My Epic thoughts. (24 Nov 2012 - 1 Dec 2012)

[david_sobe]

Really enjoying your review. I dont think you are being overly critical or negative just to point out a few short comings here and there.

We had the same experience with seats in BMG. The reserved seats we passed on and got better seats ourselves. But I read here that people got front row reserved for them?

[iluvdoxies]

**This is not directed at the OP as much as it is a general comment.

 

I wouldn't worry about the Epic either. This was my third time on it and second time in the Haven. We just got off this exact same cruise. We were suite 16017 and had a blast. We too were one of the (apparent) dreaded hard working families that brought *gasp* children and especially *gasp* to the HAVEN! I get pretty annoyed at the lack of courtesy people without young kids have towards those who do. We have 3. A DD 2.5, DD 6 and DS 9. We were also traveling with friends who have two son's, 4 and 8. I would like to point out right now that our kids were nowhere NEAR as wild as the children the OP is mentioning. We know exactly who those kids were and I actually had one of their sisters yell at them while I was relaxing in the hot tub with my 6 year old. I don't think every kid should be painted with the same brush, when really, it was only about 3-4 kids that were animals.

My one and only complaint this week would be about a very rude and completely arrogant family, who on almost every occasion made mention of how there were "too many annoying kids" in the Haven. Even Adrian explained to them that is is a family cruise. I find it is very rude that these people are so "above" being in the presence of children. And may I mention again, that all 5 of our kids were more behaved than 80% of the adults on the ship. Well, at least they were more respectful than the family we tagged "Kid Haters". A word of advice, if you don't like kids, want to see them, think about them or acknowledge that they deserve to be there just as much as anyone else, book an old person cruise.

Epic is awesome! Adrian is a godsend and Jeffery and Garry were the best ever!

 

sorry I still dont think kids should be in the Heaven

[rocklinmom]

Thank you Rajones for your funny and honest review. I almost choked on my coffee reading about the old guy coughing on your breakfast.

I appreciate your candid information about the Epic.

[maja651]

I want to thank the OP for the great information! It is so helpful to learn all of the tips and hints!

 

Regarding the kids in the Haven issue...we don't have kids, so I must say, we are more easily annoyed by kids than others. However, I do believe that if you have kids, and paid to be in a suite in the Haven, your kids should be allowed to use it! However, there is a caveat. You as parents, need to parent your kids! If your kids are out of control and disrupting everyone around them, do something about it! If you don't, I will, I can guarantee you that! I have zero tolerance for unruly kids and parents no where in site, or no care in the world about their behavior. I would definitely first say something to the kids to try to curb the behavior, and if that didn't work, I would talk to the concierge and/or security. The cost of the suites is just too high to put up with bratty unruly kids! Hope if you are sailing with me in the Haven, your kids are behaved. :p

[Gregor4500]

Just had to post on the stair vs elevator issue. I used to agree with the OP

until I became the one with the hidden disability. I do walk up one flight, but than I need to stop and catch my breath. A couple times I did 2 flights and had to sit. I look healthy from the outside, but unfortunately from the inside I'm not. My SIL was on the last trip and she could go up fine but going down stairs pained her knee. You never know.

[ClaireAndMike]

 

Those same people who can't walk up or down one floor are the same who have scooters UNTIL it's dinner time, then they park their scooters all over and RUN to the buffet

And the REASON they have heart and knee issues is because they never take the stairs. Oh, and look what a big plate of food they have

 

LOL!!! My Dad, who would never set foot on a cruise ship even if you paid him, always uses that as a visual. He must have some phobia of buffets.

[ClaireAndMike]

=) We don't either, and you are exactly right. That's a whole other world that is not very easily understood, to me anyway. People seem to be so shocked that not everyone is enamored with little humans!

 

I want to thank the OP for the great information! It is so helpful to learn all of the tips and hints!

 

Regarding the kids in the Haven issue...we don't have kids, so I must say, we are more easily annoyed by kids than others. However, I do believe that if you have kids, and paid to be in a suite in the Haven, your kids should be allowed to use it! However, there is a caveat. You as parents, need to parent your kids! If your kids are out of control and disrupting everyone around them, do something about it! If you don't, I will, I can guarantee you that! I have zero tolerance for unruly kids and parents no where in site, or no care in the world about their behavior. I would definitely first say something to the kids to try to curb the behavior, and if that didn't work, I would talk to the concierge and/or security. The cost of the suites is just too high to put up with bratty unruly kids! Hope if you are sailing with me in the Haven, your kids are behaved. :p

[maja651]

=) We don't either, and you are exactly right. That's a whole other world that is not very easily understood, to me anyway. People seem to be so shocked that not everyone is enamored with little humans!

 

So true! When we tell people we don't have kids, and really don't care to vacation with kids, they seem shocked! How dare we be married without kids! lol :eek:

[almondglaze]

I've sailed on the Oasis and it was the most awesome ship ever. It is much larger than the Epic and never felt crowded. There were parts of it that were practically empty at times because it is so large and there are so many places to be. I've been hesitant about the Epic because of so many negative reviews but may try it for one of the new European cruise tours in 2014.

[iluvdoxies]

Some other random thoughts...

 

--The reserved seating for Haven guests for Blue Man Group are kind of sucky. Well, the seats weren't entirely awful, they just wouldn't be my first choice.

 

Adrian walked us down to the theater and they roped off the first 4 or 5 rows of the section to the left of the stage (left, when facing the stage). I was led to believe by these forums that we would be escorted there before they opened the doors to everyone else. Then we would have our choice of seats of anywhere in the theater. In which case my choice would have been halfway up the center section.

 

But that wasn't the case. The place was already full when we entered.

 

No big deal. We still got to see everything, but a couple times the angle we had meant certain (albeit small) portions of some scenes weren't easily visible to us.

 

--The Epic Blue drink (or whatever it was called) is awesome. They only serve it in the theater prior to a BMG show. I'm not much for alcohol, but it was pretty damn tasty. (I think I said that before in one of my updates. Oh well, it was worth typing it out again.)

 

--Contacting the pre-cruise concierge desk was met with mixed results.. My girlfriend likes a specific vodka cooler. As a surprise to her, I contacted the NCL Concierge and asked if they carry this particular vodka cooler.

 

"Why yes we do! They are even available in our buckets, pay for 5 and get a 6th one free!", was the response.

 

"Can you put one of those buckets in the room prior to our arrival, please?" I said.

 

"Yes, sir! It will be there. We'll just bill it to your onboard account. Is there anything else you would like?"

 

"I'd like to purchase the soda package for all of us." was next on my list.

 

"Done. You'll just need to pre-pay for that now. The stickers will be on your cards when you pick them up at check-in and the souvenir mugs will be in your stateroom upon arrival," was NCL's response.

 

"Here's my Visa number..." I said, and they processed the purchase.

 

"Thank you sir. What about pillows? Do you have a preference? We have all kinds of different pillows to choose from."

 

"Okay. I never thought of that. Hmmmmm. We all like feather pillows. And we'd all like an extra pillow if possible. So 4 pillows on the King bed, and 2 for each twin in the small bedroom."

 

"Yes sir. Consider it done."

 

And that concludes my discussion with the NCL Pre-cruise Concierge.

 

How did they do?

 

1. The bucket of vodka coolers wasn't in our room. Luckily the Posh bar had these particular coolers (in fact, they were the ONLY bar that had them, as far as we could tell). So they were easy to find. Once we told Jeffrey, our butler, where to find them, he made sure my GF always had a new bucket whenever she finished one.

 

2. The soda stickers were not on our cruise cards, so we had to pay for our soda during lunch prior to being allowed in our cabin (not a big deal, but still.) Once allowed in the cabin, we found 4 letters, one for each of us, telling us we just had to sign the form and present it to one of the limited amount of bars to receive the sticker and souvenir mug. Luckily, the Epic Club Lounge bar was one of them.

 

3. [EDIT]Correction: We had 4 feather pillows on the king bed, but the kids bedroom did not. They just had those narrow cheap pillows. When we met Jeffrey our butler for the first time, he rectified the situation immediately.[END OF EDIT]

 

--Don't get your soda from the Epic Club Lounge bar (the one closest to the Haven pool.) Something is wrong with their soda dispenser and it always has a terrible plastic-y taste to it. Anything served from that fountain will taste funky. All the other bars on the ship are fine, except for this one. I told the bartender about it, but she didn't believe me.

 

I'm a lover and Connoisseur of fresh fountain pop, soda, or whatever you want to call it. Fountain pop is just better than any bottle or can you can get. I think it just tastes more fresh. I know what I'm talking about too. I'm known to go through the McDonald's drive-thru JUST to get a Coke.

 

--I could never figure out what the Courtyard Grill was supposed to be. Yes, the bar there was handy (except for fountain pop) and the coffee there was great. But they never served any food there that I could tell.

 

In the mornings they had a basket of croissants and muffins next to the coffee, but that was it.

 

Could you order food in there and sit down and eat it? I sat down and watched the ocean while I had a Pepsi one day, but I never seen a menu, nor did a server ask me if I wanted to order anything.

 

So what is the intention of the Courtyard Grill?

 

--The amount of people who purposely avoid using hand sanitizer is depressing. I watched many people try to get past the girl at the front of the buffet. Some successfully. Some who weren't successful reluctantly took the little spray of sanitizer and then proceeded to wipe it directly on their shorts.

 

I know we can argue about how effective the hand sanitizer program is, but really people; is it that difficult to rub your hands together for 2 seconds? Sheesh.

 

--These forums led me to believe that the deck 18 forward sundeck was for Haven guests only. Wrong. :)

 

--I didn't have the nerve to check out the deck 19 freestyle sundeck. I know. I'm a wimp.

 

--I didn't want to bother our butler, so every morning while everybody else in the cabin was asleep I would scoot down a flight of stairs to the buffet and load up a plate and bring it back and have my own quiet breakfast on the balcony.

 

The waffles were AWESOME. They ain't no Eggo waffles, that's for sure.

 

The eggs were gross and runny.

 

The pancakes were decent if they weren't sitting around for too long. Then they'd get hard on the edges. Usually a buffet serves those paper thin pre-made pancakes, a la fast food restaurants. Not these. They weren't perfect, but they did have some puffiness to them.

 

I've said this before and I'll say it again - I want to shoot the guy who thought it would be a good idea to put raisins in the French Toast. Seriously, who would ruin a perfectly good piece of French Toast by putting the worlds more vile and disgusting fruit in it? Terrorists, that's who! (The same thing can be said for Butter Tarts.)

 

They had these little cookie-size hash browns that were crafted and cooked by Jesus himself. Oh my they were sooooooo goooooooood.

 

PRO-TIP: put a second plate upside-down on top of your plate of food when going back to your cabin. I wish I had thought of that prior to that old guy on the stairs coughing on my breakfast.

 

..................................

 

the courtyard grill has lots of lunch items ---just as for a menu

[K L B]

So true! When we tell people we don't have kids, and really don't care to vacation with kids, they seem shocked! How dare we be married without kids! lol :eek:

 

No one should be shocked about that. I have a child, and I don't want an adult vacation with other people's children around me. I thought it might change when I had one of my own...but no. It didn't. Love mine like crazy, but still don't 'enjoy' kids in general. If we have an adult vacation planned, I would probably only go to an adult only resort or only cruise with extensive adult-only space. And there would be no Spongebob on board- thus no Epic. But since I have a child along...Epic here we come! It will be awesome- just a different vacation than our adult ones. :)

[maja651]

No one should be shocked about that. I have a child, and I don't want an adult vacation with other people's children around me. I thought it might change when I had one of my own...but no. It didn't. Love mine like crazy, but still don't 'enjoy' kids in general. If we have an adult vacation planned, I would probably only go to an adult only resort or only cruise with extensive adult-only space. And there would be no Spongebob on board- thus no Epic. But since I have a child along...Epic here we come! It will be awesome- just a different vacation than our adult ones. :)

 

Good point Karen! Trust me, it is not that we "hate" kids! Kids are fine, and the cute, well behaved ones are great! No problems! We realize the Epic is a family friendly ship, and that's fine with us! We just DO NOT want to deal with bratty, unruly kids, and frankly, won't, as I will personally put a stop to it if I need to. I do realize that may cause a conflict with the parents if they are around, but that is something I am willing to risk! :D

[DirtyDawg]

Good point Karen! Trust me, it is not that we "hate" kids! Kids are fine, and the cute, well behaved ones are great! No problems! We realize the Epic is a family friendly ship, and that's fine with us! We just DO NOT want to deal with bratty, unruly kids, and frankly, won't, as I will personally put a stop to it if I need to. I do realize that may cause a conflict with the parents if they are around, but that is something I am willing to risk! :D

 

Are you good at herding cats too?:D

[NeedstoCruise]

RAJONES007, I know this is off topic a bit but which transportation did you use to get to the port? I saw in another thread you were going to use FG car service. I am thinking of booking them and would love a first hand review.

 

Thanks!

[Love to Cruise Mary]

wow, I think I was on a different ship than most of the reviewers here. I just loved, loved, loved the Epic. Entertainment everywhere was just awesome. I used the stairs when I wanted and did the elevator when I didnt, who cares, its my vacation!.

 

We did not do any of the specialty restaurants, just enjoyed all of our free choices on board. Buffet was good, restaurants were good, but hey, I came on the cruise to have fun, not eat myself to oblivian. Ate salads and simple dinners if I didn't like the choices.

 

Staff was very pleasant and helpful, no issues there.

 

I really think any vacation is 99% what YOU make of it. We made alot of it and had an awesome, amazing time. I prefer to scout things out rather than having someone direct my every move, so maybe that is why this was my second voyage on the beautiful Epic.

 

Casino allows smoking so of course you could smell smoke! I am a 7 year freedom from cigarettes and sometimes I like smelling a cigarette and sometimes it makes me kinda nauseous but I roll with it.

 

Can't wait to see the Epic or maybe Breakaway next time!

[LoraJ]

I definitely think many of the issues posted by the OP are cruise dependent and not the norm for the ship.

 

I was also on deck 16 in the Haven, barely felt any movement. My husband and I were prepared to wear our motion sickness wristbands and didn't need them. If the water is rough, the ship will move no matter what the size of the ship is. And yes, being at the front you will get some more swaying. I don't know how it would be aft, but on other ships I have experienced movement and vibration back there.

 

We have been on the Gem twice for CTN's and the smoke in that casino is AWFUL!!!! The Epic was nothing compared to that. I thought the air purifiers worked well because unless I walked by someone who was blowing smoke, it really wasn't that bad.

 

When we went, there were not that many kids. They were all very well behaved, for the most part. When given the Haven tour upon boarding they were all sternly warned not to run in the hallways. However, we did have one that would run around the room above us, but there isn't much you can do about that. Thankfully it didn't last long. The kids were well behaved at the pool too.

 

One thing I definitely agree with was the elevators. I think only having them at the rear and aft with nothing in the middle made them a lot more crowded. I usually like to take stairs but with all the tour and walking we were doing, that wasn't as much an option when going downstairs for entertainment. I actually tried to video tape how annoying it was but the time I had the camera rolling was the one time it stopped only once on 15 and then all the way down to 7. lol But most times it seemed to stop on every single floor. And many times people leaving the buffet would take the elevator up to come back down and it would be full or almost full when getting on 16.

 

I loved the ship though, this was my favorite cruise. I would sail on her again, and am definitely thinking of trying the Breakaway. looks like they listened to complaints about what people don't like about the Epic and made improvements.

 

 

Glad the OP still had a good time on their cruise.

[rajones007]

RAJONES007, I know this is off topic a bit but which transportation did you use to get to the port? I saw in another thread you were going to use FG car service. I am thinking of booking them and would love a first hand review.

 

Thanks!

Yes, that is who I used.

 

The day prior to the cruise they picked us up at the Miami airport and took us to the Intercontinental Hotel. The next morning (the day of the cruise) they picked us up at the hotel and drove us to the Port of Miami. Then a week later they picked us up at the port and drove us back to the airport.

 

All three legs, 4 passengers, was $110. They didn't require payment until the final leg when they dropped us off at the airport. I tipped the driver after each leg, though.

 

That was for 4 of us, and that was in a big 10/12 passenger van. I was promised a private ride for each of the 3 legs of our journey, but the 2nd leg (hotel to port, the shortest leg) we had to share with some nice people who were getting on the Carnival Liberty. The van they had for us had some mechanical problems. I guess I could have asked for a small discount when it came time to pay, but after a week on the ship I forgot all about that little hiccup and never thought to ask. The other 2 legs were private. We had that big 10/12 passenger van all to ourselves.

 

I thought the price was reasonable. I got quotes from other car services and they wanted more than twice that price. The difference is FG vehicles aren't very luxurious. They're tour vans so they're well used. They are NOT dirty or junky or smelly or anything like that. They just aren't top-of-the-line ultra-luxury Ford Expeditions or Cadillac Escalades or anything like that. They were roomy and clean. The air conditioning worked and they didn't smell like puke or body odour, so I was happy with the end product. The driver was an awesome fella named Orlando who was very friendly and attentive. He insisted on loading and unloading all of our luggage every time.

 

Would I use them again? Yes. I would. Would I recommend them to my friends? Yes, I would. But I would be quick to add that you shouldn't get your hopes up about getting into a luxury vehicle.

 

EDIT. I would say the vans they used were less than 2 years old and in very good running condition with zero outside body rust or damage. I think they said "Miami Tours" on the back, or something like that. They were white in colour with dark tinted windows.

[Ontario cruise duo]

rajones007

 

Just finished reading your report/views of your recent EPIC journey. Enjoyed every bit of it and everyone's response. We did the Epic two years ago (WOW already) and enjoyed the ship and all it had to offer, although we did not stay in the Haven area, but in two adjoining studios. DH and I. I got a great rate that couldn't be topped. Had double everything... HIS and HERS you could say, but only used one bed! :rolleyes: We're both on the smaller sidie (5'4 and under) We went the week before the U.S. Thanksgiving, and when booking the cruise the agent tried to convince me to book the week of Thanksgiving, being a holiday week and everything. I basically mentioned to him that I was Canadian and being on the ship during the US Thanksgiving didn't excite me. I knew that the likelihood of many families travelling at that time would be greater. The one thing I feel compelled to write about is the eleveators. While we know that there are people on the ship who cannot do stairs for one reason or another, we always make a deal at the beginning of our cruise to use the stairs. I think I've taken an elevator on my various eight cruises approximately 6 times (a few of which have been to experience the ride in an enclosed glass elevator, looking down on the various floors). I think taking stairs can help keep people in better physical shape. I must admit that I also park my car in parking spaces at the malls far away from the enterance, in order to: 1) walk further and 2) protect my newer vehicle from getting door "dings" from other cars.

 

A day on a ship has to be better than a day in the office.

[iombie]

GREAT review!!

 

I was on the ship-- Check my video out

[NeedstoCruise]

Yes, that is who I used.

 

The day prior to the cruise they picked us up at the Miami airport and took us to the Intercontinental Hotel. The next morning (the day of the cruise) they picked us up at the hotel and drove us to the Port of Miami. Then a week later they picked us up at the port and drove us back to the airport.

 

All three legs, 4 passengers, was $110. They didn't require payment until the final leg when they dropped us off at the airport. I tipped the driver after each leg, though.

 

That was for 4 of us, and that was in a big 10/12 passenger van. I was promised a private ride for each of the 3 legs of our journey, but the 2nd leg (hotel to port, the shortest leg) we had to share with some nice people who were getting on the Carnival Liberty. The van they had for us had some mechanical problems. I guess I could have asked for a small discount when it came time to pay, but after a week on the ship I forgot all about that little hiccup and never thought to ask. The other 2 legs were private. We had that big 10/12 passenger van all to ourselves.

 

I thought the price was reasonable. I got quotes from other car services and they wanted more than twice that price. The difference is FG vehicles aren't very luxurious. They're tour vans so they're well used. They are NOT dirty or junky or smelly or anything like that. They just aren't top-of-the-line ultra-luxury Ford Expeditions or Cadillac Escalades or anything like that. They were roomy and clean. The air conditioning worked and they didn't smell like puke or body odour, so I was happy with the end product. The driver was an awesome fella named Orlando who was very friendly and attentive. He insisted on loading and unloading all of our luggage every time.

 

Would I use them again? Yes. I would. Would I recommend them to my friends? Yes, I would. But I would be quick to add that you shouldn't get your hopes up about getting into a luxury vehicle.

 

EDIT. I would say the vans they used were less than 2 years old and in very good running condition with zero outside body rust or damage. I think they said "Miami Tours" on the back, or something like that. They were white in colour with dark tinted windows.

 

 

Thanks so much for the information. We will give them a try. Francisco sounded genuine to me and what I am looking for is reasonably priced but dependable service.

[Twinkstarr]

wow, I think I was on a different ship than most of the reviewers here. I just loved, loved, loved the Epic. Entertainment everywhere was just awesome. I used the stairs when I wanted and did the elevator when I didnt, who cares, its my vacation!.

 

We did not do any of the specialty restaurants, just enjoyed all of our free choices on board. Buffet was good, restaurants were good, but hey, I came on the cruise to have fun, not eat myself to oblivian. Ate salads and simple dinners if I didn't like the choices.

 

Staff was very pleasant and helpful, no issues there.

 

I really think any vacation is 99% what YOU make of it. We made alot of it and had an awesome, amazing time. I prefer to scout things out rather than having someone direct my every move, so maybe that is why this was my second voyage on the beautiful Epic.

 

Casino allows smoking so of course you could smell smoke! I am a 7 year freedom from cigarettes and sometimes I like smelling a cigarette and sometimes it makes me kinda nauseous but I roll with it.

 

Can't wait to see the Epic or maybe Breakaway next time!

 

Mary, you are not the only one who had a great time on the 11/24 sailing. Loved the entertainment, a vast improvement over what was available on the Caribbean Princess last year on my Canada/NE cruise.

 

Personally I didn't find the ship overcrowded or hard to get around. I had a pretty good feel of the ship by Saturday night. Big thing that made that easy was not having a kitchen somewhere in the middle of the ship which would make you go up or down a floor to get to the other end of the ship. The CB last year felt way more crowded, especially in the evening.

 

I was sailing solo and really liked the studio cabin, plenty of room for me and the studio lounge is brilliant. Met a lot of great people, never had to eat dinner by myself, we got a group of us together and went over to Maho Beach to watch the planes come in.

 

Princess in my opinion has better food, especially the pastries, pizza and fresh cooked burgers on deck. But I had such a good time I can handle good but not great food.

 

Would definately consider doing the Epic on the Western route in 2014 or the Breakaway or Getaway.

 

As for kids, I have them myself and over the years I have always gotten the "look" for telling them to behave(sometimes rather loudly). Now they are older(11/16) they don't like being around unruly kids. They are sad that Southwest bought Airtran, which means business class to Orlando will be going away. They don't like flying with preschoolers who won't sit, stand in the aisle and various other annoying behaviors.

 

The best is when one of them will say, "why won't the parents make their kids behave, you wouldn't let us act like that":rolleyes:

[rajones007]

Thanks so much for the information. We will give them a try. Francisco sounded genuine to me and what I am looking for is reasonably priced but dependable service.

Oh, he is a genuine person. He genuinely wants to provide a good respectable service.

 

I had to phone him:

1) 2 days before we arrived in Miami, just as confirmation

 

2) as we walked off the plane after it landed in Miami (we had to wait about 5 minutes outside the luggage pickup area before the driver arrived.)

 

3) the morning in the hotel to tell him what time we wanted to be driven to the port (we wanted a 10:30AM pickup. Orlando didn't show up until 11AM, with other people already in the van. He apologized profusely, saying there was something wrong with the other van and he had no choice but to pick me up in this shared van.)

 

4) the morning we arrived back in Miami on the Epic, I called Francisco about 8AM and told him we had priority disembarkation and would be escorted off the ship at 9:30AM. So with US customs and luggage pickup to consider, we asked to be picked up on the street outside the terminal at 10AM. Orlando called me back a few minutes later directly from the van and said he was sitting in a waiting area and I was to call him back at his direct number whenever we were standing on the street outside the pier.

 

We got tired of waiting in the cabin and walked off shortly before 9AM, and we were standing on the street about 9:30AM. I called Orlando and about 7 or 8 minutes later he was coming around the corner to pick us up.

 

We were at the airport, checking in at the airport at 10AM for our 1:20PM flight. Yeah, we should have stuck around the ship for as long as possible, but we got anxious I guess.

 

(off topic: as we're approaching the Miami airport, there are emergency vehicles EVERYWHERE. Dozens of them. Fire trucks, ambulances, police cars...Lights flashing everywhere. We didn't know what was going on. (I'm thinking: bomb threat? Airplane crash? What the hell is going on?) Then we drove right past where that bus ran into an overpass - http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/01/us/miami-airport-bus-crash/index.html?iref=allsearch . Those photos/videos don't do it justice. First hand and up close it looked absolutely awful. I hate to say this, but they're lucky only 2 people were killed. It could have been much worse.)

[maja651]

Oh, he is a genuine person. He genuinely wants to provide a good respectable service.

 

I had to phone him:

1) 2 days before we arrived in Miami, just as confirmation

 

2) as we walked off the plane after it landed in Miami (we had to wait about 5 minutes outside the luggage pickup area before the driver arrived.)

 

3) the morning in the hotel to tell him what time we wanted to be driven to the port (we wanted a 10:30AM pickup. Orlando didn't show up until 11AM, with other people already in the van. He apologized profusely, saying there was something wrong with the other van and he had no choice but to pick me up in this shared van.)

 

4) the morning we arrived back in Miami on the Epic, I called Francisco about 8AM and told him we had priority disembarkation and would be escorted off the ship at 9:30AM. So with US customs and luggage pickup to consider, we asked to be picked up on the street outside the terminal at 10AM. Orlando called me back a few minutes later directly from the van and said he was sitting in a waiting area and I was to call him back at his direct number whenever we were standing on the street outside the pier.

 

We got tired of waiting in the cabin and walked off shortly before 9AM, and we were standing on the street about 9:30AM. I called Orlando and about 7 or 8 minutes later he was coming around the corner to pick us up.

 

We were at the airport, checking in at the airport at 10AM for our 1:20PM flight. Yeah, we should have stuck around the ship for as long as possible, but we got anxious I guess.

 

(off topic: as we're approaching the Miami airport, there are emergency vehicles EVERYWHERE. Dozens of them. Fire trucks, ambulances, police cars...Lights flashing everywhere. We didn't know what was going on. (I'm thinking: bomb threat? Airplane crash? What the hell is going on?) Then we drove right past where that bus ran into an overpass - http://www.cnn.com/2012/12/01/us/miami-airport-bus-crash/index.html?iref=allsearch . Those photos/videos don't do it justice. First hand and up close it looked absolutely awful. I hate to say this, but they're lucky only 2 people were killed. It could have been much worse.)

 

Question regarding the transportation. Which is more economical? Taxi to and from the airport and hotel to the port, or using FG? We are only 2 people going on the cruise.

[rajones007]

Question regarding the transportation. Which is more economical? Taxi to and from the airport and hotel to the port, or using FG? We are only 2 people going on the cruise.

Economically speaking, you're further ahead just taking a taxi. I believe it's a flat $25 from the airport to the port and vice versa. Airport to the downtown hotel areas is probably a little less, so when considering 3 legs it's probably no more than $75 + tip.

 

We have cabbed it in the past, but we find for 4 of us it's not a very comfortable ride, especially for my GF and two teens who ride in the back seat shoulder-to-shoulder.

 

There's another reason too. For some reason we ALWAYS, and I mean ALWAYS, end up in a cab with some sort of mechanical issue. For example...Last year in Tampa, from the airport to the hotel, we had a cab with wheel alignment issues. He wobbled the entire time like we were on some amusement park ride, yet he drove like there was nothing wrong. It was a little scary, especially doing 55mph on the off-ramp when it felt like the wheel was going to fly off.

 

Then, the next morning on the ride from the hotel to the port, we called another taxi and the passenger door wouldn't latch closed and half the door panel was missing. I had to spend the entire route, including time on the Interstate doing about 75mph, holding the door closed by the inner mechanism.

 

So, ummmm, yeah. I call a car/shuttle service from now on.

[rocklinmom]

Rajones, can you please tell me about the VAT charges on Epic?

I know it is charged on drinks and specialty restaurant food, and in the gift shops. Did you find it to be excessive? And did you apply for the "refund"?

Was it something that you would avoid on future cruises?