Epic. Can ncl do this?

[KeithJenner]

It it seems on the epic you're best to book your dining and shows before you sail which seems to defeat the idea of free style cruising.

 

When do you sail?

 

 

I have to say that I disagree with this.

 

It's a discussion I've got into a few times on here, and occasionally it gets a bit heated, so I'll say now, no offence intended.

 

As far as I am aware, freestyle has always been about being able to make your own decisions, but not necessarily about always being able to do what you want at short notice.

 

The need to book meals is more to do with the current promos giving away dining plans, and doesn't just effect the big ships. The hardest we've ever found it to get into speciality restaurants was actually on the Jade.

 

Entertainment does require reservations if you want to guarantee seeing a show, and don't want to queue, but many people don't make the reservations and still see what they want.

 

Remember that there are many other things going on as well as the theatre shows. We have just made one booking, but will see entertainment every night that we want to.

 

Having so many options means smaller venues, so sometimes reservations are required. However, the ability to choose from the four different things which are happening, as opposed to just having one show on the older ships, is far more to do with freestyle than whether some of those shows require reservations.

 

As I said, it's different, so it's important to work with those differences than it is to fight them. Many people (I'm not suggesting you are one of them) seem to get so hung up on the fact that there are reservations that they seem to totally miss the fact that there are such great options.

[KeithJenner]

Thanks Keith.

 

We go in October so hopefully there won't be any problems docking.

 

I assume Barcelona is a port where they can dock anytime, but what would happen to passengers who were due to embark/disembark at Civiteccia. Presumably they'd have to be bused to Livrono and the disembarkees would have to re arrange their flight home.

 

 

When they missed Rome recently it wasn't embarkation port, so I don't know what they would have done.

 

It's the only time I've ever heard of it being missed, so I don't think it's likely. Sorry, I forgot you were boarding there. I just raised it to demonstrate how anything can change, not meaning to cause any concern.

[Trickster999]

Thanks... That's made it clearer. It looks like the entertainment on the epic is excellent and as you say there are things happening at the same time so it's just a question of sorting your selves out.

The first cruise we went on about 10 years ago Thompson in the Caribbean had fairly low key entertainment in two venues and we always got to see it ok.

 

What sort of time do the shows happen?

 

As a Beatles aficionado I'm particularly keen to get to the Cavern (?) to see the band there. Is that a late night venue?

[KeithJenner]

This year, we'll do the train again but not get off at the Vatican and go to the end of the line and just enjoy the sights around the Coliseum etc.

 

 

 

If your train stops there then get off at Ostiense and catch a metro to Colosseo. The metro journey is about the same distance as from Termini but you spend less time on the train (you'll probably be fed up with it be them).

 

It's a little bit of a walk to the metro at Ostiense, but then the same can be said at Termini and it's a well signposted walk through subways.

 

It saves about 15 minutes I think.

[KeithJenner]

I've planned a walking tour with a bit of metro so we will get the bus from our out of town hotel to the city centre. Walk to Spanish steps. Metro to Coleseum. Walk to Trevi, walk to Pantheon walk to Navaro,walk back to bus terminus, bus back to hotel. We will get the bus to St. Peter's basilica the first afternoon and only do that as we will be knackered after an early flight from Brum.

 

I hope your missus's health improves and you all have a great time.

 

 

Can I just recommend Castel Sant'Angelo, on the river near the Vatican. It's not somewhere I see mentioned much, but I thought it was really interesting and there are some great views from the top.

[KeithJenner]

What sort of time do the shows happen?

 

 

 

As a Beatles aficionado I'm particularly keen to get to the Cavern (?) to see the band there. Is that a late night venue?

 

 

The theatre shows are usually at 7pm and 10pm and Cirque is 6.30 and 9.30

 

There are some days in the theatre when neither of the main shows are on and on those days they have alternative stuff with no recommendations.

 

The Beatles have been onboard every time I have been, but the Cavern venue is new. Two years ago they played there most nights (when the venue was Fat Cats) and it was packed. From memory they played from about 9pm to midnight with some breaks.

 

Also, don't miss Howl at the Moon in headliners.

[Burgmeister]

Y

 

Another thing that affects reviews a lot (with all the large ships) is that some people don't seem to appreciate beforehand the differences with the way the entertainment works, for example. Some people legitimately don't like it, but others just seem to be caught by surprise.

 

My advice is to always keep an open mind, expect things to be a bit different and always remember that different doesn't necessarily mean worse.

 

This is something that I know forms a large part of our cruise enjoyment. We have always found the entertainment of RCL to be excellent and go to most, if not all, shows. When I went to do reservations for the upcoming trip I was surprised that the only complementary shows available to book are Priscilla and the dancing one, which are each on two nights each. Does the theatre that these are shown at have entertainment on the other nights?

 

Also, I get the impression that the Epic has more venues for entertainment. Do they only do one show per night in these other venues? Is availability difficult?

 

Like I say, when cruising with RCL we had a routine that suited us well i.e. theatre, drinks, dinner. Hopefully we won't be disappointed by the entertainment situation on Epic.

[clivep]

Thanks... That's made it clearer. It looks like the entertainment on the epic is excellent and as you say there are things happening at the same time so it's just a question of sorting your selves out.

The first cruise we went on about 10 years ago Thompson in the Caribbean had fairly low key entertainment in two venues and we always got to see it ok.

 

What sort of time do the shows happen?

 

As a Beatles aficionado I'm particularly keen to get to the Cavern (?) to see the band there. Is that a late night venue?

 

I recently posted the times of the shows on our Epic January cruise on the March 8th Epic roll call... see posts #772 & #776:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?p=49245336#post49245336

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?p=49257365#post49257365

[clivep]

Why did I post the links rather than simply copy the detail??? Here it is:

 

 

In the theatre...

 

There are 2 shows which are usually at 7.00 and 9.30 but when Priscilla was on twice then the later show was at 10.00 (as it's a 2 hour show, I believe - we didn't go).

 

Priscilla and Burn the Floor are on multiple times. More times than you see to pre-book I believe. Although you can go to these multiple times I don't think you can pre-book more than one time of each... once you've seen the show then you can book to see it again.

 

There are other shows but you can not see these in advance of your cruise... you have to book them on board.

 

We had:

 

Day 1 Epic Showtime 7.00 & 9.30.

Day 2 Burn the Floor 7.00 & 9.30.

Day 3 Soul Satisfaction 7.00 & 9.30.

Day 4 Priscilla 7.00 & 10.00.

Day 5 Comedy & Magic of Christian Miro 7.00, Priscilla 9.30.

Day 6 Priscilla 7.00 & 10.00.

Day 7 Comedy & Magic of Christian Miro 7.00, Priscilla 9.30.

Day 8 Epic Beatles 7.00, Comedy & Magic of Christian Miro 9.30.

Day 9 Graffiti Classics 7.00, Burn the Floor 9.30.

Day 10 Burn the Floor 7.00 & 9.30.

Day 11 Soul Satisfaction 7.00, Burn the Floor 9.30.

 

These are the times from the Freestyle Dailies but this wasn't the whole story. Bad weather caused a cancellation of one or both Priscilla shows on Day 4 so they replaced the Day 5 Christiian Miro show with an additional Priscilla show. I think the late show on Day 8 was the re-scheduled Christian Miro show (which we went to but wish we hadn't:mad:).

 

 

In the Cavern Club/Headliners...

 

According to the Freestyle Dailies this is what was on:

 

Day 1 Cavern Club - Music with Siglo 9.00-1.00

Headliners - Howl at the Moon 8.00-Midnight

 

Day 2 Cavern Club - Music with Siglo 9.00-1.00

Headliners - Comedy & Magic of Christian Miro 7.15

Headliners - Comedian Steve Stevens 9.00 & 11.00

 

Day 3 Cavern Club - Music with Siglo 7.30-9.30 & 11.45-1.00

Cavern Club - The Epic Beatles 10.30

Headliners - Howl at the Moon 8.00-Midnight

 

Day 4 Cavern Club - Music with Siglo 7.30-9.30 & 11.45-1.00

Cavern Club - The Epic Beatles 10.30

Headliners - Comedy & Magic of Christian Miro 7.15

Headliners - Comedian Steve Stevens 9.00 & 11.00

 

Day 5 Cavern Club - Music with Siglo 8.30-12.30

Headliners - Howl at the Moon 8.00-Midnight

 

Day 6 Cavern Club - Music with Manhattan Band 8.30-9.30 & 11.45-12.30

Cavern Club - The Epic Beatles 10.30

Headliners - Comedian Steve Stevens 7.15

Headliners - Comedy & Magic of Christian Miro 9.00

Headliners - Soul Satisfaction 11.00

 

Day 7 Cavern Club - Music with Siglo 8.30-12.30

Headliners - Howl at the Moon 8.30-12.30

 

Day 8 Cavern Club - Music with Siglo 9.00-1.00

Headliners - Graffiti Classics 7.15 & 9.00

 

Day 9 Cavern Club - Music with Siglo 7.30-9.30 & 11.45-1.00

Cavern Club - The Epic Beatles 10.30

Headliners - Howl at the Moon 8.00-Midnight

 

Day 10 Cavern Club - Music with Siglo 9.00-1.00

Headliners - Graffiti Classics 7.15

Headliners - Soul Satisfaction 11.00

 

Day 11 Cavern Club - Music with Siglo 7.30-9.30 & 11.45-1.00

Cavern Club - The Epic Beatles 10.30

Headliners - Howl at the Moon 8.00-Midnight

 

I can't comment on any of the above as we didn't go to any of these shows. We rarely go to the shows when on a cruise and the only ones we saw on Epic were the Burn the Floor and Christian Miro ones in the theatre. Burn the Floor was brilliant (helped by the liberal dose of Santana music) and the Christian Miro one was awful.

 

I thought the free UBP package would tempt me to drink too much so we decided instead to take the free 5 day SDP package. We ate in Moderno twice, Teppanyaki, Cagney's and the Cirque Dreams show... all were excellent. Having declined the UBP package we didn't go to any bars and were teetotal for the duration of our cruise. [/url]

Edited March 14, 2016 by clivep

[KeithJenner]

Thanks for those details. They give a very good impression of what the options are.

 

Obviously, as that is an 11 day itinerary, there will be some differences to our cruise, which is just 7 days, but the principle is similar.

[KeithJenner]

Like I say, when cruising with RCL we had a routine that suited us well i.e. theatre, drinks, dinner. Hopefully we won't be disappointed by the entertainment situation on Epic.

 

 

The posts above have some good information which I hope will help you get a good idea.

 

Many of the shows in the other venues (Howl at the Moon for example) are ones where people come in and out through the evening, rather than stay for the whole of the show, although I have done stayed for the whole of Howl a few times.

 

I remember one evening on the Epic where I was drifting between Howl and the Beatles for the whole evening.

 

They can be busy. I understand that the Cavern has been standing room only, although that may have been because it was so new.

 

I don't see any reason why your usual schedule won't still work. Go to the early show and then plan on a later meal. You just have the option of stopping off elsewhere as well.

 

The biggest difference will probably just be that more other people will be working to a different schedule, rather than the mass movement of people that I understand tends to happen with traditional dining as shows end. There is still a bit of a rush on the Epic at the end of a show, but most people are doing something completely different, so it's less noticeable.

[Burgmeister]

Thanks for posting that Clive, seems to have addressed my query nicely.

 

Also, thanks Keith for filling in some extra detail. I think I might just leave our exisitng dinner reservations as they are and fill-in with entertainment around them, although I'll let the boss make the actual decision on this!

[Trickster999]

Thanks Keith and Clive for that extra info

[Welshdoc]

If your train stops there then get off at Ostiense and catch a metro to Colosseo. The metro journey is about the same distance as from Termini but you spend less time on the train (you'll probably be fed up with it be them).

 

It's a little bit of a walk to the metro at Ostiense, but then the same can be said at Termini and it's a well signposted walk through subways.

 

It saves about 15 minutes I think.

 

Thanks for the info.

Have to say, the main train station itself was a 15min walk from one end to the other!!

How do you join a roll call on here by the way?