Brief Thoughts on the Epic-March 10th-14th Sailing

[yankeesfan1234]

Intro: I'm a late 20's female who has been lucky enough to cruise a bunch-living in Florida for the last 10 years definitely helps, as does having a very generous PTO policy at work :) Typically I cruise with my mother who is as much of a cruise addict as I am, but this cruise was myself, her, her fiance, and two former of her former coworkers. First cruise for the fiance and one of the former coworkers and first cruise in many years for the other former coworker, while it was the 6th time on NCL for mom and I in the last 4 years.

 

Embarkation: We drove over from Tampa, and parked at the Radisson via Park Port Canaveral. Easy process and were at the terminal by about 10 minutes to 1 pm. Although the embarkation line looked bad, it moved quickly and we were on board by about 1:30ish.

 

Cabin: I was in a studio cabin on deck 12 and loved it. Perfect amount of space for just me, easy walk up to get food, the lounge was a nice touch but didn't seem to get utilized a ton on this cruise. There was a large group with an Orlando based podcast (Tom & Dan) and I think many of the people in the studios were with that group, so already had a group to hang out with on board. Would have zero hesitation about booking a studio again if going solo.

 

Ports: We've had a recent cold snap in Florida (cold for us at least) and the weather wasn't picture perfect Caribbean at either port. Great Stirrup Cay was chilly in the morning but warmed up nicely. Unfortunately it was windy all day which put the kibosh on mom and I's plan for parasailing but nothing you can do about that. Nassau was cloudy with off and on rain most of the day. Three of us did a tour with one of the drivers just outside the terminal who was great-took us to Fort Fincastle, the Queen's Staircase, a local fish market, one of the rum cake factories, Atlantis, and the Straw Market for $25 a piece. Did a great job and covered many of the "must see" Nassau sites.

 

On board: We ate in the dining room on the first and last night, Le Bistro on Great Stirrup Cay night, and Moderno after Nassau. I'm not a picky eater and felt the food was great everywhere and service was very quick. I did not go to Priscilla or Burn the Floor having seen them last year. Our friends went to Cirque Dreams and raved about it. Julie Barr was one of the on board comedians and she was fantastic. The Piano Bar was also great. Cruise staff did a terrific job with games, trivia, etc. especially since the sea day was a bit rocky and on the cool side.

 

Spring Breakers: Yes there were a lot of them on board. Mostly clustered around the pool bars, but otherwise really not a big bother. Saw a few being helped back to their cabin who were definitely a little worse for wear, but that's pretty much it.

 

Overall another fantastic trip on the Epic! Next scheduled cruise is a pre Thanksgiving weekend cruise on the Carnival Victory and it can't get here fast enough!

[cml4958]

Thanks for the review!

[jdvmd]

Glad that you had a good time!