Can anyone explain the Epic review score

[DawgDad93]

on CC for me? It looks like the lowest I've seen of almost any ship, certainly among newer ships.

 

We are looking to book something for my daughters' spring break in March, 2017 and the Epic out of Port Canaveral seems like a natural choice for a family of four with older kids (11 and 13 by then). What am I missing?

[vantec]

on CC for me? It looks like the lowest I've seen of almost any ship, certainly among newer ships.

 

We are looking to book something for my daughters' spring break in March, 2017 and the Epic out of Port Canaveral seems like a natural choice for a family of four with older kids (11 and 13 by then). What am I missing?

 

A lot of people do not like the bathroom set up - which might, or might not be an issue for your teenage daughters, there also is not a promenade deck, so you don't see much of the ocean unless you have a balcony cabin. Those are just two issues I can think of that might affect the ranking. People seem to really hate the Epic or really love it.

[NCLfamily]

on CC for me? It looks like the lowest I've seen of almost any ship, certainly among newer ships.

 

We are looking to book something for my daughters' spring break in March, 2017 and the Epic out of Port Canaveral seems like a natural choice for a family of four with older kids (11 and 13 by then). What am I missing?

 

 

I'm about to sail in The Epic for the third time. My kids are 14 & 11. We love it. Great ship.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[anniegb]

A lot of people do not like the bathroom set up - which might, or might not be an issue for your teenage daughters, there also is not a promenade deck, so you don't see much of the ocean unless you have a balcony cabin. Those are just two issues I can think of that might affect the ranking. People seem to really hate the Epic or really love it.

 

Most of the recent scores come from winter Med cruises - not smart scheduling.

 

In addition to all of the prior comments.

 

1. Insufficient seating in lounges and bars

2. Noise level.

3. Insufficient and indifferent bar staff.

4. Decks 6 and 7 resemble a Las Vegas Casino. (I quote an American)

5. Theatre capacity insufficient for capacity of ship - pre-book your shows.

6. The worst coffee at sea.

7. The worst cocktails at sea.

8. Evening entertainment venues have insufficient capacity.

9. An American I met said they have added additional decks of cabins but not increased the public rooms to cope with the capacity - fair comment JMO.

 

I have only sailed the Epic once. I had an enjoyable cruise made by the people I met.

 

JMO it is NOT a cruise ship but a floating casino.

 

I met cruisers whose 1st cruise was this winter in the Med - they state they will NEVER cruise again. JMO wrong ship for a 1st cruise.

 

However the Epic sailing in the Caribbean will probably take on a very different ambience.

 

Annie

[OneWord]

Smoke

[BirdTravels]

We have sailed on the Epic four times and love the ship. While not a traditional promenade deck that goes all the way around the ship, Deck 7 (life boat deck) has traditional deck games and views of the sea (along with the pool deck and various sun decks).

[BirdTravels]

However the Epic sailing in the Caribbean will probably take on a very different ambiance.

 

The Epic has sails the Caribbean for half the year, every year.

[anniegb]

The Epic has sails the Caribbean for half the year, every year.

 

I know :)

 

However the OP referred to recent reviews which probably reflect winter cruising in the Med - JMO.

 

Annie

[ColinIllinois]

I love the Epic. Fantastic entertainment, friendly staff, food ranged from average to very good in the MDR's and specialty restaurants. I really enjoyed the buffet. Spice H20 was my favorite hangout.

[rochelle_s]

With no promenade deck that wraps around the ship, is there and area somewhere that is dedicated of walkers for doing laps?

 

 

Rochelle

[vantec]

With no promenade deck that wraps around the ship, is there and area somewhere that is dedicated of walkers for doing laps?

 

 

Rochelle

 

There is a jogging/walking area, but it is mostly blocked by tenders, there is a very small area that you can step into to look at the water.

[rochelle_s]

There is a jogging/walking area, but it is mostly blocked by tenders, there is a very small area that you can step into to look at the water.

 

Thank you for that, I will look for this area.

 

 

Rochelle

[kathybelcher2433]

We just sailed on the Epic Western Mediterranean last month and absolutely loved the cruise. We did not experience any of the nine points listed in the above posts.

 

When we were researching cruises we read everything about the ship both good and bad. Just like Yelp reviews we tossed out the highs and the lows and tried to take stock of the reviewers most similar to what was important in a cruise to us. The Epic exceeded expectations for us.

[Two Wheels Only]

The ship's ugly.:p

[trfccruiser]

Many ships attract a polarity of opinion,but Epic seems to more than most because of the bathrooms situation to a large extent,which did not bother us.We cruised with our 13 year old daughter last Summer and we loved it!We thought the food was great and varied and we love the slides and pool area.The shows being booked up were a nuisance but not a big deal.

It was one of our all time favourite cruises.

[3Fluffies]

What I heard from NCL repeat-travelers was that Epic, as their first foray into megaship territory, had some design flaws that weren't apparent until the ship began sailing at capacity.

 

A big issue is reportedly passenger flow - there are obstructions and breaks in a lot of the major walkway areas between eating and entertainment venues that cause bottlenecks, the pool area wasn't made comparatively large enough to accommodate the vast increase in passenger capacity and nor was the theater.

[zounds]

Stairwells are very narrow and the wait for elevators can be interminable.

[Jem 12]

on CC for me? It looks like the lowest I've seen of almost any ship, certainly among newer ships.

 

We are looking to book something for my daughters' spring break in March, 2017 and the Epic out of Port Canaveral seems like a natural choice for a family of four with older kids (11 and 13 by then). What am I missing?

 

 

We have just returned from our first Epic cruise, the weather wasn't great and this did make the ship busy below the open decks, but overall we thought the staff, the drinks package were excellent.

 

The entertainment was the best that we have ever had on any ship, we have sailed on Carnival, Celebrity, RCCL, Azamara, and Princess.

 

I would definitely want a balcony on this ship for some ocean views, preferably a mini suite as the cabins are quite narrow,

 

We prebooked most of our shows and booked others soon after boarding on the room TV.

[Trickster999]

The preceding positive comments have reassured me. I've been reading the reviews on CC and some of them are quite derogatory.

[crystlp43]

Thank you for your opinion. It makes perfect sense to me now about the epic being more crowded due to colder weather. I have cruised on both the Getaway out of Miami and the Breakaway out of NY. Even though both ships are very similar the Breakaway felt a lot less spacious due to the fact that on 3.5 days (cruised in March 2016) the outside areas were to cold for most people to use. I am going on the Epic in Dec 2016 and hope that the weather is warm so everyone can enjoy the outdoor space.

[Trickster999]

Our cruise is first week of October in the med, so it should be warm enough to use the outside spaces