Review of NCL EPIC with 10 month old

[kkelle17]

Just returned from the NCL Epic. It was a beautiful trip, our 12th cruise, first ever with baby. It was sooo much more work than any cruise we had take before, but 100% worth it.

 

LO loved the sun, stroller, water, staff, crowds, music. I was nervous about taking her initially, but honestly the hardest part of the whole trip was the plane ride, the minute she was on board the ship, she was so happy.

 

She had her own seat on the plane, with car seat, which was totally worth if IMO for safety and for comfort. No way I would want her in my lap for 3 hours.

 

Stayed at the Holiday Inn on Miami Beach for one night before, great location and great weather.

 

Embarkation and Debarkation were a breeze, when we embarked they let us go to the front of the line because of the baby (it wasn't that busy, but still nice).

 

She slept so good in the cabin, two naps a day and 12 hours at night, thank goodness my parents had a connecting cabin right next door. We took our video monitor so we could see and hear her in the other room at all times. Worked out perfectly.

 

We also took the Combi stroller, which I HIGHLY recommend, sturdy yet very compact and light weight. We used gate check bags at the airport for the stroller and they were awesome as well.

 

Items I would recommend to everyone traveling with babies:

 

disposable bibs

disposable sticky mats for the tables

pacifier/toy clips

extra diapers

dish soap for bottles

baby soap

bottle warmer

swim diapers

lots of sunscreen

inflatable bath tub

sippy cups

video baby monitor

small stroller

backpack (in place of diaper bag)

lysol wipes (I am a germaphobe)

 

I am probably going to get flamed, but she loved the kiddie pool on the Epic, along with the other babies, swim diapers abound.

 

I can not say enough about the staff, they were so wonderful to her, you could tell that they genuinely enjoy saying hello to the babies, and were willing to get us anything that we needed.

 

LO loved the Epic's Under 2 Zoo, it is not much, a small room where you can take your baby to move around and they supply toys and play mats. She was so excited to see new toys, and crawled for the very first time here!! Yay!! The held special events, like baby disco and painting classes. Very cute.

 

We took her our exploring at every port, just walked her around in the stroller and did shopping and sightseeing.

 

By the time Day 6 of the 7 day cruise came I can say we were all ready to get back to our own beds. Another rough flight home (20 minutes of screaming) and the rest ok.

 

I would highly recommend Epic for cruising with babies! We loved it so much we will be returning in March (possible with a babysitter - just so we can have some free time at night). Any questions feel free to ask.

 

Kelly

[crusinmama06]

Kelly - here is MY problem with the "she loved going to the kiddie pool". I know there was no enforcement and I complained nonstop about this when I was on Epic a couple of weeks ago and I slammed the crew and parents in my review.

 

Sometimes - YOU have to be the "enforcement" and do the right thing.

 

I was telling MY kids to get out of the obviously infected water because there were so many babies in diapers. Maybe YOU want to swim in feces and think it's cute but fast forward a few years - it's not so cute. :(

[kkelle17]

Kelly - here is MY problem with the "she loved going to the kiddie pool". I know there was no enforcement and I complained nonstop about this when I was on Epic a couple of weeks ago and I slammed the crew and parents in my review.

 

Sometimes - YOU have to be the "enforcement" and do the right thing.

 

I was telling MY kids to get out of the obviously infected water because there were so many babies in diapers. Maybe YOU want to swim in feces and think it's cute but fast forward a few years - it's not so cute. :(

 

Opinion noted. Did you like any of the other parts of the review?

[6rugrats]

OP - I don't have a 10 month old anymore, but I thought your review had good information. I'd have to agree that there is a reason for the rule of no swim diapers, and never like reading that the rule isn't enforced.

 

Someday, we are going to read about a cruise with a large outbreak of illness that's going to be traced back to diapers in these pools, and then maybe the cruise line staff will become a lot better with enforcement, after they face a few law suits, or worse. I have noted that on average, staff are very passive about enforcing any rules, and honestly feel for many staff it's a cultural thing.

 

Thank you for posting and especially including your list of items. I am sure it will be helpful for many people.

Edited December 21, 2012 by 6rugrats

[Keith1010]

kkele17, thank you for taking the time to write a very nice review and for including that recommended list of items.

 

Keith

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[CarnivalGirl3]

On our last sea day the Mickey's Pool was closed for cleaning for a few hours because of this issue with feces in the pool. There were MANY unhappy kids/parents. (dd has never even wet, let alone dirtied, a swim diaper in the pool at home home. She waits. BUT I still followed the rules.)

 

No need for the inflatable tub, hold baby/toddler while you shower, or lay a towel down and wash off (most showers have the hand sprayers). Baby can lay/sit/stand depending on age. Course at 10 months my kid would have walked out of the shower or climbed out of the inflatable tub.

 

I did bring one sippy cup and a travel size of dish soap. I could have just used cups provided, but dd likes to pull the straws out, rather than drink!

 

I totally agree about having a bag! Room card, diapers, wipes, oral gel, sippy, wave phone, plus her doll or monkey (she likes to hold something).

 

Dh and I did not enjoy NCL (poor service/quality) but love the idea of a 'Under 2 Zoo'. We just returned from Disney and NO open playroom/area!? They do have open house hours, and a half hour of toddler time on sea days, but I really just wanted a big playroom that we could go to whenever.

 

We booked another cruise for next year and I'm not taking dd to the ports, other than Disney's Beach. While she did great in the stroller, it was pointless and silly. She would have had more fun on the ship.

 

We also brought dd's blanket, doll, a few small 'I don't care if they get lost toys/books'. The small toys were fun in the splash area. And I honestly only read to her once (and we read a few times a day), she was always on the go!

[carygirl]

Two questions:

 

1. I see your brought a "video baby monitor". How exactly did you use this on the ship?

2. Did your little one eat the food onboard and how did they like it? RC said they would puree food for our baby, although I haven't heard from anyone trying this service.

[Sunshine101]

Thanks for a great review and glad you had a wonderful time! You mentioned you had connecting cabins....what types of cabins were they (balcony?)

Edited December 27, 2012 by Sunshine101

[kkelle17]

Hi All, we had connecting balcony cabins. The video monitor worked just fine, we set it up on the pack n play in one cabin and then could watch her from the other cabin or balcony. Just made it do we didn't have to sit in the dark while she slept :-)

 

She did eat a lot of the soft foods or foods which we mashed with forks, Mac n cheese, mashed potatoes, squash, yogurt, noodles, rice, soups, jello etc... We never asked them to puree anything, so I'm not sure if they offer that.

[gymbomb]

Hi All, we had connecting balcony cabins. The video monitor worked just fine, we set it up on the pack n play in one cabin

 

 

I know this was an old thread and the OP may not still post here -- but if anyone can tell me about how a pack n play fits into a balcony cabin on Epic I'd really appreciate it! Planning a family cruise with our will-be 10 month old and wondering how well we will fit into a balcony room, and also if we should try to get a room with the bed by the bathroom or by the balcony to make arranging things easier.

[Mack2]

I know this was an old thread and the OP may not still post here -- but if anyone can tell me about how a pack n play fits into a balcony cabin on Epic I'd really appreciate it! Planning a family cruise with our will-be 10 month old and wondering how well we will fit into a balcony room, and also if we should try to get a room with the bed by the bathroom or by the balcony to make arranging things easier.

 

 

Please excuse the mess, we had just started getting our luggage.... we had the room with the bed by the bathroom. The couch became a pullout or something. Older kids slept there.

 

It's a tight fit, but you should be able to squeeze a Pack'n Play in there. I was using a wide angle lens to capture the moment... so there is some distortion in the picture.

[gymbomb]

Thanks!

[bliss_fully_happy]

Can I just say that I love that the door has a curtain! That light from the hall wakes up nappers! So cool to see, hope our cabin has a curtain.