First time with NCL booked the Epic

[deanswife1990]

After reading all the reviews about the Epic and now I'm getting a little nervous. I hope I didn't make a mistake.

 

Has anyone had a good experience?

 

Sailing March 18, 2017 and this will be our 11th cruise. The others have been with Carnival and Royal Caribbean. After our last experience in May, we decided to try another line to see if we're burnt out on Carnival and RC or just burnt out on cruising.

 

I know a cruise is what you make of it and I'll go with a good attitude but hearing some positive reviews would be nice. :D

[Eleteace]

Hey!!! I love NCL, the epic isn't my favourite because there's no decent promonade deck and the bathrooms are a little funky... but it is a really really lovely ship and I had a brilliant cruise on her!

 

Glad to hear you're going with a positive attitude, so many people are so quick to moan.

 

Maybe reading this will get you excited to cruise ncl: http://cruisingisntjustforoldpeople.co.uk/2016/10/08/my-favourite-10-things-about-cruising-with-ncl/ I've also got a Norwegian Epic gallery on there if you fancy seeing my holiday snaps.

 

I loved it, I definitely don't think you've made a mistake!

 

 

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[KeithJenner]

Has anyone had a good experience?

 

 

 

Yes, 4 great experiences out of 4 cruises on the Epic.

[SullytheBFG]

I have been on the Epic 4 times and have another cruise booked on her this year. We have also been on other NCL and RC ships.

 

We have always had a good time on her. Plenty of space, great entertainment and choice of restaurants.

 

Go with an open mind,unfortunately people who don't like things tend to be more vocal.

 

Enjoy and have fun!

[LOWTYD]

I too have been reading some good and some not so good reviews. You can't make 4000 passengers happy at once.

After reading everything and saving all the stuff I want to know, I will toss out all the negative and get on that ship and make the most of it. It's up to us to make our own fun. Sure things may not go the way we want all the time, but, hey, we're on cruise! If you go on with expectations, you can get disappointed real fast. There will always be a table to eat at somewhere, but maybe not where you wanted to eat that evening. There will always be a bartender who will to make you a cocktail. There will be a lounge chair somewhere for you to sit on, but maybe not near the pool, and there will be a bathroom for you to use, whether it's funky or not.

 

Now get on board and have a great time!:)

[Son of a son of a ...]

I was on the Epic after her latest refurb. We had a decent time. However, I just checked the reviews and there is definitely something afoot ... I think the reviews were in the 75 percentile when we cruised and now it has plummeted to the 64 percentile. That's a pretty big dip. If there were other options, I would look into them because folks are not leaving happy and most reviews (in my experience) are posted while still wrapped in the warm fuzzy glow of a cruise.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Son of a son of a ...

[ready2cruzagain]

We sailed the Epic for 2 weeks last month and fell in love with her, so much that we have another b2b booked on the Epic next year!

 

Forget the bad reviews and take them with a grain of salt!

 

We had not sailed NCL in over 10 years because we did not care for the Freestyle, we have been sailing mostly Carnival and Princess but we were getting burned out on them. The same old ships with the same old itinerary.

 

We decided to try NCL Epic. I am so glad we did!!! Go and have some FUN!

[edawn]

We were on in November and had a great cruise. There were some inconveniences but in all it wasn't worth getting bent out of shape over. Since it repositioned to Port Canaveral in November, I wonder how many newbie crew members they have. The wait staff and hostesses didn't seem to know the table number layout in the main dining rooms. Maybe they renumbered them during dry dock? Anyway, I think you'll have a great time.

 

 

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[sanger727]

I went on the Epic and really enjoyed it. As long as you go into it knowing what to expect, you will be fine. Some people find the bathroom awkward. But I'm seeing the same setup in more and more hotels and while it's a bit awkward when traveling with a friend or child; it's perfectly fine for me and my significant other when traveling together. In fact it's kind of nice when getting ready to be able to have one person in shower and the other one still has access to sink and toilet.

 

People keep making a big deal about 'paying for all the shows'. That's not the case, for us there were 2 headliner shoes, Blue Man Group and legends, plus several comedy shows and the normal game shows. The only show with a fee is the cirque and it's because it's considered a specialty restaurant (includes dinner). Other lines have a murder mystery dinner and celebrity has a movie with a dinner that fits the theme of the movie for extra fees, so this isn't unique.

 

It's a mega ship so it does feel crowded sometimes and you will do well with reservations for the shows, but we never had trouble eating in the MDR when hungry without a reservation.

 

It's a different experience than the others, there's no traditional cruise option with set dining at 6 and then the show at 9, think of it more as a small city with a variety of restaurant and show options that you can choose what and when to go to. I'm sure you've heard the thing that an unhappy customer tells 10 people.

 

 

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[sid_9169]

While the Epic is not my favorite NCL ship, there's nothing really "wrong" with it... It does feel somewhat like a large indoor mall, and I much prefer the "Away" class ships, but I found the food to be good in all the venues I frequented.

[deanswife1990]

Thanks everyone for making me feel better about my choice. We have made reservations for our shows and booked the Cirque dinner show (which I'm really excited about). DH and I are going with some really great friends and I'm sure we will have a marvelous time.

[deanswife1990]

Hey!!! I love NCL, the epic isn't my favourite because there's no decent promonade deck and the bathrooms are a little funky... but it is a really really lovely ship and I had a brilliant cruise on her!

 

Glad to hear you're going with a positive attitude, so many people are so quick to moan.

 

Maybe reading this will get you excited to cruise ncl: http://cruisingisntjustforoldpeople.co.uk/2016/10/08/my-favourite-10-things-about-cruising-with-ncl/ I've also got a Norwegian Epic gallery on there if you fancy seeing my holiday snaps.

 

I loved it, I definitely don't think you've made a mistake!

 

 

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Thank you for the link. I loved your pics.

[lidodeck03]

After reading all the reviews about the Epic and now I'm getting a little nervous. I hope I didn't make a mistake.

 

Has anyone had a good experience?

 

Sailing March 18, 2017 and this will be our 11th cruise. The others have been with Carnival and Royal Caribbean. After our last experience in May, we decided to try another line to see if we're burnt out on Carnival and RC or just burnt out on cruising.

 

I know a cruise is what you make of it and I'll go with a good attitude but hearing some positive reviews would be nice. :D

 

We were on the Epic a few years ago. We had a few problems with our room, but they took care of everything and gave us an even better room, a bottle of wine, a dinner at Cagney's and a discount on a future cruise. No cruise line is perfect, but it is what they do to "fix" the problem that is important. Since then we have been on the Getaway and twice on the Escape, and have had absolutely wonderful experiences every time!

[Thrilled2012]

I have always traveled a lot, mostly internationally, and until last year I had always said that I would never, ever go on a cruise. I just didn't think it was for me. My parents love to cruise, however, and they surprised me with a present of taking me and my kids on a Western Med cruise in July of 2015 on the Epic. I reluctantly went and figured that at the very least, my kids and I would have fun on the waterslides and possibly enjoy the "tiny amount of time that we were in the ports". Well, I LOVED it. It helped that my parents cruise with NCL a few times per year so they knew to make all reservations in advance. So we never had problems with not seeing the shows that we wanted to see or going to the specialty restaurants. Our room stewards were both fantastic and anticipated all of our needs with smiles. We had no problems with service at all on the ship. My parents and my kids stayed in a balcony and had no problems with the odd bathroom layout (but they are not picky). I had a studio so off course it didn't bother me since I was alone in there. Since that trip, I took the lead on booking and planning another cruise on the Getaway that we took in November 2016. That was an enjoyable cruise but I far prefer the Epic. I am in the process of booking 2 more cruises for 2017 but will be trying RCCI and Carnival, as we already have another NCL trip booked for 2017. The Epic is the reason that this "anti-cruiser" has become a cruise fanatic.

[Lido_Deck]

After reading all the reviews about the Epic and now I'm getting a little nervous. I hope I didn't make a mistake.

 

Has anyone had a good experience?

 

Sailing March 18, 2017 and this will be our 11th cruise. The others have been with Carnival and Royal Caribbean. After our last experience in May, we decided to try another line to see if we're burnt out on Carnival and RC or just burnt out on cruising.

 

I know a cruise is what you make of it and I'll go with a good attitude but hearing some positive reviews would be nice. :D

 

I consider the Epic one of the worst ships of the 40+ I have sailed on. And that includes some of Carnival's older ships.

 

I hate the tiny sink in the main part of the cabin instead of a bathroom where it belongs.

 

I hate how they ruined the Great Outdoors on the Epic.

 

I hate how the pool area and almost the entire ship is a fenced in enclosure instead of open decks.

 

Maybe you will like it, but I won't set foot on the Epic unless it is a cheap, cheap, cheap cruise such as a 13 day Transatlantic for $399 for a Single Inside Cabin.

.

Edited January 16, 2017 by Lido_Deck

[Kfamilycruise]

My husband and I sailed on the Epic in the Med and absolutely loved it! I loved that I could shower while he shaved and yet we each had our own space. The entertainment and the food were fantastic and we loved the service. She is the reason why we started cruising again.

 

It was too cold for waterslides when we went, but we did still enjoy the hot tub in Spice H2O. Have an amazing time!