Truly the “Suite” life! A comparison and review of the Getaway (31/01)/Epic (07/02)

[Rollingstone43]

Background

 

My DH and I have just returned from a fortnight with NCL in the Caribbean. This holiday was meant to be on the Panama Canal, but on hearing of NCL’s decision to move the Epic to Europe this summer and also drop St Maarten in favour of Tortola, we made the decision to take two weeks B2B on the Getaway and Epic.

 

During the last part of 2014, I was off sick recovering from surgery (not serious) and had even more time than usual to stalk the Cruise Critic forums, learning as much as I could and generally getting more excited day by day. Therefore I felt that this was an opportunity to give something back and to write a review. By choosing to cruise on two different ships B2B, we thought it would be fun to provide a direct comparison between the two experiences.

 

We are an English couple from the Midlands (nowhere near the sea!) in our mid-late forties and have been married for nearly 22 years. We have no children (just one cat who prefers to stay at home). We are avid and loyal NCL fans, having cruised previously on the Epic (5 weeks prior to this cruise) and on the Dawn (10 days). All bar one week in the Med on the Epic were in the Caribbean. We have also cruised with RCL and Princess, and started our cruise life in 2005 with Ocean Village. I think it’s fair to say that we have the cruise bug!

 

I do not plan to do a day by day review, but hopefully it helps to set the scene and give you some detail on the run-up to embarkation.

 

We flew from Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic, directly into Miami. We were offered a hotel as part of the cruise package near the airport. Probably as a result of being landlocked for 50 weeks of the year, we elected to “do our own thing” and booked a pre-cruise package at the Marriott Biscayne Bay. This gave us a port view room which came in very handy when I woke up jet-lagged at 0315 and was able to watch the return of all the ships into port. By checking the website daily I was able to achieve at least three price drops with the hotel. We had a lovely dinner there the night before the cruise sitting on the terrace. The package also provided us with transfers to the port terminal on the Saturday morning.

 

I have lots of photos which I am trying to share but struggling for the moment - I'll post the review now and then if I can sort the photos they will follow......(any advice on how to do this is much appreciated!!! :eek::eek:)

[Sparky38]

Hi

 

DW of Rollingstone43 here continuing the thread.....

 

And so onto the comparison.........

 

Embarkation

 

Overall the embarkation on the Getaway was more welcoming and put us in the holiday mood.”Happy” was playing as we embarked with a line-up of assorted NCL staff to meet us. The Epic scored higher than the Getaway in terms of the tour of the Haven (we didn’t do this as we had done it before) and we would have welcomed the opportunity to do this on the Getaway. We had embarkation lunch on the Getaway which was very slow (probably as it was day one), and were sandwiched between two other couples which was slightly uncomfortable (more to follow on the Haven shortly).

 

Cabins

 

On the Getaway we had chosen an aft penthouse(12304). We had heard the hype regarding the balcony size and were not disappointed

PICTURE

On the Epic we had a two-bedroom villa(16008) which we had stayed in previously and had deliberately chosen again.

Our first impression of the Getaway cabin, in comparison to our memories of the Epic, was less favourable, but by the end of the first week we were in love with it. Like anything else, it takes a while to get used to something new. There is no doubt that the balcony and the wonderful aft views really made a difference. The technology on the newer ship was also apparent – from the magnetic latches on the cupboards to the occupancy lights outside the cabin. Both layouts were quite similar however the Epic did have a second bedroom (which was great for dumping cases and laundry).

 

The Haven

 

The Epic wins hands down here. The Getaway pool area was simply too small and compact to cope with the numbers of people. The introduction of Vibe on the Getaway (we did not purchase passes) seems to have diluted the experience and atmosphere provided on Posh on the Epic. As an aside the toilets on the mezzanine area of the Getaway remained out of use all week which left only one toilet cubicle available for everyone downstairs. That said, the “at sea” day weather was not great and very windy, so we spent a lot of time on our wonderful balcony anyway. I have to mention the barman/waiter on the Getaway (Robert?) who went out of his way to make me feel very welcome – even providing me with English magazines! His equivalent on the Epic was also truly memorable but mainly for practising his London accent and saying that it made him want to kiss English people – to which my DH replied “I hope you don’t mean me!” 

[Sparky38]

Ship Layout/Atmosphere/Amenities

 

We had read a lot of feedback about the confusing layout of the Getaway. We did get lost but that’s to be expected on a new ship and added to the fun. The Getaway seemed smaller, which of course it is – but as time went by we felt that this was charming, in particular we felt that the speciality restaurants were superior, for location, layout, decor and staff. The Waterfront was also a lovely innovation, although the only time I remembered to ask about dining there was when we went to Le Bistro....which caused some amusement since this is on a lower deck anyway !!!

 

There are lots of comments about the location of the casino on the Epic and the smoke issues, and to a lesser extent on the Getaway. All I will say is that we did not really notice any of the issues and spent a limited amount of time there for our obligatory holiday game of Roulette (we broken even).

 

Another constant criticism is the lifts. We had never noticed it before but this time we noticed that the prioritisation on the Epic seems odd and you can end up waiting for ages....seriously not a deal breaker and reason to burn off calories using the stairs!!!!.

 

One negative for Getaway was the incessant “musak” everywhere you went (inc toilets!) which drove my DH mad. A huge Epic plus for us was Shanghais, which we really loved......this leads us neatly onto

 

Food/Restaurants/Room Service

 

I have to start this section with a true highlight. Partially to help us recover from jetlag, and to utilise our lovely balcony to the max, we chose to dine al fresco one evening, choosing from the MDR menu. The food was brilliant, the choc volcano dessert was to die for, the atmosphere was wonderful. Cherry, our waitress at Le Bistro on the Getaway, made our evening, and was blown away when we asked for her to be included in our official photo (this now has pride of place in the office at home). The Lobster rolls at Ocean Blue are as good as everyone says. We also loved the Flamingo bar and grill for a sneaky bite, and are only sorry that we didn’t go up there more often.

 

We did prefer the Epic Club to the Haven Restaurant on the Getaway both in terms of quality of food – we did a like for like on the Shrimp Cakes and Prime Rib ( my favourite combo) and whilst both were good, the Epic’s was the best. We told the Head Waiter this on the Epic and he arranged for the chef to come to our table so we could tell him personally.

 

The downside of the Haven Restaurant on the Getaway is that the tables are just too close together making it difficult to have an intimate dining experience. The views from the Epic are also second to none so here the Epic definitely wins!

 

As highlighted earlier we also loved the full Shanghai’s menu on the Epic so this was something to look forward to during week two.

 

As we were in a suite, we had snacks and Canapes delivered every afternoon. We were “absolute pigs” on week one (I’m blaming it on the jet lag) and consumed virtually everything we were given. We both love the cookies and I adore the chocolate covered strawberries. I would agree with other reviews though, that all the treats are not necessary and on occasion resulted in us not really needing a big meal in the evening so we tried to be more “sensible” on week two – I hear you all shout “but you are on vacation.......” 

 

The other main comparison relates to O’Sheehans. We had never really dined there before on the Epic so this was a new experience. We ate there late after Howl at the Moon during week one and my DH raved about the toasted tuna sandwich, and raved, and raved...... On week two we ordered the sandwiches to eat in our cabin and although they were great, they were not toasted (oh the horror!) and therefore scored marginally lower – still very tasty though!

Edited February 21, 2015 by Sparky38

[Sparky38]

Entertainment

 

This is a difficult one for us as we are great Howl at the Moon fans and have become close friends with two of the entertainers over the last few years. Therefore, the Getaway was always going to win this one – although the entertainers on the Epic were also excellent.

 

We absolutely loved Burn the Floor and Legally Blonde on the Getaway as well as the dancing competition in the Atrium that we stumbled upon. The Second City Game Show on the Epic was also fun! We did not do much else on the Epic as we had done Legends and Blue Man before. Trying to be impartial it’s therefore hard to compare – if I had to I would say The Getaway wins as I do love dancing and as I said earlier our friends at Howl made it very special for us. I must just mention Jim, the guitar player in Maltings on the Epic, as he does an understatedly brilliant job.

 

Finally I got the opportunity to “tinkle the ivories” in the Epic Lounge so this is my official apology to anyone who got bored with my limited Beatles/Queen repertoire – clearly I need to be more prepared next time! It was a brilliant experience and people were very kind to me with their compliments!!!

 

Staff

 

Firstly, the butlers. For us Mr G on the Epic wins – he was attentive, humorous and nothing was too much trouble. Flor on the Getaway was lovely but we did not get the same sense of engagement and she got very flustered when we asked to eat on our balcony (which we had understood was ok to do). We did not even want the silver service treatment but she seemed to make a mountain out of a molehill........

 

In terms of cabin staff Larry on the Epic was completely lovely with exceptional attention to detail. The fact that we can’t remember our cabin attendant’s name on the Getaway kind of says it all, although I don’t want to appear to hard here as he was lovely and did nothing wrong. There was just not the same sense of engagement and we do wonder if this is due to the way that Haven/Suite duties are split????

 

The concierge (Adrian) on the Getaway was helpful but we barely used or came into contact with him, again as we were not located in The Haven. David on the Epic was nice, but was rarely at his station. He also had a huge amount of support from a very able team of three!

 

And now to the Spa!!! We did not use this on the Getaway but I made a big mistake in asking to have a manicure on the Epic. I consulted with them in advance (and won’t bore you with detail) to make sure the treatment was the right one. The technician on the day was surly and unpleasant (was this because I asked for NO SALES on my consultation form). She then got very hung up about the product she was soaking off and laboured the point until I had to say to her that I thought she was suggesting I was lying.....it was really uncomfortable and I wished I had just walked away. I called the Salon to provide feedback and they did refund the whole treatment but sadly had no interest in my feedback or ways that they could improve things – they did not apologise either which left me feeling unheard and for the only time on this trip, completely patronised. Still, it was only an hour of a wonderful holiday so I moved on emotionally, but chose not to spend any more money or time in the Spa – pity!

 

Ports

 

I am not going to review the Ports here unless anyone has any questions as the itineraries are obviously completely different. Highlights were St Maarten and Grand Cayman. We were less keen on Nassau and Jamaica but did love the party antics in Margaritaville as well as the Red Stripe and mountain of Nachos!!!!

[Sparky38]

Summary

 

So which did we prefer??????? Well..........we don’t really know as there were both wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :):):)

 

However, we have just booked at B2B on the Getaway in an aft-penthouse – deck nine. In doing this we made the decision to stay on one ship rather than split the vacation – we are glad we did a split trip this time (not least because I got to see Newsies at the theatre in Miami on the middle Saturday) but prefer the idea of one base next time – combined with that wonderful balcony.

 

I do hope that this has been helpful and not too confusing in the way that it is written. I am happy to answer any questions. My closing comment has to be that we had a wonderful holiday, love the NCL product and are already counting down to next year!!!!!

[cruisingcasinos]

Subscribed! I will be in 12304 next week!! Enjoying your review and comparisons. I loved the Epic and was on breakaway last summer. As you are commenting somethings were better on Epic (POSH) and others on Breakaway - restaurant locations. Thanks to you both for taking the time. Looking forward to reading more and seeing your pictures.

[CruisingPiper]

Entertainment

 

This is a difficult one for us as we are great Howl at the Moon fans and have become close friends with two of the entertainers over the last few years. Therefore, the Getaway was always going to win this one – although the entertainers on the Epic were also excellent.

 

We absolutely loved Burn the Floor and Legally Blonde on the Getaway as well as the dancing competition in the Atrium that we stumbled upon. The Second City Game Show on the Epic was also fun! We did not do much else on the Epic as we had done Legends and Blue Man before. Trying to be impartial it’s therefore hard to compare – if I had to I would say The Getaway wins as I do love dancing and as I said earlier our friends at Howl made it very special for us. I must just mention Jim, the guitar player in Maltings on the Epic, as he does an understatedly brilliant job.

 

Finally I got the opportunity to “tinkle the ivories” in the Epic Lounge so this is my official apology to anyone who got bored with my limited Beatles/Queen repertoire – clearly I need to be more prepared next time! It was a brilliant experience and people were very kind to me with their compliments!!!

 

Staff

 

Firstly, the butlers. For us Mr G on the Epic wins – he was attentive, humorous and nothing was too much trouble. Flor on the Getaway was lovely but we did not get the same sense of engagement and she got very flustered when we asked to eat on our balcony (which we had understood was ok to do). We did not even want the silver service treatment but she seemed to make a mountain out of a molehill........

 

In terms of cabin staff Larry on the Epic was completely lovely with exceptional attention to detail. The fact that we can’t remember our cabin attendant’s name on the Getaway kind of says it all, although I don’t want to appear to hard here as he was lovely and did nothing wrong. There was just not the same sense of engagement and we do wonder if this is due to the way that Haven/Suite duties are split????

 

The concierge (Adrian) on the Getaway was helpful but we barely used or came into contact with him, again as we were not located in The Haven. David on the Epic was nice, but was rarely at his station. He also had a huge amount of support from a very able team of three!

 

And now to the Spa!!! We did not use this on the Getaway but I made a big mistake in asking to have a manicure on the Epic. I consulted with them in advance (and won’t bore you with detail) to make sure the treatment was the right one. The technician on the day was surly and unpleasant (was this because I asked for NO SALES on my consultation form). She then got very hung up about the product she was soaking off and laboured the point until I had to say to her that I thought she was suggesting I was lying.....it was really uncomfortable and I wished I had just walked away. I called the Salon to provide feedback and they did refund the whole treatment but sadly had no interest in my feedback or ways that they could improve things – they did not apologise either which left me feeling unheard and for the only time on this trip, completely patronised. Still, it was only an hour of a wonderful holiday so I moved on emotionally, but chose not to spend any more money or time in the Spa – pity!

 

Ports

 

I am not going to review the Ports here unless anyone has any questions as the itineraries are obviously completely different. Highlights were St Maarten and Grand Cayman. We were less keen on Nassau and Jamaica but did love the party antics in Margaritaville as well as the Red Stripe and mountain of Nachos!!!!

 

We had the same Getaway butler in our aft facing suite last year and your comment about her getting flustered is on target. We sail in the same suite in 5 weeks and I am hoping she is not our butler. While I appreciate the geographic challenges of attending to an aft suite, I paid a premium price for the experience. I don't want pushback when we ask to dine on our lovely balcony.

Edited February 21, 2015 by CruisingPiper

[Rollingstone43]

That's really interesting!! Fingers crossed you get someone different!

[df5250]

We had Flor as a butler on the Dawn a few years back. My experience with Flor was very good, albeit we did not dine on the balcony during our cruise. I'm sort to hear your experience wasn't good.

 

 

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[Kruizin'Kath]

Thanks for the great review!

[Rollingstone43]

Thanks for the great review!

 

Thank you. It's a pleasure!

[Surfcolorado247]

Is the epic club (the one you can eat at) reserved for haven or suite guests only? We have a balcony but just read over the epic club menu and their food looks so good! Anyone know?

[countess5]

Hi Guys, It is Kevin an Barbie! We were on the other corner aft suite during the sailing!

 

We saw you at check in and never saw you the rest of the cruise. We too enjoyed the balcony. Flor was worthless, never saw her. All I asked for was ice to be in the room each day and I had to call every day. The first day she brought a huge bucket, I said this works but still had to call each day. Ony had breakfast twice in the cabin, which she brought At the end when I tipped her, I said we hardly saw you but thank you. :mad: Not that we asked for a lot but could of just stopped by to see how things were. Our Butler on our last Celebrity cruise did. We all have our needs.

 

Agree with the tables in the Haven for eating, you always felt like you were obligated to talk to the people around you and yes the service was sloooow!

 

Winds were strong, Venice the bartender was fantastic, made a mean cosmo for DW. Adrian hardly saw him, but his staff was always there.

 

Robert, I believe was the server on deck, my first day up on deck I asked where the mens room was. He asked public bathrooms? I said yes, at which he replied that I would have to use my cabin since there were no public bathrooms. I said i was in the Aft of the ship and don't think that would work. :confused: As I was talking to him I saw the two that were closed and knew there was one in the Haven so went down but came to the one at the bottom of the steps.

 

Our first time on NCL, have to say I would only sail again if in the Haven. Entertainment was good, speacilty dining was a disappointment. Service was great, the set up in the Haven for the Super Bowl was well done. As said the service was slow in the Haven restaurant but the people were great.

 

Sorry we missed you, glad you enjoyed the AFT, we really did. The bathroom was fantastic. Loved the shower!

 

Maybe we will see each again on another cruise. It was nice meeting you both. :)

[LeahH]

Great review - especially the comparison of one ship with the other! We just did our first NCL cruise and we're figuring what next! Thank you!

[Sparky38]

Hi Guys, It is Kevin an Barbie! We were on the other corner aft suite during the sailing!

 

We saw you at check in and never saw you the rest of the cruise. We too enjoyed the balcony. Flor was worthless, never saw her. All I asked for was ice to be in the room each day and I had to call every day. The first day she brought a huge bucket, I said this works but still had to call each day. Ony had breakfast twice in the cabin, which she brought At the end when I tipped her, I said we hardly saw you but thank you. :mad: Not that we asked for a lot but could of just stopped by to see how things were. Our Butler on our last Celebrity cruise did. We all have our needs.

 

Agree with the tables in the Haven for eating, you always felt like you were obligated to talk to the people around you and yes the service was sloooow!

 

Winds were strong, Venice the bartender was fantastic, made a mean cosmo for DW. Adrian hardly saw him, but his staff was always there.

 

Robert, I believe was the server on deck, my first day up on deck I asked where the mens room was. He asked public bathrooms? I said yes, at which he replied that I would have to use my cabin since there were no public bathrooms. I said i was in the Aft of the ship and don't think that would work. :confused: As I was talking to him I saw the two that were closed and knew there was one in the Haven so went down but came to the one at the bottom of the steps.

 

Our first time on NCL, have to say I would only sail again if in the Haven. Entertainment was good, speacilty dining was a disappointment. Service was great, the set up in the Haven for the Super Bowl was well done. As said the service was slow in the Haven restaurant but the people were great.

 

Sorry we missed you, glad you enjoyed the AFT, we really did. The bathroom was fantastic. Loved the shower!

 

Maybe we will see each again on another cruise. It was nice meeting you both. :)

 

Just seen this - sorry we missed you too and thanks for your feedback - so similar to ours! We have booked again for next year on deck nine below our cabin and for two weeks - we LOVED the balcony😀😀😀😀