REVIEW: NCL Epic, 12/7/2013--Eastern Caribbean

[BabsinTX]

OVERVIEW

 

 

I had never been on a ship where the Atrium wasn’t the centerpiece of the ship. On the Epic, the centerpiece is the casino. I don’t gamble but am happy to have others gamble if it keeps cabin prices down. However, I don’t want to see the casino, hear the casino, or smell the casino. On the Epic, you will do all three.

 

 

HINT: The aft elevators (at least the ones we used) don’t stop on Deck 5. So you get off on Deck 6 in (wait for it) the casino! The forward elevators do stop on Deck 5, so if you’re good with walking but not with stairs, use the forward elevators.

 

 

This was the noisiest ship of the four I’ve been on, and it’s because of its design. The ceiling is open between Decks 5, 6 and 7. If there’s a Nickelodeon program on the Atrium’s big screen on Deck 5, you’ll hear it and see it in O’Sheehan’s on Deck 6.

 

 

Previous reviewers’ comments about feeling shut off from the ocean are very understandable and accurate. The weird thing is, there are windows where they don’t make sense (the Internet Café and O’Sheehan’s) and wasted windows (Taste, where they’re partially blocked by shutters). The Epic really needs a true promenade deck.

 

 

The food was the best we’ve ever had on a ship. The Epic’s food & beverage director was on the Sun when we sailed this past May and he’s doing a great job.

 

 

We felt the staff throughout the ship was great. Friendly faces, smiles, good service. Especially loved the duo in the Garden Café singing a “washy washy” song as we entered. I did see some long lines at Guest Services and the OBC counter (that was new to me).

 

 

We enjoyed the itinerary and have already booked a 21 day Caribbean cruise on the Pearl. Would we sail the Epic again? Maybe, but it wouldn’t be our first choice.

 

 

EMBARKATION

 

 

We arrived fairly early, and I felt it took a long time to get aboard, but they have to process a lot of people. (We were Group 9.) This was the first time we couldn't go to our cabin as soon as we boarded. They actually had corridor doors closed until announcements were made that cabins were ready.

 

 

If you bring luggage onboard, you can check it in Headliners on Deck 6.

 

 

OUR CABIN—B1 CORNER AFT BALCONY, 12310

 

 

Steward—Arnold from the Philippines did a great job. He emptied the fridge for our sodas, brought us bathrobes (aren’t these standard for balconies anymore??), and got me a sharps container. I have medication that must be refrigerated, and our fridge was too warm, so he got us a “medical” fridge. However, it wasn’t much colder, so I ended up using ice for my meds.

 

 

Balcony--We had an aft balcony on the Sun and the main difference here was how much louder the wake was. (We had some fairly rough seas the first few days). Our cabin was on the corner and the balcony is a couple of feet wider than the middle B1s. We had our steward bring a lounger which was nice to have.

 

 

Bathroom-- We were ok with the split “bathroom” but I didn't like the little sink—it’s pretty small and shallow.

 

 

Bed—I had egg crate pads put on and it was comfy, as were the pillows.

 

 

Lighting—There’s a great variety in lighting in the cabin, from little reading/night lights to a 3’ wide circular inset ceiling light. The task lighting for the sink and vanity were too dim for me. I wish there had been a night light nearer the toilet.

 

 

Storage—Lots! Most is useful, but I’d prefer more drawers or shelves. The basket under the sink was great for dirty towels. I brought my hanging shoe holder for toiletries, etc.

 

 

FOOD—A VERY PERSNICKETY EATER’S OPINION

 

 

Garden Café --Very good, though overcrowded at times. The décor is lovely. And there was a wide variety of foods that were constantly changing throughout the cruise – no chance of boredom with the daily fare. Specifically, we enjoyed the crispy curly fries, paninis, breakfast hash brown patties, Nutella crepes (hooray!) and hard/soft serve ice cream with various toppings. The only area I thought was lacking was desserts. Most looked institutional, like something you’d see in an elementary school lunchroom. Thank goodness for crepes and ice cream.

 

 

La Cucina—We had a free dinner here and I was concerned since, fleet wide, they often have negative reviews. Well, this was the best meal all week, and well worth the normal upcharge. Lovely décor, very intimate, great location all the way forward. Excellent, outstanding service. The bread basket was wonderful. Our starters were fried calamari and beef carpaccio. For dinner we had the beef ribeye with garlic butter and osso buco with gnocchi (substituted for the regular side). Every single bite was delicious. And we brought our free bottle of merlot to drink with dinner—and it was unexpectedly good. I was too full to eat dessert so got some panna cotta to go. I recommend it for breakfast!

 

 

O’Sheehan’s—One thing I hadn't understood about O’Sheehan’s is that it’s really two places. A major public walkway divides the two. One side is the “restaurant” side, with a maitre d’ and a menu. (Why the bowling alleys are on this side I have no idea.) The other side is the “sports bar” with a bar and assorted tables, couches, TVs, pool table, etc. This side has a limited menu and is more informal.

 

 

We ate here pretty often, especially while the NFL games were on the Atrium big screen. I ate more wings here than I’ve eaten in the past three years—they were great. We ordered the “hot” version and found them pretty tame, but we’re from Texas and like hot food. We liked the chicken pot pie, too. It goes against my rule for pot pies, in that it doesn’t have a double crust (like a real pie) but has a puff pastry round plopped onto of the chicken mixture. Still it was really very good. And try O’Sheehan’s for breakfast—best bacon on the ship.

 

 

My pet peeve about O’Sheehan’s bar (and others on the ship) was the lack of diversity of draft beers. O’Sheehan’s had mostly British beers, but no IPAs and only Blue Moon for a wheat beer. NCL, are you listening??

 

 

For the sports bar side, all the TVs are mounted too low on the walls, so you may be blocked by someone in front of you. And some TVs are mounted on walls between windows, so glare can be an issue (and the windows don’t have any shades).

 

 

We were appalled with the sports programming that was offered (except for the NFL games on Sunday and on Monday night). Other than that, it was pretty much…SOCCER. Ugh! For a ship sailing from an American port with primarily American passengers, there has to be a better option. The Saturday we sailed was the final day of NCAA regular season football. By late in the evening, the most popular folks on the cruise were the ones who had used their precious Internet minutes to find out the scores.

 

 

Taste—We ate several meals here during the week. It has the oddest décor; some elements are very rustic and others are super contemporary. The windows are partially blocked by weird stained glass “shutters” that I assume are closed at night but should be removed so we can see the ocean better. And part of the dining area has an open ceiling to the deck above. The food was fine but not stellar.

 

 

INTERNET CAFÉ

 

 

I used the computers to access the NCL website but was shocked at how low and tiny the seats were. Did they get these at a children’s furniture store? Very uncomfortable and no back support. And why all the windows in the Internet Café? They created glare on the computer screens.

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

 

Blue Man Group—Awesome. Outstanding. Incredible. Do NOT miss this!

 

 

International Crew Talent Show—Our second favorite show after Blue Man Group. We thought the cruise director’s staff would do “Fountains” and we’re disappointed they didn’t, but it was amazing as it was.

 

 

Second City—The night they did improv we rated it a C+. The night they did sketches we gave it an A-.

 

 

Howl at the Moon—Maybe it was an off night or depends on the audience, but we weren’t crazy about this.

 

 

NOTE: For anything taking place in the Headliners Club, arrive early. There are big posts throughout the space so you want seats that aren’t obstructed.

 

 

Bliss Lounge—We attended a few things here (muster drill, Meet & Greet, trivia) but this is an odd space. Most of the seats are much lower than standard chair height, so if you have bad knees, beware.

 

 

Trivia—We love to play trivia and attended all we could. I really dislike the way “prizes” are awarded for winning and participation, requiring getting signatures from the staff after each event. We won several sessions but didn’t bother getting the signatures. I prefer the old method on the Star in 2008 and 2009. The staff member leading trivia told us the winner would get a crappy gift, and if you won, that’s what you got—a koozy, key chain, etc. No fuss, no muss.

 

 

I give the cruise director’s staff credit for having some really challenging, interesting trivia questions.

 

 

White Hot Party—We had never attended one, so we went for an hour or so. Great people watching opportunity.

 

 

POOL/SPICE H20

 

 

We never used the pools, but boy, are they small. Lots of loungers, though. We ate lunch at Spice H20 on embarkation day and returned there for sail away. Found a table in the shade and out of the way—just how we like it.

 

 

DISEMBARKATION

 

 

We opted for “easy walk off” which theoretically started at 7:45AM. We waited for an announcement and didn’t hear one, so left our cabin (Deck 12 aft) at 7:50AM. We were the only passengers in Customs! We exited the building, got a cab, and arrived at our “stay and cruise” hotel in Coconut Grove at 8:20AM—REALLY!

[anandaindonesia]

Thank you for sharing.

Happy Holiday!

[soccersharon]

Thanks for your review.

 

I agree with your Atrium and seeing the ocean comments too. We enjoyed the food in the Garden Café more so than Taste. Like you, while we enjoyed our cruise, would likely not sail the Epic again. I posted a review as well. Please see my signature for the link :)

 

Merry Christmas!

[jdvmd]

Thanks for your comments!

[Cloudyrain]

Thank you for posting your fair and balanced review - it's nice and refreshing to get honest opinions rather than random rants that sometimes appear.

 

Thank you! :)

[Cruzface]

Thanks for the review. It was very helpful because the things that bothered you are not important to us, so I am more than ever looking forward to our cruise!!!

[BabsinTX]

Thanks for the review. It was very helpful because the things that bothered you are not important to us, so I am more than ever looking forward to our cruise!!!

 

And your review was very helpful to me!

[phrogpilot73]

I was on your sailing! Somehow, I missed you at the meet & greet though...

 

However, I don’t want to see the casino, hear the casino, or smell the casino. On the Epic, you will do all three.

I would agree that this is the biggest downside (to me) on the Epic. My wife and I don't gamble at all, and get really annoyed by the casino sounds. So much so that when my buddy got married in Vegas - rather than staying where the rest of the bridal party stayed, we stayed off the strip in a place with NO CASINO.

 

I really felt like the Epic was a Vegas hotel/casino that happened to be floating.

 

Previous reviewers’ comments about feeling shut off from the ocean are very understandable and accurate.

I agree. My wife and I were (luckily) upgraded to a balcony a week before sailing, but if I booked the Epic again - it would have to be a balcony - because otherwise, seeing/hearing the sea is a challenge.

 

And part of the dining area has an open ceiling to the deck above.

Open to what?? Oh yeah, the Casino! We got seated directly underneath that big chandelier, and all we could hear throughout dinner was the Casino. It's the reason we only ate at Taste once during the cruise.

 

Overall, I loved the cruise - but not a huge fan of the Epic. Probably going to stick to the Dawn/Jewel class.

[mugtech]

Informative review, was glad to read that they use the same trivia rewards method as on the Gem. I already have more key chains than I have keys, so the progressive signatures method works for me. I enjoyed getting initials and talking to the crew members, got some t-shirts and coffee mugs, and made some real trivia friends. Did they also have a session of splitting everyone into two teams and playing shout it out trivia?

[BabsinTX]

Informative review, was glad to read that they use the same trivia rewards method as on the Gem. I already have more key chains than I have keys, so the progressive signatures method works for me. I enjoyed getting initials and talking to the crew members, got some t-shirts and coffee mugs, and made some real trivia friends. Did they also have a session of splitting everyone into two teams and playing shout it out trivia?

 

OP here: Shout it out trivia?? Count me in!

 

I didn't mention this before, but only one trivia leader suggested that people could join up into teams. Everyone on the Sun did that and we met lots of great people that way. Plus, our teams were better, too.