enjoying your report,Nathan. Wow those are some big different looking Iguanas!:eek:

Love the food "porn" ;).

Thanks for sharing your vacation with us.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

[nathand95]

Hi all!

 

Enjoying your report,Nathan. Wow those are some big different looking Iguanas!:eek:

Love the food "porn" ;).

Thanks for sharing your vacation with us.

 

~ Jo ~ :)

Haha. No problem! There is more food "porn" to come!;)

[nathand95]

After watching the iguanas feed we headed across a suspension bridge across a lagoon to what I call the animal intereaction area. Once we crossed to bridge we came to an enclosure of brilliantly colored macaws. They were the most beautiful birds I have ever seen. One lady mentioned it being inhuman to keep birds cooped up like this but they have a solution. There were many macaw families in the inclosure. Every so often they would let the kids go out and play while the parents stayed home and when the kids returned the parents would go out and play. Macaws will always return because they are family oriented animals and will not leave someplace and go far without their whole family. This part is best explained in pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[nathand95]

 

 

Once we left the macaw area, we came to the highlight of the tour, the monkey area! My mom is petrified of monkeys so she was very scared about going to this area. This was what I had been looking forward too. Before we could enter I had to put my bag on the side so the monkeys would not open it I guess. As soon as we got near the monkeys 2 of them jumped on my stepdad's head. The apparently liked his hair gel ALOT! These monkeys will jump on you if you get close. They were so cute though! I really want one now. This is another area best explained through pictures.

 

 

 

 

[nathand95]

 

 

 

 

They will steal stuff you are not holding onto. This lady found out the hard way...

 

 

[LaCal]

Hi Nathan, Best Review and Photos I've ever seen or read.....

 

Thanks....Waiting for the next updates.....:D

[BadKitteh]

Those big iguanas are crazy! I love the monkey hat your dad accidentally got!

[Pooh&OurHunny]

Great update, my 6yr old son loved the pictures you took...especially the iguanas.

[nathand95]

Hi Nathan, Best Review and Photos I've ever seen or read.....

 

Thanks....Waiting for the next updates.....:D

Yes! This is a success for my first review. My laptop decided to get mad at me again from overuse so I had to let it cool off again. I don' think it's mad at me anymore.;)

 

Those big iguanas are crazy! I love the monkey hat your dad accidentally got!

They were! I wish I could have gotten my picture with them! He had that "hat" for a good 5 minutes. When they finally got off his shirt was so dirty! Not a great idea to wear white around monkeys...

[nathand95]

Sadly, the monkey portion marked the end of our nature tour around Gumbalimba Park. Once we returned to the main palapa type thing we had abotu 15 minutes to get our stuff, purchase pictures, get snacks, etc. We ended up purchasing the CD of about 35 photos of all 3 of us for about $30. There is a snack bar there and we purchased a Coca Lite (I like Coca Lite better than Diet Coke). At one point a bunch of people began looking at the ceiling, so we looked up. There were tons of bats just chilling on the support beams. I have never seen bats before so this was quite an interesting sight.

 

 

Before we had to get on the bus to Tabyana Beach we took a few pictures.

 

Not as big as a redwood,but still very big

 

 

Soon we boarded another air conditioned bus to go to Tabyana Beach. The ride there was only about 5 minutes. Once we arrived we were given a run-down of the property, when lunch would be served, where everything was, and when shuttle service back to the dock would begin.

 

This was all too familiar to me since this was my 3rd time at Tabyana Beach. It is crowded, but it has the best water, and best amenities. We had no trouble finding 3 chairs together. We actually moved them to the very front to get them in the direct sunlight. By this time it was about 11:00 and lunch would begin being served at 12:00-1:30 with shuttles beginning at 1:30. There was only one other ship in port so it was not as crowded as I've seen it in the past.

 

The day spent laying in the sun and working on tans. Mystepdad would call me Casper leading up to the cruise, so i knew I needed a tan. It was the perfect day to lay in the sun. Not a cloud in the sky, nice ocean breeze, and comfortable air temperature. This was paradise. For about 3 hours I just dozed in and out of sleep soaking up the rays. At abotu 1:00 we got in the looooong line for lunch. It was about 15 minutes to get up to the buffet. The buffet consisted fo BBQ chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, beans and rice, fresh fruit and cole slow. I had a hamburger, beans and rice, and cole slaw. The hamburger was average,the beans and rice was very good, but the cole slaw was horrible. I didn't expect cruise ship food, but I expected better cole slaw. The fresh fruit was also very nice. On the other side of the deck from the buffet are coolers of complimentary water and lemonade. There are also people from the bar walking around the beach taking orders. We had intended to rent snorkeling equipment, but never got around to it. Last year I snorkeled and it was the best snorkeling ever. There are so many types of fish with such vibrant colors.

 

At about 2:00 we decided to go get in line for a shuttle back to the shiip. We only had to wait about 10 minutes, so that was no problem. Here are some pictures from our day at the beach.

 

 

Oh, look at that sexy beast!!!! The water looks nice too I guess...

 

Once we arrived back at the pier after about a 20 minute air conditione bus ride we tried to find a shop to get my friend a shot glass. Easy right? Wrong!!!! You would think I was trying to find a needle in a haystack! We finally found a store with a less than ideal selection, but I settled on one. It was $6 in case anyone was wondering.

 

Before getting on the boat

 

We then got on the boat at about 3:00. I went to the waterslides until 4:45, and a few trips to get ice cream from the Garden Cafe. Tonight we had dinner reservations in La Cucina at 6:00pm.

[nathand95]

As usual I was ready before my parents, so I grabbed my pleassure/required book for psycholgoy went on their balcony and read. With a good book, this can be the most relaxing part of a cruise. It was awesome. Hearing water slap against the hull, feel the breeze on your face, ahhh heaven!

 

 

Since the sun rose at 5:00am in Roatan it began setting about 6:00pm.

 

Once we arrived at La Cucina it was largely empty, so we had no trouble getting a nice table at the very front of the restaurant overlooking the bow. We were immediately given that was amazing!!!! The best kid had tomatoes, olives and other things baked into it. It was called (phonetically) fa-kash-a. I'm not even going to attempt to spell that. We were also given, compliments of the shelf and antipasta of proscuitto, and other things. I immediately hoarded the proscuitto as it is my favorite! For my appetizer I got the pasta e fagioli soup and a ceaser salad. The soup was very tasty and the ceaser salad was just good, not exquisite but good. My favorite part was the anchovie on top. I have the wierdest eating habits of anyone I know. I will gladly gulp down anchovies,caviar, and escargot, but will refuse to eat peanut butter, berries, and milk. I know I'm wierd. For my main course I got the risotto. This was okay, which in my book is step down from good. The shrimp was cooked nicely, but the risotto itself lacked flavor. My mom had veggie lasagna which I tried and found it amazing! the cover charge was $10 p/p and I found this to be very accurate and reasonable. For dessert, the best part, my mom and I immediately got the tarimisu. I could eat this by the shovelful. It was so good!!! One thing i should mention is that about halfway through the captain and anouther officer sat down next to us. My parents were like, "Oh, that must be a high ranking officer." I blew them away and said, "Oh, that's the Captain. I met him a few days ago at the M&G." Very cool indeed.

 

And now it's food "porn" time!

 

We had a very enjoyable time in La Cucina. The food was on average "good", the atmosphere was nice, and the views were incredible. That night was spent as usual with my friends galavanting around the boat till about 1:00am. Tomorrow was a sea day so I didn't care what time I came back. Once I got back though I took a picture of the tv channels.

 

 

End of Day 4-Roatan

[Kssafrg]

Well Nathan, you have us hooked....always waiting for the next installment....like a mystery novel! But I have to ask...did you keep a daily journal? Hourly? Your details are incredible and the best part, well next to the photos....I really loved hearing where the ice cream was. I will have to find that. And we don't want you to ignore your studies, but...we're old and like you said, we might not last that long. (and we're leaving on the Epic in less than 2 weeks for a Trans Atlantic cruise) so hurry up, finish your homework. We're all waiting!

Kate

[Sheindoors]

You should get it published Nathan, people would pay good money to read it. Brilliant pictures and really good, interesting write up. Well done and keep 'em coming.:)

 

Di

[Medtech2]

I just love the monkey pic where the little guy is straddling a branch looking up at his homie...

When we did that excursion only one monkey came around...

[atanac]

...I will gladly gulp down anchovies,caviar, and escargot, but will refuse to eat peanut butter, berries, and milk.

 

So I guess a peanut butter and strawberry milkshake is out of the question?;)