Off the Epic today

[abbyar]

Just off the Epic and heading home after a glorious week. Had great food, good entertainment, the kids had a grand time for winter break. We adored Debbi in the Epic Lounge, Roni and Retzchel in the restaurant at breakfast, our Butler Zoran (who was so classy when I answered the door at one point nearly naked bc dd had just called and said she would pop over for her phone). Oh and Serge by the Haven pool was fantastic - I meant to submit a Vacation Hero card for him and forgot. He was so attentive and sweet and knew when to bring something over and when to be attentive. I was worried about kids checkin at the club but the Epic is set up in such a way they could have 2-3 people checking in at once - so much smoother than the gem class ships. My fellow cruisers were the same - although one traveling in a studio mentioned she'd like more quiet spaces. I do think they're more hidden on the Epic - like the covered area on 15 by the ping pong tables was usually empty, but it was a nice area to watch the water. We had amazing weather up to this morning, although a little windy on our GSC day, the sun came out and it was glorious! I ended up getting a little too much sun but wasn't worse for the wear.

 

We stopped moving around 7 am this morning - unfortunately Port Canaveral closed for a few hours due to fog. Orlando airport also closed, but flights were only delayed for 60-90 minutes so there were some worried travelers.

 

Only thing I'd change - we boarded early last Saturday with bathing suits in hand to ride the slides - which we did and the kids had a blast. But after they wanted to go rock climbing and socks are required. I had packed the socks and bags weren't in yet so we went shopping for some - no socks for sale on board. Even asked the Concierge and nada! So NCL, I want my themed socks!! Of course by Friday they'd had their fill and just wanted to hang out with their friends in the club.

 

Any questions about anything feel free to ask.

[BirdTravels]

Glad you had a great time. We've been on the Epic 6 times and wouldn't hesitate booking her again!

[Kelliastrubberg]

What are your kids ages ? We are sailing in November and my kids will be 8 and 10. We have previously sailed Disney and the clubs were fantastic. Kids never wanted to leave. So hoping it's the same with Norwegian.

 

 

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[abbyar]

What are your kids ages ? We are sailing in November and my kids will be 8 and 10. We have previously sailed Disney and the clubs were fantastic. Kids never wanted to leave. So hoping it's the same with Norwegian.

 

 

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Our kids are 7&9. We've sailed both Disney and NCL, and frankly, they loved the club this time on NCL but there were some very very good Counselors on this ship. They also had a good time on the Jade but they counselors there weren't as great as on the Epic. For instance - we saw Wheels when we left Teppanyaki one night and even though he was on his night off he stopped and chatted with the kids for a few minutes and was very kind. I also think it depends a bit on the other kids that week and if they click with your kids. With this week being a break there were lots of kids so there were a few my kids got close to.

 

The entertainment is not kid oriented - something I was totally fine with (actually thrilled for, I don't want to see Toy Story on vacation). And the food - omg the freestyle dining was so great with the kids schedules. I very much appreciated the specialty restaurants over the standard offerings on DCL.

[Kelliastrubberg]

Thank you. We are sailing week of thanksgiving. Disney has just become so expensive that we decided to give Norwegian a try. Were u In the haven ?

 

 

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[abbyar]

Thank you. We are sailing week of thanksgiving. Disney has just become so expensive that we decided to give Norwegian a try. Were u In the haven ?

 

 

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Yes, we were. And price point wise, the Haven was less than a family inside on Disney - so if it's in the budget do the Haven. You should have lots of kids over Thanksgiving week. We did not spend a ton of time there, but the kids much appreciated it there when the main pool got busy on sea days. We loved the service - if we had to drop the kids off at the club, we showed to the show 10 minutes prior and showed our key card and were instantly admitted, no escort from the Concierge needed. We were escorted off the ship this morning and given a priority line to customs. In short it made being on a ship with 4500 other people a pleasure.

[Kelliastrubberg]

The size of the ship seems to be around the same as Disney fantasy. We are thinking of upgrading to haven. Right now we have 4 adults and 2 kids in two balcony rooms on deck 14 forward. What did you think of great stirrup cay? We currently have a cabana rented there. But have read that there is a new area being built for haven guests.

 

 

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[abbyar]

To note: I hadn't looked in a while, but for Thanksgiving week right now I could get the Fantasy for $7200 for the most basic inside and $8050 Haven forward suite on the Escape. The Epic might be slightly less. But Norwegian throws in offers that offset that $800 (drinks etc) so it would be the higher value to me.

[abbyar]

Oh I checked Epic for the same week - $8500 for the 2 bedroom suite. And they are great rooms. Really gorgeous rooms.

[Kelliastrubberg]

Did your kids love the water slides and other activities like rock wall etc ?

 

 

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[abbyar]

The Fantasy is slightly smaller - we were on the same itinerary this week and in port one could see the difference. Its max capacity is 4,000 to the 4,100 double capacity on the Epic.

 

GSC is beautiful. The setup is a little different than the Disney private island. The snorkeling is good near the Large Cabanas, though there are standard lounge chairs there as well. We didn't rent one this trip but have in the past & loved it. The Haven area isn't complete yet so I haven't seen it but I'd bet it would be beautiful. The kids enjoyed playing with their friends on the more main part of the beach. They've done a great job expanding the offerings to accommodate such a large ship - we had lunch from the taco hut and there was the buffet etc. The food we had at the cabana last time was very nice as well. The Haven bartender (Debbi) was at the bar near the large cabanas, which I'm sure was no coincidence. She truly was the best bartender I've ever met at sea, and likely one of the best I've met in my life. And I've traveled quite a lot in my day.

[abbyar]

Did your kids love the water slides and other activities like rock wall etc ?

 

 

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Yes I knew the waterslides would be a huge hit. Dh and I went down them took and loved them. We made sure to go first day during boarding and then on the Cozumel day so there would be no lines. They did the rock climbing almost every morning after breakfast. They have different level of difficulties so they'd try one route and then wait for another turn and try a different route. They also loved the bounce thing on deck 16 aft. Basically it's a bungee cord that attaches to their waist and they can bounce for a few minutes. Between the two activities they were always ready for quiet activities in the afternoon. They were fully exhausted by halfway into the week and would sleep till we woke them up at 9:30 am for breakfast. They loved it. And I have to say I liked that they could be really active.

[Kelliastrubberg]

My kids both love to be active so I'm glad to hear this ! Our last cruise on Disney was great but I could just tell that they were a little bored with the clubs and there wasn't much else to do. How about food ? Did you eat at any of the specialty places ? We have the beverage and dining package.

 

 

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[Kelliastrubberg]

Just priced haven for our dates for 6 people in 2. Bed is 9589$.

 

 

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[abbyar]

My kids both love to be active so I'm glad to hear this ! Our last cruise on Disney was great but I could just tell that they were a little bored with the clubs and there wasn't much else to do. How about food ? Did you eat at any of the specialty places ? We have the beverage and dining package.

 

 

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We ate Teppanyaki, Le Bistro, and Cagney's each once. The kids joined us at Teppanyaki. We prefer to eat later so we would get them food from the buffet or order sandwiches/ pizza from the butler, then take them to the club. We'd then either go to dinner or the show and then dinner. We ate at the Epic Club the other nights. The food there was on par with Cagney's/ Le Bistro but in a more American format vs the steakhouse/ French menu. If you have foodies they may want to join you but mine are too impatient, and after we sat down at lunch that was enough for them for the day. I especially liked eating later as the butler would bring snacks to the cabin in the afternoon - the kids requested chocolate covered strawberries, which we had a plate of daily. I don't care for their standard appetizer plates so we requested fruit and cheese daily and then weren't hungry for an early dinner.

[easyboy]

Nice to know you enjoyed your cruise. Thank you for sharing your experience.

[Kelliastrubberg]

I am loving all this great first hand info. There are so many negative reviews about Norwegian on some other sites that I was hesitant to book. Since you were in the haven you didn't have to pre book shows ? I have seen some reviews of not being able to get into the specialty dining or shows.

 

 

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[hkbragg]

We also got off the Epic yesterday and were in a 2 bedroom Haven suite. We had never sailed NCL before and it was amazing. I'm not sure we can ever go back to a regular room now. The Haven is worth every penny!

 

Our kids loved the pool and hot tubs being just steps from our door - we were in 16013. And even though we were right next to the the pool, it was never noisy. Yes, there were a lot of kids in the Haven - and some were loud and jumping off of the hot tubs in the pool a time or two, but none were ridiculous. There were many times kids seemed unattended, but I never saw those kids jumping on lounge chairs or things of that nature. The worst were a few face splashes and cannonballs.

 

The food was excellent - the best of any cruise we have ever been on. We never saw the shows and instead opted to catch up on all the movies that we had not seen in the last couple of months - as some of the newest releases were included in Haven suites.

 

The priority service during embarkation and debarkation was amazing. Even at the ports, we were escorted off the ship on priority elevators. Our butler seemed very nice, but we never really asked for anything. Samir at the Haven pool was so wonderful - we ended up giving him a bigger tip than the butler because we saw him so much more and he did so much for us. He was incredible!

 

Our kids - 8 & 11 - had a wonderful time. My youngest loved the kids club and my oldest tolerated it (it wasn't bad, he's just at that age). They loved the slides and O'Sheehans. We ate at the sushi place, Moderno, Cagney's and the noodle bar - all were wonderful!

 

We used Posh a few times, but with younger ones, it was difficult to spend too much time there since it was adults only. It was great the little bit we were there and it was never crowded!

 

Overall, it was the best cruise experience I have ever had. I felt like royalty bypassing the lines - it was worth every penny!!! I did hear a few complaints from people on the tenders about the lines they had to wait in and they were annoyed by the freestyle aspect of NCL. They missed assigned dining times and having the same waiter each night. For me, I could care less about that and enjoyed being able to decide when to eat. We only ate in the MDR once for lunch (and we didn't wait for a table at all) and it was very good.

 

I did witness a gentleman berate a waiter because his plate had a lemon and parsley sprig on it and he asked for just the meat and side. It broke my heart the way he spoke to another human being and I so badly wanted to walk over there and defend the waiter - in the end I chickened out and still feel badly about not saying something.

 

My only complaints/requests about NCL/Haven, would be to have some sort of locking mechanism on the master door in the 2 bedroom suite. I would also prefer they up the service charge to include the butler. I had no idea what to tip him. He was lovely - but we didn't use him - and the snacks he brought were fine, but we didn't eat most of them. In the end, I was clueless about how much was the right amount.

[owlgirl31]

What time did you get to Port Canaveral and what time were you actually on board? We are going on Epic 3/11!

[Tutontow]

What time did you get to Port Canaveral and what time were you actually on board? We are going on Epic 3/11!

 

Me too. After a dozen wonderful cruises on CCL this is our first NCL cruise. We can't wait. If you see a Jay Leno look alike with his lovely blonde wife having a blast at a blackjack table that will be us. Enjoy your cruise.

[hkbragg]

What time did you get to Port Canaveral and what time were you actually on board? We are going on Epic 3/11!

 

We arrived at the port around 11:45 and were on board by 12. Haven guests are taken to the front of the line though. The regular line looked like it would be around 45 minutes to an hour. There was supposed to be a shuttle launch the morning of our embarkation and that caused a bit of a traffic issue they said - so I'm not sure if that added to the line length or not.

 

With the delay on our return on 2/25 due to fog, I imagine the embarkation process was long. We were one of the first off the ship and it was nearly 11:15 by the time we got to our shuttle to leave. The line for embarkation was already forming at that time, but they were not even starting the process or allowing this people inside.

[bizeebeth]

We are in the Haven for the first time this June. Did your butler/conceirge book your show tickets for you? Do you get better seats than other cruisers? Wondering if the shows are appropriate for kids - (ours are 14, 13, 7).

We are so looking forward to our suite!!

 

Thanks!

[Crzy4my2]

We were on the same cruise. We were not Haven guests. We got there around 12, there was a line to get through security but it moved pretty quickly. Check in was quick also. We didn't see any shows, the kids were not interested. We did participate in things in the atrium. Like Deal or no deal, "lip sync battles", "if you know it ,sing it' and a few other things. The bath rooms actually work for my family. If someone was in the shower, we could still use the bathroom. We just had to let the other know when you were getting out. The food was great. I had a great time on the ship...My first time on a NCL cruise. Getting off the ship was a nightmare but that was because of the fog, not NCL's fault. I would sail on the Epic again.

[Kfamilycruise]

We are in the Haven for the first time this June. Did your butler/conceirge book your show tickets for you? Do you get better seats than other cruisers? Wondering if the shows are appropriate for kids - (ours are 14, 13, 7).

We are so looking forward to our suite!!

 

Thanks!

 

 

You could go to the concierge and ask him/her to help you get tix. There is a special section roped off for Haven. Priscilla is definitely not ok for kids. Cirque should be though. The Cavern Club (think Beatles) is also ok. Comedy in early evening is ok, but late shows are "adult."

 

Hope that helps!

[Chief Cruiser]

On embarkation, on which deck do you enter the Epic?