EPIC: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

[mercede70]

Cabin

Good:

-Bed was comfortable

-Balcony was spacious

Bad:

-New seperate shower, toliet, sink. Not a fan of this new model for the cabins. Although the shower is bigger than on previous ships, you have to stand in the doorway to dry off and the sink being in the main part of the cabin was weird.

Ugly: 0

 

 

Speciality Restaurants

Good:

-Le Bistro-Excellent food, rack of lamb amazing, apps were good, filet was better than Cagney's and larger

-Sushi-Ask the chef for a special not on the menu roll for something really super! Ala Carte pricing was nice if you wanted to stop by for just a roll or two and not spend $30.00 for two people like before pricing changed.

-Shanghai-Excellent food-black bean shrimp, lo mein, chow mein and cantonese scallops were amazing, fresh hot and sour soup

-Noodle Bar-excellent portion for price and delicious!

Bad:

-Cagney's-would not recommend

Ugly: Cirque food

 

Entertainment:

Good:

-Howl at the Moon- Sun, Tues, Thur-one of my favorites, energetic trio belting out all of our favorite songs and involving the crowd throughout the night. Bring a bottle of Jager....

-Legends-The three impersonators were excellent, worth the time.

-Cirque-show is always going to be impressive

-Blue man-good, but I don't need to see it again....

-Atrium guitarist

-Ice Bar-$20.00 cover charge includes two small Svedka vodka drinks, but being inside one of only 8 ice bars in the world, and the only one at sea was worth the $! Wear socks and pants, the parka's don't cover your legs completely and at 17 degrees, the average time for a visit is 7 minutes! We lasted 24, but we were the only ones in there...the bartender even left!

Bad: 0

Ugly:

-Second City...for my husband and I-it was like watching a high school sketch...we left.

 

Ship

Good:

-Adult only area H2O, but chairs were being reserved at 645 a.m. when I was up on deck for a sunrise picture...

-Rock Climbing

-Bowling

-Garden Cafe was huge which reduced lines and congestion as found on other NCL ships

-O'Shean's (sp)-always open which I loved, so when you're in need of a snack late night, they're waiting for you....burgers, corned beef sandwiches, soup, wings, fish and chips were awesome!

Bad:

-Lido deck arrangement creates the bandstand looking towards the garden cafe instead of the pool area, pools are two slim tanks that for a ship with 4200 people on board DO NOT cut it..., Water park and kids area take up 1/4 of the deck

Ugly:

-The deck plan on deck 16 above the Lido deck only gives you about 100 feet to look overboard, you can't walk from the back to the front on this deck, so pulling in/out of ports doesn't allow for picture taking and sight-seeing....this deck plan was horrible. You can't look out the front or back of the ship outside, only from inside the restaurants...

-Casino position is not seperated to the right/left of the hallway deck, it is the hallway which means you have to walk through the entire casino, smoke and all each time you want to get from the back to the front on deck 7....HORRIBLE IDEA!

 

Hope this helps!

[vols_159]

never heard of anyone not liking cagneys....

[KKJBB]

We sailed 3/2/12 - 3/10/12 and went to Cagney's. We all loved it! We also loved the Manhatten dining room. I thought the food was excellent everywhere that we went.

[sadiecat]

I have read a few reviews where Cagney's was not very good and I had this problem one time. I ordered a prime rib that was so tough you could not cut it even with a steak knife. All you have to do which I did was let the server know. They can't fix it if you don't give them the chance. As soon as I mentioned it there was a replacement meal, a ribeye and it was to die for it was like butter. The server was so upset that he hovered over us for the rest of the meal to make sure there were not other problems and there was no charge for my meal. Just say something if your meal is not right, they will correct it.

[AttilaTheFun]

never heard of anyone not liking cagneys....

 

We didn't on the Gem and I've read plenty of other reviews saying to skip it.

[ColinIllinois]

This is the kind of review I really like. Short, sweet and to the point.

 

Thanks for posting.

[mkad1109]

We didn't on the Gem and I've read plenty of other reviews saying to skip it.

didnt love it on the Pearl either...Our First cruise on the Dawn I thought I had died and gone to heaven, but each one after went downhill...I am a true Le Bistro fan....

[jdvmd]

We don't bother going to Cagney's anymore because LeBistro is so much better.

[sunflower47]

I thought I came across a post about the Epic and that you had to reserve the shows in advance and pay for them?

 

Is this correct and if so how much are they? is it all the shows are just a few?

 

Any idea if this will be true for the Breakaway as well?

[jdvmd]

I thought I came across a post about the Epic and that you had to reserve the shows in advance and pay for them?

 

Is this correct and if so how much are they? is it all the shows are just a few?

 

Any idea if this will be true for the Breakaway as well?

 

The only show that costs is Cirque Dreams. Dinner is included. Cost is $25 for regular seating and $35 for preferred seating. Per person.

[sunflower47]

The only show that costs is Cirque Dreams. Dinner is included. Cost is $25 for regular seating and $35 for preferred seating. Per person.

 

 

Thank you. That's good to know. I wonder if the Breakaway will have something similar.

[Seanote]

didnt love it on the Pearl either...Our First cruise on the Dawn I thought I had died and gone to heaven, but each one after went downhill...I am a true Le Bistro fan....

 

I agree with you 100%. Cagney's was once great but is no longer worth the surcharge. With time, the quality of the meat has degraded and the cuts seem to be getting thinner and thinner. Thin and tough is not worth $25!

[jdvmd]

Thank you. That's good to know. I wonder if the Breakaway will have something similar.

I don't know if the Breakaway's entertainment options have been publicized yet. I am sure they would have something similar. For further clarification, you can make specialty restaurant and entertainment reservations 45 days in advance to your sailing.

[gelo7]

Nice review.

[msjazzymiss]

Thank you for that great review, I was comtemplating sailing the Epic and your review really helped to seal the deal.