Never Judge A Book By Its Cover: Epic Review 3/3/18

[Regent01]

Such a nice review and pics!

[rmurray847]

The excellent O'Sheehans bar with 24/7 pub grub, arcade games, pool and bowling!

 

I'll never figure out how other cruise lines haven't copied this. Being able to get decent food, especially late at night, was great.

 

VERY much agree with this, and I've only been on smaller NCL ships, without the bowling. Just the idea of being able to grab an actual meal-type something at 3am is nice, and missing on other ships. RCCL has its Promenade Cafe which is open late, but NOT 24/7. And even when open, the food doesn't compare to what you get at O'Sheehan's. This is one of our favorite "pros" about NCL. They have "cons" too, of course...but O'Sheehan's ain't one of 'em.

 

I enjoyed your review. Great photos, spare but amusing narrative. Great attitude.

[Georgie562]

Thanks for the photos. Gets me excited for our November cruise on the Bliss followed by our December cruise on the Epic.

[Motegi]

It's almost as if they just got tired of building the ship and said "that'll do".

 

You're probably right about that. There was a dispute between the ship builder, STX Europe, and NCL during the construction process of the Epic and eventually resulted in the cancellation of the Epic's planned sister ship and a third ship.

 

I'm sure that both STX and NCL just wanted to finish the Epic and be done with each other.

[bluehawks47]

Thank you so much for the wonderful review. We sail this Saturday on the Epic and we are soooo looking forward to getting away.

 

"It's almost as if they just got tired of building the ship and said "that'll do". Best line ever! Thanks :)

[ElaineKeagy]

Really great pictures and review. Thanks!

 

 

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[PH8]

Excellent idea! I'll try it on my next dozen or so cruises.I think you'll like it, classy bar and it caters to a more mature crowd. I really think you'll enjoy the Epic, even with a spring break crowd. The ship was surprisingly nice, and on par with RCI as far as the modern decor.

Thanks.....too bad we all didn't plan better and go together..........LT probably just wanted to make sure he had friends on all his 3 Epic cruises...;p

[DarthGrady]

Thanks.....too bad we all didn't plan better and go together..........LT probably just wanted to make sure he had friends on all his 3 Epic cruises...;p

Probably, wouldn't surprise me at all. We'll have to get synced up next time.

[PH8]

Probably, wouldn't surprise me at all. We'll have to get synced up next time.

Sounds like a plan!(y)(y)

[trivimp]

"Garden hose for steerage" BWA HA HA HA

 

Seriously, after all the posts bagging on the spring breakers (the situation sounded pretty awful, TBH) it's nice to hear about someone who carried on with having a great time despite the crowds.

[jdvmd]

Thanks for sharing!

[fabnfortysomething]

We will also be on deck 8 in a regular balcony. Did you find that the lifeboats below obstruct your view and being in an uncovered balcony bother you? Or maybe this didn't affect you because you were in a mini suite?

 

not all balconies on deck 8 are uncovered but some are on deck 9

it all depends on how the external lines of ship curve out

in October we were in 9222[i think] which was uncovered

As the weather wasn't brilliant we didn't sit out much so didn't experience lack of privacy this could cause

however the advantage was a much more open view from inside cabin as no partial obstruction from balcony roof above

 

looking down you cant see sea directly below unless directly above gap between lifeboats

however still good view of sea if you cast your eyes at more of an angle-actually that's less vertigo inducing if you don't like heights!

[APDMOM]

Thank you!!! It is great to see a positive review of Epic. DH loves O’Sheehan’s and it is the main reason we book NCL from time to time. We board in 8 days and look forward to exploring a new ship (to us). [emoji846]

 

As for the “book cover”:

After I booked this cruise on a fairly good deal, I told my husband, “I can’t believe we booked the ugly ship!” [emoji16]

 

 

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[Shidah]

Great pics! Yes, so many negative reviews about spring breakers. Secretly, I think people just get jealous and reminiscent about their college days. I know I do. Luckily, my daughter went to a large university were all the alumni that visit truly reverted to their college days, no matter what their age. So visiting her was always a blast! Maybe that is why I think spring break cruises are fun and great for people watching.

[APDMOM]

"Garden hose for steerage" BWA HA HA HA

 

 

That had me rolling too! Great sense of humor, DarthGrady! [emoji23]

[lordtimothy]

Very nice review

[C cruise]

Liked your review and LOVED your pictures!

[efinand]

Following. Doing Epic in Europe in May so we won't have the college kid "problem" but always interested in hearing about the ship. Epic gets its fair share of negative reviews, but many of the "issues" don't really sound like issues to me. Atrium? No mid-ship elevators? I guess because I already know we won't be spending much time on the ship these don't bother me. Looking forward to the rest of your review!

[lusyrsgirl]

Thank you for the pictures! We sail next Friday. Can not wait!

[PH8]

Just off Epic this morning....not many spring breakers after all......

 

LOVED the ship........all the venues were fantastic..........just wish I had more then 3 days to explore the ship..

[realtorgranny]

Thank you so much for your review and suggestions. We are sailing on Epic next month in Cabin #8186, also a handicap room. Could you please tell me if the table next to the bed is large enough to put a Cpap machine and is there a plug at that table or should I still bring an extension cord. Thank you

[salzdt]

Thank you for the great photos on the Epic. We have not sailed any of NCL's big ships and not sure we will. I hear you have to make reservations for entertainment, and MDR's are crowded. Can you comment on the differences between the mid sized and bigger ship. We have sailed on the Magesty, Norway, Jewel, Gem and the Sun. We have a cruise booked on the Dawn in June out of Boston to Bermuda. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

[SMSACE6]

Thank you for your review on Epic. I was booked and looking forward for a while to cruise on Epic back in 2013, and then "life" got in the way, had to cancel. Since then have attempted/booked on Getaway and Escape, and yet again had to cancel. As I, family get older, life gets more complicated and travel, less easy to do for me, but I am hopeful some day in the future, and since Epic was my first "almost", I researched that ship, and feel that I know it. I still hope to sail on her some day. The outside look of the ship has never bothered me. Somehow reminds me of Boeing 747. LOL. All my ramblings aside. Thanks again for posting. I have enjoyed many of your other reviews. Carry on Cruising!:)

[DarthGrady]

Thank you for the great photos on the Epic. We have not sailed any of NCL's big ships and not sure we will. I hear you have to make reservations for entertainment, and MDR's are crowded. Can you comment on the differences between the mid sized and bigger ship. We have sailed on the Magesty, Norway, Jewel, Gem and the Sun. We have a cruise booked on the Dawn in June out of Boston to Bermuda. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

We did make reservations for three of the four nights since we did specialty restaurants. We didn't make it to the regular MDRs, so I can't help much there. They recommended reservations for the shows, but they weren't required. There was a standby line for all the venues.

[DarthGrady]

Thank you so much for your review and suggestions. We are sailing on Epic next month in Cabin #8186, also a handicap room. Could you please tell me if the table next to the bed is large enough to put a Cpap machine and is there a plug at that table or should I still bring an extension cord. Thank you

The little tables next to the bed are probably big enough for a CPAP. Mine is a newer model and would have fit. I opted to just sleep on the couch and use the coffee table.

 

You will need an extension cord unless your machine has a fairly long cord. The only power outlets are at the desk which is the opposite wall from the beds.